Let's face it, if you are going to be on the golf course for 5 hours, you want to be with people that you enjoy being with. Finding good golf partners can be harder than finding true love. There are almost as many things that you look for in a golf partner as a life partner. You want a golfer you can communicate with, a golfer that you are comfortable with silence with, a golfer that is reliable and one of the most important, a golfer that you can trust. I will talk a little more about trust in a minute. I have been playing golf for 20 years and I can say that I have met people on the golf course that have wound up being good friends off the golf course. There is a unique bond that is formed when you do find a good golf partner.
The reason you need to be able to trust your golf partner is, chances are your golf partner has pretty much the same skill level as you, you probably would not be playing together on a regular basis if he or she was much better or much worse golfer than you, unless you were already friends or family. That means that chances are pretty good that you will wind up having friendly wagers of some kind while on the golf course. I can tell you first hand that is is a long day if you are playing a friendly skins game or a $5 nassau against a golfer that cheats. It adds an element to golf that should not be involved. If you have to spend an ounce of energy trying to make sure your opponent isn't improving his lie or even dropping another ball to replace the one that he couldn't find with a search party, it makes for a very long and un enjoyable round of golf.
The regular foursome that I play golf with was recently broken apart, one moved to California, and the other moved to a another county within the same state. The impact that it has had on my game has totally surprised me. The one other golfer that is left is the "cheater" of the group. It is well documented that he cheats, we even had an “ golf intervention" to try to get him to stop. That did not go very well, he was totally in denial and did not admit to anything. He stopped cheating for a little while (maybe) but then started back up again.
Ironically enough, the one golfer of the group that cheats is also the one that makes the tee times. When one of the foursome could not make it, he would make all the phone calls to find a replacement. Now that we have lost two of our golf partners, it is very hard to find 2 new partners because everyone knows that he cheats.
The best way to find a good golf partner is to BE a good golf partner:
1. Don't cheat, not once, not ever.
2. Be friendly, but don't talk to much.
3 Control your temper. Nobody likes being with a golfer that is constantly screaming and or throwing clubs.
4. Be reliable, if you make plans to play, keep them.
5. If you play with a golfer that you think is a good match, by all means exchange phone numbers, you have to start somewhere.
6. Be willing to play for a few bucks. Playing for something helps you focus on your round.
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