We've launched the new forums! Read more here

How much pressure does keeping an eye on your score put on you?

TheDoctor

TheDoctor

One of the UK Hackers
Joined
Nov 2, 2012
Messages
15,061
Reaction score
4,647
Location
Northeast, UK
Handicap
5.3 (WHS)
Let me explain

My best ever round came along when I was keeping the scores for the group, but I wasn't adding them up as we went along - I didn't even add them up after the first 9 holes, so I only realised the score after we came off 18 and totalled them up

Since then I have always seemed to find that if I looked at the total for the front 9, I put more pressure on myself to either shoot a good score on the back 9 to try and make up for it, or to keep the round going to throw in a good score and end up not playing as well as I know I can

Maybe it is coincidence but I find that by just writing the scores on the scorecard and ignoring the totals/points I am more relaxed about my game and play better - there are definitely times when I know I am playing well or bad and have shot a score accordingly, but I try to block it out and take each shot as it comes and see what I have shot at the end of the round

Does anyone else have this same feeling?
 
I play so much solo golf that I am used to it I think. I typically know where I'm at all the time give or take a few strokes.
 
I don't look at the numbers a whole lot. I just have a sense of where I am at.
 
Quite often when playing solo I just keep a mental tally of "2 over" "5 over" "10 over" as I go and then fill out the card later. I don't really like keeping score for an entire group.
Adding it up or not, I know roughly where I am at all times.
 
My best round came when I was keeping track in my head. I even told my playing partners "If I can par the last 2 holes I'll break 80." And I did and shot a 79. But I tend to play better under pressure...
 
It does have an affect on me sometimes. If I am playing well, I try not to look too much. Conversely, if I am playing poorly I tend to watch the card and look for places to get some back or something. This just puts too much emphasis on the numbers and it usually continues to go south from there.

Interestingly enough, I had a horrid front nine last week and was just sort of going through the motions with the score and stats on the back. I never once added them up or anything. The back nine turned out to be a pretty good showing and a dramatic improvement over the front.

The lesson was taught, now only time will tell if I learned anything.

JM
 
I never worry too much about what my scores are. I feel you need to not think about what happened in the past, focus on the current shot and maybe look forward to what your scoring opportunities may be. I'm not someone who can recall every shot on every hole right after the round or weeks later so I usually keep a card handy.
 
I never think about my score during the round, but I always have a good idea of where I'm at in relation to par (1 under/2 over/etc)
 
It really dosent bother me by looking at my scores. I tend to know where I am during the round anyway
 
When I finally broke 80 I had no idea what my score was till the 18th hole. Prior times trying to break 80 I would fall apart the last 3 holes knowing all I needed was bogeys. I think it gets to me so for 2014 I've been trying to think shot to shot.
 
Hawk said:
I play so much solo golf that I am used to it I think. I typically know where I'm at all the time give or take a few strokes.
Click to expand...
Same here!
 
Johnny mojo said:
It does have an affect on me sometimes. If I am playing well, I try not to look too much. Conversely, if I am playing poorly I tend to watch the card and look for places to get some back or something. This just puts too much emphasis on the numbers and it usually continues to go south from there.

Interestingly enough, I had a horrid front nine last week and was just sort of going through the motions with the score and stats on the back. I never once added them up or anything. The back nine turned out to be a pretty good showing and a dramatic improvement over the front.

The lesson was taught, now only time will tell if I learned anything.

JM
Click to expand...

This has definitely been me in the past which is why I started the thread as I have tried hard to get away from looking at the numbers too closely


ForTheLovOfGolf said:
I never worry too much about what my scores are. I feel you need to not think about what happened in the past, focus on the current shot and maybe look forward to what your scoring opportunities may be. I'm not someone who can recall every shot on every hole right after the round or weeks later so I usually keep a card handy.
Click to expand...

To a degree, this is where I am at right now, I try not to think about what has happened on previous holes, but after the round there is always a certain hole/shot that I can look back at and know it cost me 'x' number of shots


I don't keep track of other stats (FIR, GIR, putts) although it is something I have considered doing this year, but I am hesitant to do it as I feel I will start to over-analyse my game and mess with my head. I can look back at a round in general and say it was my putting that let me down, or my approach play, so I know what to work on, but to rigorously keep stats is maybe not the best thing for me to do
 
Mine has been pretty good lately hovering around 120/80
 
you're definitely on to something there, atleast for me. i still think back to a round i played a while back, before i had ever broke 100, and noticed i shot a 39 on the front nine. I knew i was playing real well for me, and I was thinking to myself, screw 90's, i'm going to shoot in the 80's...and preceeded to score a 101 starting off with an explosion on the 11th that just snow balled from there. If i'm being honest with myself, my thinking was really becoming "don't screw this up", which for me becomes a self fulfilling prophecy, and something i really need to work on a lot this year from the mental aspect. I'm a 23 handicap, and i've broken 40 on two front nines, one during a VSGA tournament when there were no gimmes and every single stroke is made. It gives me confidence that i know i can get my game there, but at the same time incredibly frustrating when i'm a 20+ handicap still, and have a PB of only 93. Really going to make an effort to not add up scores anymore during a round.
 
I write the scores down, but generally don't add them up until we are done. If I am playing well, I have a good idea of where I am anyway.
 
I hate to admit it, but if I am stringing together a nice round of scores, it creeps in a bit. Especially when the word "PB" starts getting thrown around.
 
I never look to see where I am score wise except at the turn and after the 18th hole. Call me a head case
 
dcbrad said:
I hate to admit it, but if I am stringing together a nice round of scores, it creeps in a bit. Especially when the word "PB" starts getting thrown around.
Click to expand...

Definitely, and I think this is where I have put too much pressure on myself to keep it going

My round on Sunday, I did know what I had shot for the front 9 (44) so I knew that if I put an okay back 9 together then I would be looking at a mid to high 80 round. As the holes went by, I knew I was playing well so was certain I would have broken 90 which was my first aim for this year but to find I shot a 37 for the back 9 for a total of 81 was a bit of a surprise and I am fairly certain that if I had been keeping track of the total I wouldn't have kept the score going.....

It is all mental and something to contend with this year while I am trying to improve, but shooting scores like this is a boost to the confidence to know that I can do it
 
When I am having a good day, I purposely turn the card over on my push cart so that I don't look at my scores. I know what I am doing each hole, but not gazing over my card every hole really helps me focus on my game and not trying to make up for that double bogey I shot 3 holes ago. On a day that I am not playing well, I could care less what my score is and just try to enjoy the round.
 
mikedean441 said:
I never look to see where I am score wise except at the turn and after the 18th hole. Call me a head case
Click to expand...

Definitely not Mike, everyone has their own way of playing the game - I was just curious to see if other people had the same thoughts as me when it comes to scores and if it affected their game in any way
 
I know my score and those in my group in relation to par without writing down scores. So no added pressure here
 
Tadashi70 said:
I know my score and those in my group in relation to par without writing down scores. So no added pressure here
Click to expand...

different animal for you since yours fluctuates around 2 strokes from par lol
 
I have started not even adding up my score after the turn. I have a decent idea where im at, but when im not focused on finishing a good round I usually play better, since I just focus on the shot at hand instead of the scorr
 
Tadashi70 said:
I know my score and those in my group in relation to par without writing down scores. So no added pressure here
Click to expand...


a lot easier to do when it's an occasional +1 or -1....some of us need calculators.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top