How do you stop others players getting inside your head?

[Khamelion]

Golf is very much a mental game as well as a physical one, so when the persnickerty remarks and little digs start, more than likely after a duff shot, missed put or inaccurate drive, what is your way or blocking out, ignoring the comments?

Do you return the same in kind? Do you ignore and rise above?

I ask as recently I played around with my dad and a friend, I hit a few not so good shots and it was "hmmm that's a new one you've never hooked before", "WOW it's a while since you topped one like that", "Aim more left as you know you're going to slice it" etc etc... it got inside my head and for hte next 4 holes my game was rubbish, to the point I felt like telling them to stick it.

However I persevered and played the back 9 as good as I have in a long while, still not brilliant but I felt it was my game, the way I wanted to play.

Cheers
Dave

 

[G_Mulligan]

tough one because when you are playing badly you often get angry and want someone to blame. It is then easy to blame yourself and your lack of talent/effort. Your opponents are actually giving you someone else to blame instead of yourself. You clearly showed you could rise above it a play well so the key is to do it straight away or prevent needing to do it altogether.

You need to be careful not to adopt an overly aggressive "I'll show you" attitude and become tight and tense. The trick is to use there jibes to your advantage by concentrating completely on staying loose and in the moment. Focus on one shot and one target at a time and smile after each shot whatever the result. Every time they make a comment use it as a reminder that maybe you were not fully committed to your shot or your target on that occasion and make sure you are next time.

Either that or tell them to go procreate with themselves before they end up wearing your 4 iron.

 

[Khamelion]

You need to be careful not to adopt an overly aggressive "I'll show you" attitude and become tight and tense.

I did just that on the 8th I tried to knock the skin off the ball and only ended up with a huge wild slice and before anyone had a chance to say anything I growled through gritted teeth "and I did that on purpose"

 

[stevie_r]

give as good as you get!

 

[rosecott]

Golf is very much a mental game as well as a physical one, so when the persnickerty remarks and little digs start, more than likely after a duff shot, missed put or inaccurate drive, what is your way or blocking out, ignoring the comments?

Do you return the same in kind? Do you ignore and rise above?

I ask as recently I played around with my dad and a friend, I hit a few not so good shots and it was "hmmm that's a new one you've never hooked before", "WOW it's a while since you topped one like that", "Aim more left as you know you're going to slice it" etc etc... it got inside my head and for hte next 4 holes my game was rubbish, to the point I felt like telling them to stick it.

However I persevered and played the back 9 as good as I have in a long while, still not brilliant but I felt it was my game, the way I wanted to play.

Cheers
Dave

I must confess I do the same as your dad and his friend - it's an integral part of golf.

Smile, keep shtum, play your own game and enjoy the outcome.

 

[palindromicbob]

The banter flies on the course. Give as good as you get and hope you don't double over laughing at someones slice only to step up and do the exact same thing.

 

[scozzie]

just think of Seve.."I shake their hand,smile,wish them well,but inside I'm thinking Im going to bury you" surely the perfect competitive quote ever! stick it to em with a smile....

 

[Oddsocks]

There's slot of banter in our normal groups but im pretty strong headed and usually showing it does not effect you motivates your game and rattles theirs,

 

[jammydodger]

Personally I can take as much banter as you want to throw at me , its water off a ducks back and I love it. Thats one of the reasons I love our forum meets cos in the main its pretty much all about the banter. Not many take them too seriously so you know its going to be a complete p**s take. Get used to it and in fact try to embrace it , it should make the day go quicker and relax you. Who wants to go round for 4 hours being serious ?

As long as you dont get personal then let rip I say

 

[Snelly]

Personally I can take as much banter as you want to throw at me , its water off a ducks back and I love it. Thats one of the reasons I love our forum meets cos in the main its pretty much all about the banter. Not many take them too seriously so you know its going to be a complete p**s take. Get used to it and in fact try to embrace it , it should make the day go quicker and relax you. Who wants to go round for 4 hours being serious ?

As long as you dont get personal then let rip I say

Well said.. I quite agree.

 

[Aztecs27]

Personally I can take as much banter as you want to throw at me , its water off a ducks back and I love it. Thats one of the reasons I love our forum meets cos in the main its pretty much all about the banter. Not many take them too seriously so you know its going to be a complete p**s take. Get used to it and in fact try to embrace it , it should make the day go quicker and relax you. Who wants to go round for 4 hours being serious ?

As long as you dont get personal then let rip I say

Couldn't agree more.

Being one of the young'uns at forum meets (as well as being a target on the forum) I get ALOT of banter thrown my way (just ask IMurg, TXL, Richart, LTP, O/S, Rick...the list goes on, knobs! )...it's great really. You just have to give as good as you get and let it go over your head as it's just a bit of fun. It's what makes the forum meets what they are. A great craic and if the golf is good well then that's a bonus.

 

[Oddsocks]

Az, you know we love ya loads - Group Hug!

 

[Aztecs27]

Az, you know we love ya loads - Group Hug!

You're just saying that so I don't ban you!

 

[Khamelion]

The banter doesn't normally bother me, like it's been said, it just water off a ducks back, but for whatever reason on that particular day it got to me.

I don't tend to be to vocal in ribbing playing partners, I do prefer postive comments.

Using some advice my mam gave me as I was growing up, she told me,

"If you haven't got anyting nice to say, then don't anything at all"

so sometimes a raised eyebrow or a shake of the head is worth a thousand words, that or I rip a long drive down the middle of the fairway then annouce the yardage from the GPS

Cheers
Dave

 

[Oddsocks]

Az, you know we love ya loads - Group Hug!

You're just saying that so I don't ban you!

ok, poke your ban button right where......

 

[pokerjoke]

As has been said banter makes the game for me,of course theres a time to be serious,but giving as good as you get is lots of fun.

 

[sev112]

2 ways of approaching this

1) They are only doing it cos their golf aint good enough to beat me, so i smile, and know that i've got the upper hand

2) they don't know that their comments are affecting you / they dont intend to, so they are not trying to put you off your game, so youve got no reason to be pressured

Either way you can smile and it dont affect you

Or, you could just get uptight, waste your tiem and money on the golf course letting someone smug get at you, or just think they are when they arent.

Take the first option


Simialr to guys on the first tee who start suggesting side bets. I love it when they do that, cos i just turn them down straight away - it's amazing how their games fall to pieces when their bandit handicaps aren't taking money off other unsuspecting mugs.

 

[sev112]

in fact i remember one chap at Marriott Worsley Park on a society day over 10 years ago, who was insisting to the other 2 and me on the tee that we had to play £10,£10, £10 . The other 2 were sort of mumbling acceptance. I suggested if he needed to gamble to play his best, then he could just give me the money if i beat hime. He didnt speak to me for 9 holes or so, and he played crap. And then buggered off afterwards to hsi mates moaning that we cheated him !!!

 

[HawkeyeMS]

There's no room in my head to let anyone else's comments get to me, it's already full of me getting to me

The truth is I just ignore it all. If I'm playing bad then I'm already trying to work out what is going wrong so no room for thinking about others comments. If I'm playing well I'll joke along with it and usually take the micky out of myself before anyone else gets a chance.

 

[kid2]

Its a funny one to answer properly...
It could be looked at from heaps of different angles but you'll find at times that the more genuine the person...Like your dad for instance....May be just saying it as some have said above without malice...It might be just an ice breaker to kill the atmosphere of a bad shot..
No one likes hitting errant shots but the happen...To everyone at some stage even the pro's.

I played with a 1 handicapper and another lad off 17 the weekend and for the from 9 the lower lad must have been scratching his head as to why we were so high as he had only played 6 shots better than us himself...

But low and behold cue the back 9 and all hell broke loose with our games....I felt very embarrassed and disheartened but the one factor that kept me plugging away was that i kept telling myself...He was once high like us too...

Now the same lad never really acknowledged any of our bad shots but i just felt he was talking to himself inside...


If it happens to you again do exactly as you did...Put it behind you and keep the chin up and walk proud...Chances are they were once there too.