[Ryan McLaughlin]

I feel I plan a little better if it is a more consequential round.  Qualifiers, Club champs, team play, etc.  I tend to visualize my strategy a little better.  I also maintain focus better.  Fairway, green, give myself shot at birdie.  It my fun/gambling games it is harder to keep that going. 

We need a So Cal game!

[BHoover]

I try to score as well as I can each time I play. The caveat is that I know I'm never going to make my living playing golf, so when I have a bad hole, I don't throw a fit, throw a club or break anything. It's just a game, even a money match. I usually try to have something on the line, no matter how small, because I tend to stay focused if I'm playing for something.

[Ben Kodadek]

  It my fun/gambling games it is harder to keep that going. 

Add a couple zeros to whatever you're playing for and see if that gets your attention? 

[Tom_Doak]

This is a great question for the DG.  I hope more people answer, but I suspect many are afraid to be in the "almost never" camp with Brent Hutto and myself.

That is not to say I don't try to win a match when I am playing in a friendly match, but even then, the primary goal is to have fun.

[Thomas Dai]

Take a round seriously?

Take a round seriously? That's like 3-6 hrs!

Chat, laugh, tell and listen to jokes, check out the scenery, snap photos, and surely if you're posting herein, check out the architecture!

Didn't Big Jack say something like he only concentrates for the 2 minutes before every shot.

Also Walter Hagen's famous comment about smelling the roses along the way.

atb

[Josh Stevens]

Never, or at least it never ends up being serious

I am a wed pm golfer - best intentions in the world about 11am after having hit a bucker of balls and done some putting, but after two beers, half bottle of red and a nice roast lunch, things tend to slip.  Mysterious.

[Kevin Lynch]

I rarely enter a round with the level of anticipation or preparation described by David.  I've found that these things usually leave me disappointed.  Performance expectations only provide pressure for me because my game is not consistent enough that things will ever go as planned.  I dread having a flawless range session before a round because it plants those expectations in my head.

At any time, I know that I can piece together some great stretches of golf, but just as easily have the Driver tops pop up at any moment.  My best career rounds have often been pleasant surprises, sometimes even after a rocky start.  I simply have to let it happen in the moment.

Given this inconsistency, I rarely intend to play "seriously."  I'll do my best, but try to have fun above all and see what happens.  I'm not addicted to score, so if I'm 250 out on a Par 5 with OB tight, I'm eschewing the high percentage play to try the hero shot for the "fun" factor.  Put another way, I'm more interested in "experiencing" the game instead of "winning" it.

[Mark Pearce]

Propbably 4 or 5 times a year I'll make sure I arrive in time to warm up properly (by which I mean spending 30-40 minutes hitting full shots, 20 minutes chipping and 20 minutes putting).  The rest of the time, I'll have 10 minutes putting and perhaps hit half a dozen balls.  Most of my "serious" rounds are medals at Crail or Elie, when I tend to have more time on my hands than at home.  Strange thing is, there's  a very clear correlation between rounds I warm up for and score and yet I don't do it more often.

[Carl Rogers]

I want to hit 30 balls or so on the range, hit some chips and bunker shots and practice long and short putting.
I make every effort to shoot the best score I can every time out (mid-single digit w/ modest distance but at times can be a very good third shot golfer).   Usually I am less successful than I should be.
My game does not travel well, because it needs a lot of local knowlwedge & comfort level from several plays so I have little expectations when playing destination golf.  I have learned to accept that.

[Rob Curtiss]

Does anyones preparation change if it is a once in a lifetime play like PV or Cypress Point or something big to you, the player. It doesnt have to even be a big name course- just one you have always wanted to play.

Do you try to play more rounds leading up to the round or get to the course to put more time in because it is such a big deal to you.

[Brent Hutto]

Does anyones preparation change if it is a once in a lifetime play like PV or Cypress Point or something big to you, the player. It doesnt have to even be a big name course- just one you have always wanted to play.

Do you try to play a more rounds leading up to the round or get to the course to put more time in because it is such a big deal to you.

Nope.

I play golf 110-115 times a year, year-round. So there's not really much I can do in terms of "play more rounds" before a special trip or something. And once I'm on the property of some very special place I'm going to play golf, the last thing I want to do is bang range balls instead of enjoying the experience.

When I make my slightly-less-than-yearly trips to the UK for golf vacations I do often go see my teaching pro buddy a couple weeks beforehand. Not to try and change or improve anything about my golf game but I like to get some feedback and make sure I'm not aiming ridiculously far offlline or something like that. But at most I might go hit a couple dozen range balls at some point during a 6-8 round trip, usually I play the whole week without doing anything more practice-like than rolling a few putts on the practice green while waiting for the round to start.

[David Davis]

I'm curious after reading the answers to this as to what it says about how each of us individually view golf architecture, if anything at all.

I would guess that David, you either are or have been a very strong player + hcp'er competitively at least. If you are examining the courses in advance, writing out your plan, shot shape etc then you are also a master at course management and having competed at such a level it's just not fun for you to go out into the course and not focus at all. Part of the fun must be in really trying to figure out the best lines of play, angels of approach, places to leave your ball given various pin positions etc. I imagine once you've been at that level it feels like cheating yourself a little to not do it, then you already know you are not setting yourself up to have the most fun you can have. Although this is just my guess. It certainly doesn't mean that you have any less fun than either Tom or Brett who claim to never take it seriously.

While I'm not a good golfer by any means, my tennis background puts me in a bit of a similar (highly competitive) frame of mind at my ability level. In order for me to have the most fun I need to do what I can to prepare for a round and I always want to focus and try my best or I feel I'm kind of cheating myself and taking away from what's fun for me. My course management skills are not good enough to write out a plan in advance that I could likely stick to and pull of the necessary shots, though I'm working on it all the time. That will likely save me the most shots per round at this juncture.

I certainly hope that those of you that state you never take a round seriously don't get upset with yourselves when you have a really bad day and can't perform the shots you attempt to perform. After all if you are not taking it serious at all there is no reason to get discouraged or disappointed.

This last part I will likely get a lot of comments on but I find that not taking something seriously (even if it's just for fun) is simply a way to provide yourself an excuse in advance to not performing or giving it your 100%. It's easy to never put yourself on the line thus never setting yourself up for failure. How many times after a round have we all heard, well, if I would of tried hard I could of shot x. Or I wasn't taking it seriously I just wanted to have fun. Just a thought.

[Jay Mickle]

Brent,
Sounds like I play golf about the way you do and not being able to dial back the aging clock and keep up with the techno-bombers I often pick up the hickory clubs and play from a shorter set of tees. It has given me a greater appreciation for the courses of the ODGs as distances seem to bring width and angles more into play. If you wish to give it a try come on up to Southern Pines and I can get you a set of clubs to play with. We have little get togethers about twice a month. The Carolina Hickory Golf Association ( http://carolinahickory.ning.com/ ) is probably the largest active group of hickory golfers in the country.  No anger management issues here. One smash of the club and it is gone.

[Ryan Coles]

Only when playing as part of a team.

I haven't taken a practice swing for years as I see them as a waste of time and energy. As is "warming up". If you don't take it with you, you won't find it when you get there.

[John Kavanaugh]

It takes courage to play to win because if you choose your competition wisely you still lose 95% of the time.  If you really want to have fun, go win something.  Honestly though, I'm no different than the majority of you and have given up trying to beat a field of players because I can't take the disappointment of losing 19 times for every win.  I need more of a 5 to 1 ratio for the effort.  Match play in a group of four like golfers is a great compromise.

I was lucky enough to have Doak as my partner in an alternate shot match at Lost Dunes.  We kicked the asses of a couple of much younger, superior golfers, straight MFering up.  One of the most fun rounds I every had.  Sad thing was that half of you didn't play alternate shot that day for reasons I never understood.

This is the formula:  Take winning seriously, winning is fun, have serious fun.

[Joel Zuckerman]

I take every round seriously in that my intention on the first tee is to try and break 80.  If things go awry (90% of the time) then that goal is amended to breaking 90--that realization sometimes comes as early as the 3rd or 4th hole; if I'm tenuously holding it together, that "harsh reality" might not come until the 14th or 15th hole.
Once in a blue moon (usually happening in the UK) the goal is amended to keeping it in double digits, and I almost always know where I stand in relation to par, or total score.  Never been one of those who says: "I just kept on hitting shots until there were no more shots left to hit, and then I added it up."

[Paul Gray]

I suppose the real answer is 'whenever the motivation hits me.'

It hasn't happened this year yet.

Sadly, the last time it happened was during my mini sabbatical/early mid life crisis last year when I was working in a Pro Shop. Not wanting the up and coming kids to get the better of me, I felt the urge to play in a competition we were all entering and make damn sure I could prove a point by playing par golf. I did just that and have lacked the necessary desire ever since. Pathetic to think that beating a couple of teenagers was my motivation but there you have it!

[Mac Plumart]

I'm curious after reading the answers to this as to what it says about how each of us individually view golf architecture

David...

I love this question.

For me, the highlight of my rounds, in terms of golf architecture, are those "WOW" moments regarding shots required and/or options available.  Things you don't see every day, moments of uniqueness that might be specific to certain pieces of property or specific courses.  Or, at least, stuff you don't see every day.

Things like...

The Alps hole at NGLA...really neat and fun for me to try to play.

Perfection at North Berwick (come to think of it, lots of holes at North Berwick)

The 9th tee shot at Dismal Doak with the angled gorge carry and the dunes in the background...neat.

9th hole at Kingsley...unique, cool.

10 at Riviera...unique, challenging.

13 at ANGC...such a unique approach shot and a tough decision to make


I'll stop now, as I think you get the point.

With this in mind, I prefer match play to stroke play...as I don't mind a 2 and 20 hole.  I think they are fun, especially if you feel the pressure in the match to try to go for the 2, but risk the 20.  If I'm playing these holes in a non-match format (a round just for fun), I think it is cool to try to hit interesting shots into those kinds of holes.  That to me is fun.

[John Kirk]

This is the formula:  Take winning seriously, winning is fun, have serious fun.

I pretty much agree with this, even if most of the time I don't do everything in my power to prepare.  It's fun to play well and win.

I like to play golf both ways, sometimes not playing strictly for score, attempting shots I would not otherwise hit, or playing faster for exercise.  Getting to play for fun (or speed) is a huge luxury.

I'm not the toughest guy when it comes to actually "wanting" to win.  Calmly rolling in a 3-6 foot putt to win a hole can be tough.  I'm better than some and not as good as others at golf-style confidence.  "Casual indifference" works well for me.  I was better suited to reaction sports like basketball and ping pong, where minimal conscious thought is involved.

Winning is fun, but playing to win can be emotionally difficult.

[Niall C]

Every time I play a bounce match I take it seriously as do my mates. Bear in mind we're playing for bragging rights. Now taking it seriously doesn't mean that we don't have fun, we most certainly do, and neither does it mean we spend time on the "range" before hand.Traditional Scottish courses don't have ranges they have practice grounds which are generally scrap bits of ground left over from laying out the course. They are there for the club champion and his like to hone their game while everyone else is busy having fun on the course.

The warm up for even the most serious game of golf is usually a cup of tea/coffee/pint and maybe something to eat followed by a quick change into golf shoes and run onto the tee. Occasionally you may miss out on the pre-round drink and just make a mad dash for the 1st tee having arrived in the nick of time. Some time may be spent on the putting green before the round but only if you get their too early which only makes you wish you'd stayed in the clubhouse and had that second drink.

Now that's serious golf.

Niall

[BShannon]

Great topic!

I'd estimate that I take 1/2 rounds seriously. I always take it seriously when there is a little $$$ on the line and/or if it's an event at my club.
b
As a few others have mentioned, my company often dictates my focus level.

One of my goals this year is to not let my focus get derailed by a bad start, always been a problem for me.

[Garland Bayley]

I'm a competitive guy. I hate losing money to my buds. I play almost all my rounds at my home course with them with money on the line. Therefore, I take almost all my rounds seriously.

The least serious round I have ever played would have been the second round at Sherwood during KP when I was not in a match after having gone 1-1-1 in the three matches I was in. After dumping two balls in the water off one of the early par 3s, I stopped counting strokes and started just hitting shots including shots that purposely dumped Nike balls (Oregon Duck balls) in water hazards, drives as far as I could which out drove the two younger players in the foursome, dropping balls next to Anthony's and challenging him to closest to the pin contests, etc.

[Carson Pilcher]

Were you taught to "practice as you would play"?
[/quote]


Really get frustrated if a miss is simply due to not paying attention to the shot. 

[/quote]

This is about the only thing that will upset me on the course.  Weak mind; will frustrate me every time.  As to the question, I play in approximately 4-5 sanctioned multi-round tournaments a year.  I also play with a low handicap men's group at my club about 6 times a year.  I focus for all of those rounds.  Other than that it is fun client/ friend golf.

Now, I just played a tournament and had a bad case of "lack of focus".  I have decided that I can no longer half-ass it on the course.  I must focus on each shot at a minimum to keep my mind conditioned for tournament play.

[cary lichtenstein]

Every fucking time I teed it up

[Duncan Cheslett]

In individual medal or stableford rounds I'll take it seriously for as long as I have a meaningful card going. Thereafter I'll just concentrate on my ball striking and enjoying the walk and company. I guess I take less than 20% of my rounds 'seriously' all the way to the 18th.

Recently though, I've been playing a lot of matchplay competitions. I find I take matchplay very seriously all the time, even when several holes down. No matter how badly I have been playing I always feel there is a way back.

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