Lost it!! What to do after a really terrible day.

[RichA]

That was kinda my point, also if you’ve been hitting 36/38/39 points for the last few rounds and then hit 30/32 it feels a shocker, but is it really?

Even the best day at work feels like 11 hours of my life wasted, but a few recent rounds in the high teens and low twenties and my HI rising by more than 3 since January is making golf a bit of a slog lately.
I had a 37 in December since which I've been utter ?.

 

[Oddsocks]

But is a raising HI this time of year a slog? Bare muddy lies, packed bunkers, unpredictable greens…..

If it still rising in a few months I could understand but the courses are quite unpredictable at the moment. Last night the greens were good but the inconsistency on pace due to recent tinning was shocking. Putting “ stats “ would have been the worst in months, but who cares? 9 holes after work… ?

 

[Foxholer]

Hitting out of thick rough…. take less club than your heart tells you to - your only job is to get back in play, don’t be greedy.
...

This part I agree with.

...
Play the ball back in your stance, open the face a tiny bit, grip hard, hit down on the ball steeply and don’t expect much of a follow through.
...

First 2 parts of this seem like a recipe for the 'shermans' to me Though if that gets the ball back into play, not really a problem.

 

[phillarrow]

That was kinda my point, also if you’ve been hitting 36/38/39 points for the last few rounds and then hit 30/32 it feels a shocker, but is it really?

This is such a good point...and one of the things I am really enjoying about Shot Scope, even though it's not as accurate as I would like in terms of position.

I came off the course last Friday feeling like I'd had not had a great round, despite driving it better than normal - I shot four over my handicap.
My head was full of the two duffed pitch shots from 50/60 yards, and the four 3 putts.
However, when I reviewed the round stats...it was one of my best putting rounds since last November, I hit more FIR than normal, more GIR than normal, and the only real reason I'd scored 'badly' was that I'd struggled to get out of a few really tough pot bunkers. (Six shots in total!)
In reality, it was a good round for me, with just a couple of unexpected issues.
Had I not had the stats to review it afterwards, I'd have got stuck in my head with just the poor shots standing out.

For me, using stats is really helping me to not only focus on the weakest areas of my game compared with those of a similar handicap, but to keep me grounded about areas that feel bad but are actually pretty decent. It has given me confidence over most parts of my game and allowed me to accept the poor shots better.

So, to the OP - Golf sucks at times and it's frustrating that we rarely (never) have all parts of our game on top form at the same time, but as OS says, even our worst rounds are rarely as bad as we think they are...they're just not as good as we want them to be!

 

[Golfnut1957]

72, 71, 83, 86, 85, the last 5 rounds. The good stuff doesn't get a second thought, the bad stuff I sit and analyse after the round. I focus on the good stuff, not the bad, so if I hit 3 bad drives then I hit 14 good ones, that's good.
If I only hit a couple of bad iron shots, chips or pitches, the rest were good, so I focus on those. The point is I generally know what caused the bad shots and by focusing on the good stuff I'm reinforcing the fact in my mind that I can actually do it.
Putting is a whole world of pain though.

 

[garyinderry]

This part I agree with.

First 2 parts of this seem like a recipe for the 'shermans' to me Though if that gets the ball back into play, not really a problem.

That's a standard hack out of deep rough. The stuff where you can only advance it 20 yards or so.

Swing too shallow into that and you trap too much grass between ball and the club face.

 

[Foxholer]

...
Just thinking what to do to get my swing back.
...

Notwithstanding the usual 'go see a Pro'... Solution for me seems to be 'stop thinking so much'! If that doesn't work, it's 'return to basics - setup, grip etc'.

 

[BiMGuy]

Manage your expectations.

Golf is hard and consistency is a myth.

The best players in the world can have a 10 or more shot swing from one day to the next. We’ve seen them hit one poor shot then completely disintegrate.

It happens and is part of the ditch tapestry of golf. Don’t worry too much about it as doing so certainly won’t help.

When in a slump, I hit shots you can commit 100% to. And hit them quickly. Walk to ball, pull club, hit ball, go find it.

 

[Foxholer]

That's a standard hack out of deep rough. The stuff where you can only advance it 20 yards or so.

Swing too shallow into that and you trap too much grass between ball and the club face.

Yeah, I get that - and a steeper swing is definitely advisable. It's just how that's generated that seems a bit iffy - to me. I might actually do exactly that, but it's not a conscious setup thought.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

At the end of the day it is a hobby so if you're not enjoying it, give it a break. Either get a lesson and work on the problems or simply put the clubs away for a few weeks. If you play, don't keep count.

 

[Region3]

Yeah, I get that - and a steeper swing is definitely advisable. It's just how that's generated that seems a bit iffy - to me. I might actually do exactly that, but it's not a conscious setup thought.

And I might not do what I wrote, but that’s what I think I’m doing ?

Like Faldo’s explanation of shot shaping!

 

[Foxholer]

Get out of rough by the shortest route possible...

You know that it's a 'bad' day when that works so well that you end up in the cack on the other side of the fairway!

 

[IanM]

Consistency is indeed a myth. All that happens as you improve is, that the difference between a good and bad round narrows!

 

[steadyon]

Thanks everyone, went for a round this afternoon.

just focused on making a smooth swing and holding a good finish. Played pretty well really. A couple of tops when I tried to thrash it into the middle of the next county! But pretty de ent golf for a 20 handicapper, no birdies but must have half a dozen pars.

slayed a few demons and got better golf thoughts in my mind now!

 

[Oddsocks]

So talk us through these tops……….. ?

 

[SocketRocket]

Focus on staying centered so you reduce sway and keep your arms and torso connected (make sure you are turning both together and not just swinging your arms)

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Thanks everyone, went for a round this afternoon.

just focused on making a smooth swing and holding a good finish. Played pretty well really. A couple of tops when I tried to thrash it into the middle of the next county! But pretty de ent golf for a 20 handicapper, no birdies but must have half a dozen pars.

slayed a few demons and got better golf thoughts in my mind now!

It comes and goes. That in a nutshell is golf. As mentioned, get the basics nailed especially around swaying as it'll help strike and stop the tops