Good company or low score?

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By Speedy

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  1. Speedy

    Speedy
    East Coast, NH

    Which would you rather have, good company or a low score? I select good company... Here's why...

    Last week I played in my first golf tournament. It was put on by the NHGA (New Hampshire Golf Association) and it was a part of their Tournament Series. It's an event open to all amateurs in my state (NH) regardless of their handicaps. I was inspired to sign up after a few buddies of mine did something similar earlier this year in their state. After hearing how much fun they had, I figured I would try it out with zero expectations. What's the worse that can happen?

    Anyways, back to my question. The tee times came out the day before and saw the players i was playing with. So being nosy, i looked up their handicap, where they're from, etc. 2 of the players were LOW single digit hcp and the other one was a 15 or 16, not sure. So, I was a little nervous about playing with the 2 single digit hcp. Not going to lie. I showed up, hit some balls and met my group. My first impression was, this is going to be a long day playing with these boys BUT kept an open mind, I always do..

    First tee box, i was shaking.. haha.. But hit a decent drive so i was happy.. And off we went.....

    I can't tell you how much I enjoyed playing with them. B/c i had great company, I was relaxed most of the round and actually played well minus 2 VERY bad holes. And on one of those bad holes, one of the guys came up to me and told me to relax, take your time and have fun... I can't tell you how much that meant to me. What other sport would you hear that from an opponent?

    I tied for 24th which i was happy with considering it was my first time and some of the players in the field were + HCP. But like i said i had zero expectation, just there to enjoy the experience.

    After the round we exchanged numbers to stay in touch.. Again, what other sport can you meet people and then exchange numbers to stay in touch?

    I would chose great company over a low score any day. I truly believe having great company will allow you to relax, have fun and play your best... And who knows, make new friends...

    Cheers

  2. aholtmeyer

    aholtmeyer
    Dallas

    I agree. I would choose great company all the time. I go out there just wanting to have a good time and don't get too stressed over the game itself. I'm not out there trying to make a living playing golf. Just spend some time outdoors and have some fun.
  3. Bomber3

    Bomber3
    Lake St Louis, MO

    Military
    I think both are possible. Just because we go out and play competitive tournaments doesn't mean we can't enjoy the company of our playing competitors and also shoot decent/good/great scores. I always feel that what I shoot is independent of what my competitors are shooting, since I'm playing the course not them and I pull for them as much as I do for myself.
  4. Carl T

    Carl T
    Little Rock, AR

    I play with a couple of large group of guys and always enjoy the comradery of my fellow golfers. Some of the guys in these groups do not play on a regular basis and I have always enjoyed playing with someone that is new too me. I also belong to a golf community that is about an hours drive from my home. For the most part when I have played at the community I am playing with total strangers. Only one guy in the last 15 years or so was not enjoyable to play with. But like Deon Sanders said "I want both." Good company and good scoring. When I do have a bad round it's not really bad because of the great guys I play with.
  5. Michael JC

    Michael JC
    Orwell, VT

    I believe that being in good company, can lead to a relaxed, stress free round and good scores.
  6. No'l

    No'l
    Palmdale, CA

    Good company is awesome and are and always a winner in a round of golf. What you had there last week at the tournament was nice. But, then, I'll have to tell you that each time I go out, my intention is to better the last round or even the lowest round I've ever had and it's probably the most difficult spot I can put my self into. but for sure, I could only wish for good company during that time.
    Let me think... Recently, at an away course, my friend and I were paired with two guys who had a much lower handicap than us- very quiet when we all met by the tee. But we all introduced ourselves and off we went.
    Though it wasn't a tournament, we sensed a little cart against cart competition without saying a word. Then the wind picked up even more after about a couple of holes at around 18 miles an hour with gust at about 25 and it stayed for the rest of the day. We also all noticed that each one of us in the group were all keeping the ball low- under the wind, and it turned out to be a really fun round for all as we all escape making large numbers on a hole (even though I'm the one with two doubles in the group...ugh). The two gents were locals and so they asked and we told them we're also from a windy desert, and that sort of gave a chuckle to them and we all laugh about the low ball we all played. If all goes well, we're going to meet again in late November.
    So yeah, I guess good company makes it more fun.
  7. Speedy

    Speedy
    East Coast, NH

    That's a great story Noel! Thanks for sharing that.
  8. Dino J

    Dino J
    Burnaby, BC

    Hey Christopher H. -- nice posting and question(s). I think that tournament golf is a different creature than regular recreational golf. I do, however, agree that having a more enjoyable group to play with helps put things into perspective better.

    I cannot recall who the following quote is attributable to (and I tried to recreate it as best as I could), but suffice to say, I think is pretty relevant:

    "You don't play golf to relax, you must relax in order to play golf". So having a comfortable group to play with helps you be relaxed and in a better frame of mind for shooting low scores. Some of my best scores came from playing Ina very relaxed group where I enjoyed the banter and chat as we walked to our shots and just played. Voila -- next thing you know, I am adding up a pretty good looking score card!
  9. 19hole

    19hole
    Reading, MA

    Chris, I find that good company drives lower scores.
  10. Mike C

    Mike C
    Dallas, TX

    When I go out and try to have a fun round and enjoy the time with my playing partners, it always makes for better golf and the scores often reflect that. I try to relax when I am playing in tournaments and treat it just like it is any other round, even though this is hard to do at times. This helps to keep me in the groove and scoring better. I know I will have several mistakes in each round and it is accounted for in my handicap so I just accept the mistakes and move on. I also find that playing with better players helps me to focus and play better as I raise my own expectations. Experience has shown me that when I am having fun and playing with people whose company I enjoy, I often score better so the two are not mutually exclusive but really go hand in hand.
  11. RRomanowicz

    RRomanowicz
    New Bedford, Massachusetts

    Good story, good company helps lowers scores to me
  12. Allen L

    Allen L
    Clarington, OH

    I'd much rather have good company. And really, you can have low scores and still have fun with good company.
  13. Steve S

    Steve S
    Tuckerton, NJ

    Hello Christopher H. Great question. Great company any day. But I enjoy playing with better golfers as well. You can have it both ways. Better players can be great company and also help your game at the same time.
    Play Well,
    Steve S.
  14. Robert L

    Robert L
    Hayward, CA

    It's not about where you play, or how well you play... rather who you play with.
  15. Rich T

    Rich T
    Shrewsbury, MA

    Good topic, Chris. While my personal goal is to always play well, some of my most memorable and enjoyable rounds are because of group of people I am with. And as others have mentioned, good scores tend to follow when you are relaxed.

    If I had to choose, I would pick good company all day long. A good example of this was just a couple weeks ago on a trip over a long weekend that my wife and I took with another couple. My friend and I were lucky enough to have a couple rounds of golf on the schedule. Our first round included some of the ugliest golf either of us have played in a very long time....REAL ugly! In fact, we each lost so many balls that we found ourselves chasing stray shots in to places that we may normally not, and at one point stopping to figure out how many ProV's we had left between us. There was a real risk of having to make a pit stop at the pro shop to reload! But in the end, we had a true blast that day. Expectations were tempered very early on and we just enjoyed being out there.

    Fortunately, we made it through the round without running out of balls and day 2 provided much better scoring. Though, I do probably need to get on My Pro V1 and get an order in!

    Congratulations on the nice showing in your tourney, Chris. I am sure there will be many more.
    Rich
  16. BMusso

    BMusso

    The best days are the ones where you so relaxed that you play the best golf. When I'm uptight I don't shoot as well as i'd like.

    Not a fan of golfing in the rain at all but went out with a couple of buddies one day and first few holes all dry so I thought it would hold off but what do you know it starting raining at the 7th hole. Stopped being so uptight because I kinda just gave up on playing a serious round. In the end, started joking around with my buddies and had a great time because of that.

    Added bonus when I ended up with one of my best scores to date.
  17. Keith D

    Keith D
    West Orange, NJ

    I have two games.
    Competitive (with friends or strangers, doesn't matter). And I want everyone to play well.
    And then I have a couple of friends I just enjoy spending time on the course with and how anyone plays is secondary.

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