Re: Aaaargh the frustation of this game when you are rubbish

Sounds pretty good to me mate, but I know exactly what you mean. I played 18 holes this morning, and my head was pharked enought before I started that I should have known it was a bad idea, and I shot +12 over par on the out 9, and +4 over par on the inward 9. The score of 82 was fine, it was just that my inconsistency makes planning any kind of game plan almost impossible.

Another Wentworth trip? You jammy bugger!

Keep it coming mate - it's all heading in the right direction. Well. The scores are. Presumably that means at least some of the balls are, too..?

Re: Aaaargh the frustation of this game when you are rubbish

hi
i had a real good day today, sun was shining and there was a warm breeze and my back felt OK today, i shot 12 over and i was not swinging 100% in case my back went again. i had a relaxing day and felt i was hitting the ball crisply, i think that fact i have thought about playing for weeks now and i knew where i wanted the ball to be on every hole helped in my game. it was if almost every shot was pre-planed before i got to the ball. if my backs OK I'll try and get a game on Monday again. i like this relaxing way of playing golf.
sounds like a good inward 9 bulldog, maybe try and think about playing the course the night before so it in your head when you go to sleep, seemed to work for me and its been 7 weeks since i played.
bill

Re: Aaaargh the frustation of this game when you are rubbish

Great stuff Groovey Gang! Some good advances this year from Robin and Ian.

Re: Aaaargh the frustation of this game when you are rubbish

Thanks for the comment.

Much of any advance is due to this forum and to a large extent your help in particular Brian.

Last year I was thinking "I'll give it a few months more but if nothing happens I'll give the clubs away" now I actually feel like a golfer when I go out - not always a particular good one I admit but I'm getting there.

I still have this "Mr Foot meet Mr Shotgun" tendency if I get careless or over reach myself but I'm sure that If I curb that (and get my putting back ) then I'll catch up the Dog (damn him ) in shooting that 80.

Best Wishes to all those who have helped.

Re: Aaaargh the frustation of this game when you are rubbish

Good to hear you blackballed giving the clubs away Robin...

You seem to suffer from what I call the "blow out hole". Actually, I have some vague memory I might have started a thread on that very topic a while back.

As yet another for instance, my last round out last Saturday was 92 off the stick and included 9 pars and a hellish 11 on a reasonably easy par 4. Also took triple bogey 7 on the first hole. So, 10 over for 2 holes, 10 over for another 7 and then there was also the 9 pars.

The thing that seems to work for me is my "swing easy" thought and always trying to remember that I am indeed NOT Ernie Els, as much as I might try to imitate him and all I have to try to do now is not let my mind get away from me when I inevitably (given my 15 handicap) hit a poor shot.

Bottom line, enjoy your golf, try to stay happy and relaxed on the course and the good results will come.

Cheers

Re: Aaaargh the frustation of this game when you are rubbish

Robin,

I know this is hard to do - have no expectations of your round. After I have played I always focus on the positives and then quickly go over the c r a p.

Focus next practice on the c r a p. Always finish on a good note when practicing.

Oh, we're out there playing mate. Plenty of people less fortunate than ourselves that aren't.

Re: Aaaargh the frustation of this game when you are rubbish

Nicole

Busy this morning - you must have had a backlog of subscribed threads .

You are so right about expectations.

I started the back 9 in question with no expectations at all and suddenly for a little purple patch I'm playing to single figures; problem was that my expectations then changed which killed my concentration and blew away the PB.

I'll learn from it though.

Re: Aaaargh the frustation of this game when you are rubbish

Try looking at it the other way. A game plan breeds consistency. If you're looking for consistency first, it's a looooooooooooong road. Pick the area of the hole without trouble and hazards and play to it. Make this shot easy and your next shot easier.

Rotella calls it "conservative strategy, cocky swing".

I shot level par round my home course doing exactly that last weekend.

It works.

Re: Aaaargh the frustation of this game when you are rubbish

Great to see you back Neil

Re: Aaaargh the frustation of this game when you are rubbish

I can't help myself Bri! I love this game too damn much!

Thanks mate.

Re: Aaaargh the frustation of this game when you are rubbish

Hear Hear.

And yes Neil, both in the round in the OP and my round on Sunday the blow up holes would have been either avoided or just minimised if I'd been more conservative and planned what I needd to do better.

"blood sudden head to rush a of the"

Rearrange this words into a well know phrase Robin and avoid the problem next time

Re: Aaaargh the frustation of this game when you are rubbish

Indeed. Like the Arsenal, do the simple things well and the potential is enormous.

Build your round from easy positioning, rather than heave ho and away we go!

Like anything in this game, I didn't truly appreciate it until I tried it.

Another phrase that comes to mind is "play to your competant yardages". In other words, leave the ego on the shelf and do the things you know you can do, rather than the things you think you ought to be able to do.

For example, if that means on a par 4 a driver to 210 yards (straight and safe) a hybrid short (safe) and pitch on (safe) and 2 putts then you're putting bogey well and truly in the frame with the chance of a par, rather than thinking of par or birdie on the tee and coming up with a double, or having to manufacture shots in order to try and score well.

Work on your game separately to improve your skills so that eventually your strategy can match your skills. One of the biggest things I've learned recently is switching from practice mode to play mode. When playing, think of hitting fairways in the right spots for your ability and hitting greens or not getting in trouble. That's it. That's all strategy really is.

My golden rule: Play with what you have, practice to improve, then play with what you have.

A recipe for improvement.

Re: Aaaargh the frustation of this game when you are rubbish

Still looks like Gordon Brown with the guitar to me?

Re: Aaaargh the frustation of this game when you are rubbish

hi
i think Neil makes a lot of good point, if your playing badly then look and see what parts of your game worked for you on that day and then try and see why. with driving i find that to many handicap players try and hit the ball to hard and get wild, if they controlled the swing more they would hit more fairways and there second shots will be better too. playing out the rough after most drives is that hard way to play and make it almost impossible to good score.
i cant remember ever playing so bad that all parts of my game were bad, and i try and work with whats good and play to my strengths on the course then try and sort out the things that went wrong after the game and not during it. i think a lot of people try and fix there game when playing the course and by the end of the round there so confused the don't know whats working and whats not.
play with what you have on that day you will find you you will enjoy it more.

bdbl
you say your having putting problems, i know that that can really hurt your game. have you ever tried a long putter, i changed to a broom-handled putter and never looked back, worth giving a try if you cant ever seem to get your putting to a good standard, i was always a poor putter till i changed just over 2 years ago.
it did wonders for Sam Torrance and Bernhard Langer , Langer was about to give up as he had the yips that bad Sam too, even Vjay used the long putter for a time.
bill