Fall apart in the medals

[ThinBullet]

Play at a slope 128 course off the whites. 6160 yards and play off 12.

I play the medals every week, and have done for 3 years now since returning to Golf. Last season I just played the medals every week, and went to the range once a week. I kept stats in Excel and my average score over the 26 rounds was 87.

This season, I changed things around. I hardly go to the range, and visit the course 2-3 times a week at varying times and play the front or back 9, whichever is quieter. The problem is that I'm a completely different player in practice to the medals.

Recently, I can't seem to break low 80's at all. Lowest practice off the yellows (slope 124 (5708 yards)) was 76, and my lowest off the whites in the medal this year has been 83. Highest is 87.

I know Golf is as much a battle with luck and the environment than skill, but even with a good run of luck, I get in the way it seems. I don't have swing thoughts, or noise in my head, I just lack commitment to hit shots, I have good memories of in practice rounds.

Is it a case of just writing the season off and just grinding through it, or is this a case of something that will plague me for a while?

 

[Neilds]

Not exactly sure what your issue is. Last season you averaged 87, this year your worst is 87 - surely that means you are playing better than year?
Possibly over thinking things?

 

[bobmac]

I'm guessing you don't have a pre shot routine...other than empty your head?

 

[ThinBullet]

I got into a low point when I wrote this. Average score this season is 86 to this point. I can't really complain. Thanks for the replies.

 

[BiMGuy]

There is absolutely no difference to playing in a medal compared to knocking it round the back 9 other than in your head.

When you play a casual round what do you do differently to playing in a medal?

I see lots of people play stableford in casual rounds and not holing out.

Then when they have to count every shot they fall apart under the pressure.

Play the same way every shot regardless of whether it’s a comp or you are out there on your own. Do the same thing, with the same routine and hole out every putt.

Get into the mindset that every shot of every round requires the same attention.

Also put yourself under pressure to score well in casual rounds. Count each shot, count the penalties, don’t play mulligans and record the score.

Use the casual/practice rounds to groove a routine and eventually that will become second nature.

 

[ThinBullet]

If i'm playing a scramble and the team need me to hit something good, i'm all over it. Try and do it for myself and I'm 50/50 on whether I can achieve it. So yeah it's the 4" between the ears issue for sure. The scores are coming down. I just need to remember that golf isn't a game where you get back the amount you put in, and there's more of a sine wave to success.

 

[sev112]

Make sure you know which shots or holes go wrong in your medals. Is it your drives, or as said above putting out, or is it 150+ yards to green which go into bunkers etc . If it’s your drives, then accept the piss taking and tee off with a 6 iron for a few rounds; or lay up before the Green for anything > 150 yards approach.

At that handicap you expect to have 3 double bogeys (to stableford), 8 pars, 1 birdie and 6 bogeys - ish

Pars and Bogeys come and go depending on whether that chip goes close, or the putt lips out, so don’t worry about them. What you have to do is make sure you don’t have more than 3 double bogeys, and that you don’t have worse than a double bogey.

so the key to that is (a) course management from the tee, and (b) chipping back onto the fairway / taking your punishment when you have a bad drive or go in a bunker - accept the 1 shot penalty and see if you can get it back with a single putt, but don’t make a bad problem worse - that way lies demons and treble bogeys !

Funnily, some of my best medal nd o petition rounds came from a double bogey or worse at the first hole, after which I carried on but just didn‘t worry. I won my first board comp with a tee shot on the first which went 6 inches sideways.
all the best

 

[ThinBullet]

I'm an over performer with my driver for my HC (11), and can easily find 12 fairways weekly. I love the driver, and found a groove with it. It was approaches from 200-120 that was my major achilleas heel. But!! I got a lesson over the weekend, and it flipped that on it's head, so i'm going back to see the guy as he just spoke my language.