This is a little psychological tip that worked for me, and it might help you get your score down towards 90.
What I do is forget about par, and think about 5. On every hole I try to make 5 or less. If you manage this, you will shoot no worse than 90! Naturally you will throw the odd 6 or 7 onto your card, but the par 3s give you chances to make 3's or 4's and get those shots back.
Obviously another way to get down to 90 is to make 18 bogeys, but sometimes not thinking about the par for a hole helps to keep you focussed.
The other day, instead of thinking par, and beeing disapointed all the time, I just tried to get to the green with the total par shots, it did take away a lot of pressure, and I played much better... :nodsmiley
The oracle of experience speaks! And what incredible wisdom comes forth!
Excellent advice, though not always easy to follow.
Oh , thank you...thank you. The oracle of cliches maybe It only took me 35 years to put that one into action. But it really does work. Just write 'em down & add 'em up at the end.
This is a little psychological tip that worked for me, and it might help you get your score down towards 90.
What I do is forget about par, and think about 5. On every hole I try to make 5 or less. If you manage this, you will shoot no worse than 90! Naturally you will throw the odd 6 or 7 onto your card, but the par 3s give you chances to make 3's or 4's and get those shots back.
Obviously another way to get down to 90 is to make 18 bogeys, but sometimes not thinking about the par for a hole helps to keep you focussed.
I try to not really have a goal and just go for the green. I usually get one of my partners to keep track of my strokes so I don't think about it. That seems to help for me. AND DONT EVEN TALK ABOUT PAR 3'S!!! Me and Par 3's dont really get along that well...
AND DONT EVEN TALK ABOUT PAR 3'S!!! Me and Par 3's dont really get along that well...
Here's something that helped me, FWIW. For about 6 years I played in a weekday-evening league on an nine-hole Par-3 course. We played every Tuesday night for about 12 weeks or so. I got pretty good at Par 3's, and now they don't bother me as much. So, if you've got a Par-3 course near you, maybe it would help to play it somewhat frequently, if possible. Doesn't take much time or cost as much. Maybe that would help?
On the question of keeping score against fives, this is something I've been doing for a long time. Now, wazmankg and valeogut are perfectly right (can you be "imperfectly right"?) about focusing only on the next shot, but unfortunately I lack the ability to heed such wisdom, so I keep score against fives. This way, I always know what kind of pace I'm on, relative to my goal of breaking 90 (which I achieve about half the time).
Yes, it adds pressure, and it's discouraging when you know that your chance of breaking 90 has dropped to zero (because that 8 you just took put you 6 over fives with only 3 holes to go). However, I also find that it helps me bear down and focus. Sometimes after a bad hole, I look at the card and can say, "OK, I'm still only 3 over fives, and there's a Par 3 coming up, so I can get a couple shots back here."
Possibly a matter of personal style. I do know a guy who doesn't keep score at all. He seems to really enjoy the game!
I'd second what jim says about the par 3 courses. I have one nearby that is mostly played by young kids just starting, but it's great practice, and my husband, who is a low handicapper, is happy to play, because it lets him work on his short game.
I used to do exactly what Jim does... keep score in my head - strokes over or under 5's. It was something my dad taught me when I was just starting out. I've trained myself to quit doing that just the last couple of years. I found that I'd press too much when I got a couple over 5's and lose focus. It was hard habit to break and I still check my score before the last hole to see where I stand & what I need. But I just write down the 8 and move on knowing that there are a couple of par 3's ahead to make up the ground. About par 3's ... I love them. I only have to hit 1 decent shot and there's an opportunity to pick up a couple of strokes.... but I cut my teeth on a 9 hole , par 31 muni which is something I'd recommend for all beginners. My irons have always been the best part of my game and it must have something to do with hitting so many when I was starting out.
December 13th, 2004, 11:51 AM
The oracle of cliches maybe 
It only took me 35 years to put that one into action. 
But it really does work. Just write 'em down & add 'em up at the end.
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