Anybody else suffer from this? It doesn't always happen, but the other day I had a fantastic first nine. I was putting like ****, but still shot 43. That was desptie having 20 putts (can't get used to my new putter). Was driving really well, and my irons were deadly, as were my wedges.
Then on the next nine I couldn't hit the ball to save my life. I completely lost my swing and shot 9's and 10's on about 3 holes. I hit 3 tee shots in a row OOB off the same tee before picking up. I had an adjusted 51, which had I not picked up would have about 58 or so gross.
I had wholemeal sandwhiches for lunch pre-round, and ate two bananas and two muesli bars during the round. I also drank lots of water.
The only thing I can think of is that I didn't have a great sleep the previous night and I may have been tired. Still, talk about Jeckell and Hyde!
Last edited by leaguegolf : May 7th, 2006 at 08:40 PM.
Reason: Inappropriate Language
Yeah, I know what you mean, my Dad always counts his score too early and says 'if I can jsut bogey the next 2 holes I'll get a sub blah blah' and then collapses. But I didn't feel like this was mental. I wasn't thinking about my score too much really, just trying to hit the blimmen ball!
Another point is that I hadn't played in about three weeks. I used to play every week, but since the birth of me second baby and a few new commitments I have, I can't get out as much. I wonder if that is a factor.
MR SOOTY,
First congrats on your new born. Yes new commitments are and do play a roll. You may not feel that it was mental but if you are like me then it is there in the back of your head. Usually for me if I had not played for a while I will start off great due to controlling the swing tempo until I am comfortable, then a few good loose holes getting very comfortable, then BAAM! I am too loose and comfortable and losing my edge. bogey here and there finishing up. A good nights sleep helps keeping that edge and mentally strong to control that tempo you kept on the front 9 holes. You did right with the h20 and banana's. But focus is BIG.
"Back Nine Blues" was a common occurence within our group so we decided to make the back a bit more interesting by creating a bet that begins at 10... "Birdie Whip Outs". Every time someone birdies, the rest of us pay up five bucks (eagles pay ten bucks).
I had the opposite sat. I shot a 52 on the front nine and a 39 on the back!! This game is bazaar. To many swing thoughts killed me on the front. I get way to tight. The 39 was my lowest ever for any round.
Maybe it was mental. I can actually pnpoint when it started going wrong. I had a 1 foot putt (virtual tap in) for bogey after just missing a par putt. I was just going to fininsh it off to get out of the way, but I was going to be standing on somebodies line. I sorta looked at him as if to say 'do you mind?' - half expecting him to give it to me - and he said "Well you better do something with it, either mark it or finish it without standing on anybodies line." I really shoulda marked it, but I didn't, I lent over awkwardly, avoiding his line, and tried to tap it in, but I missed it. I was really bummed and felt like an idiot. An almost par turned into a double bogey because of a stupid bit of impatience. That was on the 10th hole of the day, and I'd been playing bogey golf up till then - good for me.
The next hole was OK though, so I didn't think that was the reason for the collapse, but it must have still been in my head, because it all went wrong after that. I got to a narrowish par four with OOB on the right, and instead of taking my driver, which had been going really well all day, I decided to play it 'safe' and take the 3 wood. I duffed it and ended up with a 10 or something after losing the ball in a tree on my next shot.
Know what you mean on those shorties… I missed a 1.5 footer in my league last nite; it would have carried the hole and won my match. It was on the 3rd hole and I laughed and went on to par the next 6 (9 hole match). Needless to say, they didn’t give me anther putt all nite!! I guess what I’m saying is “It is only a game!!” Try to learn for the next time. (0r get a playing partner that gives you the 1 footers)
More often than not, mine is just a few bad holes per nine, not consecutive. I'll go along fine then have a 7 or 8. Then nothing for a few holes, then another 7. Usually it's a loose tee shot that ends up 0B that causes it. Lose one then retee, and bogey gets you 7 instead of 5.
That happens when you start thinking about your score and you get tense. Just relax and enjoy the game.
That is no lie. I was playing with my son and was not paying attention to my score until the 14th hole. At that point I got nervous because I had a shot at hitting in the 70' for the first time ever. Last time I was at the point I feel apart.....luckily this time I held it together and shot a 78. But when I starting thinking score....I got worse.
Sometimes a small bet helps you focus. If it doesn’t mater, you loose focus. Sometime you can blame poor play on the pressure of loosing a quarter, but in the long run it makes you perform better under pressure. The key is being a “Good Sport”! There is nothing worse that seeing a grown Man getting upset over loosing a 25 cent bet. Very pathetic!!!
Very interesing topic.
One of the problems with great starts s that we go into "I want to make it keep hapening" and we begin to want to see where the ball went BEFORE we finish hitting it
It often happens after a good start, then we stop trying to force it and our natural game re-emerges.
The same thing applies to bad starts, when we again try to make this happen instead of creating the circumstances where they could happen.
I mean taking a deep breath, focus on what you need to do for the shot, double-checking, commiting and then TRUSTING yourself to make it.
May 7th, 2006, 06:16 PM
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