Why I Stopped Keeping Score on the Golf Course
To not keep your score on the golf course almost sounds idiotic. When I tell my playing partners, “I’m not keeping score,” they usually do a double take…
When you’re training for hours on end every day with limited breaks, you expect to see results on the course and in tournaments. And when you’re not seeing those results, you question and analyze your decisions throughout your round and tailor your training accordingly.
I was stuck in a never-ending cycle. See my coach, fine-tune my swing, course management, strategize, strength training, travel, practice rounds, nutrition, compete, post high scores, “brush it off”, prepare for the next event, repeat.
Golf is a game, and unfortunately, I didn’t see it as such. I saw golf as my past, my present, my future, and finally my identity. Like most athletes, we struggle to separate ourselves from identifying our self-worth with our performance on the field. I measured my success and accomplishments with my score. I was so engulfed by the game and not seeing the big picture.
Eventually, I started hating the game. I decided to take a break from golf and didn’t play for a couple of months. During this hiatus, I took the time to reflect on my game.
After a rejuvenating 2-month break, I made the decision to get back on the course. As I approached the first tee, I reached for a scorecard, but there was a momentary pause. I found myself staring at it, and all of those negative feelings came flooding back. In that instant, I chose to put the scorecard back and pulled out my driver.
Shot after shot, hole after hole, I played without keeping score. For the first time in a long time, I felt solace on the course. My focus shifted away from my score or the end result. I let go of frustration over errant shots or missed putts. I simply played the game… without the burden of keeping score. The liberation I felt was uncanny.
Since that transformative round, I made a conscious decision to stop keeping my score. It was a pivotal moment that changed my life and completely shifted my perspective on golf. To anyone reading this, I highly recommend going out on the course and experiencing the game without the constant tallying of scores. Some of you may embrace it with open arms, while others may find it challenging. It all depends on where you are in your relationship with golf.
Now you know why I stopped keeping my score.
However, recently, I have found myself contemplating the idea of keeping score again. I renewed my NCGA Handicap, and although I feel a bit nervous about it, I believe I have reached a point in my relationship with golf where I am ready to embrace scorekeeping once more.
Golf is an ongoing journey of self discovery and writing about it helps. Sharing it with you helps even more.
Until our next round!
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