More Fun To Hit It Perfectly Or Score Well?

[klineka]

31 minutes ago, LMoore said:

Striking perfectly happens rarely. I hit it well most of the time, but perfect.........line and distance.........not as much, in fact, rarely.

Second one, I made the comment to buddies that "I can't hit it any better". One bounce, in. That feeling is more rare.

 

Those two statements are exactly why I voted that I would want to hit it perfectly, because it is more rare. 

If something rarely happens but you like when it does happen, why wouldnt you want that thing to happen on every shot?

9 minutes ago, pganapathy said:

You need to add another option.

No he doesnt, it's his poll.

[DaveP043]

22 minutes ago, dennyjones said:

Our group calls that a pre-bitch!

A whine before its time.

[LMoore]

3 minutes ago, klineka said:

Those two statements are exactly why I voted that I would want to hit it perfectly, because it is more rare. 

If something rarely happens but you like when it does happen, why wouldnt you want that thing to happen on every shot?

No he doesnt, it's his poll.

Your point is valid, but there's a reason I chose score. If I scored well on a less than stellar ball striking day, it means that I was able to grind and overcome. Lot of satisfaction there.

[billchao]

49 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

Ballstriking isnt what the game is about to me. Guys like John Senden and Boo Weekly would win every tournament if golf was a ballstriking contest.

I think you're overrating their ballstriking. John Senden has never finished a season top 10 in SG: Tee-to-Green and Boo Weekley has only done it once.

17 minutes ago, klineka said:

No he doesnt, it's his poll.

Actually, it's mine. Based it on the OP, though 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Patch]

When playing, I seldom worry about my individual shots. They make my next shot either playable, or not so playable. I hit very few shots extremely well.

At end my round, I total up my score, and compare it with my target score. If I am below my target score, I know I hit a lot good shots/putts. Above my target score, not as many good shots. 

My overall score tells me what my shot making, and/or putting was like for that round. 

[Beastie]

It’s not how, it’s how many!! Or, as many will have read on this forum Lowest Score Wins

[HJJ003]

Obviously, striking it well is strongly correlated with scoring. However, the OP wondered which is more fun. I have more fun at the end of the day if I scored well....even if it wasn't a "perfect" (hate that term by the way) or "great" ballstriking day. 

[Slim_Pivot]

I’ve scored well in the past. Right now I’m working on ball striking so I can score well more often or actually go low. 

Its ball striking for me at the moment.

[gbogey]

1 hour ago, dennyjones said:

Our group calls that a pre-bitch!

Our term was "air bitch"

[Big Lex]

Do you actually mean that in the ballstriking option, you _just_ do the ballstriking? In other words, no putting allowed...you would pick up your ball on every green and not finish the holes out? 

If that's the case, then I'm not sure...I might choose the perfect striking round. It would be a fast round, exhilirating. I can't imagine what it would feel like to stand over every shot and _know_ I was going to flush it. I think it would be REALLY hard to resist the urge to actually putt and finish the holes. But if I did pick up on every green, at least I'd be able to fantasize about what I _could have_ shot. And that might be a better memory than having a few hiccups and shooting a personal best score.  

Now, if I _have to_ finish the holes, it's easier: I definitely want the scoring round.

The reason is that in this latter scenario, I think the ballstriking round would be emotionally deflating, and the scoring round would be the opposite. 

If I hit every green with an approach that is going toward the pin, and I _don't_ shoot a personal best, what would that mean? My lowest score ever was a 74. If I hit _every_ green with an approach flying at the pin and I shoot 75 or 76, that is going to be horribly disappointing. It could mean I have 39 or 40 putts. Or, worse, if I make 2 or 3 birdies, then shooting 75 with 18 GIR means 6 - 6! - three-putts. And if I make no birdies? I could conceivably still shoot 79 or 80. It would mean I'd had a horrific putting round, but it's not out of the question. No birdies, 5 three-putts? I'm not above that, sadly.

I wouldn't like hitting the ball incredibly great like that and _not_ shooting a personal best score. I think how deflating that would be, feeling like I'd "wasted" my best golf ever, a once-in-a-lifetime round.  

On the contrary, how bad can you possibly hit it and have a personal best? Shooting 73? Well....maybe I'd want it to be under par, a 70 or 69. I don't care if ballstriking isn't perfect, you can't shoot 70 striking it terribly....it would mean I'd probably have no double bogeys, certainly no blow-up disaster holes, very few bogeys, and 3-4 birdies. Making a few bad strikes but making up for it with great follow up shots is really inspiring. 

Fun question. 

[Big C]

For me, golf is more enjoyable when I score well - period. 

Those rounds where I scrape it around from tee to green, but still find a way to get up and down enough to break 80 can be immensely satisfying. 

By contrast, rounds where I hit the ball beautifully but can't seem to get the ball into the hole (due to 3 putts, poor chips, etc.) are among my most frustrating. 

Several here have commented that scoring flows from ball-striking. Which over the long run is true. But I feel like they are mis-reading the question. 

On any given day, who in their right mind wouldn't take a lower score?

[djfajt71]

I voted for ball striking, but I am torn.  I love the feeling of piecing things to scramble for a good score.  But, seeing your shot in the air, just like you imagined it, is so exhilarating.  If you strike it well, you will generally score well.

[nevets88]

Good ball striking is golf nirvana. That is all.

Doesn't Pelz in one of his books open with a group of players he knows who don't play out their shots when they get to the green? 

[Piz]

I would rather score well if, as a few others have mentioned, it is possible to strike perfectly and not score well.  Nothing in golf bothers me quite so much as feeling like I blew it: frittering away an excellent opportunity due to poor putting.  

[billchao]

16 minutes ago, Big C said:

On any given day, who in their right mind wouldn't take a lower score?

Me. I mentioned it before, but I've had lower scores where I'm fighting my swing but scramble well and those days are more frustrating than the days I hit the ball well but end up pitching and putting poorly. I go home from the course feeling pretty good about the latter and not such much with the former.

[gbogey]

2 hours ago, PerfectStriking said:

Hi gbogey, interesting that you have what I think is the same experience as most people, that it is more rare to achieve than lower scoring, you also seem to remember it in vivid detail which seems to suggest it is a great memory for you. Do you have the same vivid memory of your low scores? How did both make you feel now looking back on it would you trade the great shot making experience for one more low score or would you leave it in your memory?

To answer your question, no, I don't have a vivid memory of this.  I remember doing it, but the front 9 was a decent +4 over par (just looked it up, only 3 GIRs on the front) so even with the near perfect back 9 the total round was +4 over par, a Very Good round for me but not an all time best so not ingrained in my memory banks.

I do have strong memories of every shot or hole for 3 separate rounds, but for interesting reasons none of which was my best round.  I won't go into the reasons why here so that we stay on topic but maybe one of us should start a new thread about this once this one is done.

[ncates00]

Per your question, it's more fun to hit the ball well, but the score is what counts. 

This question seems to implicate the infamous ballstriking v. short game debate.  Without question, the long game gives you (statistically at all levels of ability) far more opportunities than the short game to advance your skill level and separate yourself from the competition.  See LSW.  The best putters might pick a stroke or so in a round on the competition.  Ballstrikers can pick up 2-4 strokes in the same round because it's much harder to do and sustain.

[Chasing_Bogeys]

I picked scoring. But, I've never broken 90 so... I can't even imagine hitting every fairway / GIR. And I also can't imagine how frustrated I would be if I 3+ putted every hole and shot 92.

More to the spirit of your question - Would I take my best ball striking round ever or my best scoring round ever? I'd still take scoring. I can't seem to bring myself to play without keeping score. I've played with a couple guys that do that, but I just can't. Unless I'm out more or less by myself in the evening and playing a couple balls and practicing. But even then, I'll often use two different brands of balls and measure how I score with each. Or I'll play different balls with different clubs off the tee and see how that turns out.