Lacking in confidence

[Robokolo]

Hi kinda new to the forum ( as you can see) but thought it was time to make a thread.

Unfortunatly my handicap is laying at a rather high ( dont laugh) 30.5 at the moment and i am struggling to get it down.

at our club the only way to get your handicap down is by playing in compettitons and because i am a junior and have a higher handicap than 28 i do not get the chance to drive it down regularly.

However i can play to a 17 handicap at best and hit the ball past a lot of people at our club (about 285 max)

has anyone got any tips so that i can drive my handicap down and stop playing at this embarrsing level

P.S. Am playing tommarow

 

[Dave3498]

Ask your marker/playing partner to watch where your ball goes, then don't worry about it, and commit youself to the shot.

 

[jammydodger]

Stop worrying about how far you hit it and start worrying about how good you can get your short game.

Use this school hols to practice like stink on your short game and get some friedly members to play a few rounds to see if you can get cut on general play

 

[Robokolo]

sorry i think i am a bit misunderstood.

I dont care how far i hit the ball and my short game is (touch wood) average

I am more botherd about playing in a competition and playing to my potential. Has anyone got any tips on that front

sorry to sound obnexious (spelling?)

 

[mono217]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[barb]

has anyone got any tips so that i can drive my handicap down and stop playing at this embarrsing level

P.S. Am playing tommarow

Hi
Firstly welcome to the forum.

Being in slightly the same predicatment to you, though I'm not a junior, I too have a high handicap that doesn't seem to want to come down as quickly as I'd like and up until recently I couldn't preform when it mattered.

Then I thought, bugger it, I was worrying too much about how I was preforming and therefore was not enjoying it.

My advice to you is stop worrying about being at an embrassin level cos there is no such thing and go out and relax and just enjoy yourself, if you can, forget you have a card in your hand and before you know it your handicap will come tumbling down, mine has started to.

Hope this helps

 

[Robokolo]

cheers for the help barb just been on the range to nock a couple in preperation for tomarrow and am now relaxed.

Will try to keep in this calm state in the comp

 

[barb]

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

 

[adamk15]

Welcome, I used to be in the exact same situation but now I'm finding that I've even started to do better in comps thn usuaul rounds.

I just tried to forget about my score and that I was in a competition. I even ask my playing partner to not tell me my score as we went round. I often used to find my head shrouded with thoughts of "I'm two over my handicap" and "I need to make birdie to go out in 43". It really ruins your round.

Just relax and concentrate on your game, not your score.

Oh, and enter lots of junior opens. More chances to lower your handicap!

All the best.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

A lot of club put on junior events over the summer holidays so my advice would be to get in as many of these as possible. Failing that offer to mark a card for someone playing a club competition and put your card in as well and hope to get cut on general play.

I wouldn't worry about hitting it further than any of the other juniors as its isn't how long but how many. I'm wondering if you are trying too hard to impress your mates and not really focussing on playing each shot on its merits (been there done that). Relax and play each shot one by one. Try and get a routine and stick to it.

Good luck and hope it comes down soon

 

[Robokolo]

Played in the competition today and just thought i would let you know how i got on.

I shot to the equivlent of a 21 handicap over 18 holes by playing to your suggested guidelines of just relaxing and having fun.

I won the non congu section ( i was the only one in it ) and came second overall with 46 stapleford points.

Thanks guys your advice really helped my performance :

 

[barb]

Congratulations on your achievement today, just try and keep the mentality going that you had today and your handicap will come tumbling down.


Well done and here's to further reductions.

 

[Mandy]

Any ideas on how to better keep track of the ball? I either don't see it at all once he has hit it or I lose sight of it when it starts to come down, especially if it doesn't really bounce!!! I even had my eyesight checked it gets that bad!! (My eyesight is 'perfect' except when trying to see where he hit the ball to! He is a long hitter.)

It is really starting to drive him nuts!!

Any ideas?

Thanks
Mandy

 

[HomerJSimpson]

My stubborn side says let him follow his own ball but my good natured side suggests perhaps standing behind and to the right so it is easier to floow the line of the shot. Other than that maybe a cap or something to perhaps block the light around your face. Might help???

 

[bobmac]

46 pts and you came second?

 

[viscount17]

Any ideas on how to better keep track of the ball? I either don't see it at all once he has hit it or I lose sight of it when it starts to come down, especially if it doesn't really bounce!!! I even had my eyesight checked it gets that bad!! (My eyesight is 'perfect' except when trying to see where he hit the ball to! He is a long hitter.)

It is really starting to drive him nuts!!

Any ideas?

Thanks
Mandy

It takes time to learn how to track an object in flight, especially one that is receding; mind you if it's approaching you won't start to see it until late - which is when it hurts. White objects are especially difficult in most lighting conditions.

90% of people cannot estimate distance correctly, especially with an object that is varying height and distance simultaneously; most over estimate hence the number of balls lost in plain sight.
Very often it's much easier to determine left/right limits. eg no further left than first tree, no further right than bunker.

I used to shoot competitively. We 'learnt' to spot a round going down range and coach the shooter onto a target; I never could estimate elevation. (Learnt meant that one day you couldn't see a round then suddenly you started to, much like those 3D images).

 

[Mandy]

My stubborn side says let him follow his own ball but my good natured side suggests perhaps standing behind and to the right so it is easier to floow the line of the shot. Other than that maybe a cap or something to perhaps block the light around your face. Might help???

Lol. I am sometimes tempted to tell him the same thing!!! The course he plays has a tee off at an angle which means you can't see the last 270 yards of the 450 yard hole, and he usually hits to about 150-175 yards from the green so he can't see it once it's past the trees!!! Of course I usually stand with a clear view of the fairway (which means I can't see where he is hitting from!) and lose sight of the ball unless it bounces nicely up the middle.


Will keep trying though, (no doubt trying his patience too!!! )

 

[Brendan]

46 pts and you came second?

That was my first thought aswell.....bloody hell.