[steansathtpos]

We all have different goals in golf. We also have different standards that we find acceptable in our own game. Some people here are thrilled if they break 90 while others are upset if they shoot a 76. My friends and I will compliment each other on a putt that ends up inches from the hole, but won't say anything to a single digit handicapper who does the same because we know that person is berating himself/herself for missing the putt. So when someone here posts a score that I'd be in heaven to have made, but I know he's kicking himself over, I refrain from saying anything. Are your goals set only for yourself or in terms of others?

[husartrof]

I believe it is more of a game against myself. The only time I have the competitive drive with my golfing partners is when I play with them enough to know we are on a similar level. When I play with those that are much better than my skill level, I try to keep up with them but I am not broken hearted if I give up a shot or so each hole.

[agrismhig]

I set my goals for myself. There's no other way is there? I can't say my goal is to shoot 75 because Joe shoots that when my best score is 85 and my best this year was 91. Heck the way I played this year my main goal was to write two digits at the end!

[FoetAgerhot46]

My philosophy on playing golf is simply to have fun when I play and enjoy myself. I understand that golf is a game where it is me against the course and I am not in competition with the people I am playing with. Sure we might bet a buck on closest to the pin on a par 3, or even play skins for the round. The only one I will "compete with" is myself becase I do want to get lower scores and I know the ability is there I just need to put it together. Like the expression goes Rome was not built in a day and I am not going to become a drastically better golfer in just a couple of rounds. The trend has been lower scores over time and that is fine with me.

[soprofaxelbis]

The only person you're playing against is yourself. That's why you can never stop striving to improve (or at least hoping to). It's why people like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson practise. It's also why we have the handicapping system, which IMO makes our sport the best of all of them. You can't play tennis with Roger Federer or football against the Saints or hit a Mariano Rivera cut fastball. Not on a competitive level, no matter what. In golf, if you get the handicapping right, you can have a decent match with the best in the world, even if you can't break 100.

In any case, my goals are set against myself. My problem is that I was a lot better 10 years ago than I am now. If I played a match against myself from 10 years ago, I'd lose 10 times out of 10. Which is infuriating, because it means I very rarely walk off the golf course pleased with my score.

[Aozozbag]

My standard of measurment is only against myself. Right now breaking 90 is the 'good round' vs. 'bad round' standard.

[unatkot]

Golf is a solitary pursuit and my only opponent is the course. I judge my sucess by whether or not I played better than average.

I am always struck by the fact there is no perfect round. If I shot a 58 (please, Dear God, someday), I would probably walk away knowing if I had just made that short putt I lipped out, it could have been a 57.

Annika's coaches talked about 54 (birdie every hole) as the ultimate, but I always thought why limit yourself.

[Gometesstem]

I agree Golf is more about competing with yourself and improving your skills and your game! I'm just trying to get there...it may seem simple (use a club to hit a ball) but the fundamentals need to be there first, which I'm still working on

[Opinion_counts]

I definitely view golf as a game to have fun, even in friendly competition with my buddies.

My goal used to be to break 40 for each 9, now it is a more realistic goal of breaking 45 for each 9.

[Antelpebabe]

I measure my game each time against the last. I'm competitive to a fault and if I'm backing up it's infuriating. Happens a lot! I got to a 13 hc this year and just stayed there like a wall. I had a 77 during one small tournament and a 76 during another a couple months later, so I know I can do it, but just hacks me off that I can't do it during day to day play. If I'm not making forward progress I'm pretty hard on myself, but isn't that part of how you get better?

[FoetAgerhot46]

I had a 77 during one small tournament and a 76 during another a couple months later, so I know I can do it, but just hacks me off that I can't do it during day to day play.

I am not quite on your level of shooting in the high 70's ( well maybe if I did not need to play the last few holes ) but I hear that you are saying. The thing that gets me is I know I have the ability to shoot better than I am but usually I have one stupid mistake per hole that causes me grief. And not the same mistake on each hole.. that would be too easy. 3W on one hole, bunker shot on another, misread putt on another. I can do all of these shots, I have seen it, just not all on the same hole.
I would love one hole where it all goes right, then maybe three in a row then work up to the 9 and 18. Ah golf... gotta love it!!!

[Sensbachtal]

My standard goal is to just have fun when playing. Other markers are to not lose a ball during the round. If I don't break 90, then I know I have not played well, even though I still had fun. Breaking 80 is great round played. Fortunately I break 80 more times than I don't break 90. I charted these scores for over 100+ rounds and they came out as this; 90+---4%, 89-85---41%, 84-80---42%, under 80---13% of the rounds I played. Since I am myself, playing against the golf course set up, it is up top me to play well or not. In actuality, it is my mental, and physical golf game that is put to test every time I play. The golf course in question is what it is...just a measuring stick.

My favorite rounds are when I play with some one who has an equal, or better game than I do which puts more competitive value into my round. If I lose, but played well that is still a fun round for me. I had a round once that sticks out in my memory. I was in a foursome, with one guy being new to me, who had a game very much equal to mine, maybe even a little better. After the first hole I was 2 shots down to him, and remained so (+/-) for the next 16 holes. On the last hole still 2 down to him, which had a green that sloped to the back, into a water hazard, I decided to play the hole conservatively. The other guy played too aggressively, found the water, and I won the hole by 3 strokes, and the match by 1.

[steansathtpos]

In any case, my goals are set against myself. My problem is that I was a lot better 10 years ago than I am now. If I played a match against myself from 10 years ago, I'd lose 10 times out of 10. Which is infuriating, because it means I very rarely walk off the golf course pleased with my score.

You are one of the people I had in mind when I said we didn't compliment good putts that came close, but didn't go in.

[Wckcvhsg]

My standard of measurement is almost always a comparison to myself and past scores/playing. I always want to be improving!

But, on the other hand, I don't like to lose $$$. And, thus, I cannot help it; sometimes I hold myself to a standard that takes into account my golfing buddies. If I have a bad round, but my golf buddies had a worse round, then there is consolation in the fact that I won a few bucks. It is like the old saying: You don't have to run faster than the bear, you just have to run faster than your friends.

[pBiRXp8u]

We all have different goals in golf. We also have different standards that we find acceptable in our own game. Some people here are thrilled if they break 90 while others are upset if they shoot a 76. My friends and I will compliment each other on a putt that ends up inches from the hole, but won't say anything to a single digit handicapper who does the same because we know that person is berating himself/herself for missing the putt. So when someone here posts a score that I'd be in heaven to have made, but I know he's kicking himself over, I refrain from saying anything. Are your goals set only for yourself or in terms of others?

I don't think that I really set goals on golf any more. Not in the sense of I wasn't to be here at such and such time of the season. I just try to play the best I can on any given day, and have fun in any event. I still probably have higher expectations than a 20 handicapper, but I try not to pressure myself into a goal that detracts from the fun aspect of the game. All I want to say at the end of the day is that I made some good swings, planned the round well and didn't do anything stupid.

It's pretty much a given that I'll measure any current performance against what I've done historically, but don't plan for or expect any significant overall improvement. My game has fluctuated at about the same level for 20 years. It would be unrealistic to think that it's going to get better as I approach my mid 60's.

[Wckcvhsg]

My game has fluctuated at about the same level for 20 years. It would be unrealistic to think that it's going to get better as I approach my mid 60's.

No time better than now to shoot your age.

[pBiRXp8u]

No time better than now to shoot your age.

I only hope that I can maintain my current level for a dozen more years... then that goal would be realistic. But shooting a 63 this year is just slightly unlikely. (my lifetime low is 73, and that was 20 years ago)


My body forces me to make choices between playing and practicing, with playing winning out more often. I do plan to look into some lessons at GolfTec this spring, so we'll see how that goes.

[Uzezqelj]

When I stand on any first tee of any course, in my mind it's always me against par.

If I haven't played for a while or if I'm playing infrequently and my chops just aren't "there", then I won't beat myself up all that much if I shoot, say, an 84 or something like that. On the other hand, if all aspects of my game are on cruise control and my skills are very sharp, that same 84 will result in quite a bit of acrimony.

But no matter where my game is, it's always me against the course and I tend to block out everything else and try to get into a zone. And as I've said before, when I'm in the zone, I wouldn't notice a missile attack, so the idea of how my game looks or the way I appear to others never enters my mind.

That's why I don't understand why many people will choose, say, a layup over a "go for it" based solely upon how they're playing at the moment. I've had days where I couldn't put two pars together on a bet, but regardless of that, if I feel that waiting for a green to clear is in my best interest for what I'm trying to accomplish, then I'll wait because I know what I can do no matter that others may think (based upon how I'm playing at the time) that I have "no business" doing so.
In other words, if I acquiesce and choose the layup over the shot I really wanted to hit, then I'm letting others play my game for me and I don't believe in that.

That's hard to do on public courses, but it's something I try to stick with as much as I can.


-JP

[Tarrccrys]

I have zero goals when it comes to golf other than try & have fun. I have no ambitions to be shooting in the 60's as I am quite happy shooting in the 80's to low 90's.

[Drugsonl]

When I stand on any first tee of any course, in my mind it's always me against par.


-JP

For most of my golfing life, I could say that is largely how I feel. But goals can be shifting targets as a round progresses. If I get off to a rough start and quickly get well over par and realize that a few cylinders are skipping, I shift that goal to something realistic that usually involves parring in. Most rounds for me have always been finding a way to get thru 4 or 5 holes unscathed, and by then I have found something I can work with to score at par back to the house.