Would This Make You Walk Off The Golf Course

A round of golf should be a cherished experience. You have taken the time to spend several hours on the course, hopefully in good company on a fine day, which is an opportunity to escape from the wider world and fully connect with your game.

So, it would take something significant to make you walk off and quit before completing your 18 holes. But it does happen.

We asked golfers on social media to describe what exactly would make them give up and head straight for the clubhouse - or car park.

It's likely that you will have experience of at least some of these situations, but some even caught us by surprise.

Could these things make you walk off the golf course?

Bad Weather

Golf is an outdoor sport, meaning that you are best advised to embrace the elements and all manner of conditions, but there are times when things become too extreme to continue.

Peter Sharples on Facebook, said: "One course I played was so waterlogged I was surprised I lasted the 11 holes I got through."

Steve Steel had a similar story to report, commenting: "Sustained torrential stair rodding. Twice in 18 years, it was so windy the rain was hitting us sideways and the greens started to flood."

From my own time playing the game, I've always tried to keep going, through rain, snow and gales, (I do live in Scotland, after all), but there was one instance when playing the Old Course at St Andrews. Having started on a balmy afternoon in late May, as we came closer back to the historic town, the sky darkened, and it became apparent that we couldn't see more than 50 yards ahead of us when a lightning storm struck, bringing with it the heaviest downpour that I've ever been saturated by. 

The sanctuary of the clubhouse was calling.

Slow Play

We've covered this topic extensively, but it's clear that slow play drives so many of you insane and has routinely caused a significant number of you to walk off the course.

If the pace is too glacial, three hours can quickly stretch to four and way beyond, which ultimately can become unbearable. 

You want to marinate and fully enjoy a round of golf, but there comes a point where hanging around over every shot is no fun at all and that is why so many clubs work tirelessly to keep things moving.

Playing Badly

Let's be honest, golf is a difficult pastime, that's a major part of the appeal, as there is nothing more satisfying than when you do connect with the ball properly and hit a perfect shot.

Unfortunately, those moments are fleeting for most of us, and often it can be a real struggle on the course.

We're all accepting of that, but for some golfers who responded to us, it's been too much to handle and the misery of how they were playing simply drove them to give up for the day.

That's something I have been guilty of - only when playing alone, it must be said - but these days I appreciate my rare golfing time so much that I will keep going no matter what.

Bad Playing Partners

One of the biggest appeals of golf are the different personalities you can meet and spend time with. This game is a window into someone's soul and psyche, and those hours spent in fine company are hugely rewarding.

That said, sometimes you might not be so fortunate, especially when paired up with strangers, which can often happen in competitions.

Several golfers came back to us with stories of unpleasant playing partners and even witnessing cheating, which drove them off the course, but in somewhat humorous instances, the quality of play on display has been painful for a few respondents to behold.

Geoff Chapman said: "The two people I was paired up with took 12 and 14 shots to get to the par four first green. I picked up and went to another course."

While Matt Kench added, somewhat creatively: "A guy we call ‘snooker’ regularly shoots 147. Played with him once, walked off after the 10th."

Unusual Reasons...

The above factors are common and likely something that you can relate to, but there are some situations that are unique that made continuing with the round simply unpalatable.

Golfshake's Derek Clements told us about one painful incident: "Being hit by a golf ball between my eyeballs!"

Many golf courses are blessed to reside in harmony with nature as wildlife of various forms regularly appear when you least expect it, but that once led to a distressing scene for Martyn Byrne, who said: "Hitting a very low skimming tee shot, struck a goose nearby and taking half of its leg off."

But when it comes to an unusual experience, Geoff Highett's tale is hard to beat.

"You need to visualise this. And it was decades ago.

"Started level for first three holes off 15 at the time in a local tournament (not home course). One of my fellow players smacked his drive into course side field. I could see it and hopped over the stone wall to return it. Getting back to the course wasn’t so easy. As well as the barbed fence alongside the wall there was another wire which I found out too late held an electric pulse. I put my leg over both wires and grabbed the stone only for it to fall back towards me, the barbed wire gripped and ripped my trousers and leg while I danced on my tiptoes trying to unsuccessfully escape the electricity surge from the other wire. I was so traumatised that after four out of bounds on the next two holes I retired to the 19th to find comfort

"Best advice I can give is never mix barbed or electric fences with golf."

Others Complete Their Round No Matter What

Despite all of the above, there are some golfers who will finish what they started, no matter what.

Andy Pentith said on Facebook: "Never, once I am out there, I am out there till the end."

That's the commitment that we respect. Playing golf should be special and memorable, it must be a rewarding experience, but sometimes obstacles get in the way of that.

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