There are a lot of positive factors that contribute to a good scoring round. Namely - the absence of blowup holes. But it goes a little bit beyond that. It goes beyond having a reasonably good swing and being a decent putter.
Little things mean a lot in this game. Things like staying relaxed and loose.. sticking with a good routine... playing the smart shot... and also learning to adjust on the fly (mentally and physically); if it's really windy and the hole locations on that particular day are cut in some precarious spots - we're much better off accepting that the challenges are probably gonna be greater and also accepting the likelihood that we're gonna struggle a bit more than usual. Or maybe it's a calm day, scoring conditions are good... and although we're not making horrible swings and we're managing our missed shots pretty well - we're still not hitting the ball as flush as we expect to, and the ball isn't carrying its normal distances. I can tell you that there are plenty days when I know I'm not impacting the ball like I normally do, and I've learned that the worst thing (for me) is to grip the club tighter and swing the club harder. It's why I personally hate playing in scrambles... if my team has a safe shot in the fairway - my tendency is to swing out of my shoes off the tee. And that completely destroys my timing and rhythm, and it most always translates into my iron play as well. Anyway... on those days when I know I'm not quite catching the ball flush - I most always take a little more club (if there's no trouble going long and the situation allows, of course).
And then too we occasionally have days on the other side of that coin, when everything is clicking, the ball is going straighter and a little further than normal. Our ability to factor that in and make that adjustment is also important. Or if I'm through 6 holes and my ball flight up until that point has been a fade off the tee - I need to make that adjustment. Because quite frankly - I'm not good enough to start tweaking my golf swing mid-round in hopes of turning a playable fade into a controllable draw. I've learned the hard way just how big the can of worms can get when I start fidgeting, tweaking and experimenting. I've completely gotten out of the process at that point, and any hope of salvaging a decent score with however many holes remain is pretty much gone. Leave the experimentation for the range and take what you have and figure out how to play to your strengths as much as you can. It's not that complicated.
Patience is also a huge part of a good round of golf. Some of my more memorable rounds have come after having made a mess of the first 2-3 holes. One day in particular several years back I was playing with 3 club pros down near Philly, at this wonderful old private club called Manufacturers (a William Flynn design). Tough golf course... I was 5-over through the first 7 holes, yet ended up shooting 73 that afternoon, low score of the group. The tendency for us is to panic... we then press, trying to make up for all of the bad with this horrible go-for-broke strategy. That strategy has completely debunked the old adage, "It can't possibly get any worse." Oh, yes it can. And it often does in golf.
But the biggest factor for me is just letting go of any real expectations the moment I put that first peg in the ground. No matter how great or how poorly I was swinging on the range during the warmup just a few minutes prior... some of my best rounds have come after a horrible warmup session. Why? Because my expectation level got a huge wakeup call.
Of course, none these things are easy. Golf isn't easy. It's an incredibly difficult game most days. But if you embrace the challenge, stay relaxed and keep your emotions in check, and take the good with the bad - you'll usually have a lot more fun. And if you have fun, usually that translates to better scores.
That's what I've found over the years.
