Golf things that annoy you

callaway92

To get easy ones out of the way:

Playing poorly
Bad weather
Slow play/people being blatant and not leaving you through when it would make sense to
Rude playing partners

Inspiration for the thread for me though:

Clubs not having fixture lists on their websites/social media etc. There was a medal comp in my home club last weekend and I wasn’t aware. Friend only copped it when up there

Similarly, competition results not being posted on coin website/social media. Again, very annoying

One more then (noticed at Charleville where I’m not a member):

Lack of signage to where next tee box is
Lack of info on tee box - Stroke index of hole and distance (don’t always use the watch)

OEP

Clubs/people getting too hung up on dress code

rickis tache

Losing pro v 1s but only finding ultras.

callaway92

OEP wrote: »

Clubs/people getting too hung up on dress code

Jesus actually ya that reminds me when I was a Junior there were certain members that were genuinely ignorant for the sake of it. Pretty rotten experience at times.

OEP

callaway92 wrote: »

Jesus actually ya that reminds me when I was a Junior there were certain members that were genuinely ignorant for the sake of it. Pretty rotten experience at times.

I was at a junior open at another course and was told to put rain pants over my jeans or I couldn't play. It wasn't a fancy course either.

downwesht

Cheats,handicap minders and slow players.

finglashoop

slow play

chronogolf app

redzerdrog

I have an irrational dislike for people using range finders. In my experience most users are extremely slow and then when they dont have line of sight they walking out to the fairway and then zapping. Be easier to just look at the 150yard market that they standing beside

The Aul Switcharoo

Too many things to list obviously. Still play it. It seems I like to torture myself

Grey Fox

Playing partners who say good shot no matter where the ball ends up.

bustercherry

People who make no effort whatsoever and moan about dress codes. I’d be fairly relaxed about most stuff but Jeans and rugby/GAA jerseys have no place of a golf course.

McSween

Those who take it too seriously. They seem sound until they step onto the course.

Finlay Harp

Club councils that run the club like part of North Korea and wonder why nobody wants to join the committee.

OEP

bustercherry wrote: »

People who make no effort whatsoever and moan about dress codes. I’d be fairly relaxed about most stuff but Jeans and rugby/GAA jerseys have no place of a golf course.

Calling a 13 year old out on wearing jeans is a bit much in my opinion. The pros are wearing hoodies now

bustercherry

OEP wrote: »

Calling a 13 year old out on wearing jeans is a bit much in my opinion. The pros are wearing hoodies now

Hoodies are sports gear and golf hoodies have been around for years. Jeans are not.

It wasn’t aimed at your post but tbf you were 13. Should not have known better?

Snotty

Members calling young players who are only starting out bandits, especially last year when a load of young fellas were playing every day but with no comps so when the comps came back there was a load of 45-48 points.
I kept saying that nobody putting in 45 points in a midweek comp is a bandit but there's no talking to some of them, one young fella at my old club took it pretty bad, got a load of abuse on the clubs Facebook page and never went back to golf, real pity as all he did was put in his honest score.

Redjacketboy

I'm a huge fan of golf but I don't think I'll ever get past the gear, it's so terrible!

Most other sports have great gear at this point, hockey, running, tannis all lovely. Golf gear just needs to get better.

People who use rangefinders slowing up the game, then inevitably making a mess of it.

Redjacketboy

Redjacketboy wrote: »

I'm a huge fan of golf but I don't think I'll ever get past the gear, it's so terrible!

Most other sports have great gear at this point, hockey, running, tannis all lovely. Golf gear just needs to get better.

People who use rangefinders slowing up the game, then inevitably making a mess of it.

To be fair, you can buy some really nice golf gear, unfortunately it just doesn’t look really nice on me.

redzerdrog

I love the golf gear. Some quality stuff available at the minute

Deeper Blue

Lads who get so angry on the course that it makes you uncomfortable

Lads that give up halfway through a round when they're not playing well and sulk and/or take the piss the rest of the way. I once played with a lad that had a few bad holes so he started putting and chipping with his driver for the remaining 8 holes. In the same round he threw one of his clubs up a tree so myself and the other guy playing with us had to help him get it down. It took a good 5 minutes. Clown.

Sir montygom

People that tee up ball very close to the line ... with some tee markers it’s hard to see if it’s ahead of the line .... some players just look at one of the makers in front of them and ignore the one behind... I do not like having to ask players to step back a little....but it gets in my head and I have to... I always tee it up a foot or two behind the line .

jcon1913

Players who expect anyone ahead of them to let them play through. So what if someone takes a few minutes to play a hole. It’s not Augusta and you’re not McIlroy so get a life

Xander10

Sir montygom wrote: »

People that tee up ball very close to the line ... with some tee markers it’s hard to see if it’s ahead of the line .... some players just look at one of the makers in front of them and ignore the one behind... I do not like having to ask players to step back a little....but it gets in my head and I have to... I always tee it up a foot or two behind the line .

That's one thing I won't get bothered about. It won't make much difference on a 400 yard hole etc

Wichita Lineman

Lists about things that annoy people golfing when we should be just delighted to play again after all the lock downs.

charlesanto

People playing worse than they can to protect their handicap.
This is the reason i quit the game.

Motivator

The worst for me is playing in a competition and someone spots a rule infringement and doesn’t say anything at the time but waits until the end of the round to bring it up. One particular incident I’ll always remember was a Sunday competition where one guy asked the other that we were playing with to move his marker one putter head either side. He did so, the guy putted and hit it 6 feet past. He took another 3 putts and then took the flag off the other guy while he put down his ball and took his marker up. He saw what happened and said nothing. He waited until the cards were being signed after the round and brought it up in the most sneaky and condescending way possible. “That’s not your score. Think about why it isn’t”. The poor fella nearly died when he said he never moved his marker back to its original spot. He saw it at the time and never said a word.

thecomedian

Motivator wrote: »

The worst for me is playing in a competition and someone spots a rule infringement and doesn’t say anything at the time but waits until the end of the round to bring it up. One particular incident I’ll always remember was a Sunday competition where one guy asked the other that we were playing with to move his marker one putter head either side. He did so, the guy putted and hit it 6 feet past. He took another 3 putts and then took the flag off the other guy while he put down his ball and took his marker up. He saw what happened and said nothing. He waited until the cards were being signed after the round and brought it up in the most sneaky and condescending way possible. “That’s not your score. Think about why it isn’t”. The poor fella nearly died when he said he never moved his marker back to its original spot. He saw it at the time and never said a word.

I’m angry after reading that, what a complete dick.

tropics001

thecomedian wrote: »

I’m angry after reading that, what a complete dick.

yep. i feel like guys that act like that will get the karma they deserve eventually though.

tropics001

jcon1913 wrote: »

Players who expect anyone ahead of them to let them play through. So what if someone takes a few minutes to play a hole. It’s not Augusta and you’re not McIlroy so get a life

nothing wrong with taking a few minutes to play a hole. if it's getting to the point where people playing through upsets you, why not just let them through, then relax and enjoy your round?

OEP

bustercherry wrote: »

Hoodies are sports gear and golf hoodies have been around for years. Jeans are not.

It wasn’t aimed at your post but tbf you were 13. Should not have known better?

I know it wasn't aimed at me. I didn't have any golf trousers at the time.

Tracksuit pants are sports gear too but you're not supposed to wear them either. I could understand it for competitions but for casual rounds I don't see the need. It puts people off the game and especially for kids who cares. I personally prefer to wear the clothes now but I see people giving out about kids or young teenagers who are not wearing the proper clothes and I just think they should get over it.

6o9fv7jpreb180

People who get angry after a poor shot... there's a reason you play off (insert handicap here)!!

prawnsambo

tropics001 wrote: »

nothing wrong with taking a few minutes to play a hole. if it's getting to the point where people playing through upsets you, why not just let them through, then relax and enjoy your round?

The problem is when it's marginal. Your pace of play is good and then one of your group loses a drive and has to take a provisional, look for the original and then play either that (if found) or the provo. Roughly five minutes lost, but the group behind instantly believe that you have to let them through, despite the fact that there are groups behind them and letting them through will only slow the whole thing down more. Had a situation like that this year and the group behind hit a ball over us and then (even though we'd got a good gap going) did it again six holes later.

blue note

People getting annoyed by the pace of play when it's fine. If you head out on a Sunday and can only spend 4 hours on the golf course you don't have time for 18. For 4balls that's roughly what 18 holes will take on a good day. You'll rarely get around in less than that in 4 balls and with bad conditions or a lunchtime tee time it could be closer to 4 and a half without people taking the p1ss. Playing with someone who moans for 18 holes about the pace of play is simply unpleasant.

And to take that up a notch - what's even worse is when they decide to go on a crusade and try to speed up the whole course. So the blockage is a few holes ahead, but they make sure to play speed golf so that they're up the holes of the group ahead of them. What's the point of racing so that you can get to the next tee to see the group ahead wait to tee off? I've played in front of these people and with them and they're ar$eholes. They don't even say anything when they get to the next tee other than have a quick pop at the group causing the blockage. What's the point in racing for that? The only result of it is you spend more time in your round waiting on tee boxes.

And faffing on a course. I wouldn't just say slow play, because beginners and a lot of older golfers will be a bit slow by virtue of the fact that they'll have to take an extra 20 shots and be in trouble more often, or because they move slower. But someone with a long pre shot routine can be head wrecking. Or someone who still isn't ready to hit on a tee when they're hitting 4th. Or someone who finishes a story before hitting. Please, just tell me when we're walking off the tee box. I'll enjoy it then, but if you tell me when you should be hitting all I'll be thinking about is that you should be hitting.

blackbox

The 95% handicap rule for singles.

DuckSlice

blue note wrote: »

Or someone who finishes a story before hitting.

Or people who have to finish a story or just talking about something and not stopping while someone else is taking a shot, that really annoys me. The story can wait 20 seconds!

People obsessed with being finished in under 4 hours.

People that are waiting to putt, but wont put their ball down on the green until the other ball is finished rolling. If I'm waiting on someone to put as soon as they hit the ball i will put my ball down ready to go, unless they are putting on the same line as me.

Handicap cheats.

The ridiculous price of lithium batteries.

prawnsambo

blackbox wrote: »

The 95% handicap rule for singles.

There's a good reason for that.

CorkBoyInDub

When you hit a good drive down the centre of the fairway only to land in an unrepaired divot.

srfc d16

prawnsambo wrote: »

There's a good reason for that.

I don't want to take this off topic but what is the reason?
I don't really understand the reasoning behind the different percentages.

On topic.
People taking too many practice swings annoys me far more than it should.
I also dislike people who insist on playing in a certain order with honor etc. instead of ready golf

Ivefoundgod

As someone returning to the game after not being a member for years I've just been happy enough to get back out there playing but one thing that is annoying though is the club not being clear about what I need to do to get a handicap. I've been told 3 different things by club staff and other members have told me different things as well. Its confusing and if I was really new to the game I'd probably find it more off-putting. Wish there was just a set of rules from Golf Ireland and that's it but it seems like clubs have their own interpretations too.

Some members attitudes to new members isn't great. Played with a couple of strangers for 9 holes, told them at the start I didn't know what my handicap was. One lad badgered me for a good few minutes saying 'ah you'd have a fair idea of your level' etc. but I genuinely don't. I used to be ok but that was 10+ years ago. I'm not really that bothered by my handicap this year though I'm aiming to be low double digits once it settles down, just want to be able to play in comps and enjoy 18 holes without worrying about it. Throughout the round he commented on my playing level, maybe it was just me but it sounded like he was insinuating that I was a bit of a bandit. I played well that round but have been shocking other times I've played. On the 9th hole the lad says to me something along the lines of 'looking forward to seeing you in the competitions when you've your handicap, hopefully it won't be much of a one based off today'. No idea what that meant but hoping I'm never paired with him again.

Other lad was sound out though and just happy to chat on the way around and to be fair that has mostly been my experience.

More broadly, golf is an intimidating hobby to try pick up later in life. Theres so many unwritten rules/etiquette that seasoned players just expect new people to know and can be rude in informing new people. Clubs should do a lot more than take the subs and send out a letter with the GUI card and then leave people to it. If I was new to the game I would probably have given up at this stage as you're given no welcome or guidance on how to get a tee time/handicap/playing partners etc. That sort of thing needs to be improved.

youcancallmeal

Most of my golf complaints are with the way my club is run by older people in a cliquey way. Other than that the main thing is angry golfers. I used to be like this myself when I got into golf properly a few years ago, cursing, banging clubs on the ground, muttering about a bad hole for a few holes afterwards etc. Then one day I was playing with a guy who put me to shame with his anger and I realised how uncomfortable I felt and was embarrassed for him. Ever since I completely changed my approach to mistakes, laugh it off, joke about it, concentrate on salvaging something from the hole even if it's 1 point.

newport2

People who won't stay quiet when someone else is taking a shot. Or even more annoying, thinking that whispering when 8 feet away from a person who is about to start their backswing isn't going to distract them. Anything else I can live with, just STFU when I'm taking my shot and we'll get on fine. Rant over.

artanevilla

Slow play.

Grey Fox

People

jcon1913

tropics001 wrote: »

nothing wrong with taking a few minutes to play a hole. if it's getting to the point where people playing through upsets you, why not just let them through, then relax and enjoy your round?

Well I was never at Augusta and never played on the same course as McIlroy so why can’t everyone just take a few minutes and chill.

it’s golf. If you want to play quickly go out when nobody else is on the course like on a Monday

Pdoghue

Love this thread!

I remember a few years ago playing with a high handicapper and he used to whip out the rangefinder on nearly every shot, even down to 20 yards from the green. Used to drive me mad!

What I find funny is the oul lads who used to give out when GPS devices came out - now they're all using them of course, but sometimes it takes an age for them to figure out their distance, plenty of fustering is what goes on.

Another thing that annoys me is when my playing partners walk off the green after putting out, but before I've finished. Just because the pros do it doesn't make it right - poor etiquette.

boardise

Finlay Harp wrote: »

Club councils that run the club like part of North Korea and wonder why nobody wants to join the committee.

This phenomenon probably not unique to golf tbf.

tropics001

jcon1913 wrote: »

Well I was never at Augusta

i went to watch a practice round in 2018, beautiful spot. still waiting for the invite to come back with my clubs!

Dtoffee

Motivator wrote: »

The worst for me is playing in a competition and someone spots a rule infringement and doesn’t say anything at the time but waits until the end of the round to bring it up. One particular incident I’ll always remember was a Sunday competition where one guy asked the other that we were playing with to move his marker one putter head either side. He did so, the guy putted and hit it 6 feet past. He took another 3 putts and then took the flag off the other guy while he put down his ball and took his marker up. He saw what happened and said nothing. He waited until the cards were being signed after the round and brought it up in the most sneaky and condescending way possible. “That’s not your score. Think about why it isn’t”. The poor fella nearly died when he said he never moved his marker back to its original spot. He saw it at the time and never said a word.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think you are obliged to call a foul on the spot if you see it ......... playing on whilst knowing of an infringment is breaking the rules. Legend is, that in a team game, player A witnessed his opponent break the rules, but as he was ahead and obviously going to win the game he said nothing. His team won and his match was the key game, then during the dinner mentioned it to his opponent by way of 'for future reference'. The next day the losing team successfully appealed the result as player A had broken the rules of the game by knowingly not calling a foul. I'm sure some of the more knowledgable golfers on here could clarify this point.

callaway92

Dtoffee wrote: »

Legend is, that in a team game, player A witnessed his opponent break the rules, but as he was ahead and obviously going to win the game he said nothing. His team won and his match was the key game, then during the dinner mentioned it to his opponent by way of 'for future reference'. The next day the losing team successfully appealed the result as player A had broken the rules of the game by knowingly not calling a foul. I'm sure some of the more knowledgable golfers on here could clarify this point.

That can't be true surely. Would be too much of a case of 'your word against mine'...

'Uhmmm..I didn't say that' would suffice.

thewobbler

I would agree with the posters who get irked by people who get frustrated by 4 hour rounds at the weekend. Same people are sure to drive alone in a giant SUV at rush hour each morning and evening, complaining bitterly about why everyone else to be driving.

But, that said, my pet hate in golf is slow groups of players booking up the early weekend slots. They essentially dictate the pace for the rest of the day. It’s just selfish.

DuckSlice

Dtoffee wrote: »

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think you are obliged to call a foul on the spot if you see it ......... playing on whilst knowing of an infringment is breaking the rules. Legend is, that in a team game, player A witnessed his opponent break the rules, but as he was ahead and obviously going to win the game he said nothing. His team won and his match was the key game, then during the dinner mentioned it to his opponent by way of 'for future reference'. The next day the losing team successfully appealed the result as player A had broken the rules of the game by knowingly not calling a foul. I'm sure some of the more knowledgable golfers on here could clarify this point.

In Matchplay you can ignore a rule infringement, so if I was playing someone and they put the ball back down an inch ahead of where it should be on the putting green i can ignore this and that is no issue, i don't need to announce I'm ignoring it. You can't agree to ignore a rule though prior to a round or the rule breach happening.

Rule 1.3b

Your story doesn't sound right to me, unless I'm reading it wrong.