just cant pull it all together

[elliottlale]

Im STILL playing off 27 since my first h/cap was awarded in march. i just cant seem to play well enough for the full 18 holes to get more than 36 points!! its so annoying as i can score gross par on some holes, then others i end up getting +2/3. this morning, 1st par 4, shot 5. 2nd par 4, shot 5. 3rd par 4, shot 6. 4th par 3, shot 5. i know i have the game to score 40+ points, just cant seem to do it.
is this lack of concentration, mental block or just my standard isnt upto it and certain holes are giving me false hopes??

 

[GOLFBALL_WHACKER_GUY]

I'm in the same situation, will play a great from 9 and score 19 points and then score 6 on the back! Or vice versa.

So the skill is there, i think for me it's because I only recently started playing once a week, go range once a week too. How often do you play/practice?

I'm taking a new approach today, playing at a course I've never played with chaps I've never met, I'm going to stop aiming to hit the green all the time and use my stablefords to my advantage.

That's the plan anyway!

 

[elliottlale]

i usually play once sometimes twice a week if i can.
played 2 comps now, but only one was eligible for a cut. was a windy and wet day and scored 32 points, which actually made me 4th in the division.

 

[Achilles]

I was in this situation last year when stuck on 28. I knew I could play well below that but just couldn't do it when it mattered. I was putting far too much pressure on myself so decided to go out and play for enjoyment and not worry about my score. Also made sure I didn't look at my scores during the round and told my playing partners not to tell me how I was doing either. After doing this I relaxed a bit more and managed to win a few comps as a result, with some nice h/c cuts along the way. Good look going forward!

 

[HRC99]

From that sort of handicap, I'd really try and play bogey golf - i.e. every hole one more than the par.

Forget pars. You'll get some naturally by getting up and down or holing a good putt.

Just try and put the riskier clubs away for a while whether off the tee like driver or off the fairway like 3/5 wood or hybrids. Rather than go for the green hit a 7 iron to 20-30 yards short and play from there.

You can then build from there as your confidence grows, your swing improves and your scores come down.

 

[RGDave]

Would it be fair to say that *most* new handicaps are calculated cutting down the big numbers, so therefore it's going to take a while to get it moving downwards even if you improving?

I started on 24 and t.b.h. the first challenge was just to play to 24 (my best card must have been 28-ish gross).

Even when I started playing again (after the best part of a decade) I got given 11.5 even though my best card was +15 (over SSS).

It took me over a year to get "in the mix" for comps.

Just play and enjoy. If you know you are getting better, it'll come. Just don't be too greedy. Pick a few dangerous holes and play them conservatively for a while. My "old" 8th hole was a nasty piece of work. I played it 5i - 5i - wedge for 6 at worst in the early days. It was depressing to see so many high h'cap's trying to boom a drive and then crack a fairway wood up the hill with 100 yards of O.O.B. for even a 20 yard pull or hook....

 

[elliottlale]

i think my problem is im trying to play above my standard. i have high standards as it is, so put pressure on myself to score well. i guess if i try to drop slowly rather than trying to play golf like a single figure player that might do me better.

 

[elliottlale]

each time i play, i have now started to fill out fairways/greens in reg and putts made. breaking down the holes that way to see where im losing shots. i make too many 3 putts, if i could 2 putt every hole id knock off about 6-9 shots right away!! and also i seem to top a few balls resulting in lost shots. i seem to mainly top my wedge shots (just been on the short course to work on that, and putting is improving. adopted the claw grip and seems to help with control)

 

[RGDave]

Where are you playing? Some courses are really tough for newbies.....our's is. Once you get some consistency though, it'll seem easy.

 

[elliottlale]

I play at Bath
http://www.bathgolfclub.org.uk/course.php

 

[RGDave]

Sounds tricky

"The greens present a special challenge being relatively small and containing hidden, and some not so hidden, borrows."

Maybe go mad on your putting for a month or two!

 

[beggsy]

in plain an simple terms you are trying to HARD to better your handicap stop thinking about scores an just play it will then tumble

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I've been banging this particular drum for ages. Hit it well but can't score. Usually chuck a few unforced errors (duffed chip, missed green from no distance etc) to make it interesting. I seem to either start badly, work hard to catch up and then chuck it away or start well and then then hack the back nine.

At the moment I'm not overly fussed about the scores. I'm trying to hang in on 13 but if goes out to 13.5 the I won't lose too much sleep. It's about trying to enjoy it again for me at the moment and any thoughts of getting back to 11 or as far as single figures are very much on hold

 

[Matty]

In that same boat too. I got cut by five up until the end of March and then have gotten stuck. Played today and hit some great shots mixed in with some truly awful stuff.

Parred our first two for 6 points then on the third hit a reasonable drive into the thicker stuff on a dog leg left, topped the next into a bunker, out of the bunker then short of the green with an iron. Chipped up and down to make a point but truly awful point scoring after a fabulous start!

I live in hope that one day, it might just all come together. And the reason I live in that hope - I've been playing this game for 3 years and only this year did I get a cut!

 

[NWJocko]

I'm on a similar path.

Started the season really well, down to 8, now it's like i've never held a club and lost a chunk of confidence over any shot.

Hey ho, at least i will be off 9 next week! Was funny how bad i was today at all aspects!

 

[bayjon14]

In a similiar boat, but stick with it. I got given an 18 handicap, in 3 months I have gone out to 19.2.
I am given it a reasonable effort, ie practice, some holes during the week.
It gets easier as you get to know more people in the club. Today I played with a guy who I played with 6 weeks ago. After saying hello he said "their is a real good round in you one of these days". This was really nice, and relaxed me. So off we went, I had 2 scratches, and have no one to blame, but had 30 pints, previous PB was 24.
The other thing I am using is play golf care free, but take care with each shot. Seems to have worked for me.
Keep on playing, meeting new people, get comfortable with people and you will see the scores coming together.

 

[GOLFBALL_WHACKER_GUY]

Well that didn't work. Started off brilliantly, played with two lads who were off 11 and 16, birdied the first par 4 and scored 11 from my first four holes, my drives were smashing, only one I wasn't happy with, putted great too, but just couldn't hit my irons! Lost so many shots topping and slicing, ended up scoring 26 and 114. So frustrated

 

[elliottlale]

just got back from the course, had to start from the 8th as a big group had headed out just as i got there! driving was sub-par! but scored 2 points each on 8+9. then scored (in points) 2,1,2,2,4,2,3,2,2. total 20 coming in. and scored my first birdie at the par 3!! cracking 7 iron to about 4 foot. only plays 154 yards from the whites, but i was happy!!! shame i havent done that in the comp when we pay/play for 2s!!! was happy with my putting too!!! out of 11 holes putts were 22, including 2 1 putts. its in between not as good!! 3/9 fairways hit and only 1 GIR!! the other day at a course i had never played before, i only missed about 2 fairways off the tee!!

 

[Curls]

There's a certain amount of "getting in your own way" involved I think, I do it, I reckon everyone does to some degree.

Here's a tip I picked up a while back, its for changing bad habits and when I remember it its great. The next time you're on the course have one column of your scorecard called "NOW". If you find yourself thinking about the putt you lipped out on on the last, pick a tick in the Now column. If you find yourself thinking about how many points you might have once you par the next "easy" hole, tick the box. Don't critisise yourself for doing these things, just tick it, forget about it, and concentrate on the shot you are playing now. After a while you get into the habit and before long just as the daydream starts you stop it, catch yourself and say, ok, Im back.

How does this help? Often we find ourselves daydreaming about what might have been if the first couple of putts dropped. On the 7th hole. There's so much more golf to play, but we're stuck rueing the past. Then if we're playing well we start thinking about what we might be after 9, after 18, how many points we will get, what cut we might expect, how cool it'll be telling your mates in the pub about it later, when there's still 10 holes left to play. Inevitably you implode and all you tell the boys that evening down the boozer is you just can't put it together. The technique in use here is not meant to be a score in itself, its just reminding you that theres nothing you can do about that missed putt or bad bounce, its happened, forget about it, you cant change it. Its also saying that the next hole hasnt happened yet so you cant count you chickens that you're going to do well on it. The only shot you can play, and the only one you should be thinking about, is the one in front of you. Thats not to say you shouldnt play tactically, theres some good advise here about playing long par 4s or low S.I holes intelligently by PUTTING AWAY THE DRIVER!!! So you can play 5 iron, 6 iron, wedge without shame but the only one you can play now is that 5 iron, so play that to your best ability and dont think about the 6iron coming up, or how many points you'll score by making bogey on the hole, or how many you'll end up with when you add it all up. INnvitably taking yourself out of the present usually leads to sloppy descision making, or swing, or both. And thats how you make the horror scores.

Play in the now and youll find your scores tumbling all by themselves. It sounds like you certainly have the elements required to put the ball in the hole, so put them together by keeping your mind on this shot. Youre playing a great game and youre lucky to be out there playing it, so dont be over-critical of yourself, go out and have fun and be thankful you can, then concentrate as best you can on every shot and after a few rounds when you have hardly any "NOWs" you can send me a PM and say thanks. Or "Curls youre a muppet Ive gotten worse"

 

[G1BB0]

I think your spot on. A lot of my poor rounds (which is most of them) are down to poor club choice/shot selection. hitting a sweet drive and revelling in that then duffing the next shot as I was over confident and didnt concentrate enough.

Course management and regular rounds will help scores tumble as will playing to your strengths and reducing the hero shots/playing to weaknesses.

If your driving crap dont use driver. if its a par 3/4/5 s.i 1-10 (off 28) or whatever holes you get 2 shots on you get 2 for a reason, they are more difficult holes so use the extra shot. Take your fave club off the tee accuracy has to be key over distance

all that said I will still go out and ignore all the above