[Reafnartefs]

Just because I'm bored on a Friday afternoon and can't get to a course / range. I beg your forgiveness if you think it a stupid topic.

When you're playing with someone that's playing as Charles Barkley would say, "tuuribble," how do you handle it? What do you say when they leave their 3rd-straight shot in the bunker? Do you still try to be encouraging? Do you just stand in awkward silence? Do you try to offer advice? Head for the cart and retrieve them (and yourself) a beer?

Disclaimer: friends don't count. We all know we laugh our asses off when our friends are hacking it up, just in an effort to make their lives as miserable as possible.

As for myself, I typically try to find them an excuse for the bad shot, "Oh, that was a tough lie" or some such, but I don't go over the top with it. I do try to spend more effort congratulating them on their good shots.

Or, in a similar vein, if you're playing like steaming dog-doo, how do you prefer people handle it? Try to encourage you, or just shut the @## up?

[freeringsf]

I always encourage people I play with when they have a crappy lie, I'll say such standards as-you got this or-just do it!

[acissombiapse]

I think JB, curt, or Frank could vouch for me. I just laugh at it. Typically on a bad shot I'll know what I did on it so I just laugh at it and let it go and move on to the next one.

[propolo]

I try to be as encouraging as I can if someone in my group is having a tough day. I've had those days myself and I know how I've felt when I've hit a couple horrendous shots. Encouragement helps people get over a few bad shots, leading to better ones. Of course, when I'm among close friends, some friendly goading is expected, and fun, as long as it doesn't go too far or for too long (if the bad shot streak continues). It's why I love playing with THPers...encouraging, friendly, and fun.

[abossakon]

Encouraging as possible. I say that knowing that "my" bad shot is somewhere lurking around the corner.

[qQVXpYM6]

Create a nagging injury early on and make sure your playing partners feel your pain. This should bring on a scene similar to Jaws where everyone's injuries become known and compared. You and your partners have a built in excuse and those great shots will make you a hero for playing through the pain.

[Bill-Watson]

I usually stand there in silence. I think if someone is mad, the last thing they want to hear is someone talking. I try to encourage them on the next tee, but that's about it.

[capeAngedlelp]

I just talk to the person about anything other than golf if they're receptive. Sometimes I find if i don't know someone, talking to them while they're in the midst of a bad round is the worst thing i could do. It's a tough situation for sure.

[nannysuetle]

I take it on a person to person basis. Some people really like the encouragement, some don't want to hear a word when they're struggling. I try to encourage anyone on the golf course as much as possible so usually if the person struggling hits a good shot I'll compliment them.

[JulietOreira]

A few months back my typical partner and I got paired with a couple "tuuribble" players. We both shoot in the low/mid 80's and both were playing well on this particular day. The other two were doubling and tripling most every hole. It was really bad as they'd drop an extra ball after a shank, talk about how good they were back in the day, blame equip, etc. The whole time my buddy was quiet but I steadily encouraged them and tried to be patient. As we move to the back nine I tee it up on a steep uphill 200 yard par three. I tried to put a little extra on my mashie and ended up with a pretty bad hook that went left of the green into he next holes fairway(still very playable). Then the dude who'd been shanking it the worst starts busting out in laughter about how awful of a shot it was, and continued to rip on me I was speechless. My buddy just dropped his head in amazement and I had no clue what to say/do. I felt like I'd entered the twilight zone.

[dogdesign]

A few months back my typical partner and I got paired with a couple "tuuribble" players. We both shoot in the low/mid 80's and both were playing well on this particular day. The other two were doubling and tripling most every hole. It was really bad as they'd drop an extra ball after a shank, talk about how good they were back in the day, blame equip, etc. The whole time my buddy was quiet but I steadily encouraged them and tried to be patient. As we move to the back nine I tee it up on a steep uphill 200 yard par three. I tried to put a little extra on my mashie and ended up with a pretty bad hook that went left of the green into he next holes fairway(still very playable). Then the dude who'd been shanking it the worst starts busting out in laughter about how awful of a shot it was, and continued to rip on me I was speechless. My buddy just dropped his head in amazement and I had no clue what to say/do. I felt like I'd entered the twilight zone.

Damn dude, thats rough. I'm not sure what I would have done.

[teodaschwartia]

I usually laugh and say something sarcastic and/or vulgar about the shot. The latter is usually muttered.

[ExpodoDop]

If someone I'm playing with and don't know well hits an awful shot, I usually don't say much. Sometimes I'll try to lead them into a conversation about how hard golf actually is so they can tell me about how much better they usually play. That always makes me feel better, remembering some of the good shots I've hit on that hole and will again once the bad things go away.

[proslaviy]

I played with a good guy maybe a week ago who was playing bad enough to make Barkley look good. I'm not kidding. Like 5 straight balls chunked from the fairway 10 yards total distance to find a big huge lake. Scenes like this were repeated numerous times. He seriously may have gone through 40 or 50 balls.

I said absolutely nothing on my own, just kept my head down and kept to my own business. After several apologies I responded with "Don't worry about it, we've all been there." I declined his request for help initially but after a couple of holes responded with a simple suggestion on chips and left it at that.

[aceriscoolon]

Their body language tells you what to do. So I usually do that.

[radicalvolume]

i usually give positive motivation the first couple times but if they're really hackin it up bad i just stop making comments all together and let them do their thing...last thing you wanna do is piss someone off more

[beth]

You'd have to ask the people I play with.

[Qnpqbpac]

Humor all the way dude. Just laugh it off.

[KuRoregioNka]

Their body language tells you what to do. So I usually do that.

In all honesty - this is the best policy.

[HunterM]

I try to be as encouraging as possible and talk them through it, because on the next hole it's probably gonna be me playing terrible