Temper tantrums

[fourlights]

I find on course temper tantrums by my playing partners to be quite hilarious as long as they are not destroying the golf course or cursing too loud. The self loathing that goes on after poorly struck shots is good funny stuff. The sarcastic,third person self-deprecation is my favorite. I find for myself, if I hit a bad shot and have a little private rage fest, I usually play better. If I don't, I usually spiral off into "depresso-don't care any more land"." That being said nobody wants to play with a complete rage machine either. That becomes tiresome. What's your best way to keep composure or regain focus?

[nokids]

It's funny to hear once in a while, but i played with a guy who did this all day long and it gets annoying. He ended up shooting 73.

[leftylucas]

I do not play with my bro in law any more if others join us, he loses it big time and no one enjoys themselves. If we are just the two of us he is fine, go figure.

[DenisO]

I used throw tantrums when I first started, I then pretty much completely stopped. No swearing, no smashing clubs into the ground, nothing, just a "damnit", or "that's no good". Lately I found myself getting a little more angry again, swearing, etc. I'll have to fix that

[mberube]

I do not play with my bro in law any more if others join us, he loses it big time and no one enjoys themselves. If we are just the two of us he is fine, go figure.

Now that’s funny. I always asked myself how these players react to bad shots when they play alone. If tantrums are not part of the equation during solo play but are constantly surfacing during group play then that tells me that this players is trying to show the others that he is better than he is playing at that time. In other words he is more occupied in showing off then playing his game for himself. There is no other way of explaining the different in composure.

By experience, lots of low hdcper’s have these tantrums. I don’t know why but I see them lots of times. Makes me shake my head. If my kid throws his clubs on the ground or hits something with it or any tantrums, it’s off the course we go and buy buy clubs for a while. It’s unacceptable to me and disrespectful to the fellow players.

[leftylucas]

You are exactly right, he will yell very loudly and blame someone else for moving or making a sound or another group on the course, inevitably when he is not playing well (and I am beating him ususally). It is almost worst when he is playing well because he will be very loud to applaud his own play. When I point out that his joyful yelps are loud and that there he may be disturbing other groups on the course he says "they are all crap players anyways" a real jerk on the course. Get him one on one and he is quiet as a mouse. WEIRD

[Sunny D]

I usually just say Huh, and move to the next shot. Not much sense getting PO'd it's done it's over enjoy the walk to the next shot and try to hit that one like I know I can.

Don't play with my brother in law much anymore either because he thinks he is a much better golfer than he actually is, delusions I guess, so when he does not make the shot he thinks in his head he should be capable of he rants. The thing is he rarely does. Of course the last time we played I did poke the bear a little something like: yes I know you make that shot all the time..... on the Wii....

[triple-bogey]

I find on course temper tantrums by my playing partners to be quite hilarious as long as they are not destroying the golf course or cursing too loud. The self loathing that goes on after poorly struck shots is good funny stuff. The sarcastic,third person self-deprecation is my favorite. I find for myself, if I hit a bad shot and have a little private rage fest, I usually play better. If I don't, I usually spiral off into "depresso-don't care any more land"." That being said nobody wants to play with a complete rage machine either. That becomes tiresome. What's your best way to keep composure or regain focus?

I had a potential tantrum-inducing round this morning. +9 on the front, + 19 on the back. My way of dealing with it was to laugh...

[cleek]

not a tantrum thrower but no one else would get away with calling me the names I call myself

[Shreen]

After a terrible shot, I allow 20 seconds to be angry then let it go. Trying to hold it just doesn't work for me. Now I am not throwing clubs or breaking things in those 20 seconds, but I am certainly angry. 20 seconds later, it is behind me.

[jeffc]

as someone once said "you're not good enough to get angry".

[Agent99]

Here are a few tips from the book Think Like a Caddie, Play Like a Pro by James Y. Bartlett that I’ve found helpful:

There are no good or bad shots on the course, only interesting ones. I’ll say “That’s interesting” and try to learn something from it. Why waste the opportunity to improve by turning away too quickly or fuming, right? Pro caddies don’t use negative terms on the course (hazard, bad, etc). They keep their vocabulary positive and their players confident. I try to do that for myself and others as well. After the game is over, that’s another story!

The most important shot is the next shot, not the one just played. I’ve got a next shot.

Before hitting, think of something that makes you laugh. I find playing in that state of mind makes it so much easier to recover from the interesting shots. Cheers!

[Marcos]

Played with a 75 year old guy 2 weeks ago and I have never seen so many clubs whirling through the air. I swear,this guy tossed every club in the bag and was down to his umbrella. So we decided to have a little talk with him. He tells us that he has a real bad temper and he is diabetic and that he cant help himself. Oh yeah,i forgot,he also suffers from high blood pressure.Who would have tunk it !!! LOL. Wont be playing with him anymore and he is a member at our club. Yikes !!! My buddy actually told him that he wasnt good enough to be hurling clubs in the air.

[sebber]

Usually a good throwing of the club sets me straight and I play better after. I once played with Carl and Sly, i was playing very poorly, then on 12 I decided to throw my 3 wood in a tree, it almost got stuck, i proceeded to shoot even the rest of the way in! I took it to an extreme at a scramble tournament, I would throw my club every shot... ended up playing very well all day! ahahaha

[Gropper]

For me after hitting several bad shots over the course of a few holes sets me off once and a while. Usually stick a wedge into the ground and that does one of two things. Releaves the anger, and gets it out of my system. After that if the poor plays continues I start to laugh a lot and have fun again regardless of how I'm playing the rest of the round.

I do expect myself to play well but I have also realized that some days you just don't have "IT" and at that point let's just have fun and try and hit a few good ones the rest of the way.

Let's remember we pay to play, not get paid to play!!

[Samba-Jane]

Temper tantrums, especially the swearing part, may sometimes offend other people. It's good to always remember that all these are just a game.

"Life is a guts-ball game." - Laura Castellano of "Doctors" by Erich Segal