So, i'm a very short hitter. And at a 13.8 HI I have to do a lot of scrambling to make par, let alone having birdie opportunities since I rarely reach greens in regulation. My driver swing speed is 80 mph, i hit the ball straight and keep it in play. btw, i'm 54, 6'5" and 220 pounds.

lately, i've been getting tired of scrambling for pars, laying up on the occasional par three, etc., and not having any birdie opportunities. So today i decided to play from the forward tees (65.6/120). I was a single and was asked to join these others on the tee box. After they hit I mentioned that I was going to play from the forward tees and this one guy says, "Does anyone have a skirt in their bag." In any case I shot a 77, made a few birdies and really enjoyed myself once i forgot about the jackass.

but why the hey should anyone care what tees i play from, and more importantly what business is it of theirs anyway? Why can't I play/enjoy the game to my abilities? Last year I was playing a 210 par three and hit driver and came up just a wee bit short. A guy in the group behind me said, "You didn't use enough club." And he and all his friends had a good laugh at my expense.

Anyway, the game is being ruined for me and I'm thinking of packing it in altogether.

Any thoughts? Words of wisdom and or encouragement? Honestly, I feel pretty crappy right now when I think about playing from the forward tees again or having to go back to a tee box that is just out of my league.

The people you've described aren't worth your time.

Keep your chin up and do what you want to do.

If I was playing with my dad (or anyone for that matter) and they started running their mouth like that, I would have no problem dropping the clubs and having a discussion in the parking lot. It just shows their maturity, or lack there of. Sorry to see that you had to deal with those jackasses, but don't give up the game you love.

When the guy said 'does anyone have a skirt in their bag', you could have said,

"yeah, your mom's."

At 6'5" and 220, i would have stood over him and asked if he'd like to be introduced to kung-fu

Seriously tho, don't let some d-bag get to you with a lame comment that he didn't even think up himself. Just trying to stroke his own ego cos he has tiny d*** syndrome.

Maybe ask him a quick question just before he's about to tee off, if he breathes in or out at impact, then watch him f*** his drives up the rest of the day.

Those twats probably never broke 80 anyway!. Keep your chin up pal dont worry about people like that. To tease you like that means they are so insecure about themselves that they try to put other people down and show off in front of their mates.. Its ok to have crack like that amongst your friends because its good natured and pretty harmless but these guys were out of order. Next time it happens wrap your driver round his heed!!

Way to go with your 77, what did that clown that made the skirt comment shoot? Yuor right though people are jerks sometimes on the course.

Keep playing golf. The game is meant for your enjoyment and no one else's. This game is tough enough without having to worry about what some insecure jackass thinks. Just my $0.02.

No joke I was thinking the same thing when I read the OP's post.

To the OP, For being a short hitter you are doing the right thing in playing the forward tees. To many times I go to play and there is some fool thinking he can play from the tips and cant get to the fairway. Can't blame him for trying, but how fun is it to butcher your golf game just so you can say you played the course at its longest? Play to your strengths and whatever tee you chose. I would rather be happy then all wrecked!

6' 5", 220? are you swinging with one hand?

Fact of the matter is - I'd bet dollars to donuts the other in your group didn't really care, they just want to rib ya... This post of yours makes you appear as either don't have a sense of humor or you're very insecure about the choices you make.

You need a sense of humor. I normally play 6400-7000yds tees, won't mention my index, but have played from the forward tees a time or two with some hi-cap older friends, and been teased about it; doesn't bother me. I've even been teased about NOT pulling driver like everyone else does, in favor of playing irons only. I smile and say lets compare our scores at 18; that always seems to make'em think.

+1 My pop is about the same age & size, and swings 100 mph+, like me.

i think its for a lack of confidence, if they can divert the attention to you then they feel better about themselves or trying to get into your head. I would try to ignore and think of it as a compliment.

It's a bit different but I play soccer and ice hockey and there's a lot of trashing talking at times and I have ingrained in my head that whenever they say anything its because they are worried about me/my team, I almost use it as positive reinforcement during the game.

I could see chirping off within your own foursome but with strangers i think its just stupid. I would do something stupid like stare at him during every single one of his shots but in a way that he knows I'm watching lol. I'm usually lucky enough to have someone to play with that I know so usually don't play with many other people. The few times I have its essentially been nothing but good.

Dude, you are welcome to come play with me any time. Hey, I'm a beginner- I could care less what people think of my game or what tees I play from. And I could care less about the abilities of the people I'm playing with. Sun is shining, grass is green, golf ball is white, and every few hundred yards there's a hole in the ground. What else could you ask for?

sense of humor?, well that might be the case if your playing with your friends & people you know. I did not see anywhere in his topic that he knew these guys. Regardless you should not break balls with someone of that size that you don't know well.

Key thing is older friends. This guy was with strangers. Big difference in my mind. friends know if talking trash is cool or not. It's a real crap shoot with a complete stranger. This case in point. It probably was meant as a joke but it didn't come across as one. I like to make wise a** comments but wouldn't think of it with a complete stranger.

To the OP - play the forward tees and have fun.

At your size you are leaving a lot of yards on the table. Unless you have a disability that you did not mention, with a few lessons I'm sure you could gain those few precious yards everyone desires.

At 54 you are still young enough. So go get those lessons and meet the boys back at the blues.

I would love it if I got paired with you. It takes courage for people to move forward on tees when they should. Most idiots are playing the course from way to far back. If you can't break 85 consistently you really ought to move forward, no reason to make it harder than it needs to be. Whenever I walk on at a course and get paired I would pray for half of these jokers to move to the forward tees.

I am sorry you got paired with such poor partners, if you had made that decision and shot a 77 with me I would have been applauding you all the way around.

You and I both know you're not going to pack it in. It's in your DNA just like it is in mine. 77 is a damned respectable game at any age, much less ours. I would just smile inwardly and know that you can most likely outplay 90 percent of the people on that course any given day.

Having said that, people are generally a******* these days and wouldn't recognize class if it bit them.

Good shooting-Have fun & play your own game.Who cares what shallow minds think.It's just a game & have fun.

Amen! I 've got a lot more respect for someone who will play the tee box that's appropriate to their abilities than the idiot that thinks he has to play the tips despite his 20+ index.

My buddy and I got paired once with a guy who was on a golf course for only the second time, yet still insisted on playing from the same tees as us (72.8 CR, 138 Slope), despite that fact that we were both single digit cappers. We tried to suggest he move up a box (or two!), but he wouldn't listen. Thank god he ran out of balls by the turn!

This is one reason I don't like being paired up with others. My friend "54" and I "49" get paired up with these two guys the other week. On the first tee the one guy says "you old geezers playing from the senior tees?" I just said " no we will try and hang with you guys from the whites". I think making any kind of trash talk statement to someone you just met is uncalled for. You should play from whichever tees you want to. My friend refuses to play from the senior tees and he only drives the ball 200 yds. On many of the par threes he uses his driver. I have gotten comments from pairings before too about my lack of distance for my size. I am 6'3" 250. I play with two herniated discs in my lower back and sometimes my friends need to pick my ball out of the cup for me cause I can't bend over very easy at times. Sometimes I play with a limp. I love the game to much to just give up or to let someone else make me want to give up. Hang in there and play your game. Try and hook up with others close to your age or skill level. As I mentioned in another post some people don't get that one day they will age too and not be the same as they once was.

All it matters is that you shot a 77 and had a very good round. If playing the forward tees is more enjoyable to you then all the power to you. I would focus on your 77 and ignore the comments that was said to you.

I would also like to say and believe there are more people who aren't as rude as the guys you played with.

DefConOne, "does anyone have a skirt" sounds like something i would say. Look, you are 6'5" 220, all the makings of a bomber. Don't you think it could have been a joke. I realize you are the only one who heard the tone of the jab but - come on.

You could have told him "i have a skirt, your girlfriend left it at my house last night" - now who's the jerk!

As for your question "why are people such jerks?" : people are only jerks if there is someone judging them.

edit: spelling

take their money!

Can't recall who, but I remember readng some famous golfer from the past saying that if you can't shoot par from the forward tees you have no business moving back to longer tees. In other words, most golfers should be playing the forward tees. Of course, nobody follows this but it makes sense to me. Chops back playing the tips? Ridiculous! If I was paired with you, I would have been happy to join you at those forward tees.

Could be insecurities about height (and probably golf ability too.) Brutally honest I will say that sometimes I get irked when passing a really tall dude on the street. I am not short but peoples over six four makes me feel kind of dwarfed and who likes that. I wonder how tall the skirt comment guy was. Six five being fairly tall and in general it's unusual for any guy to play forward tees. But to mock someone you just met is low, don't even sweat it.

If you would say that kind of comment to someone you have never met on the first tee, before even seeing them take a shot, then you ought to consider that several people on this thread think that is a pretty jerk move. Maybe you should consider the fact that while that type of comment is perfectly appropriate for your buddy it is probably not very cool to do to someone who has just; through no choice of his own, been paired with you for the next 4 hours.

Is making a sarcastic joke to a stranger on the first tee really worth making someone you don't know feel bad enough to go vent about it later on? Of course maybe he took it too hard, but so would a lot of people. Just seems bush league to me, if you don't even know the guy.

Do what makes you happy and the F' with weenies like that. If you can't reach some par 3's with driver then you should be playing from more up tees. And don't you dare quit or leave the game. If you did because of what other people said, then I'd lose respect for you as well. Don't ever let other people push you around. Don't ever let what other people say sway you from doing what's right in your mind.

If it happens again, laugh a bit and then give them the"... no, but seriously, I played with a group last week, and none of us broke 85 playing (the box the afformentioned clowns are playing from). I just do not want to look like a (insert favorite and appropriate expletive here) playing the wrong tees and all....". My buddies and I have actually done this before, and results are amusing most of the time. The only unfortunate side effect of this treatment is having to hear a rash of excuses about bad backs, not getting out enough, etc., etc..

Are you sure you're a Canadian? There's hockey, ball hockey and then there's the one on grass - the one with all the whistles and all the empty seats in the summer Olympics.

Hate to thread jack. Hate it. But listen to Sean Miller: there is no such game as ICE HOCKEY. HOCKEY, real hockey, is played on ice. That game is called Hockey; other versions of this game need an adjective (field, boring, etc.).

You should play your tees. That was a jerk-a** comment. You get those when you get paired up with guys.

+1



Wishing I would have thought of this a long time ago.

Most of those guys play from the tips so they can say, "yeah, I shot 85, but we played from the tips." The reality is most of them couldn't bring a 77 from the forward tees to keep mama alive.

And its all relative. I played this summer with a LDA guy who I'm sure never devoted a single brain cell to the fact that he was carrying the rest of us by 50-60 yards. He knew he was long and knew there was more to the game than length. It takes an insecure pimp to make a tee box the signature of his manliness.

You keep playing from where you want to play and enjoy the game for another thirty years.

I'm a former Marine and I was tempted, but it just wouldn't have been worth it (though if I here any more of those kinds of wise cracks, who knows?). But honestly those kinds of comments do get to me. The only time the game is really enjoyable for me is when I play alone.

LOL! Wish I could say "yes" but that would be dishonest. :-)

I'm taking lessons and the pro says I use no "big" muscles in my swing...it's all arms.

I have a sense of humor, but his tone of voice and the look on his face indicated he wasn't being "friendly". You mentioned you've played the forward tees before, but with friends. I didn't know any of these people.

Excellent philosophy!

And, I would enjoy the round. :-)

As you said, trash talking can be fun amongst those you know. But also like you said, these were strangers.

Btw I birdied the first hole.

Thanks man, I really do appreciate it.

You're right, I won't pack it in. Just having a "crisis of confidence" I guess. LOL. I just get tired of all the BS.

Can't believe those two guys actually said that to you. I just want to go out and have fun and get the opportunity to hit some greens in regulation. You'd think, "What the heck is the big deal?"

A couple of weeks ago I was on the range and watching this LDer hitting golf balls next to me. Very impressive. We started talking and anyway he says about his game: "I can't hit a wedge to save my life," and laughs. Too bad we couldn't combine our games. :-)

I wonder if some of these comments were meant in jest? If not, I wouldn't give them much value or the person who said it much value. I like the fact that you didn't allow that negative statement to distract your round. You can't control others, but you can control yourself. Good job on keeping it together. Keep in mind, strangers may say seemingly mean things to you and they didn't mean it that way. However since you don't know them, you can easily take it the wrong way. I try to give the person the benefit of the doubt. I'll even throw a jab back in their direction. I might have said-when I go to the gym enough times and get as big as you, I'll join you at the back tees. Then after the round I would rib him about his round in front of his buddies. I'd say geez if you played the ladies tees, you might have had a chance of beating me. Have some fun with it, brotha. There is a lot more of this to come in life.

You should just give them a stare. A real cold, Cline Eastwood type of stare. Dont say a word, just stand there and stare at them for good 5-10 second or so, like you are looking into their soul. Be sure you are in a position that they cannot hit until you move. When you do move, continue to stare at them, all the way through when they hit the ball. When they hit it, dont say a word, just grab your clubs and walk off. They'll get the hint.

You really need to find some people you are comfortable playing with. Playing alone is ok but I really enjoy playing with my friends. There are others out there that enjoy the game and are only worried about their own play and not what others do. When I play a course I try to beat the course not the others I am playing with. Too many people are concerned about what clubs you own or what clubs you hit or what tees you play from or about beating you. I enjoy seeing good shots. From me or from anyone else. I would have enjoyed seeing you shoot 77. There had to many good shots in there to do that.
As for the "old geezers" comment I received. The guy that made the comment could really crush the ball but had nothing else. When we finished our round I said "Man I can't believe I shot ten strokes better then you the way you drive the ball but you young punks need to take it from us old geezers. The short game is where it's at". So I get my jabs in too. But atleast I felt I could say that after 18 instead of making a smart comment when I first meet someone. I would welcome playing with you anytime.

perfect!!!

1) F*** those guys, they would kill for your short game.

2) Play your game and have fun.

3) Don't give up on the lessons and getting those big muscles into the swing, on my best drives I feel like my arms go limp and just turn my body through. You'll be hitting it past them once you get that technique right.

dont worry about what any one else says or thinks. all that matters is that you enjoy yourself when you play.

there were always jerks in golf because of the elite snobs but now we have more with the low spectrum of society with their sophomoric street banter. or in your case it could have been just harmless banter at your expense.

however, i'm with you on this one though and, just would like to enjoy golf without insults/childish banter with strangers, with friends it's another story.

I do try to use good judgment with strangers and interact with them accordingly. if he is the reserved type I try not to talk as much or if he is the friendly joking type I just follow along and joke with him.

I see myself as too friendly sometimes and I admit some jerks try to take advantage of it.