Question:
Nothing. I figure if they really want help, they’d strike up a conversation with someone they think is hitting the ball good. There are some shy ones too, but unsolicited advice is bad.
Few people will do this because most people are uncomfortable approaching strangers. Even *if people intend to cause you a problem*, they’ll generally keep their distance as much as possible doing so. Even if a person sees you hitting one great shot after another, (s)he may be unsure you’d want to help them or if your advice would be good. Indeed, there is some truth to the saying "those who can’t do, teach". Some people play very good and don’t know as much as you might think how they do do, wouldn’t convey this information well if they do, and don’t understand the problems an ordinary duffer has – i.e., if a person was a scratch golfer from young and doesn’t know how to take a bad swing or hit a bad shot which is not a terrible mistake. There are plenty of reasons they may not approach you. Quite often they won’t do this, but they’ll start imitating you or parts of what you do – thinking this will be the secret for their success on the course. I never had a bad experience with any conversation on the range or course, nor any unsolicited advice I gave or received. Yet a good rule is probably "when in doubt, don’t" because you really may not be right or understand what is causing someone else a problem. Yet it is good to keep things in perspective. Golf generally brings out the best in people – they might become mad at their game when it fails them, but few people are anything but nice to others on a course. This is the aim of etiquette, and it is clearly being achieved. What may be considered poor behavior or etiquette on a course is nothing compared to the things which may happen walking the streets, in a subway, etc. So all things considered, a little unwelcome unsolicited advice is not very bad. I don’t see a problem with trying it once and seeing how (un)weclome it is.
Response:
The point of this is not to make fun of some guy I saw hitting balls, but to ask "When is enough enough?" I would never go start giving someone unsolicited advice, but it was killing me to see this guy go through this. I never did say anything, but I’m interested to know what others here may have done in similar situations.
I agree with the other folks that you don’t want to offer unsolicited advice to another person at the range, Dan, but you could always strike up some sort of casual conversation, something on the order about how hard the golf swing is, even with all the work we put in on it.A little commiseration about the game, if you will. Then, if the guy you’re talking to should happen to mention that he could use some help with his swing, feel free to jump in with a suggestion or two. I suspect there are a lot of folks who visit ranges who would welcome help with their swings but are too timid to ask out of the blue.
Response:
So he addresses the ball by laying his right hand over the top of his left hand so that his wrists are overlapping, he hunches his shoulders together and forward as much as possible, and widens his stance so his feet are at least 3 feet apart. (Now we’re looking at Mr. Hyde, or maybe Jerry Louis). Of course every ball gets shanked into the side of the stall, or close to it. He goes through a whole bucket like this.
You could say "So, how do like Natural Golf?"
Response:
ask "When is enough enough?" I would never go start giving someone unsolicited advice, but it was killing me to see this guy go through this. I never did say anything, but I’m interested to know what others here may have done in similar situations.
Speaking of range etiquette, howzabout this one…A couple of weeks ago I was hitting a lunchtime bucket at a range here in NJ. A fella pulls into the stall next to me. After he dropped his bag he pulled a bench into the stall, sat down and took his pants off. He pulled on a pair of shorts, stood up and commenced to hitting…."When is enough enough?"…indeed. carl
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – 99.999 percent of the people on the range IMO, WILL NOT strike up a conversation with others just to solicit feedback. I have seen people hit buckets after buckets, doing everything wrong and never once have I seen people ask for advise. Maybe they are shy, maybe they think they have a good swing and keep doing what they are doing. I see this little gal on the driving range who is very dedicated to golf, but her dad is her coach. He has good intentions, but he gives her the worst advise ever. I sometimes end up htting next to them and wonder why this guy can’t get some pro to give his daughter lessons. It gets to a point where I just want to tell this guy, enough is enough and pay for the pro lessons myself 
Yeah I know. If you see a real hacker who might be the shy type, you can simply strike up a conversation yourself, without offering advice. If they want to talk back they will, and if they lead the conversation to their golf swing and ask you a question you can answer. Most people won’t do that, but sometimes a beginner will who just loves the input. One time I had my video camera out there and a father was out there with her teenage girl who was working on her swing. They seemed to be looking at me looking at the playback, so I offered to let her film her swing. The both really loved looking at it played back in slow motion, as they didn’t have a camera themselves.
Response:
The point of this is not to make fun of some guy I saw hitting balls, but to ask "When is enough enough?" I would never go start giving someone unsolicited advice, but it was killing me to see this guy go through this. I never did say anything, but I’m interested to know what others here may have done in similar situations.
Dan, you can only hope he see’s your perfect grip, outstanding swing, sweet ball contact, perfect trajectory and controlled distance, then asks you for help. Otherwise, forget him…it’s not your job…LOL G
Response:
Well, if the rational for ignoring him is that "People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones," then that’s not a good analogy here. My stroke needs tweaking to improve distance and accuracy. His stroke needed to be gutted. (but thanks for the compliment, lol). However, I do agree that you can never get into trouble by ignoring everybody else and just concentrate on your own game. dan white
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The point of this is not to make fun of some guy I saw hitting balls, but to ask "When is enough enough?" I would never go start giving someone unsolicited advice, but it was killing me to see this guy go through this. I never did say anything, but I’m interested to know what others here may have done in similar situations. Dan, you can only hope he see’s your perfect grip, outstanding swing, sweet ball contact, perfect trajectory and controlled distance, then asks you for help. Otherwise, forget him…it’s not your job…LOL G
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – So I’m at the practice range the other night hitting some balls and this guy gets into the ’stall’ next to me and gets himself set up to hit some shots. At this point I take a seat for a few minutes to take a break. Well, this guy is maybe 6 foot, 170, nice clothes…basically normal looking. Somebody posted here the other day about being Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde on the course… I’m no pro but I do have a decent swing and I can tell when a swing looks good or bad. So he addresses the ball by laying his right hand over the top of his left hand so that his wrists are overlapping, he hunches his shoulders together and forward as much as possible, and widens his stance so his feet are at least 3 feet apart. (Now we’re looking at Mr. Hyde, or maybe Jerry Louis). Of course every ball gets shanked into the side of the stall, or close to it. He goes through a whole bucket like this. The point of this is not to make fun of some guy I saw hitting balls, but to ask "When is enough enough?" I would never go start giving someone unsolicited advice, but it was killing me to see this guy go through this. I never did say anything, but I’m interested to know what others here may have done in similar situations. Dan White
Viker 44
Response:
sounds like the best advice. thanks dan
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The point of this is not to make fun of some guy I saw hitting balls, but to ask "When is enough enough?" I would never go start giving someone unsolicited advice, but it was killing me to see this guy go through this. I never did say anything, but I’m interested to know what others here may have done in similar situations. I agree with the other folks that you don’t want to offer unsolicited advice to another person at the range, Dan, but you could always strike up some sort of casual conversation, something on the order about how hard the golf swing is, even with all the work we put in on it.A little commiseration about the game, if you will. Then, if the guy you’re talking to should happen to mention that he could use some help with his swing, feel free to jump in with a suggestion or two. I suspect there are a lot of folks who visit ranges who would welcome help with their swings but are too timid to ask out of the blue.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – So I’m at the practice range the other night hitting some balls and this guy gets into the ’stall’ next to me and gets himself set up to hit some shots. At this point I take a seat for a few minutes to take a break. Well, this guy is maybe 6 foot, 170, nice clothes…basically normal looking. Somebody posted here the other day about being Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde on the course… I’m no pro but I do have a decent swing and I can tell when a swing looks good or bad. So he addresses the ball by laying his right hand over the top of his left hand so that his wrists are overlapping, he hunches his shoulders together and forward as much as possible, and widens his stance so his feet are at least 3 feet apart. (Now we’re looking at Mr. Hyde, or maybe Jerry Louis). Of course every ball gets shanked into the side of the stall, or close to it. He goes through a whole bucket like this. The point of this is not to make fun of some guy I saw hitting balls, but to ask "When is enough enough?" I would never go start giving someone unsolicited advice, but it was killing me to see this guy go through this. I never did say anything, but I’m interested to know what others here may have done in similar situations. Dan White
People are at the range to improve their game and hitting the ball well beats the shit out of shankin’,toppin, chunkin’ and whiffin. So if you honestly think you can help someone, it might not be out of line to help. It’s a fine line. You have to wonder how many people want to play the game, but end up quitting because they might not have been shown a more proper way to hold the club, or swing, or have things explained to them. I’m outgoing, so when I started I asked people who were hitting the ball decent what their thoughts were etc. I’ll still do that because I’m studying the swing and the game. I have helped a couple of people at the range, but they were right next to me and expressed their frustration to me in some way. With beginners it’s easy to help because it’s all fundamentals. But most of the time I don’t say anything and try to work on my own game. tim
Response:
99.999 percent of the people on the range IMO, WILL NOT strike up a conversation with others just to solicit feedback. I have seen people hit buckets after buckets, doing everything wrong and never once have I seen people ask for advise. Maybe they are shy, maybe they think they have a good swing and keep doing what they are doing. I see this little gal on the driving range who is very dedicated to golf, but her dad is her coach. He has good intentions, but he gives her the worst advise ever. I sometimes end up htting next to them and wonder why this guy can’t get some pro to give his daughter lessons. It gets to a point where I just want to tell this guy, enough is enough and pay for the pro lessons myself
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The point of this is not to make fun of some guy I saw hitting balls, but to ask "When is enough enough?" I would never go start giving someone unsolicited advice, but it was killing me to see this guy go through this. I never did say anything, but I’m interested to know what others here may have done in similar situations. Nothing. I figure if they really want help, they’d strike up a conversation with someone they think is hitting the ball good. There are some shy ones too, but unsolicited advice is bad.
Response:
unless I am asked.
Riiiiiiigghhhhhhht.
Response:
The point of this is not to make fun of some guy I saw hitting balls, but to ask "When is enough enough?" I would never go start giving someone unsolicited advice, but it was killing me to see this guy go through this. I never did say anything, but I’m interested to know what others here may have done in similar situations.
Nothing. I figure if they really want help, they’d strike up a conversation with someone they think is hitting the ball good. There are some shy ones too, but unsolicited advice is bad.
Response:
I was at the range another time with my father (who can still hit ‘em at 72). The guy next to us was with his kid who was some kind of state champ under 12 or something. As we left my father (who does have a good eye) told the father that the kid was swinging too hard. He didn’t respond much and I told my father that you shouldn’t do that. He said, yeah but I’m right and maybe it’ll give him something to think about. Next time we saw them at the range the father couldn’t be nicer to us….I guess that’s the dilemma about seeing something that you KNOW you can fix with one comment. Big picture, it doesn’t affect my game either way so I keep my mouth shut. Seems like a shame tho’ somehow. dan white – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I was at the driving range yesterday hitting the "big dog". There was this one guy 30 or so feet away hitting a Ping TISI driver. He had a pretty good looking swing. He would push, slice, pull, top and hook. (anything but straight) I sat there for awhile watching him and decided to speak up. I said "Hey dude, can I give you a tip?" He said "sure." I told him he has a great looking swing, but he tended to be a little quick on the backswing and very quick on the transition to the downswing. He told me he was not aware of that. You can guess what happened next. He started taking the club back slower and smoothed his way thru the ball. He started hitting 90% of his drives very long with just a touch of fade. He looked at me said that was the best golf tip he ever had. I told him no problem, I’m glad to help. BTW you owe me $20. He smiled and kept on hitting some really good looking drives. this guy out. I had people give me advice when I didn’t want it. But, I did speak up and helped the guy. He seems to be on the road to better golf. I know he was alot happier when he left than when I first started watching him swing. unless I am asked. This guy just seemed to be screaming inside his head for help. John Roberson — A bad day of Golf is better than a good day of work (Even if I miss 7 putts from inside 2 feet.) So I’m at the practice range the other night hitting some balls and this guy gets into the ’stall’ next to me and gets himself set up to hit some shots. At this point I take a seat for a few minutes to take a break. Well, this guy is maybe 6 foot, 170, nice clothes…basically normal looking. Somebody posted here the other day about being Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde on the course… I’m no pro but I do have a decent swing and I can tell when a swing looks good or bad. So he addresses the ball by laying his right hand over the top of his left hand so that his wrists are overlapping, he hunches his shoulders together and forward as much as possible, and widens his stance so his feet are at least 3 feet apart. (Now we’re looking at Mr. Hyde, or maybe Jerry Louis). Of course every ball gets shanked into the side of the stall, or close to it. He goes through a whole bucket like this. The point of this is not to make fun of some guy I saw hitting balls, but to ask "When is enough enough?" I would never go start giving someone unsolicited advice, but it was killing me to see this guy go through this. I never did say anything, but I’m interested to know what others here may have done in similar situations. Dan White
Response:
So I’m at the practice range the other night hitting some balls and this guy gets into the ’stall’ next to me and gets himself set up to hit some shots. At this point I take a seat for a few minutes to take a break. Well, this guy is maybe 6 foot, 170, nice clothes…basically normal looking. Somebody posted here the other day about being Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde on the course… I’m no pro but I do have a decent swing and I can tell when a swing looks good or bad. So he addresses the ball by laying his right hand over the top of his left hand so that his wrists are overlapping, he hunches his shoulders together and forward as much as possible, and widens his stance so his feet are at least 3 feet apart. (Now we’re looking at Mr. Hyde, or maybe Jerry Louis). Of course every ball gets shanked into the side of the stall, or close to it. He goes through a whole bucket like this. The point of this is not to make fun of some guy I saw hitting balls, but to ask "When is enough enough?" I would never go start giving someone unsolicited advice, but it was killing me to see this guy go through this. I never did say anything, but I’m interested to know what others here may have done in similar situations. Dan White
Response:
Nothing, except wonder how they ever developed such a contorted setup or swing.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – So I’m at the practice range the other night hitting some balls and this guy gets into the ’stall’ next to me and gets himself set up to hit some shots. At this point I take a seat for a few minutes to take a break. Well, this guy is maybe 6 foot, 170, nice clothes…basically normal looking. Somebody posted here the other day about being Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde on the course… I’m no pro but I do have a decent swing and I can tell when a swing looks good or bad. So he addresses the ball by laying his right hand over the top of his left hand so that his wrists are overlapping, he hunches his shoulders together and forward as much as possible, and widens his stance so his feet are at least 3 feet apart. (Now we’re looking at Mr. Hyde, or maybe Jerry Louis). Of course every ball gets shanked into the side of the stall, or close to it. He goes through a whole bucket like this. The point of this is not to make fun of some guy I saw hitting balls, but to ask "When is enough enough?" I would never go start giving someone unsolicited advice, but it was killing me to see this guy go through this. I never did say anything, but I’m interested to know what others here may have done in similar situations. Dan White
Response:
….snip… I never did say anything, but I’m interested to know what others here may have done in similar situations.
Don’t look! Don’t look! You absorb whatever he is doing subconciously, and it affects your game for days at the very least. Rob
Response:
Never say anything to anyone on the range. Never. Glarb
Response:
Don’t look! Don’t look! You absorb whatever he is doing subconciously, and it affects your game for days at the very least. Rob
No way! I get your point but if anything it makes me think how important the fundamentals are. dan white
Response:
I was at the driving range yesterday hitting the "big dog". There was this one guy 30 or so feet away hitting a Ping TISI driver. He had a pretty good looking swing. He would push, slice, pull, top and hook. (anything but straight) I sat there for awhile watching him and decided to speak up. I said "Hey dude, can I give you a tip?" He said "sure." I told him he has a great looking swing, but he tended to be a little quick on the backswing and very quick on the transition to the downswing. He told me he was not aware of that. You can guess what happened next. He started taking the club back slower and smoothed his way thru the ball. He started hitting 90% of his drives very long with just a touch of fade. He looked at me said that was the best golf tip he ever had. I told him no problem, I’m glad to help. BTW you owe me $20. He smiled and kept on hitting some really good looking drives. this guy out. I had people give me advice when I didn’t want it. But, I did speak up and helped the guy. He seems to be on the road to better golf. I know he was alot happier when he left than when I first started watching him swing. unless I am asked. This guy just seemed to be screaming inside his head for help. John Roberson — A bad day of Golf is better than a good day of work (Even if I miss 7 putts from inside 2 feet.)
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – So I’m at the practice range the other night hitting some balls and this guy gets into the ’stall’ next to me and gets himself set up to hit some shots. At this point I take a seat for a few minutes to take a break. Well, this guy is maybe 6 foot, 170, nice clothes…basically normal looking. Somebody posted here the other day about being Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde on the course… I’m no pro but I do have a decent swing and I can tell when a swing looks good or bad. So he addresses the ball by laying his right hand over the top of his left hand so that his wrists are overlapping, he hunches his shoulders together and forward as much as possible, and widens his stance so his feet are at least 3 feet apart. (Now we’re looking at Mr. Hyde, or maybe Jerry Louis). Of course every ball gets shanked into the side of the stall, or close to it. He goes through a whole bucket like this. The point of this is not to make fun of some guy I saw hitting balls, but to ask "When is enough enough?" I would never go start giving someone unsolicited advice, but it was killing me to see this guy go through this. I never did say anything, but I’m interested to know what others here may have done in similar situations. Dan White