Are my expectations to high?

kid2

kid2

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I had the3rd medal of the year yesterday and i shot a gross 87.... No this is my first season off my new handicap of 9 but its not really my first medal.... Last season i had played to the 9 a lot and iv already played to it three times this season over 5 competitions ..... Yesterday was a matchplay qualifier and even though the competition conditions are not fully in we are still cleaning and placing balls and the course is in ok condition..... Hollow cores are covered again by grass but greens are fast and bumpy...... i 3 putted 6 times yesterday... putting was off and i put 1 ball OOB on the 3rd which cost me another triple.... The wind was very strong... i was having to hit 3 and sometimes 4 clubs stronger than normal into it.....

Am i wrong to be annoyed having shot 8 shots worse than my handicap for the conditions....

I played last weekend with a 7 handicapper that shot +1 gross and i looked like a hacker alongside him... Just a bad day at the office is what i put it down to.... overall i was happy with playing tee to green but a bit if rustiness early on and gammy putting left me a mountain to climb....
 
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Some days its just not meant to be. I would stop worrying about it and think ahead to your next game.

That 7 capper was probably having one of his best days that's all, it happens.

You can clearly play so don't worry, you will be fine im sure :thup:
 
Ultimately yes your expectations are too high but you already know that.

Your handicap is supposed to represent your best golf and you shouldnt be able to shoot it most games. I accept you are improving and hoping to still come down but you are also putting too much pressure on yourself (especially as you can blame 6 of your shots on the greens and their recent treatment and were playing in a 3club wind!). If you took out the greens and the wind you prob wouldve been v close to hcap.

I play off 7 (having been lower previously) and this year have shot anywhere from 73 (1 over) to somewhere in the 90s and no doubt will likely shoot the extremes again in the year over and over again. We are amateurs and inconsistency is part and parcel of that, we dont practise, play, tune up every day to be able to expect the consistency of the pros
 
kid2 said:
I had the3rd medal of the year yesterday and i shot a gross 87.... No this is my first season off my new handicap of 9 but its not really my first medal.... Last season i had played to the 9 a lot and iv already played to it three times this season over 5 competitions ..... Yesterday was a matchplay qualifier and even though the competition conditions are not fully in we are still cleaning and placing balls and the course is in ok condition..... Hollow cores are covered again by grass but greens are fast and bumpy...... i 3 putted 6 times yesterday... putting was off and i put 1 ball OOB on the 3rd which cost me another triple.... The wind was very strong... i was having to hit 3 and sometimes 4 clubs stronger than normal into it.....

Am i wrong to be annoyed having shot 8 ***** worse than my handicap for the conditions....

I played last weekend with a 7 handicapper that shot +1 gross and i looked like a hacker alongside him... Just a bad day at the office is what i put it down to.... overall i was happy with playing tee to green but a bit if rustiness early on and gammy putting left me a mountain to climb....
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Cant be to harsh on yourself at this time of year if you do this in july that's another story . everyone has bad days . My opinion has always been good players always struggle a bit when the greens are not in good condition. chips are a guessing game i.e bad bounce that is 3 foot not 12" away then these putts become tough. if you 2 putt instead of 3 putting your score is not that bad.
 
fundy said:
Ultimately yes your expectations are too high but you already know that.

Your handicap is supposed to represent your best golf and you shouldnt be able to shoot it most games. I accept you are improving and hoping to still come down but you are also putting too much pressure on yourself (especially as you can blame 6 of your shots on the greens and their recent treatment and were playing in a 3club wind!). If you took out the greens and the wind you prob wouldve been v close to hcap.

I play off 7 (having been lower previously) and this year have shot anywhere from 73 (1 over) to somewhere in the 90s and no doubt will likely shoot the extremes again in the year over and over again. We are amateurs and inconsistency is part and parcel of that, we dont practise, play, tune up every day to be able to expect the consistency of the pros
Click to expand...

Even the pros can even go from mid 60s to high 70s with a day or two. Think how much of a swing in score that is from players who are +5 or 6 etc in hcap terms. Even they can struggle for consistency :D

One of the worst things we are guilty of as amateurs is beating ourselves up for not playing our best imo. Im a nightmare for it myself. :rofl:

Perspective isn't always easy though when you have been looking forward to something all week or even longer!
 
fundy said:
Your handicap is supposed to represent your best golf and you shouldnt be able to shoot it most games.
Click to expand...

This is so important to remember.

As you get better your handicap will improve, but you can't be disappointed for not shooting it one day. Just look how many pro's shoot over par in a tournament week. Furthermore, you've already mentioned that a few three putts due to bad greens and an OOB cost you quite a few shots. Chop a couple of those off and you're in your buffer zone.

You've a right to feel miffed off a 9 handicap if you start shooting 100+ on a regular basis, but put anything else down to a bad round. Hit the range and come back better next week.

And be happy that this round is at the very start of the season :)
 
Yes they are. There is a big amateur comp at my place every year and some of the + guys shoot double figures. These are some of the best young amateurs in the country that are practising everyday.
 
Yes!

the best players in the country have off days. The lad that won the Northern Open at Royal Dornoch the other year went out a Skibo and shot 115 and he is off +5:)
 
kid2 said:
I had the3rd medal of the year yesterday and i shot a gross 87.... No this is my first season off my new handicap of 9 but its not really my first medal.... Last season i had played to the 9 a lot and iv already played to it three times this season over 5 competitions ..... Yesterday was a matchplay qualifier and even though the competition conditions are not fully in we are still cleaning and placing balls and the course is in ok condition..... Hollow cores are covered again by grass but greens are fast and bumpy...... i 3 putted 6 times yesterday... putting was off and i put 1 ball OOB on the 3rd which cost me another triple.... The wind was very strong... i was having to hit 3 and sometimes 4 clubs stronger than normal into it.....

Am i wrong to be annoyed having shot 8 shots worse than my handicap for the conditions....

I played last weekend with a 7 handicapper that shot +1 gross and i looked like a hacker alongside him... Just a bad day at the office is what i put it down to.... overall i was happy with playing tee to green but a bit if rustiness early on and gammy putting left me a mountain to climb....
Click to expand...

There's your answer Mate .. simple as that , treat it as that . onward and upwards
 
clubchamp98 said:
Cant be to harsh on yourself at this time of year if you do this in july that's another story . everyone has bad days .
Click to expand...

The courses we play at this time of the year can be a bit indifferent at times, as can our game.

Birchy said:
Even the pros can even go from mid 60s to high 70s with a day or two. Think how much of a swing in score that is from players who are +5 or 6 etc in hcap terms. Even they can struggle for consistency :D

One of the worst things we are guilty of as amateurs is beating ourselves up for not playing our best imo. Im a nightmare for it myself. :rofl:
Click to expand...

Google any number of professional tournaments, and have a look at the bottom end of the leader board. You'll see pro's shot 73 one day and 83 the next. A 10 shot swing for guys playing at that level probably equates to an even bigger swing to players at our level. I had some scores in the low 90's the early part of last season but shot 2 under gross 70 in the Oct Medal, and now I'm back to low 80's...
 
Kid

It's apparent that your passion for improvement is there, and you have to look at how far your hc has come in such as short time.

9 hc is no mean feat, and you have to take the positives from that if nothing else, after all there are guys that live this sport, who have devoted many more years and much more time than yourself but have seen and received little or no improvement,

Your obvious playing to a nine or your wouldn't have got there to start with, but I'd say it's just an off day. I've shot 77, 78, 79 respectively in the last three games yet Sunday scrubbed it round to a nasty 88, it happens.....
 
kid2 said:
I had the3rd medal of the year yesterday and i shot a gross 87.... No this is my first season off my new handicap of 9 but its not really my first medal.... Last season i had played to the 9 a lot and iv already played to it three times this season over 5 competitions ..... Yesterday was a matchplay qualifier and even though the competition conditions are not fully in we are still cleaning and placing balls and the course is in ok condition..... Hollow cores are covered again by grass but greens are fast and bumpy...... i 3 putted 6 times yesterday... putting was off and i put 1 ball OOB on the 3rd which cost me another triple.... The wind was very strong... i was having to hit 3 and sometimes 4 clubs stronger than normal into it.....

Am i wrong to be annoyed having shot 8 shots worse than my handicap for the conditions....

I played last weekend with a 7 handicapper that shot +1 gross and i looked like a hacker alongside him... Just a bad day at the office is what i put it down to.... overall i was happy with playing tee to green but a bit if rustiness early on and gammy putting left me a mountain to climb....
Click to expand...

Where were you playing? Similar conditions with us :-)

http://www.golfwrx.com/192639/are-your-expectations-killing-your-progress/

http://www.golfwrx.com/82327/golfers-have-ridiculous-expectations/

Found these quite interesting
 
Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement..... It wasn't a fishing post for positive words because I wasn't feeling sorry for myself... Just a bit peed off over how I played.....

Funnily enough even with the round I had I somehow managed to qualify for the last 32 knockout stages and if drawn a 17 handicapper in the next round.......
1 nett 79 got in and the rest were below that... I haven't seen how others were scoring yesterday as of yet because the results are not on how did I do yet...
 
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