What breaks down in your game towards the end of a round?

[Golfingdad]

It seems like stuff that requires finesse has some potential to lose out when you are tired.

Do you drive a cart or walk? If you walk do you push/pull or carry? I'm wondering if carrying a bag around makes any difference.

Probably about 50/50 between riding and walking.  When I play Laguna Woods with my dads, Rancho San Joaquin, Mile Square, or my brothers/dads CC up in Fresno I walk and carry.  Most all of the other courses around here include cart with the greens fees, in which case I'm riding.

You got me curious, so I went and checked out my last 20.  In those last 20, I've walked (and carried) 6 rounds.  All 6 of those rounds are amongst my best 8 rounds.

[Lihu]

Probably about 50/50 between riding and walking.  When I play Laguna Woods with my dads, Rancho San Joaquin, Mile Square, or my brothers/dads CC up in Fresno I walk and carry.  Most all of the other courses around here include cart with the greens fees, in which case I'm riding.

You got me curious, so I went and checked out my last 20.  In those last 20, I've walked (and carried) 6 rounds.  All 6 of those rounds are amongst my best 8 rounds.

That goes back to what @Strandly mentioned in his post that walking helped his score. I vaguely remember the posts to which he was also referencing, too.

BTW, my best rounds were also walking, but I started to deteriorate towards the end. This was a surprise (except my two worst drives for the day), but the data also shows that all other aspects also went south.

[Golfingdad]

That goes back to what @Strandly mentioned in his post that walking helped his score. I vaguely remember the posts to which he was also referencing, too.

BTW, my best rounds were also walking, but I started to deteriorate towards the end. This was a surprise (except my two worst drives for the day), but the data also shows that all other aspects also went south.

Except it's not really a cause and effect thing in my case.  It's just that the courses I play that allow walking are the types of courses that suit my game.  I was mainly just pointing out that walking and carrying doesn't hurt my score.

[saevel25]

Just kind of wondering when you get tired (either physically or mentally) what part of your game breaks down?

Full shots mostly. Just being able to get the correct turn rates. When I get tired I get very "armsy" with the swing.

[Strandly]

Except it's not really a cause and effect thing in my case.  It's just that the courses I play that allow walking are the types of courses that suit my game.  I was mainly just pointing out that walking and carrying doesn't hurt my score.

How do they suit your game, exactly?

I've played a fair number of courses and I've never felt like I had any particular advantage at any of them.

[billchao]

Just kind of wondering when you get tired (either physically or mentally) what part of your game breaks down?

My experience is pretty similar to @Golfingdad 's. There are rounds where I play better on the front 9 and rounds where I play better on the back 9. But I will feel fatigue from time to time, for one reason or another. I find the first thing that goes is my concentration. I'll read putts faster than I usually do, or I'll skip steps in my preshot routine. Just a general lack of focus.

[rcwkent]

If I feel fatigued I can start to sway, which usually leads to topping or at least hitting the ball thin.

[Golfingdad]

How do they suit your game, exactly?

I've played a fair number of courses and I've never felt like I had any particular advantage at any of them.

Yeah, sure.  These are the type of courses that don't have a lot of trouble awaiting you off the tee.  They're not particularly short courses, so the ratings and slope are pretty standard, but because I can bomb it off the tee without fear of any repercussions on most holes, then I play better usually.  And even if I don't, I can still make par or bogey from the adjacent fairways.

The other courses I'm used to - the newer ones, the more "resorty" types - are usually built amongst canyons or homes and have several holes with OB or hazards lining one or both sides of the hole.

[boogielicious]

For me, my weight stops going forward and I start to have trouble controlling distance and direction.  It is physical because I have arthritis in my knees.  I really have to focus on keeping the form correct even though I start to get sore.

[chasm]

In general, I play the back nine better than the front. Fatigue isn't an issue for me, I'm pretty fit and while golf is a good game, I can't really take it seriously as exercise, it's just a walk. My meltdowns tend to be unrelated to the part of the course I'm on. once thongs start to go bad, they'll snowball for a while. It's not physical, it's in my head.

[Lihu]

Just played a round where I scored 42 on the back and 45 on the front. I played better on the front 9 based upon the statistics, but the odds were stacked against me. In all 3 strokes, there was some unfortunate situation that cost me those strokes. There were more than 3. I was playing pretty well, but: I caught a sprinkler head on the fringe of one hole that bounce the ball away from the green; a drive hit the 150 yard maker and bounced off to the side; a small wind blew a leaf or something that distracted me on the back swing of yet another drive; I slipped on a drive on the second hole because there was a little mud puddle in the tee box and the grass holding it together and tore loose on my back swing.

Towards the end of the round I was goofing around a bit, and worm burned a drive on the 18th trying to drive above trees and used a more exaggerated reverse-K stance. I hit some pretty decent drives, but my short game was bad in the back. In one case, I just got under the ball from only 50 yards away with my LW.

I was making sloppy reads with the putter. Front 9 putting saved me with only 14 putts, the back 9 had 18 putts. This is a pretty massive example, but I am not exactly a seasoned golfer and apparently do not know how to putt when I am tired.

[Patch]

Full shots where I need my leg strength for the most part. My legs get fatigued, and I just start swing with my arms. My timing goes south.

[Lihu]

Full shots where I need my leg strength for the most part. My legs get fatigued, and I just start swing with my arms. My timing goes south.

This is the big one, I think.

[GangGreen]

+1 For me, it usually manifests itself in a very weak slice with my woods and longer irons. Been a real scorecard killer for me too, seems like every round has consisted of a decent front 9 (which for me is something in the mid-40s) followed by a back 9 painfully hanging onto to something in the low 50s. Still working through some swing changes and it's becoming pretty obvious to me that when I get tired I quickly revert back to bad/sloppy habits.

[Lihu]

I should have put a poll in this thread, because it seems like there are some common traits that break down.