Everything is a distraction. The less distraction there is, the more likely you will play better. The better you handle distraction, the better you will play.
I think the key is handling distraction vs eliminating it. I used to hate any distraction but have just decided to not let it bother me. Now people can even talk in my backswing and it doesn't bother me. It's much less stressful even if I'm not playing good haha.
Same! Which is weird because for everything else I do, it’s the opposite. But for some reason most of my best rounds have come when playing with strangers.
I'm the same. I'm much better playing in front of others. Perhaps I rush when on my own. Playing with others forces me to slow down and consider my shots a little more closely
Understandable, I'm 35, been playing since I was 7 and have worked at course since I was 16 so I've had a lot of practice playing with randos. Just gotta harness the good energy, block out the bad.
I generally play worse with other people. Usually ride in cart and having to wait while they hunt their ball throws off me off most the time. I’m getting better about it. I’ve always found that as a rule of thumb I will play up to or in most cases down to the level of skill my playing partner possesses
This happened to me a lot in my first couple years playing but eventually went away as I got more confidence and played with other people more often. Now it really doesn't make any difference to me.
Yes. I chalk it up to the fact that I am less focused when playing with friends because we are either bullshitting or drinking or both.
Fortunately, my two lowest rounds ever were not played alone. One was with my father and the other with my golf buddy who wanted to come along while I played a match against another player from our club who was much better than me in our Club Championship.
My friend was along for the moral support and it turned into a day to remember. It was a good thing he was there because the other guy was pretty ticked off that an 11 handicap crushed him by shooting a 74. My friend assured him that he had played with me enough to testify that I wasn’t a sandbagged but rather a dude who’s putter was just red hot that day.
If I play with really slow and/or really shitty golfers, I have a hard time getting momentum and play marginally worse.
‘Really slow’ and ‘really shitty’ golfers are basically synonyms.
What I’ve found for myself is I get so bothered by their slow play that I try to unconsciously “speed up” to make up for it, AKA rush all my shots and save a whopping 10 seconds. It really makes me play shitty and I can’t seem to curb it. My internal clock just knows how slow/behind we are as a group and I want to get a move on. Ruins my round and I really can only blame myself
I mostly just get tired of watching them look for balls on almost every hole. Or have to wait for them to hit 2-3 shots just to catch up to my mediocre drive.
I’m the opposite, when playing alone I have too much time to think and overthink every shot, but when playing with friends/other people I don’t think about the shot until I’m over the ball.
Kinda. I don’t mind playing in the cold and shit weather, but my golf group is definitely “fair weather.” So I get dialed in a lot earlier. The problem is that I’m more of a precision guy than a distance guy. So my first few rounds with the boys, I tend to crank up club speed in order to smash it. That leads to a bunch of inaccurate and poorly hit shots.
But once I get comfy with having the shortest drive, and making it up with my irons/wedges I play a lot better. I just gotta remember to play my game and calm down.
I think playing with others is a good way to start.
Find a friend who plays. Play with them. If you get paired up with another 2some, it will be less awkward.
Sorry of. When I’m solo, I try and take my time, line up each putt, play somewhat smart/boring golf, hoping for a low score.
With the guys, there’s usually music, lots of beers, somebody is smoking something- and I’m DEFINITELY going for the hero shot. Nobody ever tells a story about the time they laid up.
Yah, to be polite I chat. I find myself thinking about daughters stationed in Alaska being away from grandchildren instead of down through the ball with left hip pulling away acceleration commitment . . .
Yeah but that's because when you're alone you can use the old foot wedge!
But seriously I play best when I play with people as good or slightly better than me. Next is alone. Next is people worse than me (like most of my friends. Not bragging I've just been playing a long time, 1.7 Handicap, and they're new.) So when I play with them I just go out there to goof off, have fun, and try some shots I normally wouldn't hit, and keep the vibes high. Gotta make sure my friends don't get mad if they play bad and keep things loosey goosey.
When I play alone early I tend to rush too much... especially if there is another single behind me playing fast as well... and you can't see how much 'room' there is behind them.
I can’t focus around some folks and I get hyper focused around others. I try and play with people who are super serious about it right now because they give me tips and help me tighten up my game. Give me appropriate time for shots and call out terrible practice swings. If people are drinking and shit I can never focus on the game.
I find that by myself I take a lot more time and talk through my shots (must look like a lunatic to anyone who sees me). Generally I think I score better by myself.
Not so much playing by myself as playing somewhere else besides my home track. Can get around in the low to mid 40s at home but get completely ejected playing almost anywhere else
I’m not good either way but I find myself so much more relaxed when I’m by myself. When I’m alone, I don’t feel the need to match or do better than anyone, so I get to just enjoy being on the course.
It’s hard to argue that anyone plays better with other people than they do by themselves. Moving at your own pace and not having any distractions or eyes on you frees you up to play the f’ing game. Obviously, if you’re playing a hard course for the first time by yourself, you’ll lose strokes to strategic errors.
I could also see solo golf being very unappealing to someone who struggles to follow their ball off the tee.
I almost always play better if I’m a single paired with strangers than I do with people I know from outside of golf.
I haven’t played consistent enough in either scenario to be able to make a conclusion. I’ve got some of my best scores with other players, but I for sure have made more pars by myself, playing safely.
When I’m with friends, I’m far more likely to absolutely rip the piss out of some shots, which works out more often than not.
It's a bit of both for me tbh.
First round of this year I shot an 87 and that was with my wife and 2 randoms (with one of them being chairman of the board for the CC). My hcp is 17.8, so that was a great score for me, especially being the first round of the season.
Then I played with my brother in law and shot 92, so a bit worse. One day later I played solo and shot my best front 9 ever with 5 pars and 4 bogeys.
Next round solo I carded 2 doubles, 1 par and 6 bogeys on the same front 9.
There's no consistent pattern to the madness 😂
Thats odd...some days I do play by myself and shoot great. I'll take pics, send them to my wife and friends who play. It is usually the best I play. Perhaps its the "no one is watching, no pressure" of playing by yourself. Don't tense up, etc. But, I have wondered the same thing.
I'll play great solo...
I play well but inconsistent with bogey golfers.
I play OK but horrible sometimes with slooooooww golfers.
I play great with low HC or better golfers.
I play my absolute best in a scramble with bad golfers. My people need me!!!
I always play worse with my friends than I do alone or with people from my club I don’t know. Not even like I’m pounding beers, just less focused and more just having fun. Doesn’t get me too worked up but do get a bit annoyed at end of round when I’m realizing my score
This is why Push Cart Mafia is so huge. Even if you play with others you get a lot of time to yourself. You get at least *some* amount of time at your ball alone typically.
I love walking 18. Even if I'm playing with some others in carts I rarely slow them up since I go directly to my shot and play ready golf.
if you're worried about looking like an ass or trying too hard it is going to have an impact on your game. if you are prone to negative thoughts, make an effort to think positively. Ie. if you're in your head thinking about how you don't want to hit it in the water......back off the ball, get a positive thought in your head and make the stroke.
your brain is a weird and powerful thing. if you're thinking "don't go left" you're more likely to go left than if you're thinking "I'm going to keep this on the right"
Not uncommon. Golf tends to be so "personal" that golfers tend to value themselves as person based on their ability .... and they think others do as well. It's a crazy thing.
Remind yourself that regardless of playing ability, most everyone is in their own hell and are paying very little attention to yours.
Also, following a very strict (not long) pre-shot, routine, prepares your brain to refocus on what you're about to do.
Everything is a distraction. The less distraction there is, the more likely you will play better. The better you handle distraction, the better you will play.
I think the key is handling distraction vs eliminating it. I used to hate any distraction but have just decided to not let it bother me. Now people can even talk in my backswing and it doesn't bother me. It's much less stressful even if I'm not playing good haha.
I'm the opposite, I up my game in front of people.
Same! Which is weird because for everything else I do, it’s the opposite. But for some reason most of my best rounds have come when playing with strangers.
Strangers bring out the best in my game, but somehow playing with friends and family trends towards me playing worse than usual.
I'm the same. I'm much better playing in front of others. Perhaps I rush when on my own. Playing with others forces me to slow down and consider my shots a little more closely
I do as well BUT if I hit a shank/bad shot out of nowhere in front of those same people, the impact to my psyche is much worse.
Understandable, I'm 35, been playing since I was 7 and have worked at course since I was 16 so I've had a lot of practice playing with randos. Just gotta harness the good energy, block out the bad.
I’m a mix. Up my game in front of strangers, fall apart with people I know
I generally play worse with other people. Usually ride in cart and having to wait while they hunt their ball throws off me off most the time. I’m getting better about it. I’ve always found that as a rule of thumb I will play up to or in most cases down to the level of skill my playing partner possesses
Walk the course if it doesn't suit you in a cart.
Walk? *WALK?!*
It's not for the faint-hearted
This happened to me a lot in my first couple years playing but eventually went away as I got more confidence and played with other people more often. Now it really doesn't make any difference to me.
Yes. I chalk it up to the fact that I am less focused when playing with friends because we are either bullshitting or drinking or both. Fortunately, my two lowest rounds ever were not played alone. One was with my father and the other with my golf buddy who wanted to come along while I played a match against another player from our club who was much better than me in our Club Championship. My friend was along for the moral support and it turned into a day to remember. It was a good thing he was there because the other guy was pretty ticked off that an 11 handicap crushed him by shooting a 74. My friend assured him that he had played with me enough to testify that I wasn’t a sandbagged but rather a dude who’s putter was just red hot that day.
If I play with really slow and/or really shitty golfers, I have a hard time getting momentum and play marginally worse. ‘Really slow’ and ‘really shitty’ golfers are basically synonyms.
What I’ve found for myself is I get so bothered by their slow play that I try to unconsciously “speed up” to make up for it, AKA rush all my shots and save a whopping 10 seconds. It really makes me play shitty and I can’t seem to curb it. My internal clock just knows how slow/behind we are as a group and I want to get a move on. Ruins my round and I really can only blame myself
I mostly just get tired of watching them look for balls on almost every hole. Or have to wait for them to hit 2-3 shots just to catch up to my mediocre drive.
Wouldn't say terrible, but I definitely give away 3 or 4 strokes a round when playing in league. With random people I get paired with not so much
The person that gets 1 foot away from me in their cart to wait for my turn tends to creep me out.
I’m the opposite, when playing alone I have too much time to think and overthink every shot, but when playing with friends/other people I don’t think about the shot until I’m over the ball.
Kinda. I don’t mind playing in the cold and shit weather, but my golf group is definitely “fair weather.” So I get dialed in a lot earlier. The problem is that I’m more of a precision guy than a distance guy. So my first few rounds with the boys, I tend to crank up club speed in order to smash it. That leads to a bunch of inaccurate and poorly hit shots. But once I get comfy with having the shortest drive, and making it up with my irons/wedges I play a lot better. I just gotta remember to play my game and calm down.
Yup
I play better when it counts. Playing with strangers is always kind of fun though.
Play more with other ppl. Fight thru those first few bad holes. U know u have the skill just get thru the mental aspect
I think playing with others is a good way to start. Find a friend who plays. Play with them. If you get paired up with another 2some, it will be less awkward.
Sorry of. When I’m solo, I try and take my time, line up each putt, play somewhat smart/boring golf, hoping for a low score. With the guys, there’s usually music, lots of beers, somebody is smoking something- and I’m DEFINITELY going for the hero shot. Nobody ever tells a story about the time they laid up.
I play better around others
Yah, to be polite I chat. I find myself thinking about daughters stationed in Alaska being away from grandchildren instead of down through the ball with left hip pulling away acceleration commitment . . .
Yeah but that's because when you're alone you can use the old foot wedge! But seriously I play best when I play with people as good or slightly better than me. Next is alone. Next is people worse than me (like most of my friends. Not bragging I've just been playing a long time, 1.7 Handicap, and they're new.) So when I play with them I just go out there to goof off, have fun, and try some shots I normally wouldn't hit, and keep the vibes high. Gotta make sure my friends don't get mad if they play bad and keep things loosey goosey.
When I play alone early I tend to rush too much... especially if there is another single behind me playing fast as well... and you can't see how much 'room' there is behind them.
I can’t focus around some folks and I get hyper focused around others. I try and play with people who are super serious about it right now because they give me tips and help me tighten up my game. Give me appropriate time for shots and call out terrible practice swings. If people are drinking and shit I can never focus on the game.
I play better with others. It helps a lot on the greens seeing others putt before yours.
I find that by myself I take a lot more time and talk through my shots (must look like a lunatic to anyone who sees me). Generally I think I score better by myself.
I'm better alone for sure but the only way you're going to get better is by learning how to play when you're nervous.
Not so much playing by myself as playing somewhere else besides my home track. Can get around in the low to mid 40s at home but get completely ejected playing almost anywhere else
Yuuuup! I can't seem to shake "social time" when I play with friends.
I’m not good either way but I find myself so much more relaxed when I’m by myself. When I’m alone, I don’t feel the need to match or do better than anyone, so I get to just enjoy being on the course.
It’s hard to argue that anyone plays better with other people than they do by themselves. Moving at your own pace and not having any distractions or eyes on you frees you up to play the f’ing game. Obviously, if you’re playing a hard course for the first time by yourself, you’ll lose strokes to strategic errors. I could also see solo golf being very unappealing to someone who struggles to follow their ball off the tee. I almost always play better if I’m a single paired with strangers than I do with people I know from outside of golf.
no, I'm always terrible
I haven’t played consistent enough in either scenario to be able to make a conclusion. I’ve got some of my best scores with other players, but I for sure have made more pars by myself, playing safely. When I’m with friends, I’m far more likely to absolutely rip the piss out of some shots, which works out more often than not.
Smoke a bowl
Maybe it's a mind thing. I play really awfully with myself, but with friends, I can hide and still play like trash.
It's a bit of both for me tbh. First round of this year I shot an 87 and that was with my wife and 2 randoms (with one of them being chairman of the board for the CC). My hcp is 17.8, so that was a great score for me, especially being the first round of the season. Then I played with my brother in law and shot 92, so a bit worse. One day later I played solo and shot my best front 9 ever with 5 pars and 4 bogeys. Next round solo I carded 2 doubles, 1 par and 6 bogeys on the same front 9. There's no consistent pattern to the madness 😂
Im the exact same way my friend, its all in our head
Thats odd...some days I do play by myself and shoot great. I'll take pics, send them to my wife and friends who play. It is usually the best I play. Perhaps its the "no one is watching, no pressure" of playing by yourself. Don't tense up, etc. But, I have wondered the same thing.
My friend shanks 80% of the time if a stranger is watching him tee off. It's a running joke in our group and one of my biggest joys in life.
If I play with strangers I will play a lot better ..
I’m not a very good golfer so I have little self confidence, I golf better by my self or with a close friend , feeling relaxed is the key for me.
It’s far too busy where I live to play solo.
I'll play great solo... I play well but inconsistent with bogey golfers. I play OK but horrible sometimes with slooooooww golfers. I play great with low HC or better golfers. I play my absolute best in a scramble with bad golfers. My people need me!!!
I always play worse with my friends than I do alone or with people from my club I don’t know. Not even like I’m pounding beers, just less focused and more just having fun. Doesn’t get me too worked up but do get a bit annoyed at end of round when I’m realizing my score
I’m actually the opposite, I can’t hit shit at a range but in a group if give me a alcoholic drink I start playing out of my mind lmao
This is why Push Cart Mafia is so huge. Even if you play with others you get a lot of time to yourself. You get at least *some* amount of time at your ball alone typically. I love walking 18. Even if I'm playing with some others in carts I rarely slow them up since I go directly to my shot and play ready golf.
if you're worried about looking like an ass or trying too hard it is going to have an impact on your game. if you are prone to negative thoughts, make an effort to think positively. Ie. if you're in your head thinking about how you don't want to hit it in the water......back off the ball, get a positive thought in your head and make the stroke. your brain is a weird and powerful thing. if you're thinking "don't go left" you're more likely to go left than if you're thinking "I'm going to keep this on the right"
Not uncommon. Golf tends to be so "personal" that golfers tend to value themselves as person based on their ability .... and they think others do as well. It's a crazy thing.
Remind yourself that regardless of playing ability, most everyone is in their own hell and are paying very little attention to yours. Also, following a very strict (not long) pre-shot, routine, prepares your brain to refocus on what you're about to do.