Playing elsewhere phobia!

[harpo_72]

Crazy it may seem and I really love the game and I used to play every where and anywhere with rental clubs .. however now, I don’t.

I am so worried that I won’t play very well, that I don’t want to waste the green fee.
I absolutely hate playing rubbish golf, by rubbish I mean hitting shots I don’t practice.. the 20yard top, the banana cut, the snap hook, the thinned bunker shot, the double jab chip, the poor distance control putt… none of which I practice but I can happily pull off ( should I practice them?)

Is this normal? Does anyone else suffer this crisis of confidence?

 

[Bdill93]

Crazy it may seem and I really love the game and I used to play every where and anywhere with rental clubs .. however now, I don’t.

I am so worried that I won’t play very well, that I don’t want to waste the green fee.
I absolutely hate playing rubbish golf, by rubbish I mean hitting shots I don’t practice.. the 20yard top, the banana cut, the snap hook, the thinned bunker shot, the double jab chip, the poor distance control putt… none of which I practice but I can happily pull off ( should I practice them?)

Is this normal? Does anyone else suffer this crisis of confidence?

Almost every time I play away from home yeah...

I think its the subconscious effort of trying harder to do well and therefore doing worse...

I have chilled out slightly, I really enjoyed both days at H4H last year and played semi-okay considering my handicap issues.

 

[Slab]

I get the not playing well, but not the waste of green fee

Home or away you're still paying a fee, its just that one is usually paid annually upfront so you might forget about it after x months. Few on here will play poorly having no cost outlay
(and if you don't play poorly now and again you won't appreciate the good ones quite so much)

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I seem to play new courses better. I guess we get over familiar with our normal courses we play weekly but with a new course I pay more attention to the hazards and layout and seem to think my way round much better and as a consequence score ok.

 

[Mel Smooth]

Our handicaps tend to travel well from our course so I usually look forward to playing well and scoring well if I'm elsewhere. Doesn't always work out like that though...

I certainly don't have any hang ups about visiting other courses - I'm generally just happy to be out there.

 

[LincolnShep]

No, I'm the complete opposite. I love playing somewhere new and I'm not bothered whether my golf game turns up on the day.

 

[Orikoru]

I think I tend to play better at other courses, especially new ones. When you don't know the course you maybe play a bit more sensibly which tends to produce a better score. Also my home course rating is stupidly low so I usually get 2 or 3 extra shots at other places, which helps massage the old Stableford score.

e.g. my last five away scores at the end of last year were 36, 34, 36, 31, 37 which my last five home scores were 28, 27, 37, 35, 31. I think on the home course you get in a rut on certain holes that become 'bogey' holes for a while (I mean as in holes that you do poorly on, not literally scoring a bogey... although that must be where the phrase comes from, come to think of it) - not a problem on away courses you've not played.

 

[Deleted member 25575]

No, not for me, I enjoy new courses and my score doesn’t define me enjoyment

 

[Jasonr]

If I have a rubbish score home or away I know the number of strokes vs cost of the course/day improves so I actually get better value for money

 

[Bazz]

I used to be the same, but then I started to notice that very few people are smashing it 300 yards off the tee and also nobody else cares what I'm doing.

 

[Bratty]

I love playing elsewhere, and if I have a terrible score, I laugh it off thinking I got my money's worth in shots!
The only thing I really dislike is renting clubs. Far prefer playing with my own, but I wouldn't let that stop me playing a new course if it wasn't a 'special' one. No way am I playing bucket list courses with anything other than my clubs.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I used to be the same, but then I started to notice that very few people are smashing it 300 yards off the tee and also nobody else cares what I'm doing.

This was a big factor for me. I remember playing a corporate day once and the compere went around videoing people out on the course. It didn't take long watching the footage that evening to realise I was a long way from being the worst on the course. When you take that knowledge, plus the fact that no other golfer cares what you are like, it's a big weight off your shoulders.

 

[IanM]

That's why the other thread about every round counting for handicap is so funny.

Some days you need to forget the score and enjoy the surroundings and company.

 

[Deleted member 35577]

Crazy it may seem and I really love the game and I used to play every where and anywhere with rental clubs .. however now, I don’t.

I am so worried that I won’t play very well, that I don’t want to waste the green fee.
I absolutely hate playing rubbish golf, by rubbish I mean hitting shots I don’t practice.. the 20yard top, the banana cut, the snap hook, the thinned bunker shot, the double jab chip, the poor distance control putt… none of which I practice but I can happily pull off ( should I practice them?)

Is this normal? Does anyone else suffer this crisis of confidence?

Well why don't you just practice the 20yd top, banana cut, snap hook, thinned bunker shot etc then you won't feel as if you are wasting your money? That's what I would do!

Top tip.....watch any Rick Shiels video with Guy Charnock in it, he is a master at demonstrating how to play the above shots.

 

[harpo_72]

Well why don't you just practice the 20yd top, banana cut, snap hook, thinned bunker shot etc then you won't feel as if you are wasting your money? That's what I would do!

Top tip.....watch any Rick Shiels video with Guy Charnock in it, he is a master at demonstrating how to play the above shots.

I was thinking I may start to

 

[Doon frae Troon]

OP
In his prime Jack Nicklaus once admitted to being nervous on the first tee at every tournament he played in.
If he was not nervous he said that would probably mean the start of his downfall.

Nearly all golfers are nervous, from beginner to Open Champions.

I used to coach a guy who was extremely nervous on the first tee with other golfers watching.
I gave him some useful tips such as

Walk on the first tee as if you own the course and all the staff work for you
Do every thing in slow motion and breath long and slow.
After teeing up stand up straight, look around the course you own, slowly take a practice swing then rip one up the middle.

Next time I saw him on the first tee he did exactly what I said, almost to comically overdoing it and getting very weird looks from his PP's.
Watching through the fingers covering my eyes he then ripped one straight down the middle.
His golf improved greatly after that and he halved his handicap in a year

 

[mikejohnchapman]

Crazy it may seem and I really love the game and I used to play every where and anywhere with rental clubs .. however now, I don’t.

I am so worried that I won’t play very well, that I don’t want to waste the green fee.
I absolutely hate playing rubbish golf, by rubbish I mean hitting shots I don’t practice.. the 20yard top, the banana cut, the snap hook, the thinned bunker shot, the double jab chip, the poor distance control putt… none of which I practice but I can happily pull off ( should I practice them?)

Is this normal? Does anyone else suffer this crisis of confidence?

I think I probably play better. Mainly because I have to think about each shot rather than just play on automatic.

This is offset somewhat by not realising some hidden hazards etc but generally better.

 

[RichA]

Depends on the course.
If it's a course with "exciting" features - lots of water and risk and reward shots - I'll just be enjoying it, taking all the risks and not worrying about my score.
If it's a course that needs me to plot my way around more carefully I'll play more conservatively and probably score better.

 

[sunshine]

I understand this.

I have a destructive swing fault which randomly appears on some days. Very frustrating when I'm looking forward to playing a special course and I turn up and hack it round like a beginner.

For me, it's not about other people, it's about doing myself justice and actually getting some enjoyment from flushing a few shots.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Depends on the course.
If it's a course with "exciting" features - lots of water and risk and reward shots - I'll just be enjoying it, taking all the risks and not worrying about my score.
If it's a course that needs me to plot my way around more carefully I'll play more conservatively and probably score better.

I plotted my way around places like the Forest of Arden where the par 4's were usually in excess of 420 yards off the whites which is/was out of my range or brought all the risks into play and used my strokes to good effect. It is a tactic I should have employed far more often in H4H days where I have been wrapped up in the day and the pairings and so been more gung ho and its had a detrimental effect. Perversely if I am playing with mates I don't want to look a fool and so reign it back in again. It was a tactic I used for things like the KoK days