When are you "happy" with a round?

[Soup Fan]

What makes you happiest after you shoot? Are you only happy if you score well? Are you happy if you don't score well but have a nice shot or two? Are you happy just to be outside on a nice day even if your game is bad and you loose a couple sleeves of Pro V1s?

For me, because I am working on taking my game to a higher level, I have found that I am taking a lot more positives away, even when I don't score well. So much of what I am working on are intangible things like decision making and thought process on the course, so even when I know it wasn't a good round I have found myself happy as long as I have done something more consistently or advanced in some area of the game that I never took into consideration before.

My last round, after noticing that the flags were color coordinated based on location, I clubbed up because I knew the blue flag was the back of the green and I realized the fairway marker was to the center. While I chunked the shot and in the end it didn't make a difference, it is just the kind of thing that I never would have though of before and I was happy with myself for making that kind of decision on the course instead of just aiming for the green as a whole, I was aiming for an area of the green.

So when are you content? I'd like to hear from all handicaps here.

[Big_M]

If I am playing a nice course or on vacation I am happy despite not playing my best (this only goes so far though). A spectacular shot will also help make up for a bad round in general... as will winning money or some such thing on a bet, skin, or closest. Generally though... what makes me most happy is playing my best... not leaving many shots "out there". Don't get me wrong... I almost always enjoy myself, but I am one of the most competitive people I know, for better or worse, and playing well is very important to me. When I play with my wife I also take pleasure from here playing well or learning something new. Sometimes crazy shit like playing in a downpour, or 45 holes in a day, or falling in a lake can be fun... or at least fun to look back on.

The most fun will be that one day when I knock in my first ACE!

[teal]

I like being outside but I also really am looking to score at least 1 par a round. Isn't much to the guys here but the game itself means less to me than the time outside with friends.

Would I like to be better? Sure but I really don't have the time or money to worry about it. Too much life in the way.

[QWKDTSN]

I am happy when I consistently hit par-3 greens on the tee shot, and a few par-4 greens on the approach; And when I'm feeling very confident with my short game. Scoring under 100 always helps! Still working on breaking 90!

[M2daRizzle]

when I shoot in the mid to high 80's like I know I am capable of. I hate shooting in the 90's. I also enjoy rounds where I putt well, too many 3 putts and I tend to look back on the round and get upset.

[x-forged]

Good question Soup Fan.

Im happy with a round when all the practice I have put into the game is showing on the golf course. That doesn't always mean score. I could be happy with a fairly bad score as long as I did some things well during the round that I had been trying to improve on.

[TheNextBen]

I'm happy when I don't do things like 3 putts or hit the driver right into the woods and stuff like that. If I keep the ball in play for a whole round and don't screw up on the greens basically.

[hawkeye]

I'm happy to get outdoors and breath the fresh air, smell the flowers. Golf is only of secondary importance.

[Neil]

I'm always disappointed if I don't score well. My regular course is fairly short with quite wide fairways (par 68) so if I feel I need to score under 75 to be happy with my round.

Also playing well in the short game areas always satisfies me. I'd rather score 78 and scramble well than 77 with loads of GIR's.

[foxhole88]

A combination of 1 or more of these things...

-Breaking 90
-Decent day getting off the tee (I have been trying to improve my consistency with a driver off the tee)
-0 penalty shots or lost balls (I currently average about 4.5 per round)
-No triple or quadruple bogeys (I really want to be more consistent and avoid the huge blow up holes that destroy my round)
-No 3 putts (especially on holes where I already have a penalty)

[MunkeyGolfer]

I am happy with a round when my swing feels natural and "right". Some times I score well even though I feel like I am forcing something in to my swing.

[chingali]

I'm happy when I finish and look back over the round and work out that the score I had was within a shot or two of the best I could have had on the day. Sometimes that might be 5 over par and sometimes it might be 2 under, the score is not the relevant thing, it's the score being as good as it could have been that is. I have had days where I finished 7 over par and been very happy, and I have had even par and been disappointed.

[Jack_2251]

I feel like i am happy when I hit the ball well, and also if I score well.
Although, I know to score well, you normally don't have to hit it well but you have to putt and chip well.

[Andy_Mac]

Breaking 90 always makes me feel like I had an amazing round for me... aside from that a few things makes me happy with a round:

Blasting a drive or 2 way out there and keeping the majority of my tee shots in the fairway.
hitting that perfect wedge shot (sucked one back to about 1 foot last night)
a birdie or 2.


Theres more... im a pretty easy guy to keep happy in terms of golf. Even if I have a craptastic game I can still be happy with the round depending on the company.

[Wannabe Paper Tiger]

Never. Secretly I think if all the facets of my game are on I can break par. So never. I always feel like left shots out there.

Maybe you should also post another thread: What kind of round will have you almost throwing your golf clubs into the nearest lake?

:)

[DavidFehertysBike]

Im happy with a round generally when i execute as well as i can and dont hit terrible shots that lead to blow out holes. If ive been consistant through the round ill be happy with it regardless of what i score. Ive been just as happy with an 85 as I have been with a 75. Bad scores are going to happen, so i find its pointless to foucs on them.

[pjsnyc]

I'm happy as long as I avoid snowmen at all costs. I guess one snowman a round on a par 5 would be acceptable to me, but 2 snowmen and my round literally...uh...snowballs.

[DJYoshi]

i'm happy if my ball striking is good
if i try to shape shots and it works out the way i planned
and overall if i keep my score in the mid 80's i'm happy.

but the other day, my ball striking was great....on in 2 basically most of the time... when i wasn't, i was putting within 15 feet for par...all the par 3's i was on in 1....but my putting was terrible...what could've been a round in the high 70's/low 80's turned into a 90! GROSS but the shot shaping was there....my putting's just been gross lately.