I know it’s a whacko question. But I’m serious. Can Ugly People Win At Golf?

Before you go all nutty on me, let me clarify the question. What I mean by “ugly” does not refer to physical appearance. I’m talking about Attitude, Self-control, Self-esteem, and Focus. So a better way of phrasing the question would be: “Can a golfer with a bad attitude, little self control, low self-esteem and a scattered mind win at golf?”

I don’t think so. And if he or she did, it would be a minor miracle, not to mention a miserable experience for the golf buddies playing the round with the “ugly” golfer.

I seldom run into an “ugly” golfer. But when I have, it makes for a very uncomfortable round of golf.

The other day I was asked to join a friend at a new golf course. I had never met the women she had asked to make up our foursome. One I discovered was relatively new at the game and was still in learning mode. The second woman (I’ll call her Ashley) had been playing for years and I could tell from the first tee that she approached the game with a pretty serious attitude. She immediately decided that as she had the lowest handicap of the four of us that she would take “honors” and be the first to tee off. I don’t have a problem with that. In fact, my “karma darma” is always better when I go second or third, or even last. “Honors” is not a big deal to me. But it was to this golfer, so I simply shrugged my shoulders and let Ashley play her way.

She hit a long drive that sliced to the right and ended up in the deep rough. She got the distance but not the direction. I put it down to early jitters, playing with new people, not being warmed up — whatever. It was only the first drive and there was a lot more golf to play. We were, after all, only on the first tee.

Unfortunately, Ahsley took it all very badly. She hit her club hard into the ground and mumbled something that sounded like #$%^&!@!!! The three of us were all a bit taken back, especially the golfing newbie. She was so nervous that when it was her turn, she hit only air in her first attempt to drive. I heard another $%^&@#!!! coming from Ashley.

“That counts!” Ashley immediately remarked.

“I think we should let her take a mulligan,” I countered. “Call it a warm up swing?”

“No mulligans!”

Fine, no mulligans. I kept my mouth shut after that and just focused on my own game.

I could tell that our newbie golfer was totally inhibited by Ashley’s ugly attitude. As we played the front nine, things only went from bad to worse. Ashley was not playing her best. One bad shot led to another bad shot. She was taking the game way too seriously. This was supposed to be a friendly round of golf on a beautiful afternoon. It was not a tournament. No life changing event hung in the balance if Ashley did not get a par or birdie on every hole. But she obviously had very high expectations for her game and when her skill failed her, she imploded.

I have to admire our newbie golfer. She hung in there, and my friend and I tried to give encouragement as she struggled on almost every hole.

As for my game? I tried to ignore our foursome’s “best” golfer and focused on what I needed to do to get the ball into the hole. It wasn’t easy. And it wasn’t fun, and after the round I made it clear to my friend that I would never play with Ashley again. Ugly golfers are not my cup of tee!

Ever played a round of golf with an “ugly” golfer? How do you handle it?