To have great rounds or great times? Is it tied together? Would you trade one?

[DocTrussell]

Honest question: how do you guys enjoy yourselves when you're playing terribly? When with others, just talk about other things? Make fun of your game? How about by yourself? I'm curious how others deal with these frustrations on the course.

While with other people I will make more fun of my game than anybody to deal with the frustration of a bad round and will look for the few remarkable shots-usually have at least 3 or 4 no matter how the round is going to hang my hat on. When by myself, I may drop several balls in the same spot to try and figure out why the round has gone down hill and what I am doing on that particular shot to not get my desired results. But I always try to look at it as I am not in the office today. That usually makes any round better.

 

[bhilton]

I would say the quality of golf that I'm playing always has some kind of effect on how much fun I'm having. That's not to say that I can't still have a good time and play bad. I just won't have as much fun as if I was playing well. However, if I'm playing in a tournament, how much fun I'm having definitely depends on my play. If I'm not playing well, I'm not having any fun at all. I take the game seriously at all times but only in a tournament will I let bad play really screw up my day.

 

[ryebread]

For me it is fellowship over score, even if I were to shoot a great score.

When thinking about this question, I asked myself the following. Would I rather shoot the round of my life with no one I know there with me, or would I rather have an average round with a family member or good friend? Undoubtedly it is the latter.

Now, the one exception to this would be if that one great round could financially set me for life. Then I'd take the one, "round of my life" kind of day, regardless of who I had to endure.

 

[Floor-is]

I would much rather have a good time.

+1

Though it would be nice if that meant I'm not playing horrible Maintaining my current handicap with loads of fun would be good enough for me. (I used to play to 6.5-7 while I'm 11.5-ish now, I should be abled to drop under 9 next year)

 

[fairband]

I would rather have a fantastic afternoon with friends then shoot a personal best. But don't think I am not trying for that personal best but when you play golf like I do you can't get too angry with how you play.

I am afraid of shooting a great score in a solo round and having no one there to verify it, that and a hole in one with no one around.

 

[Smallville]

You gotta have fun, first and foremost. Great rounds can contribute to that and even help turn a less than fun time into at least an OK time.

 

[Jank]

If they are completely exclusive of each other and I cannot have both, I will lean towards having great rounds. But I can make an argument for myself either way. I guess the main thing that I look at is that I play golf to play well.

 

[ns1189]

If I'm playing alone I take it pretty serious. With friends?...it's all about good times, generally. Life's too short. The best times I've had playing golf would have resulted in losses to Helen Keller.

I would have to agree that I'm pretty serious when I'm playing alone or in a tournament setting that counts. I have played with friends in tournaments we knew we had no chance of winning and we had a good time. I have a good time with my friends when we golf.


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[slodsm]

If I'm playing alone I take it pretty serious. With friends?...it's all about good times, generally. Life's too short. The best times I've had playing golf would have resulted in losses to Helen Keller.

This is me. If I'm playing by myself my enjoyment is directly related to performance. 82, great round can't wait to play tomorrow. 98, I hate this game and I'm selling all my clubs and never playing again.

If I'm with a group of friends, I want to play well, I want to beat the just because I'm competitive and spend a lot of time practicing but either way I'm having a good time.


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[Maddog701]

if you play with thper's from western ny , we always have a good time, if Shankasours is playing it is fun no matter what you shoot, we rib each other about our games and we encourage each other about our games, have always enjoyed playing with the group no matter how i play, as long as i don't "earn " Hello Kitty towel, the high net scorer has to hang a bright red 'Hello Kitty' towel on his bag when 3 or more of us play

 

[GenErr]

Definitely have a good time first, score well second. However I will say its sometimes difficult to have fun if your game totally disintegrates!

 

[rollin]

I'm not going to lie. Even though I posted that "if the game is no longer fun, its not worth playing", I still get pretty bummed out when I realize the round is not going to be a better one. And it got to the point where for a while it was no longer fun at all. So now I just convince myself to laugh it off and enjoy best i can.

Its not always easy to do because i am obsessed with trying to play better more often. Its also a bit harder because i almost always golf as a single so even though I'm with others they are not my close friends or family. But i do realy like it when i'm in good company even though strangers and have some great times. But I do know that all I can do is keep trying. It cost alot of money and it takes alot of time. Those resources are hard to come by for me and require sacrifices. I put in as much of them as I am able to and while that amount may be enough for some to become better, its not enough for me and it can be hard to accept that. Its what can make it so frustrating.

But at the same time I come to realize that if its no longer fun than its just not worth it. The goal right now for me is to play better more often but the price tags on the time and the money is too much to sacrifice if I'm not going to have a good time in trying to do that. The saying - "live, love, laugh" somehow just has to take priority and imo I must allow it to do so or give up the game.

 

[Jericho]

I'll be the first to admit, I couldn't care less about being with friends and having a good time. I'm paying money to play a competitive sport so when I play, I play to improve my game. If I just wanted laughs and a good time, I can do it for MUCH less money and it wouldn't cost me 5-6 hours on a saturday/sunday.

 

[P.J.]

Funny story first: Went to a United Way golf tournament for work and had 3 coworkers on the team with me. One of the guys used to golf but quit after being so mad when he played. Funniest guy you'll ever meet though. 3 holes into the round here's the scene. Tee shot - big slice into the woods. "Dammit! I could have gotten pissed off at home for free!!!!". I nearly fell over laughing...

I'm 25 now, so not far removed from high school golf. In high school, didn't matter if it was a tournament or a weekend round with my dad, it seemed like if any shot wasn't perfect, I was pissed. If I had a tap in par, I'd be mad I missed the birdie by 2 inches.

As soon as I got away from that, I feel like all the pressure left me. I want to do my very best every time out, but at the same time I show up to have fun and enjoy the day. Still have the occasional angry streak on the course but by the next hole I'm good. Even during the occasional competitive round now, I still focus on enjoying the day.

As for the OPs categories, I'm a guy the guy that takes it serious but I'll have a good time no matter what