Challenging Yourself vs Having Fun

[JonMA1]

I recently moved back a set of tee boxes in an attempt to force myself into working on a weakness, which is woods and driver off the tee.

I was really enjoying the lower scores due to playing from shorter tees. But when I played different courses, my inability to keep the ball in play when teeing off with those clubs was the main reason for higher scores.

So far, the rounds I've played from these longer tees have both frustrated me (predictably higher scores) and resulted in a bit of improvement in that area. I'm sure this is the right thing to do (for me anyway), but I was curious as to how others approached this "dilemma".

[Lihu]

The longer tees will definitely give you more opportunity to use more woods.

There shouldn't really be any dilemma choosing to use the longer tees as you don't really keep a handicap based upon your forum index. Just enjoy the game and don't get frustrated.

[rehmwa]

stomp the ball into the grass - kick it into the sand from a good lie - tee off with a women's or senior's driver - try to bend it around that tree on the left - use a Nitro golf ball - try to hit the club 10 yards past its normal distance - hit that 6i 150 yard long chip/punch instead of the 8i full swing you are comfy with at that range - and then deal with the results

 

these are few of my favorite things

[David in FL]

What length tees were you playing, and what have you moved to?

Unless you've been playing from a set of tees so ridiculously short that you can't hit anything but irons now, I'd practice with your longer clubs on the range, and then bring the results to the course.  Honestly, for the majority of us, the course is a poor place to try to develop and implement much of an improvement to the golf swing.  It might be time to find a good instructor too if you can't keep driver in play....

[garush34]

If you want to improve then challenge yourself. If you just play for fun and don't keep a handicap then play what you feel comfortable with.

At the end of the day its a hobby not a job. For me I'd like to improve so I would play further back.

[saevel25]

I recently moved back a set of tee boxes in an attempt to force myself into working on a weakness, which is woods and driver off the tee.

I was really enjoying the lower scores due to playing from shorter tees. But when I played different courses, my inability to keep the ball in play when teeing off with those clubs was the main reason for higher scores.

Honestly that will not really improve your game. Your swing will not improve just by hitting more drivers off the tee. 

I would say keep working on your swing at the range. As your swing improves your ability to keep the ball in play will improve. 

If you struggle with hitting the ball way off course. First, is that miss consistent. Meaning do you hit a 20-40 yard cut? If so then play that cut so that the ball stays in play. 

[Jon Hoover]

For me challenging myself is having fun, when you play further back it makes your good scores feel much better. Granted I could move up and shoot a better score, or go to an executive course and shoot better, but where is the fun in that? I believe also that playing further back will improve your game practicing on the range is one thing but its a whole different animal when your on the course and sitting back further on the tee. There might be a tree in your preferred path, saw-grass you have to drive over, a bunker you have to avoid, or any number of different visual or physical hazards that just practicing at the range won't help you with. If you want to get better you have to challenge yourself, and just hitting balls at the range can't prepare you for all the things that come up on the actual course because its not always just about hitting it longer when playing from tees further back.

[JonMA1]

The longer tees will definitely give you more opportunity to use more woods.

There shouldn't really be any dilemma choosing to use the longer tees as you don't really keep a handicap based upon your forum index. Just enjoy the game and don't get frustrated.

I haven't posted it yet, but using an online calculator, ESC, playing 100% to my knowledge by the rules, etc, I'm at 25.7 for the season. I typically (not average) get 230yd total from my driver, 6i - 150. etc. Probably like everyone else, the little bit of frustration is well worth enduring compared to the enjoyment I get out of playing and improving. 

What length tees were you playing, and what have you moved to?

Unless you've been playing from a set of tees so ridiculously short that you can't hit anything but irons now...

The tees are ridiculously short at just over 5,000, the set I just switched to is just above 6,000 (which is typically what I play at other course). I can use my longer clubs on the par 4's and 5's but given my shot zones, I score better using a 4 iron as my longest club - hence the lower scores with the short tees.

My course is tougher than any of the others I play - there's a ton of marshes and creeks and every fairway is lined by either water hazards or thick woods. Most of the members - many of them better than me - play these shorter tees as does the league.

Having said that, 6,000 yards is not too long based on my club distances. I can easily reach GIR's. Skill level.... different subject.

... I'd practice with your longer clubs on the range, and then bring the results to the course.  Honestly, for the majority of us, the course is a poor place to try to develop and implement much of an improvement to the golf swing.  It might be time to find a good instructor too if you can't keep driver in play....

Honestly that will not really improve your game. Your swing will not improve just by hitting more drivers off the tee. 

I would say keep working on your swing at the range. As your swing improves your ability to keep the ball in play will improve. 

If you struggle with hitting the ball way off course. First, is that miss consistent. Meaning do you hit a 20-40 yard cut? If so then play that cut so that the ball stays in play. 

I know you guys are right about this. I have the luxury of practicing my irons at home and likely why that part of my game has become consistently better. Unfortunately, I don't have enough property to work on my longer clubs, and hitting them into the net doesn't provide the feedback necessary regarding inconsistent side spin - which is the main issue. I do have a range close by and use it when I don't have time for a full round (of course, I tend to hit them long and straight there).

Evolvr is an obvious solution. 

As @garush34 and @Jon Hoover pointed out, the challenge of getting better is part of the attraction to this game - even if it means taking a hit to my crappy HI. Earlier in the year, I conned myself into believing I can 100% accept being a poorer player.

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

[Lihu]

Moving back to 6000-ish yards is perfect. Now, just get your driver in play. . .

[arturo28mx]

There are times in life for everything. Sometimes you want to be number one at something and are willing to spend time and effort on it. Other times you just want to relax and have fun. Life needs a balance. If I tried to be number one at everything I do every single day I would explode.

For me it was important to learn the sport well enough to be a bogey golfer, with some occasional scores in the mid 80's. I have reached that point.  I'm perfectly happy with that. So now when I play golf I just want to relax, have fun and forget about work.

[rehmwa]

A lot of people want to pick tees based on their length, or handicap, etc....

Some courses have a totally different feel between tees - sometimes it's just fun to play the longer or shorter tees of the same course just for a different experience.  it's all good learning.

If you keep up with the group in front of you, I really don't care which tees you hit no matter what your handicap is.  Others feel differently, but they also likely care what kind of pants you're wearing and if you have a nifty watch.

[MrFlipper]

I haven't posted it yet, but using an online calculator, ESC, playing 100% to my knowledge by the rules, etc, I'm at 25.7 for the season. I typically (not average) get 230yd total from my driver, 6i - 150. etc. Probably like everyone else, the little bit of frustration is well worth enduring compared to the enjoyment I get out of playing and improving. 

The tees are ridiculously short at just over 5,000, the set I just switched to is just above 6,000 (which is typically what I play at other course). I can use my longer clubs on the par 4's and 5's but given my shot zones, I score better using a 4 iron as my longest club - hence the lower scores with the short tees.

My course is tougher than any of the others I play - there's a ton of marshes and creeks and every fairway is lined by either water hazards or thick woods. Most of the members - many of them better than me - play these shorter tees as does the league.

Having said that, 6,000 yards is not too long based on my club distances. I can easily reach GIR's. Skill level.... different subject.

 

I know you guys are right about this. I have the luxury of practicing my irons at home and likely why that part of my game has become consistently better. Unfortunately, I don't have enough property to work on my longer clubs, and hitting them into the net doesn't provide the feedback necessary regarding inconsistent side spin - which is the main issue. I do have a range close by and use it when I don't have time for a full round (of course, I tend to hit them long and straight there).

Evolvr is an obvious solution. 

As @garush34 and @Jon Hoover pointed out, the challenge of getting better is part of the attraction to this game - even if it means taking a hit to my crappy HI. Earlier in the year, I conned myself into believing I can 100% accept being a poorer player.

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I suggest your two options aren't mutually exclusive, yet are actually one in the same. I've known lots of golfers who said they didn't care if they got better, just liked being outside, etc. I don't buy it. In their heart of hearts, they want to get better. Everyone does. 

Good to see you are going to keep a handicap. You don't get better at something unless you measure your results. Good for you! You have enough potential distance to manage the new tees. It's not like you are attempting to slog around a 7000 yard course. I hit it about as far as you. You'll do fine at this distance. In fact, I'd bet by next year you move back to 6400-6500 yard tees.

And I'm not a believer in practice rounds. Learn your swing changes on the range as the man said, then take it to the course. You are not gonna hit that nice shot off the tee into the fairway unless you've already done it multiple times on the range. If you are always practicing on the course, you never really learn how to score because there is no pressure on your game when you just drop another ball (or five). You never know how good your swing is until it can stand up under pressure, the pressure of one ball, one shot, right now.

We always want to get better. You see folks in their 80's still playing the game, trying new stuff, acting like little kids when something works. That is a big part of the attraction to this game. The better you get, the more you will enjoy it. Play well :)

 

 

[Gator Hazard]

Agree with others that you can do both, I find challenging myself to be fun.  I have kept my personal scores but have not started to turn them in or keep an official handicap.  My plan is to get my next two lessons and at least two rounds and a practice range session each after each instruction.  Once I have all of that, I am going to start keeping an actual handicap.

[Grumpter]

Might I suggest playing the front nine from one set of tees and the back nine on a different set? This would hopefully help minimize your frustration while still allowing you to gain experience. You can still enter the scores for handicap purposes as long as the full 9 holes are played from the same set of tees.

Some course offer a hybrid set of tee's where you play the shorter tee's on some holes and longer tees on other holes but I have only seen that at private clubs. I wish they offered hole by hole ratings, after all we are in the computer/technology age, so that you can choose exactly which tee's you want to play from for each individual hole. There are a few courses where I just despise certain tee's on only 1 or 2 holes. That limits the number of times I will play that course from that tee set.

[JP golf]

Challenging yourself vs. Having fun

If your not having fun, you shouldn't be golfing in my opinion.  We should enjoy the game.

To many, to most, the challenge is the fun.  That said, I of course want to shoot low scores, but yes, I find myself hitting more challenging shots than I should (and completely unnecessary sometimes).  Like @rehmwa mentioned "Try to bend it around that tree on the left"...  Yeah, that's pretty much me most of the time!  Sometimes I hit that tree, sometimes of over cook it into the water on the left, sometimes I hit it straight into that persons back yard..... but sometimes... just sometimes, I bend it around that tree on the left to about 3 feet for birdie!   (and yes, I go on to three put for bogey)...  

[Patch]

It's the challenge of the game that makes it fun for me. I think different golfers have different challenges, but most all golfers who return week after week are having some sort of fun. If they were not having fun why would they keep coming  back? 

My favorite personal challenge is breaking 80 when I play 18. I play from the tees that match up with my hdcp most of the time. Other times I will take the scenic route, and play from as far back as the course will let me.  

Another, (almost) futile challenge I have, is trying to make birdies on par 3s. 

Poor shots, or  good shots, a golfer will learn something from both, or at least they should. Learning  is fun    

[JP golf]

It's the challenge of the game that makes it fun for me. I think different golfers have different challenges, but most all golfers who return week after week are having some sort of fun. If they were not having fun why would they keep coming  back?

I think you hit the nail on the head there.  I think it's the challenge for most of us but like you said, different golfers have different challenges. 

[iacas]

Challenging myself is a big part of how I have fun.

There really isn't a "versus" here, for me.