Do you play casual rounds like you do competition rounds?

I play a lot of safe golf, but on occasion I've been known to go for a difficult shot if I was "feeling it". Sometimes you just know when you can pull a shot off.
 
Would I (or you) be better off playing my casual rounds with that same "no double bogeys" and "don't try the crazy shot" mentality? Would it make me better in the competitive rounds? Should I save the 'crazy shots' for when I'm just working on my short game?

This is sort of a mental game question. I'm not even sure there is a 'correct' answer. But I'm hoping it spurs some discussion.

~Rock
I think it would lower your scores and handicap. You would be a consistently better golfer. But you'd also eliminate your ability to shoot 8-10 shots better in tourneys.

I guess it depends on what you are looking to get out of the game and any particular round. Do you want the lowest handicap possible? Do you just want to goof off and have a relaxed round, and if so why not just treat these as practice rounds which don't get posted?

Edit: No offense intended, but this almost feels a bit like sandbagging. Why not play for the lowest score in non-competitive rounds? Consistently beating your number by 8-10 strokes seems off to me.
 
I try to play the same regardless but will consider an option in competive round to minimize risk.
 
My home course isnt usga rated, so my score wouldnt get posted under any circumstances.

~Rock
 
Practice is competition. Golf is never a casual game for me.
 
Practice is competition. Golf is never a casual game for me.
I agree in a sense. I've found that if I takenit casual it usually causes a loss of focus which leads to poor play. When I play poorly I'm not happy with myself. But casual as in light hearted and joking around with my buddies. Sure, but I've got to engage in the shot.
 
I'm quicker to try a shot I normally wouldn't hit in a casual round. I don't shape my shots too often (on purpose), but when I'm just out with friends and I know I'm not close to a PB, I'll try to move the ball or go for a green I normally wouldn't.
 
I am pretty competitive, there is a huge difference for me when there is more on the line. I first take a bit longer for all shots, visualize shots in my head instead of hitting and hoping. Enjoy this format when it is possible, brings everyone's too game out.
 
My style of play doesn't change between casual and competitive rounds but my focus definitely does. Now, most of the rounds I play these days are competitive in some way, even against my own personal goals, so I'm always giving my all and playing as well as I can. But, my focus is always a little sharper when its a tourney or a money game. That has been a learned trait though. I've definitely failed under the gun a bunch of times until I figured out how to rise above the nerves.
 
I'm a competitive person and am always playing against par and myself so I don't play any differently unless it's a scramble where I play carefree because there is no real penalty for a bad shot. I do focus and score slightly better if there's money on the line but I no longer play any tournaments that really get the nerves going like they did in high school or college matches. I think I figured out at about age 32 that all golf is casual and to be enjoyed 1 shot at a time. It's on my bucket list when I retire at 55 to play in a US Senior Open qualifier. All but one of my kids will be out of the house at that point and I think I would enjoy the butterflies again - really haven't felt that since I played in a US mid-am qualifier 20+ years ago.
 
Pretty much every round is played the same. I return scores for handicap, so I play by the rules and I play for score.
 
^^^This. I play for par, to get the best score - always. I'm always working to lower my handicap.
 
Yes , in over 3 decades I never improved my golf lie .. Never took a gimmie and refuse to take mulligans . I play everything out and keep an honest score no matter what the result is . My issue is I play so fast and people I used to play casual rounds play very fast as well . Last year I played 18 in a cart in 45 mins before anyone was on the course

When I play a competitive event the slower play really gets to me at times . So even though I always play by the rules , slow competition events make it tough to adjust
 
I was thinking about this some more, no matter what the round is, I'm still as hard on myself when I hit a bad shot, I think the difference comes in the mindset when trying to hit a good one, sometimes I become more relaxed, but who doesn't want to perform and is disappointed when you don't? Who doesn't want to win and hates losing?
 
Edit: No offense intended, but this almost feels a bit like sandbagging. Why not play for the lowest score in non-competitive rounds? Consistently beating your number by 8-10 strokes seems off to me.

Guess I'm not sure why you think it would be sandbagging if someone was trying shots that, if pulled off correctly, would help their score be lower. Might not be the smartest play, but I don't see why making bad decisions should just invalidate a round.
 
Guess I'm not sure why you think it would be sandbagging if someone was trying shots that, if pulled off correctly, would help their score be lower. Might not be the smartest play, but I don't see why making bad decisions should just invalidate a round.

That depends on whether the handicap thus obtained gives you an unfair advantage in competition. If that's is the case, then you are not employing the handicap system as it's supposed to be used, and your handicap does not reflect your true playing style. If you don't do it enough to have a significant impact on your index, then no problem.
 
That depends on whether the handicap thus obtained gives you an unfair advantage in competition. If that's is the case, then you are not employing the handicap system as it's supposed to be used, and your handicap does not reflect your true playing style. If you don't do it enough to have a significant impact on your index, then no problem.

If it happens often enough to start effecting their handicap, then I'd argue that it is that players true playing style.
 
I intend to shoot a personal best every time I play.
 
I always want to play well. My mind and competitiveness won't let me turn the dial down to 50% very often. Especially now that I don't get to play very often, so when I do, I want to play well. This can be a challenge to me, as my mind knows how well I've played in the past, and expects to see that continue. Then my body of work shows otherwise due to lack of continued practice time.
 
If it happens often enough to start effecting their handicap, then I'd argue that it is that players true playing style.

Not if they never play that way in competition. The point is that playing differently in competition in order take advantage of what is essentially a manipulated handicap is sandbagging. This is not an accusation because I don't know you and have no idea what your playing style is. It's just a general statement on sandbagging. What we are discussing is essentially the definition of sandbagging. It doesn't matter whether you deliberately chunk shots to add strokes, outright lie about what you shot, or play a significantly different style of play. Anything you do to artificially raise your index is still handicap manipulation.

I've taken risk shots in past years rather than play safe, but never to the point that it affected my handicap or my tournament results. In fact I'm almost as likely to take the risk in a competition as in a casual round, especially if I actually feel that I need to take the risk to be in the hunt, or if I'm already out of the running and the tournament just becomes another round of golf. I'm not talking about padding my score, but something more like going for a par 5 in 2 where the safe shot is a layup. With my game, a layup can be as hazardous as going for it, so my score is rarely much different for taking the risk.
 
I dont play casual rounds the same. In my casual rounds I will try to advance the ball more, make a shot I havent practiced and just play more agressive I guess you could say. In competition Im more focused and its a numbers game to me.
 
Not if they never play that way in competition. The point is that playing differently in competition in order take advantage of what is essentially a manipulated handicap is sandbagging. This is not an accusation because I don't know you and have no idea what your playing style is. It's just a general statement on sandbagging. What we are discussing is essentially the definition of sandbagging. It doesn't matter whether you deliberately chunk shots to add strokes, outright lie about what you shot, or play a significantly different style of play. Anything you do to artificially raise your index is still handicap manipulation.

I've taken risk shots in past years rather than play safe, but never to the point that it affected my handicap or my tournament results. In fact I'm almost as likely to take the risk in a competition as in a casual round, especially if I actually feel that I need to take the risk to be in the hunt, or if I'm already out of the running and the tournament just becomes another round of golf. I'm not talking about padding my score, but something more like going for a par 5 in 2 where the safe shot is a layup. With my game, a layup can be as hazardous as going for it, so my score is rarely much different for taking the risk.

So I'm curious, say this golfer makes the risky shots during the round and shoots a lower score than what he/she would if they played the way they did during competition. Would you want that golfer to record that lower score?

Also, I'm not saying any of this because of myself. My game doesn't change a whole lot from competitive mode versus casual, but I still record all my scores. I'm just saying that no golfer plays the exact same way every time they play golf. Also, I don't think McRock is talking about intentionally inflating scores for the sake of handicap. I take it as he's wondering if people take more risks during casual versus competitive rounds. If you take more risks and someone calls you a sandbagger, that's just ridiculous in my opinion. It's easier to take risks when there is nothing on the line, doesn't mean the round is invalid for handicap purposes.
 
No, I try out different things during a casual round that I might or might not use in a competition round. I practice things on the range first, institute it in a casual round and if I can make it work it becomes a possibility for a competitive round.
 
I'm always happy when my threads spur good discussion, and I do my absolute best not to guide any discussion, especially when it comes to a person's mental process when approaching the game. That said, let's clarify a few things.

Edit: No offense intended, but this almost feels a bit like sandbagging. Why not play for the lowest score in non-competitive rounds? Consistently beating your number by 8-10 strokes seems off to me.

I know you saw earlier, because you thanked the post, but when I refer to MY 'casual rounds,' it's on my home course, it's not USGA rated, so handicap simply is not something I considered when creating this thread.

Guess I'm not sure why you think it would be sandbagging if someone was trying shots that, if pulled off correctly, would help their score be lower. Might not be the smartest play, but I don't see why making bad decisions should just invalidate a round.

That depends on whether the handicap thus obtained gives you an unfair advantage in competition. If that's is the case, then you are not employing the handicap system as it's supposed to be used, and your handicap does not reflect your true playing style. If you don't do it enough to have a significant impact on your index, then no problem.

If it happens often enough to start effecting their handicap, then I'd argue that it is that players true playing style.

I guess I didn't think this through really. Since I literally cannot use my home course for handicap, I never really thought about if other people actually post every single round they play for handicap purposes. It's not something I've ever had to consider or worry about.

So I'm curious, say this golfer makes the risky shots during the round and shoots a lower score than what he/she would if they played the way they did during competition. Would you want that golfer to record that lower score?

Also, I'm not saying any of this because of myself. My game doesn't change a whole lot from competitive mode versus casual, but I still record all my scores. I'm just saying that no golfer plays the exact same way every time they play golf. Also, I don't think McRock is talking about intentionally inflating scores for the sake of handicap. I take it as he's wondering if people take more risks during casual versus competitive rounds. If you take more risks and someone calls you a sandbagger, that's just ridiculous in my opinion. It's easier to take risks when there is nothing on the line, doesn't mean the round is invalid for handicap purposes.

Had to bold that for truth. It is what I was after. Not everyone got that, probably because I wasn't as clear as I could have been in the OP. Whether people responded to what I thought I asked or what they think I asked, I'm still fascinated by the answers.

I'd love to respond to the sandbagging arguments being made, but it really was not the point of the thread, and posting rounds for handicap during casual rounds simply is not part of the 'equation' when I make a shot selection at my home course.

~Rock
 
Back
Top