[Dale_McCallon]

Kind of piggybacking off of the thread about playing great courses for 2 weeks, but no more for a season...

Would you rather play great courses but always shoot 90-100, or play mediocre courses in the par range consistently?

I'm too competitive for my own good, so I've got to say the par golf would be my choice.

[Dale_McCallon]

Shivas,

I expected this out of you.  After reading your reply about the greatness of Golf in the Kingdom, I knew that score was fairly irrelevant to you.  

Much respect to you...I wish I could just forget about it sometimes too.  

Of course, lucky for you apparently you used to play par or better golf at one time.  I'm in the terrible spot of playing average courses with average scores.

[Brock Peyer]

I have shot even par on some great courses and some dog tracks and I have shot 85 on both lately too.  I must say, I would rather play better than play better places.

[Bill Brightly]

Pretty funny if you think about! Shoot par on the dog track, next day shoot 100 at Bethpage...and fume all week.

Then next week, shoot par on the dog track, get an invite to National on Sunday and shoot 101...fume all week, but LOVE the golf holes and the memories...


Next Saturday, par on a dog track, 100 on Winged Foot!

How long could you really take that?

[Mike McGuire]

I would rather be a 12 at Oakmont than a scratch at Ponkaquogue Municipal.

[Bill Brightly]

I would rather be a 12 at Oakmont than a scratch at Ponkaquogue Municipal.

Ah, but would you rather be a 26 at Oakmont or a scratch at The Ponk?

[Mike McGuire]

Ill take the 26 at Oakmont. Hopefully I can get a few decent stakes games on the road.

Assuming the Ponk course rating is like 67, what would a scratch there be at Oakmont ?

[Jed Peters]

What about a great course that's easy/fun?

Pac Dunes comes to mind.

I'd rather be a high 'capper at a tough track.

Then my handicap could travel well!

[Tommy Williamsen]

I can't believe that I would continue to shoot those high numbers day after day.  If I did I would quit.  But give me the demon every time.

[Peter Pallotta]

Dale - honestly, I don't think I'd picked either. I'd feel stuck, and that's a bad feeling. I started lousy as a golfer much later than most of you (only about 10 years ago); got better pretty quickly, then took a long break and got lousy again even quicker. I'm hoping to get better again real soon (before slowly but inexorably getting lousy again, one last time).

Here's an old Sinatra song I've hummed many times, because it's always helped. I never thought to connect it with golf until just right now; I think it fits pretty good.
P

That's life, that's what all the people say.
You're riding high in April,
Shot down in May
But I know I'm gonna change that tune,
When I'm back on top, back on top in June.

I said that's life, and as funny as it may seem
Some people get their kicks,
Stompin' on a dream
But I don't let it, let it get me down,
'Cause this fine ol' world it keeps spinning around

I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate,
A poet, a pawn and a king.
I've been up and down and over and out
And I know one thing:
Each time I find myself, flat on my face,
I pick myself up and get back in the race.

That's life
I tell ya, I can't deny it,
I thought of quitting baby,
But my heart just ain't gonna buy it.
And if I didn't think it was worth one single try,
I'd jump right on a big bird and then I'd fly

I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate,
A poet, a pawn and a king.
I've been up and down and over and out
And I know one thing:
Each time I find myself laying flat on my face,
I just pick myself up and get back in the race

That's life
That's life and I can't deny it
Many times I thought of cutting out
But my heart won't buy it
But if there's nothing shakin' come this here july
I'm gonna roll myself up in a big ball and die
My, My

[igrowgrass]

Does anyone play better at harder courses?  

[Jordan Wall]

Does anyone play better at harder courses?  

Yes!

Only because I try harder though, and think about it more.

[Andy Troeger]

I used to be very interested in score and played 200 or so tournaments as a junior. I got fed up with it after high school and quit (after going downhill the last couple of years of it). A few years later on a whim I took the PGA's PAT (playing test) to see if I could do it and with the idea that I might enter the program. On my first effort I stood on the 35th hole of the day needing two pars to pass on the number. I had three putted my way onto the bubble after playing pretty well in the first round. I gave myself a pep talk and made a 7 foot downhill slider on #17 that was gone if I missed it and made an easy par on #18 to pass the test.

Then I quit playing competitively (stroke play individual events at least) for good and got a different job  

Bring on the courses!

[Doug Siebert]

I'd take the crappy scores at great courses.  I've never been terribly worried about my actual score, so much as that I enjoy the challenge.

When I get pissed at myself on the golf course it isn't because of the double bogey I just made but because of the shots I hit that are beneath my ability or the stupid mental mistake I made.

I'll take a hard fought par or bogey where I stole a shot or two thanks to a daring recovery or amazing up and down from someone no one should ever do that over a boring Hogan-style birdie EVERY TIME.  Those who read that and don't understand never will.

Now if you had asked me without any regard to the score I end up with whether I want to hit a lot of beautiful shots at a crappy course versus hitting a lot of stinkers and making stupid mental errors on a regular basis on a great course, I'd have to play the dog track, I guess.  I'd quit the game immediately and forever without regret if I had to get rid of my best 20% of shots and only ever got to play the rest

[Doug Siebert]

Sean,

I know I play better at harder courses because they make me think more, but that's offset by the fact that many harder courses are often also more penal (OB, water, places to lose a ball, thick stands of trees where you might find it but may have trouble advancing it much)

So my score may not always say that I'm playing better because of all that, but I feel like I am and that's all that I really care about.  The score and pencil crowd can worry about whether their 70s are turning into 80s or 80s into 90s when they play a real monster, my criteria are more like Shivas'.

[John Kirk]

Good grief, Peter.  Great minds think alike, as the James Brown version of "That's Life" is receiving heavy airplay on my iPod during the last week or so.  It's in near daily rotation during workouts.

Naturally there is great personal growth happening in my life lately.

 

I care about score a lot, but more about the walk in the park.  Not only would I choose the great course, but I am confident my mind would figure out a way to get the score down to a number I'm happy with.

[Powell Arms]

I take the great architecture, negotiate for strokes and play Shivas in match play until I am too feeble to swing a club.

[Chuck Brown]

Does "great" course equate to "harder"?

Does "crappy" course equate to "easier"?

I'll take a "great" course any time.  If they would leave "great" courses alone, they might not be so hard.  It seems that "great" in reputation often equates to, "has recently hosted a major championship."  And that, in turn, equates to, "has been made much longer."  Pity.

[Pat Brockwell]

My game is usually about a few great shots per round.  Better if that happens at a great course, if it happens at a lesser track it's still better than sitting on the couch. Score only matters if I add it up.

[John Foley]

Since I've never been a low hdcp player, I can handle shooting the 90-100.

I'd be suprised if anyone posting on this site would accept better scores at the chpoice of better courses.

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