The Types of Golfers You Want And Do NOT Want to Play With

By: Derek Clements | Fri 27 Jan 2023

GOLF is a game that we play for fun. Or at least it should be. When I look around at the behaviour of some of the people I see playing this great game, it sometimes makes me wonder why they bother.

And it got me thinking about the sort of individuals that, in an ideal world, we would want to play with. And those we wouldn’t want to be on the same course with, never mind in the same fourball.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the men and women whom we want to play with - and those we don’t…

The Golfer Who Puts You at Ease

You are a high handicapper and you find yourself playing with a single-figure golfer who has been playing the game for years. This man or woman is seriously good. It could be your worst nightmare. Instead, it turns out to be one of the best rounds of your life because instead of being impatient with you, they turn out to be warm and friendly. Not only that, but he or she gives you some proper tips. You walk off the 18th green with a new friend for life.

The Friendly Golfer

No matter what standard you achieve, playing with somebody you have never met before can be something of an ordeal, whether it be at your home course or at a layout you are playing for the first time. So what better than finding that you are sharing the fairways with somebody who takes a genuine interest in you? Somebody who praises you when you hit a good shot. Somebody you would want your daughter (or son) to marry. Somebody you genuinely want to play with again.

The Perfect Host

You have turned up at course you have never played before and you are on your own, so the club pairs you up with one of its members and he is a font of knowledge. Forget your stroke saver, this individual knows the course inside and out and guides you round perfectly.

The Joker

This is the golfer everybody wants to play with, a larger than life character who always reduces those he plays with to tears of laughter, the person everybody gravitates towards in the clubhouse, the one who almost never has to buy a round of drinks.

The One With The Deep Pocket

And, of course, when you amble into the bar at the end of your round, the words you really want to hear are: “Mate, what can I get you to drink?”

The Good Loser

There are going to be days when everything you touch turns to gold. Sometimes it can be embarrassing. On days such as these, you really want to be with somebody who plays the game in the right spirit, who genuinely congratulates you on your good shots and is genuinely gracious in defeat.

Best Golf Playing Partners

And here are a few of the ones you want nothing to do with…..

The Angry Golfer

There is NOTHING worse than finding yourself being drawn to play with the individual who curses, swears, slams clubs into the ground, throws club, walks off the tee or green while you are still playing and blames it all on everything other than his own poor swing. It is always somebody else’s fault.

The Impatient Golfer

None of us like slow play. But most of us accept that it is part and parcel of the game. Thankfully, most slow players are aware of their shortcomings and will wave you through. But not everybody is so thoughtful, or as aware of what’s going on around them. So when you get stuck behind a slow group, the last thing you want (or need) is to be playing with somebody who has no patience. This is the type of golfer who will quickly resort to teeing off when the group in front are still within range, will stand in the middle of the fairway leaning on a club while waving his arms in the air like an air-traffic controller. And, of course, when he comes across the slow players in the clubhouse he is, without fail, incredibly rude to them.

The Bad Loser

We ALL have bad days - it’s the nature of the game we love. But the person you really don’t want to be playing with is the bad loser, the person who blames everybody and everything other than himself (again, this is always going to be a man), complains about the course, the conditions, the weather. And then refuses to shake your hand or look you in the eye when you beat him.

The Super Competitor

This is the golfer who wants to win at all costs, even if you are playing a friendly fourball with nothing other than pride at stake. He (it is ALWAYS a man) will concede nothing, making you hole out everything, refusing to help you look for your ball in the rough.