Keeping your head screwed on during a round

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

If it’s not going well and I am getting irritated or down, I simply stop and reflect how fortunate I am to be able to play the sport of my choice and in beautiful surroundings. And I reflect that many would give their eye teeth to be as fortunate as I.

I will then often decide if there is a relatively simple shot that I am quite good at, and that for the rest of the round I can focus on doing well, better if possible, more often than not this is my chipping and putting. I just stop fretting about the rest and, without setting unrealistic expectations on myself, I look to enjoy what I am quite good at.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

If it’s not going well and I am getting irritated or down, I simply stop and reflect how fortunate I am to be able to play the sport of my choice and in beautiful surroundings. And I reflect that many would give their eye teeth to be as fortunate as I.

I will then often decide if there is a relatively simple shot that I am quite good at, and that for the rest of the round I can focus on doing well, better if possible, more often than not this is my chipping and putting. I just stop fretting about the rest and, without setting unrealistic expectations on myself, I look to enjoy what I am quite good at.

This exactly. Being able to play a bad golf shot means life is pretty good ( unless it's your living) really.

 

[Deleted member 21445]

I've just done a series of 3 videos on Golf Psychology that I have had some lovely feedback from the people who watched it

Might be some things that may help.. ?

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwRXF388TbxQlDa5X-hyRcCoM7wS4r5qJ

 

[OntheteeGavin]

I've just done a series of 3 videos on Golf Psychology that I have had some lovely feedback from the people who watched it

Might be some things that may help.. ?

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwRXF388TbxQlDa5X-hyRcCoM7wS4r5qJ

Evening, just watched all 3 (great quote in the 3rd) & the swingyde training. Very good & informative. Thanks.

 

[Deleted member 21445]

Evening, just watched all 3 (great quote in the 3rd) & the swingyde training. Very good & informative. Thanks.

Glad you took something positive from it Gavin and thanks for the comment ?

 

[garyinderry]

You could be accused for wanting it too much. The idea you could beat your best score every time you tee it up is admirable but foolish.
All you can do is play one hole at a time. The conditions will play its part. A good day at the office on those days will likely be a few shots over handicap.
All you can do is play, practice, try to get better, make good on course decisions and the personal best scores follow in time.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Been using Golfers CBD - made a huge difference to how calm I feel on the course.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

When my score has gone I often spend the rest of the round concentrating on my short game...trying to get down in two whenever I am close to but not on the green, or when on the green but a long way from the hole. I know that this will always stand me in good stead.

 

[Shooter McPowick]

A double bogey on the front 9 doesn’t mean you’re not going to shoot your best score. It’s easier said than done but you have to stay in the present. You need a pre shot routine for every shot and you need to stick to it, 80% of every golf shot takes place before you hit the ball, you have total control over the 80%. Once you’re through your pre shot routine, look at the target, look at the ball and let the shot go. The pre shot routine is your little bubble of confidence.

The flip side is, don’t get ahead of yourself, I checked my score on the 11th tee, got ahead of myself and imploded.

 

[HeftyHacker]

The flip side is, don’t get ahead of yourself, I checked my score on the 11th tee, got ahead of myself and imploded.

This must happen so often.

Back in summer I was 3 over through 14 holes (playing off 14 at the time) and made the mistake of checking my scorecard... dropped 4 shots in the next 4 holes.

Annoyingly it was 2 doubles, one on a par 3 and another on a driveable par 4. I actually parred SI 2 and 4 in those last 4 holes.

Mixed emotions from that round- elated by my score as it was a PB but also gutted at what could have/should have been.

 

[MikeF86]

Does it really matter that much if you shoot a bad score or a couple of bad shots. Whilst most try to always be the best they can, take positives from just being out and playing a sport you enjoy.

You don't make a living out of it so why put pressure on yourself. A hobby is there to be enjoyed is it not? Its 'just a game', not life & death guys.

 

[phillarrow]

My best ever round started with two double bogeys, the second of which happened after FOUR putting!!!

I walked off the second green and said to my playing partners "I f****ng hate golf, I wish I'd never come back to it!" I was laughing...but also half serious. I then had the best 16 holes of ball striking I've ever had! It's just a crap/hard/brilliant/frustrating/wonderful sport! Accept that it's the hardest sport to master, and that there's no rhyme or reason to why you will play so well one day and so badly the next.

Final tip - focus on one aspect of the game that you're not strong on and work on improving that instead of improving your scores. In time, the former will lead to the latter anyway.

 

[Bamberdele21]

Some good comments here. Will watch the big draws videos shortly.

Does it really matter that much if you shoot a bad score or a couple of bad shots. Whilst most try to always be the best they can, take positives from just being out and playing a sport you enjoy.

You don't make a living out of it so why put pressure on yourself. A hobby is there to be enjoyed is it not? Its 'just a game', not life & death guys.

You’re 100% right.

but I want that same feeling i’ve had every time I’ve broken my best. The feeling is drug like in dopamine which generally lasts me from the moment I walk off the course until the next time I play. There isn’t a drug in the world that would give you that much of a high for that long and if it did I’m first in line.

During a round of golf there are many similarities to the highs and lows of drugs and gambling. For me it’s just a clean life now but damn I want them feels bad lol

 

[Depreston]

Some good comments here. Will watch the big draws videos shortly.



You’re 100% right.

but I want that same feeling i’ve had every time I’ve broken my best. The feeling is drug like in dopamine which generally lasts me from the moment I walk off the course until the next time I play. There isn’t a drug in the world that would give you that much of a high for that long and if it did I’m first in line.

During a round of golf there are many similarities to the highs and lows of drugs and gambling. For me it’s just a clean life now but damn I want them feels bad lol

Wait till your best score is in the low 70s and you start with a treble

 

[Bamberdele21]

Wait till your best score is in the low 70s and you start with a treble

? don’t think that day is coming anytime soon fortunately

 

[Region3]

Just for a bit of balance I’m with the OP.

I don’t start giving up when a PB isn’t possible, but when I think getting anywhere in a comp or shooting a respectable score is out of the question I just can’t make myself care.

If its a better ball I’m ok, but if the only thing I’m playing for is my own score then I check out mentally. I’ll probably play more aggressively and try to birdie every hole but don’t really care whether I do or not.

I know it’s a bad mental attitude but I just can’t grind for the best bad score I can make. I try not to be a miserable so and so about it, although I have noticed the more “accepting” I am of bad rounds (ie decide before the round I won’t get frustrated), the more bad rounds I have.

 

[Deleted member 23344]

I often start to play well when I tear up the scorecard … obviously it removes the unnecessary pressure that I place on myself.

A good tip I was once given, and which I often use when I have had a disastrous hole, is to walk off the green, stop for a couple of seconds, take a deep breath and say “Done”. It clears the mind and gets you ready for the next hole … I might of course bugger up that hole too, but it won’t be because I have brought any negative baggage with me from the previous hole.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

One of the effects I've found with the CBD is the air of calmness over each shot whether that is good or bad and less thoughts on technique but also has me more focused on the task at hand and not wandering ahead to what might happen. I used it in January to good effect (and the comp last weekend) but other than that have not used it in February to compare effect against going "cold turkey"

 

[Foxholer]

One of the BIG avantages of Golf over other sports is that EVERY hole is a new beginning.
Consistent errors apart, forget what you scored on previous holes and concentrate on 'this' hole.

 

[Bamberdele21]

One of the effects I've found with the CBD is the air of calmness over each shot whether that is good or bad and less thoughts on technique but also has me more focused on the task at hand and not wandering ahead to what might happen. I used it in January to good effect (and the comp last weekend) but other than that have not used it in February to compare effect against going "cold turkey"

I’ve had a couple of rounds with a spliff before and I must say it’s a very pleasurable experience especially with good weather.

I just didn’t fancy having to rely on it because there came a point where I wasn’t able to play without it and that’s the last thing I wanted to happen.