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How to have fun when playing bad?

having fun when playing bad means hitting on the beer cart girl... even if she is 87
"honey the more i drink the better you look... how you doooin"
 
Just have to remember - ultimately it's still just a game that I'm not getting paid to play (so no pressure from that), I'm fortunate that I'm able to play, and it's ALWAYS better than being at work!
 
Laugh. That's always the best medicine. When I start to have a little more fun and get looser, I tend to score more and my round gets better.
 
I have swing notes on my phone on a sticky pad, if the game is going South I'll whip it out and review my notes. If that doesn't help I'm keeping an eye out for the Beer cart Girl and adjust with swing lube.
 
Just know that it can turn around in an instant. Happened to me today.
 
Smallville said:
Just know that it can turn around in an instant. Happened to me today.
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That is a big factor. A few bad holes won't actually spoil a round. I've shot a 46 on the front, wanted to quit, and ended up with a 39 on the back...really good nine, knowing I can do it. Makes you feel pretty good when all is said and done.
 
Lately I am learning about this in a hurry. Last 4 or 5 rounds have been a slog - I've been straight up topping irons and wedges several times a round, and often (most painfully) after a fabulous drive...just not cool. I will be honest, the first round where I started having the issue, I wasn't having fun. Now I'm getting better about making sure to remember that I'm outside, I'm not working, I'm (usually) with friends, and that it doesn't make a damn shred of difference in my life or anyone else's whether I shot 72 or 112. Perspective!

That being said, I've still got my eyes on better scores soon, but I need to take some of the pressure off myself. Besides, if my handicap balloons, that's just more strokes I get for a little while once I round back into form hehehe :alien:
 
I'll get mad over a shot and a few shots but the thing with golf that i try and remember is I'm a) golfing and not doing other less pleasant things 2). There is a new shot in about one minute that i need to focus on 3) no time to get off my game more than i already am.
 
I think you have to remember that you only play to your index about 25% of the time so most rounds are "bad days". I stopped taking golf so seriously about the time my first kid was born. Children tend to give you perspective on what's important.

For me the bad ball striking rounds are nearly always because my tempo is too fast. I can usually fix it by taking the club back slowly the first 18 inches away from the ball and just swinging at 75% for a few holes. If things are really bad for more than one round, I hit the range pretty hard until the flaw is fixed.
 
tahoebum said:
I think you have to remember that you only play to your index about 25% of the time so most rounds are "bad days". I stopped taking golf so seriously about the time my first kid was born. Children tend to give you perspective on what's important.

For me the bad ball striking rounds are nearly always because my tempo is too fast. I can usually fix it by taking the club back slowly the first 18 inches away from the ball and just swinging at 75% for a few holes. If things are really bad for more than one round, I hit the range pretty hard until the flaw is fixed.
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I very much agree with you about tempo. Staying in tempo something I have to be disciplined about - it is so easy to hit a great drive on a par 5 and then get amp'd up and lose tempo on the second shot.

IMO, once you have the capacity to hit good shots, it's one of the most important keys to playing better and consistently.
 
I always tell people that when I was a good golfer I didn't have fun; I was just too mental about hitting good shots all the time. Now that I'm an 'ok' golfer I have fun every round regardless of my score...I may not be as good as I once was but I have much more fun playing the game today.
 
Agree with both of you on tempo. A lot of my crappy shots have to do with getting too quick as well. Keys for me really are just slowing down and taking some of the unnecessary pressure off.

The positive here is that a lot of things are a lot better than they once were, taken individually. I'm hitting it further than ever, and I've got a pretty consistent little draw going with most of my clubs, rarely missing right. If I can just get my stupid brain out of the way and get back to a point of consistent solid contact, the scores will start dropping fast.
 
When things go irreparably bad for me, I just remember that Im not playing this game to be upset. Ill stop fretting over the score and just hit my ball and chase it, then hit it again. Ill try crazy and ultra aggressive shots, experiment with different ways to play a hole, or if it is going really, really bad, Ill practice bunting my driver and woods down the fairway and into greens for those absurdly windy days. Ill laugh off every single bad swing for certain.

I just try to have as much fun as possible and keep things in perspective that there are a lot of much worse things that can happen to us besides a bad round of golf. We are the lucky ones to get to do what we do ?
 
I try to think there is always someone worse than me even though I play bad. lol. See what I need to work on it on the range and come out strong next round.
 
There are degrees of bad. If I'm playing 'normal' bad where I'm going to be, I don't know, say 5-7 shots over my number, I'm fine. It is golf, it happens. But if I am 'over the cliff bad', where say I'm pushing triple digits, then I'm most likely not going to have fun. I don't like saying that but being truly terrible is frustrating, not fun.
 
I just stay positive and don't really say much.

Luckily we normally do skins matches of some sort, so every hole there is a chance to win something, even when you are having a bad round.
 
tequila4kapp said:
There are degrees of bad. If I'm playing 'normal' bad where I'm going to be, I don't know, say 5-7 shots over my number, I'm fine. It is golf, it happens. But if I am 'over the cliff bad', where say I'm pushing triple digits, then I'm most likely not going to have fun. I don't like saying that but being truly terrible is frustrating, not fun.
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Agreed. There is a threshold somewhere where fun is just not possible if I'm playing solo or tournament.
With the right company fun can be had anyways but it can be tough still if I'm pushing 95+.
 
I just remember why I started golfing again. To enjoy the time outside playing golf with friends and enjoying the company. I have always said the day I quite enjoying golf is the day I am done golfing. I golf for the enjoyment pure and simple.
 
A lot of good thoughts and feedback in here that is helpful as I'm in a bit of a rut myself. The good news is I want to keep playing through it.
 
- Enjoy your surroundings and how fortunate you are to be able to play the game.

- Unless its a recordable round, stop keeping score.

- Enjoy the company of friends.

- Stop living for the score, and instead live for the joy of one good shot.

-
 
How to have fun when playing bad?

What I try to remember when I am playing bad is don't ruin the day for the others in my group. Enjoy being out there and spending time with friends or family


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tequila4kapp said:
There are degrees of bad. If I'm playing 'normal' bad where I'm going to be, I don't know, say 5-7 shots over my number, I'm fine. It is golf, it happens. But if I am 'over the cliff bad', where say I'm pushing triple digits, then I'm most likely not going to have fun. I don't like saying that but being truly terrible is frustrating, not fun.
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Yeah, this is where I've been for 3 or 4 straight rounds. It's bad haha

ArmyGolf said:
Agreed. There is a threshold somewhere where fun is just not possible if I'm playing solo or tournament.
With the right company fun can be had anyways but it can be tough still if I'm pushing 95+.
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This is the key point. I managed to have fun yesterday even being on the razor's edge of triple digits because I was playing with several of my coworkers, we were drinking good beer, and I played 10 strokes better on the back 9 and had a birdie. The back 9 score was a respectable (though I wouldn't say good) 45.
 
Scarnici said:
What I try to remember when I am playing bad is don't ruin the day for the others in my group. Enjoy being out there and spending time with friends or family


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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that's the one i struggle with. i'm not mad at anyone else, i'm just disappointed in myself, but that translates into being really quiet and not very engaged. something i need to get better about.
 
I just tell myself that it's a good thing I don't do this for a living - or I'd be homeless and hungry.

I also remind myself that any time I wake up on the right side of the divots is a good day - the rest is just a bonus.
 
Don't take it to seriously and remember that it is better than being at work.
 
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