Keeping Score?

[scarpfish]

It seems ridiculous to me that some of you will spend your time registering on this site and posting hundreds of times but you don't keep score...?

Scorekeeping casual rounds is useless to me in terms of tracking progress. In fact, even in competitive play, I don't want what happened six holes ago on my mind, I want to take my score for the hole I just completed, announce it to the scorekeeper, and not worry about counting up my final tally 'till the discing is done.

I can understand if you are out playing by yourself and throwing more than one disc on a hole and not keeping score but I would hope that most of you don't always play by yourself and keep your score. What is the point of playing if your not keeping score? I know that some of you will say exercise blah blah but if you are reading a forum about disc golf...you obviously care about it more than the exercise.

What does it matter if most of my rounds are solo or with others? I play the same course regardless. And if others aren't there, I can concentrate on my shots and not my friends' jackassery (many of my friends aren't serious players anyways).

Also some of us have work situations where the optimal time to get a round in is a time our friends don't have available. This time of year would be one of them. I work graveyard and while I could be out playing right now. I think I'd rather deal with 80 degrees and some wetness from dew on the grass in the morning than the 101 degree furnace that would be awaiting me out there at this hour.

It actually boggles my mind that you guys will spend 10 to 20 dollars on a single disc and not track how well you are doing.

You need to go find something more important to boggle your mind. The world isn't going to fall into disarray because were not making use of the scorekeeping feature on DGCR. Its there if you want to use it, and I'm not going to berate anybody here for doing so. I choose not to.

But I will state this right now. Keeping score in casual play is overrated if you want to get better. I mean, it won't hurt to give yourself a "scrimmage" now and then, but almost every pro level player that I've met has stated that the best thing you can do to get better is to go work on a particular skill set and practice shots as opposed to playing rounds. This is a lot easier to do if you are out by yourself and don't have to deal with distractions from others.

 

[DiscJunkie]

I also always keep track of my scores. I even put them in an excel spreadsheet.

Same here.
Spreadsheet helps me know average scores for cetain holes.
On the other hand, if I'm practicing, or playing poorly, or injured, or playing with people who aren't keeping score...
It kind of depends. I usually know how well I'm doing without taking score.
The most important thing is to enjoy the game, but to improve, keep score more often.

 

[ERicJ]

But I will state this right now. Keeping score in casual play is overrated if you want to get better.

I know it's not the act of keeping score that makes me better. It's practice that does that. But keeping score provides a means to gauge the progress.

 

[widespread55]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I just recorded my first score and it was a good one for me. I like how detailed this site gets with the weather, time, and date.

 

[FRIZZLE TOSSLER]

I VERY rarely keep score now-a-days. I've noticed when I do it really kinda kills part of the fun... it almost becomes more about the numbers rather than improving my game and having a good time... enjoying the great outdoors. I mostly play casually w/ friends who I have gotten into the sport w/in the past 2 years and if one of us throws a shot off-line (and no one else is waiting behind us) we like to throw another shot for both practice and redemption. I've noticed vast improvements in my buddie's games w/out any scorecards. I personally find rounds much more enjoyable (and magical) when you are cheering on the others you are playing with rather that trying to "beat" them. It becomes less about egos and more about sharing the greatest game in the world with others, IMHO.

Case in point: My original DG buddy (damn you for moving back to Alaska ) & I used to always keep track of what our scores were in relation to the course & each other... mainly in our heads. About a year ago we stopped keeping track and we both started playing better & having a lot more fun and encouraging each other... birding holes we never had before, etc.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that you don't have to "keep your score" in order to get better... you've gotta clear your mind and get out there and practice tossin' as others have stated. I would consider myself a "serious player" who is constantly trying to improve my game. I play for the love of the game, not a scorecard.

 

[Roc1Time]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I just recorded my first score and it was a good one for me. I like how detailed this site gets with the weather, time, and date.

NORTHSTARS!!!!!

 

[garublador]

But I will state this right now. Keeping score in casual play is overrated if you want to get better. I mean, it won't hurt to give yourself a "scrimmage" now and then, but almost every pro level player that I've met has stated that the best thing you can do to get better is to go work on a particular skill set and practice shots as opposed to playing rounds. This is a lot easier to do if you are out by yourself and don't have to deal with distractions from others.

I'll also say that keeping stats is one of the best ways to know what skills to work on. For example, if you find that 250'-300' hyzers come up more often than any other shot, that's probably a good shot to get good at. You also might find that you only hit 10% of your 300'+ anhyzers, so you'll know that's another good shot to work on. Just keeping a score for each hole might not give you that sort of information.

 

[krallbd]

It seems ridiculous to me that some of you will spend your time registering on this site and posting hundreds of times but you don't keep score...? I can understand if you are out playing by yourself and throwing more than one disc on a hole and not keeping score but I would hope that most of you don't always play by yourself and keep your score. What is the point of playing if your not keeping score? I know that some of you will say exercise blah blah but if you are reading a forum about disc golf...you obviously care about it more than the exercise. It actually boggles my mind that you guys will spend 10 to 20 dollars on a single disc and not track how well you are doing.

Do You ever play video games? DO you keep track of where you get killed and how so? If not, why not? Don't you want to get better? Isn't it a bit ridiculous to not keep track of it. If you want to get good, you have to record everything that needs improvement. Why spend 60 bucks on a game if you aren't going to take it seriously?


Some of us, myself included, play the game for the enjoyment of the game, it is the same way that I can play a pickup game of hockey, a full game, but never keep track of the score. It is because the act of playing it is much more satisfying to me then knowing who won the game, or how many goals I scored.

 

[DangeRuss]

I am not hating on anyone for not keeping score. If I am out playing by myself (which I rarley do) I am either throwing a bunch of discs and trying to work on my game (not keeping score) or I am keeping score and seeing how well I can do on that course. If I am going to play with 1, 2, or 3 of my friends... I am keeping score. It doesn't make sense to me why you wouldn't. That is what confuses me. Some people in this thread say they never keep score and THAT boggles my mind. If you don't keep score and just throw for the hell of it...what are you doing wasting your time posting on a site that is basically dedicated to the more than casual disc golfer.

Second, when Im talking about keeping score...Im not talking about the scoretracker feature or writing down every round or even writing anything down at all. Im talking about the tally in your head of "oh im two under" or "I bogeyed that, im 4 over now". That is the scorekeeping im talking about.

In response to krallbd...yes I do play video games and yes I do keep track of my stats if I want to get better at the game. No I dont care WHERE I died but yes I do care about how many times and how I died. And if you are "playing hockey" ( a full game) and not keeping score...it isn't hockey. Your rollerblading around and shooting into a net or practicing. If I am outside hitting golf balls...am I playing golf? No.

All I am saying is that I cannot believe that people register to a site that is dedicated to disc golf and NEVER keep score. That is what boggles my mind, not the people who go out and throw and don't care.

 

[Guurn]

I usually only keep score when I am playing with someone. If I am playing alone I sometimes keep score but I run into the -do I really want to include that 5 foot missed putt in the score, if I had been playing with someone I would have actually squared up and set my bag down -thing.

 

[hh2news]

I always keep score.

 

[koenken]

I just started keeping score. I think it will help me figure out what shots I could work on and keep me honest on my disc golf game. My brother does not keep score since he gets frustrated. He should play the game more relaxed instead of beating himself up for bad throws.

 

[Midnightbiker]

I love to keep score. I feel weird not doing it. It also helps me to see how I am doing at the course I am playing

 

[jace]

always keep score..... along with a review of the course i find the brief moment of jotting down the numbers is just enough to keep me playing a little slower which helps my game.

 

[rlangton]

I have always kept score.. half the people I meet who play disc golf look at me weird when I first break out the pen and paper. I wonder, how can you NOT keep score?

 

[vonDrehle]

I think a lot of people just keep it in their head and are surprised when they see someone writing it down. If they haven't played in a tournament they might have seen anyone do it before. I know if I didn't record my score in a spreadsheet I wouldn't write it down.

 

[sonny]

For years I always just kept score in my head, tracking my score and the number of birdies. Thanks to the Scorebook here on Disc Golf Course Review, I started keeping hole by hole scores and tracking putts since last February. I feel the extra detail has helped my game by clearly pointing out how important putting is and showing what holes I should be careful on.

 

[NatiBuckeye]

I keep score always... Sometimes i just do it to keep track of courses and if i have ever 2'd or 3'd realy hard holes. I like to set goals to birdie every hole on a course.

 

[krallbd]

I am not hating on anyone for not keeping score. If I am out playing by myself (which I rarley do) I am either throwing a bunch of discs and trying to work on my game (not keeping score) or I am keeping score and seeing how well I can do on that course. If I am going to play with 1, 2, or 3 of my friends... I am keeping score. It doesn't make sense to me why you wouldn't. That is what confuses me. Some people in this thread say they never keep score and THAT boggles my mind. If you don't keep score and just throw for the hell of it...what are you doing wasting your time posting on a site that is basically dedicated to the more than casual disc golfer.

Second, when Im talking about keeping score...Im not talking about the scoretracker feature or writing down every round or even writing anything down at all. Im talking about the tally in your head of "oh im two under" or "I bogeyed that, im 4 over now". That is the scorekeeping im talking about.

In response to krallbd...yes I do play video games and yes I do keep track of my stats if I want to get better at the game. No I dont care WHERE I died but yes I do care about how many times and how I died. And if you are "playing hockey" ( a full game) and not keeping score...it isn't hockey. Your rollerblading around and shooting into a net or practicing. If I am outside hitting golf balls...am I playing golf? No.

I would disagree with the fact that you have to keep score in order for it to make sense to be active here. I rarely keep score, but i enjoy talking about disc golf in general. I like hearing stories of people throwing great games, or just being on forums in general.

If it is only keeping track of if you are plus/minus on a course, that doesn't really help you at all, does it? Knowing you were above par on a course doesn't tell you what you did wrong or what needs improvement? I can remember that my driving sucked on a course, and I need practice. Numbers don't tell me that, they just tell me that SOMETHING was wrong, not what it is.

And finally, rollerblading...I'm talking real hockey. And it still is hockey if you play without keeping score. You are doing everything else that pertains to the sport, you simply are not counting the goals. You still play with five men on the ice, plus one goalie. You still take shifts and sub out, you still follow the rules. You simply are doing it for fun, and not to show that you are better or worse than anyone else. The same applies for keeping score. It is still disc golf, you just are out to enjoy the sport of it, rather than letting yourself worry about the score.

I have no problem with people who do keep score, but I like to just relax when I play disc golf, and I know that keeping score can easily ruin what should be a fun, relaxing outing.

 

[rlangton]

I have no problem with people who do keep score, but I like to just relax when I play disc golf, and I know that keeping score can easily ruin what should be a fun, relaxing outing.

What are you going to do when you're in a tournament and you have a few bad holes? Part of learning disc golf is learning to deal with a few bad holes.. keeping score will test you with that.. I've seen some people getting totally PO'ed and refuse to play anymore.. there's no way they'd do good in a tournament setting. I agree that there are times when it's not necessary to keep score (working on a particular aspect of your game) but there are also times you should keep score. It shouldn't be all or none.