Keeping Score?

[widespread55]

I have been discin now for about 10 years or so but just this year I decided to get serious about it. My first step towards serious was adding more then just a driver and a putter to my collection and then I even took it a step further by getting a fade crunch bag a couple weeks ago.

I am playing the best disc golf I have ever played right now and so I finally am starting to try to keep track of my score. The only problem is I usually quit(out of frustration) as soon as I miss a 10ft putt for double boggy.

I guess what I want to know is does keeping track of your score improve your game significantly and if so, do you guys keep a "master log" of all your scores?

 

[Disc Golf Cowboy]

I always keep score, nice to know how you really did when you finish a round. You can keep your master log right here on DGCR. Just go to the score book on your profile.

 

[rikardob]

I don't keep a master list but I know when I get one over 3 and add a plus 1 and so on so I know how much over I was on all par 3s by the end of the game. It's a nice feeling when you come out even or close to it.

 

[billnchristy]

I post every game we play on here...even if the numbers are totally shameful.

It is really good once you start seeing trends...for instance, my wife usually does better on the front 9 than the back while I suck on the front 9, warm up, and do good on the back 9. She has learned that taking a short break works for her.

I am naturally getting better on the front...either from playing it more or actually improving.

You can also see what holes you bogey or deuce a lot and figure out why.

I too get that feeling some times, it helps when you have someone with you to keep you honest.

My proudest moment was scoring a 70 at Rankin Lake (+12) which is 1 below the average score on the site....baby steps!!

 

[el siege]

I like the idea of keeping score. Keeps each round a little more coherent. I am pretty new to writing down my score and have gotten super frustrated when I "blow up" on a hole for anything over a 4.

Even when this happens, though, you should write your actual score down. Even if you don't always break your course record, it is still reassuring to look down and be a little surprised at the end of a round. I have found sometimes that despite my negative feeling about a particular outing, I have an average (or handicap).

My point is that while the memory of a bad hole may hurt your confidence/game, writing down every par is more of a confidence builder than these lapses .

As far as the site's scorebook option; I think its very cool. The most useful feature for me is the hole-by-hole score. This will allow me to go back and know which holes I have the most trouble with and hopefully focus on improving those aspects of my game.

 

[mprii]

We keep score for every round. I have a stack of sheets that I need to record.

 

[fifteen]

I usually keep score even if my friends aren't. I find that keeping score for myself allow me to write down notes on what I need to work on and which holes I have troubles with. Now only if I could find them and start keeping track on my computer.

 

[mashnut]

I always keep track during a round in my head, but I don't keep track of all my scores. I do track my lowest score on any course that I've played more than once, and I track how many rounds I've played at each course, I just feel like I have a pretty good sense of what my scoring trends are for individual holes and full rounds on the courses I play most.

 

[Adaven]

For me it depends, most of the time when I go out by myself I shoot multiple discs and try different shots on many holes so its almost more of a practice than a round. I wouldn't feel right keeping track of those scores, mostly because I couldn't possibly keep track of it all. When I go out and play with others I try and track my scores, although I shot such an embarrassing round the other day at a really easy course that I just couldn't bring my self to put it up.

 

[vonDrehle]

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

 

[Adaven]

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

How long have you been keeping them? I just started and am interested in the feeling someone gets from seeing improvement.

 

[bazillion]

I keep a little spiral-bound notebook in my bag. Each page has exactly 18 lines and a pencil fits neatly into the binding. I keep score of every round I play and am now on my second or third book. I keep score for the people I play with just in case they want to know.

The benefits are mainly a greater awareness of how you play. I know, for instance, that it takes me almost exactly six holes to warm up properly. So if I'm going to play a tourney (which btw i've never done) I know how many practice shots to take up front. Additionally, the discipline of scoring everything breaks you out of thinking that one particular hole is your nemesis - or, for that matter, that it's a gimme. They're all just holes.

That brings me to the "how-to" of this little rant. The key is to make an agreement with yourself to keep score and then discipline yourself to do it EVERY TIME.

I guess the next thing will be to put the whole schmear into a spreadsheet, at which point I'll probably start to see patterns of improvement, if not black spots before my eyes

 

[StymieDidIt]

The group I play with keeps score whenever we play. What I have found, is that on holes where there's a bogey or double and then followed by a birdie, etc, the score often variates from it's actual number. What I mean is, while playing with my friends, if we're keeping score mentally, out of nowhere they have equal or similar numbers to me if I'm shooting a great round, even though I've been keeping score with a card and I know they should be several shots behind me, or the other way around. By the time you get to the ninth hole, there are too many variables to consider especially when playing with a group. You're no doing yourself justice if you're not keeping an accurate score. When we go out to our local course we often talk to the others that are playing and inquire to their score. It never fails that we're the only ones ever shooting over par, yet while watching these people play I don't see how it's possible. Those bogeys add up fast.

 

[andyman]

It depends on who I am playing with. If I am playing a casual round with a few people from work during our lunch break, I usually don't keep score.

 

[billnchristy]

Totally agree with Stymie. It is very easy to fool yourself into thinking you throw par when you are +10.

 

[simpletwist]

I always keep score and track it here. Well I've been tracking most of my scores here since sometime in February of this year. I know that I've been making improvements to my game and it's nice to see that reflected on my scorecard. It's also nice to see how my scores stack up, or not to others who record their scores here.

 

[Neophyte]

I usually keep score in my head and if I am playing with some of my friends we keep a head to head score. But now that I have a Fade Crunch Box and a place to put a score card I should probably start actually keeping score to record how I have been improving...if at all.

 

[jdggna]

I don't generally keep score, though I will occasionally (once every week or two). When I do I just keep track of +1, -1, etc like everything is a par 3. I've been intending on doing it more often, though I feel it can take the enjoyment out of playing in larger groups since a lot of my friends see it as a contest when we do.

 

[ryanmmacoustic]

I keep track of all of my scores. Since I'm pretty new to the game I like to see how much I'm improving and how much harder I need to practice.

 

[maynes32]

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

I also do this, and keep hole by hole, front 9/12, back 9/12 and total averages. Helps to identify holes where you have problems. It can also help to keep track of deviations, but only really necessary when you get a LOT of scores - otherwise you can just do this visually. To me, there's a big difference between that hole you "4" every time cause it's just a little too long for you to get to, and the one you always either "3" or "5" - one needs attention in the way you play it, the other less so, even though they both average 4.

BLM