The Peeple app sounds like a terrible idea. And that's because an app that allows people to rate other people, like they would a business on Yelp, is awful. It's not well thought-out. It's superficial. It could incite the worst of cyberbullying.
However...
...it could work for golf.
Perhaps a few examples would help illustrate why. First, the dud.
I recently played with some folks that I got paired up with at an event on a course I had never played. They were wonderful, and I'd play with them again in a heartbeat. However, one told a story of a guy who had found a way into his regular golf group, perhaps as a one-off or maybe a guy hoping for a weekly game. Either way, the guy's reputation preceded him, and it wasn't good. But my new friend and his buddies gave the guy a chance -- that is, until part way into the round.
The guy in question hit a tee shot that looked pretty good, and he reached down to pick up the tee quickly. He walks back to the manhuddle to the side of the box making a weird, repeated clicking sound. One of the guys asks what the hell the new dude is doing.
The guy says, and I kid you not, "That's the sound of my ball taking pictures it flies over your drives."
Get the hell out of here, douche. One star. Negative stars.
And the best part? His drive was actually shorter than most of the others.
Who would ever want to play golf with that guy? He's a hack and hacky, and he deserves no golf friends.
Now, here's an example of when playing with new people goes swimmingly.
Not too long ago, a friend of mine was in town and had a tee time lined up at a public facility. It's a good course, but it plays slow and gets a lot of traffic, so I invited him to come play at my club. He said it was fine, provided I could play as part of a fivesome. Sure, why not. Bring everyone.
So, he does, and we had a great time. The game was competitive, the conversation lively. No one was wound up and everyone was willing to gamble. That's my kind of round of golf. I would love to tell people who are going to play with them in the future just how good of a time they're going to have with these guys.
An app to rate playing partners is a great idea, especially one that would let golfers rate each other on facets of their game and their personality. Everyone is looking for something different in a playing partner on the links. Some just care about ability. Others want it loose. Some want intensity. No one wants a tightwad. Plenty want to play with someone who is as likely to drop an f-bomb, or 10 in a row, as them.
While the idea of rating people for everyday things is about as bad as denying the effectiveness of vaccinations, the Peeple app could work if it were just for golf. But, since it's not, I give it 0 stars.
