Are golfers braggers?

I saw once a poster here said that while he loved playing golf, he didn't really like golfers that much. I see here from time to time some posters bragging about what they can do on a golf course. Do you think contributors here or golfers in general are inclined to brag?

There is an expression that "not all golfers are idiots, but all idiots are golfers".

I find the same in a lot of sports though. Climbing is particularly bad for people blowing their own trumpet and showing off.

A few presumably insecure ones seem to like to brag about their supposed length quite a lot....

I find it interesting that it is generally the golfers who have never achieved a low handicap who bragg the most.
There was a post from a 'well informed' 15 handicap male golfer implying that Hazel Irvine had no right to be offering golf opinions.
He was not too pleased when I told him she had more right than he had as she played to a lower handicap.

Doon the Water wrote:I find it interesting that it is generally the golfers who have never achieved a low handicap who bragg the most.
There was a post from a 'well informed' 15 handicap male golfer implying that Hazel Irvine had no right to be offering golf opinions.
He was not too pleased when I told him she had more right than he had as she played to a lower handicap.

This is typically one of the things I can't stand about golf! Saying lower handicap gives someone more right to an opinion. Everyone is entitled to their opinion regardless of their personal ability.

Re: the topic at hand, show me anyone that plays any sport that in someway doesn't brag, difference with golf there are more things to brag about, like Diggers said for some its their length, others its their low handicap etc.

Fader are you trying to say that a 28 handicap beginner may know more about golf than someone off +5.

I suppose he may know the best colour clothes to wear or the best trolley to buy but talking golf as it is played.......no.

doon are you for real? ok so you are taking an extreme example there of course a beginner wouldn't know more than a +5 player but as a mid to high handicapper myself I KNOW that is know more about the game than some -5 players

there are some low handicappers who have a talent for the game but they dont always understand the finer points

i may not always be able to practice what i preach but i have personal experience of people who are much lower than me yet dont know jack shit about what makes a good player

havent some of the best coaches in the world of golf been pretty average players themself?

Doon again I reiterate my point its comments like that which give golfers a bad name.

Just because someone has a superior playing level doesn't mean a lesser players point is not valid! If that's the case then everyone one here should never discuss tour pro golf, as were not good enough to pass comment because we can't do what they can with a ball.

Likewise no tour pro should take lessons of coaches as they are better than those teaching them. What a ridiculous thesis for why people should have certain levels they should comment on. Would you suggest a league tavle on here where we have to comment on threads only by handicap category? I'm Cat 2 so I guess I'm ruled out of most threads.

I find that it's always the high handicappers who just like to spout off about their game, and talk a better game than they can play.

The lower handicappers just work on their game, and normally keep their mouths shut about how good they are.

In answer to the OP, yes I think so but no more than people of other sports. It's often particularly bad on forums such as this where all you have to go on is someone's word.
I don't find there's much difference in the standard of the golfer talking out of their arse TBH. Plenty of excellent players (are you listening Ian Poulter?) talk scheiss as do plenty of beginners.

oldparwin wrote:I find that it's always the high handicappers who just like to spout off about their game, and talk a better game than they can play.

The lower handicappers just work on their game, and normally keep their mouths shut about how good they are.

I work with some of those high handicappers ! They're always talking about how great they play, but you realize when you play with them that they're not playing quite the same game. They take frequent mulligans off the tee,drop another ball when they feel like it, kick the ball into a better lie, give themselves 3 foot putts etc. They end up with a completely unrealistic idea of their game !

Diggers wrote:A few presumably insecure ones seem to like to brag about their supposed length quite a lot....

lol i have mentioned my length recently- that is not about being insecure- i was answering a question. its not bragging!!

Being long isnt the be all and end all as we all know.

Someone mentioning length in an honest way is no worse than a poster judging another based on what they percieve and ignoring context or the discussion at hand..

Funny that you never hear anyone brag about being accurate though isn't it?

if i ever say i hit it long i normally talk about it in a somewhat negative way..

Some off us give advice to questions posters have - I am one of those. I have personally played alot of golf at many levels. But i am honest.

I do get the feeling that many posters on here lie about there handicap. Like when you speak to a fellow golfer on your travels and they tell you there handicap- yet you know full well they havent even got an offical one and they have just based it on there last score at some poxy course

A clear difference between golf boards and other sporting boards is that on the whole we still play our sport. This creates a more intense envioroment. Golfers are not exclusively braggers, but we talk about our own game more- that is natural because on the whole we still play, whereas we arnt still playing much football , rugby or cricket so discussion beomes more about the teams or players rather than drawing so many parralells to our own games..

"I saw once a poster here said that while he loved playing golf, he didn't really like golfers that much"

I believe it was me that made a comment very similar to that and I can assure people it had nothing to do with bragging but more to do with golfer’s propensity for narrow mindedness. Most golfers seem to be from the “I am not racist but….” or “political correctness has gone mad” brigades. Listening to the general conversation in a golf club bar can be one of the most cringe worthy and painful experiences possible.

What makes me laugh is that whenever we have discussed the merits of the handicap system on here in the past so many people laud it as the most wonderful thing about golf....making it all encompassing, creating a level playing field where everyone is equal. What a complete and utter crock that is. The truth is it just makes for a willy waving competition, high handicappers are rubbish and shouldnt have an opinion...low handicappers are all up themselves etc etc.
But at the end of the day its just blokes being blokes, I find it utterly bizarre that they are meant to be any different when swinging a golf club rather than kicking a ball....hello....same person. Just the same way that golfers are meant to be more morally sound than footballers...even though loads of golfers are footballers! Odd.

McLaren wrote:"I saw once a poster here said that while he loved playing golf, he didn't really like golfers that much"

I believe it was me that made a comment very similar to that and I can assure people it had nothing to do with bragging but more to do with golfer’s propensity for narrow mindedness. Most golfers seem to be from the “I am not racist but….” or “political correctness has gone mad” brigades. Listening to the general conversation in a golf club bar can be one of the most cringe worthy and painful experiences possible.

With respect Mac, I totally disagree that most are "I'm not racist but...."

They might not be Arthur Scargill loving Red Flag Waving Socialist Worker Reading Liberal nutcases but I think it's wrong to say that golf or any other sport harbours racists in higher numbers than any other sector of sport.

McLaren wrote:...Most golfers seem to be from the ......... “political correctness has gone mad” brigades...

Takes one to know one?

lorus59 wrote: I see here from time to time some posters bragging about what they can do on a golf course. Do you think contributors here or golfers in general are inclined to brag?

I mostly play golf with easy-going 50+ guys so they're not inclined to brag that much. Played with a young whipper-snapper once who claimed to have a clubhead speed of 135 mph, along with numerous other inflated stats about his game, it was quite amusing listening to him. In general I find it's the lower handicappers who tend to think they're great, and it can be a real pain to play with them. Someone here was quite braggy about their short game recently, but apart from that there doesnt seem to be much gloating here.

I have to agree that playing with the lower handicap player who thinks playing off less than 5 makes them some sort of god is a real pain in the ass.

I do try to make an effort not to talk about my game too much - I'm a mid handicap golfer so that must be about right!

A serious point is the less details you give someone about your game the less they can try to use it against you when they want to.

I don't have much to brag about really. I don't hit it that far (although those that can't hit it as far as me think I do). I don't think my handicap's that low (although those with a higher handicap think it is). I have the very occasional decent round but most of the time am happy to get inside the buffer.

Dunno why I bother really!

"Dunno why I bother really!"

Cos despite what reading this forum might leave you thinking, golf is frigging awesome.

McLaren wrote:"Dunno why I bother really!"

Cos despite what reading this forum might leave you thinking, golf is frigging awesome.

Diggers wrote:What makes me laugh is that whenever we have discussed the merits of the handicap system on here in the past so many people laud it as the most wonderful thing about golf....making it all encompassing, creating a level playing field where everyone is equal. What a complete and utter crock that is. The truth is it just makes for a willy waving competition, high handicappers are rubbish and shouldnt have an opinion...low handicappers are all up themselves etc etc.
But at the end of the day its just blokes being blokes, I find it utterly bizarre that they are meant to be any different when swinging a golf club rather than kicking a ball....hello....same person. Just the same way that golfers are meant to be more morally sound than footballers...even though loads of golfers are footballers! Odd.

That isnt a problem with golfers though-Football is just seen as lower class by many. Check out the rugby boards if you want to hear about people that feel superior to footballers or football fans...

mysti

Dont worry it is well established by those in the know (I include myself here) that rugby is a poor excuse for a sport. It is a pile up for the unskilled who cannot play a real sport involving skill and technique.

I love the game myself Mac. But it is highly populated by toffs in this country

Depends what part of the country. Not partucularly a toffs game in the north and pretty working class in places like Bristol as well.
Its just as much a case that you cant really play football and rugby, tends to be one or the other, so there will always be a bit of banter.

Its all league up the north isnt it Diggs..

Sale? Newcastle? And that's at the top level.

Mac, you're a plum!

Im form the north east Mysti and we tend to be more Union, round where I grew up, Geordie land and beyond, we didnt play any league.

Ok cool.. I am sure its abit more sport v sport up north- whereas it seems more class v class down here

I think its a bit of a London thing when it comes to the class part, though obviously its a public school game as well.
You will struggle to find a bigger dump that Leicester which is obviously a huge rugby town, like I said Bristol as well and now Sale.
But yeah, certainly a lot more poshers play rugby than they do football. And I guess at the fan level even more of a split. I like both games myself.

Plunky wrote:

oldparwin wrote:I find that it's always the high handicappers who just like to spout off about their game, and talk a better game than they can play.

The lower handicappers just work on their game, and normally keep their mouths shut about how good they are.

I work with some of those high handicappers ! They're always talking about how great they play, but you realize when you play with them that they're not playing quite the same game. They take frequent mulligans off the tee,drop another ball when they feel like it, kick the ball into a better lie, give themselves 3 foot putts etc. They end up with a completely unrealistic idea of their game !

Plunky - they're not braggers, they are just cheats! Can't stand 'em.

Lower handicappers - in my experience - tend in the main, to do as OPW says and it's only when you are marking their card, that you realise they have a putt on the 18th for a 72. But they have quietly gone round with loads of GIR's.

Oi ! Actually you are correct re Leicester. I think youll find most of the rugby
fans come from the leafy surrounding villages much like myself.
Strong club rugby set up though -mostly accountants and farmers.

oldshanker wrote:

Plunky wrote:

oldparwin wrote:I find that it's always the high handicappers who just like to spout off about their game, and talk a better game than they can play.

The lower handicappers just work on their game, and normally keep their mouths shut about how good they are.

I work with some of those high handicappers ! They're always talking about how great they play, but you realize when you play with them that they're not playing quite the same game. They take frequent mulligans off the tee,drop another ball when they feel like it, kick the ball into a better lie, give themselves 3 foot putts etc. They end up with a completely unrealistic idea of their game !

Plunky - they're not braggers, they are just cheats! Can't stand 'em.

Lower handicappers - in my experience - tend in the main, to do as OPW says and it's only when you are marking their card, that you realise they have a putt on the 18th for a 72. But they have quietly gone round with loads of GIR's.

You're right -- they are cheaters but they're not playing competitively or submitting scores for a handicap, so they're only really cheating themselves. It seems from reading this board for a while that there is a lot of competitive golf going on at clubs in the UK -- medals, etc. Clubs in this area are so expensive to join that most golfers I know just play with friends at public courses. It's easy then to get into bad habits !

Played with 3 guys at the weekend. 2 of them off 3 and the other off 6. I'm off 12 and at no point did I feel inferior to them when discussing the game or the tour or just general shots.

It was the first time i'd played with guys of that standard and there was no bragging at all despite them hitting shots I could only dream of.

If anything they were more encouraging to me (but not condesending) about my game and they all said they though I had a good chance of getting lower if I sorted out my erratic driving.

My old man doesn't even play the game anymore, never got below 18 but knows the game inside out. A handicap means you can PLAY the game, doesn't necessarily mean you KNOW the game better than others.

Also, I play in the North and never met a golfer i've disliked.

So basically we have cracked it, you are clearly a much better rounded, less conceited person if you happen to be good at golf. Who would have thought it eh, all the research that goes on and its really that simple.