Golf Superstitions

[Scott Sander]

1) If a broken tee with enough length left on it is sitting on the box of a par 3between the tee markers, I have to use it.

2) Also, you can use a black tee ONCE a round to give you 15 extra yards.  Hosever, if you try it twice you'll hit a low heely slice.

3)Never drink Arnold Palmers from a can.

[Tom Yost]

A hole will only give up so many long putts to a foursome.  The more long putts made ahead of me decreases my chance of making my putt.  If all three partners hole their putts before me, I am doomed to miss. 

[John Pflum]

Never use a broken or discarded tee of any kind.  They have been cast aside and clearly have bad kharma associated with them.  They will invariably result in a high fade or a low hook but never a good shot. 

[Ken Moum]

There's only room for one ball in the hole. Which means the yahoos who leave their ball in the hole and step away to let you putt out are ..... XXXXX

K

[Andy Doyle]

Is there a distinction between anal retentiveness and superstition?  I realize I'm a little fussy about these kind of things, but I've never thought of myself as being superstitious.

Ball in left front pocket
Tees and ballmarker in right front pocket
Ball marker - Irish punt; elk side up unless I'm playing for beer
Divot tool clipped to right front pocket
Scorecard, pencil, and yardage book (if I have one) in a leather scorecard wallet in back left pocket.

None of this changes if I'm playing badly, it just makes me feel like I'm ready to play.  I'll even put the scorecard wallet in my back pocket if I'm not marking a scorecard for that round, e.g. playing in a scramble.

Andy

[Guy Nicholson]

Never use a broken or discarded tee of any kind.  They have been cast aside and clearly have bad kharma associated with them.  They will invariably result in a high fade or a low hook but never a good shot. 

I *only* use broken ones on par 3's. They've proven themselves in battle.

[Tom_Doak]

CJ:  Your superstition about using a tee that had been used on #18 is interesting, and relates to the story I was going to tell.

I read this years ago but have no idea whether it's true or not:

When Doug Sanders was contending to win the Open Championship in 1970, he came to the last hole at St. Andrews needing a four to win.  On the tee, his caddie hands him a white tee and says "This is the same tee the late Tony Lema used when he won the Open here in '64."  But, it was a white tee, and Sanders had a superstition about using white tees.  He uses it, three-putts for bogey, and loses in the playoff the next day.

After hearing that story I have always tended to avoid using white tees.  The pro at Crystal Downs started handing out flourescent orange tees years ago because people are more likely to pick them up (and the mowers won't be damaged by used tees) ... I like to play with those, but I sometimes run out of them in winter.

[John Pflum]

Tom -- HA!  That is funny about white tees.  I have always hated using them for some reason.  I ordered 1,000 "wood grain" tees for the little event I have here in Cincinnati simply because I hate white ones -- or any other  "unnatural" color for that matter.