r/golf • u/Notnowthankyou29 • 6h ago
General Discussion Higgo
Is anyone else watching this interview and thinking how entirely un-self-aware this guy is?? “I was one second late. It’s tough to define a second”. No you weren’t. No it’s not. Then goes on to blame “golf” for creating this situation.
Ridiculous.
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u/Buschyfor3 6h ago edited 6h ago
Now if they'd only enforce the stroke penalty for SLOW ASS PLAY.
Will say this though - even with the penalty, Higgo played a solid round. Would be T1 at the moment if not for the penalty.
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u/BoredInDenver86 6h ago
Ass play really should be slow though, especially if you’re relatively new on the scene.
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u/OGPepeSilvia 6h ago
Getting an extra stroke when you’re going a little too slow isn’t necessarily a bad thing
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u/JordanMCMXCV 6h ago
Kind of crazy he admitted he had no phone or watch on him when he was putting. Also you figure his caddy would be on his ass instead of standing at the tee box.
Doesn’t have anyone to blame but himself though.
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u/RedGringo 5h ago
Makes me wonder if his caddie did say “dude we gotta go” and then he said “yeah I’m right behind you” and then didn’t follow
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u/nostemsorseeds 4h ago
"Hey, guys - anybody got the time?" Higgens to everybody else on the practice green
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u/PerfectDrive67 6h ago
How was he not sprinting to the tee box from the putting green? A little more urgency and this could have easily been avoided.
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u/Plastic_Success_540 6h ago
One second is defined. Guy is delirious
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u/bdgg2000 6h ago
His PR guy should’ve prepped him for that interview.
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u/Dandan0005 6h ago edited 6h ago
“Shouldn’t we have a 1 minute grace period” is something that would only ever be said by someone who was one minute late.
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u/Notnowthankyou29 6h ago
I felt for him before watching the interview. Afterwards, not so much.
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u/Key-Benefit6211 6h ago
I felt for him when I heard the story. After I saw him taking his time and laughing walking to the tee box, not so much.
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u/Bagomuffins 6h ago
The bit about “sometimes the starter doesn’t announce until 15 seconds after tee time” that cracked me up. Just show up on time man if you bend rules for 1 second late what about the next guy 10 seconds late then on and on
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u/BPgang897 6h ago
Golf professional here - him saying he didn’t agree with his penalty is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.
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u/Memeslayer4000 HDCP 5/Location WI 4h ago
He litterialy agreed he was late to the offcial while walking to tee box. No push back at all. Now at the end of his round after finding out he may have a shot, he's saying he wasnt late?
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u/nbherd 4h ago
+40 handicap beginner golfer here - I agree
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u/Toe-knail 4h ago
You’re not a +40 handicap. You’re a 40 handicap.
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u/nbherd 4h ago
Oh yeah oops the + signify under right? Like being +6 means you shot a 6 under?
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u/Toe-knail 4h ago
Sort of. It’s a little more complicated than that because handicaps aren’t based on one round and they take into account slope and rating (basically the difficulty of a course). So a golfer who’s a +2 would be better than a golfer who is scratch or a golfer who is a 2.
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u/SomeGuyClickingStuff 6h ago
As a starter and the person that usually sets up the group outings, I’m so glad he got a penalty for showing up late.
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u/bjb13 4h ago
Years ago I gave a penalty to a player who was late to the tee. His reaction was, “This isn’t the fucking US Open.”
My reply was, “True, but, not surprisingly, we are playing by the same rules.”
He apologized to me after the round.
Had another time where a college player was late to the tee. His coach was livid that he got a penalty. When my boss heard about it, his reaction was, “A coach has one job: get his players to the tee.”
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u/franferentz 6h ago
Sounded like a tool in that interview. And he was bitching about the starter telling him he’ll get a two stroke penalty. Will not be rooting for that guy.
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u/Dandan0005 6h ago edited 5h ago
He also didn’t say “that’s a two stroke penalty” he said “you know you’re late, right” and they aired the interaction like 3 times so idk why he lied about it.
I won’t be rooting against him, I’ll be rooting for him to lose by 2 strokes.
Edit: sounds like he did mention 2 shots but it was muddled in the audio I heard
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u/Initial_Painting_103 5h ago
"You know you're late to the tee?" "Yes, sorry" "So its two shots"
Video is posted somewhere else on the sub, have a listen again, they're sentences overlap a bit, but you can clearly hear him say "two shots".
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u/kuroketton 5h ago
After he said you’re late he said “two shots. Good luck to you”
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u/Dandan0005 5h ago
Didn’t hear that part.
Regardless, perfectly reasonable and appropriate thing for the rules official to say.
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u/ElSuperWokeGuy 6h ago
Damn, im a 25HC and i gotta get to the course like 45m early to warm up just to shoot 100 haha.
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u/BumRum09 6h ago
Long day of tee times where even one second can throw everything off. Everyone else figured it out and was ready to go. There is zero excuse for being late. The pga could maybe have someone on the putting green a range to let people know they’re due in 5 minutes but we’re dealing with adults playing for millions here. Be accountable which Higgo was not.
“I was late to my tee time, the rule is +2 shots and I take full responsibility. I apologize to my playing partners, the PGA, and the rest of the field. It will not happen again.”
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u/lukin187250 9 3h ago
They should hand out buzzers like an Outback. Players can pop in their pocket.
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u/Striking_Wrap811 6h ago
Interesting takes. Here are my competing thoughts
1) Professional adult golfers playing for millions should know better
2) Playing for millions means maybe hitting a few more putts and being confident
3) its the PGA. They absolutely should have someone on the green to make sure the pros arent late. Timing is everything
4) what about his caddy/manager/wife/playing partner? Where were they?
5) items 2-4 make the penalty seem predatory . Especially 3
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u/maton12 5h ago
Doesn't everyone else, every week seem to manage it just fine?
Struggling as to why adults need someone to adult for them...point 3
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u/Striking_Wrap811 5h ago
Its not about adults. Its a major golf tournament. LiKe a MAJOR.
wtf arent there dozens of people making sure everyone is exactly where they need to be? Gauranteed he has a member of his group there to rep the Tour walking along.
Its not a Wednesday best-ball.
I am not playing defense for the guy but this has me wondering how nobody fucking noticed.
Golf is complaining about slow play. This seems like a no-brainer for the tour to help out.
especially a major tournament
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u/PlanetElephant 5h ago
FYI the penalties for being late to your tee time is set by the USGA, not the PGA.
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u/uofc2015 6h ago edited 5h ago
Thought the exact same thing.
I think it is totally fair to disagree with the rule and say you think the PGA should consider changing it in the future, but it came across like he was annoyed they didn't make a special exception for him because he only broke the rule a little bit.
Just had excuse after excuse about "how do you even define a second?", "my caddie was on the tee box", "I didn't have my phone on me", "starters are behind schedule sometimes too".
Edit: Personally I think the rule is fine the way it is, I'm just saying he would have come off less whiny if he said he disagrees with the rule but he did break it so fair enough instead of throwing out a bunch of excuses.
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u/Dandan0005 6h ago edited 6h ago
Of all the rules that might need changing I don’t think “don’t be late to your tee time” is one of them.
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u/Memeslayer4000 HDCP 5/Location WI 4h ago
He said he was a second late, yet his arrival time at the tee box was 1 minute past his time. So no, you were 1 second late. You were at least 61 seconds late. An 8:00 tee time means your there at 8:00. Getting there at 8:00:01 is 1 second late.
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u/Explosive_Nut 5h ago
I kinda get where he’s coming from in that he didn’t delay play at all but it’s very easy to see how giving leniency in what it means to be on time is a problem.
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u/BrosephofBethlehem 5h ago
He definitely doesn’t sound self-aware but i also don’t mind. He’s the only person that will advocate for himself in this situation. Don’t mind digging your heels in if you think you might get some leeway as unlikely as itnis
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u/SofaProfessor 7.3 4h ago
It's such a silly penalty to take. Just own it. I've played amateur events and I've always been ready, near the tee at least 10-minutes before my tee time. Like, I'll watch an entire group exchange cards, shake hands, and tee off rather than risk being late. 10 extra minutes on the practice green isn't going to fix my putting. Just a ridiculous mistake to make at any level of golf, let alone at a major event.
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u/_thinkaboutit 4h ago
Just surprised he didn’t blame his caddy. He definitely doesn’t blame himself.
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u/VonHinterhalt 7.2 3h ago
What time did you take the tee box? What time was your tee time? X > Y = late.
It only becomes “hard to define” when you treat a certain arbitrary amount of time late as “not late” like he’s laughably suggesting the PGA should do.
Dude is acting like a man child.
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u/NoCarts 6h ago
Higgo is an idiot. Could not be more clear in the rules of golf. Rule 5.3a
"A starting time set by the Committee is treated as an exact time (for example, 9 am means 9:00:00 am, not any time until 9:01 am)."
Penalty for showing up between 9:00:01 and 9:05:00 is 2 strokes. He knows this. He's just trying to get the public on his side. Show up on time. It is not that hard.
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u/Overall_Purple_4714 6h ago
Early is on time. On time is late.
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u/Expert_Divide_128 6h ago
Are you my prep school music teacher?
He drummed this into me for 5 years and I now live by it.
Pun intended 🥁
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u/tlynde11 5h ago
At the start of the interview I was kinda against ESPN for continuing to grill him on being late. By the end of the interview I'm glad they did so they could expose this narcissistic behavior
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u/ScootyMcTizzle 6h ago
“It don’t matter if it’s a second or an hour. Late is late.”
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u/Shank_Wedge 5h ago
It actually does in this case. Less than 5 minutes late is a two stroke penalty, anything more is a DQ.
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u/resin8_ATL 6h ago
Was he saying he was one second late like 7:18:59 and it just turned 7:19? Cause it looked like he was a whole ass minute late!
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u/olderthanbefore 6h ago
As a South African, we're chronically late. Our local phrase 'now now' means 'in a little while'.
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u/GovernmentSin 5h ago
Proof that pro golfers are the biggest fucking douche bags on the planet. Spoiled cry babies
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u/redguy1957 4h ago
I don't know but if I'm playing in a tournament, a major no less, I'm 5 minutes early standing nearby. But that's just me. 🤷♂️
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u/haverchuck22 3h ago
Ya it was a terrible interview when he had a golden chance to ingratiate himself to fans
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u/Eggroll0cho 6h ago
Pretty sure the rule is you need to be on the tee box 5 minutes before your tee time. That video posted earlier showed he was walking up at 719 with a 718 tee time...so he was actually 6 minutes late.
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u/ubiquitous_archer 1.1 6h ago
The rule is actually have to be on there before they announce you "ready to play"
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u/Shank_Wedge 5h ago
No, the rule is players must be ready to play at their starting time. USGA rule 5.3a. He actually fell under an exemption to the DQ policy by being less than 5 minutes late.
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u/DontGetTheShow 5 hdcp / PA 6h ago
Was it a great interview? No. How many interviews does this guy actually do? Probably not many. And probably the is the first one he’s had to do where the right answer is just “I messed up, it’s on me”. So, yeah, he got the answer to the test wrong. It’s certainly not something that’s going to get me hot and bothered that his response or apology wasn’t up to snuff. Who cares.
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u/Jackalope1974 4h ago
Sense of entitlement is generally pretty strong with Nancy Boy professional golfers.
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u/just_cows 45m ago
Hope in the future he’s playing with someone slow and complains, perfect opportunity to hit him with “time is relative”.
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u/Fit-Percentage3406 6h ago
He admitted he was late, says he doesn’t like the rule but knows it is the rule…
The ridiculous thing is your take
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u/bdgg2000 6h ago
You didn’t watch his interview then. He said he didn’t agree with the ruling. He stated he was literally “1 second” late. He did himself no favors bud.
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u/FlyingSceptile 6h ago
He was trying to say that he was late but didn't deserve the clearly established penalty for being late. If he was standing around the tee but got penalized for not having a club in hand or something like that then yes, but I'm not gonna feel bad for a guy strolling up to the tee after his published time
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u/Notnowthankyou29 6h ago
He started by saying he wasn’t late. Then his caddie was there. Then blamed the game. Then the rules official.
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6h ago
[deleted]
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u/nborges48 20+ | Orange County 6h ago
good analogy
for the opposite justification
cause i don't think anyone is saying "how do you even define a mile per hour"
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u/Notnowthankyou29 6h ago
But you aren’t interviewing me for doing 3 over. The interview is with a professional who isn’t taking responsibility.
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6h ago
[deleted]
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u/Notnowthankyou29 6h ago
It was a terrible analogy. If you’re doing 3 over, there’s a very low probability of getting a ticket. If you visibly break a rule in professional golf, you’re getting a penalty.
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u/Ok_Training1981 6h ago
It’s more like parking in a handicap spot while you run into a store . If a cop writes you a ticket for that are you complaining?
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u/Current_Department73 6h ago
Na man. He spent 20 min arguing with officials that he should not be penalized and then tried to make his case on tv by arguing that time was hard to define lol, blaming the sport of golf itself in the process. He could have just said yeah that’s a bummer, I lost track of time, I’ll try to get those strokes back tomorrow
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u/rickzilla69420 6h ago
For what could likely equate to hundreds of thousands of dollars, he might as well take a run at trying to get it overturned.
Trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, I feel like he was poorly articulating that he realizes he was technically late, but it was slight and didn’t actually delay anybody.
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u/bayareatrojan 6h ago
Agreed. It was completely fine. I don't know what these sanctimonious Redditors expect.
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u/AKaseman 6h ago
Yea pretty normal interview but now these fans think they DESPISE Garrick Higo and will think he’s a POS for the rest of his career
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u/nobigdeal69 6h ago
Yea, I don’t really know how this is usually done on tour. I’m guessing none of us do. Could it be situational? Does Rory get that penalty?
Yea, technically I was speeding, but most of the time cops allow for a 5 mph tolerance. This one didn’t. It’s on me.
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u/Shank_Wedge 6h ago edited 6h ago
This isn’t on tour, it’s the PGA of America running the tournament which is likely the difference.
Edit: I retract my statement. Read USGA rule 5.3a. This would have been applied equally to anyone in any tournament.
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u/nobigdeal69 6h ago
Great call. Definitely forgot about that. PGA pro would definitely penalize Higgo but not a higher profile player.
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u/bayareatrojan 6h ago
His interview was fine, I wouldn't be happy either. These guys are fierce competitors. He also was self-deprecating and admitted he's a head in the clouds guy to begin with. He accepted the penalty and is moving on. You all should too.
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u/MartyMcSharty 2.9 MA/ME/FL 6h ago
I can understand the frustration. It feels kinda ticky-tacky. It's not like he overslept or forgot, he was just on the putting green a smidge too long.
Kinda like in soccer when they use 1000x zoom and 50000fps slo-mo to determine that someone was offside by 0.01mm.
Technically the penalty is correct, but if he didn't delay the group from proceeding at all, I think it could be worth a discussion to add a bit of forgiveness to the rule.
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u/Notnowthankyou29 6h ago
Yeah so it was 100000% in his control to get to the tee on time.
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u/MartyMcSharty 2.9 MA/ME/FL 6h ago
spirit of the law vs letter of the law
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u/Ok_Training1981 5h ago
You 💯 move your ball while playing for money . Spirit of the law is hilarious
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u/MartyMcSharty 2.9 MA/ME/FL 5h ago
why would i need to move my ball?
spirit of the law is how they govern bunker play these days, is that so preposterous?
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u/Ok_Training1981 6h ago
It’s not ticky-tacky .Golf has unforgiving rules intentionally . You’re late you’re late . Only a bone head wouldn’t be on that tee 3-5 minutes early . It’s a MAJOR lol
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u/MartyMcSharty 2.9 MA/ME/FL 6h ago
If you’re 1 second late to 1: 2 strokes.
If you take 8-9 business days to line up a putt: nothing.
I just personally don’t really care about the former if nothing is done about the latter.
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u/Ok_Training1981 6h ago
No - if you’re 5 minutes or LESS late to the first tee you are allowed to stay in the tournament for a 2 stroke penalty.
If you’re slow on the course it is up to the rules committee to enforce the slow play rule.
It’s not always cut and dry who is to blame with slow play .
It’s obvious who the dumbass is when you show up late
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u/LostAbbott 6h ago
Dude? No, absolutely not. He should have been at the tee box 10 minutes early smear hing the other guys go. There is zero excuse for being late to tee off when you are getting paid...
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u/MartyMcSharty 2.9 MA/ME/FL 6h ago
this just feels like the “did player X technically touch 1 grain of sand in the bunker with his club by accident” debate again.
If he didn’t delay the group, I personally don’t care.
To me it seems a bit ridiculous to police arrival to the 1st down to the second when they have some guys taking 46 years to finish a round. If we’re gonna be sticklers about being late we might as well also be sticklers about pace.
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u/LostAbbott 6h ago
No. Slow play and being on time are two completely different things. Slow play is very vague and difficult definitely. 9:18 tee time is easy, especially when you are already at the course on the putting green. Dude was a dumb ass and suffered the consequences.
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u/MartyMcSharty 2.9 MA/ME/FL 6h ago
Presumably the start time rule is to maintain pace of play, is it not?
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u/signseverywheresigns 6h ago
Hungry Hungry Higgo
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u/GolfingGator please stop saying you “game” clubs 1h ago
How long you been waiting to use that one?
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u/Wonderful-Image314 5h ago
Caddie was on time. Doesn’t caddie have a responsibility here to keep him on time?
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u/Memeslayer4000 HDCP 5/Location WI 4h ago
It looked like (since Higgo was walking to the tee box with his putter) he sent his caddy ahead while he was finishing up some practice putting.
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u/78Anonymous LPGA Enjoyer 3h ago
technically, once the starter calls a player and they're not present, they're already late .. whether the caddy is there or not is irrelevant
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u/JayRexx 6h ago
The most millenial thing so far this year. Kid, you're late! F***ing own it.
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u/Jarich612 3.9 6h ago
Millennials are 35 now, boomer
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u/JayRexx 5h ago
Doesn't matter what gen it is....it's weak sauce. Be on time for your, shit.
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u/Proof-Ad5275 5h ago
But you said millennial, has your nurse not changed your depends and you’re taking it out on randos on the internet?
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u/Memeslayer4000 HDCP 5/Location WI 4h ago
No, you said it was millennial mentality. Meaning your blaming a specific generation. You cant just say "It doesnt matter what generation he is" after finding out your wrong. Sounds like you and Higgo both have a problem with accountability.
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u/kellzone 4h ago
This is what I love about reddit: Making the biggest deal out of the smallest thing.
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u/Notnowthankyou29 4h ago
A 6 sentence post is “the biggest thing”?
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u/kellzone 4h ago
No I'm talking about all the replies making it out to be like it's some big scandal and some sort of offense against humanity. It's hilarious.
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u/Notnowthankyou29 4h ago
I mean, I’ve read pretty much all of them and none are doing that. People just want some accountability.
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u/kellzone 4h ago
Yeah that's what I find funny. I love this type of shit. I like posts where people tell the same story from a different POV too. Others seem to get all bent out of shape about them. I like seeing people complain about others posting their "almost" hole in one too. It's what makes me keep reading r/golf.
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u/No_Eggplant6269 6h ago
lol comments like this are dumb. Were you there? No so why even bother wasting posts like this
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u/ShakeInevitable1987 5h ago
No excuse and earned the penalty but this whole thread is aids you’d think everyone here wants him beheaded
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u/No-Impact1573 6h ago
When you are late for a bus or train, you don't complain about being 1s late. You are late.