Is this down to poor golf, bad luck, a weak mind or anything else.

[Alex1975]

At the moment I'm probably playing the best golf I've ever played, with the exception of usually 4 holes.

The holes are nearly always consecutive, though not the same holes and its destroying me at the moment.

It just needs something to trigger it.

A couple of weeks ago it was a tee shot going marginally oob.

The other day it was a tee shot reaching a stream that I was told I had little chance of reaching.

Today I turned one over that would have been ok on any other hole.

From this point it then seems that any slight mistake gets punished mercilessly.

Be it virtually unplayable bunker lies, trees or bushes, ponds whatever.

A seven is usually the best I escape with and the damage these holes are doing to my score is soul destroying.

Does this happen to anyone else and has anyone any tips because if I can sort this I reckon I can really get my handicap heading in the right direction.

Its 99% mental in my opinion. Everyone makes bad shots but your letting it trigger something negative if your letting it go on so long it turn into a run of bad holes.

I actually cant remember the last time I lost a game of golf (friendly matches with friends) as I never give up and I notice when I am switching off. I see my bother and other friends beat themselves and switch off towards the end of the round.

Play one shot at a time. Do not think about the result of the hole, do not think about the result of the match, do not think about your points or the card.... Just think about the next shot.

Tiger gives himself 10 seconds, he allows himself to be upset for 10 seconds or 10 steps or something (he always looks upset to me but....)

Only other thing I would say is, if you are physically unfit it is harder to stay focused on one shot at a time for 4 hrs.


All just my opinion.

 

[pokerjoke]

At the moment I'm probably playing the best golf I've ever played, with the exception of usually 4 holes.

The holes are nearly always consecutive, though not the same holes and its destroying me at the moment.

It just needs something to trigger it.

A couple of weeks ago it was a tee shot going marginally oob.

The other day it was a tee shot reaching a stream that I was told I had little chance of reaching.

Today I turned one over that would have been ok on any other hole.

From this point it then seems that any slight mistake gets punished mercilessly.

Be it virtually unplayable bunker lies, trees or bushes, ponds whatever.

A seven is usually the best I escape with and the damage these holes are doing to my score is soul destroying.

Does this happen to anyone else and has anyone any tips because if I can sort this I reckon I can really get my handicap heading in the right direction.

It could be a couple of things.

1. Your a big baby and every little thing bothers you,the type of guy that blames everyone or
everything else just because hes having a bad day and is feeling sorry for himself.
Of course im being a little sarcastic but you do get them.
2. Its just bad luck and you find it difficult to handle.
Basically it comes down to mental toughness.

 

[Matty]

Try smiling after hitting a less than perfect shot. It takes the pressure off and shows that you can take the knocks. It helps you get it out of your system fast too rather than letting one minor error / piece of bad luck / whatever affect you for 4 holes rather than 1 shot.

 

[G_Mulligan]

First and Foremost you certainly do not have a weak mind, you may just need to practice and work on some mental techniques to help you with the problem. Try not to see it as bad luck, it just is what it is, if you hit your ball into the trees or water you can't expect a good lie, they are there for a reason and you have been punished accordingly. I bet you do get plenty of good lies in bunkers and in trees but perhaps accept these as the norm and just remember the bad ones.

Your thought processes may be to blame for the number of dropped shots after finding trouble on that hole and the next 2-3 holes. What do you think when you hit the ball into the trees? Are you already expecting to find a bad lie or restricted swing? Do you immediately think you have lost 3 shots on the hole already and accept your 7? Do you also think well that's the start of 2-3 bad holes where I will shoot double and triple bogeys? This kind of negative thinking will just make that outcome far more likely. You have to catch yourself doing it and say 'STOP' then start thinking about something positive like chipping out and saving par or bogey. Once that hole is done whatever the score it can't then have an effect on the next hole unless you allow it to. Plenty of good advice from other people above, smile and laugh it off and put it down as one of your bad shots for the day.

I would have a read of Damage Control by Dave Pelz which may help you to recover from tricky lies and bad positions, and also change your thought patterns from dropped shots to escape opportunities.

I have a client at the moment who is going through something similar, if you check out the blog section we are writing up our sessions as a case study. There may be a few things in there that could be helpful to you.

 

[Vikingman]

Btw. There was a time when my good rounds would suddenly spring 3 consecutive bad holes om me. No idea why, nor really how I overcame it, but it went away eventually. That doesn't really help does it!

Think man, what did you do!!!

Seriously, thanks to everyone who has replied.

It really is very frustrating.

 

[louise_a]

its true that we tend to compound bad shots. Today I went out for 9 holes, I hit a drive way right on one hole and nine times out of ten I will play a risky shot over trees to try and reach the green and probably walk off with a 7 a best. Today however I decided to play it safe, I hit it to the middle of the fairway, then pitched to 3 feet and holed the par putt.

In future I will try to take the safe option which hopefully result in a bogey at worse.

 

[SVB]

I heard a quote which I think was attributed to Ernie Els - something like "I've never hit a shot in anger". I took this to mean being able to accept what had gone (ie not to play without caring but to accept the past as it can't be changed) and to play the best golf from the position you are in. Easy to type but can be very difficult (Don't I know it)!

Other strategy I heard was to play the course as a series of 3 hole sprints, isolated from each other. That way, you never get too down on your self nor to hyped if it is going well but achieve a more consistent (and therefore hopefully better on average) performance.

My received wisdom anyway for what it's worth!

Simon