Do you compete / play tournaments --- or --- play for your own enjoyment / personal challenge

I know there will be some crossover, but I'd like to get a general baseline of those of us who compete vs those who play simply for their own enjoyment.

My answer is 100% based on my future progression. If I'm unable to get down to single digit handicap I won't be trying to play any competitions, but if I do then I will want to. As of now, I went with the 3rd option because I'd like to think I can make it to single digit hdcp. However, If I don't at get down to at least 12 hdcp this year I'll probably just call it quits. This game is too expensive for me to play poorly with my competitive nature.

Personal challenge, mixed with enjoyment and friendly banter with friends on the course and off.

Yes.

It's worth mentioning though that whether it's a formal tournament, or a friendly match with my buddies, golf, much like pool, demands at least a minimal wager to keep things focused and interesting.  I'd rather win $5 from one of my golfing buddies than find $100 on the street.

I very much enjoy playing in tournaments (I prefer non handicap based tournaments though) AND I also very much enjoy playing just for fun and practice with nothing on the line.

I'm in it mostly to try different course interpretations of Bloody Mary's.

That I'm learning a lot of new swear words.

you know......"golf"

I have not decided yet.

YES!!  I do it all!

I enjoy friendly competition and will play in a club championship in my flight but, but personal enjoyment and satisfaction is my main goal.

I picked #1, although all three apply to me in one way or another.  I played in a tournament Men's Club for 22 years, then had to drop it when I moved out of the country, so I'm not currently playing competitively.

I have always loved casual golf too, and that's what I've played the few rounds I've been able to play over the last 2 years.

We are currently in the process of moving again so that we will spend more time in Colorado, so I plan to join some sort of a competition club again once we get settled.

I picked the second one sort of by default I guess since the first one didn't really describe what most of my rounds are.

Most of my rounds are competitive but don't involve a handicap other than being chosen as a "B", "C", or "D" player on a team and occasionally having to fill in for an "A" player when not enough "A" players show up.  (God help us on those days).

I also play quite a few rounds just for fun with my friends and family and those aren't competitive at all. Rarely does anybody even mention what they shot unless it was something special.

Then on rare occasions I enter flighted tournaments where the flight you are in depends on the first day's score. I usually get my scores backwards in those and shoot over my head the first day and get in a flight I have no chance of winning.

You'd have been a guaranteed "A" player in my Men's Club.  No question about that.  I even made that distinction in a couple of tournaments over the years, and I've never had better than a 9.6 index.

I don't understand how you always talk about how rural your courses are and how hard it is to get enough players, yet you don't consider yourself to be one of the better players in your circle.  As a 5.1 index, you would be one of the better players in any group I've ever played with.

That index is unofficial and only based on my last scores from last year when I started keeping track (but probably fairly accurate in the long run, we'll see). It's tough because I am only keeping track when I go to a course that is rated and so far this year I haven't played anywhere and have just been too busy for much golf.

This course, and some others that I know of, try their best to attract enough players in the neighborhood of scratch to be captains in the choose up games. They even give them special discounts and deals to keep them showing up.

I'm not legitimate captain material at all in those games.