How do I keep those 8's and 7's off my card?

bradleywedge

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Guaranteed no matter how I am playing, I always seem to have a few 7's or 8's on my card. I can keep it together for about 14 holes, (pars, doubles, odd birdie thrown in), but I always have a few guaranteed card wrecker holes.

I seem to hit a bad drive and then compound it by then proceeding to hit 3 or 4 bad shots in succession. I then move to the next hole and I'm fine again. The card wrecker holes are sporadic and dont all come together, so I seem to able to gather myself between holes. For instance I shot 84 the other day with 2 x 7's and an 8.

Please tell me I'm not far away am I?
 

Neilds

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Don’t try and make up for a bad drive with a bad decision. If you are in the rough/trees, just play a shot that is guaranteed to get you back on the fairway, e if this means going sideways. Also, don’t try and make up for a shorter tee shot by trying to whack the next shot onto the green from 300 yards - a nice layup will let you get on the green for 3 and still (outside) chance of a par, bogey at worst. Trying to make up the distance will often lead to another top/slice/whatever. Just play the percentage game and leave the Tiger shots to the experts ?
 

peld

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in the 84, were you 7s and 8 on par 4s? whats the par for the course?

Anyway, no you arent far away. Firstly dont worry about it/. Everyone has a bad hole or two. Play in a stableford mindset (i.e. aim for 36 points rather than X strokes)
If you find yourself in trouble, and we all do, take your medicine (play out sideways, drop one etc) and aim for bogey - sometimes you might get lucky and still make par.
If you can score pars and birdies then course management could be an issue - think about playing away from trouble (i.e. less than driver off the tee for certain holes), on tough long holes consider targeting bogey and play with that mindset etc
 

Ethan

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It often comes from bad decision-making compounding mistakes. There is a hole on our course where players sometimes top the ball into rough ahead of the tee. You then see the same players grab a 3 wood and try to hit a miracle shot in order to make up. It usually doesn't end well, and the likely bogey or double (if they wedged out) turns into an 8.

All golf psychology boils down to two ideas:

1. Don't attempt a shot you are not reasonably confident you can carry off*
2. Stay in the moment, the last shot doesn't matter.

*exception: in matchplay if your opponet has hit a miracle shot next to the hole and you need to do the same to halve the hole.

(Note: I don't always follow these rules myself)
 

Lord Tyrion

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Guaranteed no matter how I am playing, I always seem to have a few 7's or 8's on my card. I can keep it together for about 14 holes, (pars, doubles, odd birdie thrown in), but I always have a few guaranteed card wrecker holes.

I seem to hit a bad drive and then compound it by then proceeding to hit 3 or 4 bad shots in succession. I then move to the next hole and I'm fine again. The card wrecker holes are sporadic and dont all come together, so I seem to able to gather myself between holes. For instance I shot 84 the other day with 2 x 7's and an 8.

Please tell me I'm not far away am I?
Welcome to the world of golf for many on here :LOL:. I had a lovely spell in the middle of the year where I kept those 7's off my card, my scores look great on the EG app. Sadly I've not had a round like that for a month or so and the random 7's are back.

@Neilds has nailed it with post#2. Remaining relaxed for the shot after your bad one is the key to keeping the daft score away, in my own experience. I don't necessarily do that, or follow his other sound pieces of advice. When I score well, I have done though. 'I must learn the lesson, I must learn the lesson etc......'

The good news is, you really can't be far away if you shot an 84 and think how good it will feel when you look at your card and see none of those horrible numbers are on there.
 

Bdill93

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Welcome to the world of golf for many on here :LOL:. I had a lovely spell in the middle of the year where I kept those 7's off my card, my scores look great on the EG app. Sadly I've not had a round like that for a month or so and the random 7's are back.

@Neilds has nailed it with post#2. Remaining relaxed for the shot after your bad one is the key to keeping the daft score away, in my own experience. I don't necessarily do that, or follow his other sound pieces of advice. When I score well, I have done though. 'I must learn the lesson, I must learn the lesson etc......'

The good news is, you really can't be far away if you shot an 84 and think how good it will feel when you look at your card and see none of those horrible numbers are on there.

Me and you both LT!

In a good patch they dont come often, in a bad patch they come more often than I'd like! The ability is there - the low round will come!
 

Jigger

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I’m personally going through a spate of triples so feel you pain. If it’s the same hole I try a different club for say a tee shot to break the cycle but more often than not it is a random lost ball which is 2 shots added to what would typically be a bogey hole for me. This makes them unavoidable to a certain extent. I could play the entire round with a safe shorter club off the tee but would be around or above handicap or I can choose to believe I can hit the shot that works 80% of the time and challenge my handicap.

some good advice above though. Something that improved me overall is learning to take my punishment. I also break the course down to 9s or 6s and try not to write off the entire round. I.e. one of our courses I know if I can play close to handicap on the front I can score on the back to bring it in or beat my hcp.
 
D

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For me it's a case of weighing up what shot options you have and deciding which one's you feel most comfortable about being able to put into practice.
Don't forget that you can take a drop instead of attempting an impossible shot.
Choose a safe shot, but don't relax on that shot because it seems easy, take it seriously and give it your best aggressive swing.
 
D

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The answer you wont really want to hear, is the hard answer.:( That is once, you improve your swing, strike, clubhead control, touch, clubhead path, mental strength, course strategy, club selection, fitness, strength, your short game and putting. (think that covers all the areas of golf)

Golf is hard and easy to rack up scores, a drop shot here and there over a hole and then suddenly you have a pickup or 7,8,9 on the card.

Its a rare day, when I dont have a double or worse on my card. Thats probably true for alot of players.

If you find out the answer to all the above and its an easy fix then patent it and sell it. You will be a rich man:D
 

bradleywedge

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Play for a 5 or 6, avoid the 7 or 8!!

Are you trying for the "hero recovery after the bad drive, or just getting back into play?
Have you got a "safe go-to" club for the tougher driving holes?

No, not necessarily glory shots, i just try to get it back into play off a bad drive, but say for instance i drive massive right behind a tree, i will try to chip out sideways onto the fairway and duff it short again, so i still dont have a shot and im playing 3 without even getting it on the fairway
 

bradleywedge

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The answer you wont really want to hear, is the hard answer.:( That is once, you improve your swing, strike, clubhead control, touch, clubhead path, mental strength, course strategy, club selection, fitness, strength, your short game and putting. (think that covers all the areas of golf)

Golf is hard and easy to rack up scores, a drop shot here and there over a hole and then suddenly you have a pickup or 7,8,9 on the card.

Its a rare day, when I dont have a double or worse on my card. Thats probably true for alot of players.

If you find out the answer to all the above and its an easy fix then patent it and sell it. You will be a rich man:D

Thats just it, i dont want too much from this game just to keep those big scores off my round. They are creeping in EVERY round. I know I can do it for 14 holes, why not 18?
 

bradleywedge

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in the 84, were you 7s and 8 on par 4s? whats the par for the course?

Anyway, no you arent far away. Firstly dont worry about it/. Everyone has a bad hole or two. Play in a stableford mindset (i.e. aim for 36 points rather than X strokes)
If you find yourself in trouble, and we all do, take your medicine (play out sideways, drop one etc) and aim for bogey - sometimes you might get lucky and still make par.
If you can score pars and birdies then course management could be an issue - think about playing away from trouble (i.e. less than driver off the tee for certain holes), on tough long holes consider targeting bogey and play with that mindset etc

Par 71, and the 8 and one 7 were on par 5's which is even more frustrating! the other 7 was a par 4. I suppose a double on a par 5 isnt that bad in the cold light of day, but i must admit i may have to change my strategy on them and play them like a par 6
 

bobmac

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Anywhere left or right off the fairway when i havent got a second shot.

So a high slice right and a low pull/hook left?
I'm only asking because if you can straighten up the bad drives, you won't have to get yourself out of trouble.
Have you tried leaving the driver in the car and just using the 3 wood?
220 in the semi is better than 250 in the jungle.
 

jim8flog

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Anywhere left or right off the fairway when i havent got a second shot.

There is always (generally speaking) a second shot, it is you are trying to do with it that the problem will normally occur. If you have hit a bad shot accept it and do not try the miracle recovery. I have seen far too many players try a shot that even a pro would not consider.

Shots are normally made up by e.g. taking one more to get to the green then single putting or finishing short of the green and getting up and down in 2 more.
 

Voyager EMH

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Bad shots happen. Big scores happen.
No one to blame but ourselves.
So don't hit bad shots. What useless advice.

Recently I had a treble bogey 7 on the 3rd. I compounded this by heading for at least a quadruple on the 9th when I picked up (stableford comp)
I played the other 16 holes in one-under with two birdies and just one more bogey. I play off 3.
That score will be remaining in my best 8 until it goes out of my last twenty.
Earlier this year I kept a 6 off my card by parring all the par 5s. Still went round in 8-over with no birdies. Very steady golf though - nothing really bad. That score will never be in my best 8.

There's a lot of swings and roundabouts in this game.
 

Barking_Mad

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I share your pain. I was just saying on another thread, a few rounds ago my last 72 holes looked like this...

+44 for 64 holes ?
+50 for 8 holes ?

I'm my case nasty duck hooks off the tee were costing me shots due to lost balls, 9s and 10s!

Then yesterday I played beautifully (duck hook gone thanks to sorting my grip out) and I was heading for an 85 before I dumped two very simple 40 yard chips in the lake on the 18th, instead of just getting over the damned thing. ?

If they're holes that always trip you up leave the driver and hit a 6/7 iron off those tees. If you can hit it 150 yards, that's 450 yards in 3 shots. That might leave you a chip and two putts for a 6 (if you get up and down, it's a par!) Job done.

Even if you're hitting the driver well always look at the landing area. If it's narrow/sloping/bunkered, leave the driver and play safe.

Better golfers make less silly mistakes. Do you listen to podcasts? This one is brilliant for course management and the mental side of the game

The Sweet Spot - Golf Podcast: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/BLU3125919456

???
 
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