Has A Course Ever Spooked You???

Alright I know this is in my head, I'll open with that. A short story though to explain my problem.

Last Friday 5/23 I played in my normal nine hole league play. I was playing a golfer much better than myself, and boy did I let him get in my kitchen. I couldn't stop looking at the score card and lost my head completely. I turned in a 60, which I have never done. Humbling to say the least.

With the holiday weekend coming I had to play more to vindicate this performance. I played 18 on that Saturday and turned in 91, which is a great score for me. Then I played the back nine at a local course with a friend from work two days ago and shot a 44. So needless to say I went into my league play yesterday pretty confident I had shaken the bad mojo.

Sure enough I turn in another 60. Rushed strokes, picking my head up, trying to take shots outside of my skill level and adding two strokes in the process. You name it I was doing it. I am going out tomorrow to play 18 with some cats from my league, but I've now officially got something spooking me with my home course.

My thinking is I need to go play it, non league play and just go concentrate on my game. Thoughts??? As a reference I typically shot 46-49 on my home course, so suffice it to say I've added 11-14 strokes.

Any ideas at all, I'm listening. Wheres Cheech to put my hat on sideways and make me look like an idiot when I need him.

Sorry to hear a course has gotten into your head. I think most everyone goes through that for certain courses. It might not quite fit your eye, your game, etc. I have mine but I continue to play them. Can't shy away or quit it just because it's a bit difficult. I say go play the course when you can make it You versus It. Also, every course I play I seem to have a Nemesis hole. The one that always seems to have my number and it doesn't have to be a hard hole. Part of the game, part of the challenge and part of the fun.

I played this links course last night very close to my house, and because it was so tight with long grass it always spooked me, but I conquered the back nine last night (+2) and soon to do better on the front.

I think you've spooked yourself AND you're your own Cheech. Get back out there and play your game. Take a look at what you've said about your game and relax. You're playing to about a 23 handicap as it is. Just go out there and play your game one shot at a time and have fun. You'll get past this in no time.

Is it the golf course itself or the pressure you are putting on yourself in the league play. You said in one of your first lines

Sounds as if you are just(sorry to use the phrase) "choking" a bit in the league play. Then in a later match,

I would probably go play your course and try to get that confident feeling back, and in the League play just try to get that same feeling, stop worrying about the person you're playing or what your score is, think forward in your play, commit to each shot one at a time, and try to relax because it sounds like you get pretty tense and that is not good for the muscles you need to hit good shots.

Great advice here fellas. I'm a newbie to this site, but I feel it will quickly become an asset.

I can assure you, as soon as you shoot atleast a good nine on the course it won't be as bad.

I was dead afraid of this course until yesterday when I played great on it. Now im so eager to go back and do it again.

PGA West Stadium Course, took me 5 times to break 80.
The back nine at the North Course at Coto de Caza, which has a similar feel to Stadium still has my number.
The last four holes at La Purisima just drive me insane.

But, with more and more play, I've gotten better with each attempt. Just be positive and stick with it.

The European Club

Anytime I think i've conquered the game - I have to remind myself of this monster. There are railway sleepers in the bunkers. The dunes are mountainous.

http://www.theeuropeanclub.com/rankings.html

http://www.theeuropeanclub.com/guestfeesshop.html

I am the same way with a certain par 3 at the course I am a member of. Its 160 yards up hill. Sounds easy until you step up on the tee and see that trees line both sides of the hole. They basically cut the hole out of the woods. The trees are maybe 25 yards wide and the closer to the green the more narrow the trees get. i hate that hole so much. Its the 3rd hole and I always scew it up. bogey at the best, birdied one time because I stuck my 8 iron a foot from the hole. It just sucked when I come to this hole under par and leave 1 or 2 over, it ruins my round.

How are you a 13 handicap then...

And yes, some holes on certain courses just don't set up for me, and I can never make par.

I always had difficulty playing courses with small raised greens and kikuyu fairways. I grew up playing a few courses that had couch (think Santa Ana in US grass types) fairways and reasonably large greens mostly at fairway level. As a result I ended up developing a short game based around chipping and running, not hitting a of lob type shots. In the past few years I have played mostly courses with small raised greens and kikuyu fairways and have reworked my short game repertoire to enable me to deal with it much more successfully.

Before the advent of the bigger oversized drivers and the modern style golf ball I used to move the ball a considerable distance right to left off the tee, think 15 or 20 yards as being the norm for me so I would get scared s**tless when playing courses where I had to drive the ball out of long narrow schutes with trees on the right as I never felt that I had enough room right to start the ball. It very rarely ever actually caused me a problem, but I always felt uncomfortable as a result and missed a lot of fairways left when playing this type of hole.

I have never really had a particular course that spooked me, but I have always had some in my usual playing roster that made me feel very uncomfortable. All it takes for me to come to grips with a course I don't like though is a few rounds to work out where I can and can't miss shots, course management will usually get me to the point where I can score well enough but it often takes me a while to get a course sorted out. Even after sorting out a way to play some courses, there are still some that I feel uncomfortable playing.

Clearly I wasn't paying much attention when I filled that out. Thank you for pointing at out.

91 my score 71 is par So thats 20, less two strokes. Call me an 18 then if I'm doing that correctly.

For me it's the PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course, can't get any mojo working there.

La Purisima with the wind is going to eat your lunch coming in. The Ranch Golf Club with a 154 slope has numerous ways to make the wheels come off and coming in they usually do fall off.

Ben Hogan said 'the hardest course is the one you're on'...

Well I played a semi-difficult course today and shot a 96. Not a great score, but given the amount of trees and narrow fairways I was pleased with the results.

More importantly I played with league players from my Friday night league and they all commented how my play really seemed night and day.

Going into this Friday's round I am just going to play the course and not concern myself with the score card. On in two, put twice and shoot for that. Let the score fall where it may and most of all have fun. Wish me well.

There is a local course....The River Club....that used to "spook" me. The thing that scarred me was the forced carries over water on some of the tee shots.

I typically hit a low running drive....so this was an issue. I solved it by simply using 3-wood on many of the holes my playing partners use driver. I get the carry I need this way. The couse has some nasty fairway bunkers, too. I found by trying to knock down the 150 yard stake from the tee with my 3-wood I shoot much, much better. Sure...I'm a six or seven iron out form the large greens vs. a wedge, nine or eight when I use my driver....but I take a lot of the bunkers out of play. This course really is one of my favorite courses now. My goal is to play "ho-hum boring" golf there....3W down the middle.....six or seven iron to the middle of the green and try to get a lag put or chip/flop close enough for tap in. I'll let the better players in my group hog the drama with their bombed drives and occasional flyers out of the rough or heroic bunker recoveries. The two keys for me on this course prior to the round are to get there early and hit the practice tee and grove a smooth 3 wood and 3 iron for the tee box.....chip a few.....and then work on those 20 foot lag puts to get the feel of the green....and then spend the remaining few minutes sinking 3-10 footers to get my confidence. For some reason I don't take this routine with me everywhere!!!!!!

Well to tie a few threads I have together. I love the hybrid and couldn't be happier to have it in my bag. I don't have to muscle the club, just let it work and its a solid 200+ from the fairway. I hit it out of light rough yesterday and put it 6' from the pin at 185-190yd yesterday. Couldn't come off the tee still, but my irons were hot and putting was solid.

Also this was league play where I've previously been spooked. I went in with confidence after hitting the range twice this week. My result, I shot a 43 where I'm a 15 handicap for a nine hole league. This course has always gotten the better of me, I'm an 8 in my other league. Yesterday I just put it all together, didn't swing yard and really focused on my take away. The rest as they say is history.

Thank you all that contributed to my threads and tolerated my banter. It has helped me immensely.