Are you still serious about your game?

[pokerjoke]

Like many others starting out playing golf I found myself constantly thinking of ways to improve and get my handicap down.
Also being from an Athletics and football background I was very competitive and wanted to play in comps.
I was thinking about golf every minute of every day to the point it drove me nuts but I am sure many have been there.
I have been playing since 2009 so not a real long time to others I know but I did everything in my power to get my handicap down by reading,watching videos and practicing almost daily.

I have only really had a 6 month period where I have gone sod it I cant be bothered to read,watch or practice no more and have questioned[not for long] why I actually want to get my handicap lower.

However after hovering around 5.6 to 6.9 and now on 6.4 I am more determined than ever to get to Cat1 and lower and am infact more serious about my game.

Are you still as serious about your game than you have ever been?

 

[MendieGK]

I think i am almost too serious, i think about it 24/7 and am generally trying to work on something everyday (when time permits).

There is nothing i enjoy more than competitive golf,so i cant wait for the season to come around.

 

[Norrin Radd]

my competitiveness keeps me going ,im not a fan of being beaten and will always treat my every game with the same amount of desire to win .this for me keeps me serious about my golf game.
even when i have had a bad start to a round i will be trying to play the rest of the round under h/cap ,right down to the last putt on the last hole.

 

[User 105]

I tend to ebb and flow a bit.

I was like you when I started, it was golf all the time. I'd practice 3-4-5 days a week, have lots of lessons, read everything and play at every opportunity.

Over the last few years I kind of hit a plateau and it didn't matter how much I practised, lessons etc I wasn't improving,. If anything the more I tried the worse I got.

I'm now in the camp of I'll practice when I feel like it, have a lesson every few months, play as much as I can. I'm probably shooting about the same scores, if not slightly better, and enjoying it hell of a lot more.

 

[mcbroon]

I think i am almost too serious, i think about it 24/7 and am generally trying to work on something everyday (when time permits).

There is nothing i enjoy more than competitive golf,so i cant wait for the season to come around.

I'm a bit like this. Constantly thinking about the game and working out how to get better. Problem is, my time is limited due to family circumstances, so I don't know how much better I could get. A few shots, probably, but maybe no lower. I wish I had been this into golf when I was in my teens, instead of being this much into football.

 

[GB72]

Stopped taking the game seriously about 18 months ago. I do not have the time or inclination to practice (honestly it bores me) and I go out for fun and good company with the hope of having the odd good day in a comp every now and again. I enjoy the game far more this way

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I'm a bit like this. Constantly thinking about the game and working out how to get better. Problem is, my time is limited due to family circumstances, so I don't know how much better I could get. A few shots, probably, but maybe no lower. I wish I had been this into golf when I was in my teens, instead of being this much into football.

Definitely agree on the age side of things, so many missed "golfing" opportunities looking back, hopefully going to have more time from July when I retire, bit wary of too much golf syndrome, but looking forward to the challenge.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Love the game , always can't wait till the next game and enjoy playing well but don't think I'm serious about it in regards having to do well

 

[Junior]

Yes.......and I wish striving for a lower handicap didn't bother me. But it does. :rofl:

That said, the golf I enjoy the most are the rounds I play for a few sheckles with mates without giving a second thought about my handicap.

 

[NWJocko]

Yes.......and I wish striving for a lower handicap didn't bother me. But it does. :rofl:

That said, the golf I enjoy the most are the rounds I play for a few sheckles with mates without giving a second thought about my handicap.

You get more consistent with pitching and putting and you'll come down a lot, you're pretty much where I was at the start of last season :thup:

I've never taken it too seriously really, don't practice enough and mainly just enjoy going out to play. No expectations to get any lower than I am (never really expected to get this low handicap wise really) and I don't really want it to become hard work, took football far too seriously for far too long, it's nice just to enjoy playing.

 

[Spear-Chucker]

For sure, but I do feel however that my outlook has changed. I still want to improve, win stuff, experience new courses etc. etc. but not bothered anymore if that doesn't happen this season for example. Handicap improvement is not really important anymore and I'm often just happy to be out playing and being a bit competitive. That's all a reflection of life priorities - expectations need to be tempered by the time available to play/practice and health. I'll always be a fan of the game (also never been any good at anything else at all) but will be pleasantly competitive to the end

 

[richart]

No, it is a game and I have more important things to be serious about.

 

[bobmac]

No.
Being out in warm weather with nice scenery is more important than the golf these days.
Of course a few birdies help

 

[Capella]

Passionate, yes. I spend pretty much all my spare time practicing, playing, watching and reading about golf. I already have my next three golf holidays planned out. I am totally golf crazy and loving every minute of it.

Serious, no, not really. I want to get better at it, but I know that I will never really play at a high competetive level. If I keep it up, I might make it to bogey golfer one day, but realistically not much further than that. It's really more a game than a sport for me.

 

[patricks148]

If you had asked me last year i would have answered an emphatic yes, but now prob not.

Got to Cat1, i doubt i could do much more with my swing due to lack of flexibility and age so i'm not convinced i could get much lower without something to spur me on.

just want to enjoy a game and play a few courses now

 

[jamielaing]

I take it seriously. Some may say too seriously as I can at times pile expectations on myself which leads to me crumbling.

I really want to be practicing and it annoys me when I can't. For example just now I want to be dialling in my distances and working on short game stuff. Unfortunately the weather is shocking and I just can't get my distances right in a 20 mph wind!

I think the seriousness side of it comes down to where I want to be at golf. I left the game at 19 and only came back 2 years ago at 29. I wish I hadn't and I think I would have achieved a lot in that time so I feel like I am playing catch up. My handicap, though really is just a number, leads on to further things that I want to achieve. There are opens I want to play in with a 5 handicap limit this season. I want to play in the club team (ironically since leaving my last club I have been cut enough to be knocking on the door there but at my new place am about 2/3 shots away). I want to be club champion. I also have a couple of ambitions that I won't mention on here as I'll just get laughed at!

Ultimately all my aims are contingent on getting to a lower number. I try to break it down into targets each year which makes the mountain less insurmountable but ultimately I will always be trying to get lower!

I do find the 'I don't care, it's just a game' mentally a little strange, I've never known another sport where people think like that. Every game of rugby or football I have ever played has been to beat the guys we were playing.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Still trying to play my best and still believe the ability to get to single figures is in there. However at the moment I'm not able to play and practice as much as I'd like and until the health improves I'm happy to just play every time I can and accept for a while I'm going to be going upwards. Enjoy it and worry about improving again when I can

 

[Crow]

Still trying to play my best and still believe the ability to get to single figures is in there. However at the moment I'm not able to play and practice as much as I'd like and until the health improves I'm happy to just play every time I can and accept for a while I'm going to be going upwards. Enjoy it and worry about improving again when I can

Hi Homer,
As you've mentioned it quite often, I hope that you don't mind me asking you what this health problem is?
Others might have had similar experience and be able to offer some helpful suggestions.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Hi Homer,
As you've mentioned it quite often, I hope that you don't mind me asking you what this health problem is?
Others might have had similar experience and be able to offer some helpful suggestions.

Thanks for enquiring. Some on here (or connected via FB) etc know the score but not something I want to put up until all the tests and results are sorted.

 

[sawtooth]

I'm not serious about golf at the moment (playing Sunday for the first time in a couple months) but i'm still without a club so in a period of transition and upheaval .

I hope that I can get a club sorted in the next month or so and get right back into it.