I Don't Like The Pressure To Put A Card In Every Time I Play - It Ruined My Golf

I’ve always liked to think of myself as competitive and someone who enjoys a challenge. For me, that’s always been one of the main reasons why I play golf, or at least, until recently, I thought that was why. To be honest, I haven't enjoyed many rounds this year because I’ve been trying too hard to make a score.

To give you some background, I began the season having to submit 20 cards because I had lapsed as a club member. It was also a chance to obtain a more realistic handicap than the 11.8 I had achieved when I was playing more regularly a good while ago.

"Great idea," I thought. "I’ll soon get back into what I should ideally be doing each week under the World Handicap System, putting a card in when I play."

What started off with a few steady rounds at the start of the season, playing to 16 and 17, a handicap I was happy with and could work to, soon spiralled. As the months wore on, I hit a bad slump in form.

That’s golf, I know it happens, but when Saturday came around, people were encouraging me to put a card in saying, "You want to get your handicap up." While that was true to a certain extent, each time, I was putting so much pressure on myself to still score well that it simply wasn't fun. Inevitably, my game just got worse.

I started thinking about the carefree rounds I’d played over the last few years with friends and industry colleagues. Of course, I cared how I played, you always want to play to the best of your ability and not look like you’ve never picked up a club before, but most importantly, I didn't think twice about my score, and I always enjoyed my golf.

A few weeks ago, coming to the end of the season anyway, I made the simple decision to not enter any more competitions or put a card in. That Saturday, playing a friendly four-ball better-ball, I got my mojo back. It was the first day in a very long time that I genuinely enjoyed club golf.

Don't get me wrong, I'm going to commit to improving my golf during the winter months, and I will enter competitions again next season. But there's a lot of truth in the saying: golf is what you want it to be. We're lucky to have so many different options and formats nowadays. If you want to just play 9 holes, or hit balls at the range, that’s ok.

I guess I was just brought up on the idea that you play the traditional weekly comp with a card in your hand. But it honestly became a chore, something I wasn't looking forward to. Since golf is my leisure time and I pay a substantial club membership fee for the privilege, I'm glad I've parked the card marking for the time being.

Ultimately, it does make you question: Why do I play golf? Everyone is different; some of you reading this will totally relate to what I’m saying, while for others, the game just isn't as central to their life as it is to mine. I’d be interested to hear your comments in the box below.

I know somewhere deep down, I’m probably trying to hang on to the golfer I once was with that 11.8 handicap, and I know that as soon as I chill out, the good golf will happen.

Maybe it's my ego, in this industry I’m surrounded by great golfers. Unfortunately, it is a sport where you are often judged on your handicap. But I also realise golf is a selfish sport, the only person that truly cares is me.

So, I’m now up to 13.3, my best cards from as far back as 2018 and 2019 are slowly being knocked off. I’m still not playing to my handicap, but it's the best I've played in a long time. I'm loving golf again and cannot ask for more than that!