Having a good mind set??

[Hendy]

Yet again i blow up yesterday.. Started strong and after 8 holes I was only 2 over par (gross).

Bad chip on the 9th ended me with a blank.. Drop a shot on the 10th, again two shots droped on the 11th, shot on the 12th, blank on 13th.. and so on..

It really gets me down i want to par everything, tho my mate tells me that i should not have this mind set, i should be looking to bogey everything and then every par i get will be a great..

I know in my heart he's right tho for some reason i dont want to think that way.. You might laugh at me saying this playing off 20. And bogey golf with my handicap will give me 38 points.

But once i stand up at the first tee box i know i can easyly par this, and 9/10 times i do. I just feel like on my course i feel like i can easyly par most holes including S.I 1 once again i par 9/10.. But silly mistakes like a poor chip end up costing me dearly most of the time in the back nine, (maybe its a loss of concentration?) ..

This i know is killing my game and stopping me coming down.. the last time i kept it together i was off 23.7 or something and ended up with a silly score that got me cut down 4 shots, to where i am sitting now..

I know there is a old saying that goes play to your handicap, I really need to get this into my head !!

Yesterday i ended up with 35 points with 23 i think on the front 8 lol.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I think you've answered your own question. Playing every hole as a par 5 will get you round in 90 (nett 72) and under handicap. By doing this you are taking the pressure off completely and what you gain on the par 3's you can afford to lose on the longer 4's and 5's (make a par 3 and you can afford to take a 7 elsewhere with no damage done).

Even now I'll sometimes use level 5's to score if I'm playing badly knowing I need to be 9 under 5's to play to my handicap. If you make some pars along the way then you'll be lower than level 5's and on your way to that cut. Try it and see if it works for you

 

[AndrewG]

I try hard now to just play the current shot, and not think about the score for this hole, the 9, or the whole round. Bob Rotella's Golfers Mind book has really had an impact on me (and if you knew me, you'd realise that 'self help' books would normally be the last thing I'd praise!!) - I'd curse and have a real go at myself over every bad shot or mishit, but as the book says - golf is NOT a game of perfect. Other than pro's, and even then not always, there is no way you or I are EVER going to hit 72 perfect shots. There will be mishits, fats, thins, slices, etc in every round. All you're trying to do is keep them to a minimum.

The only thing you have control over is the swing on the shot yo're currently making, not the wind, not the lie, not the bounce as the ball lands. All you can do as a golfer is to see the shot you want, trust that you can make good contact with the ball, and try and get as close to the shot you imagine as possible. If you don't, then just forget that shot, it serves no purpose at all to go over it in your mind. You should be thinking about the current shot, and only the current shot.

The day after I read it, I played better than I had before, had more fun, and came off the course feeling good about the good shots I'd played. I've forgotten the bad shots I'd played...

 

[Hendy]

Homer your right i kind of answered my own question there..
Andrew, I must see about getting myself a copy i dont think they are to dear and it cant do any harm i guess..

I think one of my main problems is the fact when i started playing golf I got the feeling from a few guys that I was holding them up etc and they took me out to make up the numbers and add money to there prize pot (5er a man) One guy Joe used to joked on the putting green saying stuff like " whats that for a 9 etc LOL" This seemed to happen alot when we had a vistor along with us.. (him acting the big man i guess)

I think all this plays a big part at the mind level..

On the topic of Joe i like to share this story with you guys... (swicth off now if you dont want to hear it lol)

he runs a society and one time i got an old school friend to come along with us (doing him a favor) to get the price he needed for the round and the numbers he told the club he was bringing.. anyways my old school mate plays off 6 a great golfer.. and safe to say had a good round that day.. anyways, two days later my phone rings and its Joe.. He asked me to ask my mate to play in his team.

Obviously he did not want me to play and i found it very rude that he had a bass neck on him for me to ask my mate to play in his team that he did not ask me to play in, even tho all his society outs I turned up wind, rain or snow and never let him down where others did..

I think stuff like this is bound to have a affect on your mind set the more i think about it..

At the mo i dont play in his society no more, i just tell him i am playing else where now.. Dont see why i should if that how he treats poeple..

But i need to add the fact that I asked him to play a mid week open there not so long ago on the course where this team event was taken place i was never up for a game as much as i was that day, you know whats to come, he shot a crap round for 28 points and i hit into the low 40's never felt as good.. Took him apart from the first hole, but did not say a word to him, just played my own game the time will come when I am a lower handicap than himself and I will always remember some of the stuff he said and i will be sure to make sure he feels as small as i did that day when i first started golf.


O and his team was knocked out of the cup at the 1/4 final stage with Joe the leader playing bad round after bad round to help there cause..

Sorry thats in my head at the mo here, thinking about my mind set as i am playing the mid week open with him this week along with a few other guys, hopefully if i can keep my head i will be collecting a 5er off him this time round!!

 

[AndrewG]

Blimey mate - its amazing you can pick up a club, never mind swing it, with all that in your head!!

 

[Hendy]

LOL, true andrew been thinking alot about my game this weather maybe to much..

Sorry about kind of going into one there :S

 

[viscount17]

he doesn't sound the sort you want to spend 4 hours with so when you have to, you have to forget all the history.
one hole at a time, one shot at a time - that's all you can or need do.

then just walk away with the win (and his money)

 

[JustOne]

i want to par everything, tho my mate tells me that i should not have this mind set, i should be looking to bogey everything and then every par i get will be a great..

I know in my heart he's right tho for some reason i dont want to think that way.. You might laugh at me saying this playing off 20. And bogey golf with my handicap will give me 38 points.

Couldn't disagree more, your attitude much sounds better to me than what your friend has to say.

I can safely say I've never played a hole trying to get a bogey. There are times when I have known that a bogey will suffice but I've never not played for a par.

You should be wanting to at least par every hole you play, not bogey it, then it's down to you and practice to make that happen. The more you put into golf the more you will get back, it's just a hard, hard sport to master.

Here's a guide of how to play golf....

Picture the shot you want to hit, hit it and if it doesn't come off then forget about it walk up to your ball picture the shot you want to hit, hit it and if it doesn't come off then forget about it walk up to your ball picture the shot you want to hit, hit it and if it doesn't come off then forget about it walk up to your ball picture the shot you want to hit, hit it and if it doesn't come off then forget about it walk up to your ball......

One guy Joe used to joked on the putting green saying stuff like " whats that for a 9 etc LOL" This seemed to happen alot when we had a vistor along with us.. (him acting the big man i guess)

That's just banter and almost everyone does it. Not always but most of the time.

 

[Smiffy]

This game plays with your mind sooooo much...

Hankley Common the other week. Society day on a great course I had never played before and I was really looking forward to it.
Came out the traps like a whippet, I was playing really well. Didn't miss a fairway and was creaming my irons shots.
Then I made mistake number one, I came off the 8th and counted up my score. 18 points. "Hmmmm! Could be in with a shout today" I thought.
Result? Blobbed the 9th.
Still 18 points with a blob after 9 holes was good going on a strange course, so I knuckled down and put it behind me.
Played level 2's for the next 7 holes and stood on the 17th and counted up again. 32 points with 2 left to play. I knew the 18th was a tough hole so I thought "if I could finish par, bogie I'll have 37 points. That's enough!"
Result?
Blob, blob.
Your head can play really silly games if you let it get the better of you.

 

[RGDave]

Yet again i blow up yesterday.. Started strong and after 8 holes I was only 2 over par (gross).

If you can play 8 holes 2 over then something is very wrong.

I'm not a big "psycho-babble" sort of bloke, but I stick with a very simple plan. My plan is always the same; never expect to make par, tee off, see where it ends up and find a way to secure a bogey if things are not good.

I broke my own rule the other day and am still kicking myself for being lured into greedy play.

I wait for the pars to come and if I hit the green in GIR and am not miles away, hope to make a few birdies too along the way. I often play under 80 with no good shots at all....apart from the odd chip and 1-putt.

 

[CrapHacker]

i want to par everything, tho my mate tells me that i should not have this mind set, i should be looking to bogey everything and then every par i get will be a great..

I know in my heart he's right tho for some reason i dont want to think that way.. You might laugh at me saying this playing off 20. And bogey golf with my handicap will give me 38 points.

Couldn't disagree more, your attitude much sounds better to me than what your friend has to say.

I can safely say I've never played a hole trying to get a bogey. There are times when I have known that a bogey will suffice but I've never not played for a par.

You should be wanting to at least par every hole you play, not bogey it, then it's down to you and practice to make that happen. The more you put into golf the more you will get back, it's just a hard, hard sport to master.

Here's a guide of how to play golf....

Picture the shot you want to hit, hit it and if it doesn't come off then forget about it walk up to your ball picture the shot you want to hit, hit it and if it doesn't come off then forget about it walk up to your ball picture the shot you want to hit, hit it and if it doesn't come off then forget about it walk up to your ball picture the shot you want to hit, hit it and if it doesn't come off then forget about it walk up to your ball......

Depends what you're trying to achieve.

Score better ?

or play better golf ?

Net pars scores the points, so playing safely within your handicap is going to win more stuff.

But to improve there's no fun in hitting it 170 down the fairway every time in every round . Not in you're capable of better, of course. Sometimes you gotta try to reach them long par fours, just to see what you're capable of.

 

[viscount17]

Sometimes you gotta try to reach them long par fours, just to see what you're capable of.

exactly.

that's the bit that frustrates me about my driving. I can average a reasonable distance but I know there is more in the tank if I can just get it out - in a straight line.

 

[Hendy]

@JustOneUK, I try and play every shot/every hole one at a time.. I know Joe is just having a laugh, but normaly only does it if we have a vistor playing with us.. But then again i am going back over 2 years now when i started playing.. I know he could not do it now as anytime I look at the scores from the weekend he has shot alot more than myself..

@RGDave, When i set out to par everything like i stated above. Dont get me wrong if i hit a bad drive or have to punch out from trees or something like that, I forget about par at this stage, and aim for a bogey as the bad drive or shot in my mind has cost me a shot ie the par..


@CrapHacker, I dont really have a aim when i go out, unless you count par-ing everything my aim. I dont set myself a target score for the front nine/back nine or even a score in mind that i want after the 18 holes..

From my last round I was 2 over gross after 8 holes. within the 8 holes including in that was a par at S.I 1 and S.I 3, the bogey's came with a not so great drive at one hole and a 210 yard par 3 where which i cant reach with the 5 wood and the driver is to big.. But really reaching long par 4's is not really a problem most of the time.. For example S.I 2 on my course is around 500yard par 5 (normaly hitting into a head wind), I can leave myself 40/50 yards away in two shots most days..

 

[JustOne]

If you are playing off 20 then you are expected to make mistakes, so no point kicking yourself at this stage. If you can limit the ones that are simply "bad choices" and also the duffed ones around the green then you can start making in roads into your game. We all smack a driver into the trees every now and then, even Tiger does it, but it's knowing what to do next that saves the bacon.

 

[CrapHacker]

@CrapHacker, I dont really have a aim when i go out, unless you count par-ing everything my aim. I dont set myself a target score for the front nine/back nine or even a score in mind that i want after the 18 holes..

I'm thinking more of general aims. You're off 20, but what ( realistically ) are you capable of at the moment.

It's all well and good wanting to play par golf, and thinking about each shot that way, but the way to reduce your handicap is to set yourself targets on the way.

Just an example of what I'm trying to say : to get your handicap down, the next realistic target may well be 15. Which might well coincide with scoring 3 on the par 3's and one over on the rest.

So your next aim is to get yourself a 3 wood for that pesky 210er. On your SI2 hole, how often do you score par from 50 yards away ? Might you find it easier to leave yourself a full wedge for your 3rd. In which case is it a wide open driving hole, or is it relatively tight? I'm thinking maybe a 3w off the tee gives a full wedge 3rd shot.

You're still aiming for par golf, but giving yourself leeway to minimise any problems on the way. )

When I hit my lowest handicap ( many moons ago ) I pottered my way from 21 to 17 in a year and a bit, by aiming to play the best golf I could on any hole, and suffering when it didn't come off.

By playing ( in the medals only ) sensible golf, and keeping the ball in play ( laying up short of fairway bunkers, etc ) I dropped from 17 to 13 in 3 months the following season. I used my shots and turned some par 4s into 5s, purely to avoid any potential card wrecking disasters.

There's a balance between gung ho golf, and safety first golf. I don't think just playing one type maximises performance, or enjoyment.

 

[Smiffy]

Playing off 20, the one thing that is guaranteed to lower your scores more than anything else is course management. It's all well and good going for the green 210 yards away over a lake (or whatever) but if you only hit that 210 yard shot 3 times out of 10, you can almost guarantee that when you need it, one of the other 7 crap ones will rear it's ugly head.
Homers idea of "allocating" yourself 5 shots on every hole is a good one for getting this mindset in place. Make par on a couple of par 3's or 4's early on in the round and you put a few shots "in the bank" for later in the round when things will inevitably go tits up.
One of the biggest mistakes high handicappers make is trying to pull off the miracle shot..we've all done it in the past and it almost always costs us. Buried in the rough 200 yards out but you just know that if you can just make reasonable contact with your 3 wood you will get on the green. Next thing you know you are buried even deeper in the crap and it's "game over" for that particular hole. This depresses you even more and you go on to cock up the next 2 or 3 holes blaming everything (clubs, weather, state of the course etc.) other than yourself. This isn't a pop at you by the way, just high handicappers in general. Know your limits, if you are in the crap then take the easy option to get yourself back in play and in a good position to make amends. I've lost count of the number of times I have been in trouble off the tee and had to hack out sideways, thinking that it was going to cost me a dropped shot or two and then you go and knock your next one right next to the pin and can the putt for par. There is more than one way to make par on a hole...and sometimes a good up and down for a par save is much more rewarding or satisfying than making it in regulation. You know your game has moved on to the next level when you can do this regularly.....

 

[Pants]

Playing off 20, the one thing that is guaranteed to lower your scores more than anything else is course management. It's all well and good going for the green 210 yards away over a lake (or whatever) but if you only hit that 210 yard shot 3 times out of 10, you can almost guarantee that when you need it, one of the other 7 crap ones will rear it's ugly head.

One of the biggest mistakes high handicappers make is trying to pull off the miracle shot..we've all done it in the past and it almost always costs us. Buried in the rough 200 yards out but you just know that if you can just make reasonable contact with your 3 wood you will get on the green. Next thing you know you are buried even deeper in the crap and it's "game over" for that particular hole. This depresses you even more and you go on to cock up the next 2 or 3 holes blaming everything (clubs, weather, state of the course etc.) other than yourself.

My game exactly Smiffy

I see what you are saying about trying to play sensibly. You should have been caddie for that French chap the other year at The Open and persuaded him that he should take a drop instead of waiting till the tide came in.

 

[jammydodger]

Smiffy said :-

"One of the biggest mistakes high handicappers make is trying to pull off the miracle shot.."

Not just high handicappers mate , I think all of us are guilty of this , me in particular. A 200 yard ,high fade over huge trees with a wind howling from right to left is a shot I cant resist. Knowing full well I cant get enough club at it for the carry I will still go ahead and mess the shot up. I find it exceptionally hard to play a lay up shot as I play golf with a go for everything attitude.

I'm positive i'd be off about 2 now if I played better course management , however i'm happy going for it as when it comes off theres no better feeling

 

[Hendy]

Thanks indeed guys for the replys and advise yet again...

@CrapHacker, Deff need to get myself a 3 wood.. Been trying out the G10 3 wood in the range along with the cobra F speed 3 wood.. Liking the G10 so hoping over the next month or two to pick myself up a 3 and 5 wood g10.. Know what you mean now with a aim.. Thinking about it now.. I would have like to have got to 18 this season, and should really have got there by now.. But need to take it one round at a time.

@JustOneUk, Aye normaly if i hit one to the tree, instead of trying to pull off a tiger woods shot, i would normaly just punch out to the fairway so that i can have a good shot at green..

@Smiffy, Indeed i do sometimes fall into the trap of the miracle shot.. For example on a short par5 where i hit a driver and 5 wood, really in fact all i have to do is hit the driver and a safe 4/5 iron that would leave me a full PW or 9 into the green.

I am playing this sat and sunday, with a comp on the sunday.. Will try and play the course a little smarter and not as much "gung ho" as CrapHacker puts it lol I also tend to stand over my shot for a sec or two thinking about a making a good hit which i normaly get but the amount of times i hit it well but just did not line myself up well enough is a pain, Its deff a part of my game that i could improve on big time.. So hopefully keeping all this in mind i can report back to yous with a good score this weekend..

Wish me luck

 

[Parmo]

I tend to play against my handicap eg 1 up or 3 down, that way nothing else effects my game just myself and holding it together long enough to win and bring my hcp down. I have been trying this the last week or so and I got cut by 2 shots last weekend.