I'm rubbish at this game

[Tiger]

122 today in the medal. I had come to accept that I can't play golf by the 18th. Our last is 190 yard par 3 with water that runs on the right side and curves round in front and a row of trees to the left. Knowing how badly I've been swinging my playing partner turns to me and says where's this going? In the water or in the trees? I say on the green just to the right of the pin and promptly stick it to eight feet, pin high to the right. Missed the birdie putt though.

I bloody hate this game.

 

[Nikki]

You don't hate this game...

It'll come back to you one day mate.

Until then:

Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse.
When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the best...

And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life...

If life seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
When you're feeling in the dumps
Don't be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing.

And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life...

For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow.
Forget about your sin - give the audience a grin
Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow.

So always look on the bright side of death
Just before you draw your terminal breath

Life's a piece of [****]
When you look at it
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.
You'll see it's all a show
Keep 'em laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you.

And always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the right side of life...
(Come on guys, cheer up!)
Always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the bright side of life...
(Worse things happen at sea, you know.)
Always look on the bright side of life...
(I mean - what have you got to lose?)
(You know, you come from nothing - you're going back to nothing.
What have you lost? Nothing!)
Always look on the right side of life...

for further reference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ECUtkv2qV8

 

[pokerjoke]

Tiger stick in there buddy,i myself was hitting 120s less than two years ago.The most important thing is to look at where your losing shots[obvious i know]but i bet it things like top shots,duffed chips 3+4 putting,cut out the silly mistakes and im sure your scores will tumble.

 

[RGDave]

The most important thing is to look at where your losing shots [obvious i know] but i bet it things like top shots,duffed chips 3+4 putting, cut out the silly mistakes and im sure your scores will tumble.

Yes. If you are a demon around the greens and still scoring this bad (on a bad day) then you're in trouble.
If you are like *most* players I know and remember (including myself) things will soon click and even without the best long game in the world, you'll soon see the back of 100+ shots.
It'll come.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I agree. You practice your short game a lot so if you are still throwing shots away around the green then you are clearly practicing a bad technique somewhere along the line. If the problem is coming from bad tee shots (OB, bad lies etc) then you need to look at your strategy and do whatever it takes to get the ball in play. If you a missing greens too often then again you need to lok at where you are missing them. I'm guessing that a quick swing MOT may help you. You had been hitting it well according to your blog. Is it competition nerves

 

[kid2]

Hey Tiger.....Chin up Buddy....
It happens us all...Regardless of handicap....
I played yesterday in a 3 ball scramble and lost 6 balls.....You wouldnt think i was even close to a 36 handicap let alone a 16....Im going through some swing changes at the moment and lots of stuff has gone to Pot.....

But im confident that its for the best so ill keep pluggin' away..

 

[HomerJSimpson]

By the way Tiger I've been playing considerably longer than you and I'm still rubbish

 

[Deleted member 3432]

Stick at it, we all have spells when it all goes wrong. You are fairly new to the game, progressing your game wou't be a case of week on week improvement. Often just when you think its going in the right direction thats when it jumps up and bites you. Good coaching, practice, some natural ability and determination are needed at golf, its a damn difficult game. When it starts to get the better of you mentally, take a week or two off it works wonders!

 

[RGDave]

Good coaching, practice, some natural ability and determination are needed at golf, its a damn difficult game.

Damn. I knew I was missing something.

i.i.r.c. my scores tumbled v. quickly once I a) started reliably hitting the ball (not fatting/thinning) and b) stopped wasting shots around the greens. Some days I play quite fluently, other days, not so good. Even on the bad days I break 90. If I can do it, you will too.

 

[Deleted member 3432]

Good coaching, practice, some natural ability and determination are needed at golf, its a damn difficult game.

Damn. I knew I was missing something.

i.i.r.c. my scores tumbled v. quickly once I a) started reliably hitting the ball (not fatting/thinning) and b) stopped wasting shots around the greens. Some days I play quite fluently, other days, not so good. Even on the bad days I break 90. If I can do it, you will too.

Thats a good point you make, on a bad day you find a way to get round limiting the damage to a certain extent. That comes from the experience of playing the game for a long time. You know on a bad day the shots you want to play arn't going to come off so you will play a little more conservatively to try and eliminate big numbers and limit the damage. Tiger doesn't have that experience yet and I'm sure his course management will refect that.

 

[link80]

Maybe with the whole follow your progress you are doing, your putting to much pressure on yourself to improve or your expecting to much. I only started playing myself this year but i'd spent the last couple of years practicing. I'm not a member anywhere and i've played 10 rounds, all just for fun with friends and the worst score iv'e had is 99. I do want to play the game more seriously and i'm sure if I start playing competions with strangers then I will find it harder but hopefully i'll settle, and carry on slowly improving. I see you've got some good sticks and from what you post you want to play and enjoy the game, so try taking some of the expectancy of yourself, play a few rounds on your own if you don't already and i'm sure you could knock it round in better than 122 with just a 6 iron and putter.

 

[Tiger]

6 penalties, shocking tee shots, poor approaches, a few duffed chips and a few silly missed putts. The short game is definitely there but the focus isn't when I've already blasted it OoB or wasted a handful of shots in long wet rough. We have 5 par 3's at our place so I was hitting either a tee shot or approach OoB on 6 out of 13 holes. Long game is woeful. Might have been nerves as I was striking it pretty well last week. I haven't got enough time to practice everything, I'm just fed up of practicing and getting worse.

Looking forward to next week when I can just play for fun and not worry about having a blinking card in my hand.

 

[Deleted member 3432]

Which club do you keep it OOB with? If you need to hit 5 iron to stay in bounds use that off the tee. Thick heavy rough, chop it out with your sand wedge.The one mistake I see higher handicappers making every week is trying to play shots they have no chance of pulling off. As you improve then naturally you be able to play more adventurous shots, at the moment it sounds like you are needlessly throwing shots away. Its just a case of gaining experience at the moment of managing your ball around the course.

 

[EaseNgrace]

Not down to scratch yet then?
It'll come, keep plodding along and there will be a 'ureka moment'.

 

[kid2]

6 penalties, shocking tee shots, poor approaches, a few duffed chips and a few silly missed putts. The short game is definitely there but the focus isn't when I've already blasted it OoB or wasted a handful of shots in long wet rough. We have 5 par 3's at our place so I was hitting either a tee shot or approach OoB on 6 out of 13 holes. Long game is woeful. Might have been nerves as I was striking it pretty well last week. I haven't got enough time to practice everything, I'm just fed up of practicing and getting worse.

Looking forward to next week when I can just play for fun and not worry about having a blinking card in my hand.

Tiger,
Try this the next time Pal.....It helps me alot......
If you've hit a sideways one OOB....Walk off the tee while your mates are hitting....Put the club back in the bag..Take off your glove and clear your mind of whats gone beforeLook at a spot in the distance roughly where you want your ball to end up...Go down one club if the situation permits.....Driver go 3 wood....5 wood hit rescue or 4 Iron and so on.....

By going back to my bag i refocus....Like playing a whole new shot...What has gone before is gone.Forget about it.....

By taking a different club your mind is changing to a different scenario...And you may pull something out of the hole......

What were the penalties?
Duffed chips are usually caused by being a bit to apprehensive to see where the ball has landed and liftting the head too fast.....Concentrate on the ground where the ball was for a second or 2 after the hit....Much like the putting game that people play on the greens....
Also if your first thought is to grab a gap sand or pitching wedge for a chip near the green...STOP.....

Get your 6, 7 or 8 Iron and bump one up there .. Much less room for error with these....Use a putting stroke....You'll be surprised at how well and easy it is to do.

As regards your approachs....What are you looking at to hit(Target)?
Is it the flag...If it is forget about it and aim at the green centre..

 

[Tiger]

That's the problem hit OoB today with hybrid, 4, 6 and 7 iron!!! It's definitely the swing. I scored 18 on the first two holes then scored bogey, bogey and perhaps tried to force it a little after that. As for bumping it I do when I can but spent most of today needing to clear bunkers, paths, bushes, trees.... nothing I love more than bumping it with an iron.

When I'm playing for fun I'm just trying to win my mates cash, that card seems to do bad things to my thinking. Thanks for all the supportive and positive comments. I'll hopefully feel better in the morning, but today I played like a cretin, and though like a buffoon so I feel like an ass.

 

[kid2]

That's the problem hit OoB today with hybrid, 4, 6 and 7 iron!!! It's definitely the swing. I scored 18 on the first two holes then scored bogey, bogey and perhaps tried to force it a little after that. As for bumping it I do when I can but spent most of today needing to clear bunkers, paths, bushes, trees.... nothing I love more than bumping it with an iron.

When I'm playing for fun I'm just trying to win my mates cash, that card seems to do bad things to my thinking. Thanks for all the supportive and positive comments. I'll hopefully feel better in the morning, but today I played like a cretin, and though like a buffoon so I feel like an ass.

Could be worse Tiger.....You could smell like an Ass
look like a Buffoon

 

[Tiger]

Or look like an arse and smell like a baboon!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It has gone Tiger. Nothing more you can do except forget it and move on. You say you're fed up of practicing and not getting better. That suggests either a) you're not practicing the right things b) there is a major swing fault causing these OOB's which you are ingraining or c) you have range fatigue.

GO out next week and play the game. No practice, no pre-conceptions and just let the swing flow. You know it can't be worse than today so trust the game you have and go for it. If after next week it is still in meltdown then book some lessons and get your pro to help you draw up a more structured practice plan with the drills you need to be working on

 

[Evesdad]

Feel for I'm in a similar situation myself, been practicing loads over the past months with only a few rounds mixed in as time has been short or playing partners not free when I was. I thought sod this I'm going to join and put all my golf woes behind me. Well the first weekend was in the rain and stopped scoring after the third it was that bad! The next week was the same but without the rain! I mean very high scores, I played like I hadn't even picked up clubs before. This week my mate texts see if I fancy a round Sunday pm, I say yes but warn him I'm playing shockingly bad, we play and I abhor by best round in a coupe of years. Not an amazing score and could of been lower as like yourself a few duffer chips silly shots into the thick stuff etc. Somedays you just have to write it off as the golfing gods didn't lle you much today, tomorrow is a new Dawn. I shot 109 by the way. Last week could of been in the 130's.