Is there a point at which excellent architecture begins to ruin a good round of golf?
It seems an odd question, but for me personally, to shoot well I usually need to be pretty focused on my game and need to quiet my mind to too many outside distractions. And it has occurred more than once when I have had the privilege to play some spectucular courses as judged by their architecture, history, prominence or otherwise, there inevitably comes a point where I have to make a decision to either bear down and focus on my game to try and shoot a good, memorable (from a scoring perspective) round or to let how well I play go and become enveloped in the moment and the course.
Some specific examples I can remember are: Pasatiempo, SF Club, Pebble Beach...
Only Pasatiempo have I played more than once, and did so partly because on all three I chose to let myself go in the moment, the place, and the history surrounding me, but my golf game was horribly off.
As a consequence, I feel a yearning desire to return to these places just to have another chance at somewhat ignoring the eminence surrounding me and focus on my game.
Has this happened to anyone else? Along the same lines as a question posed by JK, how should one approach a situation in which they feel they may be getting the "once in a lifetime" opportunity at a pretigious course......try to focus and elevate your game and get the most from a playability perspective, or just forget playing well and enjoy the moment?
(Example: I will never forget my opportunity to play Pebble Beach, but to this day I am still slightly irritated that I shot 102 after shooting in the low 80s the whole summer leading up to that day.)