Should You Give Up Playing Competitive Golf

Why are so many of us obsessed with playing competitive golf?

Many of the people I play this game with have no interest in doing so for fun, and I cannot understand why because it is abundantly clear that they experience little joy from competing in monthly medals where every shot counts.

Lots has been said and written about club golfers protecting their handicaps by failing to submit cards and while I accept that there is an element of that within the game, I am utterly convinced that most of us want to reduce our handicaps.

Of course there are benefits to always having a card in your back pocket, and we will come on to that later.

The Joys of Recreational Golf

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

So why do so many of us simply want to go out there and have a friendly knockabout with friends?

First and foremost, it means that it does not matter if (when) you have a disaster. You simply pick up the ball and move on to the next hole.

Purists will hate this but if you are playing for fun and find yourself in a horrible lie, why not just pick up your ball and move it? If you duff a shot, give yourself a Mulligan. 

If you find yourself in a divot hole in the fairway, pick up your ball. If you find yourself in a footprint in an unraked bunker, move your ball.

Without a card in your pocket you will not be forced to hole endless three-foot putts because your playing partners will tell you to pick the ball up. 

If you are playing on your own, why not hit two balls, as long as you are not holding anybody up?

It also stands to reason that if you are not recording your score every time you play then the chances are greater that you are actually going to be able to go out there and have a laugh because there will be no pressure.

As somebody who has played a lot of competitive golf I have to hold my hands up and admit that I no longer enjoy medal play. I am one of those golfers who get a good round going and the deeper I get into it the more I find myself wondering when my disaster hole is going to happen. And when you think that way I can confirm that, without the slightest shadow of a doubt, at some point that disaster will strike.  

When all is said and done, as club golfers surely the whole point of playing our sport is because we enjoy it. Mind you, if you look at the faces and behaviour of some club golfers you might find yourself wondering why they bother.

I know that many of you will be choking on your Wheaties at the very thought of doing any of the above, and that is fair enough. I am not advocating that people cheat. I am simply saying that golf does not always need to be a matter of life and death.

Disadvantages of Playing Without a Card

And there are definitely disadvantages to playing without a card on a regular basis.

As somebody who had to give up the game because of injury, one of the most difficult things for me when I returned to golf was remembering how to score. By that, I am talking about playing within your limitations, knowing when to pull out a driver, when to hit a rescue club. 

This was a real issue for me initially, all the more so because I discovered that I had lost at least 50 yards from the tee, and that meant I had to tackle courses differently. It stops you in your tracks when you suddenly realise that you cannot hit the shots you used to be able to play without thinking.

Thankfully, a custom-fitted driver has given me an extra 20-30 yards. But it still means that there are many holes on many courses where my strategy has had to change. What is the point of attempting a 200-yard carry over water when I know that there is little chance of avoiding a watery grave?

If you don’t keep score regularly there is little doubt that you will struggle when you have to hole those three-foot putts, when you have to play from that bad lie in the rough, when your ball is in a footprint in the sand. 

Most golfers who always carry a card do so in order that they can keep track of the progress (or lack thereof) that they make over the course of a season and because they want to play golf "the right way", submitting their scores after every round. These are the men and women who are most likely to dominate your club’s competitions, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

There is no right or wrong way. The key thing is to do whatever makes you happy.

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