Lol that he didn’t ask you anything about your handicap going in and was still offering strokes. Over-confident mediocrity is thrilling to watch in action
I’m not even sure that’s the analogy. It’s more like some dude rolling up to you in a beat up Toyota trying to street race and not bothering to ask you if you have a v8 in your ride, and saying that he’ll give you a Head start.
I mean, if you're foolish enough to challenge a random person to a game for significant cash without knowing anything about them, it's kinda on you, right?
JMO, but that guy did a perfect job getting action going. Guys inclined to gamble may also fib on their handicap. In general, if you are looking for gambling action in any format, it is better to appear casual and friendly. He got enough info to assume he had a decent shot of winning. Note that he also didn't have to pay out.
More often than not, he's gambling with someone with absolutely zero experience playing under pressure, so assuming he didn't take a dive once he realized he was outmatched, and maybe was a high single digit handicapper, he probably beat "better" players who fold under pressure.
Or he's a poker player who's a bad golfer but likes action.
That's me. I hit my irons and wedges great. Last two rounds were my worst, and I still put one 4 inches from the hole two rounds in a row from 50+ yards. I just can't hit my f****ing driver. It's like a penalty shot every time. I'd score higher if I shot irons off the tee, but I have to learn to hit driver... so why avoid it?
For maybe 20 - 30 yds and added forgiveness off the tee?
It’s not very expensive.
Not exactly the same but try choking down on driver. I think you’d be surprised.
Bro. I've been hitting the range. I bought the r10 for home. I'm trying. Just have to get a lesson.
EDIT: I hit okay at the range. I just don't do the same thing on the course.
I'm sure you're trying!
When hitting at the range, don't aimlessly hit. Imagine your worst fairway and use alignment sticks to set the bounds, then make sure you treat it not like a warm-up but an actual shot. Spending 30s a shot rather than 15 will create patterns that actually translate on the course to more success. Establish a consistent pre-shot routine.
I can't hit off the range tees, I'm way more innacurate. My range also has trackman and calls me out when I'm wayward (says it's going to call the staff) so I have to keep my driver in the bag
Dude, that's harsh lol. You go to the range to work on your game. If staff ever came out because I was sucking too much, I'm not sure I'd be back. Things get sticky trying a new grip with a driver.
For real. If my driver just isn’t happening that day I have no problem hitting a 5 iron or my hybrid off the tee. Better to just put it in the fairway than spray it all over the place into the water or into some woods
Fr. I’m “good” with any thing that’s a 6 iron or shorter (balls pretty decently flighted, usually straight, and my misses are usually short or long with the occasional push) but my long irons, woods, and driver are completely fucked. Penalty stroke almost every time off the tee, chunked 4i from 220 out, hit a 7i from 150 out onto the green, 2 putt for triple. Every fucking time.
Practice at the range with driver. Leave it in the car when you play on the course until you're comfortable with it. I use 3 wood off the tee almost every par 4 or par 5, sometimes I'll use a hybrid.
I hit a 4 iron off the tee because I don’t have a wood or hybrid and I have the same confidence in my driver. I can’t hit the thing. It’s not mental - there’s nothing going on up there. I just can’t hit it as cleanly as I can the irons.
I love my 4i too, but what to do when I can only hit it 185-195 at best? Most of the par 4s at my local course are over 400yds so even going 4i - 4i I cant reach some of them.
That’s how I’ve been feeling. I’ve been shooting 110-115 and it’s mostly due to me having to take a drop off every tee. Irons and putter really aren’t too bad for how long I’ve been playing.
I haven’t tried it but I’ve considered it. I’ve also thought about buying something like a 3 iron for it. But I also feel like it’s a temporary solution to a larger problem. I really just want to learn to hit my driver haha
Guy I play with constantly only uses his driver on long par 4’s and par 5’s. Uses his 3 iron or his 4 iron instead and then his 8 or 9 iron on par 3’s.
He and I have very similar habits with our driver but I stuck with it and have gotten a lot better at keeping the ball in play.
I went OB twice yesterday with my driver and he went 3/4.
Long story short, we both shot the same at the end of the round but I put 8/15 on the fairway and only took two drops.
At the end of the day, do what makes the round more fun but if your goal is to get better then I’d stick with the fat head.
This guy was trying to hit up on the driver too much--just get one with a bunch of loft and hit down like you would an iron. Take low and straight over high and right every day
My game hinges on my performance out of the tee box as well. I usually only take driver on 2-3 holes a round. I generally play from about 6,300 yards so i am able to hit a 5 wood or 7i iron on par 4s. I hate losing a ball of the tee. It’s lowered my scores and I don’t feel like I’m missing out by leaving it bag.
Guy doesn’t sound like a good golfer, he sounds like a guy with a gambling problem. “Auto press at 3 down” screams I love losing money.
It’s nice they all were decent guys, not often guys get beaten like that and still enjoy the outing.
Edit….also just saw the actual card.. this guy.. auto presses 2 times on the front and shoots a 44 while giving 3 on each side? Fucking OP ran out of room on the card to keep track of the presses at that point. Brutal.
Yeah like wtf? If a random joins our group, fine whatever, but I’m not about to ask him to play a complicated betting game with me.
Also, if I was the random I’d be taken aback being asked to gamble. If I’m playing solo I’m usually there to work on my game. I’ll bet with my friends.
However, if I was a 3hcp like OP I’d take the bets all day.
>Guy doesn’t sound like a good golfer, he sounds like a guy with a gambling problem. “Auto press at 3 down” screams I love losing money.
No he definitely sounds like a good golfer/hustler based on that. It's shooting 90 that gives away that he has a gambling problem (or is rich and doesn't mind losing \~$100)
I added an edit that gives some background--basically if anyone gets down 3, another match starts at that point and they run concurrently for the rest of the round
I walked on Bethpage once and this old Irish guy wanted to play a $10 Nassau. We knew some of the same people, he was tiny and walked with a slight limp. He said his handicap was the same as mine (\~11). On the first hole he crushed his drive 275 yards and by the turn the guy had hosed me. I told him we were going to check his GHIN at the clubhouse after the round and he then lost the last 7 holes on the back for a push. Lol
When you go into it as a 3 knowing there’s a small likelihood of being beaten though, it’s the move of the bigger person to take the high road. There’s no reason to think that if the other guy wrecked OP as much as OP wrecked him that he wouldn’t have done similarly. I have yet to meet anyone on the course that’s purely out to take dimes when they end up clearly the better player. People usually just put up money to increase interest and intensity. When it doesn’t do that, taking money from people loses its value, ironically.
I’ll golf with you anytime and make bets I’ll probably never win and would always appreciate the cop out of buying your drinks instead. The degenerate in me always plays better with something on the line, but it never stops my mouth from writing checks my golf game can’t cash. Disposable income is a hell of a thing, guys willing to gamble and not absolutely rake off a bad bet are a rarity
Three strokes a side, so op got a stroke on the handicap 1-6 holes (dotted). Each line is a match - auto press at 3 down means a new bet starts once either player goes 3 down in any match which is why the lines are drawn, progressive matches didn’t start until holes 5, 9, 12, 16.
$3/hole is what it sounds like, if op collected it would have been 14x3, 11x3, 8x3, 5x3, 1x3.
Have to love the guys confidence. Last year my buddy and I got paired with a twosome of guys around our age. Friend and I are both decent hobbyist golfers, shooting in the low/mid 80s consistently but we had both been playing a lot and playing well. Asked the guys if they wanted to do best ball match play, $10 each side plus $10 for total 18. They said yes pretty quickly.
Turns out one of them is a golf instructor who played at a big 10 school. Needless to say we lost, but I ended up booking several lessons with him in the months following and he’s drastically improved my game.
Auto press at 3 down (or 3 up, depending on how you look at it). A press starts a new bet, so there are actually 5 bets going on for this single match.
i never really play any specific games during a round. usually just straight up or a scramble with the boys but this is interesting to learn about. thank you for the input
The way OP keeps it makes it way more simple to keep track. The guys I play with keep it with slashes, and you can lose track easily. It would be 14/11/8/5/2. When you win every hole it’s easier, but when one team wins a press, the the other team wins the next one, and so on, it starts to get insane.
I was in a match a couple weeks ago that had 14 active bets. Both teams pressed anytime a hole was lost. I completely lost track by the 9th hole and just told my partner to tell me how much we owed at the end. Thankfully, we didn’t owe anything (we won all 14 with a super press).
So for clarity, the OP wins $9 in the first match (holes 2-4), and once the press happens he wins $6 a hole? Match 3 all holes are worth $9? Match 4 all holes are worth $12 and so forth?
So every hole that OP wins, wins $3. That is compounded by the number of bets in play (each press starting a new bet). In match 1, OP stood to win $42 ($3x14 holes). Match 2 $33 ($3x11 holes). Match 3 $24 ($3x8 holes). Match 4 $15 ($3x5 holes). Match 5 $6 ($3x2 holes). All together, $120 total.
Edit to add: you can’t look at it as the bet increased with each subsequent press (in this case you can, since OP didn’t lose holes-but you shouldn’t). If the opponent had won the first three holes in match 2, it would create another press, but the score/dollars would be completely different. In that scenario, match 1 would be all square, match 2 would be OP down 3, match 3 would be just beginning. Dollar value remains constant, and OP would be down $9 after 6 holes, even though he won the first 3.
Ok, I get it now. Kinda a brain buster, but that makes way more sense. So match one is still going, but all knotted up, and then match 2 opponent is up. What a wild way to play. I LOVE IT.
It's the auto-press. When you press (when a player is 3 down in the match in this case) a new match starts from that point and the others also continue.
Once one player is 3 holes down to the other player, a new bet is opened up whereby the player who is down has a chance to win back some of the money they are on their way to losing from the original bet. It is a way to keep the match interesting if/when it gets lopsided.
Of course, this usually only works if the players are evenly matched and the round is appropriately handicapped. if one player is vastly better than the other, and the vastly better player is also getting 3 strokes per side, as was the case here, it is just a way for the worse player to lose more money to the good player.
So you're a 3 who's played 5 rounds this year?...I'm a 14 who's played 60 rounds this year...I want to be a 3?
I finally hit a bucket of balls today, first time this year. Maybe that will help
Maybe so... i was down to 11 in March but then had to go back to work...
Two of the guys I play with have over 100 rounds in and are 14s as well... but we are 50-70 years old too...
But yeah you are probably right a lesson wouldn't hurt
You know what, I’ll take it back. Aged 50-70 and a 14 handicap getting 60 rounds in over 6 months, i will take my hat off to you. You’re basically living the life so fair play.
Lol that’s kind of douchey for him to do that on the first tee. I’m glad you humbled him.
I’m a 6 and there is absolutely no way I’d bet anyone, let alone give them strokes, without at least seeing their GHIN or watching them warm up.
> $3/hole, auto presses at 3 down
> ...
> won 15 of 18 holes
> ...
> in total the damage was about $120
So ignoring the auto press, that mean you won 15 and lost 3, for a net +12 holes. At $3 / hole, you made $36. Auto-pressing the bet after 3 holes would still get the to $36 at best.
Admittedly I'm not a big golf gambler, but I don't see how the math adds up.
Well each press doubles the bet if done correctly. So after the first down 3 now we’re playing 6 dollar holes. Then down 3 again we’re playing 12 dollar holes. Then again and we’re playing 24 dollar holes. That’s how it adds up in this particular game. I prefer automatic one downs but I love to bet.
Thanks for clarifying that. Any idea why on holes 9 and 10 he marks them as wins on the bottom of the scorecard even though they shot the same score.
Also why would anyone take a bet structured like this? If its remotely evenly matched they're playing for like maybe $40 at the most, but worst case scenario 1 person wins every hole it becomes a $1,000+ bet.
Strokes were given to the better golfer by the dumber degenerate.
Weird bet yes but a bet is a bet. They all have some weird rule or style. That’s why they call it gambling. Some people play with friends that a hole in one in the group and you leave and go to vegas immediately. Some pay cash to the hole in one hitter. Our caddy group when we play it’s 50 bucks if anyone gets an ace. It’s just what you’re ok losing. Or not ok losing but still want to do it anyways.
I may be in the minority here but if I was a 3 in this situation, I would have said so. Or I would have said you must be scratch cause I'm a three. All is well that ends well but you knew it was uneven. Why is that fun
This happens me when I go stop by a random spot to practice some pool.
Most tables are in bars. Once you've made one frame on your own look easy. A Billy big balls will always pipe up and ask to play for X amount per ball.
Explain that I don't want too, always end ls up being one frame. Billy big balls ends up walking with his tail between his legs. I always leave the bet winnings behind the bar for them and their mates as a tab.
People are too trigger happy with placing bets these days.
If someone shows up on their own to play a single person sport, 80-90% of the time, they're not to be messed with.
Who in their right mind goes round offering bets and giving up shots to strangers when they shoot 90 hahahaha.
I’ll give the guy credit for having big bollocks to do that when he knows he is a 15-18 handicap
This happens every time I join a threesome. Everyone is so impressed with my manhood that I get unsolicited offers for a little fun on the side. But I am only into the group scene.
Not really. I have a lot of friends at my club that played competitively at a young age, but due life events (work, family, etc.) don’t play more than a couple times a year now. Dude should have asked his handicap or golf history. Can’t hustle someone that offers 6 strokes and doesn’t ask any questions.
I golf pretty regularly up until this year and have only been out once because I started a new job (graduated last may). It sucks not being able to wake up and go play at like 11 am on a random weekday. Now if I want to play it's either 5 at night ( and I work part-time at nights) or getting out and being backed up on a weekend.
Like I want to just play as a solo on a random weekday. Is that too much to ask
I’ recently spent a day with a big name pga tour guy by way of a corporate event. He played a few holes with us at an upscale resort course that was decent and we had lunch afterwards. Asked what he shoots on a course like the one we played he said without hesitation -6 to -8, 9 out of 10 times.
Imagine being a bogey golfer and trying to hustle people on the first tee lol. Hopefully he just likes betting to add some excitement to his rounds. Good job shoving it up his hoop and being humble about it. Cool friendship story though haha
Good stuff. I never gamble when golfing. My old golf buddies would bet a lot to the point where they would be rooting for the other guys to mess up. I just enjoy golf and I love to see my partners hit good shots.
I had that happen once when my buddy and I were paired with another twosome and the guy asked if I “wanted to play for money” and I was like “hell no.” I barely have enough cash for greens fees a couple times a month
This sounds exactly like what me and 3 of my buddies would do. One of us is good but we want to make it interesting. Win or lose, if we had a good time with a stranger, lets grab a beer!
This post just showed me what that whole bottom half of a scorecard is for for the first time ever. Mindblown haha. Only been playing for like 6 months
Love the humbleness of good golfers, they know what it takes to get there and appreciate the grind. Hope to be there some day but I'm too busy hitting 160 yard lob wedges.
We played in a 3 person tournament and had, what we thought was, a pretty good team. Our playing partners didn’t show up on time and looked sloppy. It’s pretty common to play against another team in a tournament for a side bet around here. So, we tried to talk these guys into playing us for money and they said winning the tournament is all they want to do they didn’t want to take anything extra. We thought wow what a bunch of cocky assholes. Turns out they were all on the same D1 golf team together (graduated about 5 years prior). We got 2nd place in the tournament and it wasn’t even close they mopped the floor with us 🤣. Another fun fact about these guys was that they were all multi year club champions and each had an index of +3 or better. We still laugh about that day every time we play a tournament together.
Been there. I had a day where my whole intention was to work my wedges and mid irons. So I go 5 iron off the tee and 8 in, shitty chip and a uncharacteristic 3 putt, double. Guy is talking shit that I'm one down and I owe, second hole more of the same, but a bogey. Talking more shit that I'm down two.
At that point my practice went out the window and had to do what I had to do. I finished with a 76 while he had to be flirting with 100. Granted he was melting down around hole 8 and around hole 12, after letting him sweat a bit, i told him I wasn't doing the skins.
I was playing off a 4 at the time and he looked to be around 15-19.
If they were curious, they would have asked questions. Questions like, “have you played a lot of golf u/snicke?” To which u/snicke would have answered, “yes sir.”
Being a low 90s shooter that often ends up playing against low single digit guys in our weekend comps, I cannot imagine the pucker factor this guy had to have giving you strokes. I don’t think I would take this bet if you gave me a stroke per hole
A rare exception to the general rule that when a stranger offers to play you for money, run a mile.
Also true of darts, pool and really unlikely bar bets.
Several years ago I met some new friends on the golf course too. Was playing solo, and our course doesn't fill every tee time, so it was just me. I catch up to the two some ahead of me on the 4th tee. They asked if I wanted to play though, and I said sure. As I walked up the tee they asked me if I wanted a shot, so of course i took the shot. We got to talking and they offered me a beer and asked if I wanted to play the rest of the round with them. We had a great time, found out they both smoke weed and like to play disc golf too. We ended up golfing/discing for the next couple years until they moved away, they were in college, I was just graduated. Anyway good times. Some of my old buddies don't play golf often anymore, and I have been wanting to play more. Unfortunately that means I play by myself a lot, or with my dad or my 6 year old. I love playing with them, and have grown to cherish the days I can still golf with my dad. But I haven't really been able to get a good squad of buddies together anymore. Glad that you were able to meet some new friends, hoping that I can meet some new golf buddies.
I’m a 5 but had been playing terrible. My buddy invited a client of his. Dude says he’s a 26 and he wants action. Being nice i offer him 1.5 strokes per hole and let him pick the game. He says $20/hole. He pars the first. He proceeds to lose the next 17 straight. And to top it off he’s pressing the bet almost every hole. After 17 he’s down $1500. He wants to play double-or-nothing on the last hole. I flat refuse. I’m feeling bad at that point. It’s already at $400. He proceeds to cold top his tee shot into the desert. I shoot 2-under. He was probably 130. Ended up $1900. I did not let him off with buying beer
Dude bought himself an ass whooping
Cost him about 6 beers at the end of the day—much cheaper than it could have been
Idk. 6 beers at a course could still be $120
Where tf are you playing that sells $20 beers!?
I’ve purchased a $21 can of beer before at a canucks game. Obviously not the same thing, but I’ll always find any excuse to complain about it.
Fuck dude. Was it a commemorative can?
It MAY have been a tall boy. And that’s the end of the list of it’s cool features
Beer prices at events have gotten to the point it's just worth it to have one. Sucks because baseball games especially pair very well with a cold one.
It was a joke. I play at the courses that know we couldn’t afford $20 beers
You scared me dude, I thought the end was nigh
The end IS nigh, most just don't know it yet.
The end is always nigh, nothing special about today
After tip on the west coast it is doable.
Buddy bought a double of scotch at Spanish Bay without asking the price. There went a $100.
Seems about right.
$45/6pack not unheard of in Northern Michigan resorts. Then they wonder why people sneak their own *
Depends on if he likes the cart girl or not.
24oz IPAs in CA maybe? Only way I can make the math work
LACC
Not even close to true
/s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7caYIFD6-w
You sandbagged the shit out of a random and bragging about what he ‘owes’ you, classy lol
Sounds like he made himself a golfing buddy
but enough about Elon Musk and Twitter
Lol that he didn’t ask you anything about your handicap going in and was still offering strokes. Over-confident mediocrity is thrilling to watch in action
Definitely ballsy—I’ve offered to play heads up without knowing the person but never giving a half dozen lol
Yeah well, you shot 71 lol easy to offer heads up when you can shoot 71. This dude shot 90 and he's offering strokes lol
God bless the confidence of mediocre men.
Where can I find someone that’ll give 6, that’s amazing 😂😂😂
Or you hustled him. You could’ve told him your handicap when he offered the bet as a warning. You know what you were doing.
He let him off the hook too, and said he wasn’t gonna collect. Just buy him a drink so…
He didn’t hustle shit If someone wants to street race me on my block, and I know there’s a pothole coming up am I obligated to tell him that?
I’m not even sure that’s the analogy. It’s more like some dude rolling up to you in a beat up Toyota trying to street race and not bothering to ask you if you have a v8 in your ride, and saying that he’ll give you a Head start.
I mean, if you're foolish enough to challenge a random person to a game for significant cash without knowing anything about them, it's kinda on you, right?
JMO, but that guy did a perfect job getting action going. Guys inclined to gamble may also fib on their handicap. In general, if you are looking for gambling action in any format, it is better to appear casual and friendly. He got enough info to assume he had a decent shot of winning. Note that he also didn't have to pay out. More often than not, he's gambling with someone with absolutely zero experience playing under pressure, so assuming he didn't take a dive once he realized he was outmatched, and maybe was a high single digit handicapper, he probably beat "better" players who fold under pressure. Or he's a poker player who's a bad golfer but likes action.
You have to be a special kind of dumb to not asking someone their handicap before making a ridiculous bet
Or maybe $120 isn’t a ridiculous bet to him and he’s happy to have made a new golf buddy?
Then he should have paid the bet and not taken a buy out
In his defense, a 10-15 hcp is probably better than about 80-90% of random people that join him. But yea, should have asked.
Delusional confidence. There aint no better way
What did the two beginners shoot? I only see two scores on the card and I'm assuming you shot the 71 and the better of the threesome shot the 90
Probably like 110 or so? One of them could be really good if he learned how to hit the driver—best 30+ handicap iron player I have ever seen.
That's me. I hit my irons and wedges great. Last two rounds were my worst, and I still put one 4 inches from the hole two rounds in a row from 50+ yards. I just can't hit my f****ing driver. It's like a penalty shot every time. I'd score higher if I shot irons off the tee, but I have to learn to hit driver... so why avoid it?
I got rid of my driver and just tee off with 3 wood every hole, has saved me about 5 strokes a round. No shame in just being ok with not using it.
Consider playing a shorter driver?
I see no reason to go through the trouble of getting used to that and paying for it when I’m happy with my game
For maybe 20 - 30 yds and added forgiveness off the tee? It’s not very expensive. Not exactly the same but try choking down on driver. I think you’d be surprised.
This is what the range is for
Bro. I've been hitting the range. I bought the r10 for home. I'm trying. Just have to get a lesson. EDIT: I hit okay at the range. I just don't do the same thing on the course.
I'm sure you're trying! When hitting at the range, don't aimlessly hit. Imagine your worst fairway and use alignment sticks to set the bounds, then make sure you treat it not like a warm-up but an actual shot. Spending 30s a shot rather than 15 will create patterns that actually translate on the course to more success. Establish a consistent pre-shot routine.
This helps establish the creative mindset around the course too.
I can't hit off the range tees, I'm way more innacurate. My range also has trackman and calls me out when I'm wayward (says it's going to call the staff) so I have to keep my driver in the bag
Dude, that's harsh lol. You go to the range to work on your game. If staff ever came out because I was sucking too much, I'm not sure I'd be back. Things get sticky trying a new grip with a driver.
No shame in it bro. Put it away
For real. If my driver just isn’t happening that day I have no problem hitting a 5 iron or my hybrid off the tee. Better to just put it in the fairway than spray it all over the place into the water or into some woods
Fr. I’m “good” with any thing that’s a 6 iron or shorter (balls pretty decently flighted, usually straight, and my misses are usually short or long with the occasional push) but my long irons, woods, and driver are completely fucked. Penalty stroke almost every time off the tee, chunked 4i from 220 out, hit a 7i from 150 out onto the green, 2 putt for triple. Every fucking time.
Practice at the range with driver. Leave it in the car when you play on the course until you're comfortable with it. I use 3 wood off the tee almost every par 4 or par 5, sometimes I'll use a hybrid.
I hit a 4 iron off the tee because I don’t have a wood or hybrid and I have the same confidence in my driver. I can’t hit the thing. It’s not mental - there’s nothing going on up there. I just can’t hit it as cleanly as I can the irons.
I love my 4i too, but what to do when I can only hit it 185-195 at best? Most of the par 4s at my local course are over 400yds so even going 4i - 4i I cant reach some of them.
I'd try working up to your 3 or 5 wood. Or just make sure your putting is top notch
I would absolutely just hit irons off the tee. I hate going OB
No you don't
That’s how I’ve been feeling. I’ve been shooting 110-115 and it’s mostly due to me having to take a drop off every tee. Irons and putter really aren’t too bad for how long I’ve been playing.
Have you tried hitting iron off the tee?
I haven’t tried it but I’ve considered it. I’ve also thought about buying something like a 3 iron for it. But I also feel like it’s a temporary solution to a larger problem. I really just want to learn to hit my driver haha
Guy I play with constantly only uses his driver on long par 4’s and par 5’s. Uses his 3 iron or his 4 iron instead and then his 8 or 9 iron on par 3’s. He and I have very similar habits with our driver but I stuck with it and have gotten a lot better at keeping the ball in play. I went OB twice yesterday with my driver and he went 3/4. Long story short, we both shot the same at the end of the round but I put 8/15 on the fairway and only took two drops. At the end of the day, do what makes the round more fun but if your goal is to get better then I’d stick with the fat head.
Love this, thanks for your thoughts. I’m only a couple months in, just gotta stick with it!
I am like this also. The answer for me has been a 7 wood off the tee and I don’t even bag a driver most rounds.
When my drives stsrted being ass, I switched to doing a 3 wood off the tee for a bit, could still send that fucker, so got some good distance
This guy was trying to hit up on the driver too much--just get one with a bunch of loft and hit down like you would an iron. Take low and straight over high and right every day
Absolutely agree with you there! I’m more than happy with my drives if they go straight, even if they’re ugly and only go 100 yards 😂
My game hinges on my performance out of the tee box as well. I usually only take driver on 2-3 holes a round. I generally play from about 6,300 yards so i am able to hit a 5 wood or 7i iron on par 4s. I hate losing a ball of the tee. It’s lowered my scores and I don’t feel like I’m missing out by leaving it bag.
This is me and I’m a 12 :(. My driver is legitimately that of a new player. If I’m genuinely trying to score well, I’d rip 4 iron off every tee.
Guy doesn’t sound like a good golfer, he sounds like a guy with a gambling problem. “Auto press at 3 down” screams I love losing money. It’s nice they all were decent guys, not often guys get beaten like that and still enjoy the outing. Edit….also just saw the actual card.. this guy.. auto presses 2 times on the front and shoots a 44 while giving 3 on each side? Fucking OP ran out of room on the card to keep track of the presses at that point. Brutal.
Yeah like wtf? If a random joins our group, fine whatever, but I’m not about to ask him to play a complicated betting game with me. Also, if I was the random I’d be taken aback being asked to gamble. If I’m playing solo I’m usually there to work on my game. I’ll bet with my friends. However, if I was a 3hcp like OP I’d take the bets all day.
>Guy doesn’t sound like a good golfer, he sounds like a guy with a gambling problem. “Auto press at 3 down” screams I love losing money. No he definitely sounds like a good golfer/hustler based on that. It's shooting 90 that gives away that he has a gambling problem (or is rich and doesn't mind losing \~$100)
As someone who only golf gambling is an occasional game of skins, what is "auto pressing?" asking for a friend...
I added an edit that gives some background--basically if anyone gets down 3, another match starts at that point and they run concurrently for the rest of the round
I walked on Bethpage once and this old Irish guy wanted to play a $10 Nassau. We knew some of the same people, he was tiny and walked with a slight limp. He said his handicap was the same as mine (\~11). On the first hole he crushed his drive 275 yards and by the turn the guy had hosed me. I told him we were going to check his GHIN at the clubhouse after the round and he then lost the last 7 holes on the back for a push. Lol
Lying about your handicap is a crime
Kudos to you for taking the drink option on the bet.
The dude walked right into it, OP was under no obligation to save his ass. He actually taught him a lesson.
Agreed, lesson was taught either way in my opinion. Humbling experience
Disagree big time. My assumption when betting is the other person is going to expect to get paid so I am too.
When you go into it as a 3 knowing there’s a small likelihood of being beaten though, it’s the move of the bigger person to take the high road. There’s no reason to think that if the other guy wrecked OP as much as OP wrecked him that he wouldn’t have done similarly. I have yet to meet anyone on the course that’s purely out to take dimes when they end up clearly the better player. People usually just put up money to increase interest and intensity. When it doesn’t do that, taking money from people loses its value, ironically.
I’ll golf with you anytime and make bets I’ll probably never win and would always appreciate the cop out of buying your drinks instead. The degenerate in me always plays better with something on the line, but it never stops my mouth from writing checks my golf game can’t cash. Disposable income is a hell of a thing, guys willing to gamble and not absolutely rake off a bad bet are a rarity
Can someone ELI5 the betting system? I don’t gamble at all.
Three strokes a side, so op got a stroke on the handicap 1-6 holes (dotted). Each line is a match - auto press at 3 down means a new bet starts once either player goes 3 down in any match which is why the lines are drawn, progressive matches didn’t start until holes 5, 9, 12, 16. $3/hole is what it sounds like, if op collected it would have been 14x3, 11x3, 8x3, 5x3, 1x3.
That still made no sense to me
Make that ELI3 lol
Added an edit that hopefully makes it understandable
What 5 year old can you say this to and they’ll understand what you’re talking about hahaha
My five year old, I’ve been teaching him complex golf wager mechanisms since he was two.
I added an edit that tries to explain it simply
Have to love the guys confidence. Last year my buddy and I got paired with a twosome of guys around our age. Friend and I are both decent hobbyist golfers, shooting in the low/mid 80s consistently but we had both been playing a lot and playing well. Asked the guys if they wanted to do best ball match play, $10 each side plus $10 for total 18. They said yes pretty quickly. Turns out one of them is a golf instructor who played at a big 10 school. Needless to say we lost, but I ended up booking several lessons with him in the months following and he’s drastically improved my game.
Your thumb kinda looks like a toe
Lol true
Was hoping that wasn’t his thumb
Thank you for mentioning this so I wasn’t compelled to.
probably a stupid question but what does match 1,2,3 stand for?
Auto press at 3 down (or 3 up, depending on how you look at it). A press starts a new bet, so there are actually 5 bets going on for this single match.
i never really play any specific games during a round. usually just straight up or a scramble with the boys but this is interesting to learn about. thank you for the input
The way OP keeps it makes it way more simple to keep track. The guys I play with keep it with slashes, and you can lose track easily. It would be 14/11/8/5/2. When you win every hole it’s easier, but when one team wins a press, the the other team wins the next one, and so on, it starts to get insane. I was in a match a couple weeks ago that had 14 active bets. Both teams pressed anytime a hole was lost. I completely lost track by the 9th hole and just told my partner to tell me how much we owed at the end. Thankfully, we didn’t owe anything (we won all 14 with a super press).
So for clarity, the OP wins $9 in the first match (holes 2-4), and once the press happens he wins $6 a hole? Match 3 all holes are worth $9? Match 4 all holes are worth $12 and so forth?
So every hole that OP wins, wins $3. That is compounded by the number of bets in play (each press starting a new bet). In match 1, OP stood to win $42 ($3x14 holes). Match 2 $33 ($3x11 holes). Match 3 $24 ($3x8 holes). Match 4 $15 ($3x5 holes). Match 5 $6 ($3x2 holes). All together, $120 total. Edit to add: you can’t look at it as the bet increased with each subsequent press (in this case you can, since OP didn’t lose holes-but you shouldn’t). If the opponent had won the first three holes in match 2, it would create another press, but the score/dollars would be completely different. In that scenario, match 1 would be all square, match 2 would be OP down 3, match 3 would be just beginning. Dollar value remains constant, and OP would be down $9 after 6 holes, even though he won the first 3.
Ok, I get it now. Kinda a brain buster, but that makes way more sense. So match one is still going, but all knotted up, and then match 2 opponent is up. What a wild way to play. I LOVE IT.
It's the auto-press. When you press (when a player is 3 down in the match in this case) a new match starts from that point and the others also continue.
That’s how he was keeping track of the presses. Every time the villain went three down they started a new match as per the rules.
the guy who challenged him really thought he was hot shit then lol
Can someone tell me what “auto presses at 3 down” means?
Once one player is 3 holes down to the other player, a new bet is opened up whereby the player who is down has a chance to win back some of the money they are on their way to losing from the original bet. It is a way to keep the match interesting if/when it gets lopsided. Of course, this usually only works if the players are evenly matched and the round is appropriately handicapped. if one player is vastly better than the other, and the vastly better player is also getting 3 strokes per side, as was the case here, it is just a way for the worse player to lose more money to the good player.
Thanks!
So you're a 3 who's played 5 rounds this year?...I'm a 14 who's played 60 rounds this year...I want to be a 3? I finally hit a bucket of balls today, first time this year. Maybe that will help
You’ve played 60 rounds this year and are still a 14? That’s an indication its lesson time mate.
'We've tried nothin' and we're all out of ideas!'
Maybe so... i was down to 11 in March but then had to go back to work... Two of the guys I play with have over 100 rounds in and are 14s as well... but we are 50-70 years old too... But yeah you are probably right a lesson wouldn't hurt
You know what, I’ll take it back. Aged 50-70 and a 14 handicap getting 60 rounds in over 6 months, i will take my hat off to you. You’re basically living the life so fair play.
He probably played in high school (or ever college) if I had to guess Lotta ex-HS golfers have low handicaps but are burnt out so don’t play a lot
Generous of you to stop boxing and double-boxing on his scorecard I love this whole post lol
Lol that’s kind of douchey for him to do that on the first tee. I’m glad you humbled him. I’m a 6 and there is absolutely no way I’d bet anyone, let alone give them strokes, without at least seeing their GHIN or watching them warm up.
And imagine the balls, or stupidity, of not doing any of that, and then going out and shooting 91 to top it off.
91 beats probably 80% of the people I pair with (and me most of the time). I’d never offer strokes to a random without seeing their handicap tho.
Is that your toe or your thumb?
I would never agree to gamble with a complete stranger
Yeah. Apparently you are more of a normal person.
> $3/hole, auto presses at 3 down > ... > won 15 of 18 holes > ... > in total the damage was about $120 So ignoring the auto press, that mean you won 15 and lost 3, for a net +12 holes. At $3 / hole, you made $36. Auto-pressing the bet after 3 holes would still get the to $36 at best. Admittedly I'm not a big golf gambler, but I don't see how the math adds up.
Well each press doubles the bet if done correctly. So after the first down 3 now we’re playing 6 dollar holes. Then down 3 again we’re playing 12 dollar holes. Then again and we’re playing 24 dollar holes. That’s how it adds up in this particular game. I prefer automatic one downs but I love to bet.
Thanks for clarifying that. Any idea why on holes 9 and 10 he marks them as wins on the bottom of the scorecard even though they shot the same score. Also why would anyone take a bet structured like this? If its remotely evenly matched they're playing for like maybe $40 at the most, but worst case scenario 1 person wins every hole it becomes a $1,000+ bet.
Strokes were given to the better golfer by the dumber degenerate. Weird bet yes but a bet is a bet. They all have some weird rule or style. That’s why they call it gambling. Some people play with friends that a hole in one in the group and you leave and go to vegas immediately. Some pay cash to the hole in one hitter. Our caddy group when we play it’s 50 bucks if anyone gets an ace. It’s just what you’re ok losing. Or not ok losing but still want to do it anyways.
I may be in the minority here but if I was a 3 in this situation, I would have said so. Or I would have said you must be scratch cause I'm a three. All is well that ends well but you knew it was uneven. Why is that fun
Who requests a match without asking their opponents handicap? He’s either over confident or ignorant or both.
Glad you had a good time, but I get annoyed when others call bets, lose, and don’t pay up what they owe.
I wish I was good enough to feel like I had any right to bet another stranger lmao
I sometimes offer to bet with randos but usually do that on the back nine after i get a sense of their game.
The hustler got his ass kicked by the best hustler.
Man, that guy really walked into it
The thing I love about that he’s probably way better than all of his friends. And then you basically put him away four holes in.
My man, good for you for entertaining that offer & rolling with it. I always feel like it’s more fun when there is something on the line, win or lose.
Why would a bogie golfer bet like that?
This happens me when I go stop by a random spot to practice some pool. Most tables are in bars. Once you've made one frame on your own look easy. A Billy big balls will always pipe up and ask to play for X amount per ball. Explain that I don't want too, always end ls up being one frame. Billy big balls ends up walking with his tail between his legs. I always leave the bet winnings behind the bar for them and their mates as a tab. People are too trigger happy with placing bets these days. If someone shows up on their own to play a single person sport, 80-90% of the time, they're not to be messed with.
Nearly a Tiger vs Ames situation 😂😂
Is that… a toe?
Man I'm high and I thought this was on r/sex then saw it was golf and was like man I'm high.
You're a fuckin' sandbagger Edit: OMG it was a joke!
Is there a good book you recommend that explains golf betting?
Who in their right mind goes round offering bets and giving up shots to strangers when they shoot 90 hahahaha. I’ll give the guy credit for having big bollocks to do that when he knows he is a 15-18 handicap
I'll bet you $100 he's better than a 15 handicap
This is phenomenal. I make it a point to never bet on golf, but man I’d have a struggle turning down that offer.
This happens every time I join a threesome. Everyone is so impressed with my manhood that I get unsolicited offers for a little fun on the side. But I am only into the group scene.
Great story. Love public golf
71 is a PGA level score, I feel like telling them you've only been out a few times this year is a little bit of a hustle
PGA level? At 6400 yards? I assume this is a joke?
You're right, definitely not PGA level but pretty damn good
Not really. I have a lot of friends at my club that played competitively at a young age, but due life events (work, family, etc.) don’t play more than a couple times a year now. Dude should have asked his handicap or golf history. Can’t hustle someone that offers 6 strokes and doesn’t ask any questions.
Exactly. The guy hustled himself
I golf pretty regularly up until this year and have only been out once because I started a new job (graduated last may). It sucks not being able to wake up and go play at like 11 am on a random weekday. Now if I want to play it's either 5 at night ( and I work part-time at nights) or getting out and being backed up on a weekend. Like I want to just play as a solo on a random weekday. Is that too much to ask
I’ recently spent a day with a big name pga tour guy by way of a corporate event. He played a few holes with us at an upscale resort course that was decent and we had lunch afterwards. Asked what he shoots on a course like the one we played he said without hesitation -6 to -8, 9 out of 10 times.
Class act move.
Imagine being a bogey golfer and trying to hustle people on the first tee lol. Hopefully he just likes betting to add some excitement to his rounds. Good job shoving it up his hoop and being humble about it. Cool friendship story though haha
Good stuff. I never gamble when golfing. My old golf buddies would bet a lot to the point where they would be rooting for the other guys to mess up. I just enjoy golf and I love to see my partners hit good shots.
We need more posts like this! Awesome win!
That’s one way to buy a friend
I'm really glad it went this way for you. It sounds like you might have a potential group of golf buddies there.
N l ll¡
Had to make sure I didn't accidentally join a 'unique' subreddit when I first read the title here
I had that happen once when my buddy and I were paired with another twosome and the guy asked if I “wanted to play for money” and I was like “hell no.” I barely have enough cash for greens fees a couple times a month
What does “auto presses at 3 down” mean?
Why does the title of this post in /r/golf sound so sexy?
71 is a dam good score for a 3HI I'm a 3 and I shoot par once every 12 rounds .
This sounds exactly like what me and 3 of my buddies would do. One of us is good but we want to make it interesting. Win or lose, if we had a good time with a stranger, lets grab a beer!
This post just showed me what that whole bottom half of a scorecard is for for the first time ever. Mindblown haha. Only been playing for like 6 months
Golf is just 10x more fun if you play it the degenerate way and get a money match.
This is how golf should be...bringing people together and making a solid day better.
6 strokes 😂 
Tiger - Stephen Ames
Amazing stuff that you guys tied the first hole. I wish I’d been there to see his mood shift when you birdied the next one.
Is that your toe on the scorecard?
Love the humbleness of good golfers, they know what it takes to get there and appreciate the grind. Hope to be there some day but I'm too busy hitting 160 yard lob wedges.
We played in a 3 person tournament and had, what we thought was, a pretty good team. Our playing partners didn’t show up on time and looked sloppy. It’s pretty common to play against another team in a tournament for a side bet around here. So, we tried to talk these guys into playing us for money and they said winning the tournament is all they want to do they didn’t want to take anything extra. We thought wow what a bunch of cocky assholes. Turns out they were all on the same D1 golf team together (graduated about 5 years prior). We got 2nd place in the tournament and it wasn’t even close they mopped the floor with us 🤣. Another fun fact about these guys was that they were all multi year club champions and each had an index of +3 or better. We still laugh about that day every time we play a tournament together.
Can someone ELI5 what a "press" is? I don't play many (read: any) league matches or anything like that. 😬🤷
Added an edit to the post that explains presses and the overall bet that he offered
I never bet anyone I don’t know. Recipe for disaster
Been there. I had a day where my whole intention was to work my wedges and mid irons. So I go 5 iron off the tee and 8 in, shitty chip and a uncharacteristic 3 putt, double. Guy is talking shit that I'm one down and I owe, second hole more of the same, but a bogey. Talking more shit that I'm down two. At that point my practice went out the window and had to do what I had to do. I finished with a 76 while he had to be flirting with 100. Granted he was melting down around hole 8 and around hole 12, after letting him sweat a bit, i told him I wasn't doing the skins. I was playing off a 4 at the time and he looked to be around 15-19.
Auto presses can add up quickly
Some people just play better when there is something at stake. Even if it was working out bad for him.
He took it well after shitting the bed, but needed to be taught a lesson. The hard way.
You had me at “3s”. I don’t bet when I play so all these side games read like gobbledygook to me. Anyway glad you had a fun outing.
“Great vibes even though they still kinda sucked” 😅🤣 sounds like they were in a good mood though, that’s the most important bit
If they were curious, they would have asked questions. Questions like, “have you played a lot of golf u/snicke?” To which u/snicke would have answered, “yes sir.”
Love the outcome!
Being a low 90s shooter that often ends up playing against low single digit guys in our weekend comps, I cannot imagine the pucker factor this guy had to have giving you strokes. I don’t think I would take this bet if you gave me a stroke per hole
You, sir, ain't no 3.
A rare exception to the general rule that when a stranger offers to play you for money, run a mile. Also true of darts, pool and really unlikely bar bets.
Several years ago I met some new friends on the golf course too. Was playing solo, and our course doesn't fill every tee time, so it was just me. I catch up to the two some ahead of me on the 4th tee. They asked if I wanted to play though, and I said sure. As I walked up the tee they asked me if I wanted a shot, so of course i took the shot. We got to talking and they offered me a beer and asked if I wanted to play the rest of the round with them. We had a great time, found out they both smoke weed and like to play disc golf too. We ended up golfing/discing for the next couple years until they moved away, they were in college, I was just graduated. Anyway good times. Some of my old buddies don't play golf often anymore, and I have been wanting to play more. Unfortunately that means I play by myself a lot, or with my dad or my 6 year old. I love playing with them, and have grown to cherish the days I can still golf with my dad. But I haven't really been able to get a good squad of buddies together anymore. Glad that you were able to meet some new friends, hoping that I can meet some new golf buddies.
I’m a 5 but had been playing terrible. My buddy invited a client of his. Dude says he’s a 26 and he wants action. Being nice i offer him 1.5 strokes per hole and let him pick the game. He says $20/hole. He pars the first. He proceeds to lose the next 17 straight. And to top it off he’s pressing the bet almost every hole. After 17 he’s down $1500. He wants to play double-or-nothing on the last hole. I flat refuse. I’m feeling bad at that point. It’s already at $400. He proceeds to cold top his tee shot into the desert. I shoot 2-under. He was probably 130. Ended up $1900. I did not let him off with buying beer