Damn blowup holes! How do you cope?

[jetsknicks1]

So frustrating today. I've been hitting much better shots since my lessons but I just can't seem to get rid of my blowup holes. Shot a 92 on a tough course but had two triples and four doubles aaarrrgggg! Had 6 pars but playing 6 holes in 14 over is just ridiculous. I don't mind a couple doubles in a round but 4 of them, on top of the two triples, is just a round killer. Guess I just gotta keep grinding. How about you?

[meenman]

If your posted handicap index is real, 4 doubles would still be a good day. Mine is close to yours and I usually have a minimum of 6 doubles a round ( i do keep the triples and up to a minimum)

[jetsknicks1]

If your posted handicap index is real, 4 doubles would still be a good day. Mine is close to yours and I usually have a minimum of 6 doubles a round ( i do keep the triples and up to a minimum)

My HC is real so I expect a few doubles, it's the triples that kill me. If I knock those two triples down to doubles, all I need is one more putt to fall to put me in the 80s.

[RVAHokie]

As a 9 hcp or so i don't expect to double bogey a single hole, but if it happens i focus even harder for the next 3 or 4 holes and ensure i par them.

[Dave2512]

I take it one shot at a time and try not to force things. It happens, yesterday I started with 2 doubles and still managed a 44 on the front. It doesn't get any easier as your index improves, the doubles are still there. Even pros put up doubles.

[jetsknicks1]

I take it one shot at a time and try not to force things. It happens, yesterday I started with 2 doubles and still managed a 44 on the front. It doesn't get any easier as your index improves, the doubles are still there. Even pros put up doubles.

. I've gotten better at doing that, I was able to follow both triples with pars. Just a bit frustrated because I'm starting to see some real improvement and I know that I have the ability to eliminate those round killers.

[Second Chance]

I've learned that you have to play for bogey once you make a mistake. I personally like scenarios...

Let's say your tee shot on a par 4 is in the trees 200 yards out, but you don't have a clear shot at the green. Now you are playing for bogey. You're focused on getting the ball back in play FIRST! Also, you're trying to give yourself the best angle at the green since your next shot needs to be on the green. Thus, try to really get into getting the shot back into play--just like you would be trying to make a birdie putt! Once it's back in play put it on the green and two putt, easy bogey right?

Let's say you shortsided yourself on a course with tough greens. Whatever you do, don't get cute! Put it on the green and two putt! Another easy bogey...

Let's say you toss it in the drink off the tee. Take a moment to really think about your drop and where you would have the best chance to score. If you can get it in the fairway...drop it there. Don't be a hero either--get it in the middle of the green, two putt for no worse than a double bogey.

The same goes for sand traps (greenside and fairway), deep rough, hardpan, etc.

Every now an then you'll make some great shots/putts that will give you momentum to score better on future holes too...

Good luck!

[ShawnPennington]

Originally Posted by jetsknicks1

My HC is real so I expect a few doubles, it's the triples that kill me. If I knock those two triples down to doubles, all I need is one more putt to fall to put me in the 80s.

Amen...blow up holes kill my confidence more than anything..... i posted a 93 two weeks ago (Second lowest round ever) but it didnt take a genius to realize i could have very easily been in the mid 80s if i could saved the triples. (one penalty shot off tee, and too many chips, and one 3 putt)

Frustrating.... but i try to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[jetsknicks1]

Shot an 87 today, yea baby! I stayed away from the triples but I did have 3 doubles. Back to back to back, ugh! I shot a 40 on the front and was a 3 footer away from a 39. The 3 doubles on the back killed me because I shot 7 strokes worse on the back than the front. All in all tough, I'm very encouraged.

[jetsknicks1]

I've learned that you have to play for bogey once you make a mistake. I personally like scenarios... Let's say your tee shot on a par 4 is in the trees 200 yards out, but you don't have a clear shot at the green. Now you are playing for bogey. You're focused on getting the ball back in play FIRST! Also, you're trying to give yourself the best angle at the green since your next shot needs to be on the green. Thus, try to really get into getting the shot back into play--just like you would be trying to make a birdie putt! Once it's back in play put it on the green and two putt, easy bogey right? Let's say you shortsided yourself on a course with tough greens. Whatever you do, don't get cute! Put it on the green and two putt! Another easy bogey... Let's say you toss it in the drink off the tee. Take a moment to really think about your drop and where you would have the best chance to score. If you can get it in the fairway...drop it there. Don't be a hero either--get it in the middle of the green, two putt for no worse than a double bogey. The same goes for sand traps (greenside and fairway), deep rough, hardpan, etc. Every now an then you'll make some great shots/putts that will give you momentum to score better on future holes too... Good luck!

What you're talking about Is what I try to do after a messed up shot. I look at what's between me and the hole and think, "Where can I do the least damage?" :)

[saevel25]

depends on how the blow up holes happen. 6 strokes with in 100 yards, i am pissed off. If i jack a ball OB by a faulty swing, then i am not to concerned, its one shot, it happens. 6 strokes or more from a certain distance, ist a lot of bad strokes all in a row.

How i usually get over it, just learn to forget it. Once you learn that you can't change the past, but you can damn well let the past effect your next shot. It gets really easy to remember, "Hey, calm down, play the next hole, get a few strokes back, you know the level of golf you can play."; Basically become stubborn to the fact that your not going to let the past dictate any shots your going to hit from that point forward.

[2ironfrenzy]

I used to let blow up holes get into my head... They would eat away at me inside to the point that I would start thinking I would hit my drive ob/into the water etc. Golf is a very mentally challenging sport, and as soon as you start thinking you are going to hit a bad shot, more times than not, you will hit a bad or even worse shot than you imagined. My best round ever was an 81 at Palouse Ridge (Washington State University course) and it was in a tournament.   The day before, I played the exact same course and shot a 104!  The differnece in my game was I started strong with bogey par birdie. (my best start ever)  when i shot the 81.  When I shot the 104 I hit my tee shot ob on 1, and 3 putted for a triple... Needless to say I got quite upset with myself that day.  I proceeded to hit doubles+ on most of the front 9, swinging harder and harder to try and make up for stupid mistakes with distance, resulting mostly in terrible shots.  I kept telling myself I can't do this or I can't do that.  The day I shot the 81, I woke up after a long sleep feeling super refreshed.  We got to the course early, and i spent 2+ hours practicing putting/chipping and hitting on the range.   I worked over and over remembering my swing, and went into the round with confidence.   On the first hole I left my par put 2" short and was happy with a bogey. Following that I kept envisioning  each and every shot, from the drives to the 1-foot putts.  By seeing in my head what I wanted to do and not having any negative thoughts, I played the best round of my life!

[NuclearMike]

Although it's never easy to put a really bad hole behind me I try to think of the next shot that I face as the most important one of the day.  Although cumulative score is what we play for (except in match play) try to think of a round of golf as 18 separate "games".  Once I've finished out on a blow-up hole it's on to the next "game", one for which the previous bad hole has no impact at all.  In a recent round I was four over through 10 and playing really good golf, but on the 11th proceeded to hit one OB and bladed one from the sand over the green, from where it took me four more to strokes to finish out my five over par nine.  I parred the 12th and birdied the 13th and finished the round with one par and four bogeys on the last five for a more than respectable (for me) 84.  Just get yourself to forget rather than dwell on the past and you'll better be able to recover your momentum from that really bad hole.

[jetsknicks1]

I've always tried to let them go and just move on but in the past, it's been hard because I knew there was a really good chance that I would follow it up with a couple more blow ups. As I get better though, I have much more confidence in my ability to make it up on the next hole.

[bplewis24]

This is probably the purest illustration of what defines the game of golf.  It's not only the blow-up holes.  You can make it even more granular: how do you cope with the horrible, embarrassingly poor shot?  What happens when you are on the #1 handicap, 450 yard par 4 that dog legs the opposite direction of your shot shape with hazards that don't allow you to cut the corner?  What do you do when you focus hard to visualize the perfect tee shot that will give you a good chance on the hole, and then proceed to hit 5 inches behind the ball resulting in a 25 yard duff.  Double-bogie is now tapping you on the shoulder, offering "good luck" and letting you know that he'll meet you on the green in about ten minutes.  How do you cope?  Hell, that's what differentiates between the 15 and 25 handicapper.  It's what can determine who wins on Sunday in a PGA tournament.

IMO, it either takes a great amount of patience and focus to regroup before the next shot or hole, or it takes a unique ability to be "blissfully ignorant" in forgetting the last shot as if it never happened.  I try and model my game in the former vs the latter.  Either way, you have to find a way to block out the angry, frustrated and dejected voices in your head that want you to feel sorry for them or are pissed at you for putting them in a tight spot.  It ain't easy.

A couple years ago I dated a girl who formerly had played collegiate soccer and had picked up tennis as a hobby.  She wanted to golf with me and already had a set of clubs, so we played several rounds together.  She once said to me that she couldn't understand why golf frustrated her unlike any other sport she'd ever tried.  I thought about it, and explained that it's because in golf, shots are successive, and each mistake can build upon another.  In soccer or tennis, one horrible strike can result in at worst losing one score or point and sometimes results in nothing of consequence.  That's it, it's over.  Move on to the next.  In golf, on bad swing can mean the next shot is horribly out of position, which results in the next swing being even harder, which makes the next chip extremely difficult, making the comeback putt for double or triple very quick.  In basketball, the worst shot of my life at worst results in a change of possession.  In football, hitting the wrong hole or taking the wrong angle sometimes results in no consequences at all.

One bad swing or bounce can take you from par/birdie to double or worse, depending on how you recover.  Hitting out of bounds off the tee makes it very difficult to do better than double bogie.  For a low handicapper there isn't much more demoralizing than that.  But how you recover from it is an indication of how good you really are at golf, in my opinion.

[TourSpoon]

You will manage your blow-up holes better once you quit reacting to your blow up shots. That means taking your medicine and being patient to minimize the damage that you already have caused. It also means accepting that fact that you will occasionally have one or two and that bad breaks will happen.

Yesterday, I birdied the first, parred the second, was cruising at one under and then left myself with an awkward pitch on a par 4. I played for safety then 3 putted from 25 feet for a smooth double. I then hit a tee shot down the cart path of the next par three lending itself to another double after a very aggressive pitch went over the green. I didn't get pissed, I just realized that I used up all my strokes for the front nine in two holes and that if I don't pay attention and trust my skill it's going to be a long day. I birdied the next hole, and bogeyed number 9 for 3 over. The point is that I try to look at what caused the blow up and learn from it. Sometimes you just have to do that with the whole round. That's tough, but if you use a scoring program, you can start to see the trends and recognize how horrible thinking can sink you. You also need to realize what is poor strategy versus what is a bad break and try not to react negatively.

The fact that you recognize the triples as your scoring nemesis is part of the battle. I realized the same thing with doubles. There are times to be aggressive and play for par and birdie and there are times when bogey looks good. Knowing the difference helps and it sounds like you are starting to do this.

Good luck.

[dave s]

Gosh, doubles are so easy to make even when you're hitting it well.  Second shot flies the green and into a bad spot.  Chip on but nowhere near the pin.  A 3-putt later you're grumbling about a double all the way to the next tee box.

The only thing I can suggest is going back over your card(s) and review the doubles and triples to find what led to the scores.  See if you can isolate a common incident that led to the doubles/triples.  If you can determine something like blading an approach shot over the green, work on that part of your game.

Two weeks ago, I took a TEN on a par-5.  I haven't done that in maybe ... EVER!  Good drive and I pushed my 2nd shot into the right rough and left myself and uphill / sidehill lie with my feet well below the ball.  Fatted that shot into a small, deep round bunker which took two shots to get out.  Note:  Should have gone sideways or backwards to the fairway to setup my next shot but chose a 9-iron which didn't get it up and out.  When I DID get out, the ball came to rest in the really deep rough just 2' outside the bunker.  From there it was another beefed PW (still uphill shot) yanked left and into a deep grass bunker.  Left the next one short, chipped again and 2-putted for a TEN.

Another thing I think after playing some real nice courses:  When you make a bad shot, there should be a penalty of some sort.  Not penalty strokes per se, but a penalty for making a bad shot,  Yank one left and short-side yourself to the pin and you're looking at up-and-down in 3 rather than 2.  Try to make the hero flop-shot and blow it, you're now looking at up-and-down in 4.  There's your double!

dave