This is so frustrating...

[HawkeyeMS]

After months of playing absolute garbage, my golfing ability seems to have returned but I am somehow managing to to completely destroy rounds with a few awful holes. It was the same last year, there is no real pattern, I'm just compounding errors on top of errors and it makes no sense.

Quite often, the bad holes will be consecutive. A few weeks ago I started par,par,double, quad and then played the remaining 14 holes in 2 over gross.

On Thursday I doubled 9 and 10 and played the other 16 holes in just 7 over.

On Saturday I started badly, mostly short game and a bad break on the first, and was 7 over after 5 holes but still stood on the 16th tee just 9 over. I then proceed to double 16 and quad 17 before birdieing the last.

There was a similar pattern happening last year and I'm not really sure what to do about it. It isn't like I am taking on impossible shots, I'm taking my medicine if I get out of position off the tee and then do something stupid like 3 stabbing

I feel like the game is there but my bad shots are really costing me dearly and it's driving me nuts

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Sounds like my season last year. As you saw first hand, my swing changes held up except for those one or two killer holes. The only difference was you still had a short game. I see a lot of similarities except you haven't mucked about with your game. Stick with what you're doing and stay patient. Of course I could suggest a little something called New Golf Thinking

 

[tsped83]

Control the inner chimp Hawkeye. Better still, shoot it.

One bad hole just happens, to all of us, is the next consecutive bad hole a result of the frustration felt from the one before? Still cursing the previous effort? Breathe in deeply, and out....woooosah

 

[louise_a]

I feel your pain, if you find the answer let me know, my first nine in last weeks medal was par, par, bogey, par, QUAD!, bogey, par, par, TRIPLE!

 

[Canary_Yellow]

I'm in the same boat as you at the moment. I was playing quite well yesterday, not hitting it as well as I can, but hanging in there with some good short game work to recover errant tee shots and was right on my handicap at halfway despite some bad luck.

Then, out of nowhere, a duffed chip and a 4 putt leads to a 7 which should have been a 5 at worst - feeling a bit shellshocked hit my next tee shot OOB and my medal score is ruined.

The thing I find very frustrating is not so much shooting a poor score, but feeling that I didn't get close to shooting the best score that I was capable of on the day. Sometimes my swing is awry and hitting buffer is the best I can do but I'll still be pleased with myself if I make it. Yesterday, I should have been able to scrape round under my handicap but ended up shooting a nett 79 which was really a product of carelessness.

I did the exact same thing in a friendly matchplay round with a mate on Friday. Very decent golf in places and pretty poor elsewhere.

I'm confident it'll come good again before too long though....

 

[Hacker Khan]

After months of playing absolute garbage, my golfing ability seems to have returned but I am somehow managing to to completely destroy rounds with a few awful holes. It was the same last year, there is no real pattern, I'm just compounding errors on top of errors and it makes no sense.

Quite often, the bad holes will be consecutive. A few weeks ago I started par,par,double, quad and then played the remaining 14 holes in 2 over gross.

On Thursday I doubled 9 and 10 and played the other 16 holes in just 7 over.

On Saturday I started badly, mostly short game and a bad break on the first, and was 7 over after 5 holes but still stood on the 16th tee just 9 over. I then proceed to double 16 and quad 17 before birdieing the last.

There was a similar pattern happening last year and I'm not really sure what to do about it. It isn't like I am taking on impossible shots, I'm taking my medicine if I get out of position off the tee and then do something stupid like 3 stabbing

I feel like the game is there but my bad shots are really costing me dearly and it's driving me nuts

Without wishing to bang on about it too much, I'd agree with Homer and try some New Golf Thinking. As it sounds purely like a mental think to me as as you say, you have the game.

 

[One Planer]

Are the blips occurring on the same holes or same sections of your course Hawkeye?

Or is it just a random few holes?

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Homer\Hacker: I don't think it's a mental thing, I'm pretty good at putting bad holes behind me (I started 6,5,6,5,6 on Saturday and then parred the next 7 holes) but who knows, maybe it is?

Gareth: It's completely random

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Sounds like my season last year. As you saw first hand, my swing changes held up except for those one or two killer holes. The only difference was you still had a short game. I see a lot of similarities except you haven't mucked about with your game. Stick with what you're doing and stay patient. Of course I could suggest a little something called New Golf Thinking

OK, so NGT can't hurt can it? Is this the material that I should read or is there something else?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NEW-GOLF-TH...=1390121697&sr=1-1&keywords=new+golf+thinking

 

[AmandaJR]

Have you tried replaying the poor holes in your mind but without the attached emotions? Sort of like you're watching a video of you playing them and try to work out what went wrong and where/why? See if there is any pattern...wrong club, wrong shot, trying to make up for a poor previous shot, extra pressure over chips/putts to make up for not hitting the GIR etc?

Usually I can figure what's gone wrong and what I should have done differently. If I can't then replaying it in this way usually gives me the answer so I can learn from it.

 

[Airlie_Andy]

Sounds alot like me at the moment. 2 or 3 bad holes are ruining my card and they just come out of nowhere.

We have a driveable par 4 at 278 yards which I went for. My ball ended up pin high but 10 yards left of the green close to a small tree making for an awkward chip. I didn't quite get the ball onto the green and then followed that up with a poor chip and then 3 putts from 20 feet. Out of nowhere its a double having been 10 yards left of the green off the tee. This is a hole that in the last 16 competition rounds I've had 3 bogeys 12 pars and a birdie so I'm happy with the driver off the tee option being the right play.

I also had a triple on our stroke index 2 hole which is a long par 4. My tee shot was pulled a little left but a decent enough lie and I had a 5 iron to the green. Its OOB down the right and a pond short left. Now I could have layed up but its actually quite a narrow landing area so decided the lie was good enough to go for it as the lay up was no gimmie. Made poor contact and stuck it in the pond, no problem I thought I'll just take my drop and get up and down for a bogey, nope fatted it straight into the pond again. Gave myself a good talking to and stuck the next shot to 10ft and made the putt for a 7. Again I don't think my course management was at fault there it was the stupid fatted pitch into the water which cost me and its not a shot I usually struggle with.

Concentration problems? Or maybe it is my course management?

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Have you tried replaying the poor holes in your mind but without the attached emotions? Sort of like you're watching a video of you playing them and try to work out what went wrong and where/why? See if there is any pattern...wrong club, wrong shot, trying to make up for a poor previous shot, extra pressure over chips/putts to make up for not hitting the GIR etc?

Usually I can figure what's gone wrong and what I should have done differently. If I can't then replaying it in this way usually gives me the answer so I can learn from it.

I have, I even tried keeping a log last year and I just can't identify a pattern. It'll be something stupid like making 7 pars in a row and then hitting a tee shot OB or laying up after getting out of position off the tee and 3 putting.

 

[AmandaJR]

I have, I even tried keeping a log last year and I just can't identify a pattern. It'll be something stupid like making 7 pars in a row and then hitting a tee shot OB or laying up after getting out of position off the tee and 3 putting.

Ok. Could the 7 pars and then OB be either complacency/lack of focus or conversely extra tension thinking "I'm on a good score?". Likewise the 3 putt perhaps being extra tension as you try to make up for the extra shot lay up? Do you ram the first one too hard so a long one back or vice versa?

 

[Hacker Khan]

OK, so NGT can't hurt can it? Is this the material that I should read or is there something else?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NEW-GOLF-TH...=1390121697&sr=1-1&keywords=new+golf+thinking

Yes. I'd recommend reading it on a tablet if you have one as the colour in it looks a lot better than if it's in black and white. There have been some issues about the formatting on it on pure Kindles I think, although on my Paperwhite it is fine, but obviously in black and white.

It is a book for dipping in and out of, so I'd say do the mental handicap questionnaire then focus on those areas which are highlighted as areas for improvement. It's not really a book for reading cover to cover and then just trying out random things, as your game may well be perfectly fine in those areas. And best of luck, it certainly helped me a bit.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Ok. Could the 7 pars and then OB be either complacency/lack of focus or conversely extra tension thinking "I'm on a good score?". Likewise the 3 putt perhaps being extra tension as you try to make up for the extra shot lay up? Do you ram the first one too hard so a long one back or vice versa?

I don't think it's any of those TBH but maybe it is. I'll try an go through Saturday's round again later and see what I can come up with.

While I will often have a swear at myself if I do something stupid I'm not normally over emotional on the inside. I can accept mistakes as mistakes and know I'm playing well so forget it so I don't think they have a bearing on my next shot.

Maybe I'm just not being honest enough with myself?

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Yes. I'd recommend reading it on a tablet if you have one as the colour in it looks a lot better than if it's in black and white. There have been some issues about the formatting on it on pure Kindles I think, although on my Paperwhite it is fine, but obviously in black and white.

It is a book for dipping in and out of, so I'd say do the mental handicap questionnaire then focus on those areas which are highlighted as areas for improvement. It's not really a book for reading cover to cover and then just trying out random things, as your game may well be perfectly fine in those areas. And best of luck, it certainly helped me a bit.

Thanks, for 6 quid in can't hurt can it?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

OK, so NGT can't hurt can it? Is this the material that I should read or is there something else?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NEW-GOLF-TH...=1390121697&sr=1-1&keywords=new+golf+thinking

That's the chappy. You said already you don't know where the old Homer went on the course and saw from the bad start in the 2nd round of the Stone Cup there is a stronger mental resilience. You still have to hit the bloody thing but it gives you the capacity to think clearly and ignore previous history on a hole.

 

[Slicer30]

I could written the same description of my own golf.

Boom or bust golf I call it. On saturday I was going nicely, 3 over through 7 holes. Then I pulled my tee shot on our 8th into the pond. 9th tee shot I ballooned and it went about 100yds, I should have just knocked it to 150 but tried to get it down closer and pulled that also into the Trees.

I then went Par/Treble/par/Double/par/par/treble/par/bogey.

My bad play does have a pattern at least, I lost 5 balls to a pull hook but still Ended with 87 net 72

 

[IanG]

I too seem to have this symptom. Drawn with some congenial low handicappers on Saturday I was playing well-ish by my standards until the 7th. I split the fairway with my drive and then watched these two much better players than I hit wedge into the burn in front of the green. So what did I do ... yep, not once but 3 times.... then chipped in the hole for a 9. Three-putt mania then ensued for most of the remaining holes. I worked hard to stay positive and managed to creep into the buffer zone again.

90mins on the practice green yesterday was my penance ( actually the sun was out and it was warm and quiet so penance is the wrong word ). We'll see if that makes any difference.

Replaying the hole in my mind the best I can come up with is to think 'hit it on the green' rather than the semi-negative 'make sure you at least get it over the burn' which is what was in my head.

I bought the NGT e-book a few weeks ago and while it is not a revelation, it is helpful sometimes to see such ideas laid out in an orderly fashion.

onwards....

Ian

PS it was a pleasure to watch one of my playing partners on Saturday hit 3 over gross, with a bag of sundry old clubs, no pre-shot routine, no gps gizmos, just aim and hit. Short game to die for though, deadly from 150 in...and that was with a hangover

 

[bladeplayer]

Im in the same place at the moment Mike , had a quad triple and a double was 8 over for the round the other day , i feel im striking the ball well but not getting it done , im signing for 34 and 35 and getting .1 back when i should be comfortably buffering or better even ..

Im putting it down to concentration or lack of as it may be .. Found something in my game Thursday and Sunday that will hopefully turn the corner for me and its alot to do with concentration on all shots , i seem to get lazy minded or something on the straightforward chips or low irons and suffer for it ..

Playing Barton Cup for the club in 4somes i seem to be playing my best golf , again concentration i believe