How Does Confidence Correlate to Enjoyment of the Game?

[JonMA1]

Hole 6 of my home course is par 4 which dog legs to the left. The landing area is quite wide, but the tee shot has to be long enough to clear the corner yet short enough to avoid the fairway bunkers behind. Still, it's what most would consider an easy hole.

On one day, I might leave the face of my 6 iron open just a hair and turn what should be a wedge to the green into a long iron approach. On another day, I hit a low line-drive off the tee that slices right. These two shots might end up in the exact same location, yet my attitude couldn't be more different.

How I'm playing at the time and the confidence it brings make the same result and following shots feel different. When I'm going through a period of relatively good ball striking, a mis-hit shot doesn't bother me as long as it's in play. I'm going to feel pretty good about my chances on the next. But when struggling, the best shot in the world feels like an anomaly that can be followed only by a craptacular one.

It finally clicked this year that confidence is what I enjoy most about the game - even if it's difficult to come by, or maybe because it's difficult to come by. Standing over a ball with a 4 iron looking at a green protected on one side by water, and feeling nothing but confidence is a high. When that confidence carries over from round to round, it makes the game so much fun. That's not to say a single low round of golf doesn't make me happy, just that it's not the same as being in the groove.

Is this the case for anyone else? Or is it winning tournaments, taking money from your partners, shooting below a certain score, or just having time on the course?

[Hacker James]

not sure how much confidence correlates to enjoyment, but I do know how lack of it is not much fun. Bad to worse. OTOH, there are those times during a particularly bad round, that something might happen that turns it all around and I can finish decently, Problem is when there are not enough holes remaining.   Then we have number 18.......(eveyrbody has experienced that)

[Patch]

Confidence in anything folks do is always a good thing. It controls fear of the unknown. 

In golf, If I play poorly it's no big deal because I have the confidence to know l will play better...eventually. 

I have a practice regimine where I actually practice from tough lies, and other bad situations. Example; a few days ago I was practicing hitting balls over a bunker to the pin behind it. In my mind it also doubled as a water hazard. Other times I will use deep rough, side hill, down hill, up hill, thin lies, soft sand, and what ever else I can utilize to practice with. My object in doing this is to have fewer surprises, and more confidence to get out of these problem areas.

Othertimes I practice what I call "stock shots" to have confidence in hitting good shots too.  Self Confidence also helps me keep my cool when the my golfing wheels fall of. 

Yeah, confidence is a fun thing in golf because it saves strokes. 

[Hacker James]

@Patch  I am curious, how are you able to practice these? Do you just find a location on the course where nobody is currently playing? Is it during a round for which you paid? Or do you do this during a normal, but "slow" round when you are not holding anybody up.  I know many courses have these types of practice areas and often times, you may use them free of charge. Please do not read anything into my queries, I am just curious as to how I could do the same.

[iacas]

Confidence? None.

Results? Yes.

[alleztom]

I am happy to absolutely 'scratch it round', which I know means different things for different handicaps, and score well. I don't care whether I 'feel good' or not.

[Patch]

53 minutes ago, Hacker James said:

@Patch  I am curious, how are you able to practice these? Do you just find a location on the course where nobody is currently playing? Is it during a round for which you paid? Or do you do this during a normal, but "slow" round when you are not holding anybody up.  I know many courses have these types of practice areas and often times, you may use them free of charge. Please do not read anything into my queries, I am just curious as to how I could do the same.

When I can, I utilize the course's practice area. My current home course has a lot of these practice options available. Most courses do if you look for them. For thin lies and softer sand I use a local dry lake bed. I have two, 140 lb dogs who I take to the dry lake for their bi-weekly exercise runs.  While there with them,  I hit balls.

I never practice much of anything when I am actually playing. 

[JonMA1]

While it's a somewhat intangible feeling, if it were possible to map or record it, confidence will rise and fall with longer term results - unless I have a poor grip on reality.

A ball bouncing off a tree and landing on the green might be considered a good result and offer an improvement in scoring, but it shouldn't boost confidence.

Confidence for me comes only with prolonged positive results and an upward trend in improved play. At my level, that means smaller misses or less penalty strokes.

When I shot my personal best in 2015, I knew that wasn't my game and it didn't spawn any real confidence. I simply enjoyed the ride for what it was. Conversely, one or two poor rounds during an otherwise good stretch of golf doesn't diminish confidence. Not only bouncing back from those, but believing I will bounce back is a great feeling.

[Hacker James]

1 hour ago, Patch said:

When I can, I utilize the course's practice area. My current home course has a lot of these practice options available. Most courses do if you look for them. For thin lies and softer sand I use a local dry lake bed. I have two, 140 lb dogs who I take to the dry lake for their bi-weekly exercise runs.  While there with them,  I hit balls.

I never practice much of anything when I am actually playing. 

thank you. I will look for them.

[dapper dan morby]

I've learn't over the years to try not to get too upset on the course and enjoy the moment more. The problem these days I find, are slow rounds caused by slow players "putting for the town hall clock", as my friend would say back in Yorkshire. There's also a high percentage of golfers who have no spacial awareness, and in that I mean, they will chip their ball onto the green and proceed to race after it, making everyone else waiting to do the same, stop what they are doing and hold up play for another 30 to 45 seconds. Times that by 20 shots and you can sometimes add 9 minutes to that persons round. Multiply that by 2 and you have a very long and frustrating day on the paddock, unless you have a cooler bag full of beer to take your mind of what's going on around you. It's by no coincidence that all my best rounds have been played very quickly with better players who understand the un-written etiquette rules of golf .... rant over

[Buckeyebowman]

I think confidence has a lot to do with it. When I could play this game, if I knew I could hit the shot, I'd hit the shot!

Case in point, the 18th at the South Course at Mill Creek. A 430 yard par 4, dogleg left, downhill to the landing area then uphill to a small green. Trees intrude on the left, and to go right is death! More trees, heavy rough, and looking at a deep bunker before the green.

Back then, I could call up a nice easy draw w/the Driver on command. I'd just tee up, swing, and smile! That's what I call confidence!

Of course, that was 40 years ago! Not so much today!

 

[newtogolf]

When you're playing well your confidence builds and you tend to relax which improves the results even more.  

[70sSanO]

My interpretation of confidence is having a positive attitude and a belief that you can succeed.  A lack of confidence is being timid or afraid of failing to the point where failure is imminent.

Obviously ability does factor into the equation.  But playing a water ball probably increases the chance that you will not clear the hazard.  So much of it is mental.

And there are few sports where being hesitant or timid doesn't result in failure.

John

[CarlSpackler]

I usually play with confidence even when I'm not hitting the ball so well. Confidence comes from within, but you have to be realistic given your ability. I know I'm going to hit some bad shots, so I have to plan accordingly. In your situation, I would choose the longest club that can clear the corner that I am least likely to slice. Playing with confidence, to me, is hitting that club and being ready to accept the consequences if it doesn't work out.

[RussUK]

1 minute ago, CarlSpackler said:

I usually play with confidence even when I'm not hitting the ball so well. Confidence comes from within, but you have to be realistic given your ability. I know I'm going to hit some bad shots, so I have to plan accordingly. In your situation, I would choose the longest club that can clear the corner that I am least likely to slice. Playing with confidence, to me, is hitting that club and being ready to accept the consequences if it doesn't work out.

Great comment. Just because the shot you hit wasnt great doesnt mean the next will be too. Forget the shot and move on. Also, no matter how bad the shot was, keep your chin up... literally. I read somewhere that if you play a bad shot and you walk to your ball with your head down it can subconciously effect your confidence. Keeping the head held high helps mentally and can stop you getting into a rutt.

[mcanadiens]

I know the rare times I've been able to find some confidence, it's made the game much more enjoyable.

Aside from the peculiarities on my swing, or lack thereof, holding on to some scrap of confidence is my single biggest struggle. I always react more severely to bad shots than good. It's always glass half empty. When the snow ball really gets rolling, things can get very bad.

[DaveP043]

To me, confidence is a by-product of good performance.  You can only be confident if you've been successful in the past.  Certainly, the feeling of confidence increases the chances of succeeding on "this shot", and nervousness or doubt or fear decrease the chances.  Having said that, confidence isn't what I enjoy most.  I enjoy the success that leads to the feeling of confidence.  That success may be short term (a single good shot), medium term (a solid round of golf), or longer term (weeks, or months, or even years of good golf).  I like the game, always trying to succeed, but its when I actually achieve that success that I enjoy it the most.

[Lihu]

17 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

Is this the case for anyone else? Or is it winning tournaments, taking money from your partners, shooting below a certain score, or just having time on the course?

No difference between good and bad rounds for me as I pretty much hit good shots and bad shots no matter how I feel.

I don't play any tournaments because everyone in every division is really good (not saying they are sand baggers, just that they are all really solid in their flights). Taking money from partners is always fun, and just getting out there and playing golf is also fun.

So, making long shot scores on holes from unreasonable distances can build up ego (confidence), but also making it back onto a green from a stupidly positioned ball can do the same. For example, I made a birdie on a 559 yard par 5 then 2 days later was equally happy to make a double on a short 300 yard par 4. What's funny is that my ball striking wasn't poor on either hole. Judgement maybe was lacking on the short par 4, but it was still a fun hole for me.