Scoring well stableford but cant score well at medal

[Foxholer]

...From what it has been said I think my issue is the mental side of things that is stopping me put a decent medal round together. My hole blow ups come in clusters which is usually after a bad shot which has made me drop shots due to lost balls. In those situations instead of putting the mistake out of my head and carrying on swinging, i tend to tense up and thats when more bad shots come. 3/4 holes later i start to relax again and my good golf shots come back....

Well recognised!

One of the 'bonuses' of Golf is that each hole can be thought of as a new beginning, so being able to 'forget' a bad experience on the previous hole can be of huge benefit. This mental side of golf is very often as, or even more, important as being able to hit the intended shot! This is where top Pros excel or occasionally collapse! And there's no reason why we Ams can't be 'mentally strong' too!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

You have a real problem with anyone who in your elitist world has a handicap above you.
Golf is for everyone, regardless of age, sex or ability.

Perhaps instead of continually putting people down you should pass on some of your experience so we can all one day be lucky enough to be deemed good enough by you to play the game and contribute to this forum.

Bravo. We have a handicap system to give everyone a level playing field. In response to the OP, its imperative to try and keep the ball in play, get out of trouble by the shortest route and keep the glory shots for the social games. Medal is a challenge, and to a degree needs a different mindset.

 

[User101]

He won't reply as he's had a mare yet again.

Been oot on my motorbike for the last 5 hours, apologies for having other hobbies than staring down a golf forum all day :thup:

 

[User101]

Well im afraid i agree with what i believe Cabby is saying (although his original choice of phrase was a little confusing!)
I also disagree with those advocating hole by hole!

The crux of the issue is that to put together a medal score you need to take it shot by shot; and for stableford you will always have the background of scoring a point when considering the stroke you take on. As a higher handicap it's entirely likely that you will have quiet a few situations in the round where one approach is valid in stableford, but entirely wrong in medal.
It's worth noting that taking the stableford option also has an inevitable negative of the mental hit on your next stroke of having hit the last one less than satisfactorily. (Note, if you hit them all satisfactorily then it probably was the right shot in medal as well!)

Playing the percentages, course management or whatever you want to call it, is a vital skill to master in order to improve as a golfer overall (over and above your ball striking etc) and it's generally not encouraged in the stableford game in the way it is in medal.

Which is what I believe Cabby was trying to get over (I'm sure he will advise)

On the money :thup:

Even if playing that rubbish format, play it as medal, don't kid yourself you're gonna knock it up and through that 6 inch gap in the trees then hole the putt for a birdie. Of course lower players will take shots on that may cost them a bogey or even a colonel but I'd guess they've considered their options beforehand.

 

[SaintHacker]

Been oot on my motorbike for the last 5 hours, apologies for having other hobbies than staring down a golf forum all day :thup:

Still no sign of your handicap though is there...

 

[PJ87]

Still no sign of your handicap though is there...

Does his personality count?