Anyone out there playing without recording scorecard?

[very handicap]

It's been a frustrating year, my game has been hovering from 91-100.   Today, i decided to ditch the scorecard while at the course and surprisingly i play better game.

Should i ditch the scorecard from now on until i see consistently huge improvement of my game before i start recording again?

Anyone out there who does the same thing?

Thanks.

[TN94z]

It doesn't matter if I am writing on a scorecard or not, I always know what I am shooting.  I don't know if everyone does this or not.  I could see if you are shooting around 100 that it could be difficult, but I just always know what I am shooting. I guess it's just habit.

The only problem I could see with keeping the score is if you are one of those people that start thinking of what you have to do to shoot a certain score...then that can get you in trouble by putting too much pressure on yourself.  Other than that, you surely know what you shot on a hole without writing it down.  But if it works for you, then it works and I would continue to do it.

[Johnnyooze]

It depends on if i know the course well or not. At my usual course i dont keep a score card, i just remember how much above par i am. Its only a 9 hole course, so its not to difficult to remember what happened where.

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[golf4fun12]

I always keep a scorecard. I record everything. from gir to putts. it helps me keep track of where I am with my game

[clubchamp]

If I'm playing by myself I usually don't use a scorecard I just keep how many over/under I am in my head.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by very handicap

It's been a frustrating year, my game has been hovering from 91-100.   Today, i decided to ditch the scorecard while at the course and surprisingly i play better game.

Should i ditch the scorecard from now on until i see consistently huge improvement of my game before i start recording again?

Anyone out there who does the same thing?

Thanks.

The scorecard is just numbers on a piece of paper.  It has no power to help or hurt my score.  I keep a scorecard because every round is returned for handicap.  I don't keep a running total in my head, but I know just by the feel of the round if I'm doing ok or not.  Writing down the score doesn't change that.

[eddiefebuary]

I am new at golf and initially tried to keep score no matter how high it got with penalties, etc. I ditched the score card and began playing better also. Don't get me wrong, I still suck, just not as bad. Removing the score card for some reason removed some stress and allows me to concentrate on my shots and trying to keep the ball on the course.I'll start scoring again when I have the basics of the game down. Right now I judge my improvement by the number of balls I manage to lose. Last time out it was only 4, compared to the first time i played and lost 12.

[meenman]

You always play better without a scorecard - it is always easier to forget those triples and penalty strokes.

I always keep score since I keep an official handicap. You can track all the stats you want, there are no style points in golf. The only way to track improvement is by final score.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Yes. I do. Your score, every shot you took, it's all there in your head and you can write it down after the round is over.

[saevel25]

I tend to keep score in my head. I can usually remember every shot i hit in my last round for a few weeks afterwards.

[Ernest Jones]

I think everyone should play without a scorecard (or keeping track in anyway) at least once in a while. Remember that beyond score is the sheer enjoyment of striking a golf ball with a gloriously free and flowing swing. Keeping score and fretting about results can blind you to the joy of the process.

My old man goes to his course all the time with a seven iron, he even putts with it. Doesn't care about score when he's doing this, he's just out for a walk really but he hits some amazing shots when he is doing that. He also plays regular golf too, where he will keep score diligently and use more than one club!

I mean come on dad, putting with a seven iron????

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by The Recreational Golfer

Yes. I do. Your score, every shot you took, it's all there in your head and you can write it down after the round is over.

This I can't always do for a full 18 holes.  I play often enough (2-3 times a week), and the same course often enough, that sometimes I can't go back stroke by stroke.  I may confuse what I did yesterday on #5 with what I did today if I wait until the 19th hole to mark it down.  If I'm yakking it up with my buddies and generally just playing a fun casual round, I need to mark my card at least by the turn to be sure I get it right.

Then too, I play a lot of tournaments and I get in the habit of marking after every hole since I'm acting as marker for another player.  I always make sure that I ask him for his score when we get the the next tee, and tell him what I had.  In competitions, I also keep my own score separately so I can verify it before I return the official card.

[rwfastrax]

I don't play without keeping score. But I definitely play better if I'm not obsessing about it every other hole. I add up at the turn and at the end of the round...and I've scored much better since adopting that.

[Chief Broom]

There is a guy at my club who happens to be a pretty good golfer (I'd guess high single digit handicap) and who plays 2-3 a week I've never seen keep score.  He just goes out and plays.  Some of his playing partners might be keeping score and they'll keep his but when it's just him he's just playing the game with out worrying about his score over the course of the round.  He may well be keeping score in his head?  He does know what he shoots on each hole because on the next tee we'll play in order of who's previous hole's score was best but that's it.  I choose to keep score, because I want to chart my progress and I enter my rounds into the GHIN system, but I can understand the more laid approach to playing that is more concerned with just playing the game.

[GaijinGolfer]

Most of the time I dont record my score.  I find that when I dont keep score, I have more fun because I just think about making shots instead of worrying about the score Im shooting.

[The_Pharaoh]

I never take a scorecard with me. I simply keep my score in my head.

[Tomboys]

Originally Posted by meenman

You can track all the stats you want, there are no style points in golf. The only way to track improvement is by final score.

All things being equal, yes, you are absolutely correct.  However, sometimes a final score is just too abstract because it doesn't give you an idea of what you need to work on in order to improve your score.  If players aren't sure of what they should work on--other than everything, it can be overwhelming.  And, in extreme cases, it could actually inhibit growth.

IMO, a final score is nothing more than a summary of shots you made on the course.  At the end of the day, a score is neither good nor bad.  What makes it good or bad is the perspective of the individual.  For instance, when I shoot a 85, I'm generally pleased.  Not thrilled, but not kicking myself either.  If a 4 handicap shoots that score, then he's probably very disappointed, perhaps pissed at himself.  In contrast, if a 27 handicap shoots that score, he's probably going to be ecstatic.

Again, IMO, if you want to improve, you have to assess the type of shots mis-played or mis-hit even if the results are good.  This is where stats can be beneficial because it gives you areas to review and is less abstract than just the final score.  However, you have to go beyond stats as well and start looking at the individual shots themselves.  In order to assess shots, you have to understand that the quality of a shot is dependent on the quality of contact made.  The quality of contact is dependent on the quality of swing made.  The quality of swing is dependent on the quality of your "education".  The quality of your education is dependent on the quality of the information you receive and your ability to process that information.  Now, add into that other considerations such as, the ability to navigate a given golf course so that it's played to your strengths, the ability to read a green so that your misses will err towards the hole instead of away from it, and so on.  So, there are multiple "skills" that you have to be proficient at.  Your degree of "mastery" of these skills is what truly affects your final score.  This is why I say the final score can be too abstract and overwhelming because where do you start?  Which skill needs the most attention?  The answer varies and is dependent on the player's current form.  This too, is another consideration, perhaps the most compelling because the ability to honestly assess your current form tends to be the most difficult.  Most of us, me included, tend to over-estimate our ability.  As a result, this is when frustration sets in; our scores don't reflect what we think our "ability" is.  The sad truth is; it does.

So, armed with the above, this is why when I decided I had enough of toiling around in the dirt and making a mess on the golf course, I decided to start at the very beginning--the quality of information.  I've been playing golf for 15+ years and yes, there was a time when shooting low to mid 80s was "normal".  I had lessons, I practiced and I played.  Unfortunately, I spent a lot of time away from the game.  When I came back, my scores ballooned.  Just to give you an idea, this time last year, I could barely break 100.  I was completely lost and utterly demoralized.  It was then that I realized my swing was bad because the knowledge of my swing was bad.  So, I spent time on this site reading while simultaneously taking lessons from an instructor that I spent time getting to know beforehand.  My prior instructors were referrals from friends and such.  I should've known better because I really didn't do my homework before I took lessons from them.  I sort of just accepted what they said without really understanding it.  When things went awry on the golf course, I just kind of threw everything they taught me at the problem hoping the fix was in there somewhere.

I posted in another thread that I just achieved two milestones a couple weeks ago; I broke 80 (79) and shot even on the back 9 (36).  Overall, these were my stats:

Fairways:                          10/14

GIR:                                  10/18

Putts:                                32 (18 front-2 3 putts/ 14 back-0 3 putts)

Bogeys:                            9

Pars:                                7

Birdies:                             2

Considering where I was, this is a pretty good improvement.  However, the score didn't really mean that much to me.  I was more pleased that my ballstriking had improved and that I have a better grasp of my swing.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't like I was just killing the ball or hitting a bunch of great shots.  Rather, I didn't duff any shots and my contact was, IMO, consistently decent.  None of my GIRs approach shots were "cheapies" where they hit the rough or an area around the green and then roll onto it.  Nope, all my GIRs hit and stopped on the green--this single attribute, was my biggest thrill of the entire round.

Originally Posted by Ernest Jones

Remember that beyond score is the sheer enjoyment of striking a golf ball with a gloriously free and flowing swing. Keeping score and fretting about results can blind you to the joy of the process.

I couldn't agree more.

When I play with my buds, we bet.  We play a skins game and a 2-man team score, so every shot is counted.  Well, this one round, we were all tied going into the 15th hole 510 yard par 5.  We all hit good drives and we all have one of two choices; lay up @ 100 yards to the hole because of the lake that surrounds the green or try to hit a FW and try to carry the water (@ 230 yards).  Well, one of the guys yells out, "$5 per person and whoever makes it across and is closest to the pin takes all!"  We all go for it.  None of us make it.  But, it was so much fun.  We all laughed so hard watching each shot carry and carry and then, splash.

The very next hole is a 165 yard par 3 and we all stick the green within a 15' circle of the flag.  As we get back into our carts, one of my bud says, "You know, if somebody came up behind us and saw the shots that we all just hit, they would've confused us with good golfers."  Again, we all started laughing.

Truth be told, I think I had more fun during this round than my 79 round.

[domc36]

I ranger/start at my main course, so I play for free. I never keep score then. I almost treat those rounds as practice rounds. But when I'm with friends or away from my main course I keep a scorecard all the time.