The "Stop Conning Yourself" Thread

[Osnola]

Conning myself about how bad I really am...Play a course (The Oaks in Pass Christian, MS) and shoot a 105, lose 5 or 6 balls.  Course pretty tight with lots of trees/briars along the fairways.

I then play a round at Pinewood in Slidell, LA and shoot a 94.  Difference is that Pinewood is pretty open...you can miss a fairway, end up in an adjoining fairway and still have a shot at the hole you are playing.  So, if I believe that I improved 11 strokes, I am conning myself....

[Vinsk]

Average male (US) is 5'9 height. 191 weight. I'd say 5'9 129 is small.

[Lihu]

Average male (US) is 5'9 height. 191 weight. I'd say 5'9 129 is small.

Wow, looks like it's 195.5 pounds???

Well, according to 2010 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these are the measurements of the average American man:

Height: 5 feet 9 inches (69.3 inches)

Weight: 195.5 pounds.

Waist circumference: 39.7 inches.Jul 25, 2014

The Average American Man Is Too Big For His Britches : NPR

Notice that this is according to the CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL .

[Duff McGee]

I'm pretty sure 129, 5'9 is on the "underweight" side of the BMI scale. Someone can look it up but I'm not going to lol.

[iacas]

Wow, looks like it's 195.5 pounds??? Notice that this is according to the CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL .

:offtopic:

[Braivo]

In reality bout 40% my drives go fairly straight and fairly long, most of the other 60% stay in play by either 1) pure luck or 2) they're too short to reach trouble. In my mind the split is about 80/20.

Then I think, "if only I could drive it straight I'd score well." In reality, I went to a local par 3 with my daughter where the longest hole was 100 yds, I still played bogey golf.

[Suchmo]

I'm pretty sure 129, 5'9 is on the "underweight" side of the BMI scale. Someone can look it up but I'm not going to lol.

Ha! It's actually at the low end of a healthy weight. I can't begin to think why a predominantly American forum would consider a healthy weight to be too low. Just kidding. I AM too skinny. A healthy weight for my height would be closer to 140. Back to the topic, I think my 7 carries close to 135, but I'd love to hit my driver further. Would I be conning myself if I hoped to get it to 260 consistently without adding bulk to my physique?

[mvmac]

Would I be conning myself if I hoped to get it to 260 consistently without adding bulk to my physique?

Probably, adding weight or muscle will only help you so much. Going to see more improvement working on mechanics than bulking.

[chris3putt]

I'm conning myself when I say "I'll just play my own game, and not care if I get beat by my playing partners."

Or, "I'll just enjoy the day, no matter how bad I play"

Or, " Yep, that's the 'feel' I was looking for. If I just do that for the rest of the round, I'll be sweet."

And, final and largest con :- "I know I'm improving because of all the effort I'm putting in!!"

[MrDC]

I thought of this thread the other day playing a short but tough course, tight fairways and very fast greens.

One guy in our usual group thought we should play the tips, because the whites were too short and we're getting "good enough" to consider moving back.

It was a con, the other guy in our group and myself thought it was nuts, we're not good enough, not even close.

But we played a couple of holes and did OK at best, so he conceded it was a bad idea and we moved up.

The thing is he has length, but it's spotty, he can get hot and rattle off some birdies, but it's spotty, and that's where the con creeps in- small successes give players delusions, more so in golf than many other things it seems, not sure why but golf is a self-conning hobby for many.

[Brakkus]

It depends doesn't it how much you want to improve. I love golf at this time of my life because it's relaxing and slower paced than my busy exhausting life. I will take pictures of the wildlife sometimes when I'm on my own. Also it's a skill and as my skill level rises so does the enjoyment of the game. I would always have a fair idea of when I had 3 putted a green or missed and iron or hit a ball OB. Because I hit shots I would consider serviceable I overestimated my ability rather than conned myself. Now I have an app to track stats on the way round. Wow what an eye opener. The numbers don't lie. It's cold hard facts but it has me thinking seriously about shot selection and specific shots that will impact my score. I agree with you a lot of guys I have played with just won't do it. As I have found out I'm a quiet relaxed person on golf rounds but it doesn't stop some having a go at my serious competitive approach as it appears. Really it's an excuse so they can keep conning themselves or live in denial about their own golf. I say enjoy it but I really respect players who excel and find that inspiring rather than threatening so I don't want to con myself

[rkim291968]

"I think I got it!"   - that's the most oft repeated con for me.

"I think I can improve further" - 2nd most recurring con.

It has been a 6+ year of roller coaster ride - many "I got it" and "I am getting better"s followed by "I thought I got it" and "ok, this is only a step back."

[Lihu]

"I think I got it!"   - that's the most oft repeated con for me.

"I think I can improve further" - 2nd most recurring con.

It has been a 6+ year of roller coaster ride - many "I got it" and "I am getting better"s followed by "I thought I got it" and "ok, this is only a step back."

I was thinking about this, and I think one thing everyone on this site seems to subscribe is to feel bad about every shot you make and think that you are the worst possible golfer out there. This way you're at the bottom all the time and never experience that roller coaster ride and can just focus on your swing improvements.

Golf is actually quite humbling, even without a peanut gallery sneering at you. So, it's quite possible that the above self deprecation works for many people.

A good shot could always have been better, a regulation par could have always been a birdie, no matter how well you do on the course you could have done better. Up to a point of course.

[billchao]

"I think I got it!"   - that's the most oft repeated con for me.

I fall victim to this at times. It mostly happens when I have a good round and assume that the good round is due to successfully changing my swing instead of simply having a good timing day. It's usually a slap in the face the next time I go out and play.

This is one of the reasons I don't pay much attention to individual scores. I like to see the overall range trending downwards, but the odd low round isn't really a good indication of how I'm improving.

I was thinking about this, and I think one thing everyone on this site seems to subscribe is to feel bad about every shot you make and think that you are the worst possible golfer out there.

I don't agree with that and I'm not really sure from where you got this impression.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

I was thinking about this, and I think one thing everyone on this site seems to subscribe is to feel bad about every shot you make and think that you are the worst possible golfer out there.

I don't agree with that and I'm not really sure from where you got this impression.

Gee, I wonder?

[billchao]

Gee, I wonder? :whistle:

Umm, okay...

[pumaAttack]

Who here has conned themselves into thinking that that "New Driver" is going to help them? Or that new iron set/premium ball/etc.

[Lihu]

Who here has conned themselves into thinking that that "New Driver" is going to help them? Or that new iron set/premium ball/etc.

Whenever I go to stores, there's always someone that is convincing themselves or their friends to buy this latest club or whatever because it will be sure to improve their game. Advertising is an amazing thing.