What do you use to keep track of your stroke count?

[Liko81]

Just thought I'd throw this out. There are a lot of ways to keep track of the number of swings you've taken during play of a hole before marking it down on the scorecard; which one do you find works best for you?

[Golfingdad]

Weird poll ... I like that you put "I just trust my head" last, almost as an afterthought.  I also think you need an accompanying poll showing age because I'm going to guess that about 99% of people under 85 will all vote "their head."  I've seen those silly counters, and bead strings, etc, in the gadget section of the golf store, but I have never once played with somebody who actually used one.

[indykappa]

i tried using apps on my phone and it was just too much of a hassle.  part of the reason i enjoy golf is because i get to toss my cell in the bag and forget it.

i prefer using my head, but i'm a gadget junkie...so if anyone has any neat stroke-counting thing-a-ma-bobbers, then please post a link

fwiw...i'm 33yrs old

[David in FL]

The day that I'm hitting the ball so many times that I can't keep track of them will be a good day to take up another sport......

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by indykappa

i prefer using my head, but i'm a gadget junkie...so if anyone has any neat stroke-counting thing-a-ma-bobbers, then please post a link

[Dave2512]

Easy enough to remember how many it takes to get it in the hole. My brain is fried but I'm good for the 8 minutes or so it takes to finish a hole. Especially when you consider that there is a specific goal in mind. Doesn't everyone stand over a ball and and think about what shot/stroke it is relative to par or whatever the scoring opportunity may be? Heck that's a big reason I blow short putts. By letting the gremlins in my head go wild trying to save par, bogey or worse.

[HazardMagnet]

I got some fingers! They work well for me.

I am truly lucky that I have the opportunity to play many courses, but perhaps only that one time. Not the "big" ones, but many that are my fellow golfers would say are their favorite ones. Finishing out a hole and turning around to see what I have just accomplished, gives me tremendous satisfaction.

When I am at home, my favorite partner will Tee off at # 1, and start doing the Calculus formulas on what he needs to break his personal course record.

I don't want to know. Not by hole, not at the turn and especially not at the last 3 or four holes. That's his game, not mine. I just want to play.

When my golf shoes are off, that's when I'm interested in what has occurred. When we are playing, and my partner  starts to get what I call the "score itch", I remind him he didn't take the two stroke penalty for just pulling into the parking lot? I didn't think so...

[Derrick Parker]

Pennys. Put some in your left pocket and everytime you make a stroke shift one to your right.  Of course for some of us, carrying that many pennys would cause our pants to fall down.

[Motown88]

I feel like this question comes up every month on here, with that said I'll answer it the same way I do everytime.  I use GolfLogix on my iPhone.  I don't see why any serious golfer would not use GolfLogix or a similar service that can store your score online for you to review later.  You can also track tons of other stats that may help you address your issues in your golf game.  To me those that keep score in their head are playing just for fun and not to better themselves or compete.

[Zeph]

The old fashioned score card or an app om my phone.

[Fourputt]

While i'm perfectly capable of replaying and counting every shot I make during a round, I use the free devices that every course provides.  That would be scorecard and pencil (preferably with an eraser ).

Don't understand the obsession some have for with messing with an iPhone all the time.  My Garmin GPS is capable of keeping score for 4, stats, and downloading to my computer, but it's not worth the hassle for me so I just use it for distances.  If I want stats (rarely), it's just as fast to note them on the card.

Originally Posted by Motown88

I feel like this question comes up every month on here, with that said I'll answer it the same way I do everytime.  I use GolfLogix on my iPhone.  I don't see why any serious golfer would not use GolfLogix or a similar service that can store your score online for you to review later.  You can also track tons of other stats that may help you address your issues in your golf game.  To me those that keep score in their head are playing just for fun and not to better themselves or compete.

Not so.  Some of us are just less ACD than others.  I can look at a round and know exactly where I lost strokes without noting everything down.

[newtogolf]

I've been trying to keep better stats on my game so I use OOBGolf app on my iPhone with the GPS feature turned off.

[dsc123]

Originally Posted by Zeph

The old fashioned score card or an app om my phone.

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I've been trying to keep better stats on my game so I use OOBGolf app on my iPhone with the GPS feature turned off.

Originally Posted by Motown88

I feel like this question comes up every month on here, with that said I'll answer it the same way I do everytime.  I use GolfLogix on my iPhone.  I don't see why any serious golfer would not use GolfLogix or a similar service that can store your score online for you to review later.  You can also track tons of other stats that may help you address your issues in your golf game.  To me those that keep score in their head are playing just for fun and not to better themselves or compete.

Originally Posted by Zeph

The old fashioned score card or an app om my phone.

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I've been trying to keep better stats on my game so I use OOBGolf app on my iPhone with the GPS feature turned off.

I think OP is talking about counting your score for the hole, not the round.  i.e., using beads or something so that you know you've hit the ball four times not three.

I was shocked when I looked at the results and saw 19% use an app on their phone to count their strokes.  But this explains it.

[Zeph]

Ah. When you mention it, it makes sense. I keep count of the shots on a hole in my head. On disaster holes where I need 10+ shots, I may have to re-count after I've holed out, but I stopped using beads a long time ago.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Zeph

Ah. When you mention it, it makes sense.

I keep count of the shots on a hole in my head. On disaster holes where I need 10+ shots, I may have to re-count after I've holed out, but I stopped using beads a long time ago.

Well, duh! I read it as total too.  If you can't count high enough to keep track of strokes on a hole then maybe you need more range time before coming to the course.

I've never known anyone but a couple of very bad women players who used a stroke counter.

[Liko81]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Weird poll ... I like that you put "I just trust my head" last, almost as an afterthought.  I also think you need an accompanying poll showing age because I'm going to guess that about 99% of people under 85 will all vote "their head."  I've seen those silly counters, and bead strings, etc, in the gadget section of the golf store, but I have never once played with somebody who actually used one.

That's one opinion. The poll shows about a 50-50 split between mental scoring and other methods, so without a breakdown by age I would hazard my own guess that yours is wrong. As far as ordering the choices, the current order is by complexity/cost of the solution; keeping track in your head is free and the simplest method, while a digital scorecard is usually the most expensive (taking into account the cost of the smartphone in addition to the free app run on it, in that case). I ordered the questions this way and not from simplest to most complex to encourage people to at least consider all options before saying you just keep track in your head.

BTW, this thread was post #2 on this forum, and this post, #4, will be my last as the welcome I have received has been downright chilling. Thank you Zeph, newtogolf, Hazard Magnet, indykappa, and Dave for your helpful and at least neutrally-voiced posts. Fourputt and David in FL, shame on you; I don't know how you got to be forum leaders or what the title implies here, but this forum will die if its "leaders" continue to show the elitism and snobbishness evident in your response to such a simple question.

[dsc123]

Originally Posted by Liko81

That's one opinion. The poll shows about a 50-50 split between mental scoring and other methods, so without a breakdown by age I would hazard my own guess that yours is wrong. As far as ordering the choices, the current order is by complexity/cost of the solution; keeping track in your head is free and the simplest method, while a digital scorecard is usually the most expensive (taking into account the cost of the smartphone in addition to the free app run on it, in that case). I ordered the questions this way and not from simplest to most complex to encourage people to at least consider all options before saying you just keep track in your head.

I think its likely that the 9 people who chose apps or pencil misunderstood the question and that only 2 of the 21 actually use a device to count strokes in the way that you meant.  Those two are probably you and Derrick Parker, judging from the responses.

I think I've seen someone use beads once or twice and I would guess that I've played with 300 or 400 people.

Originally Posted by Liko81

BTW, this thread was post #2 on this forum, and this post, #4, will be my last as the welcome I have received has been downright chilling. Thank you Zeph, newtogolf, Hazard Magnet, indykappa, and Dave for your helpful and at least neutrally-voiced posts. Fourputt and David in FL, shame on you; I don't know how you got to be forum leaders or what the title implies here, but this forum will die if its "leaders" continue to show the elitism and snobbishness evident in your response to such a simple question.

Since you've only got a few posts I looked at the the others (you're at 7, btw ).  You asked about G10s and got kind and helpful responses, and you posted on a few other threads but either had no direct replies or a reply that was in agreement with you.  So I've got to think that the "downright chilling" response you received was based on this thread.  Gotta say, t his is the internet, you've got to grow thicker skin if you're going to ask for people's opinions.  David in FL's comment was extremely mild.  By your own count you had 6 helpful responses and two unhelpful ones? "Downright chilling"?

[airguard]

I love it!!!! I have had holes where I need one of these (or was it 2)!!!! I'm the type of guy who would show up on the first tee on Saturday morning with one of these hanging from my bag for a few laughs, mostly at myself.

Originally Posted by Golfingdad