Golf - that crazy game (Probably of interest only to golfers)

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’d appreciate any thoughts you might have - golfers or not - about where I should have my head at concerning my game.

I am a pretty average golfer. 43 years old and played off and on since grade school. Tho I consider myself a bogey golfer, all season my handicap has been hovering around 18. I play in a 9-hole league every Sat, and try to add at least 2 18s a month. I hit the practice range/green at least once a week,

Last year I was disappointed with my game, so this year I took some lessons, changed my swing plane, and bought a new driver and 2 new wood/irons. I made sure I played or practiced at least 3 times a week, and I added a regular Sunday 9 into my rotation.

Tho I really like my new swing, and am generally striking the ball really well, I am far from automatic, and I am not scoring. As was the case at the end of last year, now that I am hitting better, my putting is becoming my nemesis.

I did a lot of reading. Not particular swing stuff, mainly mental course management and attitude stuff. Trying to visualize and stuff. It all seemed kind of hot-or-miss.

Prior to last Sat, the last time I played was 2 weeks ago on my usual Sun 9. I shot a 47 with - get ready for this - 24 putts! That’s right - I had more putts than strokes. I tried to give myself the positive mindfuck, thinking that at least I knew what I needed to work on.

Then we went on a vacation, and I did not touch a club. When we got back, I kept saying “I have to hit the putting green,” but I kept finding one reason or another to put it off. I generally play a lot of golf in Sept and Oct, and I was having a hard time psyching myself up for the fall stretch.

Long story short - I went out Sat, to the same course I had shot the 47, after not touching a club for 2 weeks. Got to the course maybe 10 minutes before tee-time, time for only 6 or so putts and a few practice swings with the driver.

Shot a 37, with 14 putts.

How the fuck does that happen? And where do I go from here?

Was this a fluke? Or has something clicked such that I am now where I should be?

Nothing spectacular on Sat. Just didn’t really screw up. Blew one par 3 for a double boge, and other than that, had 2 boges, 4 pars, and 2 birds. Didn’t drain any monster putts, just sank 3 or 4 4-6 footers. Drove well. Hit 2 really nice irons - a 7 iron and a 2 iron/wood to about 6 feet for my 2 birds.

And I wasn’t really thinking anything special. Just got up there and hit it.

You start thinking crazy. “Okay, the less I practice, the better I’ll get!” But if I go to practice, do I work on striking, chipping, or putting? All were working well on Sat. What should my practice mindset be?

I assume the reason was that I was relaxed. If so, how do I make myself that relaxed in the future?

I’m playing 18 on Wed, 18 on Sat, and 9 next Sun and Mon. Then a big tourn is the following 2 Sats. And, like I said, a lot of golf over the next 2 months. What do I do to calm myself if I hack up the first couple of holes?

As you can imagine, I could go on and on, but I would like to hear any thoughts you gys might have. How do I keep my game where it was Sat?

2

I wish I could help… but the best I’ve EVER carded was an 86 (18 holes, obviously) and, convinced that I had found the magical ‘zone’ that would lead me to a PGA card soon enough, I went out the next day and carded a 101.

So my only commentary on mindsets is that it’s ridiculously easy to deceive myself. :slight_smile:

  • Rick
3

I’ve never broken 100 so I got nothin’ for ya;.
Sorry!

4

Buy more stuff and then blame the equipment. Works for my brother in law.
Seriously, why? Play to enjoy the game - be relaxed about it and don’t worry about improving (unless something is really bugging you). At bogey golf, you are a better than average golfer. Relax and enjoy yourself.

Practice on all parts of your game. Sounds like you had a series of shorter more makable putts on your “great” game than on your high putt game. If you are reaching the green in regulation, but putting the ball forty feet from the pin, yes, you will three putt more often than if you put the ball four feel from the hole - where you can expect to one putt at least occationally (even I can one putt occationally from four feet out). Keep noting how many putts, but start to note approximate distance from the pin once you reach the green. That should let you know whether you need more work on putting or your approach.

Have you tried a round or two with a pro? Sometimes the issue isn’t your swing plane, isn’t chipping and isn’t putting, its course management. Had that driven home recently when I played a course with a lot more bunkers (and a lot deeper bunkers) than I’m used to. Spent so much time at the beach, I felt I’d gone to Hawaii.

Oh and drinking while driving helps if you are looking to relax - but only in golf.

Best wishes - I’ve never broken 120, so take it for what it is worth.

5

I’ve got a lot to reply, but work gets in the way…
In short, work on your short game. I play to an eleven right now, and the biggest difference is:
[ol]
[li]Don’t make big numbers. Course management applies.[/li][li]50% of your shots are inside 100 yards.[/li][li]Get up and down. Give yourself an opportunity to save par by getting within 4 feet when around the green.[/li][li]Set realistic goals.[/li][/ol]
I play 100+ (18 hole) rounds a year, some days the bear eats you, some days you eat the bear. Don’t let yesterday’s round, good or bad, effect your play in today’s round. Same with the front-nine and the back. I’ve shot even par on the front and shot 50 on the back and vice-versa.

6

Have you ever noticed that golf spelled backwards is flog? Of course you have!
One thing I learned from my pro that actually worked for me - seperate your practice time from your playing time. Trust that whatever you’ve been practicing will begin to show in your game without a conscious effort while you’re on the course.

7

Thanks for the replies.

What is so crazy is that it is so different from my other athletic interests, like running or - in the past - fighting. If I want to run faster, I know I need to (generally) run more often, longer distances, etc.

When fighting, I could lift weights to get stronger, or go rounds to build up endurance.

But If I currently can run 4 miles at an 8 minute pace, I know I’m not going to toss out 4 at 7 minute pace. Or even 6.

But now I know I have the ability to shoot a 37 in me. (I’ve shot 9s in the high 30s before on this same course. Just not often, and not consistently. 37 equals my best.) And it was so damn easy! What a frustrating game.

My putting absolutely drives me nuts. I have 3-putted from 10 feet, which isn’t all that easy to do! And getting close to the pin is key. I am lost when I am 30+ feet away. I’m generally pretty good off the tee, and pretty good with my mid-irons, tho yesterday I was putting them relatively closer - all within 20 feet, and several within 10. And, as I said, I sank 3 putts of maybe 4-6 feet.

I feel pretty good with my course management. My problem is that my ballstriking isn’t predictable enough that I can guarantee that I will do what I intend to. Nothing worse than trying to play a safe shot, and then screwing THAT up!

I agree with you, BF. I’ll probably keep working on my short game. My local course has a really nice practice facility, so it is really easy (and free!) for me to take my shag bag and work on my game 40 yards in.

My goal earlier this season was to get down to a 15. But last adjustment took me up to 19.1 - the highest I’ve ever been! But this recent 9 is a keeper, and I can drop it significantly with a good Sept/Oct. Like I said, lots of golf left to play.

Long term goal, I’d like to get to single digits.

As far as hitting, I need my driver to be more reliable, so that I’m hitting more second shots out of the fairway. You are right about up-and-downs. But even when I chip relatively well, I rarely sink the 5-10 footers, and I REALLY rarely drain a long one.

My driver seems to be improving. In fact, tho I am swinging easy, I am getting scary long, which let’s me think my tuiming ans weightshift are clicking. My 5-iron thru wedge are getting really straight and consistent. And the 2 wood/irons I got are wonderfully easy to hit, an automatic 200+ yards off the fairway, and sweet off the tee on long par 3s.

What I REALLY need to do is avoid the total chunks. On Sat, during my 37, I stepped up to a 180 yard par 3, and chunked a drive 50 yards. Then I was short on my wedge, chipped to 6 feet, and rimmed out for a double. Aargh!

When I’m shooting REALLY good, I simply avoid 6s. A couple of pars, do something on a par 32, and you are well under 90 - a nice place to be!

Most of the time, I strike the ball so well. But every once in a while, I hit a shot so bad it is hard to believe I could have hit it that poorly if I tried!

And when you REALLY screw up a shot - OB, in a hazard, in the woods - and don’t recover strongly - it is AMAZING how fast those shots can add up. You know the story. Short par 4, but you drive into the trees. Pitch out 2, and hit 3 into a trap. Decent out but you miss the green, chip on and 2 putt, and voila! - you have yourself a 7. Where you should have had an easy par, a no-brainer bogie, or a possible birdie.

And I didn’t even mention what would happen if you take 2 to get out of the trap, or 3 putt. Hello snowman!

Then you go out and birdie the next hole, which happens to be the #1 hcp! What a crazy game.

I was talking to a guy about this, and he said, I guess that’s what makes you keep coming back!

Bullshit. I’d have plenty of fun and gladly keep coming back if I shot in the 70s all the time! :smiley:

BTW - love your location!

8

My first advice to anyone who wants to take up golf is, I recommend crack, it’s cheaper and less addictive!!

Anyhoo, Dinsdale that is the crux of this nefarious game. Break a 100, and the next thing you know, you wanna break 90, then 80, then you get a divorce.

We (and I include those who play for a living) make boneheaded swings, which is the nature of this game. If you’ve watched enough golf on TV, you’ve probably seen someone who’s 30th on the winnings list actually top a fairway shot 30 yds. Yet they make par or bogey and don’t make a nine. That’s the big thing. To quote Ken Venturi, don’t follow up a bad shot with a worse shot.

And looking at your post, I’m going to reiterate, practice your short game!!! I’m telling you, I’ve played rounds where I couldn’t hit the fairway if I fell out of the cart, yet broke 80. And other times when I hit more fairways and greens than Tiger did last Sunday, and shot an 85.

With the exception of the top ten on the money list, I don’t think anyone really knows where their ball is gonna go, predictable ball striking is the utopia of our game. I once read an article on Tiger, where he shot a 7 under 65. He said he actually hit the ball flush, where he wanted it to go, 6!!! times. What expectations are hacks like us gonna have??!?!?!

9

Welcome to the wonderful world of shit… I mean… golf. All you can do is hope. One thing I’ve learned is that in any given game, one of the three elements, long game, short game, putting, will not exist. You WILL crumble on one of them. My best game was 5 years ago, and I haven’t come close to that score since. It is infuriating because I KNOW that I am capable, because I’ve done it. So why can’t I again???

Before many games, I gave equal practice time on the driving range, chipping range and putting green, and when I had my “A” game on, hit the course only to screw the pooch hard. One of them wouldn’t work.

Unless you can practice several hours a day, every day, all you can do is boil up some wing of bat and eye of newt, hope the planets are aligned just right and that you haven’t pissed off the gods of golf, and maybe, just maybe, if you have had just the right amount of beer, the perfect amount of mustard on the hot dog, the shirt is the right color, your shoes are laced left over right, and there isn’t an errant hair in your ear, that you might… just might… bring it all together and beat your best score by one stroke.

What a game:)

10

I am a 4 to 5 handicap (been a 1 handicap several time in my career) who has shot several rounds in the mid sixties in my career. I seldom if ever practice.

My game has been below average for most of this year:

Reason: IMO…STRESS…I transferred to another department last winter, and it has been very stressful. The department has been performing very poorly (subpar you might say)

I am great believer in Gunga-Ga-Lunga, Total Consciouness. What the Dali Llama gave Carl in Caddyshack as a Tip for looping.

You obviously have the talent to shoot near par because you have done it. Now you need your physical bieng to convnice your mental being.

Good luck to you

11

If you can answer your questions, then I bet some guys on the PGA Tour would like to talk to you.

For your putting, the only advice I can offer, which worked for me, is to not be afraid to hit the ball. That was a big stumbling block for me. I’m only a 12 handicap though. But for me getting past that was huge. I had this hidden belief that putting was like the price is right, you had to get close but couldn’t go over.

In general terms, there’s too much thinking in golf. Use the thinking on the practice fields, when you are on the course, just play.

12

Dinsdale, I used to be a PLAYER, but haven’t played much the last three or four years. One thing I would say (ask) when you go to the practice range, do you pratice, or do you just try to hit your driver as far as you can? You might need to try different things. Try ALL your clubs, try to hit them to an exact spot on the range. Learn how far you can hit each club. Try to practice drawing and fading each club, not HOOKS and SLICES.

Another thing I’ve found, the more you play, the better you get. THAT is the truly addicting part of the game.

And one more thing…no matter what level you are playing at, two days in a row, you might play like Jack Nicklaus one day and Jack Shit the next. It even happens to the pros.

The most important thing (stated earlier,) is to have fun!

13

Thanks again, guys.
A couple more things - I am firmly in the “have fun” camp. I can actually remember two distinct times when something clicked. Once, when I was a kid, my game was improving such that I began to challenge my dad. So he started with the mind games to piss me off, such that my game would go to hell. (Nice guy, huh? :)) One particular day he chipped out of turn, the ball ran into the cup, and he danced up to the hole, pulled out his ball with a flourish. proclaimed “That one had - eyes!” and gave the ball a loud kiss. So, like any reasonable teenager, I screamed out every cuss word in my vocabulary, snapped my bullseye putter over my bag and walked off the course promising never to play with him again. Later, upon reflection, I realized that I liked the game too much for him to drive me from it. Moreover, when I played with him - HE paid my greens fees. Today, I don’t care what you do - talk, move, jingle the coins in your pocket during my backswing. Doesn’t bother me.

The other awakening was one morning around 6:30 I heard some guy cussing a blue streak on another fairway. And it struck me how ridiculous that this guy would wake up early on a weekend, and go out and pay money to get pissed off. IMO a lot of folks’ frustration is due to the fact that they aim solely at an overall low score. And, the fact of the matter is, most folk won’t regularly shoot as low as they wish to. So I figure I will have a good time if I any one or more of the following occurs:

  1. shoot a good score
  2. hit some nice shots
  3. have a great hole or 2
  4. find some golf balls
  5. play a quick round
  6. enjoy the company of my playing partners
  7. have a pleasant walk in a nice environment
    With that many ways to win, you can’t lose.

Having said all that, given the option, of course I’d rather shoot low. It is amazing how much better you can feel over an 89 than a 91.

I do practice with a purpose. It always amuses me to see how many guys just bomb their drivers at the range, when it is clear from their swing that they have a lot more they could be working on. I do work on my driver quite a bit, tho, as getting in trouble off the tee has long been one of my biggest problems. I have long been good with my full irons from 5 through wedge.

I am convinced that distance is vastly overrated. I would gladly agree to accept drives no longer than 220, if they would all be in the fairway. Since I was a kid I swung too hard. Now that I am slowing down my swing and adjusting my swingplane and with my new monster 410cc titanium bazooka driver, my drives are getting straighhter - and scary long.

I always moved the ball left to right, at worst ending up in a big slice. But it was predictable, and I could get away with it playing the width of the fairway. Now I am drawing the ball. An my occasional miiss-hit off the tee is a hook. Neat to be able to see the difference so clearly.

I have very limited ability to work the ball, and generally do not try unless I am getting out of or around trouble. At my level of ballstriking, I generally am best off trying to identify the straight ballflight that will avoid trouble and set up my next shot.

I also work on my short game a lot because I’m a cheap-ass Polack. Buckets of balls cost money, whereas I can go to the chipping and putting range for free!

14

I know how that goes. I haven’t played that much this summer. Thursday I went out for the first time in a month. No warm up, first hole good shot that just missed the fairway, no problem. 125 yards out and down hill so I pulled my wedge out. Hit it heavy and just missed the green. Ok chip that went pretty far by and putt for a 4, not bad.

Next hole ok hit again, top the 125 yard pitch and over the green. Pitch it on the green and two putt again for a 5. Next hole par 3 land it on the green, very unusual for me, just missed the birdie and got par. So far so good. Next hole par 5. Bad drive, much better second, thought I had made the green but was off. Chip from 20 yards and three putt.

Next par 3 hit it short, I’ve not been hitting as solid as I would like. In the bunker. I haven’t hit out of the sand in months but I got it within three feet and made the putt.

The last couple of holes I fell apart and had three 7s. Wonderful game golf is.

15

Always remember Golf’s first commandment:

Golf is as much a mental game as it is physical. The only way to prevent it from psyching you it is to remember that grabbbing your sticks and going out for a round is the most humbling thing you’ll ever do in your life.

16

There are three tips that you absolutely have to remember to better your game.

  1. Keep your head down.

  2. Keep your head down.

  3. Keep your G&$#dammed head down!

Oh, and one more that I picked up from an old timer who watched me plug shot after shot into a water hazard that I was trying to get over. When you have to shoot over water, don’t try it. Try to drive the ball directly into the middle of it. It works! Seems that many folks are intimidated by water and by trying hard to loft over it, they unconsciously lift the club a hair, skulling the ball into the water. By trying to hit the water, you do the opposite and get the club under the ball, where it is supposed to be. Trust me, it really does work. I’ve never hit water since.

17

Figured I’d give you guys an update. (That, and I wanna brag over a fantastic weekend!)

Things ared going really well on the golf front. My drives are getting close to automatic. And huge! And I have a couple of “rescue clubs” - a 2 and a 4 iron-wood - which are good for an automatic 190-220 yds off the tee or fairway. So par 5s are getting easy, and I’m hitting fairways on short par 4s. Makes the game easy when all you have to do is hit an 8-iron thru wedge to the green for prox, and 2 putt for a par.

I’m at the place where bogeys are coming easy. So I’m avoiding the blow-up triples, and even few doubles. Toss in a couple of pars or even birds on par 4s and 3s, and makes it easy to break 90.

Over the weekend I shot an 88 on Sat, and an 85 on Sun. I don’t think I broke 90 all year last year, or yet this year. And I didn’t play incredibly either time. Just fairways and greens.

With my 85, I lost 3 balls on the front, and had 21 putts on the back. So I wasn’t playing incredibly either. Just avoided the blow-ups.

On putting, I have adopted a more upright stance. Really gives me a good feel of swinging with my left hand, and feel as tho my eyes are right over the ball. And I’m hitting greens on the correct side of pins more frequently. Leaving myself uphill putts rather than down.

The area that has been least reliable for me is inside of 100 yds, but outside of 20. That is an area where I need to knock a couple really close. Too often, I have been leaving myself too much work after getting myself into position A off the tee, or after recovering from a bad drive.

The numbers:
My hcp peaked on 8/21 at a 19.1
9/4 revision date it went down to 18, then on 9/18 dropped to 17.3.
If it were revised today, it would be around 16.2.
Now that’s a trend that doesn’t suck!

Six of my last seven scores have been keepers for hcp purposes.

And MOST importantly, I have been winning my buddies’ money!

Looking forward to playing 18 this Fri, and then 9 each on Sat and Sun. Lots of golf still to be played before the snow flies!