Should You #Golf With Better Players?

Do you immediately feel anxious when approached by a single golfer or couple who wants to join you for the round?

Chances are, you may have been with your husband, wife or friend on the first tee and have been asked...

"Want to pair up?" only to cut them short with one of the following hackneyed excuses:

"I would prefer not to..."
"I'm not very good..."
"I haven't played in a while..."
"I play slow..."

Yes, both my husband and I have, on occasion, approached a twosome and received those comments. It's kind of disheartening because we were not only trying to keep the pace of players steadily moving but also thought it would be nice to play golf with another couple.

If you are on the receiving end...who feel intimidated that you are not good enough, take heart. There are always going to be golfers who play better than you do, or not as good as you, which is why the handicap system was invented - to level the playing field! Instead of worrying, go out to have a good time - you may just surprise yourself and play your best golf ever!

For this blog, we will examine the positive impact playing with a better golfer can have on your game and how you can benefit from the experience.

Reasons You May Not Want to Play Golf With a "Better" Golfer:
1. You may "beat yourself up" if you start to slide down the rabbit hole.
2. You may think you are slowing down the better golfer.
3. You may feel intimidated by the golfers' swing, shots, demeanor.
4. You may want to hit each shot, no matter how many you have to take, in order to get to the green.


Reasons You Should Play Golf With a Better Golfer:
1. You may pick up a few tips along the way.
2. Great to watch a better golfer's course management skills.
3. You might focus more on each of your shots and your score.
4. Challenges your mental and physical game.
5. You may just meet a new friend.

In my opinion, the positives far outweigh the negatives. I am an advocate for playing happy golf, keeping my own frame of mind and enjoying the company of whoever is with me at the time.

Tell you what...to all of those folks out there who are worried about playing golf with me;
I won't comment on your swing, shots, and lack of experience if you don't snicker behind my back when I flub, okay?

This Memorial Day weekend, when you are faced with this situation, I hope you will go with the flow and make the most of your round. Enjoy!


Do you play with better golfers and why? Comment below on this golf blog and on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.

Do You Play #Golf to Win?

Scenario: You're behind by two strokes, nearing the end a very important golf tournament, and your ball is not sitting in the best position to go for the green. Your nearest competitor has not bogeyed all day long and appears to be in good shape. What is your next move?

Do you:

a) play it safe
b) play to win

This was the dilemma for Ian Poulter as he debated his next move while 21-year-old Si Woo Kim stood ready on the fairway to increase his lead on a par-5 at the 2017 Players Championship.

Poulter decided to play it safe, protecting 2nd place money and his world ranking. After the tournament and his decision had been made, Poulter received criticism from a Golf Channel commentator, calling the move "the worst shot of the day."

Was it though? 

Chamblee, the commentator in question, clarified his statement to include that it was, indeed, a "fine shot" and, although it "didn't cost himself any money, didn't cost him any world ranking points", Poulter "clearly did not play to win".

According to PGA.com, the hardest shot to hit under pressure is...the layup. "It won't get any votes for Shot of the Year" but it could make the difference in the shots that follow. A study in favor of opposing side, that is, playing aggressively in a tight squeeze, was published by Edmund M. Balsdon in the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports. He argues that "pros should start playing more aggressive under pressure because tournament purses are heavily skewed in favor of the winner."

Of course, we don't play at that level but most of us do like to compete and beat our friends.

So, do you play safe and wait for your competitor to make an error (which happens a lot at our level of play) or go for the low percentage shot and, possibly, the win if you make a great shot?

I guess it depends on how well you are hitting the ball that day. Two thoughts to consider before making that decision during play:

- If you've been making most of your shots and your confidence is high, then go for it!

- If you have been scrambling all day, on the other hand, then you should play it safe.

Good luck out there!

Have you played it safe when your mind said, "Go for it?" Let us know your story below in the comments section of this Golf for Beginners blog and on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.