trouble concentrating on score

I am probably one of the few that will admit that sometimes I forget how many strokes I have made.  I think for a long time when I was playing regularly with friends we wouldn't keep score and just focus on making good swings.  Or maybe that is just an excuse.  But honestly sometimes I forget how many times I have hit that darn ball.  I know there are gadgets/clickers that can help but I may forget to click the clicker. Ha Ha.  Seriously it can be awkward when playing with someone you don;t know.  You wonder if they think I am cheating if I tell them the wrong number of strokes and I am sure that has happened.  Am I the only one that has ever had that problem?

Seriously, have you talked to your doctor about your lapse in memory?  I mean you can't be hitting the ball that many times to forget how many strokes you made, can you?

In golf, the difference between 4.6 and 25 is much, much more than 20.4.

Ok, that is just a cruel thing to say....but funny.   It made me chuckle

I play in a mens league once a month... And there are guys with 22/24 handicaps regularly.  They shoot from mid 90's to low 100's on average (guesstimate).  If you can't count/keep track of 5 to 6 strokes per hole on average, then maybe you should be talking to a doctor?  I'm being serious.

I am a high handicapper in my first year of golf.  I don't think I ever legitimately could not remember how many strokes I had on a hole.  Each hit that doesn't do quite what it was supposed to hurts too much to forget.  Whether it is "how many shots to get from the trees on the right back to the fairway" or "how many to get out of the bunker", I usually remember them well after the round is over.

In all honesty....I admit to doing the "finger point" count method after a blowup hole..........

Be honest...we have all done it before:

.....you are standing on the green after holing out and start pointing....OK...that is where My drive went....my 3rd shot went in that tall pile of grass over there.(pointing again)  A hack-out and two chips...(pointing again)....2 putts later........(doing the math) LOL

What is really funny is when playing with "that guy" and he proclaims........ "mark me down for a 5" ...... after all of that!   Hahahahaha

I need to do this too on occasion, but since I've been trying to keep track of my stats I rarely don't know where I am standing scorewise on a hole.  My thought process is usually:

after the drive...

am I going for GIR,?

did I make GIR?

do I need to get up and down for par?

a chip and a putt?

once on the green....

this put is for birdie, par, bogie, double, etc, but when I'm standing over any shot I know my score and what I need to do with it.

Only when I have the blow up holes like if I chunk the second shot, then chunk the third, then hit into a bunker, etc. I will need to replay in my head what exactly happened.

Nothing decreases my chances of having a good shot more than thinking "hey, all I need to do hit this one on the green and then I'll have a nice, easy birdie putt" in the middle of my backswing.  I am like you, though, and tend to know exactly what shot I am at.  I wish I could forget during the swing, though.

I had to do that today, 6th hole, I was 2 over for the round so far, had a decent tee shot that pushed a bit right and started the domino effect of toe strike on the next one to a tree, then repeat another toe to the next tree limb and almost back to me, to the water, penalty stroke, wedge to the fairway and clean up the mess. I actually got lost and had to sit down and count. It was a badddddd hole. I honestly don't know if I still scored it right but I tried.

Hilarious. I literally played with that guy last week. Hit the ball in the woods on the drive. Took a few hacks out til it went on the fairway, hit a few shanks, eventually got on the green. Meanwhile, I was on in regulation. I pared the hole, he 4-putted. After his adventures on the course, he counted and pointed before finally swearing and telling his buddy to "just skip the score on this hole or put down a 7 for me" :~( :-D

I'd be that guy too.  Since I am still learning to play my buddies and I will often max out our hole at 3 over par.  So par 4=7 strokes.   Of course, we generally pick up our ball before we hit the 8th stroke....     :)

That is quite generous (although probably keeps up pace of play well).  I am quite excited that in our group "getting a double" has changed from meaning double par to double bogie .  This is how I know we have gotten better.  Trust me, I had a number of "triples" under that meaning as well.

I suspect most of us have "forgotten" a stoke once in awhile and been reminded of it by a competitor (buddy).  It is embarrassing.  I personally try to not keep track of the stroke count while playing a hole but when completed I "replay the hole" in my head to get the score for that hole before teeing off on the next one.   This works pretty well for me but it takes a couple of seconds. I have a friend that "forgot" often but he is an honest guy and really did forget.  So he threaded 8 beads on a string and every time he makes a stoke he moves a bead up the string.  Works for him.

I'd take beachcomber's advice seriously.  Everybody has forgotten a stroke now and then, but if you generally can't remember the sequence of events that took place over the prior 10 minutes, that might be something to be concerned about.  If I play one round in a weekend, I can typically remember every shot the next day.  I've actually done that exercise and been able to recall the location, distance and result of every shot.  Though if I play twice in a weekend I'll get confused and might not even remember the first score.

Of course, if you're taking 2-3 shots off the tee, hacking it out of the woods Kevin Na style, topping it three times in the fairway, skulling it back and forth over the green and 6 putting, I'd understand not being able to (or wanting to!) remember every stroke.

I have not talked to my doctor about this but perhaps I should.  I ask what is apparently an absurd issue like this if I thought it was an insignificant matter.  I don't know if I have been so concerned about not scoring badly that I block out the reality of the moment.  But clearly I should not have asked a question concerning what appears to be a subject considered so ridiculous.

I would not worry about it. I have had to make a switch this year from just playing and trying to hit good shots to actually keeping score, not hitting that mulligan, and so on. Play every shot, true stroke play.

You have to be concious of your goal and make it a priority to stay focused. I think a great way to keep track is to focus on score relative to par... I have this for par, weather it be a 3 footer or from 200 yards out. It's easier to keep track of the bigger numbers when you thinking tripple, quad, rather then 7,8,9... once you get the hang of it you can keep track of an entire round without a card...

Par on 1, bogey on 2, par on 3, double on 4... I was even, 1 over, 1 over, 3 over... and so on.... so just keep adding back and forth ralative to par and hopefully you don't get to a number you cant remeber on the 18th green. this is really fun when you make a birdie because you get to get closer to par rather then further away... this makes the prospect of a eagle really exciting.

Why so defensive?  Nobody said you shouldn't have asked the question or that you are ridiculous.  You asked: "Am I the only one that has ever had that problem?"  People told you that they never had that problem.  Some suggested that since nobody else seems to have that problem, it might be something you should look into further.