Great article by D. Clark on expectations

[gatorpedsMD]

http://www.golfwrx.com/541676/golf-is-not-a-game-of-consistent/?utm_source=Front&utm_medium=Featured_Center_Top&utm_campaign=GolfWRX_OnSite&utm_content=main

 

 

love it and really play my best when I have a similar attitude.

[Swisstrader98]

http://www.golfwrx.com/541676/golf-is-not-a-game-of-consistent/?utm_source=Front&utm_medium=Featured_Center_Top&utm_campaign=GolfWRX_OnSite&utm_content=main

 

 

love it and really play my best when I have a similar attitude.

 

Good one.

 

Basically, expect the unexpected.

[Sparklehorse]

I'm starting to enjoy visiting different parts of the course when I play (must be an age thing).

[BB28403]

I'm starting to enjoy visiting different parts of the course when I play (must be an age thing).

 

To boldly piss where no man has pissed before!

[TheCityGame]

It should be a warning to every "writer" that if you're attributing a quote to Abe Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, etc etc. -- and it's not applicable to their field of expertise -- there's almost no chance that person actually said that.

 

What people don't seem to realize -- even teachers -- is how tied together "consistency" is with "being good".

 

And by that I mean that some guy who goes out and shoots occasional 83's with occasional 90's/93's mixed in thinks to himself, "I'd just like to be able to be that 83 shooter more often. Why can't I just play like that guy?"

 

[Related side note : there was a letter to the editor in this month's Golf magazine that was complaining about the handicap system. The guy said that if he shoots half 80's and half 90's, his handicap will be the same as someone who shoots 80 100% of the time and that isn't fair.]

 

Here's the thing : these mythical "consistent" 80's shooters DON'T EXIST.

 

There's no one (or at least VERY FEW guys) out there who is shooting 80, 81, 82 on the regular that is just consistent, but not very good. Some older guys who used to be low cappers but now just don't hit it so far can be like this. Similarly, I know very few guys who shoot in the low/mid 70's who are also tossing in lots of 83's.

 

You never attain a level of perfect consistency, but what some people talk about as being consistent is really just getting better. . .you miss it less often. Your misses are better. You're able to recover better (so your scores don't blow up). But that kind of consistency is indistinguishable from just being good.

[bluedot]

It should be a warning to every "writer" that if you're attributing a quote to Abe Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, etc etc. -- and it's not applicable to their field of expertise -- there's almost no chance that person actually said that.

 

What people don't seem to realize -- even teachers -- is how tied together "consistency" is with "being good".

 

And by that I mean that some guy who goes out and shoots occasional 83's with occasional 90's/93's mixed in thinks to himself, "I'd just like to be able to be that 83 shooter more often. Why can't I just play like that guy?"

 

[Related side note : there was a letter to the editor in this month's Golf magazine that was complaining about the handicap system. The guy said that if he shoots half 80's and half 90's, his handicap will be the same as someone who shoots 80 100% of the time and that isn't fair.]

 

Here's the thing : these mythical "consistent" 80's shooters DON'T EXIST.

 

There's no one (or at least VERY FEW guys) out there who is shooting 80, 81, 82 on the regular that is just consistent, but not very good. Some older guys who used to be low cappers but now just don't hit it so far can be like this. Similarly, I know very few guys who shoot in the low/mid 70's who are also tossing in lots of 83's.

 

You never attain a level of perfect consistency, but what some people talk about as being consistent is really just getting better. . .you miss it less often. Your misses are better. You're able to recover better (so your scores don't blow up). But that kind of consistency is indistinguishable from just being good.

 

Great post; I agree 100%, and thought the exact same thing about the guy's letter complaining about the mythical player who shoots 80 every round.

 

At Pebble last week, Brian Gay shot 64 the first round, 72 the second. Matt Every went 65/71. Kuchar shot 67/73. Kisner shot 65/71. There were FIFTEEN guys that shot in the 60's the first round, and missed the cut; a similar number of guys were over par the first round, but made the cut. Those are BIG swings in scoring on a percentage basis, and those are the best players in the world.

 

I shot 76 on Tuesday, and 84 on Thursday, and was looking for a bridge to jump off. (Which, btw, averages to an 80 for those two rounds...) Realistically, I should not only work harder to enjoy the 76, but be looking for ways to turn the 84 into maybe an 81 or 82. Going cra-cra about an 8 shot swing, though, just isn't realistic; it happens to the best players in the world ALL THE TIME!

[Hot Rod 71]

I've played with tons of golfers who have unreasonable expectations. They play once or twice a week and rarely practice, and expect to go out and play well. Golf is a difficult game, even for the best players in the world who are able to play and practice for hours each day.

 

I was one of the these golfers at one time. I would get angry at poor shots and have even thrown a club or two in the past. But I had an epiphany about 12 years ago and realized that my expectations were unreasonable. This came after a friend/golf mentor told me golf was a game of recovery and not a game of perfect shots. It made perfect sense to me and it completely changed my mindset.

 

This same friend often says "how good are your bad shots?", usually when I frown after I hit a clunky 7 iron that still made the green (still giving me a birdie putt) or a not so well struck driver that lands in the fairway.

 

I once heard Johnny Miller say something like "the guy that plays the best when it matters most, plays like it matters the least". Another statement that I've found to be true. When I play this way I seem to score better and enjoy the game more.

[Sparklehorse]

Statistical Averages

According to data from the National Golf Foundation, only 26 percent of all golfers shoot below 90 consistently on regulation 18-hole courses; 45 percent of all golfers average more than 100 strokes per round. A player who shoots 85 is doing better than nearly three out of four of his golfing peers--a good score.

 

 

 

So maybe some of us beat ourselves up unfairly.