Ever had a round that felt really good, but the score didn't reflect it?

I had one last night.  I shot a 56.  My best this year has been a 51.  However, I "felt" like I was playing much better golf than I usually do.  I felt like I was hitting the ball better, and I had much better control over my driver.  Even my putting seemed to be a bit better than normal.  I had to take penalties on two holes where I shanked my drive OB, but my second shot on both holes was right up the center of the fairway.  Just thought it was weird that I could feel like I was playing better than normal, yet my score didn't reflect it at the end.  Maybe I just had a lot of luck mixed into my other rounds.

All the time. Usually comes down to luck.

Ahhhh.  This is the difference between scoring and playing.  You can play well and score badly or you can play poorly but score well.

Happens often to everyone.  Even the pros.  That's why you hear Tiger say (often especially this year, it seems) that he struck the ball really well but didn't make anything.

I think we have all experienced that feeling.  I know when I first started to play golf I was much happier with a round where I hit the balls good, scoring is almost another aspect of the game.  I've seen a lot of players that can hit the ball well but don't score, scoring is the next step in the evolution of your game, learn to hit the ball well and then learn to score.  IMHO, scoring comes with playing experience and a solid short game.

I see that a lot more with people I play with now days, as I've aged, I don't hit the ball as long as I use to, but I score better than ever.  As I play with strangers, I see them kind of size me up, kind of like they don't believe I play that well.  But if I stay out of trouble, I can usually score well, I have an excellent short game and I'm not to proud to take extra club!

ask tiger. He described his round saturday as a "beautiful round of golf" but struggled with putting. It happens to everybody

Well said...

I couldn't have said it better.

Yes.  And I've also had rounds that felt very mediocre but I had great scores.  Scrambling sometimes feels chaotic but a good chip and a put can save a lot of pars when you are not otherwise making good contact and are missing fairways and greens.  You can also be pounding the ball off the tee and hitting some really nice approach shots but it your short game is toast your score won't reflect it.  Many times how we feel about how we played comes down to ball striking, but that doesn't necessarily translate into score.  Short game plays more into score.  A good drive can't make up for a bad putt, but you can hit 3 bad shots on a hole in a row and sink a putt for par.  You can also pound a 300 yard drive and lace a beautiful wedge shot that spins back and 3 putt for a bogey.  Those two holes would feel different from their scores.

All. The. Time.

My last two rounds were 72 followed by an 81. I swear I hit the ball better with the 81.

Been there ... whats happening to me lately is that I've been playing so much - kind of getting into a groove - scores are consistently better than I expected.      I was stuck in a rut for a long time - felt like I was playing well, but scores weren't reflecting it.      The more experience I get, I find the single most important key for me is getting the first one out there in good position (I don't hit driver if it just looks too tight, or if I don't need maximum yardage to reach the green with a wedge on a par 4, or if I feel like I'm taking an unnecessary chance) - really working on the 3 wood off the tee - becomming my favorite club - anyways, positive things always follow a good first one for me ...

Happened to me a couple of weeks ago in our club championship. I played decently the first day shooting 4 over, put me in second place, two strokes behind the leader. The second day I was again hitting decently but a lot of balls ended up in weird spots on the fairways or just in the rough. I ended up in a couple of divits and things like that. I was also putting my usual but have 4 putts do almost a complete 360 around the cup. It was just one of those days and ended up with a nasty 83 but I felt like I was playing as well as I normally do..lol. Still placed third so I was happy for my first time in it.

Yeah, I had one of those a few weeks ago. I found a slight flaw in my swing and fixed it just in time for this particular round. I was striking and driving the ball really well during the round, but ended up shooting a 99, because I was playing a "tough" course with tough greens. My score didn't reflect the way I played, but my fairway and GIR percentages sure did.

In addition to what everyone else said, I believe that how you "feel" about a round has much to do with your expectations.  For instance take a mediocre round that you had today may have felt great if you hit that same round 3 years ago.  The point being that the good "feel" target is constantly changes.

Sometimes how I feel about a round seems to revolve around whether or not I feel like I saved a bunch of shots and it could have been a lot worse or I left a lot of shots out there because of stupid mistakes.  I've had an 80 that I felt really good about because it could have easily been an 85 if not for the chip in and several 12 foot par saving putts.  I've also had a 78 before that I didn't feel good about because it "should have been" a 73 and I wasted 5 shots on stupid mistakes (flubbed chip, missed short putt, bad lag putt leading to a 3 jack, etc.).  Feel of a round and actual score don't necessarily coincide.

I played Saturday and shot even par 71 and the round felt mediocre.  I had 2 3-putts, a ball in the water, and one hozel rocket chip.  I only missed 2 fairways all day (distance was mediocre), missed 5 greens.  Wasn't doing anything great, but nothing terrible.  I felt like I gave away 4 strokes that round, but I easily saved that many on other shots too.  Sort of evened out.

Know what my ultimate goal is? I want to play one round of golf and shoot the absolute lowest score I am capable of. I have no idea what that score is.

By that I mean I hit every shot as good as I can & make every makeable putt, say everything inside 12 feet. If I miss a green I get up & down every time.

A round that I look back on & conclude I could not have shot one stroke lower.

Hasn't happened yet in 43 years of playing this damn game.