At what score do you stop keeping (strict) track?

I was out golfing yesterday with 3 close friends. All 4 of us are horrible golfers. Seriously. The best score of the day, if we were playing strictly by the rules, would have been at least 130. The worst probably closer to 180.

12*18 is actually 216 but would you ever consider logging that many strokes?

I was insistant, for pace of play reasons, that we pick up our balls and go to the next tee after, say, 9 or 10 flubs and we're getting out of position. One of my friends actually said "can't we just let people play through? I'd like to keep my score today". I said "NO! Because the course is packed and if we get out of position it will suck big time. Like a 7 hour round. We need to keep up with the group ahead no matter what".

Well . .we managed to keep up with the group ahead ok. We finished the round in 4 hours and 10 minutes and never got more than a half a hole behind. In fact we even had to wait for a minute or 2 one a few holes.

I think my friend was kind of pissed at me for rushing everybody so much, though. I did rush him the whole time but he was sooo slow. A great guy but only golfs maybe once a year. He tends to want to take 4-5 practice swings and hover over each shot for 30-60 seconds. The result, of course, is a giant fat shot that goes 2 yards. He curses and then starts again.

After the game he said my rushing him ruined his score! Perhaps he might have shot a 160 instead of a *whatever* but there's absolutely no way he would've even come close to, say, 110. He probably stroke-limited out on 12-14 of the holes and at least double bogey on the rest.

So my question to you guys is . .is there ever a situation where keeping strict track of your strokes and not taking mulligans, free drops and 10 foot "gimme putts" makes sense for a round over, say . . .120? If 120 is ok . how about 130 or 140 . .what is the cut-off or woud you grind it out for 12 on each hole?

If you say you went out and shot 130, does anybody care if you cheated?

I think after 8 strokes, it's time to pick up and move on. You guys must be exhausted after 18. Exhaustion can create nothing but more bad shots.

Im no expert, but it is my opinion.

That's a tough spot to be in. You were right, though, and I am sure the folks behind you appreciated it. Maybe next time you can tell him he has an exemption and can (should) play "ready golf" and not wait for the others in the foursome. That might keep him on pace. As far as picking up, ESC is going to be 9 or 10 strokes depending on CH for the max 36.4 index. That doesn't mean that you pick up after (10, say) strokes, it means that if it is obvious you are going to score at or over 10 strokes for a hole and you are pressed on pace, pick up. For example: Par 5. You hit two balls OB. Your third shot off the tee (5th stroke) is good. 6th stroke is a chunk that goes 10 yards. 6th stroke hooks OB. At this point, you have to ask yourself...are you going to up and down from 400 yards? If not, pick up. Walk up to the green and putt if you want to, but your fairway play should be over, based on ESC and courtesy regarding pace of play. Now, ESC does *not* mean you have to pick up, it means you have to record the lower score....and sure, if you are keeping pace then you should keep playing the hole. However, if you are behind, you might consider picking up.

As for how to score it, use ESC.

http://golf.about.com/cs/handicapping/a/whatisesc.htm

If you're keeping pace, chop away at it! You did the right thing by insisting that your group keep up, well done. As for score... with those numbers I wouldn't bother. My humble opinion is that unless you can shoot a legit 108 (double bogey), there's no need to keep a scorecard... unless you're gambling.

I agree and so do the following groups.

8 strokes and it needs to be in your pocket and you move on.

Yeah - we were wiped out! That's 3 rounds worth of strokes for some players! I was also mentally exhausted from rushing our group and keeping track of other groups ahead and behind. Normally when my girlfriend and I play we get paired up with at least one other person. That person is always better than us so we just keep up with him or her and let them worry about pacing the round.

I agree. I treat my rounds like practice. If I hit my drive OB, my next one fat and the next one OB then it makes more sense to me to walk to the green and set up a nice approach shot to practice vs try to slug it out. That's why I go to the range.

In fact, my goal for the near future is to get good enough that I can keep score on all 18 holes. My current scorecard usually looks like this : X, 5, 7, X, 8, 3, X etc, etc, etc. One other thing . . I tried explaining "Ready Golf" to everybody but nobody seemed to really get it. They mostly didn't start thinking about their next shot until it was already thier turn, leaving carts and bags in the wrong place, not bringing multiple clubs, waiting on a 40 foot miracle put for somebody else to find thier ball and make a miracle chip, etc, etc. I'd tell them to go ahead and putt . .and they would ....but then forget the concept and be in the same position on the next hole. How to explain nicely. . . . .without seeming like a complete a-hole about everything. If I wanted to I could have given negative feedback to every player on every turn (in regards to pace of play). I know I was right . . but I do kind of feel bad about having been, basically, an a-hole at times throughout the round. One thing I decided was that I will never play with 4 golfers that are that bad again. It has to be in twosomes.

I agree with using ESC... or playing until you fall behind if you really want to. I don't see how shooting 130 is fun though... when my wife was learning the game she just hit a tee shot or two, an approach or two, a chip and a few putts... we picked up and placed her ball as needed, we kept pace and now she has better etiquette than just about anyone I play with.

If you get pissed picking up as a once a year golfer shooting 120+... give me a break and just stay home that once a year.

I can sympathize. Every year I take three neighbors out for a round. We always play later in the morning so as to not be in front of any serious golfers. I also tell them that the only rule is to play quickly. I tell them to improve their lies, move the ball to a spot they like and if that the ball looks mean at them it's a free pass to do whatever they want. I've also been known to kick their ball from the rough into the fairway. ;)

Even so, I'd be lying if I said it isn't a tough day just keeping track of where their shots end up and the like. But, I go into it just expecting that my guests will enjoy themselves, have a few laughs and (just) maybe have a shot or two that makes their day. This I can manage, knowing it's only once per year. As to your question about helping others with speed of play, it's a tough one with guys that play a couple times a year. Certainly you can set the example for others. Another way, is to complement the guy that moves the fastest so it becomes a positive comment that others will notice and (may) respond to. For example, one guy is quick to toss another ball down and whack it after the first one has gone 'bye-bye.' Just say something, like 'I love the way you play the game ... quick and quicker' If that all fails, sometimes I'll just say something like 'guys, we need to pick up the pace.' Then it's not directed at any one golfer. Another thing I've done is used a scramble format. This way, everyone gets all their swings but they then play off the best ball. Hope that helps.

I think golf is no fun if i shoot 100+

If you guys are really that bad, you may want to stop going to play golf at all. You shoud hit the driving range, maybe play a small 9 hole course or an executive to get a feel for golf. Once you have a bit of a swing a can make contact with the ball a bit better, move on to playing at a course.

I can't see how rushing to keep up and shooting 100's of shots can be much fun.

When I am having a bad round, or, lately a bad hole, I usually stop at double par. So 6 shots on a par 3, 8 shots on a par 4, 10 shots on a par 5. Once I hit that magical number, I chalk it up as a blowup and enter double par on the score card. I am not sure how this affects my handicap calculation though.

At the handicap by your name, the max you could take on any hole is an 8. Thus you could still keep doing what you're doing but merely write down a max of an 8 (equitable stroke control) so that you're not inflating your handicap compared to your peers.

http://www.usga.org/handicapping/art...rol-Procedure/

Just my opinion, but someone struggling just to make contact with the ball needs to spend some time on the range developing basic skills before going out onto the course to play 18 holes and keep score no less.

You should be able to make contact with the ball EVERYTIME you swing at it. It may not go far or it may not go straight, but you have to be able to hit the ball.

TO the OP: You were right to try to help your group keep pace.

There we go! This is what I was hoping someone had posted when reading this thread. I stop at 8 personally since I have just started logging my scores and was injured on the last rounds I've played so I'm hoping to get back on the course soon and post something in the 80s.

One (or even 2) blowup hole shouldn't completely ruin your whole day's score if you are shooting par for example: two 10s would bump you up to a 84 assuming they were par 4s, while taking snowmen keeps you at an 80. Also you put 8 just for etiquette and pace of play reasons as were mentioned above.

IMHO, if you are shoting in the 130+ range, who cares about handicap at this point. Try to learn to play and have some fun. When I first started playing, double par was the rule, after you had your double par pick up and move on.