Your most unpopular Golf opinions?

[mshills]

2 minutes ago, PedronNiall said:

 

I'm referring to crews still present well into the day. I'd need many more hands to count the number of times I've been out somewhere and they're mowing and whatever else into the afternoon somewhat regularly.  Even that wouldn't be the worst if they'd wave people through from better positions and always cease mowing when anyone is getting close, but neither is the case. 

I got you. I was referring to players getting mad because they can’t tee off early and/or play speed golf because they’ll catch the crew, which IMO is not acceptable. The crew has to get priority….so we are referring to different things. 
 

When crews are still working mid day, I’ve seen some crazy stuff. Eight guys working in a green side bunker, heads down, humping shovels of sand and dirt to rebuild the bunker faces. Man, that work sucks….and then the foreman waves me up! 😯 Yo, man do you know how inaccurate my iron play is? You’ll get one of your crew lit up doing that!

[PedronNiall]

16 minutes ago, mshills said:

When crews are still working mid day, I’ve seen some crazy stuff. Eight guys working in a green side bunker, heads down, humping shovels of sand and dirt to rebuild the bunker faces. Man, that work sucks….and then the foreman waves me up! 😯 Yo, man do you know how inaccurate my iron play is? You’ll get one of your crew lit up doing that!

 

Haha, exactly, exactly the sort of thing I mean 🤣 

[Argonne69]

47 minutes ago, mshills said:

I got you. I was referring to players getting mad because they can’t tee off early and/or play speed golf because they’ll catch the crew, which IMO is not acceptable. The crew has to get priority….so we are referring to different things. 
 

When crews are still working mid day, I’ve seen some crazy stuff. Eight guys working in a green side bunker, heads down, humping shovels of sand and dirt to rebuild the bunker faces. Man, that work sucks….and then the foreman waves me up! 😯 Yo, man do you know how inaccurate my iron play is? You’ll get one of your crew lit up doing that!

 

Funny, but I've run into maintenance crews hundreds of times. The vast majority of those encounters are forgettable. I give them space, and they give me space. I see no reason why the earliest groups out should come to a crashing halt, backing up the entire course for the day, because a handful of crews are out doing their jobs. 

 

Be respectful and we can all coexist. 

 

[mshills]

13 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Funny, but I've run into maintenance crews hundreds of times. The vast majority of those encounters are forgettable. I give them space, and they give me space. I see no reason why the earliest groups out should come to a crashing halt, backing up the entire course for the day, because a handful of crews are out doing their jobs. 

 

Be respectful and we can all coexist. 

 

I did not say “the earliest groups out should come to a crashing halt” now did I?
 

Many places where it appears play could begin at sunrise start later so those guys can do their job and make the course nice for the other 250 players that day. My point is the crew gets priority, and many players don’t understand this. 

[Argonne69]

2 hours ago, mshills said:

I did not say “the earliest groups out should come to a crashing halt” now did I?
 

Many places where it appears play could begin at sunrise start later so those guys can do their job and make the course nice for the other 250 players that day. My point is the crew gets priority, and many players don’t understand this. 

 

What difference does it make? Many early groups can play in 3:30 or less. Doesn't really matter if the course delays tee times for an hour after sunrise, the early birds are still going to run into the crews. May as well start early. 

 

Edited May 9 by Argonne69

[mshills]

9 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

What difference does it make? Many early groups can play in 3:30 or less. Doesn't really matter if the course delays tee times for an hour after sunrise, the early birds are still going to run into the crews. May as week start early. 

 

Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out!
 

Forget it man, I’m not trying to debate in the unpopular opinions thread. 

[WesternRacing]

Pretty easy to be first off and still be respectful to maintenance.  I run into them all the time at our club.  Depending on the situation, I either wait until they finish their work, play around them, or play through them with their approval.  Not hard to do and still not interfere with their work.  The only time I typically have to stop dead is when they’re mowing a green or prepping a green side bunker.  Then I just sit down, eat a protein bar, have some coffee, and wait until they finish.  I never hit a ball where there’s any real chance I could hit a maintenance worker.  Easier to just wait.

 

The only time I’ve ever been ticked off at maintenance was one time on buddy trip to Pebble, we played Spyglass mid-day and they were mowing the rough on just about every hole while we played.  It was crazy and incredibly distracting.

[Argonne69]

7 minutes ago, WesternRacing said:

Pretty easy to be first off and still be respectful to maintenance.  I run into them all the time at our club.  Depending on the situation, I either wait until they finish their work, play around them, or play through them with their approval.  Not hard to do and still not interfere with their work.  The only time I typically have to stop dead is when they’re mowing a green or prepping a green side bunker.  Then I just sit down, eat a protein bar, have some coffee, and wait until they finish.  I never hit a ball where there’s any real chance I could hit a maintenance worker.  Easier to just wait.

 

The only time I’ve ever been ticked off at maintenance was one time on buddy trip to Pebble, we played Spyglass mid-day and they were mowing the rough on just about every hole while we played.  It was crazy and incredibly distracting.

 

I played a round a couple of summers ago. Long par 3 17th, and the young worker was mowing the green. He pulled to the back of the green and waved me up. I hit my teeshot pin high left. 

 

As I was walking to the green he continued to mow the green. I was in a low spot, and couldn't see the hole. As he passed by the cup he pulled the flag and continued mowing as I was about to hit my pitch. Lol. 

 

[NV825]

4 hours ago, mshills said:

I got you. I was referring to players getting mad because they can’t tee off early and/or play speed golf because they’ll catch the crew, which IMO is not acceptable. The crew has to get priority….so we are referring to different things. 
 

When crews are still working mid day, I’ve seen some crazy stuff. Eight guys working in a green side bunker, heads down, humping shovels of sand and dirt to rebuild the bunker faces. Man, that work sucks….and then the foreman waves me up! 😯 Yo, man do you know how inaccurate my iron play is? You’ll get one of your crew lit up doing that!

 

Wouldn't surprise me if many of them are hoping to get hit to be able to claim workers comp. 😂 

[PuffyC]

We ran into a crew working in the middle of the driving range at 9:00am one Friday. Probably 20 people out there warming up and any time a ball got close one of the guys started screaming in the general direction of the tee area and shaking his fist like Abe Simpson. Pro shop had no problem selling buckets and telling people to go ahead tho. Meanwhile I’m like WTF is going on around here?

[WesternRacing]

4 hours ago, PuffyC said:

We ran into a crew working in the middle of the driving range at 9:00am one Friday. Probably 20 people out there warming up and any time a ball got close one of the guys started screaming in the general direction of the tee area and shaking his fist like Abe Simpson. Pro shop had no problem selling buckets and telling people to go ahead tho. Meanwhile I’m like WTF is going on around here?

 

One of our very friendly, very young cart barn workers offered for us to keep hitting while they shagged balls out of the bunkers on one side of our range once.  I told her, no, I don’t think OSHA or our insurance provider would approve, and made her close the range.  A flying golf ball can hurt ya permanent.  

[PedronNiall]

6 hours ago, PuffyC said:

We ran into a crew working in the middle of the driving range at 9:00am one Friday. Probably 20 people out there warming up and any time a ball got close one of the guys started screaming in the general direction of the tee area and shaking his fist like Abe Simpson. Pro shop had no problem selling buckets and telling people to go ahead tho. Meanwhile I’m like WTF is going on around here?

 

Some people have no common sense. Most times someone can go out to handle something in one area of the range and everyone will club down or hit nowhere near them until one loon decides they can't be bothered and full sends a shot screaming in the worker's direction. 

[mshills]

11 hours ago, PuffyC said:

We ran into a crew working in the middle of the driving range at 9:00am one Friday. Probably 20 people out there warming up and any time a ball got close one of the guys started screaming in the general direction of the tee area and shaking his fist like Abe Simpson. Pro shop had no problem selling buckets and telling people to go ahead tho. Meanwhile I’m like WTF is going on around here?

I’m with the guys working here. The shop could have closed the range….but since they didn’t, “go ahead” doesn’t mean “rip your slicing 3w right at their chests.” Surely the players warming up could have hit wedges or pitch shots or something else, anything else, as far away from them as possible.

[Nard_S]

I'm pro "beating balls". Lots of them, have had range sessions where i'm 200 in and start doing things above pay grade. The risk always is your polishing a toilet but there's also a chance it turns into a remodel of commode. Sometimes your body takes over and quick thinks the solution. But that cannot always be expected, so i do 1/3 on pure mechanics, a 1/3 on rhythm  & about a 1/3 of beating the snot of it. The one change i added was i slow it down, allow more time in between, let things soak a bit more and shift gears more. But it's popular to dismiss extended hitting sessions and just don't agree with it. Practice should be harder than playing effort wise. Just coming back from shoulder rebuild so limited strikes were norm for months, but did 200 a day ago and weird thing physically feel less worn than when i was doing a 1/3 or 1/2 of that. If you play 1x a week, like i do, 60 balls at the range does squat for golf fitness.

[parbung]

"people" that let slow play affect their game are mentally weak as hell. 

[Argonne69]

2 hours ago, parbung said:

"people" that let slow play affect their game are mentally weak as hell. 

 

Lol. People who need 1 to 2 minutes to hit a little white ball that isn't moving need to find a new hobby. 

 

[TNwanabe]

4 hours ago, parbung said:

"people" that let slow play affect their game are mentally weak as hell. 

Ohhhhhh yeahhhh......this is an unpopular one. Nice. 

[forrester_fire]

Playing golf alone, or with 2-3 strangers, sucks.

[Argonne69]

41 minutes ago, forrester_fire said:

Playing golf alone, or with 2-3 strangers, sucks.

 

Lol. Depends on the strangers. I've played hundreds of rounds with random players, and many times they were the highlight of the round. 'Always nice to hear new stories.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

On 5/7/2025 at 6:36 AM, Argonne69 said:

 

The one that jumps out are the no booking singles policy. Only a small fraction of courses won't book a single in some fashion, whether it's calling or booking online with a existing twosome or threesome. Sure, some singles are willing to show up as a walk on and hope they get out in a reasonable amount of time, but many won't. I wonder how much revenue these courses lose when they have numerous groups with less than four players. 

 

 

I have not come across this. I've seen local courses that won't let you book a fully open tee time online as a single (i.e. they're hoping to book a foursome). But the one course with that policy that I tried booked me as a single into an open time over the phone. 

 

But every single course I've seen around here lets you book to fill any open spots in any tee time on the sheet. It's booked as a twosome and you want to book the third spot as a single? You're in. It's a threesome and you want to book the final spot as a single? You're good to go! 

 

Here in SoCal, the public courses are NOT interested in turning down a paying greens fee! If you book a time as a twosome or threesome, you're expecting to be playing as a foursome by the time you reach the 1st tee. 

[PuffyC]

5 hours ago, forrester_fire said:

Playing golf alone, or with 2-3 strangers, sucks.

I absolutely LOVE playing alone, but then maybe I’m the only one. With you on random strangers tho. 
 

[Argonne69]

11 hours ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

I have not come across this. I've seen local courses that won't let you book a fully open tee time online as a single (i.e. they're hoping to book a foursome). But the one course with that policy that I tried booked me as a single into an open time over the phone. 

 

But every single course I've seen around here lets you book to fill any open spots in any tee time on the sheet. It's booked as a twosome and you want to book the third spot as a single? You're in. It's a threesome and you want to book the final spot as a single? You're good to go! 

 

Here in SoCal, the public courses are NOT interested in turning down a paying greens fee! If you book a time as a twosome or threesome, you're expecting to be playing as a foursome by the time you reach the 1st tee. 

 

Yeah, that's seems to be the norm. I'd estimate that 75% of the courses will allow a single to book with an existing twosome or threesome, but not in an empty four-slot. I can live with that. Don't want a handful of singles booking a block of tee times on a busy morning.

 

Approximately 25% will allow a single to book in any open slot. I try to avoid doing that if the teesheet looks crowded, but if there are plenty of other tee times near my time I'll go ahead and book.

 

That leaves the small percentage of courses that won't book a single at all. Probably 1 to 2 percent.

 

[WesternRacing]

14 hours ago, PuffyC said:

I absolutely LOVE playing alone, but then maybe I’m the only one. With you on random strangers tho. 
 

 

You are definitely not alone.

[WesternRacing]

19 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Lol. Depends on the strangers. I've played hundreds of rounds with random players, and many times they were the highlight of the round. 'Always nice to hear new stories.

 

 

Pre-COVID I would have agreed with you wholeheartedly.  Met so many interesting people and had so many fun rounds with them.  Even invited a few to play my club the next day.  However, in the last two years, that’s all changed and I find myself getting paired repeatedly with people I wouldn’t want to spend 10 minutes with, much less four and a half hours.

[Warrior42111]

On 5/12/2025 at 6:00 PM, Argonne69 said:

 

Lol. People who need 1 to 2 minutes to hit a little white ball that isn't moving need to find a new hobby. 

 

Here's an unpopular opinion; you're BOTH right!

 

If the course is clogged it's clogged and I do my best not to let it bother me. On the other hand if your full aim point 12 waggle pre shot has caused a gap you are the problem

[Argonne69]

31 minutes ago, WesternRacing said:

 

Pre-COVID I would have agreed with you wholeheartedly.  Met so many interesting people and had so many fun rounds with them.  Even invited a few to play my club the next day.  However, in the last two years, that’s all changed and I find myself getting paired repeatedly with people I wouldn’t want to spend 10 minutes with, much less four and a half hours.

 

I'd say the vast majority of players I've met were fine, but unremarkable. A handful were a blast to play with. Sadly the outliers really stand out. I certainly understand where you're coming from. 

 

[MountainKing]

32 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

I'd say the vast majority of players I've met were fine, but unremarkable. A handful were a blast to play with. Sadly the outliers really stand out. I certainly understand where you're coming from. 

 

 

I wish I've had your luck - generally singles tend to be fine, and on a few occasions we've gotten the persons number and they've become a regular person in our group.  It's when you get into the twosomes where it seems to go south.  99% of the time we have 4, but in the few occasions when weather was dicey, and it was only two of us, the twosomes we ended up with were miserable.

[Warrior42111]

I'd say for me a vast majority of pairings have been fine to great, it's just the couple bad encounters that stick out and make me second guess everything. 

[dugue4]

I can only think of a few times that i didn't enjoy playing a round with randoms.  I get along well with most people.

[Warrior42111]

19 minutes ago, dugue4 said:

I can only think of a few times that i didn't enjoy playing a round with randoms.  I get along well with most people.

In 20 plus years of golfing I can really only think of 2.

 

Once me and my buddy were paired with a single. Seemed nice enough at the starter shack but that ended quick. So my normal group we play a match for a beer or $5 whatever, play by the rules except we allow 2 off the first tee. Well I can't remember who but one of us hit a bad tee ball and went to hit another, while someone did we just do this on the 1st no worries. Guy gets in his cart and drives right down the FW saying that's not golf.

 

Course we're playing is a pretty wide open course only defense is the large, fast, undulating greens. Apparently these types of courses aren't really good and are not a fair test of skill as this guy reminded himself, the air, perhaps a higher power several times aloud. Mainly when one of us sprayed a shot and got up and down since we play this course a lot and know the greens. 

 

Worst part was we caught up with other groups no where to go, not bad pace FYI (looked it up on GRINT 4:02 round) this pissed him off royally, and by the time the first players foot was of the green on the hole is ball was in the air. Mind you a top 50 pro is 2/3 in GIR from 150-175. At this point we were looking for escape options.

 

The second thing was just a newer guy to golf, and we've all been there. I'm not one to get mad if you suck and duff it around, just suck fast lol. This guy had a full preshot routine and I didn't see him pick up his ball in the 4 holes I played with him not of them scoring below doble digits, til I had a 'bathroom emergency' and went a different direction.