How do you put an absolute 'mare out of your mind?

[rudebhoy]

Being playing really well for the last month or so, hitting my irons better than I ever have. Short game has also been pretty good. Driving has been a struggle, but have been leaving the driver in the bag most of the time and just hitting a 5 iron off the tee. Have been scoring consistently in the mid to high 30s, and can't remember the last time I got less than 30.

All changed yesterday, irons were awful on and off the tee, so bad, I reverted to the driver which was also hopeless. 2 lost balls and spent more time in the trees than I did on the fairway.

Managed a poor 12 points on the front 9, then went on an awful run of 2 points in 6 holes (!!). Was hating every minute and couldn't wait to get off. Had totally switched off by that time, then proceeded to finish net birdie, net par, net eagle for 9 points and a grand total of 21.

To put that in context, it's 16 shots worse than what I shot on Friday in far worse weather conditions.

The finish cheered me up a bit, but I'm not back out until Friday, and I know I'm going to spend the of the week beating myself up for having played so abysmally when I have been in (relatively) great form beforehand.

Any positive advice as to how to erase yesterday and get back to where I was would be gratefully received!

 

[jim8flog]

I get home and kick the neighbours cat clear across the garden.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

I always think it's worth noting how a tour pro's scores can vary.
For example last week in Florida Henrick Stenson shot 77 on thursday and followed it up on friday with a 66 - 11 shots different.

If they can do this, despite all the coaching and practice then why shouldn't we have inconsistent rounds?

 

[Curls]

I get home and kick the neighbours cat clear across the garden.

Ha ha! I was going to say “booze”.

But practically I think I always hit the reset key when I play a different course. Doesn’t even need to be a good one, just a cheap tee time late in the day when only I’m out there with 2 hours of daylight, that should be enough. Even if I run into traffic and slow down to the point I don’t get all 18 played that’s ok, I’m trying to remember how to plot my way around and not focusing on technical stuff too much. Give it a whirl if you can, but as said above even the best in the world have crazy ones, you’ll be right 👍🏻

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I drop it as soon as I enter the bar. We're handicap golfers and so our performance by the fact that we're a) not that good to start with and b) don't dedicate our lives to it and practice every day mean we will get peaks and troughs. Great when its going well and hard to keep going when the wheels followed by the exhaust fall off out on the course. It happens. If I start playing badly for a prolonged period and really can't find a way to hit many good shots I'll go and get a lesson. Thats my preference. Others may struggle on and try to play out of a slump or do something different. Either way, annoyed as I might be chopping it round in net 81 (as I did last Friday in a medal), once I'm supping that first beer it's forgotten

 

[jim8flog]

On a serious note a bad round is always out of mind the next time I play.

Every day is different when it comes to golf. Even when I used to shoot around level par every time I went out the scores were compiled in a different way, the rounds without some sort of disaster in them were very rare indeed.

 

[Deleted member 23344]

As already said, it’s all about consistency, or rather a lack of it. Mind you, I’m not surprised that your last three holes were good scores after you had switched off. I often find that, if I’m playing badly and I stop scoring and just finish the round, I play much better. I think that, when I start playing badly, I try too hard and it makes things worse ... and stopping scoring removes the pressure and also the subconscious overtrying. I always try and relax however things are going, but that is so very much easier said than done.

 

[Imurg]

It is hard to push the negative thoughts out but it needs to be done.
If, say, there's one hole where you hook OB 2 rounds running...you can't think " don't hook OB " next time around as it's almost certain that's what's going to happen.
James's point about the Pros is the one though. They can do it so why should we think that we can't?
Your timing only needs to be off by a degree or two and a scratch player looks like a 20 capper...
I've never 4 putted a green....never.
At least I don't remember doing it

 

[duncan mackie]

What 'mare?

Seriously, I pick one issue from the round and seperate it completely; the whole 'mare thing is now put in the shredder/bin and I'm left with a single issue to work on going forward - which is manageable and constructive.

What constitutes working on will depend on what it is, and the time available before I close the door on that as well.

 

[Roops]

Scoring is never a good way to judge your game. Strange to think that way but it makes sense to try and remove outcome as the be all and end all. Think of the times you go out, hit it brilliantly and can't score, then theres the time you hack it about and end up with 36 points. Focus on your appraoch to each shot and commitment, not the outcome, afterall a gust of wind can turn a perfect shot into a disaster. Dwelling on that outcome will drive you nuts.

 

[Capella]

I read somewhere that, no matter what your level of golf is, the variation between your best rounds and your worst ones is about 20 shots. It is a fact of the game. That knowlege settled me down some and now I just shrug my shoulders at a seriously bad round, confident that the next one is going to be better. Also, I like being on the golf course. It is a very pleasant surrounding. I love to hear the birds sing and to watch our resident heron stalking fish and to startle the hare that lives on our 18th hole. For that reason, there might be days when I play badly, but there is no such thing as a bad day on the course.

 

[Scozzy]

My 12 yr old is horrendous in himself for any less than perfect shot and we were at our wits end..then I had a lightbulb moment! To show him even the pros have a mare like us we hit YouTube and spent 10 minutes in hysterics laughing at golf "fails" and now we both have a much improved attitude towards our performance! It's a game and should be fun,plus a better eagle to finish is no bad thing! You could of been working..

 

[Deleted member 21258]

I tend to curse about it for a day, but always want to get back out there to put the record straight as I know I can play better

 

[19th hole]

Being playing really well for the last month or so, hitting my irons better than I ever have. Short game has also been pretty good. Driving has been a struggle, but have been leaving the driver in the bag most of the time and just hitting a 5 iron off the tee. Have been scoring consistently in the mid to high 30s, and can't remember the last time I got less than 30.

All changed yesterday, irons were awful on and off the tee, so bad, I reverted to the driver which was also hopeless. 2 lost balls and spent more time in the trees than I did on the fairway.

Managed a poor 12 points on the front 9, then went on an awful run of 2 points in 6 holes (!!). Was hating every minute and couldn't wait to get off. Had totally switched off by that time, then proceeded to finish net birdie, net par, net eagle for 9 points and a grand total of 21.

To put that in context, it's 16 shots worse than what I shot on Friday in far worse weather conditions.

The finish cheered me up a bit, but I'm not back out until Friday, and I know I'm going to spend the of the week beating myself up for having played so abysmally when I have been in (relatively) great form beforehand.

Any positive advice as to how to erase yesterday and get back to where I was would be gratefully received!

Firstly, it would be useful to acknowledge and accept that recalling, remembering and reminding yourself about that round is not serving you.

I believe that there are quite a few different things that you can to to 'erase yesterday' and one of those, as a starting point, would be to try visual rehearsal before your next round. It is used by several high profile sports personalities and somewhere on the web you'll find a great story about Jessica Ennis-Hill using this technique before winning gold at London 2012.

Drop me a message if you'd like a comprehensive breakdown of how to apply it to golf.

 

[19th hole]

Firstly, it would be useful to acknowledge and accept that recalling, remembering and reminding yourself about that round is not serving you.

I believe that there are quite a few different things that you can to to 'erase yesterday' and one of those, as a starting point, would be to try visual rehearsal before your next round. It is used by several high profile sports personalities and somewhere on the web you'll find a great story about Jessica Ennis-Hill using this technique before winning gold at London 2012.

Drop me a message if you'd like a comprehensive breakdown of how to apply it to golf.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/act...ation-how-to-imagine-your-way-to-success.html

The idea being that these new visualisations are at the forefront of your mind rather than any other unwanted interference.

 

[louise_a]

concentrate on the last 3 holes put the previous 15 down to a bad day at the office.

 

[pendodave]

If I've had one particular part of the game completely fail me, I'd normally try and spend a little bit of time putting it right. That way I can mentally put the issue to bed and start afresh.
It's never nice to start a new round being terrified that you have no idea how to stop the rot from the time before.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

If I've had one particular part of the game completely fail me, I'd normally try and spend a little bit of time putting it right. That way I can mentally put the issue to bed and start afresh.
It's never nice to start a new round being terrified that you have no idea how to stop the rot from the time before.

I have done this before. If i'ts an issue with chipping, driving or whatever I'll try and hit the range or practice ground before I next go out and hit some shots and work on the problem. Then when I'm on the course and I have my first type of shot that caused the issues last time I'll picture myself in practice hitting the shot well as I take my address and then focus on my target and just see me repeating that swing and commit to repeating it

 

[mister v]

Being playing really well for the last month or so, hitting my irons better than I ever have. Short game has also been pretty good. Driving has been a struggle, but have been leaving the driver in the bag most of the time and just hitting a 5 iron off the tee. Have been scoring consistently in the mid to high 30s, and can't remember the last time I got less than 30.

All changed yesterday, irons were awful on and off the tee, so bad, I reverted to the driver which was also hopeless. 2 lost balls and spent more time in the trees than I did on the fairway.

Managed a poor 12 points on the front 9, then went on an awful run of 2 points in 6 holes (!!). Was hating every minute and couldn't wait to get off. Had totally switched off by that time, then proceeded to finish net birdie, net par, net eagle for 9 points and a grand total of 21.

To put that in context, it's 16 shots worse than what I shot on Friday in far worse weather conditions.

The finish cheered me up a bit, but I'm not back out until Friday, and I know I'm going to spend the of the week beating myself up for having played so abysmally when I have been in (relatively) great form beforehand.

Any positive advice as to how to erase yesterday and get back to where I was would be gratefully received!

I read your post and thought i'd written it myself.......... you've been on a good run and had a bad day, it'll come back as soon as you can relax and swing steady again. my mates a golf pro and he tells me to remember im doing this for enjoyment and their are plenty of people in the crematory who wish they could play as bad as you!!

 

[Orikoru]

Since I can only really play once a week, it is frustrating after a bad round that all you want is to go back out and rectify it, but I have to wait 6 or 7 days until I can. But it does at least give me a while to analyse it, stop overthinking the bad and focus on the good before I tee off again. Maybe if I were able to go straight back out, I'd be doing so without thinking and playing rubbish again.

I had two awful rounds on the bounce recently. I decided I just needed something simple to focus on, and the next time I just thought about not lifting my head until I'd hit the ball (oldest advice in the book - keep your head still!). For whatever reason, this worked and I hit the ball much better. I think the key is not overthinking though, just focussing on that one thing meant I wasn't thinking about the duff shots I hit the previous week, and everything else just sort of fell into place.