How to deal with problem golf partners (Video) - by Pete Styles
How to deal with problem golf partners (Video) - by Pete Styles

And the lessons I conduct in a day to day basis is very regular that someone will sit down and I’ll say to them, how do you play the weekend? You had that big game and they’ll say, “I don’t play very well because somebody else playing would upset me.”

And it’s a real strange thing for me, that you know, you’re playing in a group. You got to have to play with different people from different walks of life and people that aren’t necessarily your mate. You know, you’ll get drawn with somebody on the golf course. Then you can’t be letting that person upset your game of golf, upset your weekend, just because you don’t agree with the way they play and really their actions can only affect you if you let them affect you.

Now there’s generally sort of 4 types of player you might come across on the golf course that could cause you some problems. There’s the guy that plays too slow and there’s the guy that plays too quickly. The brand new beginner that takes a few more shots than you do and Mr. Angry, the guy that gets really angry and throws his club around the golf course and I know that I’ve played with all of these different people. Hopefully, and I never thought that I was one of those different people but I’ve certainly played with those different people.

So that’s work I have to deal with them. The guy that plays too fast and the guy that plays too slow. Deal with them in exactly the same fashion. Don’t let them bother you. Just stick to your rhythm. Certainly don’t try and compensate for them. If you’re playing with someone that’s a bit slow, don’t let your game speed up to try and compensate for them and likewise, if you’re playing with a guy that’s too quick, don’t run and catch up with him. Just play your own game. As long as you’re not the slow guy, you’re not the one that’s racing ahead too much. You’re Mr. Average, that’s perfect. Help them out if you can do, but don’t try and sort of compensate for them too much.

Now if you’re playing with someone that’s a brand new beginner, this is where you can actually somebody a bit of a favor. Now, at one point in your life, you were beginner. Maybe sometimes you still feel like you are a beginner. But if you’re on the golf course and someone’s taking a few more shots than you, just be reassuring, you know. Put your arm around them, help them along a bit. Help them look for a golf ball rather than letting you wind them up. Feel like you’re doing some good and if that’s taking you a little bit longer, use as an advantage to your game. Use it as a positive that that allows you more time to think about your golf ball. Less time that you have to rush around because if they’re hitting 2 shots for every one of yours, when it comes to your ball, you should really be ready to play. It shouldn’t be any problem that you’ve been rushed. So don’t let them wind you up by the fact that taking more shots. They’re not doing it deliberately and at one stage you’ll know that we were all beginners.

And then you’ve got Mr. Angry. The guy who’s not having the best game in the world and he’s prepared to tell you all about it. All he wants to do is tell you how badly he’s playing. And often that will bring you down to his level. Again, don’t let that happen. Rise above it. Think, yeah, you’re having a bad game, mate, but your bad game isn’t going to spoil my bad game. I’m going to rise above it. I’m going to walk down the other side of the fairway from you if I need to. Just so I can stay on my own little zone and I’m going to use you as the sort of positive energy that I don’t want to be having the bad game you’re having. I’m going to play a little bit more positively. I’m going to rise above you. So you’ve got 4 different types of golfers and some others as well that you probably encounter in your golfing career. But they are only a problem if you let them become a problem to you. So make sure that when you’re playing on the golf course, you play your own game and you don’t let anybody else affects how badly or how well you can do on that dome. 2012-12-03

And the lessons I conduct in a day to day basis is very regular that someone will sit down and I’ll say to them, how do you play the weekend? You had that big game and they’ll say, “I don’t play very well because somebody else playing would upset me.”

And it’s a real strange thing for me, that you know, you’re playing in a group. You got to have to play with different people from different walks of life and people that aren’t necessarily your mate. You know, you’ll get drawn with somebody on the golf course. Then you can’t be letting that person upset your game of golf, upset your weekend, just because you don’t agree with the way they play and really their actions can only affect you if you let them affect you.

Now there’s generally sort of 4 types of player you might come across on the golf course that could cause you some problems. There’s the guy that plays too slow and there’s the guy that plays too quickly. The brand new beginner that takes a few more shots than you do and Mr. Angry, the guy that gets really angry and throws his club around the golf course and I know that I’ve played with all of these different people. Hopefully, and I never thought that I was one of those different people but I’ve certainly played with those different people.

So that’s work I have to deal with them. The guy that plays too fast and the guy that plays too slow. Deal with them in exactly the same fashion. Don’t let them bother you. Just stick to your rhythm. Certainly don’t try and compensate for them. If you’re playing with someone that’s a bit slow, don’t let your game speed up to try and compensate for them and likewise, if you’re playing with a guy that’s too quick, don’t run and catch up with him. Just play your own game. As long as you’re not the slow guy, you’re not the one that’s racing ahead too much. You’re Mr. Average, that’s perfect. Help them out if you can do, but don’t try and sort of compensate for them too much.

Now if you’re playing with someone that’s a brand new beginner, this is where you can actually somebody a bit of a favor. Now, at one point in your life, you were beginner. Maybe sometimes you still feel like you are a beginner. But if you’re on the golf course and someone’s taking a few more shots than you, just be reassuring, you know. Put your arm around them, help them along a bit. Help them look for a golf ball rather than letting you wind them up. Feel like you’re doing some good and if that’s taking you a little bit longer, use as an advantage to your game. Use it as a positive that that allows you more time to think about your golf ball. Less time that you have to rush around because if they’re hitting 2 shots for every one of yours, when it comes to your ball, you should really be ready to play. It shouldn’t be any problem that you’ve been rushed. So don’t let them wind you up by the fact that taking more shots. They’re not doing it deliberately and at one stage you’ll know that we were all beginners.

And then you’ve got Mr. Angry. The guy who’s not having the best game in the world and he’s prepared to tell you all about it. All he wants to do is tell you how badly he’s playing. And often that will bring you down to his level. Again, don’t let that happen. Rise above it. Think, yeah, you’re having a bad game, mate, but your bad game isn’t going to spoil my bad game. I’m going to rise above it. I’m going to walk down the other side of the fairway from you if I need to. Just so I can stay on my own little zone and I’m going to use you as the sort of positive energy that I don’t want to be having the bad game you’re having. I’m going to play a little bit more positively. I’m going to rise above you. So you’ve got 4 different types of golfers and some others as well that you probably encounter in your golfing career. But they are only a problem if you let them become a problem to you. So make sure that when you’re playing on the golf course, you play your own game and you don’t let anybody else affects how badly or how well you can do on that dome.