How Does Confidence Correlate to Enjoyment of the Game?

[Kalnoky]

For me confidence is a by-product of good ball striking, and especially with irons. I enjoy hitting beautiful golf shots, it is the hardest thing for me to do consistently. If my short game is hot and I am scoring well (by my standards) then I am very confident I can do no worse than bogey every hole.  But I will not enjoy the round if my ball striking is ugly. 

 

[CarlSpackler]

1 hour ago, RussUK said:

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.

I have also heard that looking up will help contain your anger. I wonder if that has something to do with endorphin release or something.

[Hacker James]

8 minutes ago, CarlSpackler said:

I have also heard that looking up will help contain your anger. I wonder if that has something to do with endorphin release or something.

'cept when you are walking, looking up, with clenched fists...Then the gods (little "g") will punish you.

[iacas]

13 minutes ago, CarlSpackler said:

I have also heard that looking up will help contain your anger. I wonder if that has something to do with endorphin release or something.

Smiling tricks your brain and makes you happier.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smile-it-could-make-you-happier/

[natureboy]

I've seen plenty of examples of someone who knows they are going to play like crap and they still have a great time.

[JonMA1]

6 hours ago, mcanadiens said:

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.

Perhaps because we're each higher cappers, you seem to be able to relate. Any confidence I have is a result of knowing I'm repeatedly doings things better... not great, just better relative to my game (don't want to be quoted in Erik's next book). Also, it's easy to tell when play is improved because the differences between the two extremes are substantial. Perhaps the better players have a closer gap between their good and not-so-good cycles. I wouldn't know having never been a better player.

There's also the satisfaction that comes when work put into a specific area of the game starts to pay off.

7 hours ago, CarlSpackler said:

Playing with confidence, to me, is hitting that club and being ready to accept the consequences if it doesn't work out.

Yep! That's a big part of it. Even if I miss the target it's easier to accept the consequences because I know it was the right shot to take. All the confidence in the world doesn't equate to the expectation of hitting every green. Even the pros don't do that.

6 hours ago, Lihu said:

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

Wasn't trying to imply that confidence eliminated crappy shots. Only that the crappy shots are the exception and not the rule. Of course, my definition of a bad shot is going to be different than that of one who plays single-digit golf.

1 hour ago, natureboy said:

I've seen plenty of examples of someone who knows they are going to play like crap and they still have a great time.

I wish that was me. It can happen, but usually does not.

[natureboy]

39 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

I wish that was me. It can happen, but usually does not.

I sometimes resemble that remark, but usually have more fun when I'm playing decently. Just offered it as a possible option. Gotta respect those who just enjoy the contest against the course and the crazy bounces even if they're struggling.

[JonMA1]

4 minutes ago, natureboy said:

Gotta respect those who just enjoy the contest against the course and the crazy bounces even if they're struggling.

I absolutely do. The rest of us should work as hard on our attitudes as we do our swing mechanics.

[RussUK]

15 hours ago, iacas said:

Smiling tricks your brain and makes you happier.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smile-it-could-make-you-happier/

Does that mean we'll have courses full of people grinning like idiots?  

[boogielicious]

16 hours ago, iacas said:

Smiling tricks your brain and makes you happier.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smile-it-could-make-you-happier/

Ariya Jutanugarn smiles before each putt to relax.

[newtogolf]

14 hours ago, natureboy said:

I've seen plenty of examples of someone who knows they are going to play like crap and they still have a great time.

How many beers did it involve?  Just kidding, I've played like crap for 3 years and I always had a great time.  It's only now that I've improved a bit that bad rounds ruin the fun a bit. 

[natureboy]

3 hours ago, newtogolf said:

How many beers did it involve?  Just kidding, I've played like crap for 3 years and I always had a great time.  It's only now that I've improved a bit that bad rounds ruin the fun a bit. 

Expectations...arrrggghh!

[Lihu]

6 hours ago, RussUK said:

Does that mean we'll have courses full of people grinning like idiots?  

Not just "like". 

 

[JonMA1]

14 hours ago, boogielicious said:

Ariya Jutanugarn smiles before each putt to relax.

I'd be smiling a lot too if my game was as good as hers.

[chilepepper]

Confidence is an attitude, good play helps carry confidence. I can have confidence in my abilities yet still have a poor round. It's taken a while to get to that point though AND be able to enjoy being on the course inspite of a bad round. 

[dchoye]

Unfortunately confidence and good scores are lacking lately. 

I have to rely on fun and drinking after not to good scoring round 

My scoring buddies have told me to be more serious about my game but it's not fun 

I can tell right away if the round will be enjoyable or fun. Doesn't seem to be both for me 

Edited November 19, 2016 by dchoye

[paininthenuts]

Confidence correlates to enjoyment 100% for me. When I feel confident I play well, when I play well I enjoy golf. 

[jkelley9]

The OP's question is strange to me. Because typically confidence is used in context of scoring, performance, results, etc. But he's asking how it relates only enjoyment.

I certainly think, personally, that I need to be confident in my swing/game in order to enjoy golf. But I don't necessarily need to PERFORM well. On the flip side if I'm not that confident (bunch of crap drives, for example) and I start tensing up and not being relaxed and confident in my swing, leading to more and more misses... I still enjoy being out there playing.