COMMUNITY

1.) Guys standing directly behind me as I tee off, hit a shot or directly behind me to see the break on a putt. I usually say something to those that stand right behind me. But sometimes, if they are too close I will usually just go a few paces behind my ball right in front of them (making it clear that they are my way) and take a couple of practice swings. When they see they are in my way, they naturally move and they usually move off to the side.
2.) People that don't rake bunkers. I think that anyone that is caught not raking a bunker should be given one warning, his name taken and kicked off the golf course on the second infraction. Recently I have had the misfortune to hit my ball into a bunker and end up in someone's leftover footprint. I play the ball as it lies and after I have hit my bunker shot I internally damn them to hades for not raking the bunker. Verbally chastising them does two things; first it lets them know, if they didn't already, that we have an obligation to rake the bunker if we play out of it. Second, it lets them know that it is a serious discourtesy to not rake the bunker. Yea, I know there are guys out there (some here on Golfq even) who believe that since they have paid their money, they'll be damned if they will allow anyone tell them what to do.

My #1 and #2 pet peeves thankfully don't happen often. But when they do...

#1 People who damage the green out of anger. There is no excuse for that and it's vandalism.

#2 The 30 handicapper who insists on being the expert about everything golf related, including YOUR swing.

Of those that do happen with some regularity my top pet peeve is people who hit into the group ahead. Someone can (and DOES) get killed every year from this reckless behavior!

Like you, in no specific order:

-Slow play
-Not repairing ball markers, raking bunkers or replacing divots
-Marking a putt inside 3 feet, with the exception you are standing in someone's line
-Not saying "Good shot" or "Nice putt" when it very clearly was a good shot
-Hitting lots of mulligans. I don't mind 1 per round, but 3 or more is ridiculous
-Not putting your bag or cart at or in front of tees, but instead behind
-Walking in the line of putt
-Walking or talking when someone's hitting

#1 Not letting faster players and groups play through!

I don't like 5 hour rounds any more then the rest, but I do keep score. I don't pick up, if it's a 10 it's a 10. I also have very little patience with a group the rides my butt the whole round when the course is full. If there is a hole open in front, fine, play through. When you can see the next three holes have a group on the tee, one in the fairway and a group on the green, back off!




I hear ya, but I count all my strokes and I have a very bad habit of missing those little "tap in's" if I don't take my time. So, yes I may mark, line up and putt a two footer. I have a problem with the guy who slams the flag in the hole and walks off the green in a huff while I'm doing it...



I usually do stand behind on the tee box. I'm not trying to make anyone nervous, and if your a righty I stay to the left, for a lefty I stay to the right out of the sight line. As I've gotten a bit older I'm less able to discern contrast. That means when I tee off I often lose sight of the ball as soon as it gets up into the clouds. I have almost no ability to follow a ball seen from the side. Some guys I play with have the same problem and we try to put as many eyes on the ball as possible. This speeds up play as we can often spot each others tee shot. If we have just met and this habit bothers you, just say so.

I believe that pet peeves change with the players’ skill level and how serious the player is about their game. Having said that some of my own pet peeves in golf are as follows (in no particular order):

*Talking, rattling of clubs, moving the cart, so on and so forth while players are at the tee box getting ready to swing.

* Slow play- especially when the course is not busy

*Multiple balls, mulligan’s, do-overs

*Damage to the course out of anger, horseplay or being stupid

*Taking 5 minutes worth of practice swings

These are a few of my pet peeves which can irritate me especially if I am having a bad game. I am by no means a pro but I do enjoy the game and playing different courses. I try a respect the course, the game, and the golfers who are playing but I also enjoy making the experience fun.

Agree with all of those plus
cleat marks on the green, for goodness sake pick up your feet.
And ppl who mess up the edge of the cups putting the pin back in...really can you not hit the hole =)

Slow play..........encountered this big time this past weekend in our member/member. Dude in front of us for 2 days was taking 5 check swings, 10 practice swings. There was not a lick of wind blowing and he is throwing grass up in the air. Then to top it all off, he chunks his shot 50 yards. Would not of been so bad but the whole tournament was in the club house waiting for them, us, and the group behind us because of them and it was 110 damn degree's out. Hard to stay in a rythm like that.

A 10?! The highest score you can record for handicap is triple. Unless you're playing in a tournament or the bet still hasn't been decided by a triple(?!), you should be picking up. I've played with guys who think, "I paid my money, so I should be able to play at a pace that's comfortable for me and go through my 2 minute preshot routine for each shot." 95% of golfers would be much happier if courses strictly enforced pace of play. My index is 16 (not a low handicapper) and I have no problem with pace of play. But last weekend I was playing with a couple guys who were 24+ handicappers (guys I work with). They are great guys, but the course was tight and they were hitting it everywhere. Our pace was off and a marshal finally asked us to skip a hole to get on pace. One of the guys got a little upset, but I had no beef with the course. Pace of play is critical to the satisfaction of everyone on the course. One group (or golfer) can't be allow to negatively impact the entire course.



Spend more time on the practice green. NO ONE should be marking two footers.

As always, you are welcome to your own opinion. I don't share it. This past weekend my group played through the group in front of us that was holding US up... I may not be good, but I'm quick. Picking up has nothing to do with it. Shoot and Scoot!! I don't hold anybody up.

Not sure where some of you get your information but the above statement is wrong, Here is the current USGA ESC chart:

Equitable Stroke Control Chart

Course Handicap Maximum Score
0-9 Double Bogey
10-19 7
20-29 8
30-39 9
40 or more 10

Triple has nothing to do with it, a 10 handicapper can score a quadruple bogey 7 on a par 3. But the rules of golf require the ball to be holed out. ESC takes place by the calculation software, you are required to write down the actual score not the ESC. So if you have been picking your ball up with out holing out you have not been scoring your rounds correctly.

Yeah thanks Racer, I wasn't even going to go there..

@Racer888 - I stand corrected...thanks for the info. I'm assuming the ESC adjustment would only occur if you post your score for each hole, rather than an 18 hole total. Since my index is a 16, on most courses my handicap would allow 7 as the max. I occasionally make an 8 on par 5s, so I'll have to take that into consideration the next time I post an 18 hole score.

The whole ESC thing needs it's own special FAQ because you are not the first to get it AFU... The score you enter for handicap, if not hole by hole, should be reduced, by you, to reflect your max ESC score. If you shoot an 8 on a par 5 you score the 8 on the scorecard but reduce your handicap score to your max, a 7. If you shoot a 10, same deal. 10 on the card, 7 on the record. It's simpler if you do enter hole-by-hole, then the form does it for you. By the same token, you can still shoot a 7 on a par 3, that's a quad on both the card and the record.

ESC doesn't change the rules of golf, it just prevents a few bad holes from blowing up your handicap. You can do whatever you want, I don't have a dog in that fight. Play how you want, score what you want. There is a difference however between playing on a golf course and playing golf. I play golf, maybe not well, but on pace and by the rules.

Yes, Otterman is correct about how to score the ESC when entering only a total score. But here is another part of all this that most golfers don't know or apply. The ESC is to be applied to your course handicap. What that means is let's say you have a USGA index of 10.5 but when you calculate your course handicap based on where you are playing the round your course handicap is a 9.0 so on that course you can only take a double bogey max. That means a 7 on a par four now has to be entered as a 5 because of the course handicap. Here is the formula for calculating course handicap:

Your Handicap Index multiplied by Slope Rating of Tees Played divided by 113. (rounding up or down accordingly)