Chip & Chat: The Playing Partner Lottery!

Now that the dark nights are officially here and the weather is turning colder, I am very jealous of anyone with a winter sun golf holiday on the horizon. If there are four or eight of you going, even better—you can split into fourballs and enjoy your own group. Because is there anything more irritating than turning up as a twoball only to be paired with total strangers?

It’s a complete lottery, and you can’t just politely move on after a few minutes—you’re stuck with them for four-plus hours!

The Fairway Lottery: Why Paired Rounds Can Be Tricky

You might not think it reading this, but believe it or not, I’m actually very sociable! You could easily argue that’s the great thing about golf—it’s a wonderful leveller. The nature of the game means you can play with anyone of any ability, walking the fairways with people who all share the exact same passion.

However, there’s a big BUT...

You’re on holiday, this is your hard-earned leisure time, and you’ve likely paid a hefty green fee to play a bucket-list course, so you want to squeeze every last drop of enjoyment out of it. The last thing you want is to draw one of those golf course personalities we’ve all encountered:

• ❖ The Relentless Talker: The golfer who narrates every single shot and never takes a breath between holes.
• ❖ The Silent Grind: Someone who is hard work to chat to and makes every hole feel like hard labour.
• ❖ The Unsolicited Swing Coach: Always ready with unasked-for advice on your posture or alignment after a bad shot.
• ❖ The Snail-Paced Golfer: Playing so slowly that your round stretches well past the four-and-a-half-hour mark.

Home Club Quirks vs Holiday Expectations

When you’re back at your home club, you already know everyone's quirks. You naturally group up with your favourites, and even if you end up paired with someone who isn't quite on your wavelength, playing with them as a one-off isn't the end of the world. You’re part of the same club, you know what you’re in for, and let's be honest, we’re all different and they might not be entirely keen on you either!

Earlier this year while holidaying in the US, I experienced being paired up with strangers on four separate occasions. It’s quite funny scouring the practice putting green as your tee time approaches, thinking, “I wonder if it's them? If so, they look okay!”

Then you get to the 1st tee, exchange pleasantries, and by a few holes in, you know if you’ve lucked out and can breathe a sigh of relief. At the end of the round, you know exactly where you stand, whether they want to do their own thing at the 19th hole, or you’ve genuinely enjoyed each other’s company and it’s drinks all round!

"I realise golf clubs need to fill their tee times—it’s all revenue for them at the end of the day. But when you've paid a hefty green fee for a bucket-list course, a bad pairing can turn a dream holiday round into four long hours."

Protecting Your Bucket-List Golf Rounds

Take Lauren Katims, for example. She was so looking forward to playing Arnold Palmer’s famous Bay Hill course in Florida, only for her dream round to be completely ruined by the behaviour of her playing partners.

In this Golf Monthly article, she highlights exactly how I feel about playing with strangers, and I’m sure many of you will relate! Determined never to let a bad pairing ruin a trip again, she shares 5 clever things she’ll do differently to protect her next golf holiday, and they are definitely worth keeping in your back pocket.

Until next time, enjoy the winter sun if you're lucky enough to be flying away, and may all your random pairings be friendly ones!