Keeping your head screwed on during a round

[Bamberdele21]

I suppose this will come under the psychological aspect of the game.

3 months ago I would have been chuffed with a double bogey but it’s now got to the point where a double bogey will sink me into deflation mode and if I get a couple of bad ones I feel like walking off the course. I haven’t done that yet but I know it’s coming.

Seen as I really want to beat my best score each round how do people still manage to play on and enjoy their round knowing full well their card has been ruined on the front 9.

I’m not playing in any competitions or anything it’s purely against myself. Since I hit a decent score I find myself getting more and more wound up if I have a ‘bad’ couple of holes to the point that I don’t even want to finish the round. The only thing that gets me through it is knowing I have a pint (one) waiting for me at the finish.

I don’t want to be ‘that guy’ walking off the course, throwing clubs, generally being a douchebag but it’s something I feel is coming.

Please advise.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

If a round is going wrong I start to bring down the remainder of the round into mini challenges. That could be

simply hitting a more relaxed tee shot to get the next one up the middle, forget distance
play the next 3 holes in x number of shots
no more than 2 putts per hole for the remainder of the round
better back 9 than front
at my course we have a fairly friendly last 3 holes after a tough 3 before them. If all else goes wrong I aim to play those last holes for a minimum of 6 Stableford points, ideally 7.
play the last hole well

Which challenge or challenges you go for depends on why your round is going badly but these mini challenges help you to re-focus and give you something to aim for in the rest of the round.

You need to work out your own mini challenges as as you are discovering, playing 18 holes well is really tough . You will have many rounds like this and being able to deal with them is pretty crucial to sticking with and enjoying golf.

 

[Bdill93]

Hahahahaha man every one of your posts just remind me of me a year ago

Best advice - keep going, play through it and you'll get better.

Ive gone out in 40, come back in 49

Ive gone out in 48 and come back in 39

Thats golf

 

[Hobbit]

It happens. Next week will be better.

If you don’t do it for a living, let it go.

 

[Imurg]

They always say Golf is hard....
Should read Golf is always hard.

 

[thebigreason]

I just look forward to the sweet sound of a lovely connection on a good shot....................................still waiting.

 

[srixon 1]

That’s golf. Did you see the Dutch open at the weekend? The eventual winner broke the course record an Friday and then beat his own record again on the Saturday. During the final round he could barely keep the ball on the course. He won in the end by a couple of shots but started the last round with an 8 shot lead. Golf is hard and the harder you try the harder is seems to be to score well.

 

[full_throttle]

start by throwing the scorecard in the nearest bin, If it's getting in your head that much, simply don't carry one, you will have a rough idea of how your doing without having to keep seeing the DB on the card.

1 started Sunday's medal round with a double and triple, but turned on +6 so only one more lost shot in the next seven holes.

Forget about the previous hole, there is nothing you can do to change the score, focus solely on the next hole, and repeat

 

[chrisd]

That's no way to approach one of the hardest sports to play.

On Sunday in a board comp, I had a great front 9 of 40 shots, played the 11th and blundered an 8 and a 6 on 12. I often get a bit despondent in a situation like that but i am not a club thrower or suchlike. I decided to concentrate harder on every shot and eventually came in with a nett 66 with 9 pars and a birdie as well as three 6's and an 8.

That's golf !

 

[Orikoru]

I used to be a bit like that. I read Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect by Bob Rotella, and watched a lot of Golf Sidekick on YouTube. They really helped me to let the bad ones go. You'll always get angry at a bad shot or hole but I generally let it go before my next tee shot now. And once my score is past the point of no return I'm able to laugh it off and relax more. It's funny how many times I've had a shocker front nine, given up on the score completely, but relaxing in that way actually produced a good back nine and saved a respectable score rather than a shocking one.

I always a bad day on the golf course is still better than a good day at work.

 

[jim8flog]

Ben Hogan once said "I never get worried if I have 2 bad holes in a round and only start to worry if I have a third".

Me today - triple bogey on the third finished in third place.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

It’s probably not the game for you…have you considered playing a fruit machine, in your local, instead ?

 

[ArthurFarr]

Another vote here for Golf Sidekick on YouTube

 

[Ethan]

I like the play 3 holes thing. Take your handicap, divide it in 6, and play 6 little 3 hole matches against the course with your shots. Make it a slight stretch target. If you are a 14 handicap, set a target of 12, so you play the course giving yourself 2 shots over holes 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 and so on. If you are 3 over the first three, you lost that section, 1 over the next 3, you won, all square again. At the end of 18 you have won, drawn or lost 6 little matches. Play for something, a chocolate bar, a Netflix show, whatever. You will be surprised how effective it can be.

Pros play little matches all the time. It keeps them sharp even if the money is chickenfeed to them.

 

[Barking_Mad]

I suppose this will come under the psychological aspect of the game.

3 months ago I would have been chuffed with a double bogey but it’s now got to the point where a double bogey will sink me into deflation mode and if I get a couple of bad ones I feel like walking off the course. I haven’t done that yet but I know it’s coming.

Seen as I really want to beat my best score each round how do people still manage to play on and enjoy their round knowing full well their card has been ruined on the front 9.

I’m not playing in any competitions or anything it’s purely against myself. Since I hit a decent score I find myself getting more and more wound up if I have a ‘bad’ couple of holes to the point that I don’t even want to finish the round. The only thing that gets me through it is knowing I have a pint (one) waiting for me at the finish.

I don’t want to be ‘that guy’ walking off the course, throwing clubs, generally being a douchebag but it’s something I feel is coming.

Please advise.

"It is what it is, but it will become what you make it"

1) tell yourself that bad shots will happen before you hit a ball. When they come, it's no surprise.

2) then if they come, re-frame the situation and see it as a challenge, not a burden.


You can't get those two shots back, but you can play better golf the rest of the round (maybe your best golf ever) and post a good score inspite of the double. Then you've just the one mistake to correct and not a failed round because you mentally packed up sticks. It will make you mentally stronger.

I play off 14 and the round I'm most proud of isn't my lowest score, but a 90 when I was +10 for the first 3 holes.

1st. +2
2nd. +5
3rd. +3

It would have been easy to go through the motions and get down on myself, but I played the next 15 holes in +9.

It proved to me that I'm only a bad shot or two away from breaking 80. Had I given up, it would have been a bunch more...

 

[Mightymag]

Im currently getting lesssons and my game is suffering due to swing changes.Its going to be awhile before i get it back.
I am now going thru a period of having goldfish memory (10 seconds of thinking what went wrong with the hole then forgetting about it,so it doesnt get into my head and multiply the problem)

Good luck with your golf and just remember its only a game thats meant to be enjoyable.

 

[Barking_Mad]

If you want some podcasts, I really recommend the following...

The Golf Psychology Podcast
The Par Train
The Sweetspot

I've binge-listened to them all and there's some really great advice and techniques. If you need to install a podcast player then AntennaPod is great, and free from Google Store.

 

[Deleted member 23270]

Every time you hit a shot you're not happy with snap the club over your knee. Then set yourself a target to see how long it takes to break every club in your bag.

Worked for me ?

 

[HeftyHacker]

I often find that some of my best golf is played after I've had a stinker of a start, probably because once the score goes out the window I play so much more relaxed.

Played in a mid handicap open last month - shot a 10 on the par 4 first... dropped only 6 shots in the rest of the round and managed to come in 2 under handicap and finish joint 4th i think.

Was gutted in a way because had I bogeyed that first hole I'd have won... but then had I bogeyed the first and been chasing a score I'd have probably fallen apart and played terribly!

 

[Ethan]

I often find that some of my best golf is played after I've had a stinker of a start, probably because once the score goes out the window I play so much more relaxed.

Played in a mid handicap open last month - shot a 10 on the par 4 first... dropped only 6 shots in the rest of the round and managed to come in 2 under handicap and finish joint 4th i think.

Was gutted in a way because had I bogeyed that first hole I'd have won... but then had I bogeyed the first and been chasing a score I'd have probably fallen apart and played terribly!

Some of my best golf is when I am hitting it OK, but not great, getting it in the fairway, maybe not that long, getting it up somewhere near the green, but not making hideous mistakes because I am not trying for the big drive or that tight flag position, so it encourages less risk taking and I play within myself more.