pretend golf

[dayll]

I'm going to get sorched for this but what the hell - I play as a single two, sometimes three times a week. I'm relatively new to the game and know how important it is to a lot of you to play "real" golf - "Play it as it lies" and etc. but I find that I enjoy playing much more if I take some liberties with the sacred rules. Here's what I've been doing (God help me!) - I give myself one "blow-up" hole on the front and one on the back! It takes the pressure off me. If I take a triple or worse on a hole I can erase it and give myself a bogie on that hole. If I get through nine without needing my crutch I got two coming if I need them on the back! Pretty weak - huh? But since I started doing this I'm playing much better. I'm way more relaxed. In fact today I was only three over going to number eight. I butchered it! Even missed a three foot putt for a seven! But you know what - it didn't bother me a whit! I carded a bogie and went to the ninth tee with no frustration, anger, or shame. I finished the round without having to claim my back nine safety valve. I enjoyed today - sure it wasn't "pure" golf - but I didn't utter a single negative word the entire round - not even on number eight. - dayll

[prutkows]

I'm going to get sorched for this but what the hell - I play as a single two, sometimes three times a week. I'm relatively new to the game and know how important it is to a lot of you to play "real" golf - "Play it as it lies" and etc. but I find that I enjoy playing much more if I take some liberties with the sacred rules. Here's what I've been doing (God help me!) - I give myself one "blow-up" hole on the front and one on the back! It takes the pressure off me. If I take a triple or worse on a hole I can erase it and give myself a bogie on that hole. If I get through nine without needing my crutch I got two coming if I need them on the back! Pretty weak - huh? But since I started doing this I'm playing much better. I'm way more relaxed. In fact today I was only three over going to number eight. I butchered it! Even missed a three foot putt for a seven! But you know what - it didn't bother me a whit! I carded a bogie and went to the ninth tee with no frustration, anger, or shame. I finished the round without having to claim my back nine safety valve. I

whats a sport with 0 challenge?

i started playing golf when i was about 14 years old. i used to get really frustrated on the course and it made me play even worse but i always counted all of my strokes and all of my penalties. i had no control over my mental frustrations; very important in golf. i stopped playing a year later because school and other things that prohibited me from really putting any time into golf. about 3 months ago i started playing again. im now 18 and i find that i im much more relaxed on the course, and even if i hit a few bad shots im able to keep my wits about me and find something positive.. whether its still having a good look at the green, or not having to be above or below the ball, or even something as simple as decent lie. making yourself believe your scores are better than they are wont help you in the future. you should just focus on removing your "blow up" holes and also realizing that golf is just as much mental as physical, if not more.

[Konrad]

Guess what? You're not a 14 handicap. You're not playing the game even close to the way it's supposed to be played. Not only is what you are doing wrong, but it is hurting your game. What if you enter a stroke play event? You'll have to count it then, and you'll put more pressure on yourself to perform well.

Stop doing what you are doing if you want to play some real golf. The rules exist for a reason. What you are doing is pretty absurd.

[ragontona]

I'm going to get sorched for this

Yep, you are.

What you described is not golf. It may happen on a golf course, and you may use golf equipment, but it is most decidedly not golf. I understand it's fun to go out there and do "that," but how is it any less fun to accurately score your card and play by the rules? You'd still take the same number of strokes, but you'd write down "10" instead of "6." It appears the only "fun" you're having is being able to say you shot a 95 instead of 115. That's got nothing to do with the game itself. That's just stroking your own ego and lying to your friends and yourself about what you shot.

[Xt1ncT]

Instead of allowing yourself to remove strokes from your score set up a personal par for the course you are playing.

This is actually a fantastic mental tip for high handicappers.

I used it when I went from 24 to 13 - I used to call every hole a par 5. So if I got a 4 on a par 3, it was actually a birdie (in my mind). Get a 5 on every hole and it's 90 - good enough for a handicap of 18. Get a few "real" pars in there and you're talking 85 or better. IMO every high handicapper should use this mental technique as it has so much benefit. By high handicapper I don't mean to be derogatory, I just mean people who have handicaps of about 18 and over, basically people who struggle to break 90.

[iacas]

I used it when I went from 24 to 13 - I used to call every hole a par 5. So if I got a 4 on a par 3, it was actually a birdie (in my mind). Get a 5 on every hole and it's 90 - good enough for a handicap of 18. Get a few "real" pars in there and you're talking 85 or better.

So what'd you do when you got a 9 on a real par 5?

[Xt1ncT]

So what'd you do when you got a 9 on a real par 5?

Go ape sh1t..!!!

Seriously though, that sort of thing would happen, a 7 on a par 5, and 8 or a 9 sometimes. But if you got a 7 on a par 5 then pared the next par 3 that would equate to level par for those 2 holes. The same if you made double on a par 4 and pared the next. The premise is to break the par 5 total for the round and kind of know where you are in relation to it, it's alien to you as you're talking about being 1 or 2 over for the real par and so play a different game to these guys. But in my experience it worked really well for me and for some of my friends nad playing partners. It gets you away from the real par which for a higher handicap player is an unreal expectation. And for me it was a positive focus which is important.

[prutkows]

This is actually a fantastic mental tip for high handicappers.

i was watching TGC the other day and they said something about how according to the USGA the average golfer is a 19 handicap :D

[Xt1ncT]

i was watching TGC the other day and they said something about how according to the USGA the average golfer is a 19 handicap :D

Really??

In that case this is perfect for the average golfer in the US

[BigAl5150]

I'm a bit confused by the game you are playing. Can't take the pressure? Why even bother playing. You are killing your development as a golfer by playing by "your rules". Don't cheat yourself; learn the USGA rules, count ALL your strokes, no mulligans or "Enron math" for your blow-up holes and get an official USGA handicap (not the 14 you claim). If you have some issues with your confidence (get in line, we all do ), pick up a book by Dr. Gio Valiante: Fearless Golf or Bob Rotella to help with the mental side of you game.

[Rafcin]

I think you're missing one big point in doing the "mulligan" holes...
if you want to improve, you CAN NOT think about your total round score before you tee off (and by planning on blow up holes - that's what you do!).
If pressure of the total score gets to you - force yourself to "forget" prior hole score. As cliche' as it sounds - "one hole at the time" is still the BEST ever advice one can get on a golf course (ok, maybe second best - "one shot at the time" is THE best ).
When you're in trouble on a hole and you start thinking about the final round result - minus well pack up and go home... it only going to get worse from there - trust me - bin there, dun dat, got the t-shirt

It is hard, it's in human nature to think ahead - but with some effort it's possible. The way I did - I used a small notepad to keep scores - every hole on separate page. once the round was over I was flipping through the pages adding them up. Whenever you start adding up in your head during the round you've to make concious effort to stop that. Once you get used to it - you can go back to regular scorecard with just a little self discipline...
Try it - it works

[Buckswin]

This is actually a fantastic mental tip for high handicappers.

I do something similiar to calling every hole a par 5... My personal par is bogey golf righ now, so I just add 1 stroke to each "par" and make that my goal. If I start a round with (real) par, par, bogey, I call myself 2 under.

I have also started keeping stats for my rounds and created a column for total holes of (real) bogey or better. My best is 13 holes, which of course corresponds to my 2 best rounds of 89 and 90. Using this strategy, along with just playing more, has brought my handicap down from the maximum (I was shooting in the 120-130 range with an occassional 150 in there) 2 years ago to my current 24.2.

[thehillgolfer]

i dont see anything wrong with what dayll is doing. all my life i've always been told that the most important thing in any sport is to have fun. and if the strategy he uses for him to have fun works, so be it. i'm sure if he's serious about getting good at golf he'll stop doing his pretend golf once he gets better, but its better to do what hes doing than not play golf at all.

and maybe he doesnt really feel like getting down to a single digit handicap, he just wants to go out and enjoy a round of golf, seems perfectly fine to me.

i think that strategy is alot better than drinking so much you dont care about how you are doing.

[muskegman]

When you're just picking up the game score doesn't matter as much. You are out there to learn strategy, speed of play, etiquette, and yes... the real game of golf.

I personally feel that more enjoyment comes from playing by the real rules of golf. You get the satisfaction of knowing your pars and birdies were earned and deserved. I've enjoyed the game much more since being strict with myself about the rules. Its also helped me to be more realistic about my present skill and short term potential.

[dayll]

What a coincidence - I just picked up Fearless Golf by Valenti the day before yesterday. You guys are right no doubt about playing strictly by the rules but I'm kinda fragile regarding reality - I'm trying to work my way towards real golf by disallowing really bad holes scorewise. My goal in golf is to get better of course but my immediate goal is to within a year or so to begin to play real golf. I never proclaimed myself as a 14 handicap - I'm unrealistic yes - but not stupid. Also I have no plans to play in any tournaments and I usually play with guys much better than myself and we never play for money. I'm just trying to get better as quick as I can and have fun doing it. Thanks for the constructive imput. -dayll

[rembrandt]

If you are enjoying the game the way you are playing then do your thing. Golf should be fun and not a chore with all kinds of pressure at your stage. You will improve and soon you will play by the rules but while you are in the process of learning, go ahead and have fun. Don;t let others tell you any different.

[iacas]

What a coincidence - I just picked up Fearless Golf by Valenti the day before yesterday. You guys are right no doubt about playing strictly by the rules but I'm kinda fragile regarding reality - I'm trying to work my way towards real golf by disallowing really bad holes scorewise. My goal in golf is to get better of course but my immediate goal is to within a year or so to begin to play real golf. I never proclaimed myself as a 14 handicap - I'm unrealistic yes - but not stupid. Also I have no plans to play in any tournaments and I usually play with guys much better than myself and we never play for money. I'm just trying to get better as quick as I can and have fun doing it. Thanks for the constructive imput. -dayll

If you've never proclaimed you're a 14 handicap, then you'll want to change the "14" you've set in your user options.

Everyone's declared handicap shows up in the sidebar (to the left), and yours currently says "14."