Your most unpopular Golf opinions?

[JJFWebster]

A par by one player in a net competition should never require a hole-in-one by another.

[Greenie]

4 hours ago, MPG said:

if you take 5 hours - your tee times start at noon

if you take 4.5 hours - your tee times start at 11am

if you take 4 hours - your tee times start at 8am

 

Why allow a group that is known to be slow have a 8;00am tee time?    This approach allows all people to do what they want but let the time captured to dictate future tee time selections.  

 

Let me fix this for you. Your expectations are too low.

 

if you take 5 hours - take up Pickle ball.

if you take 4 hours - your tee times start at 11am

if you take 3.5 hours - your tee times start at 8am

[mat562]

5 hours ago, JJFWebster said:

A par by one player in a net competition should never require a hole-in-one by another.

 

One of the reasons I haven't played in a handicap competition since the early 1990s is because I don't feel I should have to shoot at or near the course record in order to have a chance of finishing in the top five.

[Nels55]

3 hours ago, mat562 said:

 

One of the reasons I haven't played in a handicap competition since the early 1990s is because I don't feel I should have to shoot at or near the course record in order to have a chance of finishing in the top five.

The low index guys win a lot if skins and closest to the pin cash in tournaments at my course.  They also win flighted and match play fairly often along with better ball and other team competitions.  We have a lot of different formats that are fun for everyone.

[MountainKing]

On 5/23/2025 at 8:28 PM, Shallowface said:

 

The greens need to be mown early enough to accommodate the early players.  Golf is a sun up to sun down business.  Green mowers are available with headlights.  I don't care if they have to start work at 3 AM.  That's the life they chose.  If you don't want to get up early and your degree is in agronomy work for some lawn care service. 

 

 

That's a great way to lose talent.  Remember, talented people are going to go to places who pay the best as well as offer the best benefits/hours. As many courses that exist that start right at sunrise, there's just as many that don't have their first tee time until 30-60 minutes after sunrise.  You think a highly qualified greenskeeper is going to put up with the abuse of customers who want them and their low paid staff out there at 2am?  Nah, they're gonna go to the club who gives them some time at sunrise to get started.  That'll leave the guy who really isn't great at his job as the replacement, and you'll be here complaining about conditions.   There's also safety/insurance issues with doing this stuff that early and in the dark.  the dangers increase if you're in a location with elevation or course with a lot of hazards.  Those increased costs would be passed on to you. 

 

To take the other side of this, if you don't want to deal with greens that aren't mowed and early morning maintenance, don't play in the morning. Tee off about 8am, you'll have a well mowed course, no maintenance staff to deal with, and it'll be early enough to not have the greens beat up from a days worth of play. 

[MountainKing]

11 hours ago, MPG said:

Private clubs are just as bad as municipal courses anymore for slow play.  Slow play usually occurs because one or two groups impact all other groups behind them and they don’t allow or want people to skip them.  Since it appears GPS is starting to become a regular things in carts - let’s use the data captured on the GPS and associate time spent on the course as a regulator for tee time selection.   data driven decisions

if you take 5 hours - your tee times start at noon

if you take 4.5 hours - your tee times start at 11am

if you take 4 hours - your tee times start at 8am

 

Why allow a group that is known to be slow have a 8;00am tee time?    This approach allows all people to do what they want but let the time captured to dictate future tee time selections.  

 

 

Agreed that the few private clubs I've been on in recent years have had some issues with slow play, but it seems like the members were pretty good at policing themselves on it.  One members I played with last year called up the group that was slow and told them to move it, but the private memberships don't seem like they're shy at all about calling out the slow pokes.    It also seems like slow play on a private course means 4 hours, which is now considered speed golf in the public world.  

[retch10]

On 6/13/2025 at 6:08 PM, The Pearl said:

Come on now.  Many golfers have visual issues ranging from basic poor eyesight due to hereditary factors or from aging. Many like myself, have severe depth perception problems.  If you play the same course 100x a year that is one thing, but many courses will have flags either surrounded by trees making it very difficult to determine depth or in situations like a links course, all alone with no back drop or maybe even just being able to see the top half of the stick.

 

Not to mention, the last thing anybody wants to see is Joe Idiot pacing off sprinkler heads all round. 

 

In terms of slow play, rangefinder usage is about 15th on the list of issues.

 

I can't possibly fathom how having a rangefinder or GPS slows down play.  The yardages on a course marked by the 100 or 150 (if you can even see them) tell you the yardage from THAT spot.  You're out there doing geometry/calculus from the rough or the adjacent fairway.  You're then picking the wrong club and taking additional shots.  The time it takes me to look at my watch or my phone screen standing over the ball takes approximately 2-3 seconds per shot. Thats less than the old way. Yardage/wind/elevation...pull a club.  GPS has sped up my club selection by a significant amount...and gives you the confidence in a lot of cases that you pulled the right one.  Less standing over the ball second guessing.  Better shots come from such confidence.

 

Even people who can't make the swing that will make the yardage knowledge useful are still saving time instead of deciding.

[retch10]

On 6/16/2025 at 2:18 AM, jpgolfs04 said:

Unpopular opinion: Birdies only count if someone actually saw them. Triples, though? Oh, they always count — even if you blacked out from rage halfway through the hole. Graphite irons aren’t ruining golf, but my 45-yard slice probably is. And if golf ads are so worthless, then why do I have a $600 putter sitting in my bag that promised to fix both my short game and my marriage?

a $600 putter might cost me my marriage.

[parbung]

12 hours ago, mat562 said:

 

One of the reasons I haven't played in a handicap competition since the early 1990s is because I don't feel I should have to shoot at or near the course record in order to have a chance of finishing in the top five.

It's aboslutely asinine.

 

If you're playing in the same tournament, winner should be the lowest score, period. 

 

And I say this as a high handicapper. Otherwise, what's stopping people from sandbagging?

[knock it close]

19 hours ago, MPG said:

Private clubs are just as bad as municipal courses anymore for slow play.  Slow play usually occurs because one or two groups impact all other groups behind them and they don’t allow or want people to skip them.  Since it appears GPS is starting to become a regular things in carts - let’s use the data captured on the GPS and associate time spent on the course as a regulator for tee time selection.   data driven decisions

if you take 5 hours - your tee times start at noon

if you take 4.5 hours - your tee times start at 11am

if you take 4 hours - your tee times start at 8am

 

Why allow a group that is known to be slow have a 8;00am tee time?    This approach allows all people to do what they want but let the time captured to dictate future tee time selections.  

If your private club can't keep members from playing 5 hour rounds with zero repercussions its time to look for another club.

 

 

[knock it close]

18 hours ago, JJFWebster said:

A par by one player in a net competition should never require a hole-in-one by another.

are the baggers out in full force for the blue matchplay this year?

[MPG]

53 minutes ago, knock it close said:

If your private club can't keep members from playing 5 hour rounds with zero repercussions its time to look for another club.

 

 

Very true.   Unfortunately, my current club is terrible, management does not care and we cannot get around our course without delays and all we ever hear is the GPS says they are on time during player meetings.  Total garbage since we are close to 4:45 at the end of the round.  I am looking for a new club but waitlists are couple years long so I just try to get the first tee times of the day and be back by 10:30am to do other things.  

[joeconn]

7 hours ago, retch10 said:

I can't possibly fathom how having a rangefinder or GPS slows down play.  The yardages on a course marked by the 100 or 150 (if you can even see them) tell you the yardage from THAT spot.  You're out there doing geometry/calculus from the rough or the adjacent fairway.  You're then picking the wrong club and taking additional shots.  The time it takes me to look at my watch or my phone screen standing over the ball takes approximately 2-3 seconds per shot. Thats less than the old way. Yardage/wind/elevation...pull a club.  GPS has sped up my club selection by a significant amount...

 

Agree 100%. And it's not even 2-3 seconds/shot to consult my range finder, I'm doing that while other people are hitting. The only time my range finder is adding any time is if I'm first up to hit on a tee and I need to use the range finder because it's not a full swing driver. Pretty much everybody I play with is using a range finder now and we play 4somes in 3:40-4:00 almost all the time. Walking. Vermont hills.

 

I bet use of a range finder, for me, cuts at least 10 minutes off a round. BITD I'd pace off from whatever fairway marker was convenient. Even the rare days when I hit a lot of fairways, that's 14 holes that I need to pace off a distance. Maybe not all of them if I can eyeball whatever the course uses for markings, or if I'm walking past the fairway marker on the way to my ball. But then I'm trying to figure out "is that pin up front or in the back" and how much to add. Now, just shoot the pin, and get a magnified look at what the green looks like too.

[mat562]

29 minutes ago, Nels55 said:

The low index guys win a lot if skins and closest to the pin cash in tournaments at my course.  They also win flighted and match play fairly often along with better ball and other team competitions.  We have a lot of different formats that are fun for everyone.

 

Both my courses have always been less adventurous. Outside of the long drive, which I'm unlikely to win against some of the bombers, it's always been a fairly standard handicapped stuff and stablefords. Something around the amateur course record, net, or well into the 40s usually wins. Low handicappers (including me) do/did at least usually win the nearest-the-pin.

 

I can't say I've ever witnessed brazen cheating, or fantasy scorecards, but I've seen plenty of 12 handicappers breaking 80 and 18 handicappers regularly shooting in the mid 80s.

 

At least in the scratch medals you can play with some confidence that it won't be a farce.

[MountainKing]

14 hours ago, parbung said:

It's aboslutely asinine.

 

If you're playing in the same tournament, winner should be the lowest score, period. 

 

And I say this as a high handicapper. Otherwise, what's stopping people from sandbagging?

 

 

Agreed with this - at best events should be flighted based on handicap.  If you want to beat somebody that's better than you, practice. 

[shankasaurus rex]

"Game," and all variants thereof.

 

There are already a million words in the English language to indicate use of an item. So amazingly cringy. 

[JimmyC59]

3 hours ago, shankasaurus rex said:

"Game," and all variants thereof.

 

There are already a million words in the English language to indicate use of an item. So amazingly cringy. 

I couldn't agree more! Whenever I hear, "My Gamer." I want to puke 

[parbung]

2 hours ago, JimmyC59 said:

I couldn't agree more! Whenever I hear, "My Gamer." I want to puke 

 

 

what's the context? 

 

i don't think i've ever heard that phrase outside of video games haha

[JimmyC59]

Just now, parbung said:

 

 

what's the context? 

 

i don't think i've ever heard that phrase outside of video games haha

They use it to say, for example: "I "game" a TM Sim². What's your gamer?"

[knock it close]

Can we add track to the list, "bro this track is soooo sick, I can't believe your dad got us on"

[parbung]

just like europe, courses in the US should implement handicap requirements if you wanna play (or get a license (Platzreife like germany where you gotta pass a test).

 

 

 

 

 

[shankasaurus rex]

20 hours ago, JimmyC59 said:

They use it to say, for example: "I "game" a TM Sim². What's your gamer?"

🤢

[TNwanabe]

5 hours ago, parbung said:

just like europe, courses in the US should implement handicap requirements if you wanna play (or get a license (Platzreife like germany where you gotta pass a test).

 

 

 

 

 

Oh no way. 

[parbung]

14 hours ago, TNwanabe said:

Oh no way. 

Why not?

 

Everyone will have knowledge of the etiquette and how to play golf, which I think would help with the pace of play.

 

Only thing I would change is the requirement to break 108. I think as long as you can prove that you can play without holding up other people and be courteous, you should get the license. 

 

 

 

Edited June 26 by parbung

[Double Mocha Man]

12 minutes ago, parbung said:

Why not?

 

Everyone will have knowledge of the etiquette and how to play golf, which I think would help with the pace of play.

 

Only thing I would change is the requirement to break 108. I think as long as you can prove that you can play without holding up other people and be courteous, you should get the license. 

 

 

 

 

Agreed.

[TiScape]

With all the Ryder Cup talk in the tour sub these days. I’ve realized that I just don’t really care that much about it.  🤷🏼‍♂️

 

The USA vs. Europe! Meh

[Choclab]

32 minutes ago, TiScape said:

With all the Ryder Cup talk in the tour sub these days. I’ve realized that I just don’t really care that much about it.  🤷🏼‍♂️

 

The USA vs. Europe! Meh

I've come to dread the over-the-top USA USA USA stuff.  It's cringey.

 

I'm as patriotic as anyone, I promise you.   But for a golf match it's gotten to be too much, especially at Bethpage.  These days I enjoy being the visiting team much more.

[Choclab]

And my unpopular opinion would be that the cavity vs blade debate is mostly bogus.  Unless you're truly a terrible player (and trust me, I'm not good) I don't think it matters much, if at all.  In the short term, sure, but after a few weeks of adjustment I think people would score about the same. 

 

That's how it was when I was a competitive tennis player as a kid and oversized rackets were getting popular.  When I went to a bigger racket, I had fewer mis-hits at first... for about three weeks.  But after that, I mishit just as many balls as before.  I've found that with myself and observed it with my friends in golf, too.

 

TLDR:  Stop the blade/"players' club" shaming.  Don't worry about "You're not good enough to use that club" and play what you want.

[AdamMW]

Rorys a tool, scheffler is gonna be spieth 2.0 in a few years, bryson is built for the long run, spieth fowler are c level players, wyndham clark will drop out of the top 70 sooner rather than later. 

[bcflyguy1]

Net golf is beyond saving due mostly to sandbagging and partly to vanity handicaps. The handicap system discourages improvement more than it encourages participation.