Why are golfers so weird about context?
I’ve been thinking about something I’ve noticed in amateur golf, and I’m genuinely curious how other people see it.
Someone recently asked whether an eagle from the front tees “counts.” Of course it counts. You made an eagle. Is it as difficult or impressive as making one from the tips? Obviously not. But both things can be true.
That got me thinking about how defensive some golfers seem to get about numbers and context.
When I talk about one of my rounds, I usually give the score and some context: what tees I played, whether I took a breakfast ball, whether I dropped a ball, etc. Not because I think my score is more legitimate than someone else’s. I’m not even breaking 100. I’m doing it because we’re talking about my round, and those details tell you what actually happened.
And here’s the part I don’t understand.
You’ll see people say, “We’re not professional golfers. If your ball lands in a divot, just move it. Who cares?”
That’s completely fine. Play however you want.
But that exact same argument works in the opposite direction: “We’re not professional golfers. The numbers don’t matter. If you want to play the ball exactly as it lies and take every penalty according to the rules, go ahead. Who cares?”
Play golf however you enjoy playing it. Move the ball out of a divot. Don’t move it. Take a breakfast ball. Don’t take one. Play the forward tees. Play the tips. Keep a handicap. Don’t keep one.
I genuinely don’t care.
Heres my main point of confusion, What I don’t understand is getting annoyed when somebody gives context for how they played their own round.
If someone says, “I shot 88,” and you want to know what tees they played from, whether they used mulligans, etc., isn’t that just useful information for having a conversation about the round?
Why is “I shot X” somehow supposed to be the entire conversation?
I’m not trying to gatekeep anybody’s golf. I’m barely good enough to gatekeep my own score.
I’m just curious why amateur golfers sometimes seem simultaneously obsessed with numbers and determined to pretend the numbers don’t matter.