Why do you enter competitions?

[Golfnut1957]

Our Mid-week Stableford is played on a Tuesday, I always play on Tuesdays, so I play in the MWS. In the past I used to play in various weekend comps, but they are getting ridiculously slow, so these days I tend to go out long after the last groups and we do our own thing.

The comps I do play in go some way to legitimising my HI, 14 of my 20 are from comps. I'm not sure that I would be comfortable with nothing but GP rounds forming my 20.

 

[Billysboots]

All sorts of reasons, but primarily because I enjoy the atmosphere on and off the course when there’s a comp running. I like testing myself with a card in my hand, and enjoy the banter in the bar afterwards as everyone shares their success or otherwise.

 

[Orikoru]

1. It's nice to occasionally test your ability in comp conditions.
2. Board comps are a nice way to be 'part of the club' if you like and meet and play with other members.
3. If I don't have enough competition rounds on my record, I'm not allowed to enter the matchplay knockouts, which I really enjoy.
4. I'm off 15 so there's still a slim chance I could win one. Won one monthly Stableford so far in four years of membership.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

I enter comps to play golf

 

[Mandofred]

As something to work towards. After years of running/tennis/coaching....it's the working towards a goal that I like. The race/comp is kind of a downer in the grand scheme of things. I like the struggle.

 

[hambugerpete]

I enter comps to play golf

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

With all comps being swept up by 28 cappers why do we still enter ?

Foremost for me is I like playing golf with my friends !
Many of ours are drawn so it's a good way for new members to meet others .
Who doesnt like winning a few quid to spend in the pro shop every now and again.
It brings money in to the club via the bar .
It does also add a little edge to a round as well I guess.

Because it's what I do. Besides I've always got a chance as the vast majority of comps at my place are won by members with handicaps of less than 18. And it's through comps that I submit most of my WHS cards - don't do many GP cards.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Nice simple answer

 

[Voyager EMH]

My answer sounds rubbish as I hear it echoing around my head, but it is truthful,

Because I always have and I like doing so.

I have a goal of getting on the boards I'm not yet on, getting on some for the second time, two for the third time and one for the fourth time.

 

[wjemather]

I enter any club stroke play comp that's on for a bit of extra fun on the side of my regular golf. We have comps every Saturday and Sunday and, except for monthly medals and board/trophy comps, entry is optional.

I enter the knockouts because I enjoy match play, despite the enormous frustration of trying to arrange matches that puts many (including my wife) off.

We enter opens to have a fun day out usually for substantially less than the standard green fee. Most mixed and scratch opens are particularly great value.

Edit to add: Unfortunately, there is a small minority who seem to lose sight of the fact that golf is a hobby rather than a job, especially when it comes to competitions, and often manage to make it less fun for everyone.

 

[badgergm]

Because I’m a competitive person and that’s what I enjoy. I play very little non competitive golf, find it mostly boring tbh unless on an away course or something.

 

[clubchamp98]

I love comp golf but it dosnt always love me.

Golf is a test of your mind not just your skill
I enjoy the stress ,nerves if your going well.

But like others if I don’t play the comp Saturday I can’t play as the tee is booked for the whole day.

 

[nickjdavis]

I like the competition....I'm not just fighting against the higher handicappers one of whom (due to statistical scoring variations) is likely to have a good day and beat me, but fighting against the course and against myself.

Competitive rounds are those which determine my handicap, as my social rounds are played in a format that doesn't necessarily lend itself to being best placed to generate a score for handicap purposes.

 

[Burnsey]

I thought it was the thing to do.

But, after getting my handicap in general play, playing comps off the whites added 7 to my starting handicap, so is it really 7 more, when most of my recreational golf is from the yellows?

Anyway, my decision this year is to rebook lessons, get my GP handicap back to where it was/better and then spend time playing from the whites out of comps and get to a level where I can potentially maintain/lower my handicap playing off the whites.

 

[RedEyes]

Because I want to win, it get's the juices flowing. I very rarely do win, but the anticipation of waiting until 7pm to check HowDidiDo after a decent round, only to find that someone has scored 46 points to beat you buy 6 points, you can't beat that feeling

 

[bobmac]

Just shows we are all different.
I went through a spell in the 90s when every time I played, it was in some comp.
Medal, stableford, inter club matches, county matches, knockouts, scratch league, Raf station matches, Command matches, inter Service matches....it just went on and on.
You had to have the right team shirt on with your jacket and tie and polished shoes and stay behind for the meal and the boring speeches. It took all day.
I just liked playing golf, being out in the fresh air, among the trees and wildlife on a warm summers evening, no-one telling me what to wear, what time to be there, what time to tee off, who to play with/against, what tie to wear and what time I could leave.
Not for me any more thanks.
Nowadays, I'm more at home in my workshop with my hammer and chisel or knocking up a nice curry in the kitchen.

 

[bobmac]

Because I want to win, it get's the juices flowing. I very rarely do win, but the anticipation of waiting until 7pm to check HowDidiDo after a decent round, only to find that someone has scored 46 points to beat you buy 6 points, you can't beat that feeling

Be careful, you'll have the WHS fanboys after you, telling you you've never had it so good.

 

[Slab]

With the accessibility of GP cards the sole purpose left for comps, for me, is the social aspect

 

[Voyager EMH]

My experience is the other way round. Non-comp rounds are the social aspect for me.

I see comps as "real" golf. And medals are the "real, real" golf. That is why I play in them.

Stablefords are a fun novelty format where you get to not count some bad shots, but this should be done only one or two times during the year.
But if you want to arrange a roll-up, or the like, that is stableford - that is entirely up to you.
More than that and it becomes too much of a distraction from what a golf score is - your total number of strokes for 18 holes.
Many golfers seem to have become obsessed with stableford format and I feel this is not good for the game.

The most enjoyable type of game for me is scratch matchplay. I'm 95% certain that I have lost more of these one-to-one games than I have won. But it is such a great challenge.

 

[KenL]

Many golfers seem to have become obsessed with stableford format and I feel this is not good for the game.

Perhaps because handicap calculations are based on stableford scoring.

We only have a couple of stableford comps a year. I would prefer to see all our midweek medals scored that way as it is slightly quicker.