Why You Should Burn Your Scorecards

A guest post by: Greg D'Andrea 

People always ask me;  Greg, do you really stink at golf or is the Golf Stinks blog just a gimmick? Well, the truth is, it depends on what your definition of “stink” is. If you ask Rickie Fowler or Tiger Woods to look at my game, hands down they would say I stink at golf. In fact, most of you would probably agree.

But if you ask someone who’s just beginning, they may (and on one occasion someone actually did) say that I should be competing in tournaments. While flattering, this golf newbie had no idea what they were talking about – they were so new, literally every shot for them was a flub. So every time they saw me hit a decent one (which wasn’t that often), they thought I should be on tour! But in reality, I stink. End of story.

My average for 18-holes is 93. Sure, that’s better than some people. Heck, I even break 90 once-in-a-while (best ever is 82). But I also hit my share of triple-digit scores too (had a 113 this season). So as you can see, I’m an average Joe golfer: Inconsistent as hell and even in the case of my all-time best round, I still finished 10 over par.

You know, in all the blog posts I’ve penned, I’ve never written what my average golf score is. Nope, this is the first time. Why? Because I’m trying to make a point: You don’t have to be good at golf to love it! Let’s begin with a simple exercise. How many of you have a fireplace, fire pit or hibachi? Good. Now how many of you have a fire extinguisher? Great. Now go scour your golf bag, home and car (don’t forget the trunk) and collect all the scorecards you can find.  ... Got them all? Super. Now carry the extinguisher and the scorecards over to any of the aforementioned heating/cooking devices. Set the extinguisher down at arm’s-length and light a small blaze in your heating/cooking device. Now toss all your scorecards into the inferno. Don’t leave! Keep your eyes focused on that fire until your scorecards have been reduced to a pile of ash.

On second thought, perhaps you can skip the “burning” exercise altogether if you don’t worry about your score and instead just go out and have fun. The reality for most golfers (me included) is we need to come to terms with the fact that we stink at golf – and that stinking at golf is a perfectly normal thing. Once you’re content with that, you’ll be having more fun than you ever thought possible on a golf course.

Let’s take camaraderie as an example. If you play golf, chances are someone you know also plays, and that both of you hit the course together at least once-in-a-while. There you are – you and your buddy out on the course – talking about the things you would be talking about anyway, except now you are also enjoying a round of golf in the great outdoors. If you have three buddies that are golfers, then it’s a whole foursome full of fun and camaraderie. Add a camcorder and a slew of antics can ensue that would have never taken-place off the course…trust me.

Look, the reality is, 99 percent of golfers stink – but how many of them really admit to that fact? Come on, the last thing you want is to be one of those golfers…you know; the ones that lie to themselves (and to you) and then get all worked up when they go out and shoot a 110 – as if they typically shoot around 75 and they are completely stumped as to this strange turn of events. Why give yourself all that added stress? The best policy is to not worry about your score – you may even be surprised how much not worrying helps you relax – which subsequently translates into more enjoyment out on the course. And isn’t that what golf should really be about – having more enjoyment in your life?

So the next time you hit the links, try to put less emphasis on your scores and more emphasis on enjoying where you are and who you’re with – my guess is you’ll be having way more fun out there. But if that doesn’t work, by all means, go grab a match and that fire extinguisher.

Greg D’Andrea (affectionately referred to as Stinky Golfer Greg) is a regular contributor to the Golf Stinks blog and co-founder of the forthcoming golf social media site, golfstinks.com. Despite living in the same state, Stinky Golfer Greg has not personally met the Golf Girl, but he looks forward to a day when they can hack their way through a local course together. Golf is a game; you should have fun playing it.