On the verge of giving up again

Homer,

Sounds like you are on a real downer. Forget all about golf for a day or two and then look again. It won't seem as bad then I'm certain.

If you chuck the towel in, what are you going to do instead? Seriously, you'll look out of the window in the not too distant future at a clear(ish) blue sky and wish you hadn't given all your clubs to the grabbers on here!

Take some time off the course, enjoy life and return to golf for the enjoyment of just playing the game.
 
If you cant enjoy the game for what it is, the pleasure of playing the game for its sake, and the company and surroundings, rather being fixated on what you score, and why, and why it went wrong, and why its all so unfair, and why you deserve better, then you arent suited to golf. Sorry, but thats how it is.
 
Homer,
Not an expert but a person with no patience. I had a playing lesson today and was given someadvice.
1) Play at your pace, not the pace people tell you to play. I dont walk I trot, so I need to trust myself and play the shot, not think about the shot.
2) Narrrow your focus, then accept sometimes we might focus on the wrong things.
3) Enjoy the fresh air.
My own advice is forget the range, you pay a lot of money for your yearly sub, we are now in the long evenings, play evening golf, no wind, pressure, even a round on your own after a tough day is a superb tonic.
You wont give up, your hooked.
 
Homer.

All in the best possible taste.

Go and get a blo# *ob!!

Seriously though. We play this frustrating game for fun. We all blow up on 'x' number of holes, that's why we're h'cap golfers. I'm sure that there's not one of us on here that doesn't want to do better, but we all have our ceilings.

Just take a look at the scorecards from Wentworth today. Littered with double boogies, and even an 8! Do you think these guys don't feel like giving up? Of course they do.

Okay. Their motives may be different, but the principle remains.

Just go out and enjoy it, without the weight of a comp. If then you don't enjoy it, then fine. Perhaps it is time to take up, oh I dunno, crown bowls or something.

Life's to short, especially with something you do as a hobby.

As for me. I'm quitting golf and joining a fetish club!! :D
 
can't say anything more than has not been said - but I stress, it should be fun!! It is a social game for people of our ability - try hard, be pissed very momentarily for a bad shot, smile and move on. I lost 8 balls today - some were provisionals that I did not need as I wanted to hit again - but I had a blast, drank 4 bottles of becks on the way round, hit a 315 yard drive at the last (wey hey) and finished with 3 pars - that is what I take away - and there was so much bad golf, but I don't care. Learn to accept your ability - and as said, that is probably a higher handicap than you are. I play once a week and don't practice - I would love to dip into single figgers but I suspect that I won't and if I do it will be brief - but, at the end of the day, i like a social game of golf - and like that advert said the other year, it is about that shot you remember which you played like a dream. Treasure your highs and laugh at your lows. Chin up, have fun!
 
Consider some hypno. Seriously. Sounds radical, but it may just change your mindset.

You sound at the stage where you've accepted a crap round even before you've started. Or when you are doing well, you're expecting the implosion at any second.

You're probably looking for that glimmer of hope, sign of improvement that you can do it. However, if you really don't love doing it, then it could be time to move on.

Best of luck.
 
Why bother and ...go and find something more rewarding to do with my time
Click to expand...

More rewarding than spending 4 hours wandering around a field swearing and hacking and choking and chucking?

And a bit more swearing?

Nope.

No idea what you're trying to say.

 
Played the medal today. Two guys in front, both cat one golfers, hook into the trees, prov, into the trees. Second guy into the trees, second ball into the trees. A few holes later the one HC guy walks back to the tee after hooking another into the trees.

You're not alone.
 
It happens to everyone Homer. I talk to myself (usually on the course or just after) about quitting the game maybe once a month... but give it a few days rest and I'm chomping at the bit to play again.

I can't say I agree with others who talk about just going out and "enjoying the walk" or "soaking in the sunshine" or whatever, as while those things are nice, they are not why I personally enjoy golf.

I enjoy golf because it IS bloody difficult and because it DOES beat the crap out of you if you let it... but the fun of the game is coming back from being beat up and overcoming the challenge next time, even if its only for a few holes.

Nobody can conquer this game we play Homer, not even Tiger Woods, so just get your chin up, get back out there and try to get beat up a bit less every time you play.

Plus, I don't know about you but deep down, even when I say I want to quit and sometimes even feel like I mean it, I know deep down that I never will....

ps. As a sidenote, improving your swing takes absolutely huge amounts of improvements before it starts showing in your scores, and even then, the rate at which your scores come down is incredibly, shockingly slow. It sounds to me like maybe more even more focus on short game improvement is needed for you so that you can see some more immediate results and get some confidence back. IMO
 
I've cut right back on practicing to play more holes but even that isn't helping.
Click to expand...

Copied and pasted from your blog page Homer...

Golfing Diary
23rd May - Putting practice at Royal Ascot
24th May - Range session at Maidenhead Golf Centre
26th May - Short game practice at Royal Ascot

And that's a quiet week!

You are a smashing bloke Homer, I thoroughly enjoy playing with you. In fact, I'd already asked Richart if he could somehow "fix" the draw for Blackmoor so that I could be in your group to enjoy your company for the day.
But you are bloody obsessed with golf. If you're not playing you're practicing. If you're not practicing you're writing about it, either on here or on your blog page or even on facebook.
You talk about "being in the zone", glove off, glove on, "triggers" etc. etc.
You are putting yourself under so much pressure, despite your protestations to the contrary, that you are bound to fail. Guaranteed.
It's obvious that you are not a "natural" golfer. Jeez with the amount of practice that you put in, you should be playing off scratch, but you ain't.
So find what is "natural" for you and play with it. Instead of endless tinkering and swing thoughts, find what is your "natural" shot, however ugly or bad it is, and play with it.
Because believe me, at the end of the day that's all you've got. Countless hours down the range have proved that.
Forget "triggers" and "getting in the zone". The only thing I think of "getting into" when I play golf is the car. I sometimes think of "getting into" the young barmaid or waitress, but I'm too old for that now, so those particular thoughts don't hang around too long anymore. If they do, I start dribbling and embarrass myself so I try not to.
In the past you've said that you are just hitting it, finding it and hitting it again.
If only you were.

 
Having witnessed today's round at first hand Homer and speaking as someone with experience of monumental collapses all I can say is forget 15,16&17. The shot on 15 wasn't good but was also unlucky as the landing area was out of sight so none of us had a clue where to start looking. I'm pretty sure 16&17 were down to the frustration of the lost one at 15.

For 14 holes you played very well, the ball striking is there there's no question about that and even the short game is showing promising signs so there is so much to be positive about you just need to find a way to deal with the misfortunes.

I'm not gonna try to tell you how to approach the game mentally because it's a well known fact that I am not exactly strong in this area :D

However, what I will say is that good rounds of golf for people at our level are as much about luck than anything else. The shots I hit at 16 and and 18 were no better than yours at 15, in fact 16 was a whole lot worse, but we could see the landing area and found the ball. That really is the only difference between our rounds.

We all go through periods where things don't go our way but you just have to believe that if you keep hitting the ball well and giving yourself a chance your luck will change.

Also, the way we both played over 14 holes yesterday would have been enough to win most matches so the last 4 wouldn't have mattered :D
 
Speaking from experience of this situation (last year and again a short while ago). The thing that keeps bringing me back to this game when I so want to just give it up is the feeling that there are so many good times still to come. My last 6 comps have all been NR's (including yesterdays) then add in 2 mid 20's points at Beau and its pretty obvious I cant play to my h/c at the moment. The thing is I can still play this game better than most and I still hit some terrific shots along with many very poor ones.

But......not too far into the future something will click, i'll feel comfortable over the ball again and my confidence will flood back into my game. Then I know that there will be no better feeling than being out on the course doing battle with the demons and beating them.

Homer the last place I want to be atm is on the golf course but I will suck it up , take the knocks and wait for that moment when the tide turns.
 
Homer. If I was you I would pack golf in for 6 months and do something else. You seem to be perpetually torturing yourself over the game and your performance.

Life's too short. Take a break. Give up and find another interim pursuit to fill the gap in your life that this will leave.

I can recommend squash.

Snelly.
 
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