How do you approach a recreational round?

[Technohic]

I noticed that when I am playing recreational rounds, while I want to get my personal best for the course I am playing, I notice I do an awful lot of experimenting so maybe I am not really trying as much as I should for personal best.

For example, last weekend, I was at my most frequented course and my best has been +1 over par. I had worked on a few things and they were going well and I finished the 1st round, at my best again of +1.

So, I start a 2nd round and by the 7th hole, I am -1, which usually doesnt happen for me at that point; usually I bird a few of the later ones to get me to +1. I decide I want to work on forehand, which I dont do a lot and it goes ok but by hole12, I got myself up to +3.

At this point I realise that I kinda pissed away what might have been my best round there ever and I go back to using my RHBH and drop myself back down to even going in to hole 18.

Hole 18 is one of those that should be easy and for some reason I get in my head "I'm going for ace" then smack a tree and take a +1 on it and that day was no different and I finished +1.

Anyway, nice long story for you I guess, but the point is, after that, I realised I do all sorts of different things that stray from my tried and true approach to each shot despite always comparing my outing for the day based on how well I scored.

Seems counter-productive. Anyone else like that?

 

[toothyfish]

I've done it both ways. I've tried for best score, but on days where I've struggled, I've turned it into practice. I have a tendancy to focus too much on the score and miss the point of just "getting out" and enjoying the day.

One of my latest things is to play "better disc" with myself. I'll toss two or three discs from the tee (and it can't be three of the same) to force myself to make new and different shots, such as those I stink at. Sometimes this leads to a better way, especially when navigating obstacles, wind, etc, others have me say "I'll never do that again!" Then I pick a drive and go from there. Score matters less, learning matters more on these days.

And of course there are those fun drivng holes, where I throw every driver I have...

I would have to ask you this: are you playing for fun and enjoyment or preparing for competition? There is a time to mess around and a time to focus..

 

[locuno1]

i would say i'm very counter productive when i try to use new grips, throws etc... on the course before field testing them, but last night i went out for the first time in almost two weeks, and played at a course where under par is achievable i usually finish anywheres from -2 to +2, but last night i hit every tree possible, tried a new putting grip, then switched back to my old putting grip and still failed to make anything outside of 10 feet most of the time because i over threw the basket or hit the bottom of the basket, in the end i ended up at 8 over par.

 

[Technohic]

I dont know if I ever will plan to compete, except I do want to do an Ace Race some day.

 

[CaptainAnhyzer]

How do you approach a recreational round?

Step 1 - Remove about half the discs from your bag
Step 2 - Fill your bag with as many beers as it will hold
Step 3 - Tee off !

 

[Camgolfer]

If I play alone then I will take the time to shoot a few extra discs on some holes to try new shots and test seldom used discs. When I am playing a rec round with friends then I usually stick to one throw per shot and throw with my regular comfortable throwing style. I may throw a mulligan or two on some shots, but for the most part we play rec/casual round as any normal round.

 

[Beable]

I've done it both ways, but in general, I try to be serious during rounds I play solo. This is because I've played a few times at monthly events now, and it seems like it's really important to consistently choose smart shots and putt really well. So if I want to try a new disc or different lines or whatever, I do those after my "real" shot. And then I only record my first shots.

 

[Technohic]

I may just have to do the 2nd shot for the fun shot. I think I need to get myself more diciplined with my first and official shot to know how well I really am doing. I dont reallly take mulligans so, when I have tried something, it was usually the first shot and I count it.

 

[tmahan]

I've done that a million times in solo practice rounds, and it's really pointless. Bettering your personal best by yourseld is similar to getting an ace solo, without a witness it didn't happen. I have to be careful, it's easy to pik up bad habits playing solo. I tend to play better with company.

 

[Technohic]

I never have been out solo, just really casual friends.

 

[Omega SuperSloth]

i try to always take the high % shot, except for the tee i usually always go for it then.

if you got a good shot at the basket for bird take it , but think about what could go wrong and figure out the best way to still go for it while you minimumlize those risks, and if the risks are just to great dont go for it ,cause chances are you wouldnt go for it in a real round either .

I play dg they way i play poker , i try to be consistent round after round , hole after hole and game after game. If you play by % your gonna have a bad round now and then but youll have less of them.
So even if im down i few strokes to someone i just keep playing my game just like their not even there, just like if i was praticing , it really helps to take the nerves out of it.

 

[Neophyte]

I am a pretty competitive person and want to constantly improve in pretty much everything I do. However, that being said I keep it low key on your average round. I just try to make better shots and more of them than I did last time. Also on your average recreational round I don't even keep score.

 

[Technohic]

I am a pretty competitive person and want to constantly improve in pretty much everything I do. However, that being said I keep it low key on your average round. I just try to make better shots and more of them than I did last time. Also on your average recreational round I don't even keep score.

Nice Ace post!

 

[bobmarley753]

I can think of 3 different types of play:

- competitive: play by the rules, keep score, money may be involved
- recreational: playing with friends, play by less strict rules, take advantage of chances to learn while not getting too serious
- instructional: play strictly to improve something, i.e. forehand, putting, learning new molds

I like to have an idea of what type of round I am going to play beforehand and stick with it. If I am out to play a "competitive" round (even when solo), I don't like to break it up by playing instructional holes. I feel like that sort of invalidates the competitive round, and likely doesn't give you enough repetition to learn much anyway. I enjoy playing "instructional" rounds (usually solo) where my focus will be on one thing throughout the round (new shot, new equipment, etc.) and in that situation, keeping score is unnecessary. If you combine the two in a round, you end up with a total score that doesn't really represent a true round for you, and you probably learned some things, but probably missed opportunities to improve on others on the holes you played "competitively."

The most important thing is to just have fun. Depending on what your goal is, a fun round could be anywhere on the scale from competitive to recreational to instructional.

 

[giles]

With a few beer and the aim of having a good time. Ace run a few holes. If the hole is easy, I'll try to take the harder route. At least one thumber just to keep it in the bag and hopefully slowly gain some D with it. Highest percentage shot for upshots, even if it isn't my strong point. BH rollers are my new favorite. I like to score well but it isn't what drives me to play.

 

[GLong]

if I'm not keeping score for myself then it is a rec round or practice round. I dont worry about my score too much unless its a tourney or weekly league. Its all practice, really. I like to do midrange rounds to work on getting better D with the mids and also have been doing some forehand/forehand roller rounds, throwing one of each on each hole. I've only been working on forehand regularly for a month or so. The field work is great but you have to get out on a course and figure out how to make the shots work on the course. Even if the hole doesnt favor FH or a roller I will try it anyway and try to do the best I can. It's challenging but a lot of fun and great practice.

 

[ChainMan]

I tend to approach non-comp rounds three ways:
1. Fairly serious, keep score, not much if any experimentation
2. Not serious, keep score, mulligans allowed, some experimentation on 1st or 2nd (practice) shot
3. Not sober, no score keeping, wait...wait, hold my beer and watch this...

 

[NothinButChing]

buds, beers, and NO score card! haha

mayb e some snack food to keep things goin n on good days maybe even a dog or two

 

[Lewis]

I've done both. With a recreational round, the goal is to have fun, so it depends on what kind of mood I'm in: sometimes it's fun to see if I can beat my personal best, but sometimes it's fun to intentionally forget my score and try a few different lines or techniques.

 

[Technohic]

Well it looks like it is actually going to be nice tomorrow so I can play on a Saturdat and watch football on Sunday. Past few saturdays it was too rainy so I went Sunday as DG won out over the NFL but even plying Saturday, there is a good chance I still go DGing sunday and I got some new discs so it will be one of those experimenting weekends.