3 Insights from My 30-Day No Scorecard Golf Challenge

It’s amazing what we discover when we let golf become a mirror for our soul.

In my upcoming book, Presence Golf: A Sacred Path to Self-Mastery, I write about playing a round without keeping score. My mentor challenged me to take it further: 30 straight days of no scorecard golf. At first, I hesitated—but I accepted.

Here are the three biggest lessons that changed how I see the game—and myself.

1. The Ego Game: Superior vs. Inferior

I realized my struggle wasn’t really about score—it was about image.

Of course, I want to shoot low numbers. I’ve broken 80 multiple times, but usually hover in the mid-80s. What this challenge revealed was deeper: my ego’s obsession with how others see me.

One round brought it into sharp focus. Paired with three strangers who striped it off the first tee, I instantly felt inferior. Three pars later, while they scrambled for bogeys, I felt superior. The pendulum kept swinging—par, superiority; topped drive, inferiority.

Up, down, up, down. That damn ego.

But here’s the truth: we’re equals. Golf doesn’t define my worth—or theirs. The ego only survives by playing the “better than” or “worse than” game. The lesson? Transcend the labels. No good shot, no bad shot. Just shots. Play fearless golf by playing beyond the ego.

2. More Is Not Better

My default setting is obsession—go all in, grind harder. But after five straight days of playing and practicing, my body was tired and my mind fried. Still, my stubbornness drove me to the range to “figure it out.”

It was a waste. No focus. No energy.

The lesson? Balance beats obsession. More isn’t better. In golf and in life, pushing too hard often pulls us further from flow. Growth comes not from over-trying, but from honoring rhythm, rest, and perspective.

3. Golf Is Supposed to Be Fun

This one sounds simple, but it hit me deeply: golf is a game.

I can be hard on myself. I’ve heard countless players berate themselves after a miss. My inner dialogue used to sound the same. But here’s the shift—kindness matters. Golf is not life or death. It’s not a verdict on who we are.

It’s an expression of ourselves in nature. It’s a challenge like no other. And maybe most importantly, it’s an invitation to connect—with the game, with others, with our own soul.

The Bigger Picture

Golf is never the same. No two rounds. No two shots. Always changing. Always testing. That’s why it captivates us—it stretches us physically, mentally, spiritually.

This challenge taught me that the real freedom isn’t in detaching from the scorecard—it’s in detaching from ego, false pride, and judgment.

That’s why I keep coming back. Scorecard or no scorecard, golf calls me deeper.

And now I invite you: Play one round without keeping score. See what surfaces. And if you’re feeling bold, take on the 30-day no scorecard challenge. You might just discover a whole new way to play—golf, and life.