What is your target score?

[flopster]

At my level anything below 80 is a good day, a 79 is good on a tougher course but adequate on a 70 or lower rated course in low 120's slope. I think my best indexed round was a 74 on 73.9 at 139 slope the terminal didn't want to accept it after the first attempt I think it indexed like 0.4 or something close to that. Just wondering what number you guys like to target at your ability level.

[Cupcakus]

I start every round knowing I'll break 90 but it still doesn't happen as much as I would like

[JP golf]

Target vs. Expectation?...  I guess honestly I go in thinking 39-39=78 target.  My goal is +1 every three holes (or better of course).  Now, actual expectations...  82 or lower - anything above 82 and I feel like I struggled around the course that day.  78 and I'm happy but I expect somewhere between 78-82.

I adjust a little based on the course that I'm playing but I guess 78 is my base target.  I don't really target any lower because I feel like I'm putting undue pressure on myself to score and I like to keep it fun.  If I start pressing and pushing to much I'll start to look at hazards and lose focus on what I'm trying to do vs. being worried about what I might do...   Hope that makes a little sense.

Yea, so my allowance is 1 bogey every three holes - =Target 78  (assuming par 72 course)

[TimS65]

Target for me is 45 on par 35 9 hole course. However rarely get that! Too many blow holes either due to bad shots (shanks/ pushes) or bad shot choice (trying for too much distance from poor lies). Hence my handicap. 

Yesterday was a good case in point - short 334 yard par 4 took 8. Driver short and left. Tried a 6 iron but was interfered with by a tree on back swing and hit the ball across the fairway into trees. Had a hittable lie and tried to get through a gap to the fairway but didn't quite clear the treeline. Left my ball under branches so I couldn't see it properly during swing and topped it about 10 yards. Left me around 65 yards to front of green over a bunker and hit the last foot of the bunker just under the lip. Out the bunker, 2 putts - 8. 

And yet on a par 5 480 yard uphill hole, hit driver around 250 and 3 wood off the deck onto the edge of the green. Had never been closer than 60 yards in 2 previously! So I know I CAN do it, its just consistency and better shot choice.

[Dave2512]

No more than 40 a side. 

[inthehole]

Anything over 86 is a disappointment.  

[bkuehn1952]

On a "standard" length course with a par of 70+, anything in the 70's is a good score for me.  

[alleztom]

This is the worst possible thing I can do. As soon as I focus on score things fall apart and I put pressure on myself to score well, rather than playing well. Focus on playing well, scoring will come. Process not outcome.

[Hardspoon]

I "aim" for bogey golf.  My game would suffer if I worried about aggregate score or counted up my strokes and tried to figure out "what I needed" on a certain hole, but for playing each hole I just treat a bogey like a par and take one hole at a time.

[Mr. Desmond]

No expectations -- play the shot, it is what it is, play the next shot ... the score is the score.

[bernie]

Just once in my life I would like to shoot par. It is a dream I will always have.

[Club Rat]

My goal is to play one shot at a time and do whatever it takes to make par on the hole I'm playing.

When par is risky, then saving bogey becomes the goal.

When I'm in deep Sh$t and make worse than bogey, then I'll grind to make a birdie when the opportunity comes up.

Par 5's, short par 4's & short par 3's are usually the better chances for birds.

That's my approach for every round, especially during tournaments.

Club Rat

[Lihu]

Below 80 is really nice, below 82 is good, above 85 is not great.

90 or above was a total screwup day, and I probably wasn't actually trying very hard or it was a new and tough course. At least those are my excuses. :-P

[Natural Patrick]

My target goal is to break 80 every time I play.

[billchao]

I don't really have a target; I just go out and try to play to the best of my abilities. Target implies I'm actively shooting for something, which I'm not, especially considering I usually don't pay attention to my total score until after the round.

[mvmac]

Target vs. Expectation?...  I guess honestly I go in thinking 39-39=78 target.  My goal is +1 every three holes (or better of course).  Now, actual expectations...  82 or lower - anything above 82 and I feel like I struggled around the course that day.  78 and I'm happy but I expect somewhere between 78-82.

I like your strategy of breaking the round up into three-hole chunks. Easier to manage your round and expectations. 

[Mr. Desmond]

No expectations -- play the shot, it is what it is, play the next shot ... the score is the score.

I should add that my goal  on any one hole is nothing more than bogey.  If I do that,  with a combination of talent and management, then the score will be more pleasing.

But yes, I am managing  for the lowest  score possible

[dave s]

More of an expectation than a 'target score' for me.  I expect I'll shot around 90 each time out, given my accurate 16.5 hdcp.  If I'm playing exceptionally well, the card will say 84 or 85.  If I'm stinkin' up the place, it'll say 92 or 93. 

Since short game is the strongest area of my game, I can roll the ball from tee to green and usually get up and down in 2-3 shots all day long. If I'm hitting the ball solid, I'll break 85. Also, I limit my mistakes and have good golf course management skills.  This means I keep the ball in play to limit penalty shots to near zero per round.

At this stage of my life and game, it is what it is.

dave