Keeping it going.

[louise_a]

At the moment I am playing pretty well, but I do tend go off towards the end of the round for no particularly reason.

Last Thursday I had 26 after 12 but only added 9 over the 6 and finished with a 9 on the last.

Yesterday at Lymm I had scored 33 points off full handicap after 13 holes, but only added 7 more over the last 6.

Today in a knockout, I had scored 25 after 11 and then started 3 putting, 4 times in 5 holes including once from 10 feet.

The game is there but I do always seem to drift off after around 2/3rds of the round , I eat and drink to get my levels up but that doesn't seem to be the reason.

So any ideas what causes the deterioration and how do I stop it?

 

[John Boy Saint]

Choccy bar or 2 between 8-9 and energy drink or even water, normally takes upto 20mins to kick in. Sounds like you are running out of energy which hampers concentration.
I use to find carrying my clubs I would fall off a cliff as I got into the back nine. Then I bought a push/pull trolley and it seemed to make a bit of a difference.

 

[Ian_S]

Wish I knew for sure, as this keeps killing me lately too.

Is it possible you're trying to force it late in the round? You've scored well and instead of just finishing off playing your natural game, you start thinking that you need to keep pace. Like at Lymm, you scored 33 off 13 but your head might be saying "if you come in with 43 pts, you've failed over these last 5 holes".

I wonder whether I've been guilty of this. I've gone out in 22 before now and then start trying to play the back nine to 22pts as well, which inevitably leads to over swinging and forced shots, completely forgetting that I scored 22pts by trying to score 18.

 

[John Boy Saint]

No nailed on Science re my post above but Monday played had no lunch before my 12:56 tee time, played the front 9 with 23 points but started to slide from hole 5 into double bogeys, on 12 had a snickers and a good glug of water while looking for my ball. Had a mare on 13 bogey on 14 pars on 16 & 18 home with 17 points. (Using the Golfshot app). Have noticed a bit of a sugar boost seems to help, just wish I remembered to pack it more often.

 

[garyinderry]

i know its very hard not to keep your score but it really helps not to know down the last few holes.


every time I have a loose shot I keep thinking that's a waste of a 0.2 cut. it really gets in your head and leads to lose of concentration on the shot in hand.



louise - its only a matter time until you put one of these full rounds together. as you say, you know you have it in you.

 

[USER1999]

Don't get ahead of yourself, and start writing the winners speech on the 12th tee.

Also, don't get all protective, and stop going for it. The reason you had a good score is because you were trying to go low.

 

[Birchy]

I would say its nothing to do with energy levels etc as you would of noticed that by now.

I would agree with the above regarding score and getting ahead of yourself. I never count my score up in qualifiers as im going along and work out how many shots ive got left etc etc as i think this takes you away from your natural game. All my best rounds have come when im just hitting every shot the best i can without thinking about i need this score or ive got this many shots left.

 

[Hobbit]

My mindset is the only score that is relevant is the one I sign for at the end of the round. Getting giddy with xxpts after yyholes is the quickest way to spoil the rest of the round. If you concentrate on the swing and the target, the score will take care of itself.

 

[Deleted member 17920]

Don't get ahead of yourself, and start writing the winners speech on the 12th tee.

Totally agree with you. I am guilty of that all of the time and its bugging the life out of me that I don't take one shot at a time.

 

[mcbroon]

Had the same issue myself over the weekend Louise. I dropped 15 strokes in 2 rounds over our last 3 holes, with great rounds going both days. On both occasions, I hit bad drives on 16 and compounded the mistakes with further bad decisions. Then, having messed up 16, I tried to chase it back on 17 and 18 both days.

As others have said, you have to play each shot in its own right. If you've got a good score going, don't take risks, or try to force anything. Just play each shot to give yourself the easiest shot possible with the next one. If that means playing away from a pin, or playing sideways from the rough, then that's what you do.

What you don't do is try to hit a 9 iron 140 yards to a pin cut to the middle of the green would give you 2 putts from 20 feet for a 5

 

[Foxholer]

This phenomenon is actually one of the 'interesting' features of Golf.

How you handle - and I haven't said overcome - the later part of a round, especially when a good score is possible, seems to me an essential part of the fun of the game as well as of making a really good score. It seems to me that tension is the main reason that my 'good but disappointing finish' rounds fade, so I concentrate on having an appropriate level -neither too much nor too little. I'm always aware of my score so ignoring that is not an option. Just taking each shot as it comes is then the goal.

 

[Doh]

The more of the round you play the more you have to think about. I decided that this season I would concentrate on is how well I strike the ball.
Once I have sized the situation up got what I feel is the right club in my hand the only thing I am now thinking of is how well I strike the ball.
I don't think about the consequences because I know if I hit the ball well the result will be positive, the ball will have gone the right distance in the right direction.
Well that's the theory anyway and I have had some success with it so I am going to persevere with it. Oh and the lessons and the practice and the reading and watching DVDs.

 

[londonlewis]

At the moment I am playing pretty well, but I do tend go off towards the end of the round for no particularly reason.

Last Thursday I had 26 after 12 but only added 9 over the 6 and finished with a 9 on the last.

Yesterday at Lymm I had scored 33 points off full handicap after 13 holes, but only added 7 more over the last 6.

Today in a knockout, I had scored 25 after 11 and then started 3 putting, 4 times in 5 holes including once from 10 feet.

The game is there but I do always seem to drift off after around 2/3rds of the round , I eat and drink to get my levels up but that doesn't seem to be the reason.

So any ideas what causes the deterioration and how do I stop it?

33 points after 13 holes, I'd be more worried about being considered a bandit...
Everyone 3 putts, including the top pros, but especially higher handicap players. I don't think that 3 putting could be due to lack of hydration or being hungry.

Maybe you should stop focussing on your scores until you have finished. Maybe you are getting in the way of yourself by putting too much pressure on playing the perfect round so when you have played really well on the front 9 or even the first 14 holes, you tighten up and play poor golf. Just a thought...

And I'm not being serious about calling you a bandit, very much tongue in cheek!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I agree with others who say you are probably getting defensive and trying to protect a score. I know I'm guilty of this as our closing three holes are quite tough and if I have a good score going I've tried to be too careful about the OB left on 16 and mucked up from there. Play each hole one at a time and on its merits which is what I'm trying to do more often.

 

[USER1999]

I find it helps to set targets, so for me, where ever I am in my round, what ever has happened before, good or bad, my target is to par in the remaining holes. This stops me getting defensive.

 

[6inchcup]

i think it is down to mental fatigue as well as physical fatigue,how many times do you feel tired when having a friendly 18 holes or a practice round compared to having a card in your hand? if you constantly thinking about every shot and trying to score well it does take its toll on the mind and body,try and get fitter and stop beating yourself up if you don't play well,stop and look around and enjoy being on the course and try and clear your mind.

 

[ScienceBoy]

I remember standing on 16th tee with 36 points, and finished 0,0,0.

The difference between that and when I did shot 39 points was experience. A drink or a chocolate bar cannot be a substitute for experience, you just have to keep playing to get used to it.