There are No Bad Shots

[iacas]

I like the idea behind this. I used to get pretty pissed. Now, especially since I started teaching, I just see everything as an outcome, and if it's not a "good" shot, a problem that I can solve. A puzzle. I laugh at the "bad" shots, and enjoy the good ones. But I enjoy the bad ones too, because I'm on the correct side of the grass and I'm playing golf.

[dennyjones]

19 minutes ago, iacas said:

I like the idea behind this. I used to get pretty pissed. Now, especially since I started teaching, I just see everything as an outcome, and if it's not a "good" shot, a problem that I can solve. A puzzle. I laugh at the "bad" shots, and enjoy the good ones. But I enjoy the bad ones too, because I'm on the correct side of the grass and I'm playing golf.

+1M.    That is the attitude I strive to have playing golf.   Playing golf is an emotional release / relief.   Thanks for sharing!

[Patch]

I'm just happy to be able to swing a club, and make that little white, yellow, orange...etc ball go places. Even if those places are where no ball has gone before.

Scenic routes are not all bad. 

Poor shots are a two fold learning expirience. One, the golfer learns what they did wrong, and (hopefully) the fix for it. Two, the golfers learns how to recover from those poor shots. A good recovery shot hides that original poor shot.

No, when I stink up a shot, I just grin, smh, and think to myself "wtf did that swing come from?" I just move on from there to my next better shot.

Like someone once said; I'm never was good enough to get mad.  

[billchao]

I understand the concept, but I'm not cool enough to be that zen. Or is it zen enough to be that cool?

[MarvChamp]

10 hours ago, dennyjones said:

+1M.    That is the attitude I strive to have playing golf.   Playing golf is an emotional release / relief.   Thanks for sharing!

+1 to both posts. Last round I played was a struggle to remember that I have little or no control over where the ball ends up...Great shot, bad bounce...Bad shot, great bounce. Just go play it as it lies and talk to my friends in between. Great topic. Best, Marv

[Vinsk]

I dunno...I mean I get it for what it’s saying from the ‘Zen’ point of view. But it also coincides with the ‘outcome doesn’t matter’ philosophy which I don’t agree with.

As I’ve said before, I can take in nature with a walk in a multitude of ways. I can enjoy company In just as many. But I don’t spend hours and hours every week, read various sources and actually pay to improve my golf only to be enlightened by shanking the ball all over the place. 

Now I can understand those who play as well as Erik learning to accept that 240yd 3i they hit 10yds off target isn’t the end of the world. Oh...my 5yd baby draw actually drew about 6...but hey..I’m cool...just accept the challenge. 😉

Edited August 24, 2019 by Vinsk

[iacas]

27 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

I dunno...I mean I get it for what it’s saying from the ‘Zen’ point of view. But it also coincides with the ‘outcome doesn’t matter’ philosophy which I don’t agree with.

The outcome does matter, but within a certain scope. It's relative… and the video should remind you that the scope is limited, that relative to things that actually matter in life, golf is almost completely unimportant.

27 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

Now I can understand those who play as well as Erik learning to accept that 240yd 3i they hit 10yds off target isn’t the end of the world. Oh...my 5yd baby draw actually drew about 6...but hey..I’m cool...just accept the challenge. 😉

You'd be surprised at some of the shots I'll hit.

Heel-topped my 3W yesterday. Probably went 90 yards. Hit 7I from there to the green, and two-putted, but I was able to laugh it off.

It's just golf, and I can't do anything about that shot once it's hit except try to make sure I don't do it again, and to work on it.

[Vinsk]

7 minutes ago, iacas said:

the video should remind you that the scope is limited, that relative to things that actually matter in life, golf is almost completely unimportant.

I like this. I should try to keep this in mind. It’s this that I often forget when I’m having a bad round.

[Zekez]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

The outcome does matter, but within a certain scope. It's relative… and the video should remind you that the scope is limited, that relative to things that actually matter in life, golf is almost completely unimportant.

You'd be surprised at some of the shots I'll hit.

Heel-topped my 3W yesterday. Probably went 90 yards. Hit 7I from there to the green, and two-putted, but I was able to laugh it off.

It's just golf, and I can't do anything about that shot once it's hit except try to make sure I don't do it again, and to work on it.

Disagree.   For the amount of time and effort we put into the sport of golf, it is important to us.  If it wasn't important, we wouldn't put that much emphasis on the sport.  And what are the things that actually matter in life?  The things that matter are the things that you love to do and that make you and others happy.  Things that you enjoy are important.

Golf is nowhere near "completely unimportant" relative to the other parts of life, but it's also not so important that one gets so stressed out that it's not fun.

 

[iacas]

12 minutes ago, Zekez said:

Disagree.

You're not going to convince me of that. Not at all, and I spend 80-100 hours a week on golf almost every week of my life for the last 15 years.

Family. Friends. Health. Parenting. Job satisfaction. Country/world peace/global whatever.

They all matter several orders of magnitude more than a game. It's a diversion, a game.

And I said "almost completely unimportant." Quote properly, please. It has some meaning, or we wouldn't do it. In the grand scheme of things, though, if golf never existed… I'd just be doing something else.

[GolfLug]

5 minutes ago, Zekez said:

Disagree.   For the amount of time and effort we put into the sport of golf, it is important to us.  

 

Think about this way, what are life changing consequences of a bad round? Other than our perception, which is what is being suggested that we own up to, what are you truly losing? Money? Home? Family?..

Sure it's no fun playing bad but there are folks who get truly upset or depressed with bad golf. 

Keep at it and come back next weekend. Maybe that's about the gist of what's being said, no?

[iacas]

Really well said Vishal (@GolfLug).

[Zekez]

22 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

Think about this way, what are life changing consequences of a bad round? Other than our perception, which is what is being suggested that we own up to, what are you truly losing? Money? Home? Family?..

Sure it's no fun playing bad but there are folks who get truly upset or depressed with bad golf. 

Keep at it and come back next weekend. Maybe that's about the gist of what's being said, no?

So what if they do?  It's their life.  It's seems a tad patronizing to attempt to tell others what should be important in their lives.  Do you ever get upset at anything in life?  if you do, I might think it;s silly of you to get upset over that.

I know the video dude is basically using golf to tell us to just relax and enjoy life (of which golf is a small part).  It's a great philosophy.

[Vinsk]

7 minutes ago, Zekez said:

So what if they do?  It's their life.  It's seems a tad patronizing to attempt to tell others what should be important in their lives. 

I don’t think it’s patronizing to say parenting, health, family are important. It’s a reminder that no matter how many shanks I hit, going home and laughing about it with my healthy kids and food on the table is much more important.

[saevel25]

1 hour ago, Zekez said:

Disagree.   For the amount of time and effort we put into the sport of golf, it is important to us.  If it wasn't important, we wouldn't put that much emphasis on the sport.  And what are the things that actually matter in life?  The things that matter are the things that you love to do and that make you and others happy.  Things that you enjoy are important.

Just because I don't get angry doesn't mean I don't care. There is a difference, and the two don't have to be inclusive. Do I love golf, absolutely. Do I put many hours into this game, absolutely.  You can be competitive, you can get frustrated, but letting anger overwhelm yourself is the most non-productive thing a person can do. There is a reason why the term "Blinded by anger" has been used for every. 

1 hour ago, GolfLug said:

Think about this way, what are life changing consequences of a bad round? Other than our perception, which is what is being suggested that we own up to, what are you truly losing? Money? Home? Family?..

^This 100%

Also, step back and try to think about the source of the emotions you are feeling on the course. They are nothing more than instantaneous flashes of emotion brought on by bad perspectives. Which also means they are out of your control. The cause of an emotion is just a programmed response of the body. It's not like a person stands there and thinks, "That shot was bad, I should really get angry... OK Body get angry!!!" No, the emotion just pops up out of nowhere because we have set bad expectations and pressures upon ourselves. We put too much value into a game. What is worse is letting those emotions linger. Really, it's just as simple as being more mindful of ones own emotions that they realize that these emotions don't linger at all. 

1 hour ago, Zekez said:

So what if they do?  It's their life.  It's seems a tad patronizing to attempt to tell others what should be important in their lives.  Do you ever get upset at anything in life?  if you do, I might think it;s silly of you to get upset over that.

I know the video dude is basically using golf to tell us to just relax and enjoy life (of which golf is a small part).  It's a great philosophy.

You are missing the point. You can have important things in your life and you don't have to get frustrated over them or angry over bad shots. That is just a switch in perspective. I love golf! It's the sport I play the most, and put most of my time in. Just because I don't get upset at every bad shot doesn't mean the person who does loves the game more than I do. 

I can tell you this, changing my perspective on life has taken a lot of anger out of my life. It doesn't mean I don't care about things. 

You don't need to show anger or get upset to let people know you care. 

[dennyjones]

My mother-in-law had a major stroke early May.   Being up at the nursing home with people that aren't independent puts an insight on almost everything.    I don't have to call for a nurse to help me use the restroom, eat or get into bed.    I stand up taller seeing the people there hunched over, some my age or younger.

When I arrive at the golf course, it really matters if I play well.  I want to beat my friends.   I'm disappointed when I miss a shot but that dissipates after the next good shot.   If I play well, I'm elated (for a short time).   If I play poorly, I'm disappointed (for a short time).    I still get to go home, enjoy the outdoors and realize I just spent four hours that represent some of the best time of the day.   

Angry over a bad round, never.   I realize that golf is just a game that I enjoy but if I didn't have it , I could be content doing something different.  

[Patch]

Golf importance is going to be different for different folks. Some will wrap their lives around it, while others, with their box store clubs will just spend idle time playing it. Some will self destruct over a poor shot, while others will move on to the next shot.

My golf game is not as important to me now as it was a few years ago. I had a choice a few years ago to either spend the rest of my life a physically sick individual, or defeat the odds against me. I chose to use golf as my battle weapon against physical illness.  

Golf is still a big part of my life, in as much as it keeps me active, and off the couch. It's a health, value thing for me. That health value thing allows me to enjoy my loving family, which is much more important to me than golf.

[iacas]

2 hours ago, Zekez said:

So what if they do?  It's their life.  It's seems a tad patronizing to attempt to tell others what should be important in their lives. 

Vishal didn’t patronize or tell anyone anything.