Kapanda's golfing disasters

I suck at golf. Don't bother doing the maths, that's a 76 on a Par 35.

Holy crap...

Screw the score.

Did you have fun?

Pissed at myself for hitting that score!

But happy to be in the game now... all in all fun... but I have to get better.

My mental game is absolutely pants.

I was out of it from the point I sliced my third drive... off the first tee.

Definitely (obviously!) have to work on my swing.

Short game was okay (for my first time), deteriorated as the round progressed.

Two things I did know I was certainly going to struggle - and I did, score sort of speaks for itself - with are picking clubs and knowing what sort of shot to take. I'm assuming that is something I'll only get good at if I actually hit the course, not just the driving range.

As I mentioned in your previous thread, I shot a 56 on a par 31 nine hole course.  My second round on the same course I shot

a 50.  Both rounds, I shot a 10 on the first hole.  I hope that on my next trip around the course, I can shave a couple of strokes off

the first hole.  Keep at it, and, above all, have fun.

You learn "golf swing" on the range.

You learn "golf" on the course.

You need some sort of swing to play. IMO, work on swing on range and try to score on the course. That may mean hitting only 7-irons off the tee. (Not to be a jerk, but you could have gotten a 12 or better on that first hole with just a 7-iron and a putter.)

Welcome to golf.

What is the problem?

You say it's your first round.

You will get better every time you play.

Enjoy the process.

Dang,.....if i could of shot that on my first round i would of felt like Tiger

its all mental,....you can obviously strike the ball,....so think for about "how am i going to score well?"

After the 2nd sliced driver off the tee, the mental side should of said,..."hey, this isnt working, lets take a 6i and get in play, damage limitation"

As a first time player you need to completley forgetting bombing the driver down the centre of the fairway, completely forget the pured iron to 5ft of the pin and just get realistic,....trust me, for the first few years of golf where you are learning the game and playing with buddies the most satisfying thing to happen is to have low scores and even the chance of winning a stableford competition

once you get proficient you can then start worrying about the shot, how good it was and how far it went

You will.

simple fact that you're here indicates you're more serious about golf than most ... you will improve - it's a game of repitition.     My advice is simply this - shorten up your backswing (don't take the club way up over your head like the pro's do - keep your hands below your shoulders on the back swing) & take a nice easy controlled swing.   resist the temptation to kill it - solid contact is where it's at.

Something I tell every newcomer when we get out to the range or course - You are not the worst golfer out here...you may think you are, but you're not. This is a hard game.

Every single person that starts this game, thinks oh it can't be that hard. Well it is a hard game to master, very few people have the natural ability to immediatley start playing good.

But like others said, don't worry about the score, just worry about having fun, and enjoy it.

Wasn't it nice being out on the course with nature? It's a peaceful experience. Better than sitting on the couch!!

Some of my most enjoyable rounds are when I wander around the course with my father, no keeping score, just golfing. Different people want different things out of golf, or different things depending on the situation. Yes a great score is awesome but it is not necessarily the be-all end-all of why you're out there in the first place.

Just enjoy yourself.

That seems like really sound advice actually.

Gotta bookmark this thread to show some of my buddies who claim they want to golf with me someday.  They have never played a round of golf in their lives.  I try and explain how hard it would be and what they would likely shoot, and they don't believe it.

Kapanda, thanks for sharing your pre-round thoughts, your score and post-round impressions/frustrations.  I think you will find some irony in the game of golf: it can be so frustratingly hard that you simultaneously want to quit...AND get addicted to it at the same time.  The addiction comes from the disbelief that we could possibly be this bad at hitting a stationary ball.

It will get better though, if you care enough to work at it.  You don't have to work hard, just as hard as you care to.

Brandon

And also please don't play with 4 other equally skilled players in a 5-some without a lot of "picking up" involved.

The most important lesson I ever learned during my first round was, "if you can't keep up, pick up".

I don't understand what you mean.

In any case, one good thing about my course (which reflects my current abilities in an even worse manner) is that it is an extremely beginner-friendly course. It has one water hazard on.... hole 6 I want to say... and that is it. I guess that will make learning and improving easier for me.