The Way Golfers Screw Up: Behavior
March 25, 2008 – 9:31 am | by GolfdirtOriginally Published in HumanGolf.com
By Martin Vousden
PREVIOUSLY: Etiquette
We should: Treat our opponents and fellow competitors with respect and civility by, for example, not jiggling coins in our pocket, sneezing, coughing, or dropping a full set of golf clubs on the ground as he’s about to play. We should remember that golf is the last bastion of sportsmanship and that “etiquette” is even woven into the Rules of the game.
We do: Anything we possibly can to ensure that his day is worse than ours. This includes betting on everything to try and put him off his stroke, saying “Two for the half” when he has an 18-inch putt to win the hole, and asking how come he hits the ball so far with such an obvious lateral pronation of his wrists during the first part of the takeaway. This last ploy, incidentally, is as old as the hills but some golfers still fall for it.
NEXT: Tactics
Martin Vousden is a freelance golf writer, a former editor of Today’s Golfer and launch editor of Golf Buyer and Swing magazines. His book, With Friends Like These; A Selective History of the Ryder Cup, was published in 2006 by Time Warner. He edits the RareBirdie.com website.
