I am the only one getting worse

[chor808]

Another disaster at the weekend a 100 shots off my 13 handicap. Ranked dead last. It's my first full year with an official handicap and I'm struggling bad. I've buffered once in 8 outings with a low of 83 and a high of 105! Average score is about 95 in medals.

I starting to think the handicap is my handicap. I am very inconsistent even without a card but of course more so with a card in hand. I'm capable of making par on any hole but also capable of a triple bogie. The worse part is I cannot fathom what is going wrong, slices, shanks, hooks followed by great shots that to me all feel the same.

I'm driving home thinking about how much to sell the club's for on eBay.

Do you just have to accept inconsistent play, is my handicap just wrong, are there others like this.

Options seem to be:
Get lessons
Suck it up and carry on
Stop playing comps
Become a social member only

Any advice welcome.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Another disaster at the weekend a 100 shots off my 13 handicap. Ranked dead last. It's my first full year with an official handicap and I'm struggling bad. I've buffered once in 8 outings with a low of 83 and a high of 105! Average score is about 95 in medals.

I starting to think the handicap is my handicap. I am very inconsistent even without a card but of course more so with a card in hand. I'm capable of making par on any hole but also capable of a triple bogie. The worse part is I cannot fathom what is going wrong, slices, shanks, hooks followed by great shots that to me all feel the same.

I'm driving home thinking about how much to sell the club's for on eBay.

Do you just have to accept inconsistent play, is my handicap just wrong, are there others like this.

Options seem to be:
Get lessons
Suck it up and carry on
Stop playing comps
Become a social member only

Any advice welcome.

Stick with it. I am as consistently inconsistent as you if not more so. I had 26 points on Saturday (off 14). I would say if you are shanking, slicing and hooking there are inherent swing faults and the first port of call surely has to be a lesson or two and find out what is causing the bad shots and finding a solution and then working that in on a range before taking the improved swing out on the course. I an trying to get to single figures and I started at 14.0 and guess what, I'm still 14.0. Am I frustrated? That's putting it mildly but I know there is some good stuff in there and I'm capable of making good scores. It's about getting it out regularly, and doing it when it matters but I'll keep working at it.

I've been last in comps before. So what? Someone has to be. Yes there's usually some banter in the clubhouse but they soon move onto something/someone else and of course when they have a bad 'un you can give it back. If you really aren't enjoying it, take a break, put the clubs in the cupboard and do something else. Otherwise, get the swing seen, work hard and enjoy the challenge. No one said golf was easy

 

[Crow]

You're not the only one, I've buffered once this year in over 10 qualifiers and gone up 4 shots in 3 years.

My new philosophy/mantra is "It's not all about the score".
Enjoyment comes first.

 

[Old Skier]

Lessons
Handicap review

 

[Canary_Yellow]

It's not unusual to struggle with your first handicap a little.

At least, based on my experience it isn't.

I was allocated 20 when I first started, it soon went up to 21 and then came down to 20 again after about a year, and then started to come down.

In my opinion, the first handicap you receive is a bit of a stretch target and is generally pushing you a bit. Don't panic, you've clearly got a decent game, just need to relax again.

What got you to being good enough to play off 13 in the first place? If that was seeing a pro, do that, if it was something else, go and do that instead. You'll soon get back to where you were.

 

[Tashyboy]

In short, no your not, your just one of the few that owns up to it. Don't know if I am getting worse. But certainly not getting better.

 

[chor808]

I guess the cards I put in got me to 12 and then it has gone up from there. Cards where from the yellows at my earlier club, if I remember 95, 85,84 and they made me 12. I played two comps there 22 points and 106 😕off the whites.

I am a little better outside of comps but not massively so, I tend to par a hole then worry about failing on the next shot etc...because I had a par on the previous hole! Mental game is very weak. I leaning towards social golf and letting the handicap lapse.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Don't give up on competitive golf just yet!

Stop worrying about your handicap going up. Even a terrible round just means +0.1. Hardly a big deal.

 

[jpxpro]

Rome wasn't built in a day, stick with it look at your stats and work out what areas most punishing then work on that over winter

 

[Face breaker]

Sounds to me like yer handicap is in dyer need of a review, I play off 21 and regularly produce between 88 and 95 with the odd better or worse chucked in for good measure...

You've got an out to in thing going on with your swing (shanking, slicing, topping etc) narrowing your stance will stop you from weighting your trailing leg and make transferring your weight onto your leading leg a whole lot easier and keep your right elbow tucked into yer ribs throughout the swing (left elbow for left hookers) which will create an in to out swing path, finally 'don't hit the ball' just swing the club, once you've made a couple of practice swings and yer comfortable/happy with what yer achieving then just put the ball in front of the club and repeat the practice swing once more, to many people try and smack the s**t outta the ball when there's absolutely no need to, let the clubs do the work...

Good luck... :thup:

ps, and no yer not the only one who's getting worse...

 

[bobmac]

If you change nothing, nothing will change

 

[shortgame]

Don't give up
Play and enjoy it for what it is
Get some lessons to get a clear focus and something to practice to give you some confidence

7 x 0.1 increases should lead to you getting an additional shot or two back
Speak to the handicap secretary if you're still consistently a long way off playing to your handicap

Good luck

 

[chor808]

I'll book some lessons and see how it goes, I'll wait till the handicap review at the end of the year before humiliating myself again, I'm done with comps for this year. Like many people I guess there are a million things going on in my mind when I come to hit the ball. Oddly I was in a bunker Saturday and as the club approached the ball my mind shouted 'thin', of course I hit a thin shot . This seems to happen a lot. There are confidence issues for sure.

 

[lex!]

The only cards that were worse than mine in the medal on Sunday belonged to those who put in NR. It was rubbish, and I couldn't wait for the round to end. But I have now got something to work on! Swing has gone back to all arms instead of body rotation.

 

[jim8flog]

I guess the cards I put in got me to 12 and then it has gone up from there. Cards where from the yellows at my earlier club, if I remember 95, 85,84 and they made me 12. I played two comps there 22 points and 106 off the whites.

I am a little better outside of comps but not massively so, I tend to par a hole then worry about failing on the next shot etc...because I had a par on the previous hole! Mental game is very weak. I leaning towards social golf and letting the handicap lapse.

It is usual for a newly given handicap to be lower than what a player might expect simply because most players are expected to improve their scores for several reasons and it is the committees responsibility to review your initial allocated handicap. If they have not and your scores show that you have not improved from the original handicap should request that your handicap is reviewed.

Sadly the one 'buffer' score will affect any automatic review process.

 

[jim8flog]

On a personal note during the last 18 months I have lost 10-15 yards off my irons and 30 yards of the driver length. Scores have gone up by about an average of 5 shots a round.

My handicap has gone from 6 to 9 during that period and up to 10 for one medal only.

 

[lukeysafc100]

Its a game at the end of the day - its suppose to be fun.
Stop thinking about your scores and handicap and just go out with a smile on your face and enjoy it. laugh at the bad shots I say.

If you get lessons make you practice after them! So many people get a lesson expecting a quick fix but you've got to practice what is being taught!

 

[Orikoru]

Consistency is one of the most difficult things in golf. Maybe the most difficult thing. My last 5 scores at my home course were 88, 95, 102, 94, 85. Back when we had the two day course championship I shot 108 on Saturday and 92 on Sunday.

Possibly your handicap is a little too low, but surely they will review if you're continually not making the buffer? Point is, don't give up, as consistency is difficult for most people. Maybe play a few non-comp rounds until you're enjoying golf again then get back into them.

 

[ParParTripleBogey]

It won't be as bad as you think. It's important to access what's good and what's bad. What are you consistently doing poorly? Is it your drives? Iron play? Chipping? Are you slicing or hooking? The worst thing in golf IMO is being emotional and thinking everything has gone to sh*t. Look at your game analytically and see if it's the same shots you are playing poorly each time and focus on avoiding that shot or spending time practicing what is going wrong with it.

A single lesson can actually work wonders when you are lost. Can take a trained professional 5 minutes to see bad habits or poor technique and give you something to go and work on. Many of us would happily spend £30 on a single round of golf, a new club or new balls, but for some reason we'll wait until we're close to chucking it before shelling £30 on a lesson.

Don't change too much too soon. I had my first handicap year last year and tried to change many parts of my game too quickly - my game was a mess within weeks. Needed a lesson to rectify many of the things I tried to change.

Take a step back, get a lesson, and focus on the individual parts of your game that really need the work. It won't all be as bad as you think.

 

[Sats]

With you on this, my excuse is a lack of play time at the moment - 1-2 times per month if I'm lucky.

However, I always enjoy going out and I'm trying to take a few more lessons.