Gamesmanship and sportsmanship
Betting is a touchy subject. Being the type of game that it is, golf lends itself to gambling. It probably won't be long before you find yourself playing for money. Oh, at first, the money won't be much — if you have any sense, that is. But after a while, the money games can get out of hand if you let them.
Fortunately, there are rules of thumb for gambling on the course — and for handling other tricky situations that every golfer is bound to face.
Wanna Bet?
In my experience, golfers come in two types: those who want a good, even match and those who don't. I recommend playing with the first group in your early days. Those folks won't take advantage of your inexperience. They want a good, close match, so they'll give you the shots you need to make a good showing. The winner will be the one who plays better that day. Nothing wrong with that, of course. If someone is to win, there has to be a loser — and sometimes, that loser will be you.
Unfortunately, the nice people I just described can be hard to find. That second group constitutes the vast majority of gambling golfers. They play golf for one reason: to bet and win. They don't play for the sunshine. They don't play for the exercise (unless getting in and out of a cart qualifies as exercise). And they surely don't play for relaxation. Most of them need clinical psychologists and straitjackets. They play to gamble with their buddies and beat them into bankruptcy.
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