Would you rather be More or Less Consistent?

[newtogolf]

Overall I'd prefer to be consistent but it would be nice to have a few really good rounds to give me a sneak peek to indicate where my game is headed and give me some extra motivation to get there quicker.

[BuckeyeNut]

I shoot 75 every time I play...now that is consistent!

HEH

[Shorty]

Last Saturday was the first round of our Club Championships.

Friend of mine, in my group, off 7, shot 87.

On Sunday, he had 1 under par. Same course.

Today, in the second round of the Club Championships he had 93.

'nuff said.

[Jmdmbike]

I'd prefer to be more consistent than I am - somehow don't think that'll happen. Doesn't seem to be the nature of the game anyhow.

[BuckeyeNut]

Originally Posted by poser

I've been over hauling my swing for the last year so I've had scores as low as 67 and as high as 87.  Thats 20 shots difference.  Like the above said unless you play the same course everytime you tee it up I don't see how you can be within 5 shots everytime.  Even tour players have rounds in the 80s

67....that's salty!!!!  Nice playing and I appreciate the input from a low HC player.  I don't doubt people tend to shoot the five shot range they claim.......but I think the high end of the scale on bad days is cut short.  IE...it's already a bad day , so why not take that free drop...etc, etc....

[GJBenn85]

Consistent.  It'd be great to know what the hell the ball is going to do every time I take a shot.  It is extremely frustrating to me to have rounds where I show a lot of promise in moving in the right direction only to have it completely reverse during later rounds.  I'm in a real slump lately compared to the significant improvements I had during August/early September.

[namkrats]

Always more consistent

[MEfree]

Reading everyone's responses and seeing the poll results has been fun.  I voted for inconsistent, but it was a tough choice.

Originally Posted by ghalfaire

This is a difficult question.  But I think it depends upon your handicap and if you play for $$ or not.  If you're a 20 and you play for $$ (or Euros or whatever) it is better to be inconsistent unless you like losing.  I am inconsistent and just this year I have scored 83 (best) and 105 (worst).  I admit this has been a bad year for the handicap as I have not been able to play or practice very much for various reasons (life happens I guess).  But in terms of winning, the rounds in the 80s were money makers.  Given the way the handicaps are calculated I suspect it is better for double digit handicaps to be a little inconsistent (most are whether they want to be or not).

But I seem to be well now and other distractions have been resolved so I'll rededicate myself to becoming more consistent again and with a lower handicap (creek don't rise and Lord willing).

I think it depends on the type of money you are playing for- If you are playing regular nassaus against your friends, I think you will be better served by consistency.  Remember a guy who shoots 20 rounds between 81 and 83 will have a HIGHER handicap that a guy who shoots 80 ten times and 90 ten times.  However, if you play tournament golf, especially 1 round comps, the guy who can shoot well under his handicap has a chance to win on his good days while the guy who shoots near his handicap doesn't have much of a chance in a large field.

Here is an interesting article about consistency featuring two Nationwide players with similar scoring averages that shows the the more inconsistent player doing much better.  Danny Wax is struggling having played all 23 NW events so far this year with scoring range of 66 to 75 while Daniel Chopra has been over 75 six times, but has a chance to get his tour card for 2012.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNut

Nobody shoots consistently within a 5 shot margin.............lets all be honest here.  Anyone who claims to shoot within a tight range of scores doesn't count all the strokes.

agreed it you mean 80 to 84, but not if you mean 5+/-  your average on the same course. (aka 80 to 90 with a 85 ave)

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNut

My range of scores for 2011 is (-2) 70 and (+15) 87.  Everybody has bad days when our golf ball seeks out every bad spot on the course and scores will always spiral out of control pretty fast on those bad days.  Even the worlds best tour players do the same......even the best tour players toss in the occasional round in the 80's.

Occasionally they do under severe conditions, but there are some guys who can go years without shooting in the 80s under normal conditions.

[poser]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNut

67....that's salty!!!!  Nice playing and I appreciate the input from a low HC player.  I don't doubt people tend to shoot the five shot range they claim.......but I think the high end of the scale on bad days is cut short.  IE...it's already a bad day , so why not take that free drop...etc, etc....

Very true.  I know alot of my high rounds come alot from the mental side though.  When I'm not hitting it well I usually just almost quit trying and start drinking lol.  There has been alot of drinking lately.  Some of those days I could probably scramble my butt off and come out with a a high 70s round but, for some reason if I know I can't shoot under for the day because of a bad front nine I just throw in the towel.  For sure something I really need to work on.  I also have friends if they have a bad day then they don't post their score and just call it a practice round.

[gduguid]

For me just starting out consistency would be the most important. If i had a consistent swing and was able to shoot well I would be able to improve on that.

[Stewie007]

I feel that I would rather be consistent, which I pretty much am. Consistently horrible, really. To me, when I shoot a better score, and then repeat it the next outing (or at least come close), it says that whatever I learned that helped me improve my score stuck with me.

If I find that I shot a 110 and the next two weeks I shot 106, then for my skill level I'm not going backwards. As I improve, say I shoot a 95 and then the following week I shoot a 98, it tells me that the improvements stuck.

[Topper]

Is this a trick question?

Originally Posted by MEfree

Assuming your scoring average does not change, would you rather see your scores all bunched around your average, or spread all over the place with more really good and more really bad rounds?  If you play a bunch of different courses, it assumes they are all around the same difficulty.

i.e.  78, 85 and 93 OR 83, 85 and 87?

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by Topper

Is this a trick question?

no just bad math on my part...should have been 92 not 93...would go back and fix it but do only see the edit button for this post, not the original

[sean_miller]

Not sure. I read a lot of comments in previous years where guys called new playing partners posers and "vanity cappers" for not playing to approximately their handicap during a particular round. Several even questioned the validity of the entire USGA handicap index system (and I suppose the RCGA which is very similar) when a single digit player didn't break 90. Now apparently routinely shooting terrible rounds is in vogue for 2011. Now it's getting your overall game to a point where you're pretty close to your index every time out that's seen as fraudulent. If I had the kind of putting game where an under par round was commonplace, I can't see how a score of 93 would even be possible on that same course.

Originally Posted by Topper

Is this a trick question?

Quote:

Originally Posted by MEfree

Assuming your scoring average does not change, would you rather see your scores all bunched around your average, or spread all over the place with more really good and more really bad rounds?  If you play a bunch of different courses, it assumes they are all around the same difficulty.

i.e.  78, 85 and 93 OR 83, 85 and 87?

[mrchi]

I don't know if one would call this consistent or not, but I'll take these scores over mine any day!!!

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNut

This is typical of what you should see as far as score ranges go for a 1HC..........

HC's will vary as do the scores............I'm not always a 1.

My index was in the 1's for most of the year, it was also in the 2's some......... I also jumped to a 3.2 early in the year recovering from winter rust.   Right now my index is 1.7.  On my home course from the tees I play, that translates to a 2HC.  Technically speaking....I'm not even a 1HC right now on my home course.  LOL

If I go somewhere easier....I am  It just depends where I play. You just have to keep in mind how handicaps are calculated because only the 10best scores out of 20 count.  My only point is that people who say for example....."I always shoot between 95-100" are kidding themselves because there is no way in hell that is possible if they are being truly honest with themselves.  I'm not saying they can't shoot those scores.  What I am saying is those ranges are much larger.....

[bunkerputt]

I would like to wake up any day and shoot 77, until I made improvements and did the same at 76, 75, 74, etc.  The kind of body and game that could produce that would be nice to have.  Instead I get 72 sometimes and 82 other times.  Sometimes even 92...

[Pope33]

I've just never seen a 1 handicap shoot a 87 before! I am a 3 and my high round of the year was an 83. So I guess I am more consistent than most. But to say someone who shoots all there scores between 5 strokes is not counting all there strokes is just plain ignorant.

[imtomtomim]

Worst round this year for me was an 84(+12), best being 69(-3).  I feel like I go high 70's too often,but hey, whatever the math comes out to.

I see a lot of people here looking for consistency, but hey, I'd much rather shoot half my scores under 75 and the other half over 95, then shooting 80-85 with little chance of going under.  I'd rather have greatness and failures than live with mediocrity.

Then again, if my scores are that far apart, something is seriously wrong.