[justjim]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Nobody is doing that. Truly good golfers NEVER make "fun" of beginners. It is a great game, the game of a lifetime. That being said, there is a time and a place for everything. Somebody who picked up a tennis racquet for the first time should not be permitted to enter Wimbledon or the French Open. The Villages pickleball and softball leagues rate players to put them in the proper field. A beginner golfer should not be teeing it up at Bethpage Black or Augusta National. That is reality.

To use some hyperbole, imaging a beginner at the Masters. That person would be a total disruption to the flow of the tournament, not to mention a danger to the spectators. On a smaller scale, imagine a beginner playing the black tees at Tierra or Glenview. That person would be slow, irritating and dangerous to most of the other golfers, and ruin their day. Yet, unlike pickleball and softball, there is no filter---anyone can pay their greens fee and play wherever and whenever they want, no matter how much it affects everyone else.

Yes, we all encourage people to take up golf and enjoy the game. But you can't become even an average player overnight. Go to good golf school, take the new to golf school lessons, practice on the range and start on exec courses. You'll enjoy the game much more if you attain some minimal level of skill and not by getting frustrated by whiffs and 10 yard drives. Like most things in life, doing it the right way pays off in the end.

Full disclosure: I've been playing 54 years and wouldn't score very well at Augusta National either.

Nice post…. I couldn’t agree with you more regarding the great game of golf. I too have been playing for years. Although not “competitive” (I use that term loosely) I still enjoy playing for exercise and fun. You can tell a lot about a person by just playing a round or two of golf with them. Fore.