[MplsPete]

[QUOTE= ... about 10% will be pretty good, 40% will be decent golfers, and 50% will be bad golfers. I am surprised at how many people never played golf until they got to the Villages....
[/QUOTE]

Can you define "decent," and "bad?" I've been worrying about this quite a bit. I first swung a golf club as a teenager, and don't think I am any better now than then. I worry about how a golfer as bad as me will be accepted in TV. I have seldom played long courses, and I've certainly never broken a hundred, or come close. One summer I got out regularly to a driving range, and saw no improvement. And with the stiffness and infirmity of a ~70 yo body, my swing is terrible, and not getting better. (And I bet a lot of residents are like me.)
Your post characterizes 90% of golfers in TV as less than good. Hence, the average golfer must be poor.

[Two Bills]

Originally Posted by MplsPete

Can you define "decent," and "bad?" I've been worrying about this quite a bit. I first swung a golf club as a teenager, and don't think I am any better now than then. I worry about how a golfer as bad as me will be accepted in TV. I have seldom played long courses, and I've certainly never broken a hundred, or come close. One summer I got out regularly to a driving range, and saw no improvement. And with the stiffness and infirmity of a ~70 yo body, my swing is terrible, and not getting better. (And I bet a lot of residents are like me.)
Your post characterizes 90% of golfers in TV as less than good. Hence, the average golfer must be poor.

Stick to the Executive Courses and you will not feel intimidated, or alone with a dodgy swing.
You will enjoy, and improve as you play more, and if you walk the courses, your heart will love you.
You could take a few lessons for guidance.
Remember, most golfers only practice their faults on the driving range.
Good luck.

[Rainger99]

Originally Posted by MplsPete

Can you define "decent," and "bad?" I've been worrying about this quite a bit. I first swung a golf club as a teenager, and don't think I am any better now than then. I worry about how a golfer as bad as me will be accepted in TV. I have seldom played long courses, and I've certainly never broken a hundred, or come close. One summer I got out regularly to a driving range, and saw no improvement. And with the stiffness and infirmity of a ~70 yo body, my swing is terrible, and not getting better. (And I bet a lot of residents are like me.)
Your post characterizes 90% of golfers in TV as less than good. Hence, the average golfer must be poor.

According to the National Golf Foundation, the average score shot by the 25 million or so American golfers is ~102. A mere ten percent of all players consistently break 100. Only five percent break 90 and less than one percent break 80.

The typical Villages golfer is in the 90% of bad golfers. Unfortunately, a lot of them tend to think that they are in the top 10%!

This is on a regulation 18 hole course and it is following the rules of golf. No mulligans, no kicking it out of the rough, playing out of sand, no 5 foot putts conceded, etc., etc.

But I wouldn't worry about not being a good golfer. 90% of us are not. The best thing about the Villages is that most people play executive courses. And if you play from the front tees (we don't call them women's tees), the holes are very short - almost all of them are under 100 yards. And you can usually avoid having to carry any water if you are playing the front tees. So even if you top it, slice it, hook it, or shank it, you should be able to get on most of the greens in three or four shots. Most people don't need more than 4 putts.

The only time that people might complain is if you are a slow golfer - four or five practice swings, then back off; take a couple of more swings, etc. And some people take a long time to line up their putts.

I have been playing off and on since high school but I rarely played more than 5-8 times a year until I got to the Villages. I try to get out at least once a week. My game has improved somewhat but I am still in the 90% group of bad golfers.

Since coming to the Villages, I have played with a few very good golfers and I have played with people who first started playing a couple of weeks ago. They were bad (swing, miss; swing, miss; then top it for about thirty yards; ;and repeat) but if they aren't on the green on the fourth shot, they usually just pick up or toss it on the green and putt out. But all of us started out at one point so 99% of the people understand that.

Get out and play. I guarantee that if you play three or four times that you won't be the worst golfer in your group.

P.S. My experience is primarily based on playing the executive courses. I think the championship courses attracts better golfers (they pay a lot of money to play so I assume they are good).

So if you are a hacker, I would avoid championship courses. If you are bad, you don't want to have a 500 yard par five!

[ThirdOfFive]

My wife plays a lot of tennis. Along with playing regularly in two groups, she is constantly being asked to sub when this-or-that group is missing a player for their scheduled time. She is not only a pretty darn good tennis player (I'd say 4.0) but she is also a very nice person.

She has numerous stories about women who may be asked to join a certain group but who end up being prima donnas, PITAs, etc., and who may start as a regular with this-or-that group but who not only may be dropped from their group but who also may find that the times they're asked to sub are few and far between.

I imagine that the golfing groups are similar.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Snakster66

I’ll be moving there in two weeks. I’m guessing I’ll be flying solo for a little while until I find some people.

You aren't generally allowed to play alone. You will will have people added to make a foursome.

Please keep your eye on your ball. Only take a few minutes to search for it if you lost it. Don't hit into the group ahead of you.

[Snakster66]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

You aren't generally allowed to play alone. You will will have people added to make a foursome.

Please keep your eye on your ball. Only take a few minutes to search for it if you lost it. Don't hit into the group ahead of you.

Flying solo means I won't be golfing with friends or a set group (yet), it does not mean I think I will be golfing by myself with no other people. It's more like I will be joining groups of 2 or 3 to help complete a foursome, rather than the other way around.

And I know the rules, but thank you for the refresher.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

You aren't generally allowed to play alone. You will will have people added to make a foursome.

Please keep your eye on your ball. Only take a few minutes to search for it if you lost it. Don't hit into the group ahead of you.

True during high 'bird season, but not so much during the summer months. If you wait until, say, 1:30 PM during June, July and August, you can pretty much show up at about any exec course and get on as a single. I've done it dozens of times.

Same for lost balls. If there is no one behind me it doesn't really matter if I take a few extra minutes to look for my errant ball.

[DonH57]

Originally Posted by BPRICE1234

We just moved here last week, my wife doesnt like to golf just yet. Are there leagues or list of people who do not want to golf alone? I see a men's day but I'm not sure how that works.

I did sign up for a class next Friday to learn how to use the TT system. Thanks in advance. Bryan

Welcome to the villages. Thank God you will be one of the smarter ones to attend the Good Golf class to learn the tee time system and expected golf ettiquite. Lord knows it should be mandatory before being able to get a tee time but that's another story for another day. Check with your new neighbors or any social clubs you join. Find a course for a tee time where there is a single slot open and go for it. Don't be shy to explain you are new and the tees you feel comfortable hitting from. I was once in your shoes and I never played golf till I moved here. It's the villages fault!

[FloridaGuy66]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

According to the National Golf Foundation, the average score shot by the 25 million or so American golfers is ~102. A mere ten percent of all players consistently break 100. Only five percent break 90 and less than one percent break 80.

I don't doubt this at all but for anyone that has golfed often, you'll run into many golfers that hit great drives often, sometimes are decent with their irons, are terrible at chipping, terrible in bunkers and then they 3 putt most holes. They obviously practice at the range and that's it.

A lot of golfers look better than their actual scores reflect.

The best part of my game is short game/putting so I notice this maybe more than most.

[DonH57]

Originally Posted by MplsPete

Can you define "decent," and "bad?" I've been worrying about this quite a bit. I first swung a golf club as a teenager, and don't think I am any better now than then. I worry about how a golfer as bad as me will be accepted in TV. I have seldom played long courses, and I've certainly never broken a hundred, or come close. One summer I got out regularly to a driving range, and saw no improvement. And with the stiffness and infirmity of a ~70 yo body, my swing is terrible, and not getting better. (And I bet a lot of residents are like me.)
Your post characterizes 90% of golfers in TV as less than good. Hence, the average golfer must be poor.

I never played till I moved here because when I worked I never had time. In high school it was out of the question because to get onto the school golf team your parents were either doctors, lawyers, dentist or one of the school teachers. Others always failed tryouts because they couldn't afford good quality clubs. Of course those weren't the kids that played the other sports.