Would you rather.....

[FairwaysToHeaven]

 

 I only ask because if I'm not playing well I seem to lose interest in winning the match against a friend. I seem to be motivated by score or the battle against par and the money game is always an afterthought. I rarely care if i win a hole with a bogey or double bogey, and i'd rather lose the hole with a par having the opponent get a birdie.

 

Edited September 13, 2021 by FairwaysToHeaven

[Blonde Line Lizard]

I would rather win the money but have a bad score.  Competing is what pushes me to do better.

 

Shooting a personal best score will come eventually but is not a motivator for me.

[MtlJeff]

As the legend Dom Torreto says: It don't matter if you win by an inch or a mile...winning is winning

 

(sips corona)

[TwistedSister]

Lately the second option is right in my wheel house!!!

[MattM97]

Money in my pocket is never a bad thing. 

[CoachCraigie]

Give me the low scores any day. If you're playing an absolute blinder and playing well, but the person you're playing against is shooting better, there's not much you can do about that. Plus it's a better story to talk about in the clubhouse later

[ShowMe]

Low scores every time.  Although there is this one friend I play with from time to time who has a big mouth.  Never shuts up.  Taking his money is always fun.

[Gsea]

1 hour ago, CoachCraigie said:

Give me the low scores any day. If you're playing an absolute blinder and playing well, but the person you're playing against is shooting better, there's not much you can do about that. Plus it's a better story to talk about in the clubhouse later

Talk is cheap, cash is real

[TCGolfer35]

[MattM97]

21 hours ago, CoachCraigie said:

Give me the low scores any day. If you're playing an absolute blinder and playing well, but the person you're playing against is shooting better, there's not much you can do about that. Plus it's a better story to talk about in the clubhouse later

 

My friends would still laugh at me cause I lost even if I shot my best score ever. 

[deadsolid...shank]

Money….I want their money!

 

A fistful of cash makes that poor round not seem so bad. 

[Qqq123xx]

I'm very competitive with myself. Against someone else meh. So low score for me. 

[phizzy30]

On 9/14/2021 at 10:48 AM, ShowMe said:

Low scores every time.  Although there is this one friend I play with from time to time who has a big mouth.  Never shuts up.  Taking his money is always fun.

You mean the guy that talks s*** all day but can't back it up?  Yeah, I got one of those too.  I have to give him double digit strokes and still take his money most of the time.  Still doesn't shut up.  He got a golf ball to the head a few months back by his own swing from a tree in front of him and that shut him up.  Who knew..........

[Roody]

Shoot the low score and lose. Some of the most fun rounds I've ever had with friends is when we're playing a match against each other, and both of us are shooting great. I want them to play well, and have fun too. 

[nitram]

To quote the late Al Davis: "Just Win Baby"!

[TexasRig]

[larrybud]

Depends on the amount. I've lost shooting lights out, and honestly I think I enjoy that more than playing like crap and "winning". Of course, most of my bets aren't > 10 bucks or so.

[garyt]

I don't really play for money, but even when its just bragging rights,  I always tell people I'd rather they beat me 77-78 then I win 90-92.

[billh17]

I'd much rather shoot a low score and lose.  They are friends and the day on the course together

is the important thing.

[jackmfarrow]

Depends on the buddy. Guessing most people have, at least, 1 that becomes mildly intolerable when victorious. 

[MelloYello]

On 9/13/2021 at 11:55 AM, FairwaysToHeaven said:

 

 I only ask because if I'm not playing well I seem to lose interest in winning the match against a friend. I seem to be motivated by score or the battle against par and the money game is always an afterthought. I rarely care if i win a hole with a bogey or double bogey, and i'd rather lose the hole with a par having the opponent get a birdie.

 

 

Well, I'm down several hundred bucks on the year in earnings so at this point, I'm more than happy to take every +$20 weekend I can get, LOL. 😀

 

 

But in general, I entirely agree with you. I remember the best rounds. I've forgotten all the times my $20 bet was lost to the pot, and yeah, some of those saw me earn Medalist honors (low gross score).

 

Ultimately, if your betting setup is fair, it'll all be a wash in the end. So for many of us, the bet is really there just to (1) keep everyone honest and (2) decide who buys who a beer at the end. 

 

 

NOTE:

I will add this, the more I play, the more I do appreciate an "undeserved" win. They're fun. They bring a much-needed laugh. In the end, it's those moments that help to make the bad days feel less painful.

 

For instance, I shot 77 last weekend. TBH, my play deserved absolutely nothing and yet I ended up walking out with $25.

 

Sometimes there's nothing better than doing absolute jack and getting paid for it! 😁

Edited October 28, 2022 by MelloYello

[chisag]

30 minutes ago, MelloYello said:

I will add this, the more I play, the more I do appreciate an "undeserved" win. They're fun. They bring a much-needed laugh. In the end, it's those moments that help to make the bad days feel less painful.

 

 

... My old playing pard in Chicago was frustrating to play with at times.

Par?
Yea, but I didn't deserve it. 
How many strokes did you take?
Four.
Then you deserved a par.
Disagree, 2nd shot was thin and lucky to make the front fringe. 
But it did and you made par.
Didn't deserve it though. 
I'll give you a 5 then.
NO! I had a par!

... Like you I have learned to appreciate grinding out a score when my A game is absent and my B game only shows up for a few holes. There is some real satisfaction in hitting a poor drive, followed by a poor iron shot, followed by a nice pitch/chip and making a 4 footer for par. 

[Moonlightgrm]

Money is gone, quickly. However, an all-time best round, even in a losing effort, is a lifetime memory. If I shot a 65 but still lost some cash, I’d be happy as a clam.

 

[MelloYello]

51 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

 

... My old playing pard in Chicago was frustrating to play with at times.

Par?
Yea, but I didn't deserve it. 
How many strokes did you take?
Four.
Then you deserved a par.
Disagree, 2nd shot was thin and lucky to make the front fringe. 
But it did and you made par.
Didn't deserve it though. 
I'll give you a 5 then.
NO! I had a par!

... Like you I have learned to appreciate grinding out a score when my A game is absent and my B game only shows up for a few holes. There is some real satisfaction in hitting a poor drive, followed by a poor iron shot, followed by a nice pitch/chip and making a 4 footer for par. 

 

 

I think it's perfectly fine to be critical. I think it's fair to voice those concerns. Maybe it's more appropriate to say, "if I keep hitting it like that bogeys are sure to follow."

 

I think words like "deserve" are kind of out of place. 

 

But you're 100% correct that winning money comes from doing something right. Even when we feel we played poorly and missed opportunities we ultimately contributed something that had value. 

 

And that's one practical advantage of playing for money. There's no giving up. You have to keep grinding, especially when you're playing as part of a team. 

 

.

Edited October 28, 2022 by MelloYello

[chisag]

1 minute ago, MelloYello said:

I think it's perfectly fine to be critical. I think it's fair to voice those concerns. Maybe it's more appropriate to say, "if I keep hitting it like that bogeys are sure to follow."

 

I think words like "deserve" are kind of out of place. 

 

But you're 100% correct that winning money comes from doing something right. Even when we feel we played poorly and missed opportunities we ultimately contributed something that had value. 

 

 

... Oh right there with you and I think all serious golfers are critical. Obviously that's how you get better. But most of us, regardless of index, hit poor shots during any round. Some rounds more than others. I have also absolutely flushed shots with my best swing that caught a slope or tier and ended up far from the hole or on one par 3 I play regularly from 110, completely off the green when my ball mark is 3 feet from the pin. So if I hit a thin 7 iron that rolls up on the front fringe I am thrilled my poor swing ended up so well.

... I think the most egregious was playing a 20mph downwind hole, I killed my drive reaching a downslope that isn't normally in play for me. I was 2 under and left with a LW where I sometimes have a 5 iron to the hole. Front pin so had to land it short of the green and hop on. Hit a 3/4 LW right at the pin, hit just in front ... directly on the edge of a sprinkler head and bounced 15yds sideways and into the lake. Had to drop in rough so thick I could not see the ball and ended up with a double after hitting 2 shots as well as possible. I will take all the good results on bad swings I can get. 

[Ifelloffladder]

You better believe I will take the money. And if we are playing that bad that day it's also another positive knowing I scored better than they did on a bad day.