I think most of us put entirely too much emphasis on score, and not enough emphasis on the overall enjoyment of the experience itself.
It has taken me many, many years to finally come to the conclusion that my personal worth (as a husband, father, friend) has no bearing on how well I hit a little dimpled ball... for the longest while, however, that's how I perceived myself... that (since) this was my only real pastime - I needed to be great at it. Or as great as I could consistently be, especially considering how much time and money I devoted to it.
No one that I know likes playing shitty golf, granted. But I've come to realize that there's so much more to be valued than just bad shots and bad scores.
Time spent with friends. A chance to get out in the fresh air and enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature and all of the creatures that try to coexist with us while we're playing. The opportunity to get in some means of movement/exercise. And last but not least - the pleasure of being able to block everything else going on in our lives, just long enough, to focus on hopefully hitting a decent shot or making a putt from time to time. It is such a great distraction, if we let it be, from all of the other negative shit we might be dealing with in life at any given time.
I can't say that I've fully graduated to the point where "score doesn't matter" any longer. But I'm getting there more and more. And not because my game has deteriorated or I'm no longer the player I used to be. But because I've come to realize that the game offers so much more reward to me than just the ability to post a great score after a round. So many more things make it worthwhile to me nowadays.
So whether you keep score or don't.... it really doesn't matter. YOUR golf experience is your's and your's alone. What you're looking to get out of it, versus what you're willing to put into it, versus the overall picture of what this hobby affords us, either way. Nary one of us has the right to tell someone else what they should or shouldn't enjoy in their golf experience.
It's a personal journey, for each of us, for many different reasons. 🙂