Would You Rather Be Lucky Or Good?

[mdl]

11 minutes ago, iacas said:

Yeah, I'm not even like that. I'll take the better "shot" over the better "result" almost all the time. The only time that differs is when I'm playing a match with more serious stakes. Which is almost never.

I'm with Erik here.  I like good scores and all, even if it's better than average mostly because of a few lucky breaks or something.  But I'm playing to try to consistently hit the shots I'm trying to hit.

For example, say I'm playing a long iron into a short pin green.  I choose a club I expect to drop on the apron +/-, hit exactly the shot I set out to, then it bounces off a sprinkler head, rockets behind the green, and leaves me with some terrible shot that at best will result in an unlikely bogey.  I'm way happier about that hole than if I hit some awful duck hook that gets super lucky, bounces off a tree trunk, and rolls up to 4 feet and results in a birdie.

Sure, I'd definitely like to look at the card at the end with 2-3 fewer strokes on it, but that doesn't compare to the satisfaction of hitting a perfectly executed shot.

[DaveP043]

19 hours ago, 1badbadger said:

Dave, out of curiosity, would you rather hit the well struck shot that has a poor result or the poorly struck shot with a great result? (I have a feeling I might be in the minority on this one)

Now that I've answered the question, along with a few others, what's your preference?  What do you think, and what do you believe that the majority would choose?

[GolfLug]

If you are good/hit good shots, you will end up being 'lucky' most of the time anyway...

[Lihu]

20 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

If you are good/hit good shots, you will end up being 'lucky' most of the time anyway...

IDK, luck has a lot to do with the results. The difference between a par and a bogey could be as little as a few inches. You could hit the dry bouncy fringe or make a thud on a nice and soft green and it could have been only a difference 3 inches from 100 yards with a result that could be up to 60 feet different?

Even when you expect to hit a radius of 10 yards from 100 yards there's a lot of stuff within the zone of where you land.

IMHO, a lot of luck is involved.

[GolfLug]

1 hour ago, Lihu said:

IDK, luck has a lot to do with the results. The difference between a par and a bogey could be as little as a few inches. You could hit the dry bouncy fringe or make a thud on a nice and soft green and it could have been only a difference 3 inches from 100 yards with a result that could be up to 60 feet different?

Even when you expect to hit a radius of 10 yards from 100 yards there's a lot of stuff within the zone of where you land.

IMHO, a lot of luck is involved.

Yes, but it's good to practice your 'luck' on the range...

[DaveP043]

1 hour ago, Lihu said:

Even when you expect to hit a radius of 10 yards from 100 yards there's a lot of stuff within the zone of where you land.

IMHO, a lot of luck is involved.

I have to agree with @Lihu, golf always involves a certain amount of luck.  In my experience, some golf courses present more opportunities for good and bad luck than others do.  Uneven terrain and  variable wind are two specific factors that can produce widely varying results from very similar shots.  Consider the very uneven fairways at some of the Open Championship courses, where a drive down the center can hit the wrong side of a hump and end up in the whins.  That type of bounce is much less common on the smooth fairways at many newer courses.  A gust of wind can push an otherwise good shot into a bunker.  What's really important is how you react to a bit of bad luck.  

[1badbadger]

4 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

Now that I've answered the question, along with a few others, what's your preference?  What do you think, and what do you believe that the majority would choose?

I realize it's not how, it's how many, and that the lowest score wins, but I hate skanking a shot that winds up close to the hole.  

I shouldn't say I hate it, because it's better than skanking a shot that ends up in trouble, but I don't feel good about blading an approach shot that happens to work out in my favor.  However, if I flush a shot and hit it just like I wanted but it hits a sprinkler head on the collar and bounces over the green, or a drive rolls into a fairway bunker that I didn't think I could reach because I hit it so good, it doesn't bother me as much.  I like hitting good shots.  I would almost rather hit the ball solid and shoot a pretty 77 than skank it around and shoot an ugly 73.  That wouldn't be fun to me.

I think the majority of guys will take the lower score regardless of how they get it done.  I don't have a problem with that, but for me, a solid shot means I did what I was trying to do. 

[Zekez]

On 3/15/2017 at 3:15 PM, mistermuhl said:

The statement is in no way garbage. Golf is the sport with the most room for interpretation. When I make an unbelievable shot, why would I want to give credit to anyone or anything other than me? I did it. I made the perfect contact required for the result that was produced. You are zapping your confidence by chalking things up to luck. I don't care if I hit the cart path and it bounced off an acorn onto the green. I'm taking credit for that shot. Doing anything but is basically saying "I wasn't good enough to make the shot but some higher karma/power stepped in". If you want to think that, go ahead. I'd rather play with a confident attitude than an unsure attitude. 

You failed to answer my question as to how my opponent "prepared" for his shot.  As you claim luck needs preparation.

[Wally Fairway]

On ‎3‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 10:49 PM, MarvChamp said:

I take what is probably, maybe definitely an odd view. I would choose "skill" rather than "luck" because I don't believe in "luck". Instead I see golf as the most spiritual of all games that can teach even the most skilled player much in that regard if he pays attention to the unseen order of things.

For how many times have I hit what appears the perfect shot to the perfect target but it takes an impossible 1:1000 bounce into trouble? Was that luck? Or I hit what appears the worst shot that hits a tree and comes to rest in perfect position? Was that luck?

Certainly neither result involved skill. Yet I am more willing accept the latter as something I somehow deserve but not the former. 

Don't get me wrong...I want skill and will work for it. But on the course, I sometimes act as if I am more deserving and should be able to control the uncontrollable, instead of accepting circumstances as they are right here, right now.  I would like, somehow, to learn to see whatever little skill I have as a gift, just like the moments on the course when it doesn't break my way.  Because golf is more than a physical skill. Thanks for letting me ramble.

-Marv

 

Shivas Irons - is that you?

[MarvChamp]

Probably just the mad ravings of a Crazy Old Man! -Marv