Yeah that’s probably the exact opposite of helpful. But it’s all about #content and boy does it make some good rounds of that for us!
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Was on pace to shoot my best 9 ever in league tonight and completely shit down my leg finishing with a 3 putt triple (lost a ball too) on a par three and then a double on the last hole
Just had a 43/54 in my last round, so I feel this pain viscerally
Had probably one of my best examples of not self immolating. I played really well other than 4 holes and somehow managed to not let them get in my head and get things together. I’ve recently been reading the Bob Rotella book about putting and I think that it has helped my entire game by reminding me to remain calm and not get flustered when something goes wrong.
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Might not be self-immolate appropriate, but I had 2 matches this week at my club. Wednesday was a fourball match and Friday was a singles match. I just didn’t have it on Wednesday and had a sense of dread that I was letting my partner down. Driver was off and just couldn’t string holes together. Each bad shot built on the last, shooting 44-49.
Of course after the round, I found a feel that I was able to keep going on Friday. Also this week, I had a counseling appointment and talked about the times I’m in my head and not in the moment (not specifically in golf) and the counselor recommended I sing out loud.
So on Friday I was able to have some quiet music on and in between shots, I could sing to myself. I could feel my mind racing as things were moving in the match, but the singing helped keep me more level. I ended up winning 7&6 (also my opponent was on the struggle bus) and shot one of my best rounds at my club, 42-43.
Only a single experience, but I definitely was able to move on past bad shots in a way that I normally struggle with.
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I just had this same experience! Shot 15 over (personal best, to date) and did so with 3 triples and a quadruple bogey on the card! Somehow I just kept playing my game and didn’t let any of that negativity linger into the following holes. Amazing!
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Yeah, I two 3 putts (one being for par), a double, and a triple in a 5 hole stretch and managed to get thing straightened back out. That was the biggest lesson to me was that even if things start moving quickly, I still am good enough to get things back on track.
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Great topic!
I think my biggest differential was 51/38 a few years ago. I’m a little more consistent since then but there are days for sure.
Over the last few seasons I’ve learned to stay out of my head which was a huge issue for me until just a few seasons ago. I used to be too touchy out there and let little things bother me more. It wasn’t helping my score.
There are two tactics that have helped me most. Sharing in case they might help someone else.
First, I’ve adopted a VERY conservative style of play. I don’t “go for” anything out there. No cutting corners or hero shots. I don’t swing any club at 100%. If I get out of position I play a conservative shot back into position. I aim for the middle of greens. I lag long putts and even some medium range ones. I want to be that guy who demoralizes opponents by making boring par after boring par and never shooting myself in the foot.
This style of play usually prevents blow up holes, but it always prevents anxiety. Every shot I’m attempting is one I should be able to pull off eight out of ten times. I’m never standing over the ball wondering where it’s gonna go. If I have that feeling I know I’m trying the wrong shot so I drop back to something I’m comfortable doing.
Second, I got fitted into a putter I love and started working hard on putting better. Now I have a lot of confidence over putts inside five feet and feel like I can two putt from anywhere. This is critical to being able to stick with the conservative strategy over 18 holes. If you’re committed to laying up on every par five and aiming at the middle of greens, it helps to believe you’ll make up shots with the putter.
Putting well is a great way to keep your opponents grinding too. It puts the monkey on their back. They start to press and feel all the anxiety you’re avoiding.
My last round was a PB 75 with bogies on 16 & 17. It was weird to total up my score because I hadn’t felt excited or anxious all day. It was actually kind of boring right up through the post-round beers!
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You are among friends.
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Just popping in to reawaken this thread with some information that really helped me in regards to this topic
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You gotta nip it. Nip it! Nip it in the bud.
It starts with accepting the results of the first poor shot. Step two is committing fully to your recovery shot. Step three is refusing to give up on a hole just because you hit one or more bad shots. You have to believe the next one will be great.
Don’t let negative thinking gain any momentum in your mind.
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Just coming in to say that slow play got me bad this weekend. 39 on the front while cruising. Waited on every shot on the back for a smooth 46 with a ton of self deprecation involved.
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Reviving this thread just to say for the first time in a while I lost all mental composure last night in league after a guy didn’t give me a flat 2 ft putt after I gave him basically the same putt. I completely lost it even though I drained the putt dead center.
Hooked my next tee shot over the adjacent hole into the shit, leaked the next one just OB and the dude’s partner goes “that’s outey”, ended up with a 2 ft putt again for a 9 and he didn’t give it to me.
All lead to the worst 9 holes I’ve ever shot in my life.
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Nothing is better than watching a guy who freaked out over missing a short one he wasn’t given try to make his next short one.
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I made both of them
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I read this book recently that kind of addresses this. Good read and might give you some different ideas for how to handle your mental game during a round, especially after you have a blow up hole.
Golf in the Kingdom by Michael Murphy
https://a.co/d/7B8CKGf
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