Looking for quality shots and swing over low scores

[Jeremie Boop]

8 minutes ago, Lihu said:

Sure, but you're not any different than the rest of us blogging on this site. We're all working to improve our swings and our games.

What I was agreeing with @Dave2512 was we don't really hit more than 4 or 5 good shots when we score 85. The only time an 85 shooter will hit a higher percentage of good shots is on the driving range. More good shots and the lower the score, less good shots the higher the score.

So, just enjoy the game and your swing improvements for what they're worth, and don't get all wound up with score. At least, wait until you're like a 4 or 5 handicap before winding yourself up because of a bad score. . .

I already said I don't get worked up about score, which is why I said in regards to this thread topic that I care more about quality shots over lower scores. Also, that's why I said it's a personal evaluation about whether someone like me, or you, hit enough "good shots" during a round to justify being happy regardless of the score carded.

I would amend one thing about the underlined portion:

More good shots and the lower the score, more bad shots the higher the score.

It's my estimation that a bad shot has a bigger impact on your score than a good shot typically does. That's just a guess of course, but it seems to hold true for me. A good shot may save me a stroke, whereas a bad shot will typically cost me 2.

[Lihu]

4 minutes ago, Jeremie Boop said:

I already said I don't get worked up about score, which is why I said in regards to this thread topic that I care more about quality shots over lower scores. Also, that's why I said it's a personal evaluation about whether someone like me, or you, hit enough "good shots" during a round to justify being happy regardless of the score carded.

I would amend one thing about the underlined portion:

More good shots and the lower the score, more bad shots the higher the score.

It's my estimation that a bad shot has a bigger impact on your score than a good shot typically does. That's just a guess of course, but it seems to hold true for me. A good shot may save me a stroke, whereas a bad shot will typically cost me 2.

True, and reinforcing your statement even more, one could be hitting great shots all day and have highly uncooperative greens.

Scratch players like @BuckeyeNut putt like demons. I'm guessing he made a deal with the devil or something. . .

[GolfLug]

1 hour ago, Lihu said:

Sure it exists. You can hit the normal amount of greens and just 3 putt more than usual. In fact, you could stick even more greens when the greens are slow which makes for really bad lag putting conditions. Of course, it doesn't mean you are hitting really good shots, but maybe just good shots for your handicap.

I think the OP is saying that if you get all caught up with only score, then you lose out on the good feeling of hitting decent strikes from having a decent swing.

@Lihu, ball striking and scores are related. Period. C'mon man, does 'strokes gained' mean anything?

You give the outlier example of having a bad round because you had a s**ty day putting eventhough you hit bunch of 'good/great' shots. So, how much worse will you be if you had a bunch of 3 putts AND none of those good/great shots? Scores relate to ball striking even if you don't recognize it because you s**t the bed with your putting. It would be s**tier without good ball striking.

You shooting a hugely low score compared to your average even though you hit 3 OBs more than your average but somehow you putted phenomenally better ("I one putted 18 times today") is an OUTLIER, not the rule.  

BTW, I am simply responding to what OP clearly wrote. Biomechanical perfection (I am assuming that it is meant only metaphorically as good/great shots in this context) OVER low scores - as if they are not related. And yes, this is all relative to one's INDIVIDUAL skill level. So let's not bring 'tour level ball striking' vs. 'your level ball striking' as some sort of differentiation point.

Also, absolutely nothing wrong in enjoying a few good or even great shots regardless of score. Who doesn't? I sure do. Heavens knows that there are days that is the ONLY positive you take home is the 2 good drives a one great 8 iron you hit all day after 4 hours of humiliation otherwise. One can certainly build on that. Yes, that is a good thing.

Just doesn't make sense that score is not related.

 

[Lihu]

12 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

@Lihu, ball striking and scores are related. Period. C'mon man, does 'strokes gained' mean anything?

You give the outlier example of having a bad round because you had a s**ty day putting eventhough you hit bunch of 'good/great' shots. So, how much worse will you be if you had a bunch of 3 putts AND none of those good/great shots? Scores relate to ball striking even if you don't recognize it because you s**t the bed with your putting. It would be s**tier without good ball striking.

You shooting a hugely low score compared to your average even though you hit 3 OBs more than your average but somehow you putted phenomenally better ("I one putted 18 times today") is an OUTLIER, not the rule.  

BTW, I am simply responding to what OP clearly wrote. Biomechanical perfection (I am assuming that it is meant only metaphorically as good/great shots in this context) OVER low scores - as if they are not related. And yes, this is all relative to one's INDIVIDUAL skill level. So let's not bring 'tour level ball striking' vs. 'your level ball striking' as some sort of differentiation point.

Also, absolutely nothing wrong in enjoying a few good or even great shots regardless of score. Who doesn't? I sure do. Heavens knows that there are days that is the ONLY positive you take home is the 2 good drives a one great 8 iron you hit all day after 4 hours of humiliation otherwise. One can certainly build on that. Yes, that is a good thing.

Just doesn't make sense that score is not related.

 

Either I didn't make myself clear or you grossly misread what I wrote!

 

[Dave2512]

50 minutes ago, Jeremie Boop said:

I don't know, I think that's a pretty personal evaluation to make.

Yeah there is that for sure. I don't know how to say this without sounding like a dick but it's not my intent. The personal part of it is why I don't think lesser skilled golfers have a clear picture of what hitting a succession of really good shots is. For most good = a result that didn't find trouble. There will be some obvious happy accidents that are clearly not good and don't lead to trouble, the thinned hybrid that rolls 70 yards to the same distance a better shot would have traveled etc.

When I play with lesser skilled golfers I hear nice shot a lot, like almost every freaking hole a lot. I hear it when I hit what I consider poor shots. It may look like decent golf because I make 9-10 pars a round and doubles are rare but reality is it's a bunch of decent misses. My best shots are so unlike my average shot and my not quite horrid shots strung together would be a dream day for a bogey golfer. And while that would be good for them it's still not good golf.

Example I played with some folks yesterday and was getting the nice shot stuff. On a weird par 5 that has a forced layup behind a scrubby area with some 30 yards of reeds I hit a decent 4w that left me a good angle to hit it somewhat near the green but it's not a reachable in two hole. So it's two decent 4w's that get me to 78 yards from the hole. I haven't edited that round in GG but I'd say both were in the normal range but not close to the right side grey dots that represent the best shots with that club. From 78 yards I expect to land it in a good spot but I chunked it a bit which closed the face a little and it looked like a baby draw that hit the green but left me a very long putt. But it's GIR and I made par with 3 decent shots so it probably looked pretty good to the guy that struggled to make a 1 putt double. It didn't feel like a victory or anything, didn't feel bad either but I know I could have played the hole better. From 78 out I'm thinking give myself a realistic birdie opportunity not 2 putting for par.

[WUTiger]

19 hours ago, Valleygolfer said:

... After a day of golf, although I appreciate a low score, my memories of the day are that of the few flush shots I hit during the round. ...

It depends on how old you are. This discussion has come up with my senior's group this month.

Once you get much past 50, you have the swing you have, and simply try to maintain it. My most reliable swing is turning out to be a 3/4 swing, stop at the ear, and rotate through on balance if possible. Physical flaws start to limit the beauty of one's swing.

Some of the 60+ guys have less-than-pretty swings, but it's their swing and they sometimes shoot in the low 80s from about 6,000 yards. 

[Jeremie Boop]

25 minutes ago, Dave2512 said:

Yeah there is that for sure. I don't know how to say this without sounding like a dick but it's not my intent. The personal part of it is why I don't think lesser skilled golfers have a clear picture of what hitting a succession of really good shots is. For most good = a result that didn't find trouble. There will be some obvious happy accidents that are clearly not good and don't lead to trouble, the thinned hybrid that rolls 70 yards to the same distance a better shot would have traveled etc.

When I play with lesser skilled golfers I hear nice shot a lot, like almost every freaking hole a lot. I hear it when I hit what I consider poor shots. It may look like decent golf because I make 9-10 pars a round and doubles are rare but reality is it's a bunch of decent misses. My best shots are so unlike my average shot and my not quite horrid shots strung together would be a dream day for a bogey golfer. And while that would be good for them it's still not good golf.

Example I played with some folks yesterday and was getting the nice shot stuff. On a weird par 5 that has a forced layup behind a scrubby area with some 30 yards of reeds I hit a decent 4w that left me a good angle to hit it somewhat near the green but it's not a reachable in two hole. So it's two decent 4w's that get me to 78 yards from the hole. I haven't edited that round in GG but I'd say both were in the normal range but not close to the right side grey dots that represent the best shots with that club. From 78 yards I expect to land it in a good spot but I chunked it a bit which closed the face a little and it looked like a baby draw that hit the green but left me a very long putt. But it's GIR and I made par with 3 decent shots so it probably looked pretty good to the guy that struggled to make a 1 putt double. It didn't feel like a victory or anything, didn't feel bad either but I know I could have played the hole better. From 78 out I'm thinking give myself a realistic birdie opportunity not 2 putting for par.

I understand what you are saying, as I get told "nice shot" a lot by people because the ball went forward a good distance in sort of the right direction. I know when I hit a good shot and when I don't so I'll usually respond and say "I thinned that one, I caught that one a bit fat, pulled/pushed it, etc.." I don't consider a shot that I hit bad but ended up good to be a good shot, just lucky. I have runs where I do hit a lot of really good shots, as in exactly where I want to hit them. The problem is, I also have runs where I can't hit the ball anywhere close to where I want. It is completely based on how good I'm doing with my compensations and timing given my swing issues. I will literally have 4-5 holes where I play at par or even under par sometimes solely because my timing is on, only to fall apart for a few holes later. That's why I used to struggle with not getting angry when I had a bad hole or more, until I realized that I had to fix the flip and stop relying on good timing to score well.

[Groucho Valentine]

20 hours ago, Valleygolfer said:

After evaluating my game, I seem to enjoy biomechanical perfection over low scores. I know I am probably far from perfection but I am moving towards it. After a day of golf, although I appreciate a low score, my memories of the day are that of the few flush shots I hit during the round.

I can only gather this is the (selective of course) perfectionist in me. Anyone else on the same page?

 

You're kinda weird, lol. 

Id rather shank the ball around the course and shoot 69 than hit solid shots all round and shoot 80. Because I've done that. The number is all that matters. 

[14ledo81]

23 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

You're kinda weird, lol. 

Id rather shank the ball around the course and shoot 69 than hit solid shots all round and shoot 80. Because I've done that. The number is all that matters to me. 

I corrected that for you......

[Groucho Valentine]

Just now, 14ledo81 said:

I corrected that for you......

 You would really take a higher score if you can hit a few more "good" shots a round? I dont get that. 

[Lihu]

27 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

You're kinda weird, lol. 

Id rather shank the ball around the course and shoot 69 than hit solid shots all round and shoot 80. Because I've done that. The number is all that matters. 

I've only seen people really "lose it" over a duff, shank, blade, hosel rockets, bad putt, etc. but never after tallying up their scores at the end of a round.

Usually, one accepts the inevitable horrible score that comes from a string of bad shots. By the time they are tallying up the score, they've already cooled down from the horrible shank that started them on the path of self destruction and usually just sigh or gasp.

 

4 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

 You would really take a higher score if you can hit a few more "good" shots a round? I dont get that. 

. . .and hear "Nice miss!" the entire round?

[Groucho Valentine]

Just now, Lihu said:

I've only seen people really "lose it" over a duff, shank, blade, hosel rockets, bad putt, etc. but never after tallying up their scores at the end of a round.

Usually, one accepts the inevitable horrible score that comes from a string of bad shots. By the time they are tallying up the score, they've already cooled down from the horrible shank that started them on the path of self destruction and usually just sigh or gasp.

 

. . .and hear "Nice miss!" the entire round?

Hell yeah!

[Lihu]

Just now, Groucho Valentine said:

Hell yeah!

I also did that an entire round, and just said to my partner that I'm just starting to learn how to hit perfect knockdown shots. . .he didn't buy it. . .

[newtogolf]

I had a round where i hit 3 of the best shots I ever hit consecutively.  I hit the drive longer than I ever had, but it landed in fairway bunker.  I hit a 7i out of the fairway bunker longer and higher than I ever hit my 7i and it rolled into the water.  I then hit an approach shot with more back spin than I ever had and it backed up right off the green into the water.  

At any other time and place I'd have been thrilled to hit those 3 shots in a row, problem was I ended up with an 8 on the hole.  I'd have rather hit 3 mediocre shots and scored a 5.  

[Groucho Valentine]

3 minutes ago, Lihu said:

I also did that an entire round, and just said to my partner that I'm just starting to learn how to hit perfect knockdown shots. . .he didn't buy it. . .

Yep. It also makes you look balla as hell. Its like a dude that goes out with a 5 iron and putter and shoots 75. 

[Big C]

Ever since I started maintaining a handicap and playing in competitive events, my perspective has shifted a bit. 

During casual rounds, I would much prefer a round where my ball striking is on point and I'm just getting unlucky and/or my putts aren't falling. In the long run, to reach the level that I want to in this game, I'm going to need the shot I draw up in my mind to mirror the shot that I actually hit a higher percentage of the time. Whether that is reflected immediately on the scorecard isn't all that relevant to me.

And plus, those rounds have the added bonus of letting me know that my swing is improving without actually lowering my handicap. It's a bit sand-bagger'ish to admit that, but I'm comfortable with it because I'm still trying my best on every shot. It's just that after the round, I'm able to tell myself "don't worry about that 84, Big C, you hit the ball great today and come next week's tournament, you are still going to get 8 strokes."

Now when it comes to tournaments, it's a whole different ballgame. Get the ball in the hole as quickly as possible - period. I'll take the world's ugliest 79 ahead of a beautiful 80 and not think twice about it.

[Valleygolfer]

3 hours ago, Lihu said:

I think it boils down to two camps:

1) People who feel better when they score lower no matter how it happens.

2) Those that only feel better only when they make good shots.

My assertion is that a 10HC (mid-handicap) doesn't hit enough good shots in any round to be in the second camp and be happy playing golf.

I don't only feel better about the shots. I appreciate both, just prefer to know I earned it

 

1 hour ago, Jeremie Boop said:

I understand what you are saying, as I get told "nice shot" a lot by people because the ball went forward a good distance in sort of the right direction. I know when I hit a good shot and when I don't so I'll usually respond and say "I thinned that one, I caught that one a bit fat, pulled/pushed it, etc.." I don't consider a shot that I hit bad but ended up good to be a good shot, just lucky.

This. Outcomes are often tolerable with poorly hit shots and I can scramble for pars unless I am in the trees and have to chip out. I can hit two well hit balls and two putt for par. I enjoy the well hit round better, at least the round with more well hit balls.

[Dave2512]

Score means so much with golf not sure there is any way to get around it. I golf a lot so I see a lot of golfers of different abilities. One thing that plagues nearly everyone is they don't hit enough good shots to get much out of it when they do. I suppose the exception is a par 3 where one shot could be the only shot. I don't care if I pummel my drive if everything that follows leads to bogey.

Good to me means I know the shot can't be improved upon that it's the best shot with the best result that I can achieve. If I was to start chasing that I'd play many rounds of miserable golf because it doesn't happen often. My scores don't wary as much as the quality of my shots do.