What happens next...?
Your ball takes a splash and you grumble something under your breath.
Unsolicited advice can get inside your head, making it nearly impossible to concentrate on your own golf game. You only hear the "never" in the above sentence, much like when a playing partner says, "watch out for that bunker"...your eyes and your attention look towards the bunker and, ultimately, your ball finds its way into the sand.
What other unsolicited advice should you steer clear of during a round of golf? Golf for Beginners has put together a few tidbits - feel free to add to our list in the comments section of this golf blog!
1. "You Should Look At That Putt From A Different Angle":
My husband is always telling me to walk around every putt in order to see how the green breaks...which is good advice, however, according to GolfDigest.com, it might not be the best advice for some golfers.
"If you're a shaky putter, bringing in another view of the line won't be constructive. If anything, it will confuse you, or cause you to see something that isn't there. Plus, this isn't the Ryder Cup."2. Taking Tips from Pros on the Driving Range:
According to "The Women's Guide to Golf: A Handbook for Beginners", range pros who walk up and down the line looking for potential students may be giving you tips which may not work for your swing or game. This is called, according to the book, "trade dynamiting the tees" and a pro may throw you a "barrage of advice" which will probably confuse you more than help your game....then they get to fix the problem! Politely say "no thanks" for the time you are at the range and schedule an appointment with a golf teaching pro who has your best intentions.
3. ANY advice to help you DURING your round:
Did you know...in any USGA tournament, the Rules of Golf state that giving advice to another golfer (even with a motion) is not permitted - it's a two-stroke penalty during the round and a disqualification after the scorecard is signed.
If a pro golfer receives unsolicited advice, however, and did not initiate the conversation, no penalty is given unless advice is offered twice. "The player should take action to stop this irregular procedure." He would incur a two-stroke penalty in stroke play if he allowed such advice to be given again.
Tip: During a friendly round, skip the swing advice completely,; it won't help your game to hear that the way you are cocking your wrists is wrong or your ball is too far forward in your stance...it will just further mess with your head. Instead, here are a few golf tips to help when things just aren't going your way on the golf course!
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