Don't Call Me Lucky?

[Midpack]

I play in a senior golf league, and most of us, self included, are genuinely happy when another player pulls off a great shot. I've run into 2 (of more than 60) guys who make it a habit to tell others 'you sure are lucky' after good shots, specifically good putts. Out of the blue one of them happened to blurt out 'I wish I was lucky' later in a round. Huh?

I happened to sink two 15-20 foot breaking putts today, on the second one I got the lucky comment from another player in the group. Having missed two shorter birdie opportunities and burning the edge several times before and after, I believe if you hit a lot of good putts, some are bound to go in - whether it's me, or anyone else I play with. I bit my tongue, but I was a little miffed at the comment.

The regular 6-12 guys I play with, we're genuinely happy for each other when any of us hits a great shot or putt. Some "luck" is part of golf, or most any sport or pastime if you work at it no?

I think I've seen similar [-]resentment[/-] thoughts here when others have called early retirees lucky - instead of acknowledging years of LBYM.

[/rant][/whine]

 

[SecondCor521]

I think that for average folk that luck happens, is both good and bad, and averages out over time. Obviously skill comes into play as well - PGA tour pros have more holes-in-one because they hit more shots and those on average are closer to the hole than mine.

If the comments are made in a resentful way, then I would consider it poor sportsmanship on their part. If they're more matter-of-fact and it really was a super lucky shot (holing out from 125 yards out, or something like that), then I'd probably take it as just a positive comment.

For me it's important to acknowledge the excellent start that my parents and my circumstances gave me, but the fact that I FIREd at age 46 was the result of a lot of hard work and good decisions from there. Yes, I also did get a lucky break or two along the way, but I also had some unlucky ones as well.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Yeah, seems like poor sportsmanship to me!

Usually, *I* would be the one saying "I'd rather be lucky than good" or somesuch.

 

[CardsFan]

Obviously skill comes into play as well - PGA tour pros have more holes-in-one because they hit more shots and those on average are closer to the hole than mine.

When watching a pro golf tourney, DW said " getting a hole-in-one is just pure luck".

I agreed, but putting the ball within 5-10 feet of the hole consistently sure improves the luck option.

 

[Dtail]

Jealousy plays a larger role in competitive sports than folks might imagine.
I do find it more in golf than Pickleball though.

 

[Elbata]

Sounds like you're a good putter. I'm an 8 index but a lousy putter. I've been watching a lot of youtube videos on putting and now have a putting mat in living room. Do you have any good tips?

 

[harllee]

The first year I retired I had 3 holes-in-one in 12 months-- I was definitely "lucky" because I am not a great player--I usually shoot around 90. Several of my playing partners kept telling me how lucky I was, even my husband said so. But I was unlucky too--at my club the tradition is to buy a round of drinks when you have a hole in one--so those 3 holes-in-one cost me a bundle. In fact the second of the holes in one was during a tournament, it was a very expensive shot. But heck I got my name in the paper so there's that.

 

[Midpack]

Sounds like you're a good putter. I'm an 8 index but a lousy putter. I've been watching a lot of youtube videos on putting and now have a putting mat in living room. Do you have any good tips?

I’m a decent putter no better, I can PM you what works for me in terms of mechanics (pace, alignment, reading greens), but nothing helps more than practice or playing a lot IME.

 

[JP.mpls]

Midpack,
I was a bogie golfer, but I got the putting yips, and now I'm lucky to break 50. Ugh.
I still play with my buddies on occasion, and have fun. I've just accepted that I'm got very good. I make some nice shots that keep me coming back, and I truly enjoy seeing my long time golf/work buddies.



I want to whine a little:
One of my golf buddies is a very nice person, but when I golf or bowl with him, his competitive level is over the top. He is a very good bowler, but just average golfer. He pisses and moans about every shot that isn't great. I don't get it, and I have trouble being around him on the golf course. The silly part is that we are now retired, and just playing for fun, not in a league anymore.



I put up with it, but prefer to be in a different foursome. He is just fine once we get to drinking beers on the veranda on the 19th hole.



I guess every personality is different. I just wish he would lighten up a little. His girlfriend is in our mixed bowling league, and she basically said the same thing in a nicer way. She thinks I'm a good influence on him, because I truly don't care about the results.


Keep having fun, and thanks for listening to that whine. It felt good just typing it.



Take care, JP

 

[RunningBum]

Ah, I think some people just say that to try to rattle who they're playing with. Just look and give a little smile that says you know it wasn't luck, and they know it too.

 

[compounder]

Sounds like you're a good putter. I'm an 8 index but a lousy putter. I've been watching a lot of youtube videos on putting and now have a putting mat in living room. Do you have any good tips?

I am not a good golfer, just a beginner, but I got what I thought was a good tip.

It was not to aim for the pin/hole, but to imagine a radius about the length of a golf club around the hole.
Aim for somewhere in that imaginary radius. Getting in there consistently can reduce your total score.
As you get better at landing in that radius, make it smaller/tighter.
Some times you'll get "lucky" but the guy said once you're on the green maybe it makes you a two putter instead of a 3/4/5 putter Made a lot of sense to me.

 

[Gumby]

I caddied at a country club when I was in high school and saw some pretty juvenile behavior in the course of my rounds.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Some times you'll get "lucky" but the guy said once you're on the green maybe it makes you a two putter instead of a 3/4/5 putter

My most treasured instructional book on golf is "How to Carefully Line Up Your Fourth Putt."

 

[jimbee]

I caddied at a country club when I was in high school and saw some pretty juvenile behavior in the course of my rounds.

I think I saw that movie.

 

[Dtail]

I caddied at a country club when I was in high school and saw some pretty juvenile behavior in the course of my rounds.

Not to mention golf is supposed to be a "gentlemanly" sport, but has the most cheating of any sport.

 

[Midpack]

Not to mention golf is supposed to be a "gentlemanly" sport, but has the most cheating of any sport.

Not sure about “most” and cheating is not universal by any means. Most people I know still play the gentlemen’s version, but there are a few habitual cheaters in our league. And if you play to a handicap (we do), cheating is essentially neutralized (cheating lowers your HI)...

 

[Dtail]

Not sure about “most” and cheating is not universal by any means. Most people I know still play the gentlemen’s version, but there are a few habitual cheaters in our league. And if you play to a handicap (we do), cheating is essentially neutralized (cheating lowers your HI)...

Cheating might be too strong a word, but you know things like mulligans, moving the ball to a better lie, wrong count on strokes, not counting penalty strokes, etc.

 

[WhenIsItTime]

Agree saying “you are lucky” sounds like resentment. Why can’t we be happy for each other?

Reminds me of a phrase, “the harder I practice the luckier I get”. Not sure if this will help with your bud’s.

In regards to retirement before 50, I tell my kids we are fortunate not lucky. My money is self made in Corporate America. It didn’t happen by chance, it happened by choice.

 

[Time2]

The first year I retired I had 3 holes-in-one in 12 months-- I was definitely "lucky" because I am not a great player--I usually shoot around 90. Several of my playing partners kept telling me how lucky I was, even my husband said so. But I was unlucky too--at my club the tradition is to buy a round of drinks when you have a hole in one--so those 3 holes-in-one cost me a bundle. In fact the second of the holes in one was during a tournament, it was a very expensive shot. But heck I got my name in the paper so there's that.

When I was 16 I had several holes in one. It was a great summer running a

miniature golf course.

 

[pb4uski]

While I agree, sometimes when I say lucky it's when someone's made a shot that they get an outcome that is much better than they deserved given the swing.

Like, "in the good miss category"....

 

[Midpack]

While I agree, sometimes when I say lucky it's when someone's made a shot that they get an outcome that is much better than they deserved given the swing.

Like, "in the good miss category"....

Agreed, we all benefit and suffer from that kind of luck...nothing quite as embarrassing as blading an approach and having it roll on somewhere near the pin.

 

[sengsational]

These kinds of comments, veiled in gentlemanliness, along with the cheating is what put me off of golf. I think that had I started playing with a more respectable, less competitive and self absorbed group, I'd still be playing. But I haven't hit a ball in 20 years.

 

[NYEXPAT]

Young Wife constantly reminds me, how lucky I am. I always remind her "My luck might change!

 

[harllee]

Not sure about “most” and cheating is not universal by any means. Most people I know still play the gentlemen’s version, but there are a few habitual cheaters in our league. And if you play to a handicap (we do), cheating is essentially neutralized (cheating lowers your HI)...

But some people are "sandbaggers"-- they intentionally make their scores go up (or only turn in their worst scores) to get a higher handicap so they can win more tournaments.

I am impressed with most of the professional golfers--they self police and turn themselves in for the smallest infractions. Of course every once in a while some sharp eyed TV viewer catches the pros for some arcane infraction.

 

[Andre1969]

I guess I'm a bit different, in that I don't mind if someone says I'm lucky to be where I'm at. While a lot of it HAS been hard work and sacrifice, delayed gratification, etc, luck has played into it a bit. As in, I'm lucky that I've made more wise choices than dumb ones, for example.

The phrase I hate though, is when someone starts off with "You don't know how lucky you are..." It's the "you don't know" part that annoys me, not any reference to luck. To me it tends to come off as smug and arrogant, implying that you know what I may or may not know.