Love hate golf

[Chisteve]

Played a club stapleford on Saturday

Played out on my skin on front 9 - 24 points (5 over par also) I play off 23

After a little friendly banter with my PP on the 9th I had a nightmare but managed to score a point and started to think about the score rather than concentrating on playing - then only scored 11 more points on the back nine - 40 points won it

Felt that I through it all away an lost chance to reduce my handicap to nearer what it should be - I think!

But will learn from it - must learn to control my feelings and not let them get the better of me I could feel my swing went to pot and tight and faster than if should of

Still over the moon to score 35 points though and came 9th overall and 5th in my division

Love this game and looking forward to the summer

 

[kid2]

Good stuff...
It's fine having friendly banter but what you need to learn is how to switch your focus on and off. Once your hard up switch from banthwr to focus and put yourself in that bubble for the 30 seconds or so that it takes for your routine. Then once the ball is away switch back into chat more. That's what I do. Do stay too focused on your score...

Focus on your process. Not the result. It may seem boring to some but watch any better player and they'll do the same things over and over and over on every single shot.

 

[Goldie]

Know the feeling mate, been in simlair positions myself in the last year or two where I have had mid 20s points after front 9 and then lost my head on the back 9 or 6 holes. You learn from your mistakes and learn what shots to play when you start to feel things fall apart, which I think is the key. Learning to hit the safe 5 iron lay up to a par 5 rather than a risky 3 wood going for the green can be the difference.

 

[Sweep]

I think its one of the greatest - and underrated skills in golf to keep your head when you have a good score going. It's certainly a skill I don't have.
Karl Morris advocates not thinking in terms of front 9 and back 9 but rather 3 hole segments. This, he says, takes some of the pressure off as it's hard to sustain your game over 9 holes, maybe 2 hours. It also works the other way. If you are having a bad round, breaking the game into two halves means you wait until the 10th tee before you reset.
The key is recognising that you have no score at all until you have signed your card. It sounds easy, but in truth it is anything but.

 

[Dellboy]

This is the reason I never add up my score while playing, be it stroke play or stapleford.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Getting into contention or having a good score and bringing it home is something you need to learn and the more you do it, the more you'll recognise the nerves in the stomach and the chattering in the head. It's trying to keep the nerves in check and more importantly the mind quiet that's hard. Never get ahead and think if I do x, y or z I'll score this or if I get par here etc. Play with the same freedom you did on the front nine. Well played. Five over on the front is great scoring and learn from it

 

[Duckster]

Awesome front 9! Happens to so many people with the back 9 though. Some of my friends try to not count up half way through (you know when you're having a good knock) and so they don't get fixated on the number.

Also, pet peeve of mine, it's Stableford, not staple. Named after Dr Frank Stableford.

 

[Tashyboy]

Love reading all of the thought process on this blog. Don't know a player who's has divided his round into an excellent front nine and poor back nine or vica versa.
Wonder if the way the scorecards set up has a lot to do with it. That aside, like the thought process on the three hole process. There are four consecutive holes on our back nine that if I can get through them unscathed I will score well. It's my own little "amen corner".
it has been mentioned that some players don't like being told after nine holes how they are going on. I am one of those. We are fortunate at our place that it is a 200 yd walk from out 9th to the tenth so you have a chance to chill for a couple of mins before getting back into the zone.
It is hard for me once I am scoring well to start playing percentage golf it tends to go tits up. What seems a bit strange is that my course management is better which has produced better scores, a lot better. Again it may well of been coincidence, but i I retired in August and started playing twice weekly since then I started playing well October/Nov just when the Q season finished.
Been busting a gut to get out and play in first Q comp ( today), now it's here Missis T is not good so not playing. Oh well.
duckster your not wrong with the stableford comment but my spell check auto converts it , try typing vica versa. What's a vinca versa😳

 

[Chisteve]

Thanks for the replies - most helpful

 

[Curls]

Love/hate golf.

Isn't that just golf?

It's all about breaking down barriers. You played well and got yourself in a place you were never before, and the barrier stopped you, but next time you find yourself in the same place you'll remember this and realise that knuckling down, forgetting about what's gone before and closing it out requires a different mind set. Sure as eggs is eggs it'll happen. And then you'll have a new barrier, and you'll have to break that down. It's all good experience, best of luck the next time you get off to a screamer of a start.

 

[Region3]

Most common mental mistake in golf IMO.

Double your halfway score for a prediction of how you'll finish = asking for trouble.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Thinking about the winners speech after ten or eleven holes always a recipe for failure.