Mental Problems

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Scott1505

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Hi all. I am looking to see if anyone has some good advice for my mental problems on the course. I have only really taken up the game within the last year and got my handicap at the beginning of the year of 25.

When i play away from my own course i can play pretty decent with my best round being an 82 on a par 70. However any time i play a medal at my club i just cannot play well and anytime i have a good outward 9 i will blow up coming home. Is there anything i can do to get better at this?

Everytime i play except in a medal i get called a cheat as generally i always play below my handicap.

Any advice very welcome.
 
Sounds like you're thinking too far ahead. It's an old adage but a good one - one shot at a time!

I wouldn't recommend Bob Rotella's book, I have read it and it takes a whole book to say what you could sum up on one page....in my humble opinion.
 
I've read the book as well and he dances round every chapter ,i wondered if it was Harrington who wrote in and not him. Just dont get ahead of youself , concentrate on the shot pick a target practise swing and hit it you'll get on a lot better.
 
In virtually every other kind of comp there are certain get out of jail cards built into the game, in Stableford if you score a 12 so what, no score and onto the next hole. If you score a 12 in a medal then usually that's the end of the whole round, therefore to hold a medal round together for the full 18 without major disaster is a much harder prospect and usually a better test of whether a golfer can really play to his/her handicap. There are lots of golfers around who brag about lower handicaps all the while avoiding medal play like the plague.
 
I'm not a fan of the Rotella books either, they're a couple of pages of tips agonisingly stretched out to make a book. Birdeman and Steve pretty much sum up all you need to do above.
 
Im not one to avoid medals as all i want to do is get better and get the hcap down. As i say it becomes quite tedious being called a cheat or bandit when i am playing as many medals as i can make. It then makes me think even more when i am playing a medal and i put more pressure on myslef as i feel i shouldn't be off the handicap i am.
 
My trick is not to worry about anything and try to play for fun and not really care about anything, even if i am trying to play seriously, because otherwise you put way too much pressure on yourself. All i feel that i am doing is kicking myself if i try to take it seriously.

Imagine you don't know your score and surprise yourself when you write it down. I find that quite often, it's better than i imagined
 
Just go out and enjoy your golf your not out there to punish yourself!! Try and take 5 a hole if you are comfortable with thinking about your score and find having a target helps.

Easier said than done though! :D
 
You read right was off yellows. Should have been better was 5 over until the 14th when i took a 7 on a par 3.

Problem is in last 3 medals in the first 3 holes i have had a double figure hole each time and get pretty annoyed with myself.
 
My advice would be to play some Stableford competitions only for a month or so and although it will be difficult, have medal play in your mind. Of course you will know you have the cushion of stableford, but all the same it is a competition and you should take it serious.

Good luck.
 
It would seem to be me that you are putting way too much pressure on yourself now in these first three holes based on previous experiences and so are probably swinging way too cautiously.

Golf balls don't know what they scored on the last hole and you know you have played these holes well in the past. Go out and take each hole as it comes. If you get into trouble then use your shots and try and get back into play as soon as possible instead of trying to play a risky shot.

If you played every hole as a par 5 you'd shoot 90 (nett 65 off your handicap) and would be in with a shout any weekend. What you lose with the odd six on the longer 4's or the par 5's you'll get back on some of the par 3's and shorter 4's

As others have said I think you are probably getting way ahead of yourself when you have had a good front nine and thinking about what you are going to score. It becomes easy to try and protect the score and you end up not swinging as freely and trying to steer the ball around usually with an inevitable conclusion.

Focus on being positive and enjoy the nervous tension of a medal round.
 
Don't worry too much, as you've only taken the game up in the last year. We've all been down the same road - got a card going at the turn, but then wreck it by the 13th. You will also discover that at some stage you will suddenly develop a 'nemesis' hole where you will score 7's, 8's or worse for a few weeks on the trot. Mine is the 3rd at our course, a longish dogleg par 5 with a raised green and OOB all the way down the left hand side.
Just relax, try to think about one shot at a time and do not get ahead of yourself.
Sorry got to go now...there's a van outside and the men in white coats have come for me again.
 
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