Your most unpopular Golf opinions?

[mshills]

11 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

 

True. And things are at their worst when it's cart path only. 

 

You'll cringe but I have a golf friend I rarely play with but when it's CPO he'll walk entirely across the fairway to scope the distance, then come back to the cart to get the correct club. Drives everyone nuts.

CPO is the worst. I’m not a militant walker…I’ll take a cart when my body is not up to walking, and I don’t judge anyone on how they choose to play. But, if it’s CPO and I’m not permitted to walk the course, forget it. I’ll find something else to do.

[Chunkitgood]

On 12/29/2024 at 10:17 AM, Scottder1100 said:

"Take lessons" or "get a club fitting" as advice for people who only just started to golf is actually terrible advice. What they need to do is buy a used set of game improvement irons from Marketplace with a stiff shaft and go to the range and hit 5,000 balls while watching YouTube videos and making swing adjustments to improve. 

 

A fitting is absolutely useless if you don't have some kind of a repeatable and consistent swing, and in lessons you really have to give them a baseline to work with and adjust from, otherwise you're just throwing your money away having them show you very slight adjustments you can make yourself.

 

With that being said I've only been playing for a year and 3 months, I build and reshaft all my own clubs, and I'm down to a 12 handicap because I'm a member at a local Par 3 with Stadium lights so I'm playing all the time and that's basically what I did to get where I'm at.

 

I'll be thinking about a fitting or lessons when I'm sniffing single digit I think. 

This is exactly the kind of advice that will result in a well grooved loft adding arm swing with poor body motion.

 

The point of the advice to “get lessons” was not to pay some pro but to learn to swing properly before going on the course.

 

So my unpopular opinion is you cannot turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse, or a typical 10 capper’s (or even lower) swing into a proper swing by “perfecting” it.  You need to change it radically.

 

From what I see a lot of people giving lessons are not even trying to teach a proper swing, possibly having concluded the student is not really interested in doing or paying what it takes to learn one.

 

That being said, I agree that the radical changes on the amateur beginner level can probably be made rapidly, with the right teacher or the right commitment from the student who is willing to be responsible for learning what a proper swing is.   I can see teaching school  kids is probably quite different from teaching adults who seem to want a teacher to sort of pour the skill into them without them working for it.  Kids learn in a completely different way, that can be considered easier, but they can easily learn to do things wrong as well.  I’ve played a lot of golf with guys with single digit caps who learned basically poor technique on the course as kids and are always looking for that magic fix to make them “consistent” when in fact they are already consistent but just have poor body mechanics.

 

My observation is that golf learning is like a branching path: most take the loft adding path, and hope to somehow get onto the delofting path with a few lessons to “fix flaws,” usually something to do with their hands or arms, when in fact they need to go back and start over.

[Yacho]

On 1/7/2025 at 5:53 AM, IndyArcher said:

If it can be smelled or heard by others outside your group, it doesn’t belong on the course! 

 

Hey man, that breakfast burrito gonna do what that breakfast burrito gonna do...

[IndyArcher]

1 minute ago, Yacho said:

 

Hey man, that breakfast burrito gonna do what that breakfast burrito gonna do...

 

 

I only fear that if I can smell the results of your burrito on another hole, you may need to go change! 

[Warrior42111]

41 minutes ago, IndyArcher said:

 

 

I only fear that if I can smell the results of your burrito on another hole, you may need to go change! 

can help judge wind direction based on playing partner reactions.

 

Also, in a tight match leaving one on the tee box on green can help

[gunni]

Golf Etiquette for me. Never fails for some reason, on the tee box getting ready to hit and two guys decide to have a chat! Stone quiet when the tee off. Talk in the fairway, walking off the green!  
 

[Double Mocha Man]

43 minutes ago, gunni said:

Golf Etiquette for me. Never fails for some reason, on the tee box getting ready to hit and two guys decide to have a chat! Stone quiet when the tee off. Talk in the fairway, walking off the green!  
 

 

Don't be so sensitive. Join in the conversation during your backswing. I'm only half kidding, I have a golfing friend who not only listens during his golf swing but also converses.

[IndyArcher]

7 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

 

Don't be so sensitive. Join in the conversation during your backswing. I'm only half kidding, I have a golfing friend who not only listens during his golf swing but also converses.

Quite honestly a slight diversion can help me not over-think. Loud music, etc, is a totally different thing. 

[Double Mocha Man]

17 minutes ago, IndyArcher said:

Quite honestly a slight diversion can help me not over-think. Loud music, etc, is a totally different thing. 

 

I'm with you on the loud music.  Unless, of course, it's Beethoven's 7th Symphony, Final Movement.

[Warrior42111]

35 minutes ago, IndyArcher said:

Quite honestly a slight diversion can help me not over-think. Loud music, etc, is a totally different thing. 

Just to be that guy, define loud.

 

time to exit this chat haha

[Double Mocha Man]

13 minutes ago, Warrior42111 said:

Just to be that guy, define loud.

 

time to exit this chat haha

I'll let IndyArcher share his own opinion with you.  But for most golfers "loud" has to do with volume and artist.

[TiScape]

37 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

 

Final Movement.

Are we still talking about the final act of that breakfast burrito? 🌯 💩 

[IndyArcher]

1 hour ago, Warrior42111 said:

Just to be that guy, define loud.

 

time to exit this chat haha

For me, it goes to my other unpopular opinion: if it can be smelled or heard outside of your group, it doesn't belong on the course. Isn’t that what started this whole thing, LOL???

[Wooley12]

I keep suggesting to my weekly playing partner that, given our age and health issues, an 18 hole round should include a leisurely lunch at the turn followed be a short nap before going to the 10th tee. One can dream. 

 

I make Trevino blush I talk so much on the course. Radios, mowers, talkers and even stogie smokers can't get through my focus. The ADHD helps. 

[MrParr1Noid]

On 9/24/2019 at 6:51 AM, Ty_Webb said:

Blades might make you play worse right now, but in the long run, they'll make you play better.

I think I agree with more than half the comments above...

 

What about the other half?  😁

[MrParr1Noid]

1 hour ago, Wooley12 said:

I keep suggesting to my weekly playing partner that, given our age and health issues, an 18 hole round should include a leisurely lunch at the turn followed be a short nap before going to the 10th tee. One can dream. 

 

I make Trevino blush I talk so much on the course. Radios, mowers, talkers and even stogie smokers can't get through my focus. The ADHD helps. 

 

What did you say?   I can't hear you.   And attention span?   Oh never mind.  😁

[Greenie]

11 hours ago, gunni said:

Golf Etiquette for me. Never fails for some reason, on the tee box getting ready to hit and two guys decide to have a chat! Stone quiet when the tee off. Talk in the fairway, walking off the green!  
 

 

I know what you mean. I play with a guy like that. He is always talking about something or telling jokes on the tee box. I'll wait for him to finish. I like it when he says we don't have all day are you going to tee off? I'll reply just waiting for you to shut up. Then he will say something like guys we must be playing with a pro.

 

If anyone happens to be talking when he is teeing off he will say I need quite please. 

[Ty_Webb]

11 hours ago, MrParr1Noid said:

 

What about the other half?  😁

They meet the thread title 🙂

[betarhoalphadelta]

My unpopular opinion? Slow play isn't THAT prevalent. 

 

I play on weekends. In the mornings. In Southern California--Orange County specifically. On public golf courses. Where tee sheets have been packed to the gills since 2020. 

 

I play a course that's par-59, 3670 yards, and filled with hacks [like me]. 13 of 18 holes are par 3s and half the golfers are short of the green on basically every single hole. Par 59 and many golfers are shooting in the 80s and 90s. Guess what? Rarely longer than 3:45 on a weekend morning. 

 

I play [albeit rarely] a regulation course geared toward lower cost and higher handicaps, and the round hovers between 4 and maybe 4:20.

 

I play another course that's regulation, and at least is SOMEWHAT attracting slightly better golfers due to price. However, it's still not full of single digit cappers. And it's much more penal, with a fair amount of OB and really tricky greens. Typical time around--again on a weekend morning--is 4:15. 

 

The only "slow" course I play on is a bit of a mickey mouse track that simultaneously attracts bad golfers (due to the low cost) and deters better golfer (because it's a crazy layout), and it's typically 4:30. It was egregiously slow last weekend when I played on a Saturday morning, and when I looked down at my watch as we walked off 18 it was 4:40. 

 

I don't know where you all are seeing 5:30-6 hour rounds. Where I live, and play, is the sort of place where that would seeming be the norm... It's crowded public courses. On weekends. With average to low skilled golfers. And yet I can't even recall a single round going over 5 hours in the last ~4+ years of golf. And only VERY rarely past 4:30, and that's only on one course.

 

[Double Mocha Man]

1 hour ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

I don't know where you all are seeing 5:30-6 hour rounds

 

On the PGA Tour.

[betarhoalphadelta]

20 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

 

On the PGA Tour.

 

It was the Farmer's discussion that prompted me to post here, as a bunch of people were saying slow rounds on the PGA Tour lead to slow rounds on our courses. If that's the case, I'm not seeing it where I live. 

 

I don't care about slow rounds on the PGA Tour. As was hashed out in that thread (and nearly every other thread where it's complained about), the broadcast flips between golfers so ultimately if their round takes longer, it doesn't really negatively impact me as a viewer all that much. It would only be a problem if I was limited to "featured groups" coverage and thus I had to sit and watch them wait. 

 

I'd only care about slow rounds on the PGA Tour if I was stuck on the course behind them. 

[Double Mocha Man]

5 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

It was the Farmer's discussion that prompted me to post here, as a bunch of people were saying slow rounds on the PGA Tour lead to slow rounds on our courses. If that's the case, I'm not seeing it where I live. 

 

I don't care about slow rounds on the PGA Tour. As was hashed out in that thread (and nearly every other thread where it's complained about), the broadcast flips between golfers so ultimately if their round takes longer, it doesn't really negatively impact me as a viewer all that much. It would only be a problem if I was limited to "featured groups" coverage and thus I had to sit and watch them wait. 

 

I'd only care about slow rounds on the PGA Tour if I was stuck on the course behind them. 

 

Every once in awhile, in a major tournament, the Opens or the Masters, I like to watch the final group tee off and see the winner putt out on the final hole.  That's a lotta TV being a one-hour-a-day TV guy.

[gunni]

Some friends and I at Pinehurst blame policy!  Starters tell Members and Guests alike that they want a 4 1/2 hour pace of play. They really should say 4hrs in my opinion knowing it won’t happen. From early Spring through mid November expect 5+ hours!  I had a 5hr 50min round last year.  High temps and humidity slow people down. 
So I get that 1st timers are excited and nervous to play #2, and the occasional groups that play the tips slow the pace of play but….the biggest challenge for Guests more so is that many are playing 36 holes a day. So pace of play is key for them so their not late for the 2nd round.

By the way, if you’re playing #2, #4 or #8 and your 2nd round is #10 there’s a high risk you woo miss your start time on #10. With afternoon traffic getting to #10 from the Main Club can take 15min or more so plan your trip well.

[Argonne69]

Lol. Courses that have restrooms/locker rooms with the toilets more than 10 feet away from the door should be required to paint a big red line with arrows on the floor leading to them.

 

'Really had to go yesterday morning after a 45 minute drive to the course. Walk briskly into the locker room and it's beautiful. Lockers. Comfy chairs. TVs. Showers. Where on earth are the toilets? Felt like Harry Potter in the Triwizard Maze. Barely made it. Whew.

 

[caniac6]

On 1/30/2025 at 8:05 PM, gunni said:

Some friends and I at Pinehurst blame policy!  Starters tell Members and Guests alike that they want a 4 1/2 hour pace of play. They really should say 4hrs in my opinion knowing it won’t happen. From early Spring through mid November expect 5+ hours!  I had a 5hr 50min round last year.  High temps and humidity slow people down. 
So I get that 1st timers are excited and nervous to play #2, and the occasional groups that play the tips slow the pace of play but….the biggest challenge for Guests more so is that many are playing 36 holes a day. So pace of play is key for them so their not late for the 2nd round.

By the way, if you’re playing #2, #4 or #8 and your 2nd round is #10 there’s a high risk you woo miss your start time on #10. With afternoon traffic getting to #10 from the Main Club can take 15min or more so plan your trip well.

Thanks for this. We have considered Pinehurst as a possible retirement destination, but I can’t stand slow play. A 4 hour round seems like a slow round to me. I would quit playing if I played somewhere where 5 hour rounds were common.

[AThompson_3]

I’ve been holding on to this take for a while, but spikeless golf shoes are not more comfortable (assuming they are a similar style golf shoes) and manufacturers have leaned heavily in to spikeless in an effort to sell you more shoes. I absolutely love the way some of the new traditional style Pumas look and feel, but they can go to hell for not putting removable spikes in them. 

Edited February 8 by AThompson_3

[Double Mocha Man]

19 minutes ago, AThompson_3 said:

I’ve been holding on to this take for a while, but anyone but spikeless golf shoes are not more comfortable (assuming they are a similar style golf shoes) and manufacturers have leaned heavily in to spikeless in an effort to sell you more shoes. I absolutely love the way some of the new traditional style Pumas look and feel, but they can go to hell for not putting removable spikes in them. 

 

Removable plastic spikes or removable steel spikes?

[AThompson_3]

38 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

 

Removable plastic spikes or removable steel spikes?

Plastic spikes. Not old enough to have ever experienced metal spikes. 

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, AThompson_3 said:

I’ve been holding on to this take for a while, but spikeless golf shoes are not more comfortable (assuming they are a similar style golf shoes) and manufacturers have leaned heavily in to spikeless in an effort to sell you more shoes. I absolutely love the way some of the new traditional style Pumas look and feel, but they can go to hell for not putting removable spikes in them. 

 

I owned one pair of spikeless shoes. Ditched them quickly. I play most of my rounds in the early morning in wet conditions. Spikeless shoes are basically worthless. Like playing on ice. Heck, plastic spikes aren't that great when they get clogged with grass clippings. Wish they'd bring back metal spikes. Now that we can repair spike marks on the greens, I could live with a few bumps on the greens as long as Joe Average doesn't drag his feet. 

 

[Double Mocha Man]

3 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

I owned one pair of spikeless shoes. Ditched them quickly. I play most of my rounds in the early morning in wet conditions. Spikeless shoes are basically worthless. Like playing on ice. Heck, plastic spikes aren't that great when they get clogged with grass clippings. Wish they'd bring back metal spikes. Now that we can repair spike marks on the greens, I could live with a few bumps on the greens as long as Joe Average doesn't drag his feet. 

 

 

Interesting to think that if the "repair of spike marks" rule had been in effect years ago we might have never moved away from steel spikes.  That parking lot sound is now extinct.