Getting Your Head Round It

[NorfolkShaun]

I have played for a little while getting a shot a hole and prior to that getting two on some holes.

Having had a good year i'm now off 16, I am having trouble getting my head round not getting a shot on some holes.

Do you count your shots relevant to the SI or just say I have x shots what ever the hole, a pro once said to me to count it on pars so do not take your shots work out how many pars a round you need.

How do you do it, ever since I got cut below 18 I have played like an idiot and is just seems in my head where I do not get a shot.

 

[Deleted member 3432]

The aim is take as few strokes as possible to get it round. For example if you get into trouble on a hole, limit the damage as best you can, it doesn't matter so much if you make net bogey you can get that back. Making a treble or worse is what causes the damage. Don't try to make up for the 'bad shot' by playing over aggressively, its something I see all the time with higher handicappers and usually ends badly.
To me it doesn't matter what hole you gets shots on or not, just play the course with a stroke play mentality and the score will look after itself either medal or stableford.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I wouldn't worry about it. You know you can par these holes and have done before so what difference does the digit on a car make to your ability to get the ball in the hole. Play the hole the same way you would with a shot. It's supposedly the easiest hole(s) on the course so relax and let the swing flow

 

[NorfolkShaun]

I wouldn't worry about it. You know you can par these holes and have done before so what difference does the digit on a car make to your ability to get the ball in the hole. Play the hole the same way you would with a shot. It's supposedly the easiest hole(s) on the course so relax and let the swing flow

I can see this but what I find really odd is SI 17 is a par three, I used to walk on the tee thinking I had a really good chance of a par or a 2 and it comes after a tough run of holes so I always looked at it as a way to regain any dropped shots.

Now I walk on the tee nervous thinking oh I really need to par this and since I got cut have had some of my worse scores on this hole. Just stupid really.

 

[ManinBlack]

Just stupid really.

Correct!

A round is made up of 18 holes, you make the best score you can on each hole, then move on to the next, forgetting what has happened in the past. I'll mention "New Golf Thinking" before anyone else does. As someone has already said, you've parred every hole on the course, birdied a few. No reason you can't do it again.

 

[NorfolkShaun]

As someone has already said, you've parred every hole on the course, birdied a few. No reason you can't do it again.

Very true my eclectic is 3 under

 

[Imurg]

I can see this but what I find really odd is SI 17 is a par three, I used to walk on the tee thinking I had a really good chance of a par or a 2 and it comes after a tough run of holes so I always looked at it as a way to regain any dropped shots.

Now I walk on the tee nervous thinking oh I really need to par this and since I got cut have had some of my worse scores on this hole. Just stupid really.

Its the same hole, play it the same way.
Having said that I recently went up to 7.
Our SI 7 is a 200 yard par 3.
When I didn't get a shot on it I rarely parred it
Now I do get a shot on it I par it 4 out of 5 times...go figure......

 

[Twin Lakes]

Just tell yourself you're 16 under par on the first tee then go out and enjoy it.

 

[NorfolkShaun]

Just tell yourself you're 16 under par on the first tee then go out and enjoy it.

Christ that would make me nervous, I would spend the round telling myself not to blow it then.......

 

[HomerJSimpson]

If its a par 3 then club up to avoid the trouble at the front and then swing smoothly. Hit it flush and it'll be back edge, catch it average and it'll be middle or front third. It's no difference and telling yourself you have to par it is heaping too much pressure. New Golf Thinking.....for the cost of a sleeve of balls it'll give you some triggers and positive thoughts to use

 

[guest100718]

I only really worry about SI in matchplay. in medal its gross minus hdcp so doesnt matter.

In stableford I may bogey one of my no shot holes, but will pick up birdies and pars on ones where I do get a shot. As long as I not having any car crash holes I am happy.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

You have to forget about individual shots on individual holes. You don't have to par the no shot holes so don't pressurise yourself to do so. You are going to have bad holes sometimes that will be no shot holes, sometimes it will be shot holes but it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Just play as well as you can on the day and the score will look after itself.

 

[AmandaJR]

You have to forget about individual shots on individual holes. You don't have to par the no shot holes so don't pressurise yourself to do so. You are going to have bad holes sometimes that will be no shot holes, sometimes it will be shot holes but it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Just play as well as you can on the day and the score will look after itself.

This. I do recall when I went from 18 to 16 though that I was freaked out for a while on the SI17 and SI18 holes and felt pressured to get par. Fact is you may bogey them but get pars elsewhere and it all evens itself out in the end. Just try to play each shot on its merit and regardless of what's gone before or of what may be ahead of you.

I keep stats which work out my SI of the course and it doesn't match the card - it's never going to.

 

[SaintHacker]

If its a par 3 then club up to avoid the trouble at the front and then swing smoothly. Hit it flush and it'll be back edge, catch it average and it'll be middle or front third. It's no difference and telling yourself you have to par it is heaping too much pressure. New Golf Thinking.....for the cost of a sleeve of balls it'll give you some triggers and positive thoughts to use

Is that what you were telling yourself on the first at H4H Martin?

 

[Spear-Chucker]

There's some good advice in this thread. Sounds easy I know, but just play the shot in front of you and work out the score when the ball is in the hole. Not easy to get this mentality when you've been used to at least a shot a hole but it's just part of the learning process (not trying to sound patronising, i promise). The SI process wasn't designed with stableford scoring as a priority (it was matchplay) so try not to give it too much attention. I for example get one stroke on a simple 360yd par 4 and the other on a 440yd par 4??!!!

Your game is clearly going places so just concentrate on making the best shot as possible at the time.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

As has been said above, if playing medal, then it's a case of play the round of golf then deduct your handicap at the end, SI on a hole by hole basis is irrelevant. It's a bit harder to ignore in stableford, but a low gross score = a high stableford score, so again, nothing to get too worried about.

In getting down to 16 you must have played to a lower handicap so it's not like you can't do it, you've just got to not try and force it to happen.

I must confess though, I struggle a little in the same way you do. I've come down from 20 to 13 this season, and I now find the back 9 quite tricky (in stableford terms). I get shots on some tough holes, but don't get shots on consecutive par 5s (which I used to rely on as being a good chance of net birdie when I got a shot). Ultimately though, it shouldn't matter, but it's just taking a little while for me to get to grips with my own advice!

 

[Val]

The aim is take as few strokes as possible to get it round. For example if you get into trouble on a hole, limit the damage as best you can, it doesn't matter so much if you make net bogey you can get that back. Making a treble or worse is what causes the damage. Don't try to make up for the 'bad shot' by playing over aggressively, its something I see all the time with higher handicappers and usually ends badly.
To me it doesn't matter what hole you gets shots on or not, just play the course with a stroke play mentality and the score will look after itself either medal or stableford.

Wise words, SI don't matter in the grand scale of things as you can par the SI 1 and double bogey or worse SI 18.

Make a minimum of 2 pars par round and limit your mistakes and the handicap can take care of itself, limiting the mistakes is the hard part. I played a medal last year off 16, I had 11 pars and made buffer zone with +17 for the round, in comparison I had another round with 9 pars and 9 bogeys.

 

[NorfolkShaun]

Some great advice on here cheers guys.

Went out today for a knock by myself, best I have played in ages including a birdie on SI 17 while being let through. Finished with 83 off the back tees which with nothing worse than a bogey, was very pleasing even though I barely holed a putt on the back nine

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Is that what you were telling yourself on the first at H4H Martin?

Indeed. Bounced back well though over the next few holes.