Why bother reviewing courses...

[Brall]

what? you didn't rate the course what i think it should be?

THUMBS DOWN!

i think the majority of thumbs down are from butthurt people that not only don't read but a fraction of the reviews they vote on but also vote thumbs down the majority of the time.

 

[rd.bittle]

He never said the course was hard to play because of the spiders. He mentioned it just like saying a course is muddy the day after it rains. Yes they are both seasonal(except in seattle) but I would like to know what to expect.

 

[rd.bittle]

I also agree they shouldn't detract from a rating. If they're listed as a con, who cares. It may be a con for him or her. I would like more info about the course. Give me all of the info you think is relevant. Let me decide if I need it or not. What I give thumbs down to are the reviews that might have three sentences and say "I love/hate this course" and don't tell me why.

 

[prerube]

that might have been me, sorry

I know for a fact that I have given the thumbs down on a few reviews but none of it was ever done for any reason other than the reviewer made comments or assumptions about a course that were just wrong. I read reviews to find out about the course, not what someone thinks could have or should have been done. The reviewers opinion should not be in the review. And oh yeah, I give thumbs down if you whine about gnats or mosquitos. They won't bother you if you would just brush your teeth.

I was thinking of the guy who contacted me about a course in PA. I complained about the gravel and he agreed with everything except my hatred for the gravel paths and gave me a thumbsdown.

I figured one of my Gillies thumbsdown was from you. I hated that place. I found a crack pipe on one tee, a car drove through the course and missed me by less than a foot while I was standing on a tee pad, the locals were very rude to my group...however none of this has to do with the actual course the designer installed except for the fact it is in a horrible neighborhood.

 

[prerube]

Bugs should only be listed as a con if there is a reason the bugs are so bad. Example: the course was built on swamp land. Bugs are not planned and are mostly unavoidable.
I have mentioned and docked a half point for massive ant hills growing on tee pads as a con because this situation could easily be remedied. Othertimes I mention the bugs in the cons, but to not take it into account in my rating.

 

[New013]

yea i don't see why people get in such an uproar when you mention things like bugs by the stagnant water from the rain 3 days ago are bad, bring bugspray. i like it when people mention that bugs are especially bad at a course because then i know to make sure i'm prepared.

similarly with other small mentions of atmosphere and amenities at courses. if there's a drink machine i'd like to know about it, if there are no trashcans i'd like to know so i don't carry cans 18 holes.

these things rarely get reflected in my score of the course but are very relevant in the review portion of the course.

 

[BENFTS]

Don't send a pm or someone will loose their mind. I've asked for justification on a few reviews and most of the time some dumb punk gets pissy. Ya know, I could have just makers it down but I wanted to PM you first, guess I'm gonna mark it down now.

 

[mndiscg]

that might have been me, sorry

I know for a fact that I have given the thumbs down on a few reviews but none of it was ever done for any reason other than the reviewer made comments or assumptions about a course that were just wrong. I read reviews to find out about the course, not what someone thinks could have or should have been done. The reviewers opinion should not be in the review. And oh yeah, I give thumbs down if you whine about gnats or mosquitos. They won't bother you if you would just brush your teeth.

Of course opinion should be in a review. The number of discs given is an opinion unless you have developed some magical formula for finding out numbers.

 

[Brokensaint]

The first couple of reviews I did were just opinions of the course, what I thought when I played it. Thumbed down! Then I reviewed some courses with just straight hole by hole facts. Again, some thumbs down. Now I describe a course as I played it, give some opinions, and rate it based upon whether or not I'd make the trip again to play it with someone else, that being based upon the (as much as possible) objective quality of the course. Objective being subjective as I'm just a human being. The thumbs down? Don't sweat them. At least they pulled them out of their butts for a minute.

 

[Discette]

The OP now has 26 thumbs down for his Iron Hill review!

Apparently the local idiots are still reading and rating course reviews that are only meant for out-of-towners.

 

[humchris85]

I really think there should be an option to send an anonymous message when you thumb down a review. That way you can tell someone why you thought their review was unhelpful, without having to worry about them going on a thumbs down streak through your page out of spite. And don't say it never happens, because I've had a bunch of downs right after telling someone why I didn't find their review helpful.

 

[JAKE master]

forget thumbs down. i had a course designer tell me what an a hole i was for reviewing his course. i didnt even trash it. just rated it for what it was. Funny thing was before i played the round, i was talking to the designer telling him how excited i was to play his 4.5 rated course. in which he replied, 'yea i posted all the reviews'. little did i know this cry baby would private message me about how i didnt rate his course to his standard. dill hole, courses like maple hill were not created overnight by self absorbed course designers. they evolve from constructive critisism. ' not allowed at my course' you say. no thanks anyway i say.

 

[b-mart]

I started reading through this thread, and then realized it wouldn't hurt me to stop on page 5. I'll just repeat what I'm sure has been said for pages:

Don't worry about the thumbs. I have thumbs down on reviews that I was extremely proud of. Some of them I've looked at later and still can't figure out why if it isn't for rating a course too high or too low. I got thumbed down on Dalaiwood and I'm quite happy with that review. Got a thumb for Strawberry Fields just because one reviewer who reviewed after me didn't like it that the rest of us consider the course a 0-0.5.

Point being? People take this stuff personally. I write reviews because I enjoy sharing my experience with anyone who's interested enough to read through what I have to say. The thumbs up and that little medal by my name are a bonus, but I was okay without them. It's the internet. Do what you enjoy doing and don't take it personally if somebody doesn't like it. There are enough of us on here who appreciate well thought out reviews. I try to read new ones and thumb them whenever I can so I can give others the boost that I needed early on.