Cant tell if im improving?

[Oaksgolfer]

So i have a bit of a dilemma. I play at a private course in oklahoma which is not supposed to be extremely tough (although I think it is) and i usually shoot in low low 90's however I played at a public coarse and I was told it was pretty tough but i shot an 80??? How do you guys judge a round of golf not played on your typical coarse?

[Tomboys]

I usually judge my round based on how much money I have to pay to my playing partners after the round. Other than that, I just compare the slope ratings for each course.

[delav]

Keep track of your fairways, greens, putts, and penalty strokes. You should be able to come away from a round knowing where your strokes were, and how you ended up with the score you did regardless of the course. Often times a score is only half the story.

[James_Black]

Keep track of your fairways, greens, putts, and penalty strokes. You should be able to come away from a round knowing where your strokes were, and how you ended up with the score you did regardless of the course. Often times a score is only half the story.

True, you can have a terrible ball striking day but managed to salvage a good score from great recovery shots.

[StricklandPropane]

I feel like I'm improving, but it's not showing up in my overall score. Yesterday, my worst score was a 7 (Usually have a few 10-12 stroke blowups), and I only topped or chunked 2 all day. At the end though my overall score was the same. I can't seem to put everything together at once.

[DaSportsGuy]

Look at the change in your handicap. Is it going up, down, about the same?

I feel like I've been playing terrible lately but my handicap is dropping. I think it's because as I improve, I expect more of myself and when I come up short I feel like I'm playing terrible but compared to my game last year, I know I've gotten much better.

Also, it's a good idea to keep stats if you don't already. As mentioned previousley, it really gives you a sense of where your losing the most strokes. For me, I shot and 88 yesterday and only hit five fairways because my approach shots were really good, I only three putt once, and I was able to successfully weave my way in and out of trouble.