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Are you competitive?

ShootzGolf

ShootzGolf

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The thing that drove Tiger and Jack to be the GOAT's is their competitive nature. They did not like to lose, ever. This drove them to be better than everyone else. They worked harder and focused more.
I'm not like that. Not even in a competition of any kind, Golf included. I enjoy the process and encourage my competitors and am genuinely happy when they do well. To me that is what sports is about.
I don't think I was ever the best at anything. But I sure don't beat myself up over it.
What are your thoughts? Where do you fall on the competitive scale?
Edit: a lot of good replies here but I was thinking more along the lines of competing against others. Not so much your personal journey to get/be better.
 
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ShootzGolf said:
The thing that drove Tiger and Jack to be the GOAT's is their competitive nature. They did not like to lose, ever. This drove them to be better than everyone else. They worked harder and focused more.
I'm not like that. Not even in a competition of any kind, Golf included. I enjoy the process and encourage my competitors and am genuinely happy when they do well. To me that is what sports is about.
I don't think I was ever the best at anything. But I sure don't beat myself up over it.
What are your thoughts? Where do you fall on the competitive scale?
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Speaking for myself it's easy for me to say "I'm just out on the golf course to be in the fresh air, get some exercise, enjoy the social aspect of golf etc...". But I realize this is kind of a dodge, taking the easy way out, the path of least resistance.
I've found that I enjoy the game much more if I am focused on every shot, honoring the Rules of the game, doing everything I can to strike my best shots and shoot the lowest score I can.
 
I'm going to put a bit of a twist on this, because I used to be very competitive in bowling, chasing sponsors, traveling for tournaments... but it burned me out. I even stopped coaching and let my certs expire. I totally understand when you see or read stories of amazing talent that just grind themselves to dust and lose the love of the game. That's what happened to me (without the godlike talent of course lol).

So fast forward several years, older, wiser... I will say this about golf. I love to compete and the competition, BUT I'm not doing it to BE competitive. If that makes sense.
 
I'm overly competitive in just about everything I do. It's something I have tried to tone down, but it's hard to just enjoy the moment sometimes for me.
 
Yes but not as much as I used to be. Every year it gets less and less about the competition for me and more about the enjoyment.
 
jdtox said:
Yes but not as much as I used to be. Every year it gets less and less about the competition for me and more about the enjoyment.
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Do you "enjoy" shooting a high score while chatting, socializing, goofing on the golf course more so than shooting a low score with less socializing ?
For me I have the most fun, get the most enjoyment out of my golf, when I strike my best shots and shoot my lowest scores.
 
DG_1234 said:
Do you "enjoy" shooting a high score while chatting, socializing, goofing on the golf course more so than shooting a low score with less socializing ?
For me I have the most fun, get the most enjoyment out of my golf, when I strike my best shots and shoot my lowest scores.
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I never "enjoy" shooting a high score and for that reason I said I am still competitive. I too enjoying playing well as many golfers do. However when bad things happen on the golf course these days I am much more likely to crack a beer and say F*** It and just have fun than stress about my score.

That being said I still work on my game even in the dead of winter and enjoy competing when it's required.
 
I am more competitive with myself than one who needs to win or hates to lose. I like to set goals and see if I can reach them. I enjoy pushing myself more than anything else. Competing against others is the best measure of that.
 
Nerdy_81 said:
I'm overly competitive in just about everything I do. It's something I have tried to tone down, but it's hard to just enjoy the moment sometimes for me.
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This is me also.
Take fantasy football for example. It totally ruins my Sunday when my team performs poorly. I know it shouldn’t but I can’t help it. I hate that it does this to me.
As much as I wish I could tone it down and enjoy things more, the competitive drive also makes me try to excel in everything I do, including golf.
So I guess it’s trying to find a balance but I do hate losing.
 
links_slayer said:
i hate losing more than i enjoy winning....by a mile.
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GoldenBuff said:
I am more competitive with myself than one who needs to win or hates to lose. I like to set goals and see if I can reach them. I enjoy pushing myself more than anything else. Competing against others is the best measure of that.
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I am in between the 2 above. Before I had kids, I was more like @links_slayer.

After kids and as I've gotten older, I am still ( as my wife reminds me ) a highly competitive personality, but I am less about winning and more about getting better so I can compete stronger wether is golf, soccer ( still playing at 44 and been playing since I was 5 ), poker or other card games, bowling ( back when I was traveling to tournaments and bowling 4 nights a week ), etc.
 
In other sports, yes absolutely

Not so much in golf, mainly because I used to be sooooo bad, that being competitive would have sucked all the joy out of playing. But I’ve found that as I get better, I’m now more competitive and more focused that ever at improving my score
 
GoldenBuff said:
I am more competitive with myself than one who needs to win or hates to lose. I like to set goals and see if I can reach them. I enjoy pushing myself more than anything else. Competing against others is the best measure of that.
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I hear you, but for me golf is ALWAYS player against the course (not player against player). It's one of the best aspects of the game.
So I think one can always compete, player against the course, without ever having to enter a tournament.
 
I've always been extremely competitive and I actually have a hard time turning it off even in something as meaningless as a casual game of ping pong or pool. Growing up I tried all sports and quit the ones where I wasn't the best or one of the best in my high school. That left me with only golf and skiing. ;)
 
links_slayer said:
i hate losing more than i enjoy winning....by a mile.
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THIS

As I get a bit older I am tempering the feeling, but hyper-competitive might be an accurate description of me.

BUT, I've realized hwo much of a turn off this can be for those I am competing with, so while I feel it inside, on the outside I try to not show it. I try to be the "let's all have fun guys" on the outside, while on the inside I am driving myself to dominate.
 
I’m super competitive by nature. I hate losing in anything...board games, cards, sports, golf.

Being on THP, attending events and playing team events or non-competitive events have made me enjoy golf more as a leisure activity rather than grinding for a score and being super competitive. I wanted to win my match this week so badly but I can assure you I had the time of my life despite the loss, which really doesn’t even count...we all win at the grandaddy ?
 
nope.
 
I am competetive by nature. Whether it be bowling, corn hole, golf, whatever. I am not overly so though and I don't let my competetive tendencies show by being loud or boisterous. I see plenty of that type of behavior on the bowling lanes that it turns me off to that type of behavior. I am the quiet assassin that will beat your a** and you won't even know it till it is done. I let my results speak for themselves. :ROFLMAO:
 
Nerdy_81 said:
I'm overly competitive in just about everything I do. It's something I have tried to tone down, but it's hard to just enjoy the moment sometimes for me.
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I HAVE A PROBLEM... I GAMBLE TOO MUCH ON EVERY ROUND!! LOL.!!! I HATE SCRAMBLES BECAUSE I WAN TO SHOOT MY BEST SCORE. HELL, I PLAY MY MOM AND GIVE 10 ASIDE AND AT LEAST PLAY FOR A BEER. GOLF FOR ME, SEEMS TO HAVE BECOME MORE ABOUT THE GAMBLE AND SCORE THAN ENJOYMENT. BUT A AFTERWORK 18 BY MYSELF IS GOOD THERAPY FOR ME.
 
I'd like to think that I am still competive with those golfers in my handicap range. Éspecially those golfers in my age group. I can win against a single capper every now, and then. I can also lose to a higher capper when I have an off day. I know there alot of golfers out there who I can score better than them.

Then again, I dont really look at golf being a win/lose scenario as far playing against other golfers. I am putting my golf talents up against a golf course. I'm not really playing against the other guy......sort of

I lose to the golf course everytime I go out. I mean how do you beat the golf course? unless your talent allows you play the course under it's par rating. Do you win a hole by scoring birdy, or better? Is par on a hole a tie? Bogey, or worse a loss? If I scored my rounds like this my score might read 1-8-9

It's tough for me to explain actually. One, I am playing against the course. But the other scenario is my talent level playing against the other guy's talent level, against the same course.

All I can say is that my final score for the round, like par, is just a number. Some days are just better than others.
 
I used to play my grandma in cards for nickles and dimes. You can bet your butt I took home the $1.45 I won from her.

Of course I left a lot more than that in her cookie jar before I would leave, but that $1.45 was coming home with me, LOL
 
I'm very competitive when I play but not to the point where I can't enjoy my round.
 
I am competitive and love teeing it up with something on the line. It pushes me to practice when I can. If I could only devote the time to it, I think I could be pretty darn good.
 
I am, but it is not the end all be all to me that it used to be. Attending THP events taught me the value of enjoyment on the golf course, win or lose, and made golf more fun and less intensive for me.
 
millsan1 said:
I used to play my grandma in cards for nickles and dimes. You can bet your butt I took home the $1.45 I won from her.

Of course I left a lot more than that in her cookie jar before I would leave, but that $1.45 was coming home with me, LOL
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You mean the swear jar? :p
 
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