Are You Better or Worse?

[chisag]

... Should be a fun topic for those cooped up isn the middle of winter, but do you feel like you are better or worse than you think you are when you play? Since I m starting this topic I'll go first. 

I am better than I think I am. I have high expectations and due to many different reasons (excuses?) I hit way too many really bad shots. I had 157 into a slight breeze and slope said it played like 161 and with wind I figured 165. I decided to hit a stock 7 iron which is my 160-165 club and would keep me short of the hole for an uphill putt. But deep inside I questioned that club knowing a 6 iron won't get me close but will take the big drop off out of play. So I swung harder not trusting the club, came out of the shot and pushed a weak fade to the right, tumbling down a hill and leaving me a 50yd pitch shot to a flag I could't see. How on earth can I hit such a terrible shot? 

On #9 there is water right and mounds left so aiming for the fringe I hit a 5 iron from 195 to 15' left of my target and my ball stayed on the slope leaving a difficult LW from a downhill lie. Missing by 15 feet put me in a terrible spot. So here I am again worse than I think I am but pull off the difficult LW cutting underneath the ball from 40 feet with a ton of spin and stopping it a foot from the hole. 

Later in that same round I blocked a tee shot into some houses missing my target by a good 50 yards. 50 yards!?! What kind of scratch golfer hits that bad of a shot? But I dropped, hit a good hybrid to 135 followed by a nice knockdown 9 iron to 6 feet and made the putt to save par. 

I could go on and of course I have days here everything seems to be working and I am exactly the golfer I think I am but more often than not just hit some really bad golf shots which make me feel like I don't deserve my score. Kinda amazing that on a day when everything is working and I don't hit a single really bad shot I can shoot 70 and a few days later when nothing is working I can salvage a 75. 

It is hard for me to shake the thought that I am better than I think I am and of course this helps drive me to be a better player. I also get paired up with golfers the think they are much better than they really are, hardly ever hitting a really quality shot and disappointed they aren't in the fairway or on the green and never taking enough clubs while playing from tees too long for their ability. 

So which are you and why? 

[GolfSpy_APH]

25 minutes ago, chisag said:

... Should be a fun topic for those cooped up isn the middle of winter, but do you feel like you are better or worse than you think you are when you play? Since I m starting this topic I'll go first. 

I am better than I think I am. I have high expectations and due to many different reasons (excuses?) I hit way too many really bad shots. I had 157 into a slight breeze and slope said it played like 161 and with wind I figured 165. I decided to hit a stock 7 iron which is my 160-165 club and would keep my short of the hole for an uphill putt. But deep inside I questioned that club knowing a 6 iron won't get me close but will take the big drop off out of play. So I swung harder not trusting the club, came out of the shot and pushed a weak fade to the right, tumbling down a hill and leaving me a 50yd pitch shot to a flag I could't see. How on earth can I hit such a terrible shot? 

On #9 there is water right and mounds left so aiming for the fringe I hit a 5 iron from 195 to 15' left of my target and my ball stayed on the slope leaving a difficult LW from a downhill lie. Missing by 15 feet put me in a terrible spot. So here I am again worse than I think I am but pull off the difficult LW cutting underneath the ball from 40 feet with a ton of spin and stopping it a foot from the hole. 

Later in that same round I blocked a tee shot into some houses missing my target by a good 50 yards. 50 yards!?! What kind of scratch golfer hits that bad of a shot? But I dropped, hit a good hybrid to 135 followed by a nice knockdown 9 iron to 6 feet and made the putt to save par. 

I could go on and of course I have days here everything seems to be working and I am exactly the golfer I think I am but more often than not just hit some really bad golf shots which make me feel like I don't deserve my score. Kinda amazing that on a day when everything is working and I don't hit a single really bad shot I can hoot 71 and a few days later when nothing is working I can salvage a 75. 

It is hard for me to shake the thought that I am better than I think I am and of course this helps drive me to be better. I also get paired up with golfers the think they are much better than they really are, hardly ever hitting a really quality shot and disappointed they aren't in the fairway or on the green. 

So which are you and why? 

I think or believe I am better than I think. 

This is a funny one, because I know my potential. Not just as a golfer, but as an athlete. I regularly shoot low 80s and when I was playing more I would often get into mid 70s. I know my potential is to play that or even better, however limited practice time. Lack of lessons has held me back in recent years. 

I make silly mistakes, rush shots from time to time or in the case of last year play way too many new courses and simply don't know them and end up having to "search" my way around the golf course vs going out and hitting specific shots to set myself up for holes. 

I play well enough to enjoy my time on the course and have fun. I have good holes and bad holes and know I could be better, but given the above (lack of practice etc) there is way more potential there to be a significantly better golfer than I am.... right now.

[chisag]

22 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

play well enough to enjoy my time on the course and have fun. I have good holes and bad holes and know I could be better, but given the above (lack of practice etc) there is way more potential there to be a significantly better golfer than I am.... right now.

 

... Good for you and that really is the thing ain't it? I try to keep it in mind and watched Fred Couples hit 2 drives OB with his opening tee shot and then split the fairway with his 5th shot and still made the cut. If Freddie can hit not one but two horrendous shots in a row why on earth would I think I am not supposed to hit one? 

[GolfSpy TCB]

Not sure how to answer the exact question.  I hold myself to a higher standard than I play.  I feel I have the potential to be better than I currently am.   And to that extent, I have worked to find ways to move toward that potential in the past 2 years.  But, do I think I'm better than I am?  I guess I do.  But I also know that I can't find that better golfer by doing the same thing over and over, then expecting different results.  I have also been more strategic in how I manage the course within the game I have.  That has also helped me be a better scorer... There are more secrets I haven't unveiled yet... the ongoing journey.  I definitely don't play better than I am... I think it is the other way around... so I guess that answers the OP's question.  

 

[Jim Shaw]

1 hour ago, chisag said:

... Should be a fun topic for those cooped up isn the middle of winter, but do you feel like you are better or worse than you think you are when you play? Since I m starting this topic I'll go first. 

I am better than I think I am. I have high expectations and due to many different reasons (excuses?) I hit way too many really bad shots. I had 157 into a slight breeze and slope said it played like 161 and with wind I figured 165. I decided to hit a stock 7 iron which is my 160-165 club and would keep my short of the hole for an uphill putt. But deep inside I questioned that club knowing a 6 iron won't get me close but will take the big drop off out of play. So I swung harder not trusting the club, came out of the shot and pushed a weak fade to the right, tumbling down a hill and leaving me a 50yd pitch shot to a flag I could't see. How on earth can I hit such a terrible shot? 

On #9 there is water right and mounds left so aiming for the fringe I hit a 5 iron from 195 to 15' left of my target and my ball stayed on the slope leaving a difficult LW from a downhill lie. Missing by 15 feet put me in a terrible spot. So here I am again worse than I think I am but pull off the difficult LW cutting underneath the ball from 40 feet with a ton of spin and stopping it a foot from the hole. 

Later in that same round I blocked a tee shot into some houses missing my target by a good 50 yards. 50 yards!?! What kind of scratch golfer hits that bad of a shot? But I dropped, hit a good hybrid to 135 followed by a nice knockdown 9 iron to 6 feet and made the putt to save par. 

I could go on and of course I have days here everything seems to be working and I am exactly the golfer I think I am but more often than not just hit some really bad golf shots which make me feel like I don't deserve my score. Kinda amazing that on a day when everything is working and I don't hit a single really bad shot I can shoot 70 and a few days later when nothing is working I can salvage a 75. 

It is hard for me to shake the thought that I am better than I think I am and of course this helps drive me to be a better player. I also get paired up with golfers the think they are much better than they really are, hardly ever hitting a really quality shot and disappointed they aren't in the fairway or on the green and never taking enough clubs while playing from tees too long for their ability. 

So which are you and why? 

hmm, interesting, I believe the obvious answer for me is I am better than I think I am. I feel the work with my sports psychologist has moved me closer to believing in my abiltity. last year before the nationals I took responsibility for my game, didnt rely on my swing coach or my mind coach so I am optimistic the best is yet to come. 

[chisag]

59 minutes ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

I have also been more strategic in how I manage the course within the game I have. 

 

... Great thought. I will play with a solid DI or mini tour player and they don't seem to hit one bad shot the entire round. By bad shot I mean, fat, thin, topped, pushed or pulled really low or really high. But in the end the score card really doesn't care if I hit a low, thin push that ends up next to the green and I get up and down or his beautiful towering iron shot pushed just a hair next to the green and he gets up and down. They played at the highest level as juniors and I didn't start til I was 33. So I really like "within the game I have". 

[chisag]

2 minutes ago, Jim Shaw said:

hmm, interesting, I believe the obvious answer for me is I am better than I think I am. I feel the work with my sports psychologist has moved me closer to believing in my abiltity. last year before the nationals I took responsibility for my game, didnt rely on my swing coach or my mind coach so I am optimistic the best is yet to come. 

 

... I have to think this will be a pretty common answer for low index players. Love hearing you are optimistic and the best is yet to come! 

[GolfSpy TCB]

5 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... Great thought. I will play with a solid DI or mini tour player and they don't seem to hit one bad shot the entire round. By bad shot I mean, fat, thin, topped, pushed or pulled  really low or really high. But in the end the score card really doesn't care if I hit a low, thin push that ends up next to the green and I get up and down or a beautiful towering iron shot pushed just a hair next to the green and he gets up and down. They played at the highest level as juniors and I didn't start til I was 33. So I really like "within the game I have". 

Yeah... this thread is a thinker... meaning, I keep thinking about it and will for a while.  You are really good at that Sam .

I have accepted that there is always someone better than I am... and that is the trick isn't it.  Not letting better players turn you into something you aren't.  An easy example for me...  I haven't had but one or two eagles in 20 years.  There are various reasons for that, but mostly... I just don't have the length to make that a part of my universe... and it gets farther and farther away from my game with each passing month it seems.  So I HAVE to play within the parameters of my game to score.  Pars and Birdies is my game... consistency is my goal. (and sometimes bogeys and double bogeys are my reality haha).  Knowing on the tee of a par 5 that "it's all about the 3rd shot" helps me set my targets for the 1st and 2nd shot... which may not be Driver off the tee, or 3 wood out of the fairway.  I know I need to play to positions and comfortable distances to have ANY chance of scoring well.   

I may be getting away from this thread topic a little, so I'll try to bring it back.  I feel I'm a scratch golfer locked inside the game of a 3 handicap, and this time last year I was a 3 handicap locked inside the game of a 8 handicap.  I'm not sure if I'm a "plus" handicap somewhere down the road.   So... maybe I am exactly the golfer I think I am... it is just a matter of timing  .  

Good subject @chisag

 

 

[sirchunksalot]

This is a really tough question, but here's how I'm going to answer.

I believe I'm right where I think I am, but worse than I think I should be. I know I can play better than I have been and honestly, I'm sometimes embarrassed to post some of the scores I've put up the last couple of years. I believe I have the skill to play better but once out on the course, things go sideways. My wife and I have talked at length about my mental game because I feel that's what's holding me back. Two years of bad play can do that to a fella.

My goal this year is to have more fun on the course and be more gentle on myself if I make some bad shots and instead see them as challenges to try to recover from.

I'm looking forward to what 2023 has in store for me on the course.

 

 

[CarlH]

I think I'm harder on myself than I should be and beat myself up on errant shots and other bonehead mistakes.  Guess I think I'm better than I really am.  

[Tom the Golf Nut]

This is a tough one to answer. I guess I am better than I think I am. I tend to doubt my abilities far more than I should, but I manage to pull it off in the end. I know I can play well when the conditions are good. I am confident stepping into a shot, but then when something goes wrong, I can laugh it off and recover well.  I know that is contradictory. How can you doubt your abilities but be confident at the same time right. But that's why I'm a golf nut, I guess. One of the things that irks me is getting in a bunker and then seeing that it is hard pan, full of stones, clay, or even exposed barrier layers.  Give me a good sand base and I'm fine and will more than likely get out and be close for a sand save. Give me something else and that's when the doubts creep in and the result can be over the green and a double or more on the card. It's something I have to work on.    

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

Damn this one is a real “soul searcher”….

it’s hard for me to admit but I think I am better than I actually am. But with a caveat. There are times where I play above what I currently am and times where I play worse than I currently am. The competitor and athlete in me thinks that I am at that level of when I play really well. I strive to get there consistently and if you don’t think you are that level can you ever get there consistently?

I am of the mind set that you cannot get somewhere without the mind set. I think that comes with a stereotype of coming off pompous but I don’t think that and it’s not a “I’m this good” to other people. It’s a mindset.

I will always think I’m better than I am while striving to get there but never getting to where I want to be….in this silly game anyway

[RichL85]

Can the answer be both? I am capable of being better than I am, and I am also capable of being worse than I am. 

For a comparison, back when I played tennis, I had a nasty habit of subconsciously adjusting my level based on my opponent. When I faced a good, college level player, I could hang with them and naturally played aggressively and won my fair share of matches. But you put me up against a weaker player, my brain started to overthink the situation and my game would change. I would play terribly as a result, but would usually still win these matches. They were just annoyingly closer than they should have been. 

With golf. I know the shots that I am capable of hitting, and I generally hold myself to the standard of what I am capable of (whether that's reasonable or not is an entirely different can of worms). With that perspective, I think that I am better than what my scores show, because I have my fair share of shots that are downright embarrassing. When I hit those shots, I legitimately wonder if I'm really that bad, or if it's just a bad shot. If I'm really that bad, then I am much worse than my scores sometimes show. 

[GolfSpy TCB]

ok... how about this....

I am better than I think I am when I'm putting my shoes on before the round... and I am worse than I think I am when I'm taking them off at the end of the round.   

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

4 minutes ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

ok... how about this....

I am better than I think I am when I'm putting my shoes on before the round... and I am worse than I think I am when I'm taking them off at the end of the round.   

How about worse than I think holes 1-17 and then better on 18 which always keeps me coming back 

[chisag]

4 minutes ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

I may be getting away from this thread topic a little, so I'll try to bring it back.  I feel I'm a scratch golfer locked inside the game of a 3 handicap, and this time last year I was a 3 handicap locked inside the game of a 8 handicap.  I'm not sure if I'm a "plus" handicap somewhere down the road.   So... maybe I am exactly the golfer I think I am... it is just a matter of timing  . 

Knowing on the tee of a par 5 that "it's all about the 3rd shot" helps me set my targets for the 1st and 2nd shot... which may not be Driver off the tee, or 3 wood out of the fairway.  I know I need to play to positions and comfortable distances to have ANY chance of scoring well.  

 

... Thanks and threads have a way of taking on a life of their own. But handicaps are just like playing golf and you take them one shot at a time. If you can get to a 3 you can get to a + if you have the time and inclination. While it is always a good idea to know how you want to attack any given hole, it will always depend on where your last shot leaves you. In your case having a plan for par 5's is great when you hit it like you want but we usually end up under Newtons 3rd Law and every shot results in an adjustment in plan for our next shot. My playing pards are high and mid index players and they love to say we hit similar shots but I never compound my error and save par with excellent follow ups shots. If I hit a bad drive, I know I need to put myself back in position, not hit a great hybrid from 205 just under the tree limbs and onto the green with water right and the fairway sloped that way. I see where the trouble is and try to put it just in front or just left or right and away from the trouble. If it happens to get on the green, that is just icing on the cake. But I am looking for the easiest up and down to limit the damage of my bad tee shot. I very rarely see higher index players just punch out or hit a 7 iron when they can potentially still reach with a hybrid or fairway wood. Or even play a wedge away from the hole. My partner had a tricky downhill LW out of thick Bermuda and anything with speed would roll past the hole and in the water. I suggested a flatter spot 25 feet left of the hole and he looked at me like I was crazy and said "You can hit it over there and probably even make the putt but for me a bad shot is a bad shot and I could roll that off the front of the green just as easily so I might as well just go for the pin" I didn't argue or say I told you so as I watched him predictably hit it in the water. 

... I loved when two mini tour players asked Hogan on the practice tee which was the more important shot for scoring, driving or putting? And he replied the most important shot in golf for scoring is the one you have right now. 

 

 

[chisag]

15 minutes ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

ok... how about this....

I am better than I think I am when I'm putting my shoes on before the round... and I am worse than I think I am when I'm taking them off at the end of the round.   

 

... Hahaha you remind me of watching guys heading off the first tee pushing their carts with gusto and filled with confidence,  then seeing those coming up the 18th fairway pushing slowly with hunched shoulders and totally defeated by another day of busted dreams. How can you not love this game? 

[chisag]

22 minutes ago, Lacassem said:

Damn this one is a real “soul searcher”….

it’s hard for me to admit but I think I am better than I actually am. But with a caveat. There are times where I play above what I currently am and times where I play worse than I currently am. The competitor and athlete in me thinks that I am at that level of when I play really well. I strive to get there consistently and if you don’t think you are that level can you ever get there consistently?

I am of the mind set that you cannot get somewhere without the mind set. I think that comes with a stereotype of coming off pompous but I don’t think that and it’s not a “I’m this good” to other people. It’s a mindset.

I will always think I’m better than I am while striving to get there but never getting to where I want to be….in this silly game anyway

 

... I think there is a difference between being pompous and being confident. Every good QB thinks the next pass will be a TD after throwing an interception. As you said, it is a mindset and a good one at that. I think you have to be confident with every shot whether it is deserved or not and some need to learn how to do that. As far as thinking you are better than you really are while striving to get there can be tough to pull off. If I could suggest a slight change to "I will always think I’m I can be better than I am, while striving to get there" and give yourself a chance to get to where you want to be without feeling like you failed.

... I think for athletes that have experienced success at other sports, golf is a real challenge because it has more physical/mental swings than other sports. I never thought I didn't know how to throw a pass or make a 3 point shot when I played poorly but I sometimes feel like I don't know how to swing a golf club correctly on any given day. And for A types that is a challenge we will always embrace because golf is like Sirens calling our ships to the rocks. When we are playing well we can't wait to get back out to repeat it and when we are plying poorly we can't wait to get back out and fix it. 

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

4 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... I think there is a difference between being pompous and being confident. Every good QB thinks the next pass will be a TD after throwing an interception. As you said, it is a mindset and a good one at that. I think you have to be confident with every shot whether it is deserved or not and some need to learn how to do that. As far as thinking you are better than you really are while striving to get there can be tough to pull off. If I could suggest a slight change to "I will always think I’m I can be better than I am, while striving to get there" and give yourself a chance to get to where you want to be without feeling like you failed.

... I think for athletes that have experienced success at other sports, golf is a real challenge because it has more physical/mental swings than other sports. I never thought I didn't know how to throw a pass or make a 3 point shot when I played poorly but I sometimes feel like I don't know how to swing a golf club correctly on any given day. And for A types that is a challenge we will always embrace because golf is like Sirens calling our ships to the rocks. When we are playing well we can't wait to get back out to repeat it and when we are plying poorly we can't wait to get back out and fix it. 

And this is why I’m just going to let you explain what I’m thinking from now on. This is very much the sentiment I was trying to get across and didn’t get it in the words you can lol

[GolfSpy_APH]

This really is a fascinating topic and can be viewed in so many different manners. 

Even breaking it down to certain parts of ones game you can reflect on where you think you are better worse and so much more... like TCB my brains been thinking on this a good amount since it was posted. 

[billybogey]

Age has caught up to me. More than I would like!! So have been Reading, Working Out & even have moved forward on Tees.

It is not working & I am getting more Ticked Off by the Day. Even started to think "Stupid Game"

& have to look in the Mirror & say you Old Fossil get your act to-gather!!

 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

11 hours ago, chisag said:

... I think for athletes that have experienced success at other sports, golf is a real challenge because it has more physical/mental swings than other sports. 

This is it for me. I played baseball in college until injuries ended my career and I picked up golf. I wasn’t a super high level player, but with baseball, I could put the ball wherever I wanted in the strike zone, whenever I wanted and largely struck out or got a put out on the majority of hitters I faced. Golf is the only sport I’ve played that hasn’t come natural to me. I would probably say I fall into thinking I SHOULD BE better than I am, but if I realistically look at it, I have never played enough year to year to actually see solid improvement. I have a membership to the CC in my hometown this year with full golf privileges, so I am really hoping that I can make some strides on improving my consistency shot to shot this year. With being able to play more than once per week and utilize the driving range, I’m hoping to be able to make some swing changes stick with repetition. I have kicked around the idea of starting a thread chronicling my journey to lowering my handicap once the season starts here in WI. 

[Golf Dawg]

I’ve already played two 9-hole rounds in N.C. PA in 2023. I definitely was rusty, but it was great to get out!

[cnosil]

Like others have said, this is an interesting topic.  To provide an answer to the original question I think I fall into the I am worse than I think I am/should be category.   
 

historically, I have been able to make changes to my swing pretty quickly via lessons, seldom practiced, and played one day a week and scored pretty consistently in the 70s and was right at a 4 handicap. Over the past few years my scoring has gotten worse as have individual aspects of my game; such as iron play, short game, and putting.  My scoring is now mostly low 80s with the occasional score in the 70s due to frequent blow up holes.   I think I have realistic expectations and decent course strategy, I just can’t execute.  Maybe it is focus, maybe it is swing issues, or maybe it is physical changes resulting from getting older.  
 

my expectation is that I should score around a 75 on average; basically a little better than I used to be.   Is this realistic?  I think it is and this belief is based on the fact that instructors have said that should be an easily attainable goal.  During lessons changes have been minimal and I get the desired results during play, I just can’t keep it all together for 9 much less 18 holes.  
 

so as I originally said, I think i am be better than I probably am.  

 

[Golf2Much]

Until fairly recently, I'd would have said I'm worse than I thought I played.   This past year my index has ranged from 9.2 to 12.8.   About once a quarter I'll break 80 (home course is a par 70).   More often than not, I would view that as just a lucky round.   99% of my rounds are played on the same course here in Key West.   For some reason, I' forget the fact that the Rees Jones course is very narrow, has punishing rough, small greens with false fronts and has penalty areas, mangroves or water on every hole.  So, when my game starts to show some minor kinks, the course is not very forgiving, and my scores show it!  Almost 13 years ago I was in a hit and run accident on my scooter and broke my neck.  Through in two shoulder surgeries, a new left knee and a naturally fused back and my distance off the tee degraded to about 175-yard or less drives.  Again, leading to my perception that my game is worse than it really might be.  Any positive feedback I'd get occasionally from my playing partners was that I had a solid short game.  

Mid 2022 I started tracking my game with a Shot Scope H4 and my perception of my game changed.  After collecting a month's worth of scores, I started to dive into the statistics and found that I wasn't as bad as I had thought.  Looking at shots gained and lost for my peer handicap group, I had evidence that I wasn't as really bad as I thought.   My fairways hit in regulation and my short game were significantly better than my peers.  My putting was sollid.  My greens and regulation was poor, but mostly because of being so short off the tee.  By breaking it down to the various aspect of my game, I started to feel better about my overall game. 

Mid 2022 I also downloaded all my scores since 2008.  Taking out the year that I came back from my broken neck, I was surprised that my average score for the last fourteen years has stayed within one stroke either way.  My average score over that period was 85, +0.5/-1.1.  I've gotten older, had operations, changed clubs and everything else that has happened in my life and my average annual score really didn't change much.   

As it turned out, there were part of my game I should feel I better than I play, others that I was right to feel worse and that in the end, it didn't matter because I ultimately shot the same!

[Frickenhacker]

I may be delusional about so many things in life but not my golf game.  I suck, I know I suck  and judging by the amount of trash talk, my playing partners aren't going to let me forget any time soon.  

[Andrew75]

17 hours ago, chisag said:

Later in that same round I blocked a tee shot into some houses missing my target by a good 50 yards. 50 yards!?! What kind of scratch golfer hits that bad of a shot? But I dropped, hit a good hybrid to 135 followed by a nice knockdown 9 iron to 6 feet and made the putt to save par. 
 

Isn't that a bogey? OB, two stroke penalty when dropping in fairway under new rule, 4th shot hybrid to 135, 5th shot 9 iron to 6 feet, one putt for a 6.

[cnosil]

4 minutes ago, Andrew75 said:

Isn't that a bogey? OB, two stroke penalty when dropping in fairway under new rule, 4th shot hybrid to 135, 5th shot 9 iron to 6 feet, one putt for a 6.

He never said he was OB.  

[Andrew75]

5 minutes ago, cnosil said:

He never said he was OB.  

Ah, so he was just among some houses that are part of the course? I've never seen that. 

[fredsharky]

In all things I try to be as humble as possible and this game of golf is the most humbling human thing that I know..

I literally shot a 68 (best round ever by 2 strokes) a few days ago and then the very next round I shoot an 87 - my last 20 rounds average 83.7 
So I know I can shoot 68, but I my game is consistenatly in the 80's 

 

I def think that I am better than I play - but alas I am as good as I play at that particular moment. We can always go back after a round and say I should have hit that putt or this putt, but in reality you did not so the score is the score