Rude, Annoying or fine?

[gvan]

I have played a few tournaments now and at a couple of them came across "Walkman Guy." (I'm showing my age... "ipod guy" might be more accurate)

Walkman Guy is the guy who joins your group and has his earbuds in all the time. He may say "I'll pause it when I need to talk to you," but what if you need to talk to him?

I come to tournaments for competition, education and camaraderie. Getting to know 3 other players in a round is part of the fun. I find Walkman Guy annoying.

 

[dobsonr]

I like to listen to music if I'm playing by myself, but I even turn it off when people let me play through so that I can thank them. Listening to music while playing with a group seems a little rude - also, one of the best parts about playing disc golf is the advice you can pick up playing with strangers, which you'd miss out on entirely. Headphones are fine when you're on the course by yourself, but not when playing with a group.

 

[giles]

Rude and annoying people are just that, rude and annoying. The headphones have nothing to do with it. I've lost count of the amount of people that listen to music while they play, tournaments and casual. I can only remember two of them that had it turned up loud enough to effect their communication with the card. With the most recent case, the headphones were the least of the problems with that guy. I'll use them sometimes myself. I don't use them to block out distraction, I just like music.

 

[DiscChainBasket18]

In a tourney I believe the Ipod dude is on one hand going to be able to focus on his own game & not be distracted by others in the group. You could look at this from the outside & say he is being anti-social or rude. But it is a tourney, not a 'team' event so maybe this allows him to tune out all distractions (people talking, rustling through leaves while he's shooting, etc) & allows him to relax. And we all know how important it is to be relaxed & loose in disc golf. On the other hand, this guy has got to be distracted by his music. How can you focus on your game when you're jamming away? Avery Jenkins was asked if he used an ipod when he played tourneys & he said that the music he listens to would pump him up so much that he couldn't focus. So he only uses them in practice rounds.

 

[solomon.trenton]

I have played a few tournaments now and at a couple of them came across "Walkman Guy." (I'm showing my age... "ipod guy" might be more accurate)

Walkman Guy is the guy who joins your group and has his earbuds in all the time. He may say "I'll pause it when I need to talk to you," but what if you need to talk to him?

I come to tournaments for competition, education and camaraderie. Getting to know 3 other players in a round is part of the fun. I find Walkman Guy annoying.

i would too. the only way i might not is if he had on small speakers on his bag and played music everyone enjoyed.

 

[biscoe]

i don't like playing with ipod guy either... no matter how courteous they attempt to be they eventually slip up and do something annoying due to being unaware of one aspect of their surroundings...

 

[nunez23]

I think I pod guy is pretty rude, but he's more bearable than giant boombox guy... I like some of the people on here also listen to music whenever I play alone but whenever I play with anyone else I make sure to take out the earbuds so that we can chat it up and have a good time.

 

[sidewinding]

I tried putting in the backyard the other day whilst listening to the Ipod and it was much more of a distraction than anything I've ever experienced on a DG course. I could not focus at all.

I have played with Ipod putter guy and I would put him in the same category as "I'm gonna have to ask you to pull your disc" guy. Both are trying to limit their distractions but what they are really doing is creating an even bigger distraction. There's nothing that gives me more pleasure than seeing these two types of people miss a ten footer.

There are going to be distractions and you need to learn to trust your abilities and throw with these distractions.

 

[33tango]

"I'm gonna have to ask you to pull your disc"

[noob] You mean they request you to go mark your disc with a mini because it's distracting them? Not familiar with the "pull your disc" phraseology. [/noob]

As far as tournaments, it's their dime. I too would find it annoying, but they are paying to compete with you, not socialize with you. I wear my ipod when shopping or driving or working in the yard, but it doesn't mix well with DG for me.

In casual play it would be kinda rude. Something else to consider, it's easy to set the volume low enough to hear music and never have any problem hearing other people. So I think that factors into it as well, if they can wear it and communicate unhampered by it, I don't see the harm.

Off the course: I frequently wear mine and leave it off sometimes, I can't stand the people accosting me begging for donations outside stores like walmart. I give generously to United Way through work every year and really don't care for being guilt-tripped when I'm out running errands. Earbuds in mean not having to apologize for not donating to something you don't want to fund because you don't consider it worthwhile, or something that goes against your beliefs or when you suspect you may be getting scammed.

 

[trifocal]

I'd rather not see electronic devices in tourney play.

As far as casual play, taking your Walkman is isolating yourself from the foursome. Doesn't really matter what volume you have the thing set at...nobody really knows what you can or cannot hear. I understand that some guys really like their music, but you gotta choose if you are gonna play with your group or play with The Band. I cut these guys some slack in casual play....but they aren't really fun for me to play a round with.

That said....I did have a really fun round with a group pulling a cart with an AM/FM radio strapped to it and it was playing an oldies (60's) station. Whoever had the highest score on a hole had to pull the cart ( there was beer in there). It was neat having music on the tee.

 

[thinknic]

i think having the headphone wires would f#$% up my swing something fierce..
though, i have carried my ipod with a tiny portable speaker before and that was pretty nice. But then you have to be 'that guy'.

 

[cc0049]

Doesn't bother me unless they can't hear because the music is too loud and then they are just being inconsiderate. I've tried playing with the earphones and it is too distracting to me.

i think having the headphone wires would f#$% up my swing something fierce..
though, i have carried my ipod with a tiny portable speaker before and that was pretty nice. But then you have to be 'that guy'.

 

[zenbot]

Casual Round: Kinda lame.
Tournament: I wouldn't but I see the point.

 

[sidewinding]

[noob] You mean they request you to go mark your disc with a mini because it's distracting them? Not familiar with the "pull your disc" phraseology. [/noob]

There are some people who will not putt if there is a disc in the basket.

I had a guy do this in the first tourney I played in. I made a great 30' putt and he went up and marked his lie at about 10 feet. He looked around at me and said "I'm gonna have to ask you to pull that". After I pulled it he missed his 10' putt. Then he went up in embarrassment and suicide putted from 5' away and missed that one. Then he had to sneak into the bushes to "smoke" before the next hole. He then teed off, grip locking one 90 degrees left (he was a lefty) into the lake, and missing a mando at the same time.

It happened again in my last tourney. I had a 13 year old kid on my card who had never played in a tournament. He made a great putt and then stood quietly waiting for us to putt. I made mine while his disc was in the basket and then removed my disc, but the other guy said "I'm gonna have to ask you to pull that". The kid was like "excuse me?" Because he was not sure what the guy meant. I said "he wants you to remove your disc from the basket". The kid removed his disc and the a-hole missed a 12 footer. It was sweet.

 

[giles]

There are some people who will not putt if there is a disc in the basket.

I had a guy do this in the first tourney I played in. I made a great 30' putt and he went up and marked his lie at about 10 feet. He looked around at me and said "I'm gonna have to ask you to pull that". After I pulled it he missed his 10' putt. Then he went up in embarrassment and suicide putted from 5' away and missed that one. Then he had to sneak into the bushes to "smoke" before the next hole. He then teed off, grip locking one 90 degrees left (he was a lefty) into the lake, and missing a mando at the same time.

It happened again in my last tourney. I had a 13 year old kid on my card who had never played in a tournament. He made a great putt and then stood quietly waiting for us to putt. I made mine while his disc was in the basket and then removed my disc, but the other guy said "I'm gonna have to ask you to pull that". The kid was like "excuse me?" Because he was not sure what the guy meant. I said "he wants you to remove your disc from the basket". The kid removed his disc and the a-hole missed a 12 footer. It was sweet.

How would you feel if you left your disc in the basket and someone missed a 10' putt because it bounced out off of your disc?

 

[runnaman]

I'd rather not see electronic devices in tourney play.

As far as casual play, taking your Walkman is isolating yourself from the foursome. Doesn't really matter what volume you have the thing set at...nobody really knows what you can or cannot hear. I understand that some guys really like their music, but you gotta choose if you are gonna play with your group or play with The Band. I cut these guys some slack in casual play....but they aren't really fun for me to play a round with.

That said....I did have a really fun round with a group pulling a cart with an AM/FM radio strapped to it and it was playing an oldies (60's) station. Whoever had the highest score on a hole had to pull the cart ( there was beer in there). It was neat having music on the tee.

I agree, as long as everyone in the group can agree on what music to listen to, having some portable speakers is a great idea. But isolating yourself from the group with headphones would say to me, "I really don't want to waste my time talking to you and just playing a round with you is such a hassle for me."

So yeah, I would say it's rude.

 

[sidewinding]

How would you feel if you left your disc in the basket and someone missed a 10' putt because it bounced out off of your disc?

The odds of this happening have to be high. On the other hand the odds of missing after being an A-hole are aparently pretty low.

You're not "that guy" are you?

 

[giles]

The odds of this happening have to be high. On the other hand the odds of missing after being an A-hole are aparently pretty low.

You're not "that guy" are you?

If it is flat in the bottom of the basket I'm not worried. On the flip I will allways pull my putter out. The odds of a bounce out are small, I've only seen it a few times in my 12 years of playing.
Something to think about, I played a tournament over the weekend and one stroke was worth $15 in merch/payout in advanced. In pro it would have been $70 between 3rd & 4th.

Pulling you putter goes right along with keeping behind someone and being quiet when they are throwing. It is just professional and what is the norm/expected of you.

 

[nygfaninva]

If it is flat in the bottom of the basket I'm not worried. On the flip I will allways pull my putter out. The odds of a bounce out are small, I've only seen it a few times in my 12 years of playing.
Something to think about, I played a tournament over the weekend and one stroke was worth $15 in merch/payout in advanced. In pro it would have been $70 between 3rd & 4th.

Pulling you putter goes right along with keeping behind someone and being quiet when they are throwing. It is just professional and what is the norm/expected of you.

Really? Seems to me it would slow the whole round up if the guy waiting for me to pick my putter from the basket, waited and watched me walk past him to get it. Just putt. I understand the Tourny aspect, if money was involved, and I guess that is the way the question was phrased, but come on, just putt. If it bounces out because of another putter, it may have bounced out regardless. Just my opinion. Waiting while someone walks a distance to pull their putter seems a bit arrogant and stuffy. I thought DGers were laid back.

 

[zenbot]

People have preferences. It may be part of their pre-putt to focus on the basket. I have no problem pulling if someone asks.

I DO, however, have a problem when people assume that their disc is close enough for a gimmie and walk to the next teepad. Ask first. 15 feet in the wind is no gimmie.