How important are playing partners?

Grey Fox

Hey everyone,

I have heard and read that it's very beneficial to play with golfers who are better than yourself as their good habits etc. will rub off and ultimately benefit your own game. At the moment I am playing off 13, with the plan to get to 10 within 2 months and 8 sometime next year. However the guys I currently play with 95% of the time are quite a bit worse than I am. One of them is a real pain in the ass to play with as he has no idea of basic rules or etiquette.

I don't look down on high handicappers or anything like that but I am very ambitious to improve and was wondering if anyone here thinks this is a big factor in stalling improvement?

I played 9 holes with a 6 handicapper a few weeks ago and was really surprised how well I played in his company and it kind of got me thinking what difference it would make to play with guys at his level in competitive rounds week after week.

Anyone here in a similar situation? Or what do ye think?

soundsham

Grey Fox wrote: »

Hey everyone,

I have heard and read that it's very beneficial to play with golfers who are better than yourself as their good habits etc. will rub off and ultimately benefit your own game. At the moment I am playing off 13, with the plan to get to 10 within 2 months and 8 sometime next year. However the guys I currently play with 95% of the time are quite a bit worse than I am. One of them is a real pain in the ass to play with as he has no idea of basic rules or etiquette.

I don't look down on high handicappers or anything like that but I am very ambitious to improve and was wondering if anyone here thinks this is a big factor in stalling improvement?

I played 9 holes with a 6 handicapper a few weeks ago and was really surprised how well I played in his company and it kind of got me thinking what difference it would make to play with guys at his level in competitive rounds week after week.

Anyone here in a similar situation? Or what do ye think?

nice of you not to look down on high handicappers............


by the way what makes you think your not a high handicapper??

Tom Ghostwood

As a teenager I used to play with all the really low handicappers in my club (im 26 yrs old now & just back playing after a 9 year hiatus) It was so beneficial & really helped me develop the basics very early on. Dropped from 18 to 8 in two seasons. Playing with consistently bad golfers isnt much fun.

SuprSi

I was wondering this myself today. I play off 6 and rarely have the fortune of playing with someone lower than me because I don't know who they are in the club. I have played with plenty of people of higher handicaps, including a guy off 28 +9 last Saturday, which eventually got the better of me.

I'd say it's definitely a good idea to play with those that you aspire to be as good as, as often as possible.

Tom Ghostwood

I didnt really know any of the guys either, I just looked at the members handicap list & stalked the time sheet of a saturday. There would usually be a space beside a few of the really good guys. Good way to get to know different people too instead of playing in the same fourball every other week.

Grey Fox

Good idea about the timesheet Tom, must try that.

PhilipMarlowe

It's always good for your game to play with others that are better than you, but not necessarily someone way better... I wouldn't learn much from playing with Tiger other than I suck but put me out with a scratch guy and there would be loads to learn because at least we'd be talking the same language to some extent.
Playing with someone that gets on your wick is never easy but you can't always choose your playing partners and you need to be able to insulate yourself against these kinds of situations for days when you are drawn to play with someone annoying (regardless of their ability).
For regular weekend competitions it's more important to play with people whose company you enjoy IMO.

conman

defo better to play with better players if you are looking to improve.
its puts you in a situation where you have to concentrate more to compete,
and plus you can learn a thing or 2 from their gameplay and get tips and so on.

jonas7

Its never nice to watch someone hack their way through eighteen holes but then again playing with someone who goes around sinking birdie after birdie can be a bit demoralising too.But personally i think playing with better players does usually raise your game,the game seems that bit easier when those around you are hitting the ball well.When someone is topping the ball or catching it fat time after time it can get into your mindset. I play off 14(hardly gonna be putting on a green jacket anytime soon i know:rolleyes:) and i would always prefer going out with someone a few shots lower than me.Its good to try and learn from them and its also nice to try and match or beat their score without handicaps.

Mister Sifter

Interesting question. Personally i think who you play with can be hugely important. In competition i prefer to play with people preferably better than me, in and around the same level as me or at least with an appreciation of the level your playing at.

It can be quite irritating hearing someone fawning over what they deem to be great shots, but that to you are pretty average/disappointing. Even more annoying when partners start concentrating on your score more than their own and it's like playing golf with Peter Allis sitting on your shoulder.

Webbs

Surely it depends on what you are looking for.
Sometimes its a social afternoon game so doesnt matter who your playing with. You can play with a 16 h'cap like myself who tee to green would compete with and equal a much lower handicapper, but leak shots around the green with the odd mistake and not great putting. Is that sort of person so bad to play with?

On the flip side I have played with low handicappers who just take it far too seriously for a non competition round as they like the rest of us can have a bad round and its no fun having someone huffing and puffing after every slight mishhit.

Woodgate

All the comments are interesting. My own view is that I play for the enjoyment of the game, the lads I play with are great and we have seriously great fun playing, slagging each other, etc... but never putting someone off as they are taking a shot or anything like that. I play off 5 and the rest of the lads would be 4, 7, 10, 10, 14 & two 16's. All of us have won things, I think by having a more relaxed attitude. We know when someone is doing well but don't say it to them. All the games are played for a coffee or a fiver and of course bragging rights for the next week or so. Equally I have no problem playing with people I don't know in any competition either, it does no harm to play with different people aswell.

Grey Fox

I played with the pain in the ass guy today and he is not that bad really, I just tend to blame him when I am angry and playing badly myself! I'm sure a mentally strong person can play great and improve no matter what their playing partners are like. Suppose I better work on that part of the game. Agree about playing with people who's company you enjoy, nothing worse than playing with a good golfer who's a total spanner. Played with such a guy earlier on in the year, spent the whole round telling us how great he was playing then when I beat him in the end he tells me he should have won pulling up!!!

GreeBo

Licksy wrote: »

Playing with someone that gets on your wick is never easy but you can't always choose your playing partners and you need to be able to insulate yourself against these kinds of situations for days when you are drawn to play with someone annoying (regardless of their ability).
For regular weekend competitions it's more important to play with people whose company you enjoy IMO.

+1
I play with typically the same 2 fellas most weeks though most of the time 1 of them will be away so we get an "unknown" 3rd. Usually the 3rd is of a higher handicap than the rest of us as the really low guys tend to play amongst themselves.

In the last year I have vastly improved my concentration to the point where how someone else is playing doesnt really affect me. I will also tell someone if they are doing something that is putting me off, etc, but its largely never an issue.

Its good for your game to play with lower guys but its also good for your game to get used to playing with people who play a totally different game and may be distracting to you. You never know who you will get drawn with in something important...

f22

I tend to always play singles with a group of mates that are all off 5 or less, it's a combination of their ability to play and being able to have a bit of craic too.

Fourball is an open book really, I always favour playing singles comps but the underlying objective is to play with people I am comfortable with, don't take themselves too seriously, keep the toys in the pram and people you can have some decent chat and a giggle with.

4 hours is far too long to spend in any melters presence, whatever their handicap.

Kevinmarkham

BTW, Grey Fox, just remember that when you achieve your goal and get down to 10 or 8, you'll have higher handicappers wanting to play with you, hoping you'll inspire their game. That's the way the world works!

As Licksy says, you can't always choose your playing partners, but over time you'll find the people you do (and don't) want to play with at your club. For me it has nothing to do with their handicap - just how well you get on with them. If they happen to be a great golfer, then so much the better.

I played with a 2 handicapper once who decided he was going to change my swing (I was off 9 at the time) and kept showing me what I was doing wrong. I figured out what I was doing wrong pretty quickly - playing with him!