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Does your handicap reflect your self worth?

Does your handicap reflect your self worth?

  • Yes

    Votes: 17 15.9%

  • No

    Votes: 90 84.1%
  • Total voters
    107
wadesworld said:
Even those of us who typically shoot lower scores have been known to put up some bad rounds at THP events, so you've got absolutely nothing to worry about.
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I've shot a 73 and an 89 at THP events!

#consistency


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JRod said:
I've shot a 73 and an 89 at THP events!

#consistency


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I had two different events where thanks to my partner, we could have won if I had broken 95. Both times I failed to do it. But that's the great thing about THP events; we had so much fun nobody gave it a single thought.
 
Not really. I mean, I like doing things well, so in that sense a bad round of golf bothers me. But the challenge of starting something by doing it poorly and having to learn and struggle to do it better is part of what draws me to golf in the first place.

Essentially, I don't derive self-worth from my index. I derive some self-worth or satisfaction from the direction I've been able to move it in the past year.
 
I (relative to many on this forum) stink at golf. But not as a person. One has nothing to do with the other.

Poor play can get me frustrated and even stay with me. But so does the same happen when my favorite sports teams are losing. But none of it has anything to do with self worth at all. I think the "self worth" question in the thread title is far different form its opening post. Allowing poor play to bother you is one thing but quite another if it relates to self worth. I don't need good golf to feel honorable, respectful, and proud of myself as a person. It has nothing at all to do with it.
 
I'll be honest, I always wanted to be a single figure handicapper, and never thought I would be. So when I got into single figures (just), I was chuffed to bits. I don't think it reflects any sort of self worth though or has much relevance at all to be honest as I don't play in club competitions. It was a goal though, so was incredibly satisfying to finally reach it after 20 odd years of playing.
 
I don't sweat the small stuff and my handicap or my golf score is just small stuff.
Don't get me wrong, golf is very important to me. Other than my wife, it is my one true passion.
But it is just a small part of what makes me . . . . me.
 
Ole Gray said:
How much value do you put on your handicap as opposed to you as a person? Do you get embarrassed when it soars above what you think or hope it should be? Be honest and tell it like it is. Really high scores can hurt but once you step off the course they are history. Do you carry them home with you and dwell on them or do you do an instant memory dump?
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You're going to score higher than your handicap way more times than you are going to beat it. So "high scores" come with the territory.
 
Absolutely not. I am fine with my high handicap. There is no shame in my game.
 
The first year I took golf "seriously" and spent a lot of money on lessons and equipment and played 150 rounds or so, yes it did.

Then I woke up and realized I'm 36, my body has seen a lot of abuse from the marine corps and motocross, I lack flexibility and I'm never going to make a living hitting a little ball with a stick. Then I started playing just because I liked it again. My handicap is upwards of a 15 now probably and I don't care because I enjoy doing it.


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I've only been golfing for six months and I'm not a natural at it by any means so I have a 36 handicap. Do I want to make it lower, you bet. Do I think less of myself when I see it, absolutely not. Even on my worst day of golf, I remind myself that it's just a hobby that I'm lucky enough to afford, I'm outside enjoying nature, and overall things could be a whole lot worse.
 
slodsm said:
The first year I took golf "seriously" and spent a lot of money on lessons and equipment and played 150 rounds or so, yes it did.

Then I woke up and realized I'm 36, my body has seen a lot of abuse from the marine corps and motocross, I lack flexibility and I'm never going to make a living hitting a little ball with a stick. Then I started playing just because I liked it again. My handicap is upwards of a 15 now probably and I don't care because I enjoy doing it.


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With the exception of the putter and the 4 iron, my bag setup is the same as yours. Although I do have an Adila shaft on my R1 and stock shafts on the 3w and 3H. How do you like those graphite design shafts with the heads?
 
ForeOnFour said:
With the exception of the putter and the 4 iron, my bag setup is the same as yours. Although I do have an Adila shaft on my R1 and stock shafts on the 3w and 3H. How do you like those graphite design shafts with the heads?
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I love them man, I tend to hit my irons mid height but hybrids and woods I hit ridiculously high. I went through quite a few shafts trying to find something that would work and I have a fairly quick tempo but not a really super fast swing speed. I run 100-102 on my driver and with a heavy stuff shaft I couldn't get the ball high enough. With the new trend of uber light stock stiff shafts I couldn't keep it low enough to keep from landing and stopping like a wedge.

These are both pretty heavy but regular flex and I freakin love em. I get good height to get good carry but not any ballooning and not a lot of spin so on hard dry fairways like we have here in the summer I get a ton of run when they land.


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I don't have an official handicap but if I did , it would be in the 35-40 range. Pretty Bad. But it doesn't bother me. I'm OK with being a bad golfer.

What bothers me a lot, though, is that I haven't been able to improve at all over the last 2 years. So repeated bad golf days and bad range sessions make me wonder if I can ever succeed at anything, if I can't even improve at golf just a little bit despite a lot of effort.

So I guess being a bad golfer is affecting me indirectly - but it's the lack of progress getting me down on myself, not the poor golfing itself. If that makes any sense.
 
Not even close. It's golf. It's fun.
 
God I hope not otherwise I am a fkn loser.


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Bumping this thread because my recent slump has given me a fresh perspective on this.

I don't think my handicap affects my self-worth, but I've learned over the last month that I do in fact get some kind of self worth out of golfing well (by my standards) and hitting the ball well. This is now the longest slump I've ever encountered and I still see no way out and it has me pretty frustrated and pretty down.
How sad is it that a golfer as bad as myself gets down when his game goes to crap?
 
ArmyGolf said:
Bumping this thread because my recent slump has given me a fresh perspective on this.

I don't think my handicap affects my self-worth, but I've learned over the last month that I do in fact get some kind of self worth out of golfing well (by my standards) and hitting the ball well. This is now the longest slump I've ever encountered and I still see no way out and it has me pretty frustrated and pretty down.
How sad is it that a golfer as bad as myself gets down when his game goes to crap?
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I know the feeling bud, I was there for a solid 2 or 3 months last year. It did come back though. Stick it out man! And remember you're still hitting in the 80's so at least it isn't COMPLETELY falling apart.
 
This is the first I've seen of this thread. Mine doesn't affect my self worth as a person, but makes me question why I'm still golfing sometimes. I know the odds of me being a scratch golfer are slim (especially anytime soon), but how long does one work on the same thing with an instructor before it sticks? I try to hold on to the great shots to keep me motivated and coming back to the range and course almost daily. The good shots give me some sense of worth as a golfer or the idea that maybe part of my game will come around with time.
 
I don't have an official handicap, but based on my game last weekend it would be like 78. I can't afford to tie it to my self worth, I'd have to go jump off a bridge immediately!
 
It's got nothing to do with my self worth but it can affect my attitude (for short periods of time) because of what I expect out of myself. No matter how poorly I play I'm always ready to tee it up the next day. I try very hard to remember it's just a game and to have fun. I also wouldn't want my problems to affect anyone else!!
 
ArmyGolf said:
Bumping this thread because my recent slump has given me a fresh perspective on this.

I don't think my handicap affects my self-worth, but I've learned over the last month that I do in fact get some kind of self worth out of golfing well (by my standards) and hitting the ball well. This is now the longest slump I've ever encountered and I still see no way out and it has me pretty frustrated and pretty down.
How sad is it that a golfer as bad as myself gets down when his game goes to crap?
Click to expand...

i can completely relate. a bad round, or a bad session at the range, can be depressing to the point that it ruins my day, affects my interactions with others, and can even lead to a deep sadness (not even being sarcastic about this!). but a good round, or a good session at the range, can be euphoric. obviously i'm far too invested in golf, but it's what i'm the most passionate about after my family.
 
Stays with me for a bit if the round means something and I am playing with someone else. That said if it is just a round where I am messing around I don't care much. I know if I start dwelling on it to much it is time to step back. Life is to short to dwell on what I shoot for 18 holes I play the game for fun and while I like to shoot low scores I know it is not always going to happen.
 
When I was in college I definitely got some self worth out of my index, at least during golf season. When I started my career and stopped playing serious golf a month after I graduated from college golf became fun again and I haven't worried or placed any value on my index since. I'm now at the point where I can honestly enjoy blow up rounds where I shoot 10+ strokes over my index. I had one of those last week and I probably laughed more on the course than I have in months. I've been lucky that I haven't had more than a couple brief slumps in the last 30 years - I'm sure that will change as father time catches me.

Now that I'm approaching 50 I do place quite a bit of self worth in my cardio fitness. When I'm off my bike for a couple months and not doing any real cardio work I start to feel like a lazy human being. I signed up for 3 organized 100 mile bike rides this summer and that will be motivation enough to get me back on a regular training schedule.
 
I started this thread back when I was still recovering from my third knee surgery on my right knee. Add a broken hip to the mix while still trying to get through the knee healing really brought me down. I was hitting the ball terrible and lost so much distance, it was disheartening. I fell into this space in my life where I was truly wondering if I would be able to actually have fun with the game again. I don't care what anybody says but the majority of folks want to play any game well, whether it's monopoly or golf. Some can let the poor efforts roll off better than others. Highly competitive people take down times in their chosen sports more to heart.

My knee is still healing because the three surgeries have screwed it up big time. Huge amounts of scar tissue has made my knee three times the size of a normal knee. It's tough on the balance part of golf but slowly and surely I am feeling more athletic again. Playing my chosen hobby better has lifted my mood in every aspect of life. Why do some people depend on highs in silly games to make them feel better? Don't know but for some of us playing poorly can cause a spill over into other parts of our joy, happiness, and feelings of being normal. These feelings of negativity can be overcome through persistent thoughts of the good shots in golf or in life's case, the good things in your life. It's easier said than done but "Don't sweat the small stuff".
 
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Well said, OG. I still get upset/bummed out after not playing well, but I'm getting better at not letting it stick with me for long. If I'm not playing in a tournament, then it doesn't bother me too much if I don't play well. When I feel like my swing is off or I'm really struggling with a particular aspect of my game, that is frustrating to me, as I know I'm not playing up to my capabilities. It's more a motivator to work on it and get better, but it sure it more fun when it call comes together.
 
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