There are No Bad Shots

[iacas]

4 hours ago, 70sSanO said:

The problem with no bad shots is that golf is a sport that is scored.

I feel like maybe you didn't watch the video.

[70sSanO]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

I feel like maybe you didn't watch the video.

I actually did watch the video.  It has been a couple days so I may have forgotten a few points.  I do recall how he said he used to react with sulking or being upset or quiet if he played bad.  The one point I do recall was his favorite hole is when he scored an 11 because he persevered and completed it and did not give up.

The problem is there really are bad shots.  I have hit a lot of them.  And the reality is that with golf you can’t play great defense to stop your opponent, or just out hustle your opponent to overcome a bad day or a superior player.  If you are stinking it up the only relief is putting together some “good” shots.

While I enjoy golf, it isn’t a smell the roses type of sport, at least for me.  There are others that fit that bill.  If I play reasonably well, it is a lot more enjoyable than if I am having a really bad round.  It is like building a cabinet, if you are constantly hitting your thumb with a hammer, there will come a point when you put the hammer down for a while.

John

[pganapathy]

This is much easier said than done.  Yes, golf is not life or death, but I care too much about my performance not to get upset when I hit a bad shot in any game.  I tend to get very upset when I play badly because it means I didn't focus on my game.  It is not because I have reached the limits of my talent and am trying a shot I couldn't achieve, but because I executed very badly something I can definitely achieve.

I definitely disagree with the basic premise of this video that you should just relax and enjoy golf, irrespective of whether you shot a 3 or 13 for the hole.  That is for practice sessions.  If you are not keeping score then why are you playing golf at all 🤷‍♀️

[mcanadiens]

11 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

You know, compare the bad shots/moments to being dead.  That puts it into perspective.

I've never been dead. I got no frame of reference.

[boogielicious]

10 hours ago, CarlSpackler said:

Like anything in life, we choose our reaction to a shot, a hole, a round... I like it. 

I chose to invoke a gypsy curse on the shot and the family of the shot that will doom them for all time!!!

Until I make a good shot on the next shot. Then the curse is lifted. 

[krupa]

7 hours ago, pganapathy said:

If you are not keeping score then why are you playing golf at all

Because it's enjoyable to just walk the course and whack a ball around. 

[MarvChamp]

59 minutes ago, krupa said:

Because it's enjoyable to just walk the course and whack a ball around. 

All true, but I still call the ball a "communist" when it inexplicably races into the woods or a sand trap. Best, -Marv

[IowaGreg]

Even the Pros that play this game for a living, make bad shots.  They just do fewer bad shots than us mere mortals...…  LOL

Get over it, Just do what you can to not compound the next shot with another bad shot.

[MarvChamp]

He says, about hole in one, "Luck! How good is luck" Agree...I hardly ever thinks about my only hole in one. And last Saturday's first eagle was really nice but not over the moon. What I truly enjoy is playing my nemesis hole...a long second shot over a river chasm to a hard fairway where, if I make it, the ball can go anywhere. That's the shot and hole I remember and enjoy. Best, -Marv

[krupa]

42 minutes ago, MarvChamp said:

All true, but I still call the ball a "communist" when it inexplicably races into the woods or a sand trap. Best, -Marv

I call it a coward for deserting its duty by hiding in the woods.

I really like Erik's videos and tend to agree with this one. I, for one, am doing this because it's fun.  Getting all worked up and angry over bad shots is (a) something I've definitely done and (b) something I don't do anymore.  When my wife asks me how it went the answer is always the same:  "Some good shots, some not-so-good shots, some really good ones, and some I can't seem to recall."

[pganapathy]

1 hour ago, krupa said:

Because it's enjoyable to just walk the course and whack a ball around. 

Those are two different things.  I can keep score on every round and still enjoy the other parts of the game like nature, the company etc.  The whacking of golf balls in a meaningless round is really a practice round

[mcanadiens]

8 minutes ago, krupa said:

When my wife asks me how it went the answer is always the same:  "Some good shots, some not-so-good shots, some really good ones, and some I can't seem to recall."

What takes all that to the next level is when you can forget those strokes when its time to write down a score after holing out. A dear friend of mine is massively talented in that regard. Like Bugs Bunny playing the Scotsman.

"Two? FIFTY-FIVE!"

 

[krupa]

38 minutes ago, pganapathy said:

I can keep score on every round and still enjoy the other parts of the game like nature, the company etc.

But you also said you can't enjoy golf regardless of the score.  I can. When I keep score, I still enjoy the round regardless of the outcome.  

[rehmwa]

3 hours ago, mcanadiens said:

I've never been dead. I got no frame of reference.

[Double Mocha Man]

4 hours ago, mcanadiens said:

I've never been dead. I got no frame of reference.

Just go stand in line at the post office. Then you will know what feeling dead is like.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, pganapathy said:

Those are two different things.  I can keep score on every round and still enjoy the other parts of the game like nature, the company etc.  The whacking of golf balls in a meaningless round is really a practice round

You asked him "If you are not keeping score then why are you playing golf at all" and he gave you a valid response.

Hell, some people just enjoy going to the range to hit balls. They find that act enjoyable. You can have fun on the course without having to keep score.

[saevel25]

12 hours ago, pganapathy said:

Yes, golf is not life or death, but I care too much about my performance not to get upset when I hit a bad shot in any game. 

Next time that happens, just think, "Is this feeling of being upset beneficial to my game."

12 hours ago, pganapathy said:

It is not because I have reached the limits of my talent and am trying a shot I couldn't achieve, but because I executed very badly something I can definitely achieve.

All bad shots are with in the realm of a players ability. People get way too tied up on the good shots. PGA Tour players shank a ball from time to time. Juts laugh it off and move on. There is no great worldly significance when the ball doesn't clear a bunker just short of the green.

12 hours ago, pganapathy said:

That is for practice sessions.  If you are not keeping score then why are you playing golf at all 🤷‍♀️

Meh, I disagree.

2 hours ago, pganapathy said:

Those are two different things.  I can keep score on every round and still enjoy the other parts of the game like nature, the company etc.  The whacking of golf balls in a meaningless round is really a practice round

What if they are not practicing?

 

[IowaGreg]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

 You can have fun on the course without having to keep score.

Depends on what my goal for the day is...…  Knuckle down and shoot for the best score I can do or hit 2-3 balls each time to get some on the course practice in.  It's all fun...… Each person has to decide what's best for them.