How do you stop focusing on score

[G1z1]

This has happened to me a few times now. Play great the front 9 and notice my score and think I’m on it today and no sooner said then the wheels come off. Did this twice at east ren -3 after 9 then went to pot and if anyone has played east ren the 9th and 10th are two of the easiest par 4s you will find but think I bogeyed both each time, so frustrating. Also I keep my score on a garmin watch so it’s impossible not to notice it and to be honest I don’t panic when I see I’m playing well . So don’t know what happens to make me go off. Usually when I have a good score I’m starting to notice a pattern I’ll play ok front 9 and then step it up on the back 9. It’s never the other way around.
I was level par after 11 today and just went to pot and finished with two double bogeys. Said before I started today no 3 putting and no doubles. Thankfully no 3 puts.

 

[Depreston]

Opposite for me love a 13-15 point front 9 and then a 18-20 back 9

 

[Jimaroid]

It’s a learnable mental discipline, write down your score and don’t think about it. Focus on the next shot and only total your scores at the end of the round.

I used to be able to do it but my scores are now so bad that it’s hard not to think about the two 8’s on a card.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

The more you put in cards the less likely it is to happen. At the moment I suspect you end up trying to protect your score after a good first 9 and so don't swing as well. When you are putting in cards over and over it stops being as big a deal.

I'm not immune incidentally, I doubt anyone is. You can reduce the impact though, that's the key.

 

[chrisd]

Reverse psychology, make sure you're aware of the score then you'll soon get used to it and eventually you'll not worry about it

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Don't stop thinking about it. Embrace it, and play off it!

 

[3offTheTee]

Somebody said about counting in 3’s. I find it almost impossible not to know my score. The adage of play each hole at a time does not work either.

However, if somebody had said you can go round today in 7 over when on the first tee you would have taken it. Great knock.

Was it in a Competition and if so expect you took the prize. well done in any event. think for the last 2 you knew you had a great score and nerves probably kicked in. If you had said to yourself “ I will take 2 5’s here” rather than going for a big smash.
Hindsight never made a mistake though!

 

[SteveW86]

Not bad for a 24 handicap though is it.

As an amateur who is still learning the game, its likely that your swing will have a wobble at some point in the round. Just focus on the next shot and enjoy it. Consistency will catch up with you and the bad holes will slowly drop out of the round. My wobble tends to come in the middle of a round, I just have to take a moment, reset and go again.

 

[Deleted member 29109]

It’s easier said than done.

Don’t add the score up as you go.

Have a routine/process that you stick to each on each shot. Focus on that, and treat each shot the same.

Poor outcomes usually start with indecision or mental errors which then compound and the downward spiral starts.

If you accept that you have very little control over where your ball will actually finish you might relax a bit.

Hit it, find it, hit it again.

 

[John Evans 9]

If this was a competition I’d say you have a case of carditis. It’s a common affliction but the more often you are in a good position the sooner you’ll overcome it.
If it was not a competition then it’s inconsequential.
But 76 is still a decent score - what is your handicap ?

 

[Oddsocks]

A solid Pre shot routine and the ability to just laugh at the bad ones.

Or just aim for scratch and forget the score.

 

[Oddsocks]

But 76 is still a decent score - what is your handicap ?

???

???????????

 

[Hobbit]

I believe what I score on any one hole is meaningless in terms of the final total. It might be a birdie or a double bogey but at some point later in the round it will be balanced out with a good/bad hole. Sometimes the bad hole doesn’t happen, and sometimes it happens twice. But in my head all I’m interested in is the score I sign for, and I don’t think about it mid round because I haven’t got a clue what I’ll be putting on the card x holes ahead.

An example of how I tend not to track my round; I wish I had a £1 for every time someone has shook hands with me in match play and said ”well played.” I know I’m up but not sure by how many, and if there’s several holes to go I’m not sure how many holes there are left. I’ll know I’m on the, say, 14th but I haven’t done the maths as to how many holes there are left. Sounds a bit bizarre but I’m genuinely “in the now,” not the score.

 

[3offTheTee]

I believe what I score on any one hole is meaningless in terms of the final total. It might be a birdie or a double bogey but at some point later in the round it will be balanced out with a good/bad hole. Sometimes the bad hole doesn’t happen, and sometimes it happens twice. But in my head all I’m interested in is the score I sign for, and I don’t think about it mid round because I haven’t got a clue what I’ll be putting on the card x holes ahead.

An example of how I tend not to track my round; I wish I had a £1 for every time someone has shook hands with me in match play and said ”well played.” I know I’m up but not sure by how many, and if there’s several holes to go I’m not sure how many holes there are left. I’ll know I’m on the, say, 14th but I haven’t done the maths as to how many holes there are left. Sounds a bit bizarre but I’m genuinely “in the now,” not the score.

I think the first paragraph is excellent way of building a score.

I have a slight reservation about your 2nd paragraph although realise you are/have been low single figures. If you are able to blank out your score like you have said it is an excellent way to approach a match. You must be 1 in 100 who can adopt this plan.

 

[Slab]

Easiest way to screw up a score on any hole is trying to get a shot ‘back’ you believe you dropped on a previous hole, and the ‘pressure’ to get them back only builds as the rounds gets nearer the end

Any chance you were chasing for 1x birdie 1x par out of the last two holes instead of playing for a 1 x par 1x bogey?
What's done is done, play the next hole on its own merit rather than making it harder by subconsciously lopping 1 off the par

Take two of these after first 9

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Easiest way to screw up a score on any hole is trying to get a shot ‘back’ you believe you dropped on a previous hole, and the ‘pressure’ to get them back only builds as the rounds gets nearer the end

Any chance you were chasing for 1x birdie 1x par out of the last two holes instead of playing for a 1 x par 1x bogey?
What's done is done, play the next hole on its own merit rather than making it harder by subconsciously lopping 1 off the par

Take two of these after first 9
View attachment 43075

Correct indeed - once a shot is gone you cannot get it back - the hole is in the past - you have scored what you have scored. All we can do is to do our best on each of the holes ahead - and as @Hobbit and others have said - playing each hole in it's own right and most certainly not as some opportunity to 'get a shot back'.

 

[sweaty sock]

Couple things for me.

1. I love hitting a good shot, so if it comes down to it, i just enjoy that.
2. The pressure and nerves are the whole reason we practice, they should be sought out, not avoided, they literally are the reason we play competitive golf.... if not, why keep score at all.

 

[Deleted member 23344]

Not bad for a 24 handicap though is it.

As an amateur who is still learning the game, its likely that your swing will have a wobble at some point in the round. Just focus on the next shot and enjoy it. Consistency will catch up with you and the bad holes will slowly drop out of the round. My wobble tends to come in the middle of a round, I just have to take a moment, reset and go again.

When? I’m still waiting after 15 years! ??

 

[SteveW86]

When? I’m still waiting after 15 years! ??

It was specifically aimed at the OP as he is putting serious work into his game with lots of lessons with top level pro’s.

 

[Deleted member 29109]

When? I’m still waiting after 15 years! ??

Bad holes and bad shots never stop happening. It’s just the frequency of them happening that changes as you improve.