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.
My husband bought me a set of Cobra golf clubs for my birthday in May. He played golf when he was younger (and was quite good) and thought it would be fun to take up the game together. We have been to the driving range a couple of times, and I have really enjoyed it, but have yet to play a "game." I read a book called Even Par by Leslie Andrews, watched some YouTube videos by Gale Peterson on how to swing correctly and downloaded the USGA.org's Rule of Golf app for my phone. I am SUPER competitive (can you tell?) and would love to be able to compete at some point. Do you have any advice that you can give a beginner? What one thing do you wish someone would have shared with you when you started out?
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