What's the worst, or most extreme, thing you have done in response to a bad shot?

First topic message reminder :

OK, let's face it. Golf is hard. It's difficult enough to hit a decent shot inside 100 yards from the middle of the fairway, let alone to play from knee-deep rough, on a downslope, blind and into a howling wind. It's a game which can instantly ignite even the longest of fuses, taking you from utter calm to boiling rage in the time it takes to thin a chip across a green.

Now i'm not asking how to cope in these circumstances. We all know the old tips of counting to 10, taking deep breaths, admiring the scenery, smoking a cigarette. I'm asking what you've done when the red mist decended, in that moment when you have very little or no control over your emotions. Me, i've been guilty of a few golfing no-no's. My 58 degree wedge (the bane of my golfing existence) has been thrown more than once, while my Cobra ZL driver is currently sat in the boot of my car....in 2 bits. I once had a tricky chip shot near the green and had my putter lying next to me as i played what turned out to be a disater shot into the water. As i saw the splash, i turned and banged my wedge into the ground, unfortunately right into the putter shaft. That was an expensive shot. And i what about our old friend the swear word? Yes, i may have muttered, or shouted, a few of those in my time too.

To the high-horse brigade and the golfing saints, please don't hijack the thread with your down-the-nose moralising, telling me and others that our behaviour is disgusting and worthy of 10 years hard labour. This stuff happens all the time, to pros and amateurs alike. In fact, if you were to watch a tour season, or even a single tour event, you'd see most of the behaviour descibed above!

i have learned a number of ways to throw a club sadly.
The high underarm lob is a shaft breaker.
The low skimmer normally avoids breakage unless near trees or powercaddys.
The one handed 'wang' into the ground raises eyebrows but little else.
The worst is the over arm 'chuck'. This is a lap of the gods one and should only be used when all else has failed you.

These days i dont throw clubs...as a junior i did all my throwing and learnt important lessons.

I did break a 5 iron recently which cost me £50 but that was trying to play a punch by a tree and forgot about the branch on my follow through.

paired with a nice german couple on a round in tenerife, my friend was having a particularly bad day. Several expletive laden holes, led to a savage attack on his bag with a mid iron that didn't live to tell the tale.

On the next tee, the rather distraught frau, came over to me and in english as broken as my friends club said, 'your friend, he frightens me'.

I had a quiet word, but could see the mist was still present. Luckily a hole or so later my friend hit his first green in regulation of the day, and proceeded to putt off the green and into a bunker. This rather lightened the mood for all, and the rest of the round was played in better spirit.

Infact anglo-german relations had thawed to such an extent that the German husband even leapt to my aide later in the round. Defending me when an irate husband form the the german fourball in front came over to query why i had seen fit to hit his wife on the head with my overhit approach to the green.

Not a day we covered ourselves in glory, but then we seldom do.

Noshankingtonite wrote:...Funniest (and most embarrassing incident) was at the 18th (long-ish par 3 over a pond) at Puckrup Hall when my mate skulled his first 2 irons into the awaiting pond, lobbed his third into the pond and then hit his fourth oob into the clubhouse carpark practically behind hotel. He then got on his knees and proceeded (in full view of the members behind the green and the approaching senior ladies 4-ball) to smash his three iron in Cleese-esque fashion into the ground shouting YOU F****** C*** at the top of his voice while he dug a hole big enough on the tee to bury a small dog. Needless to say we skipped the after round drinkie-poos on that occasion

It shouldn't, but I can just see him now and that one made me laugh. I hope you remind him of it periodically.

there is a body in a very deep unmarked grave in Jersey...

Jimmy the Mac

One of the times, I missed a short putt, holding my putter out in front of me tried to kick it and hit myself on the ankle bone.

After limping to the next tee, had to let 2 groups through before I was able to tee off, certainly wont be doing anything stupid like that again.

oldparwin wrote:One of the times, I missed a short putt, holding my putter out in front of me tried to kick it and hit myself on the ankle bone.

After limping to the next tee, had to let 2 groups through before I was able to tee off, certainly wont be doing anything stupid like that again.

After idly twirling my driver on the 5th tee last weekend (not the cocky twirl after hitting a beaut, but just filling time while we waited for the slow group in front) - and cracking myself on the shin with it, I feel your pain (almost literally). Hobbled around the remaining 14 holes

I never really get annoyed since I just enjoy playing no matter how bad I am doing but a guy I was playing with in a Stableford once was having a alright day after 9 but from the 10th onwards went downhill VERY quickly. Come the 14th he was in the greenside bunker and could not get it out in 4 shots (it is not a tough bunker) and he went mental and tried kicking it out 5 times (with no success) so threw it out and on the way to the next tee hit every sign on the way with his driver and spent the rest of the round muttering, swearing, and generally playing even worse
I havent signed up to play with him again and avoid his name like the plague

Hmm - you are all such a passionate lot!

I have never:-

broken a club
thrown a club
thrown a ball away
punched anybody or anything
shouted loud oaths
hit my ball either away or at anybody
Attacked my trolley
taken my clothes off and go skinny dipping - oh wait no, I have done that, but not on the golf course.

I do admit to occasionally stamping my divot back in a little harder than is absolutely called for and I might on the odd occasion remind myself that I can actually play better than that.

My mate was having an awful round and on the 10th his approach from 100 yards ended about 70 yards short. He proceeded to attack his back with his wedge like a psychopathic axemudered. The 11th is a par 3 and on the 12th tee he went to take his nice Taylormade driver out of his bag only to find that half of it had remained in his bag.

GG wrote:My mate was having an awful round and on the 10th his approach from 100 yards ended about 70 yards short. He proceeded to attack his back with his wedge like a psychopathic axemudered. The 11th is a par 3 and on the 12th tee he went to take his nice Taylormade driver out of his bag only to find that half of it had remained in his bag.

Don't understand this story

tarka wrote:

GG wrote:My mate was having an awful round and on the 10th his approach from 100 yards ended about 70 yards short. He proceeded to attack his back with his wedge like a psychopathic axemudered. The 11th is a par 3 and on the 12th tee he went to take his nice Taylormade driver out of his bag only to find that half of it had remained in his bag.

Don't understand this story

I think that this guy's playing partner duffed a wedge down 10 so hit his bag repeatedly with the club. He then played 11 fine with an iron off the tee and when he went to go for his driver on 12 realised that his exploits after the duffed wedge on 10 had brokedn the shaft of his driver...

i can still remember when i was a lot younger playing at a course called bedlington up in northumberland.

my friend found a very nasty lie in shin deep rough with a very old established tree between him and the green. he declared that he would use his natural slice to get him out of trouble only to aim his ball way down the left and watch it stay on the exact same line he hit it on and straight OOB.

with his ball still flying into the cheb i watched him launch his brand spanking new 3 wood towards the green only to watch it richochet back off the old established tree and bounce back twice as quickly that he threw it and smack him right in his knee. needless to say he dropped to the ground very quickly and the crys of pain still haunt me to this day, so whenever i hit a bad shot i just think back to that day and think to myself things could be worse!

oh and if youre wondering, we never found the ball, the tree was fine but my playing partner limped for several days afterwards and ive never seen him throw a club since then!

Most extreme and worst let me think, I did the cardinal sin all youngsters do at some point I threw my putter on the 6th hole in a junior open down in west malling when I was 14, i'd missed a short putt for par on the 1st then 5 consecutive shortish birdie putts on the next 5 greens. So my putter went for an early morning flight problem was it landed on a sprinkler head and the head came clean off my putter and damaged the sprinkler. The sprinkler got a leak nothing to bad it wasn't a huge leak just a trickle and fortunately it was angled away from the green. The putter though I could not replace so had to play the remainder of the round using a 2iron to blade the ball and putt with. I had to borrow an old bullseye putter off the club pro for the 2nd round needless to say i didn't throw that one.. Nor have i thrown a club in anger since.

i have seen guys snap clubs, throw them up trees, into lakes, even saw one guy run and jump on his pencil bag which was leaning against a bench, problem was he not only snapped several clubs due to the force of his jump and angle the bag he landed awkwardly and done the ligaments in his ankle, he never learned though seen him since on trips to my junior club still throwing things around.