Do You Exaggerate Your Golf Stories?

[Johneli]

Are you like the fisherman whose arms aren't long enought to describe the length of the 8 inch bass he just caught? Have four footers that you've canned turned into 10 footers? Are 260 yard drives suddenly 300 yards when you've had a few and are talking amongst friends?

In short, do you tend to exaggerate your accomplishments on the course or do you always tell the brutal truth?

My personal opinion is that golfers have a lot in common with fishermen.

[xnavyct]

Not really - I'm so horrible, that it wouldn't really make much sense for me to stretch the truth and say I shot a 90...so I just stick with the true story, and shoot my 105 and north.

It'd kind of be like going to jail because you got caught counterfeiting dollar bills.

[Johneli]

Originally Posted by xnavyct

Not really - I'm so horrible, that it wouldn't really make much sense for me to stretch the truth and say I shot a 90...so I just stick with the true story, and shoot my 105 and north.

It'd kind of be like going to jail because you got caught counterfeiting dollar bills.

Saying you shot 85 when you shot 90 is cheating. Saying you canned a forty footer when it was only twenty feet....well, that's just self-serving, but understandable exaggeration. In my case, the more I've had to drink, the longer the putts become. Go figure.

[xnavyct]

Well, I wouldn't say I exaggerate on purpose, but I do think that most golfers are guilty of 'over estimating' distance out there on the course if you're just eyeballing it, whether it be a drive, or a chip, or a putt. Seems like I've read something before that the average 'guesstimate' is off by 20% on distance...and thats 'without' beer.

[Texas Wedge]

I might be off a little on putts that I sink...but not by much. If I sink a putt of any length I usually count my steps to the hole to give me an idea of how long the putt was. I'm not tracking it or writing it down...I just like to have an idea. I don't usually exaggerate my golf stories...I just leave out the bad parts so that the day sounds better than it might have been.

[Wazmankg]

I've probably over-estimated my driving distance, which isn't very impressive in the 1st place. If I bust one I can carry it 240, but 220 is closer to my average... maybe less.


Good topic Johneli, but I'm not very optimistic about its shelf life.

So step up everyone... who's a liar ?

[Leaguegolf]

My pants are not on...... Not on the golf course anyway.

I rarely tell personal golf experience stories but when I do the details, both good and bad, are truthful. The truth is, I'm too afraid of the Golf Gods to risk it.

[JPsuff]

.



Nope.


With me it's pretty much WYSIWYG.




(OK, except for the helicopter beanie, maybe...)




-JP

[droogy33]

I have to. If I told the truth no one would believe me.

[GolfSavage]

I never intentionally misrepresent things, but don't expect the same story, verbatim, six months from now! More than likely the accuracy of the story diminishes as the length of time since it happened grows.

[coralpro]

I think I try to be about as accurate as I can even about the fish we catch. Now I may not get the number caught correctly because I tend to catch and release alot so 4 or 5 hours of bass fishing on the lake may lead to high numbers that people don't think realistic but on our lake you may catch 30 bass in an hour or so and other times you might catch 2 or 3 in 4 to 5 hours. Putts don't matter a lot on how far on most greens because luck is a big factor on true rolls. Driving I try to be as close to realist as possible but don't laser every one and I don't have the same driving days week in and week out. If a person intentionally exaggerates then it is only an excuse to call a lie by another name. It bothers some and some it doesn't. I always try to be truthful unless joking around.

[Diane]

I am a bit of a , but more about events on the course, not the way I play.

[JimSomebody]

The truth is easier to tell than a lie or exaggeration, plus which feedback in response to the truth is more valuable than feedback in response to a lie or exaggeration. Possibly there's some social value in exaggerating one's golfing prowess (impress others), but the people I tell my golf stories to have seen me play, so any attempted exaggeration would immediately become suspect, costing me status.

On the internet, misrepresentation is common, as we all know. But I do think the internet is a useful place to tell the truth and possibly get useful feedback.

Now, honest-intentioned reports of self-delusions... that's another matter.

[J.D.]

I dont exaggerate about my golf game. It will speak for itself. Its so up and down right now as far as consistency goes, that the world will implode and the sky will fall and, and, and, and...Morgan Fairchild is my caddy...she knows...

[deronsizemore]

No I don't exaggerate.

I think the biggest problem with people exaggerating driver distance is the yardage on the score card. Someone will walk up to a 400 yard par 4 dog leg, cut the dog leg and have 100 yards left to the green. They assume they hit it 300 yards, not taking into account that the tee box was moved up 20 yards or so from the position it's usually in and where the yardage was measured from and on top of that they cut off 45 yards by cutting the dog leg.

The driver exaggeration may not be on purpose, but just that people don't take into account all the details or they really just don't know how far a 300 yard drive really is and what's needed to produce one.

[C-Tech]

I try very hard not to exaggerate. It is just too hard to try to live up to hyperbole. I would be worried I would tell how well I played only to have my other game show up and embarrass me even more than usual.

[Darth Fader]

No point,there will always be someone to catch you out.

[DIETER]

No, in fact I do the reverse. I like people to underestimate my abilities.

[Diane]

Originally Posted by DIETER

No, in fact I do the reverse. I like people to underestimate my abilities.

Dieter - I'm curious - are you trying to hustle them or is it just an ego boost for you when they discover you're better than they expected?

[PA PLAYA]

Years ago, I recall playing with a guy who had told me on the first tee that he shot 75 the day prior. He shot 87 that round with me. I was too inexperienced to understand how tough the game really is, or how quickly the scores can evaporate in just 24 hours. So I figured he was just trying to make himself feel good about his game.

I had a great round of 71 last season, then the next round out shot a very easy round of 85. LOL.... Thank goodness I didn't tell my playing partners during that latter round that I had just shot -1 on the same track three days earlier.

I've learned this much.... if you're really good, you usually don't have to make it a point to tell someone. They'll figure it out soon enough.

As someone mentioned, the Golf Gods are all ears. And they generally prefer humility over ego. LOL....

[GolfSavage]

I paired up with another single once, and as we prepared to tee off he mentioned he was a 14 handicap, and asked if I carried a handicap. I said no, I just come out to play and enjoy the time on the course, but that I usually score low to mid 90s. Well, I striped one down the middle on the opening par 5, almost reached the green in two, and made birdie. He bogeyed. Next hole, 175 yard par 3, I was just short of the green and chipped in for another birdie. He bogeyed again, landing in the left bunker from the tee. Next hole, a tight par 4, I put 2 tee shots OOB! Ended up with an 8. Next hole I pulled one left and if I hadn't hit a tree that one would have been OOB! He joked that he was starting to think I was being modest after the first 2 holes, but now he was wondering if I was bragging! I ended up with a round of 92, and he ended up with a 94 (if I recall properly). I asked him at the end which one of us was bragging!

[C-Tech]

Played with a guy on Thursday evening who told me that he used to be a 3 handicap but he had been ill for almost a year and had only been able to return to the game in the last month. His scoring was pretty bad, but it was obvious from his mechanics that he had been a player at one time. He wasn't bragging when he told me this, it was just conversation. After watching him, I am sure as he regains his strength and returns to normal practice routine, he will be back in form in no time. I felt for him as I had been through a similar yet less severe problem myself last year.

[DIETER]

Neither Diane, I'm just humble. LOL.
Actually, a little of both.