feeling like you played well vs actually scoring better can be two differnt things

rollin

"Just playin golf pally"
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sounds like a crazy notion I know, but there are times my overall score is a better average round yet there are times the score is not quite as good but the round felt more satisfying probably due to the quality of good shots made. This topic I think was mentioned here once before by someone quite a long time ago and I thought I recall some good thoughts on it.

Recently I had one those rounds where total score wasn't among my best yet I felt very happy and satisfied with the ball striking. Conversely there have been times I scored a better (for me) round yet the ball striking left me feeling somewhat dissatisfied or "not so good". I suppose it has to do with mishits and general ball striking. Sometimes the less than good ball striking (or mishits) still leaves you moving forward efficiently so you score well but don't feel so great about it. Other times there may be several great shots made but overall you didn't move forward efficiently enough often enough to score as well yet you feel pretty darn good about the round even though a higher score. Most probably due to a percentage of really good shots.

Ever think about this or experience this?
 
Ive had this happen a number of times, and it can be caused by many different things. Having 1 or 2 "blow up" holes causing your score to be worse than what you felt, burning edges all day and not having putts drop, etc.

I have definitely had the days where I played better than I scored.
 
Yup. Have been there a number of times. Heck, one of my recent rounds was something like an 87/88, and I felt like it was absolute garbage for most of the round, only to find that the score wasn't as bad as I felt it was going to be.
 
Many times! Hit three good shots on a hole then miss a short, fat a chip....it can be so frustrating but it's also what I love about golf!
 
Several times this year I have had good runs of 5-6 par holes only to have the next to be a triple bogey, but realized it still wasn't terrible when I added it up at the end. But it make you realize how good it could have been if you take the triple out. It is a funny game. :bulgy-eyes:
 
All the time. I would rather have a good ball striking day even if my score isn't great.
 
I grade my round based on solid shots and good shots hit. While this is usually the number of good drives, fairway woods or irons, a great chip or long putt can be included. Anything over 24 usually leaves me feeling satisfied regardless of score. Less than 20 almost always means a poor round.
 
I slopped in one 30-footer from the fringe Sunday, but I had 10 other putts that were where I wanted them that didn't go. Yet I had my best ballstriking round in 2 months, so I was elated.
 
I used to put a lot of weight on how a round felt. Did I keep the driver in play, memorable shots, general ball striking, any birdies, number of pars etc. More recently have realized that the ability to score is a skill too. Trying harder now to balance out the course management, limiting damage after bad shots etc, with the "feel good" stuff we all enjoy about the game. The cap is coming down and I'm getting better results in my men's club events & league play
 
If ball striking is bad but we still score then we should celebrate our good short game.
 
I feel like the quality of my ball-striking dictates how I feel about a round emotionally. There are many times when I don't hit it well but manage to keep it in front of me, put up a decent number and just wonder, "what if".


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If ball striking is bad but we still score then we should celebrate our good short game.

That's correct, But still , there is just something about good ball striking that I think makes most of us feel good and at times even when we may not score our best. Conversely, its can be somewhat less satisfying of a feeling when scoring better but the ball striking was not so good. As ben mentioned in past threads, its been implied by many 9and probably most) people that there is no better feeling than a pure well struck shot especially with an iron. And I think if one has just enough of those it can make one feel very good about their round even if the final score was not among their better rounds. In fact I think chasing that feeling is part of what is so addictive about the game.

I joking say sometimes sarcastically that when I am having a real bad ball striking day I wouldn't care if I put a ball in water so long as I struck a pure one...lol
but really when things are going that bad it just feels great to finally hit a pure one even if headed in the wrong direction. Kind of an exaggerated point but it works to show the feeling we get from a pure strike and imo how that alone can make or break the general feeling we get about our golf round that day even if not our best scores.
 
I've had a number of rounds where I've struck my irons particularly well, but at the end of the day some other element of my game was a tad bit lacking and the score didn't reflect my ball striking that day. I just take the positives from the round and move onto the next.
 
I've had many rounds like this, and I've just come to the conclusion that golf is an evil genius of a game. It does whatever it can to get you hooked on the game, whether that's having you score well when you are hitting the ball poorly, or scoring poorly when you are hitting it so good. It just makes you want to get back out there and play again to try and better your score by either hitting the ball better, or by making a couple more putts and getting less bad breaks.

I honestly can't even count the number of times I've been like "man if I would have hit my irons a little better today, do you know how low I could have gone today?"
 
yesterday i had a 9 hole round like this. i only hit 3 greens and shot a +2 38 only had 13 putts tho that is what saved me.
 
Happens to me a lot. I played four times last week on vacation. However, the two best ball striking rounds ended up being higher scores because of unfamiliar greens and the dreaded Florida rough. Oh well. Had fun regardless. But yeah, I tend to equate the "better round" with how I strike the ball, not necessarily the lowest score.
 
The more I think about it for me this happens a lot. I can play wel and not score. Scoring for me is usually tied to my putting performance.


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I hit some solid shots yesterday and shot a 93. I was flushing irons off the fairway and hitting them further than typical but unfortunately had some bad breaks that lead to penalties. For example I hit a solid 6i to a flag about 175. Pin was back left. Water to the left. I hit a draw that landed in the middle of the green but hit the backside of the 1st tier and shot off into the water on the left.


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Sometimes the difference between a good round and a great round is making a few putts. Some average ball striking, yet good putting can yield great scores. Some great ball striking and mediocre putting gets you average scores.
 
Sometimes the difference between a good round and a great round is making a few putts. Some average ball striking, yet good putting can yield great scores. Some great ball striking and mediocre putting gets you average scores.

Putting saves my "worse" rounds from going to triple digits!

I can save 5-7 strokes a round if I eliminate dumb penalties and bad chips. I had a hole yesterday that dog legged hard right,
Plenty of room and I snap hooked it left I to the lake that was not in play unless you're a moron.

I feel like my ball striking, putting, course
Management, etc. is good enough to be shooting low 80s every time. But I have some bad swings here and there that lead to a half dozen extra strokes a Round.




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