What one aspect of your game, when on, makes your round a "good" one, despite score?

[vbb2]

First post!  Sorry for the somewhat confusing title, but the question is what is one aspect of your game that, when it is going well, you feel that the whole round is going well?  Of course the only real indication of how well a round is going is the final score, but all golfers know that sometimes the score isn't a total reflection of how you feel about a round.

For me it is my mid-iron play.

As a bit of an introduction, I first picked up club when I was in my early 20s back in 2002.  It took me about a year to really enjoy the game.  My peak, playing wise, was spring-fall 2009 when I probably played around 45 rounds.  Ground my way down to a 17.6.  Best round was a 84 (which included my best 9 ever of 38) from the middle tees.  These days, with two kids under 2, I only get out a few times a month, and am happy to shoot in the mid-90s.  I'm iffy with the driver, solid with the 3W off the tee, solid with my hybrid from 175-185yds out, and confident pitching from the 50-90yd range.  My putting is not great, my sand game is terrible.

I like piping drives long and down the middle (which realistically for me is about 240-245), and I like draining long putts, but when I can stick a 6 or 7 iron close, I feel like my game is ON even if I'm missing putts or spraying drives.  If I could really improve one aspect of my game, I'd love to consistently hit my 5-9 irons well.

[aufan1981]

This is my first post as well.  For me it would be hitting fairways off the tee and putting well.  Those are the two parts of my game that if off lead to a terrible round.  I don't do well playing my way out of trouble all day and nothing is more annoying than a three putt.

[Kieran123]

GIRs - chances for birdies, probably mostly pars, at worse, bogey.

[Paradox]

ball striking, by far.

I feel like I hit the right shots and just got a bad rub of the green that day, so be it.  If I feel like I can't do anything right, it frustrates me to no end.

[jamo]

Ballstriking, definitely.

[Bo the Golfer]

Ballstriking for sure.

[MrElculver2424]

Accuracy on approach shots. Driving is also very important though too. When I can't hit fairways, it leads to bad results and I feel like I played badly.

[Deryck Griffith]

Ball striking but more specifically, off the tee.  If I'm confident and succeed in smashing my driver, 3 wood, etc. onto the fariway consistently, I feel confident that I will hit more greens and make birdies.

[Tomboys]

Add another vote for ballstriking here.  IMO, there's no better feeling than executing the exact shot you just envisioned.

[kbsmith]

Hitting fairways off the tee, and not losing a ball. Even when I score a bit higher, losing a few balls makes the knife in my side feel twisted.

[RyderJ]

Ball striking...most definitely

[mirv]

driving makes or breaks my round currently.  the driver is the only club in the bag i'm not particularly consistent with, and it costs me the most strokes between having to punch out from woods or eating a stroke due to OB or a water hazard.  if i'm hitting my drives well, it'll definitely be a round in the 70s.

[xxsoultonesxx]

Driving for me, too. When I hit good shots off the tee I tend to carry a little more confidence in to the following shots, which is never a bad thing.

Having control over my short game has always been my saving grace in this game, and when that is on, watch out.

[turtleback]

I guess I am the weird one n the group, but for me it is when I am getting it up and down and saving strokes around the green.  Canning a couple of longish putts helps as well.

I've had good ball striking rounds where my short game and putting were from hunger and I didn't feel very good after those occasions.

[jshots]

For me it is hitting fairways with my driver... i've struggled with my driver for so long that even if I hit only half of my drives good I feel good about the round even if it didn't reflect in my score.

[kobalt]

for me it is any shot from 100 in. if i have the feel and can hit those half swing lobs/chips/ bump and runs then i feel like i can make up for being a little wild off the tee. my putting has averaged about 1.7 strokes a hole this year so for me it is all about giving myself a chance to putt.

[hero12]

Nothing bothers me more than hitting bad full iron shots.  I can miss every fairway, never get up and down, and 3 putt every hole, but if I hit my full iron shots well, I feel good.

[PockyStick]

accuracy on approach shots.