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Have you come to terms with the fact that you just .....

In all seriousness. I am resigned to the fact that I will never be a PGA tour pro. But I will never quit trying to get better. Quitting is for quitters.
 
There have been seasons where I would plateau or even play worse and the game would lose a bit of fun for me, but a round or two with friends usually clears up that funk quickly. Sometimes it takes a good time laughing with people to get myself over thinking that I will never do this or that.
 
You just accept it. I have realized that I am as good as I am going to get currently with little to no practice that I put into the game. My practice comes on the course, however, I do play 4-5x a week so I do practice more then most people, its just on the course instead of a range. Some days I shoot 90, others in the mid to high 70s, typically shoot around 82-84. I am perfectly content with that. I know where I need to work on my game, short game, specifically short chips, short pitches. I probably lose 4-6 strokes a round in this area. One of these days I will get out there and work on it.
 
The main thing to accept is the last shot and move on to the next one.
 
I've accepted the fact that I'm a VERY streaky player. I have to accept that I'm going to get at least one big number per round and have no consistency. However, It also means that I make a large amount of birdies, and when I somehow avoid the big number, I shoot very low numbers.
 
I'm 65. My flexibility has diminished through the years, I've developed arthritis in my knees, and my back can "go out" any minute. I play once/week, maybe twice when I'm feeling spry. From the Senior Tees I can still break 85, and if the putts drop can break 80 a couple of times a year. Any course over 6300 yards is going to give me problems.

My game isn't going to get better. However I do want to "tread water" and maintain my skill level for as long as possible.

Most days I just feel very lucky to be on the course playing with my buddies, smoking cigars and BS'ing - still trying to be competitive - but mostly enjoying the whole golf experience.
 
Vegan702 said:
You just accept it. I have realized that I am as good as I am going to get currently with little to no practice that I put into the game. My practice comes on the course, however, I do play 4-5x a week so I do practice more then most people, its just on the course instead of a range. Some days I shoot 90, others in the mid to high 70s, typically shoot around 82-84. I am perfectly content with that. I know where I need to work on my game, short game, specifically short chips, short pitches. I probably lose 4-6 strokes a round in this area. One of these days I will get out there and work on it.
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I'll bet if ya turn one of those rounds per week into a good practice range session to work on things you would be more consistant on the lower end of your scoring scale the other 3 to 4 rounds and possible by a good margine too. That doesnt mean you have to or should. You are content with it as you said and there is no right or wrong for that or what you chose to do.

But man, thats alot of golf, glad your fortunate enough to get that much in. I can only imagine how nice it must be to be able to play that much. I do wonder however if due to playing that much, do you find any loss of apreciation for the game. What i mean is - Its kind of human nature to take for granted what you have. Sort of like one wanting perhaps a certain new car but once they obtain it then after a small while it no longer is that big a deal anymore. This can be the case with basically anything so I wonder if you find any truth to it with golf due to being able to play as much as you do. Sort of takt it for granted.
 
rollin said:
I'll bet if ya turn one of those rounds per week into a good practice range session to work on things you would be more consistant on the lower end of your scoring scale the other 3 to 4 rounds and possible by a good margine too. That doesnt mean you have to or should. You are content with it as you said and there is no right or wrong for that or what you chose to do.

But man, thats alot of golf, glad your fortunate enough to get that much in. I can only imagine how nice it must be to be able to play that much. I do wonder however if due to playing that much, do you find any loss of apreciation for the game. What i mean is - Its kind of human nature to take for granted what you have. Sort of like one wanting perhaps a certain new car but once they obtain it then after a small while it no longer is that big a deal anymore. This can be the case with basically anything so I wonder if you find any truth to it with golf due to being able to play as much as you do. Sort of takt it for granted.
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You are probably right on all accounts. Toward the end of last year I was getting bored on the course and I always tell myself I will take a few weeks off, but never do. This game is like crack! I really need to grind out a few practice sessions with the wedges and get that area locked down.
 
ya know its strange I started this thread because now I'm currently bummed about falling victom to even less golf again due to many reasons.

Father in law is not well and the wife and i been spending alot of time taking care of things. Our Kids are in full swing with thier sports and obligations. A never ending amount of weddings and other signigicant extended family obligations all poping up at once and on top of it all I'm in the process of ripping apart and remodeling my bathroom in the house. All of that stuff on top of the already everyday responsiblities we all normally have.

I could barely find the time to shave right now and some days I dont even know which way is up or down. Spending some time on THP is about all thats keeping me sane right now. And time and money is not looking to get any better for the near furture. So i just dont know how much golf i'll be doing. And I was realy hoping I would get out more this year. I'll just have to run to the course at 6am on whatever sat or sun morn that i can. i just hope its enough of them.

The one bright spot is that we just booked (with two families) a vaca to riviera maya for august. Cant really afford it but like the bathroom remodeling and anything else we're doing it anyway. But even this could be iffy pertaining to my wifes dad at the time.

sorry to ramble but felt good to vent it all out just a bit.
 
Vegan702 said:
You are probably right on all accounts. Toward the end of last year I was getting bored on the course and I always tell myself I will take a few weeks off, but never do. This game is like crack! I really need to grind out a few practice sessions with the wedges and get that area locked down.
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perhaps some range sessions and workng on specific things might liven things up for you and remove some the boredom. So you gain two things from it. Improvement and more apreciation for it. A plus plus.
 
I have come to the terms with the fact that I just suck. That's what I read every time I see this thread!
 
I can fell your pain as well. I got down to an 11 Handicap and decided to try lesson and practice more. As you can expect, with a swing change and new equipment, my score went up, but I know its a long process and am being very positive. Now I know how the pros feel when they make a swing coach change. You go backward for a while, but then it will click and you will head in a positive direction. Even when I shoot my worst scores, I still love this game. Keep swinging.
 
Smallville speaks for me! :thumb:
 
I took the day off yesterday and played a round. In total score it was one my worst in years. A 105. yet it was also a day where i hit some the best shots I've ever had in years as well. It was very starnge. I actually went home very happy i got to play and very happy about the great shots I made even though was one the worst overall rounds. I also did some experimenting with success and that also made it very easy to accept the bad total score.

I had my usual inconsistant blow-ups which Ive come to accept due to this whole thing about not playing/practicing enough. But those great shots i had just made up for everything. It was also nice to see (due to the warm weather) my drives finally getting out there 270 again (give or take) so that felt good and was good to see even though i didnt have many of them.

I struck a handful of beautiful mid and long irons. One (on a 495yrd p5) was a beatutifrul 5i from 220 (due to downhil shot) that landed so softly, barely any roll stuck at 8feet but missed the eagle put.

Another reasom for the bad total score and being happy about it was that I purposely experimented and used my 3 and 4hybs alot even in situation where I wouldnt normaly done so. I just insisted to get use to them which i havnt been able to hit well since my recent purchase of them. and I finaly (although sacrificed alot of strokes for them yeasterday) hit a couple real good ones towards the end the round.

All in all it was the happiest worst round I ever played. lol....Included just enough of some the better shots i ever made and recieved a tad improvement with the new hybs that made it all worth while.
 
I know that with enough practice I am a lot better than I am currently playing as I used to hover around 11-12, but now I am more like an 18 handicap, but having said that, I know that without having the time to practice or play I can never expect to be back to that level so I accept that currently I am not going to improve. My only aim is to try and eliminate the blow-up holes - my 2 recent rounds have had 6 double bogeys and 2 triple bogeys, everything else was better than that so if I can keep those down with some range practice and course time then I will be more than happy for now

I do have a friendly rivalry going on with a mate who has been playing a lot more than me and got his handicap cut to 20, but as yet he still hasn't shot a lower score than me, although when he does I will a) never hear the end of it from both my other half and his wife as they keep saying that if I don't let him win he will not play anymore, and b) try to practice more to make sure I keep ahead of him :D

At the end of the day golf is some fun for me to get out and unwind, but I accept there will be bad days when I don't score very well so being able to get out and play is what it is all about
 
blugold said:
In all seriousness. I am resigned to the fact that I will never be a PGA tour pro. But I will never quit trying to get better.
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Agreed. Even though the amount of time I have to practice will fluctuate, I will always practice whenever I can. And when I practice, it will be with the intent of getting better, not just wasting time.

That's the way I approach every hobby.
 
wadesworld said:
Agreed. Even though the amount of time I have to practice will fluctuate, I will always practice whenever I can. And when I practice, it will be with the intent of getting better, not just wasting time.

That's the way I approach every hobby.
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You know, I never really thought of gof as a"hobby". Just never came to mind as such.
 
I have and I haven't....

I realized I was playing equipment that didn't fit me, so I went and got fitted. I started taking lessons as well and am putting in the time to work on what I've learned.

I realize I don't have the time nor finances to be a single digit player, but do have the drive to be there. I have also come to realize that I will be "happy" when I become a low-mid double digiter and play there consistently.
 
golfinFF said:
I have and I haven't....

I realized I was playing equipment that didn't fit me, so I went and got fitted. I started taking lessons as well and am putting in the time to work on what I've learned.

I realize I don't have the time nor finances to be a single digit player, but do have the drive to be there. I have also come to realize that I will be "happy" when I become a low-mid double digiter and play there consistently.
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You are puting in the time and efforts and it will pay-off one way or another and i hope you reach and even surpass your goal. But we should also remember that it can take a totaly different amount of play/practice for each person to reach a same level of consistancy. Some people are just better at golf than others with similar amounts of play/practice. i wish i was one of um.lol.... But it is what it is and it sometimes can make it hard for some to witness others who put in the same or even less time and yet have better results. And IMO one must not let that part get in thier head in any negative way.
 
rollin said:
You are puting in the time and efforts and it will pay-off one way or another and i hope you reach and even surpass your goal. But we should also remember that it can take a totaly different amount of play/practice for each person to reach a same level of consistancy. Some people are just better at golf than others with similar amounts of play/practice. i wish i was one of um.lol.... But it is what it is and it sometimes can make it hard for some to witness others who put in the same or even less time and yet have better results. And IMO one must not let that part get in thier head in any negative way.
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Thanks Rollin I'm really trying to make an effort this yr and think it will pay off in me exceeding my goals for the yr.

The amount of time it takes one person compared to another to pick up anything does very greatly and is something I completely understand. Doing what I do for a living and always seeing new people fresh out of school and having to show them the ropes of the job and then all the little nuances involved in it pounds that point home continually.

That frustration we see when some one else picks up something faster or easier than we do can be debilitating or a great motivator. If we learn how to recognize when it's debilitating in ourselves/others and change it to motivation that's when we see the greatest improvements.
 
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