Not closing out rounds...

[Fish]

I play off scratch all week against Cat1’s over 9 holes and win more Matchplay’s than I lose.

But like today, and in many medals this season, I’m well under handicap on the turn, sometimes only 4 or 5 over gross, and whilst I accept our back 9 is much tougher than our front, I throw away great potential rounds away in the last 6 holes, and sometimes just the last 3 holes!

I know I’m not consciously protecting my score when knowing I’m on my way to a decent round, but I’m getting rather pished throwing away so many winning rounds in the closing stages.

My Cat1 partners are also pished as well, as when we do play skins they can’t compete with my shots, even when I play off 50%!

So how can I improve to close off these rounds?

Have you had similar issues, and if so, what did you do to close out your rounds?

Is it just a state of mind?

 

[Imurg]

Concentration
And, subconsciously, trying not to mess up.
Its hard to keep playing the way you've played to get to the position you're in going into the last few holes....knowing that a blowup will still wreck your round.
I've had it twice this year...very much in contention and out of nowhere I finish double, treble, double...
Golf is hard.

 

[Deleted member 1418]

I play off scratch all week against Cat1’s over 9 holes and win more Matchplay’s than I lose.

But like today, and in many medals this season, I’m well under handicap on the turn, sometimes only 4 or 5 over gross, and whilst I accept our back 9 is much tougher than our front, I throw away great potential rounds away in the last 6 holes, and sometimes just the last 3 holes!

I know I’m not consciously protecting my score when knowing I’m on my way to a decent round, but I’m getting rather pished throwing away so many winning rounds in the closing stages.

My Cat1 partners are also pished as well, as when we do play skins they can’t compete with my shots, even when I play off 50%!

So how can I improve to close off these rounds?

Have you had similar issues, and if so, what did you do to close out your rounds?

Is it just a state of mind?

Join a 9 hole course Robin - you'll be a legend....!!! ? ? ?

 

[Captainron]

You folded like cheap origami in Scotland lad......

 

[Deleted member 15344]

That’s golf and why sometimes the hardest part is the mental side - have to concentrate throughout the whole 18 holes - that’s the only score that matters , not the 6 hole or 9 hole score. As soon as the tenth starts treat it as a brand new round. Also matchplay score is irrelevant to Strokeplay - sometimes it’s better just to concentrate on one format

 

[Deleted member 1147]

I’ve had many rounds of two halves;
Level through 9, 5 over for the back 9.
5 over through 9, level back 9.

Also, a putt for a half in matchplay is easier to hole than a putt for par or birdie. As you don’t have to worry about the return putt.

 

[Fish]

That’s golf and why sometimes the hardest part is the mental side - have to concentrate throughout the whole 18 holes - that’s the only score that matters , not the 6 hole or 9 hole score. As soon as the tenth starts treat it as a brand new round. Also matchplay score is irrelevant to Strokeplay - sometimes it’s better just to concentrate on one format

Actually my regular fourball, of which are 5, 6 & 8 handicappers, we all play pairs Matchplay in every medal. This has helped me not to concentrate on ‘the card’!

Today one had to go off after 7 holes so we reverted to skins, I was flying on the front 9, but skins didn’t make me concentrate in a similar fashion to Matchplay, and all the good work on the front 9 slowly diminished.

I had a similar experience in Scotland, in 2 different rounds I was under or level and threw it away on the last 3 holes.

I’ts frustrating as everyone says I’m impossible to play against i matchplay, but I throw rounds away in mainly the last 3 holes, which aren’t overly tough, although low indexes, but even bogeys would see me home, but I implode.

All jokes aside, it’s really pishing me off, and now it’s become hard to remove it from my thoughts when I get to those holes!!

 

[SammmeBee]

Food and water.......

 

[larmen]

Concentration

Related to that is properly taking on some food on the course. Like a flapjack after 9 and a chocolate bar after 13. Or whatever works for you. And drinking enough fluids swell.

 

[jim8flog]

I am something similar.

For me it is the painkiller wearing off and the lack of energy food. I have often wished a round of golf was only 15 holes in the past couple of years

 

[chrisd]

I am something similar.

For me it is the painkiller wearing off and the lack of energy food. I have often wished a round of golf was only 15 holes in the past couple of years

Same here I often would want 15 holes ............. but I'd like to choose them during each different round

 

[USER1999]

Opposite for me, can only play the last few holes. How do I play the others better?

The answer is we are handicapped golfers. If we could play better, we would be on telly. But we are not.

 

[USER1999]

Maybe too obvious but do you warm up and hit some balls before you play?

Of course not. If the bar is open, I might have a loosener before play though.

TBH, they binned off our indoor nets in favour of a sim, that you have to book, and I did use to whack a few into the net before playing. This is now off the menu, and I do miss it.

 

[GreiginFife]

Wise man once told me "in a medal you matchplay results mean diddly" and this is because in matchplay there is the added variable of your opponents score, i.e. you can win a hole with a bogey. Same wise man also said "the course never blinks making par".

All in all, you need a mindset for medal and forget matchplay performance when its you against the course and no one else.

And that also means that the course will Always take you down the 18th, there's no winning early against it. You need to frame your mindset to 18, not just the next hole but the one after that and after that etc.

And once I work out how to do that, I'll let you know ?

 

[IanM]

Check your snacking and water...are you running out of fuel?

 

[Deleted member 29109]

I'd say food and drink.

Eating a Mars bar on the 10th isn't enough as it takes time to get that energy into your body.

You need to fuel up properly before the round and then during the front 9 for that energy to be there in the back 9.

And stay hydrated throughout.

 

[Coffey]

Happens all the time to me.

I either have a shocking front 9 and relax on the back 9 and play well

Or do the complete opposite and play unreal until about the 16th and fail miserably.

Today was the first option - 10 points on the font, 18 on the back

Two weeks ago was the second. 3 over playing 17, on 38 points. Finished 6 over on 39 points. Bogey, double finish.

Very frustrating

 

[MarkT]

I’ve had to stop myself and playing partners (sounds a bit weird but bliss is ignorance) reading out the scores after nine holes as I obsess either way about it. Only advice (which I can’t heed myself) is to keep trying to go forward for the last few holes - getting steery and laggy never really works so tell yourself someone else is two better than you. I think I’ve managed this three times in my life.

 

[Fish]

It’s not fuel related, I have porridge when I get up then breakfast at the club, always have a pastie & drink at the halfway house and carry plenty of squash which I make up every morning.

Most of the Matchplay we play within the medal does really help me take my mind off the card, and due to my regular partners being low single handicappers, I’m putting for birdies & pars to win holes or the odd bogey to half when I have a shot, so the card looks after itself, if you know what I mean.

But most of the time hands are shook on the 14th or 15th, so the last 3-4 holes become just about the medal, so there’s a shift in focus & concentration, and I blow it!

But saying that, we’ve had the odd Matchplay go the distance, but I can still truly f*#> it all up on our last 3 holes, so it’s a mental thing which I need to overcome, it’s not stamina, well not when playing 18, I struggle with 36 nowadays, as I displayed at Dunaverty? but that was after a lot of golf and racing about and without any food & drink.

I’ve tried dividing my round into 3 thirds before, before I joined in doing the Matchplay, so the focus was only on 6 holes at a time, this worked for a while, but wasn’t the answer, it’s all very frustrating, especially when you’re well under on the turn and give them all back, needlessly ?

 

[Jacko_G]

Shoot happens. Just keep trying and keep chipping away at it. You need to get comfortable with the situation and learn how to deal with it. Kaz for me is on the money - subconsciously you will be "protecting" what you have which gets you tense and again she is bang on - the swing isn't as loose and you do become "steery".

I believe if you keep knocking the door it will open eventually.