21 handicapper almost had a worldie....

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 18121
  • Start date Start date
D

Deleted member 18121

Guest
Playing my club today with 3 mates and for 8 holes I played the golf I dream of.... coming to the 9th one of them said "do you want to know your score so far? " - I said no as I knew things were going well.

The next thing I hear him tell one of the others "he's shot 35 so far" ...... I then proceeded to hit an 8 on a par 4 to finish the front 9 in 43.

After that point the only highlight was a birdie 4 on the par 5..... and I finished with a 91, with 41 points.

What could have been or am I kidding myself?
 
Good shooting always nice to score 40 points!
With a 8 being a 6 you now know you can go sub 90.

Next time out so we'll look forward to your post telling us all about it. :thup:
 
Nope, sounds about right. I'm in the same boat as you and, I suspect, many other 20 handicappers in that we have the ability to par probably any hole on our course but we just can't do it often enough.

Being familiar with sports and statistics, I'm more than familiar with the concept of 'momentum' which is so overused my commentators. Occasionally, a game does actually swing. Most of the time it's just random variation masquerading as an underlying trend. So your blistering front 8 is just one of those things that can happen. As you showed with the rest of your round, the other side of your game can just as easily go on a run too. If you want to see what I mean - rearrange your scores so the card reads hole 1, 10, 2, 11, 3, 12 .... etc. Now it looks like an inconsistent player, which is what you are. We 20 handicappers are all inconsistent.

Don't get me wrong, it's really well played and encouraging that you've had such a great run and hopefully those runs will come along more and more often as you improve. As they do, your handicap will fall. You never know, perhaps one day you might be disappointed with 35 shots through the front 8. But don't get yourself down and start worrying whether you have a problem with blowing up over the back 9. The last thing you want is to get into your own head over something that is a law of statistics rather than a flaw in your game.
 
DarthVega said:
P.S OP whats a Worldie?
Click to expand...

Worldie is having a world class game. Obviously it's relative to your skill level... but to me for 8 holes I felt like I was unbeatable.

I shot a 79 (11 over) on fathers day.... and during 2013 have scored 6-7 rounds ranging from 83-87.

Just need to keep my driving in check.... and obviously after today, my concentration!
 
With regular scoring like that, your h/cap is well due a cut! 79 that's a nett 58 and el gringo territory.
That fathers day round is nigh on a completed worldie off 21........
 
adam6177 said:
Playing my club today with 3 mates and for 8 holes I played the golf I dream of.... coming to the 9th one of them said "do you want to know your score so far? " - I said no as I knew things were going well.

The next thing I hear him tell one of the others "he's shot 35 so far" ...... I then proceeded to hit an 8 on a par 4 to finish the front 9 in 43.

After that point the only highlight was a birdie 4 on the par 5..... and I finished with a 91, with 41 points.

What could have been or am I kidding myself?
Click to expand...

You were 11 holes from a "worldie" so not really that close :ears:
 
Play some like a dream and the others like a nightmare. This is the world of a high handicapper. I usually find that when playing with strangers and start well they often pass comment on why I have a high handicap. Doesn't take long before I show them why :D
 
I had a good round yesterday, with two 11 handicappers, and my putting was awful, I didnt sink a single putt from more than two feet, last week I was brilliant, last week I took four shots to get out of a bunker, and couldnt get out of bunkers for the last week at all, my driver was also awful last week. However this week I did hit some gorgeous shots, culminating in a bunker shot on a par 3 which went in for a birdie. Arms aloft I celebrated as though I had won the Open, the Ryder Cup and the Masters, my playing partners could see the joy it brought me and praised me to the max. Consistency equals Fun equals lower scores
 
Having experienced this kind of thing myself, I would be inclined to think that the problem was as much mental as inconsistency. It's part of the game that when you are having a good round, every shot becomes more important. The pressure builds (mainly applied by you) and how you handle it has a large effect on your final score.
When you start scoring well, as a high handicapper you start getting out of your comfort zone at little. Thoughts start creeping in and just as importantly, so do outside influences (cars going by, people talking, birds tweeting). Many things which you would usually not notice. Your mate telling everyone your score within your earshot was naughty, but to be honest, you knew your score was good. You just allowed it to put you off. You had already started to think about your score rather than the shot you are about to play.
And that's the key, IMO. In golf you have scored nothing until you have completed the last hole. You have to think that way, even in stableford. All you are doing when you are out on the course is building that final score. You don't stand back and admire a half built house. Build your score one shot at a time and you won't go far wrong. Easier said than done, but that's just another reason why golf is such a great game.
 
If it's any consolation, I did almost exactly the same on Saturday in our club comp... playing with a 14 and a 19 handicapper, I blitzed my best ever score on the front nine, before throwing in 2 awful scores on two of the easiest holes on the course.

Screenshot_2.jpg

As Sweep says, even though I was trying to put the front nine out of my head, I know I let the numbers get to me and I started looking too far ahead. After the two 'baddies' I regrouped a bit, missing par putts on the next 2 holes. Made a horlicks of the 16th, missed another par putt on 17, but finished with a good par.

Those two bad holes ultimately cost me the competition, and while it annoys me to think of those throwaway shots (was playing 5 off the tee at 13, after carving 2 balls into the left-side woods - both lost), I hope the experience will stand me in good stead if/when I find myself in that position again in the future.

Still, it was the first time I had broken 90, and so a new PB.. plus a 1.1 cut to 20 exact. :)
 
Psychologists have an interesting and plausible take on this scenario based upon how you view yourself and the messages you send your sub conscious about the quality of golfer you are. So if you expect to play to say 20 and see yourself at that level and constantly send messages to your sub conscious that that's what you are then, when you play 8 holes like a single figure golfer, there is a kind of inbalance between what your conscious mind is seeing and what your sub conscious mind expects. So yes - out of your comfort zone and the sub conscious tries to get you back where it is told/feels you belong...so a few holes are stuffed up. It often works the other way too and if you're playing worse than you believe you should then a few good holes will come together...

Or at least that's the theory - they would put it better than I have...

There is also the pressue of knowing you're putting a score together. I don't add up my score but know if I'm there or thereabouts or scoring well. Yesterday I was having a good back 9 after a reasonable front. From the 13th I hit par, par, birdie, birdie and stood on the 17th tee and could hardly breathe with nerves (it's a tough tee shot). Took a double there but it's a difficult hole so told myself that 5 points between two tough holes was fine. Managed to focus and birdie the 18th...probably the best I've handled a good round in a competition mentally ever.
 
I normally shoot mid 70s but yesterday shot 64, 10 pars and 8 birdies. I feel kind of annoyed in a way because I've set my bar so low now every other round this year will probably feel mediocre.
 
Andr3w said:
I normally shoot mid 70s but yesterday shot 64, 10 pars and 8 birdies. I feel kind of annoyed in a way because I've set my bar so low now every other round this year will probably feel mediocre.
Click to expand...

WOW a nett 56:eek: thats some shooting, well done, what cut did you get?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P
Why are people A-Holes when playing MATCHPLAY?
5 6 7
Replies
121
Views
13K
Sid Rixon IV
S
sjw
Fitting frustrations. Anyone had similar?
2
Replies
38
Views
5K
sjw
sjw
Severof
Ethical and legal stand point at golf club ruling
3 4 5
Replies
87
Views
12K
r0wly86
R
T
Deep in the stat cave
Replies
3
Views
2K
HomerJSimpson
HomerJSimpson
N
Filling the Gaps
Replies
6
Views
5K
ntommo
N
Top