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I am playing at a course tomorrow that I despise. The first few holes are the worst in terms of layout and I can't seem to help going in with a bad attitude. Then it finishes with a horrible par 3.

How do you prepare to take on a course that you dislike? I try to have a positive attitude ( I am Mr. Happy-go-lucky most of the time) but this place just rubs me the wrong way.

Advice?

Thanks

Not played a course I dispise....

I have a course I know I don't play well on, but don't let it bother me.... This of course...lol is no help to you I suppose.

My only thought is don't let it bother you, enjoy the weather & nature, just take a little time to clear your mind, concentrate on one hole at a time & how to best approach each shot in turn.... not what the problem is with the hole, but what could be good hope that is common sense....

I play at a course from time to time that my buddies seem to like. It's near by, and after 3PM it's only $26. My gripe is that it's really, really narrow.

I just take a few extra seconds to concentrate on my shots. I also think how much better it is hitting down a narrow fairway than being at work.

I really try to avoid courses that I hate. There's two in my general area that I would play on only if clients really wanted to play there; Anaheim Hills and another wretched course named Marshall Canyon in La Verne. The former thinks it's a U.S. Open course and the latter is the golf course equivalent of Buster Douglas after losing to Evander Holyfield-fat, sloppy, out of shape, and just doesn't give a **** anymore.

If I were you Dante, I'd tip the beverage cart girl before you even hit the course so you can drink early and often. In a state of mild to heavy inebriation any course is likeable.

I'll have to try that. The next time out we're playing a place that just eats me alive. It has me totally psyched out. Just think about what a beautiful day it is and it beats working.

I am usually at work, thinking how good it would be to be out on a course anywhere, even if it were tipping it down & blowing a gale.

That's sometimes tough, but I focus on TARGET GOLF. Most courses I hate have really crazy hazards and awful hole designs. So.........I focus on taking long irons off the teebox on short par4's, and playing target golf - what I mean is........focusing on hitting a fade/draw, or specific targets in the fairway/green.

Well, as a follow up I played the course on Saturday and shot an 8 over 78. I did play irons off a the tees on holes that just didn't fit my game. I putted better on the shaggy greens too. So, all in all I tried to focus on the positive aspects of the course and it did help my game. (I was hot until I went bogey, double, double on 13, 14, 15.)

I don't have a good answer for you. Anytime I play a course I know I don't like I dwell on everything thats wrong with it and don't block out the stuff that's bad IMO. Very difficult for me to do and I never shoot well in those circumstances. I know you're suppossed to just be glad you're outside and enjoying nature, but that doesn't work for me at all. Tour players schedule their tournaments on courses they like, so even they have a hard time concentrating on just playing.

What amazes me is when I see other people shooting low scores - I always wonder what course they were playing

don't play it..save your money, and agony, and play somewhere you like.

There is a way to get the ball to the hole in regulation on every course. You probably should play the course as much as you can if you don't score well on it. You need to learn new shots to compete with this course from the sounds of it. Learn to fade, draw, high and low, spinning approaches, non-spinning approaches. In short just challenge yourself to hit the shots and as the Nike commercials say. Just do it! Cut your bets on this course down to a couple bucks a side and go for everything, have fun with your game. If the greens don't accept the ball well then lay up within 100 yds. or so and throw sandies in real high with lots of spin, or maybe hit short with draw and run them in. Use your imagination and see how different shots turn out. At worst you loose a couple bucks but had alot of fun practicing different shots