[Brent Hutto]

This past weekend when I was in Myrtle Beach I reserved tee times as a single at two courses and both time was paired up with threesomes who were there as a group. On Saturday morning at True Blue my playing companions were three guys from Oxford, England who had flown to Myrtle Beach for a long weekend of golf.

So anyway, they had been sent to the first tee before I arrived at the starter so I just followed and caught up with them while they were waiting for the fairway to clear from the group ahead. I walked up to the nearest guy, stuck out my hand and spoke my name. He hesitated for a moment then shook hands and sort of mumbled "Gary". The next guy gave me a surprised look as though he was considering whether to speak or not before offering his hand and name in return. The third member of the group went ahead to the tee, hit his shot and returned to the cart without speaking at all.

I had the distinct impression that I was experiencing some sort of etiquette gap. We played the first hole and as we were leaving the green Gary struck up a conversation about the course or the weather or something, introduced me again to the other guys and we had a fine old time for the rest of the round. They weren't much better golfers than me but we played at a reasonable pace (they were playing a little Stableford match and picking up when they failed to make a net bogey) and were very companionable after that first few minutes.

Is there some different set of norms for getting paired up in England than I'm used to around here? Or perhaps nobody told them they would have a fourth added to their group? Maybe they were just jet-lagged at 7:30AM five time zones west of home.

[John Goodman]

In my admittedly not vast experience, Englishmen on the golf course just take a little while to warm up to you.  My wife and I were paired with a couple out in Phoenix who took about nine holes to even get cordial, but by the end of the back nine they had warmed to pleasant and we ended up enjoying one another's company over drinks after the round.  I had comparable experiences, to a greater or lesser degree (i.e., takes a while for the English to drop some of their reserve and get friendly) at Verulam in St. Alban's, at Woburn, Royal Ashdown Forest and Hayling Island.  These experiences were with golfers/members (and I can understand too why they might not be initially thrilled to have Yanks on their courses).  The staffs at every course I have played in England (those above and others), conversely, have from the start been courteous and friendly.  Based on my experiences, I would rank the GB&I golfer on the warmth and friendliness scale as:   1.  Irish   2. Scots   3. English.  About like the stereotypes I guess.  

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

Maybe they were all friends of Paul Casey!!!

As an Englishman living here in the US I can maybe help out a little...
As a race in general we are a reserved bunch, who take a while to warm to strangers, especially whilst in a holy place like the golf course, or for that matter, a soccer filed or a soccer stadium.
We are wary of strange speaking folks because we usually end up going to war with them because we think it is the polite thing to do{just kidding..no political agenda behind that comment}.

Joking aside, I think you were unlucky, I think we Brits like you Americans consider golf a great equaliser, if you are on the golf course you must be an okay guy....sure as a rule we are a little more reserved and a bit slower to slap you on the back and divulge family secrets, but then most people are compared to Americans.

Lets face it you guys are just very friendly as a whole and enjoy conversation more than most other nationals,but once we warm up...we are all just golfers

GCA is just the best, where else can you have this kind of discussion about the greatest game in the world!!!!

[John Goodman]

Being from Alabama, I've always had a decent ice-breaker when playing with a true Scot:  "the South is a lot like Scotland; we're both only part of the Union by force of arms."    

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

John even as an Englishman, I think your 'rating"
of the Brits is probably pretty accurate, as a generalisation of course.
But it could be way worse..we could be French

[Jack_Marr]

Once an American joined thier group, half their conversation points would have been eliminated. It probably took them a few holes to work out your politics before they thought they could speak freely, nad then the resorted to the weather, which sometimes can be controversial on this side of the duck pond.

A scot or and irish man would probably just come straight out and say it. Actually, I would say a feature of the way the Irish communicate is their friendly insults, as well as their bad language.

Anyway, the English are a little more reserved, but usually warm up when they feel more comfortable.

[Brent Hutto]

The best player of the three seemed totally immune to any of the usual wisecracks. He was standing right beside me when I hit a ridiculous bladed sand wedge that rolled about 70 yards, including completely through a sand bunker and up a small embankment to settle a few feet from the hole.

I looked over and he said, "What 'ave you to say for that one?". I replied, "I can't think of anything..." and *that* he found fricking hilarious. First time I saw him laugh all day.

Actually, not true. We egged one of his mates into trying to hit a ball out of a water hazard on the third hole. They captured on their digital camera the result which was a couple gallons of mud coming out and onto his clothes and the ball settling into the hole thus created. We all had a good time with that one, maybe that's when they all started loosening up and bit.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Occasionally as a lone Englishman playing abroad I've been paired up with others and, generally speaking, I've been welcomed into their fraternity with warmth and geniality.  It probably doesn't happen as much in the UK, so we're not used to it and probably don't expect it to happen to us abroad.  Most courses have times reserved for member play and other times for visitor play.  The members avoid the visitor starting times, so if there is any pairing up to be done it will be with other visitors.  

Members can be pretty excluding with themselves.  There are clubs (not mine, I'm happy to say) where a certain group of people always go out at specific times and God help anyone who tries to infiltrate the gang.  

If the club or course normally makes up matches to fours then they should tell a party of three at the time of booking.

[Bob_Huntley]

Remember that wonderful line from 'My Fair Lady' where Rex Harrison warbles a song whose theme was that, " When one Englishman speaks it makes another despise him?"

The Brits on the first tee probably felt that some uncouth American was going to come along and spoil their fun. Believe me, I know a lot of very unreserved Englishman.

Language is the great separator, how many on this board understand Ebonics... or this rap stuff?

Another GBS line from the play/movie:

"One common language, I'm afraid we'll never get,
Why can't the English learn to...
Set a good example for people whose English is painful to your ears?
The Scotch and the Irish leave you close to tears,
There even are places where English disappears...
Why in America they haven't used it for years!"

[Jack_Marr]

Remember that wonderful line from 'My Fair Lady' where Rex Harrison warbles a song whose theme was that, " When one Englishman speaks it makes another despise him?"

The Brits on the first tee probably felt that some uncouth American was going to come along and spoil their fun. Believe me, I know a lot of very unreserved Englishman.

Language is the great separator, how many on this board understand Ebonics... or this rap stuff?

Another GBS line from the play/movie:

"One common language, I'm afraid we'll never get,
Why can't the English learn to...
Set a good example for people whose English is painful to your ears?
The Scotch and the Irish leave you close to tears,
There even are places where English disappears...
Why in America they haven't used it for years!"

That's what I mean by friendly insults, as George Bernard Shaw was an Irish man.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Flanders & Swann summed it all up in their 'Song of Patriotic Prejudice' which was a great hit in the States.  They were both 'Housemen'.  One Houseman respects another and I'm happy to say that Swann employed me as a singer occasionally.  Sadly, Flanders had died before I had an opportunity to encounter him.

[Mike_Cirba]

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought it was another of those tawdry Devereaux Emmett exposes..  

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Playing with Englishmen?  No-one plays with Englishmen except at cricket.  We know we're superior (well, at Rugby perhaps).

[Jason McNamara]

Is there some different set of norms for getting paired up in England than I'm used to around here? Or perhaps nobody told them they would have a fourth added to their group? Maybe they were just jet-lagged at 7:30AM five time zones west of home.

Was 7:30 the first group out?  Maybe they thought they'd zip around, and then they got stuck with the American who'd presumably dawdle, play too far back, gab on his phone, etc.

Since they got you instead of the cigar-chomping, phone-gabbing, 12-but-plays-the-tips cart-baller, I'm sure that helped.  

Jason

ps.  Crossing the Atlantic is typically easier when headed west, so it probably wasn't jet lag (at 11:30am GMT).

[Brent Hutto]

There were a couple groups ahead of us but we fell behind pretty quickly. From my prior experiences in Myrtle Beach I was pleasantly surprised that we finished in just over 4:15 and even more suprised that the groups ahead were never in sight after the first hole. And we never did see the group behind us even though they were queued up at the starter's house when we headed to the first tee.

[Don Dinkmeyer]

Any threesome joined by Mr. 4 is going to be hesitant, i think. I've played as a solo many, many times and find it easier to get in with a pair that three --

can't describe it better than that. Making it a foursome means the group is "full", too.

I have not found a difference based on ethnicity.

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