If you play golf, you're my friend

[act0fgod]

I rarely go out to the course with a complete 4 some and often play as a single.  I've had some pretty interesting pair ups and want to hear about some of your favorite unexpected playing partners (good and bad).

[Chanceman]

Checked in for a late afternoon round at a country course and was paired with an old codger who told me he was in the hamburger business. Turned out he owned every Macdonalds within 100 miles.

[Hawkeye77]

16 hours ago, act0fgod said:

I rarely go out to the course with a complete 4 some and often play as a single.  I've had some pretty interesting pair ups and want to hear about some of your favorite unexpected playing partners (good and bad).

Maybe you should share some. 

[dan360]

20 hours ago, act0fgod said:

I rarely go out to the course with a complete 4 some and often play as a single.  I've had some pretty interesting pair ups and want to hear about some of your favorite unexpected playing partners (good and bad).

One time I was paired up with a little dude who asked me at least 500 questions about everything from golf to toilet paper.   After a bit it felt like he was doing it on purpose so I decided to answer every question with a long dissertation about the topic, and didn't stop talking while he was hitting, or putting, or anything.  I even continued the answer about leaf springs vs. coils springs into the bathroom at the turn.

 

He left after the front 9.  

[act0fgod]

9 hours ago, Hawkeye77 said:

Maybe you should share some. 

I went to school in LA and at the time mostly played the city and county courses.  Lots of characters out there.  One Sunday morning my buddy and I go out and get on the wait-list for Griffith Park.  Only waited like 15 min before our names were called.  Get to the tee and get paired up with Stan Verrett.  When he introduced himself we tried to be cool but we obviously knew who he was as his voice regularly put me to sleep with sports center constantly on the tv.  Was cool having him call out catch phrases when we made birdies or hit good shots.

Edited November 3, 2024 by act0fgod

[Hawkeye77]

Weren't paired up with but my daughter and I were right behind Dr. Tom Davis and Jess Settles and others on a busy summer Friday at Finkbine many years ago.  I had introduced her to Dr. Tom at the putting green before the round and play was horribly slow and we ended up on a few tee boxes with them while they waited.  We all ended up at the old "tower" concession spot after the round and Dr. Tom came over and bought us beverages after the round.  When he came over to chat and then asked, I immediately said thanks and told him what I'd have, she was looking at the Gatorade she already had with a funny look (which I understood) and I told him she'd love to have another Gatorade.  Off he went - I told her if Dr. Tom wants to buy you a drink, let him! I'd actually met him at a driving range in Des Moines a few years before - out demoing clubs like any other weekend golfer. We both ended up the the card table ordering the same TM "pro" model yellow and black (surprise) TP whatever - I predict he quit using his shortly after getting it, just like I did - wasn't that great.  Super and genuine person.

 

Otherwise, I've played with all sorts of folks over the years, some treasured memories playing with and/or being at clinics with some folks on here, can't say I've ever really had a truly bad experience with strangers whether here in the U.S. or across the pond getting paired up for a round of golf.  

[act0fgod]

Another interesting one.  I was a member at a ClubCorp course in NC and utilized the travel benefit a good deal (never lived in NC).  I was playing a course in California and when checking in was told I would be playing with someone from the club in NC.  I told the guy I was the one from the club and he looked at me and went "yup."  I get to the first tee and find out the other guy was from the same club.  Around the 3rd hole I ask him where he lives in town and he says the same street we have a house on.  I say that's interesting we have a house on the street and asked what address.  Turns out he was my tenant (we have a property manager so don't really know much about the tenants).  He was a nice guy but did end up breaking the lease early when the house he was building was finished.  

[act0fgod]

Prior to my first UK visit shows like Downton Abbey or Jane Austen (things my wife watches), that portray the historical British aristocratic system formed my beliefs on the area.  I thought of the British system as stuffy.  I heard about having to change out of golf shoes to go in club houses or wear jackets and ties to eat after rounds.  It's then weird to me how different golf felt when I eventually made my first trip overseas to play golf. 

 

From my perspective the US is where golf has social tiers.  People stay within their own socio-economic bubbles and golf clubs often signal your status.  I have a friend who's brother joined a top tier club in Chicago that almost never played golf at.  It was a way for him to network (as it turned out he eventually fell in love with the game and one of his brands is directly tied to golf in the UK).

 

I understand there are still places like Muirfield and maybe it's because I'm a visitor but I feel it's more about golf overseas than other things.  Changing shoes wasn't because they were stuffy, it was because the club was their home, and I certainly don't wear my golf shoes in my house.  They have strong clubs but golf is the foundation. 

 

Some of the memorable groups I've been a part of overseas:

1)  Head of a global mining company, podiatrist, student and me

2) Heir to Getty's oil fortune, an electrician, a teacher and me

3) An ambassador, a radiologist, a mechanic and me

 

In each of the above three groups none of us would interact on a course in the US.  The group outliers didn't give a damn that I couldn't help them out in accessing another course or in a business deal.  They cared more about how many strokes I'd be giving them or getting from them.

 

It's more about the golf.  Since we all played golf, we were all friends.

 

[McMunch]

I've told this story before on a similar thread but we were once a twosome that got paired up with an older couple. We were in our 50's at the time and I'm guessing they were 70 plus. We kind of rolled our eyes to ourselves but whatever- we can play with anyone. They weren't long but they were both dead straight and moved along great. Great company too.

Here is the kicker- the lady probably had 25 putts or less all day. She might be on in 3-4 but that didn't matter. She would drop bombs, chewy 4 footers basically everything all day.... Never saw anything like it. Best putting display I've ever seen. After awhile we were asking for reads like "hey Glenda what do you see here?"

 

After the round we both gave her proposals of marriage but she declined. Her husband was laughing and said "she does this all the time..."

Unbelievable. Will never forget it.

[Bonneville85308]

I've probably played with thousands of randoms since I started playing golf in the 1990s. Probably a dozen or less that I'd absolutely refuse to play with again. I don't recall ever being paired with anyone who (at least that I knew) was a celebrity, touring pro, or some billionaire, but plenty who have shown unsolicited acts of kindness or were just unusually cool people to spend a few hours with.

 

One that sticks out to me was a very nice retired guy at a muni-type course near Dallas; once he found out that after the round I was going to wait for an uber to head straight to the airport, insisted on driving me there himself even though it was quite a bit out of his way. He was also one of those people who had a 100% positive attitude even though he wasn't a great golfer who hit plenty bad shots that would have had many other people cursing. I gave him my number said said "if you're ever in Phoenix, let's get together for a round". Most times you do that, you never hear from the person again, right? Well, 5 years later he called and we had an enjoyable round at Papago with lunch after. 

[act0fgod]

Now for the bad.  I've only had one round when I was paired with a person I would never want to interact with again. 

 

The round was at Coto de Caza.  Three singles.  One of the guys was a normal friendly guy.  I knew things were going to be a problem with the other when I went to introduce myself and put out my hand and he just looked at me, didn't even say his name.  I think I awkwardly tried a second time moving closer in case he didn't hear.  I think I eventually said something along the lines of ok...nice to meet you and went to my bag.

 

It was like he was trying to play alone but the course was full so he was stuck with us.  He'd hit his shot and drive away before me or the other guy hit our shots.  He cursed and threw clubs after almost every shot.  I don't think he hit a fairway on the front nine and when he finally hit a fairway on the back nine his second shot hit dead center into a tree that was kind of in line to the green.  He lost his s*** and started screaming profanities and threw his club, got to his bag and threw 2 more clubs and drove off.  Just left his clubs and drove off, obviously didn't say anything to us.

 

It was the type of scene from a show.  I didn't think people like that existed in real life.

[bcjim]

6 hours ago, act0fgod said:

Now for the bad.  I've only had one round when I was paired with a person I would never want to interact with again. 

 

The round was at Coto de Caza.  Three singles.  One of the guys was a normal friendly guy.  I knew things were going to be a problem with the other when I went to introduce myself and put out my hand and he just looked at me, didn't even say his name.  I think I awkwardly tried a second time moving closer in case he didn't hear.  I think I eventually said something along the lines of ok...nice to meet you and went to my bag.

 

It was like he was trying to play alone but the course was full so he was stuck with us.  He'd hit his shot and drive away before me or the other guy hit our shots.  He cursed and threw clubs after almost every shot.  I don't think he hit a fairway on the front nine and when he finally hit a fairway on the back nine his second shot hit dead center into a tree that was kind of in line to the green.  He lost his s*** and started screaming profanities and threw his club, got to his bag and threw 2 more clubs and drove off.  Just left his clubs and drove off, obviously didn't say anything to us.

 

It was the type of scene from a show.  I didn't think people like that existed in real life.

I definitely can't match that one,  lol.

I've played with one guy a few times that gets visibly irked by failure to follow strict rules and etiquette practices. Walking ahead of him,  failing to mark, playing out of turn, etc..I don't like it when I see him hanging around the practice area and we have less than a full foursome. 

[me05501]

Getting paired up with randos is one of the fairly unique things about golf. It can either be a delight or a disaster. 

 

Some of the most awkward pairings I've had happened in corporate/business events. 

 

I once sponsored a short game clinic as an outreach to new clients. I think we had three students show up plus me and the pro I'd hired. After the clinic the pro said we were welcome to grab carts and play the front nine if we wanted. The one prospect I knew the least about said he'd be up for that so it turned out to be just the two of us together for a couple of hours. 

 

We've all played with people who just won't shut up, haven't we? Well this radiologist was the opposite. He practically wouldn't say a word. I'm pretty gregarious and after all I was there to try to make new relationships so I must have asked him a dozen questions. I couldn't get much of anything out of him. He certainly never elaborated or asked me any questions in return. 

 

The main thing I remember about the golf was that he hit a four iron off every tee. He was taking lessons and his pro had told him to focus on his irons first and leave his woods in the bag. Fair enough. The dude was committed to it. And these freaking four irons were majestic lasers that split the fairway every time. It was nuts. 

 

***

 

A few years later I got invited to play a really nice course as the guest of a vendor. This outfit was probably spending $500 per player to be out there. I was in a cart with one of the guys who was paying for the golf, someone who supposedly would like for me to use the products offered by his company. 

 

Over the first 45 minutes or so it was fairly typical. We talked a little about golf, a little about personal stuff, a tiny bit about business. At some point after that I realized the guy had put in earbuds and was streaming music from his phone. If I said anything to him, he'd have to take out one of the buds and ask me to repeat it. 

We rode the last 5-6 holes in total silence. There was no point in trying to talk to him and he didn't say anything to me. It was so weird. 

 

*** 

 

If I was a stranger reading this on the internet I'd probably think "That guy doesn't realize how annoying he is!" I swear it's not true! My mother says I'm totally normal and that people like me!!

[Chanceman]

One guy I know played a pro am at some tournament and was paired with a young American amateur. They got on well so he invited the guy home for dinner. His wife thought he was a “lovely young man”. This was followed a couple of years later when they received a letter from him inviting them to attend the Masters as his guests. They booked their flights to Augusta the same day.

[ZephyrS4]

Who was it?

[Chanceman]

Can’t recall. No-one famous.

[ZephyrS4]

Oh….was thinking it was an amateur that went on to be a popular pga player

[act0fgod]

18 hours ago, Chanceman said:

Can’t recall. No-one famous.

I guess famous is relative.  I mean, they had to win a tournament, do really well in a major or be top 50 in the world.

[otw]

Years ago I worked for Lifetime PGA member Paul Bertholy. He wrote for GolfWold  and later for Golf Magazine.  During one of his schools a guy drives up and joins the school. Paul had him hit irons at various targets ,his shots never left whichever target asked to hit.  Paul had introduced him as a Canadian pro.  Paul had him play 9 with me. That was the day I saw what elite ball striking was.  My playing companion for the 9 holes  Moe Norman

[orr444]

On 11/16/2024 at 5:01 PM, otw said:

Years ago I worked for Lifetime PGA member Paul Bertholy. He wrote for GolfWold  and later for Golf Magazine.  During one of his schools a guy drives up and joins the school. Paul had him hit irons at various targets ,his shots never left whichever target asked to hit.  Paul had introduced him as a Canadian pro.  Paul had him play 9 with me. That was the day I saw what elite ball striking was.  My playing companion for the 9 holes  Moe Norman

Wow, that would be something

[doctorgriffo]

Played golf on my honeymoon in Maui - wife went to the spa and I went to the golf course. I was paired with another single on the Emerald course at Wailea on a very rainy day  - he was running late so I teed off alone and he rocked up, soaking wet, on the 3rd tee. The rain had stopped by then, and we had a great round together. He was on holiday from Chicago with his family, and on his way to the course he came across a woman on her own with a blown out tire. He had pulled over, fixed it for her in the downpour, and this was why he was late. 
Having a beer together after the round, my wife comes into the bar to pick me up in the hire car and she greets my playing partner like an old friend - it was her he had stopped for. It restored my faith in humanity for a couple of days.

 

Edited December 16, 2024 by doctorgriffo

[Chanceman]

4 hours ago, doctorgriffo said:

Played golf on my honeymoon in Maui - wife went to the spa and I went to the golf course. I was paired with another single on the Emerald course at Wailea on a very rainy day  - he was running late so I teed off alone and he rocked up, soaking wet, on the 3rd tee. The rain had stopped by then, and we had a great round together. He was on holiday from Chicago with his family, and on his way to the course he came across a woman on her own with a blown out tire. He had pulled over, fixed it for her in the downpour, and this was why he was late. 
Having a beer together after the round, my wife comes into the bar to pick me up in the hire car and she greets my playing partner like an old friend - it was her he had stopped for. It restored my faith in humanity for a couple of days.

 

Ah very good. Thanks.