Shoot -3 at home and 76s at every qualifier

[golf1010]

Anybody figure this out ?

I have not in 30 years.

of course I have got into many events by shooting a decent number ... once -6 ... once

but if I entered 100 events / 75 were 75 or above and I don’t think it has anything to do with physical ability

[gioguy21]

truthfully -- knowing and playing your home course is your own backyard...you know every bump, rut, place to miss, etc. it makes you comfortable.

 

when you play tourneys you may not have played the course that many times - and mentally on the day-of, you got nerves, etc that screw with your confidence. it happens.

 

[MtlJeff]

Pretty normal. Outside of real pros i would guess 199/200 golfers shoot higher in tournaments than they do in casual rounds. Even if you aren't "nervous" there are slight differences in how you might approach shots, how long you are waiting, maybe overthinking putts etc...Getting out of rythym

And not to mention playing new courses as mentioned ^^^

My scoring average last year was probably ~ 75 , and in tournaments i would say it was probably ~78

I don't think that is uncommon for working stiffs.

[Roody]

It's your home course knowledge. I can walk up to every tee at my home course and know pretty much what club I am going to hit, what direction to aim so my miss is minimized, and generally what direction the ball is going to break in most situations on the greens.

Case in point, I just completed a stretch in the past few days where some buddies and I played 5 rounds at different courses. I shot decent, but probably 3-4 strokes higher than what I had been shooting lately on my home course. I was losing strokes to green speed (their greens are slower than what I am used to). Also lost a few to rock-hard fairways and greens. So conditions play a part as well.

[jdl]

I agree on the home course factor. Due to Covid I didn't get the membership at the course I've been playing for a long time and have had to play a different course. Plus my after-work league switched courses, so my index went up by a couple shots once I was able to start playing. Gradually coming down now but it's definitely a big factor for me.

[GoTime]

Last year I shot low 70s multiple times at my home course the same week as a state level event, also at my home course. Day of event...94

[Phabs]

Typically the space in between your ears causes that. I fought with that playing in college from time to time. I got over it then by walking the course the day before the practice round with a yardage book like a caddie does in the pro's, helped settle my brain down and come up with a plan for each hole. My scores seemed to level out once I adopted that method, don't get me wrong I still blew up from time to time. That's just golf.

[llewol007]

Comfort level knowing what you can get away with. Always makes a difference.

[cardoustie]

As Bobby Jones said .... “there is golf, and there is tournament golf”

[nsxguy]

 

Most players shoot to or below their handicap index roughly 20% of the time. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯