At what point do I realize I'm not good at this game?

[billchao]

3 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

Wait a minute, this is how I'm doing it!.  Am I playing golf all wrong?

 

If this is wrong, I don't want to be right 

[Vinsk]

38 minutes ago, billchao said:

If this is wrong, I don't want to be right 

It is wrong. Golf is like taking a notebook and a calculator and visiting the Pyramids and telling yourself, "I'm gonna figure out how they built these damn things..right now!!" You come up with some great ideas only to be proven asinine due to your poor math or previous attempts that disproved the hypothesis. You'll have some wonderful 'Eureka!' moments, some progress..then once again set back to square one without a clue. You can enjoy the view, the sun, the sand, talk to interesting tourists..but in the back of your mind you came to discover how these damn pyramids were built. Oh! You then come up with an idea that is so profound..it...it just has to hold water! Nobody has ever thought of that....then some mechanical engineer strolls along (Erik) and shows wonderful illustrations and clearly shows you how your profound method is not only flawed, but was already hypothesized years earlier and proven wrong by today's technology. So you gather information from as many people as you can, never knowing if any credibility is there. So with a notebook that now looks like a 2nd grader's journal, you go home. "How was your time there?", asks your friend/spouse/sibling. "Oh it was nice..didn't quite get what I was hoping for". They say, " Well, There's always next time."    So you grab your clean notebook..."Yes, yes there is." Cheers.

Edited August 10, 2017 by Vinsk

[breeves]

That is a very accurate analogy, well done. Almost makes me feel better. Leaving in 40 minutes for an on the course lesson, maybe this instruction has the Holy Grail waiting for me!

[JonMA1]

At what point do I realize I'm not good at this game?

After 5 1/2 years (or the 3rd hole of every round as a reminder).

Now the question becomes how much fun can I have playing bad golf?

[dennyjones]

2 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

Now the question becomes how much fun can I have playing bad golf?

None of us would be playing (except the pros) if it wasn't fun.... it's fun for a variety of reasons; being outside with nature, the challenge of competing with yourself and others, striving to improve and sometimes laughing at ourselves.  

[Patch]

Everyone who plays the game of golf is good at it, at their own level of play. Sure, some play golf better than others, but all are better than those folks who never give the game of golf a try. 

I use to think what are the chances of some individual, some where,  being the next 80+ tourney winner, with 20 major titles, but for what ever reason, they just never picked up a club?

[Drzdave58]

Hey breeves...i know how u feel...but once golf gets in your blood u can't quit...and it's not in our character makeup to quit...unless u no longer enjoy the game..which I don't think that's the case..im like u...i get frustrated and aggravated by the game too...like a lot of people..but I can't quit...i will continue to go out and try to improve ...and i believe I can improve and I know you do to..i think golf is the most difficult game in the world ..keep working on your swing...but don't overcomplicate it...keep it simple..u will improve for sure..good luck

 

[uitar9]

On 8/10/2017 at 1:11 PM, mcanadiens said:

No kidding. Back when I was slightly less fat, I'd play drop in on Sunday mornings. Set the sport of hockey back years I'd say.

I'm damn brilliant at golf by comparison.

Exactly. Hitting the ball down the middle, keeping it in front of me, and breaking 95 is like a couple hits on the slow pitch field or a couple of goals at the shinny game.

[14ledo81]

The lake and the boat are never a bad option.... ;)

I fish and play golf. Fishing can be just as frustrating at times as well.

[DaveP043]

On 8/11/2017 at 0:34 AM, Patch said:

Everyone who plays the game of golf is good at it, at their own level of play.

This is really the thing, to me.  We all have good days, and we all have bad days.  And if we're doing it right, we enjoy all of those days on the golf course.

[ssbn611]

On 8/10/2017 at 8:34 AM, Vinsk said:

Boy do I feel your pain. Gotta find a good instructor or if you're video savvy then join Evolvr or get going in the Member Swing area. You are not alone by any means. Start here before anything.

 

This X1000.

I also play guitar, not as well as I would like, but I'm learning. The part in this post by iacas where he describes how the violinist learned to play a new song is spot on. I do the same with the guitar. And, as is also in that post, golf is the same.

Joe Walsh when asked how he got so good supposedly said you have to be willing to be bad while you learn to be good. Something like that I think. 

[Blackjack Don]

On 8/10/2017 at 8:35 AM, uitar9 said:

This is only my 6th year but have discovered its a damn strange game. If this was baseball, we all wouldn't be trying to play in the bigs. If this was hockey, we wouldn't all be trying to play in the nhl.

We'd all just go out with our friends and play the game, laugh about stupid play and then go for beer.

Not with golf. Golf, we all want to be scratch golfers, despite the fact it is not a reasonable expectation. Regardless of how much time I play and how many lessons I take, at my age and my bodily physical abilities, I believe I will only play at the level I am at today.

I have to accept that and enjoy the game every time I go out. 

Amazing comments in this thread. Most golfers will never hear any of this because their golf is strictly on Saturdays with the boys. They don't worry about sucking. That's left for us who have a hundred clicks in their Golf Favorites folder.

First, our expectations are always out of whack. We somehow think we can be better than this. Even most of us here don't realize all the moving parts, and getting to the point of forgetting all of them. And what about the mental parts? I'm on top of the mental side--years of meditation practice helps--yet I find it hard to concentrate on the golf moment at a high level. I'm also over sixty. So if I could produce the clubhead speed, on a single swing plane, it's not likely I could concentrate for 18 holes. Believe me, I'm aware of how bad my mind can get at times putting, chipping, pitching, driving.

And how much time I need to put into practice. Hundreds of hours over the last year to get to this point. Don't forget to include the yoga practice for flexibility. Still, I'm playing on a rickety frame, not to mention shaky balance issues.

I'm not good. Just how good can I possibly be?

Good enough to hit that one shot that makes me want to come back and do it again. Since par is out of question, I'm happy to say it's enough to once in a while hit a shot that Jason, Jordan, DJ, even Hidecki in Japanese, would say was as good as they could do.

Keeps me coming back, which is really the whole point.

You'll stay with it. If you could have quit, you would have already.

[iacas]

On 8/10/2017 at 4:20 PM, breeves said:

That is a very accurate analogy, well done. Almost makes me feel better. Leaving in 40 minutes for an on the course lesson, maybe this instruction has the Holy Grail waiting for me!

No such thing.

[chilepepper]

I like this game, in spite of the manure rounds , BECAUSE it's hard. It gives me something to work on and strive to get better. It's all me. I'm big into saltwater and freshwater fishing, I'm fairly ok at that but it's not the same because %50 of it is out of my control. I would feel more accomplishment to break 80 than I would to catch a big tuna or musky. 

[The Hook Meister]

DFon't worry about your score so much. Go out there and ger some sunshine fresh air and a little exercise. Enjoy the company of the golfers you are playing with. The rest of it "FORGET ABOUT IT!"