Twenty bucks says a mulligan followed this shot. (Image:rowanbarrett/Flickr)
The mulligan golfer is a varied breed of golfer.
The less offensive of this breed is the golfer who occasionally drops a ball down after the unexpected snap hook into the woods. He’s not really keeping score, this is not an official round, and there aren’t any groups waiting behind him.
The most offensive of this breed is the mulligan addict. He’s the guy that brags about his 84 after taking 4 mulligans, two of which he took on the putting green. He’s the guy that takes a mulligan on the first tee—four foursomes waiting behind him—after having hit range balls for half an hour.
The mulligan addict has no tact or golf etiquette. He’ll turn in that 84 with no hesitation, oblivious to the fact that his inflated 10 handicap will be a detriment to him in the annual club championship. He’s a reverse sandbagger. That 84 will quickly turn into a 92 when a few playing partners are eyeing the mulligan addict like a hawk.
I’ll admit it. Around the time I started playing the game in my pre-teen years, I was a mulligan addict. Along with my playing partners, I decided that mulligans were fair game on tees, fairways, and greens—and, of course, we had the “all-purpose mulligan” to use anywhere on the course. Awful. By the time I started playing junior tournaments in the summer, I had long since broken that habit—thankfully.
Now I’m no legalist. Sure, if you’re out screwing around with friends, the course is wide open, and you’re not going to turn in your score, then break the rules every now and then.
But for the golfing gods’ sake, don’t take a mulligan if you’re keeping score, especially for a handicap. Have some common sense. Don’t be a mulligan addict.
Previous Golf Pet Peeves:
June 26, 2009 at 7:28 am
Robert, Please!!! Everyone knows that you can hit 2 off of the first tee legally. This is not a mulligan. You then get one mulligan per nine. These mulligans can be used only on the tee… no fairway shots, no putts. Gee, you should know this stuff!!
June 26, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Are you kidding me! Under what rules is a mulligan legal!
June 26, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Apparently Eric doesn’t get sarcasm.
June 26, 2009 at 8:32 am
A friend of mine has this habit when we travel of insisting on what he calls a “breakfast ball.” You can hit two off the first tee and select the best.
June 26, 2009 at 8:50 am
Four mulligan minimum on the greens, Eddie.
One-Eyed, I don’t mind the breakfast ball if I haven’t had time to warm up and no one is waiting behind me. The dudes that hit three of the first after hitting on the range for half an hour just annoy me.
June 26, 2009 at 9:12 am
[...] Read the original here: Golf Pet Peeve #3: The Mulligan Golfer « Game Under Repair by … [...]
June 26, 2009 at 10:37 am
Are you telling me that we really didn’t shoot even par when we were 9 at Green Valley? No wonder those folks looked at us so strange when we told them our scores.
June 26, 2009 at 11:35 am
This is the only instance wheb when cheating with Mulligans is allowed:
I play in scrambles sometime where I am the “A” player. That means our team has 0%, Zero, nada chance. You can usually buy mulligans and we all usually do, 2-3 apiece. Looking at the competition, I can gauge the winning under par score (usually 12-15 under) and I make sure my team finishes in red numbers and we made at least 3-4 birdies by using 10-20 mulligans – never if the group behind is waiting. We finish near the bottom, but at least we felt a notch above pathetic. It’s the least I can do for the poor three guys stuck with me as an “A” player.
June 28, 2009 at 4:08 am
Oh! the dreaded mulligan. We never use them up here in Canada.
July 21, 2009 at 6:06 pm
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