Stupid Golf Problems: Does it get any lower than begging for a gimme?
While I genuinely appreciate my reader emails featuring very specific Stupid Golf Problems, and while I rarely have issue running into ones of my own, sometimes the internet hands you ideas on a platter. The Internet Invitational is chock full chicanery on this front. Look no further than last year’s installment, which featured SlopeGate and FescueGate in the same episode, allowing me to cash in on a 2-for-1 rules riff.
Episode 2 of the second installment in 2026, which I wrote about extensively already, brought the goods again. And while I may be risking repeating myself or rehashing a similar situation, there was a moment that stood out to me as a perfect problem to break down here – the idea of begging for a gimme putt.
Now, I’ve wrote about gimme putts before, but not this unique situation of playing with someone who is putting you in the uncomfortable position of making you give one to them. We’ve all been there, haven’t we?
The moment takes place just before the two-hour mark of the full video for those who want to go watch it all play out, but the short version has already been clipped on X. In it, you’ll see Roger Steele, who, along with teammate Short Game King AKA “SGK”, are 1 down to Grant Horvat and UFC fighter Justin Gaethje on the 14th hole, standing over a birdie putt to win the hole and tie the match, one that would prove crucial in the Day 1 proceedings. Steele power-lips the eight-footer on the high side and it scurries away by at least four feet. Possibly five.
Because they are playing alternate shot, SGK would be going next. But he quickly storms away and can be heard muttering under his breath “walk of shame.” As in, that next putt is obviously good, so now I’m going to do the walk of shame to our cart to go to the next hole after we just squandered a chance to tie.
The problem? Neither Horvat nor Gaethje said it was good. SGK, finally realizing this halfway to the cart, says “you guys ain’t gonna give that?”
Ummm.... last I checked, there is $4 million on the line. This is not a weekend game at your dad’s country club. None of these people are on tour. I get it’s match play, and gimmes exist in match play at even the highest levels of golf, but you’re doing yourself and your team a disservice if you’re not making your opponent rattle bottom on anything that isn’t hanging on the edge in this event.
SGK then pulled an even worse move than begging for a gimme. The “remember the one we gave?” Who forced you to give any putts at all? And where does it say in the rule book “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours?” Naturally, SGK missed the putt, and it would not be the last “short one” the “Short Game King” missed in that match, which is probably why he was begging for them. If it was a gimme, you would have made it. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.
But this isn’t just an SGK problem. We’ve seen tour pros (cough, Justin Thomas) lay down the putter in team events to signal that a putt should have been given. It’s uncouth behavior. And it makes everyone in the group uncomfortable. You know what doesn’t make anyone uncomfortable? Putting the ball in the hole. In fact, you’ll almost 100 percent of the time get complimented on holeing it out. And if you miss, sure, it’s awkward, but it happens. Go make the next one.
And by the way, there is nothing that crushes the spirit of your opponent like consistently making the three-to-four footers that they make you putt out. For a brief moment, they have a sliver of hope. They’re rooting against you without saying it. And then, wham, back of the cup. It’s like a kick to the shin. Do it multiple times and they may actually just give in and start giving them to you. Beg for them, show weakness and expect to have to putt out every single time.
Do you have a "stupid" golf problem? A question you're too ashamed to ask your close friends? A conundrum that needs to be talked out in a public forum? We're here to help. If you have etiquette-related inquiries or just want to know how to handle some of the unique on- or off-course situations we all find ourselves in, please let us know. You can email me (chris.powers@wbd.com) or send me a DM on Twitter/X (@Cpowers14) or on Instagram (@cpthreeve).