Jump to content
  • entries
    61
  • comments
    483
  • views
    41,138

Great Starts and Great Finishes

bkuehn1952

Entry posted by bkuehn1952

2,208 views

 Share

A recent round reminded me that the game of golf consists of 18 holes.  A great start rarely ensures a satisfactory final result.  I started out with 2 birdies and managed to make the turn at +1, only to fall on my face on the back nine.  

Some years ago I started a round with an unusual string of “3, 3, 3” on a course that began par-5, par-4 and then par-3.  I don’t think I broke 40 on the front side or 80 for the round.

Of course, I don’t toss away all rounds when I make a fast start.  Still, it seems to be that hanging on to a good start is often much harder than rallying to save something.  The quick start tends to make many of us more cautious, for fear we will waste the good position we find ourselves in mid-round.  I have always felt the expression, “fear of going low” was pretty true for many of us amateurs.  Early success can lead to overly cautious play and heightened nerves.

The opposite seems to occur when we need to rally.  Since there is no great score to “save”, we relax and just go for it.  My most recent win in our club’s tournament series is a great example.  I had stumbled my way to a +4 on the opening nine.  I was going nowhere and just relaxed on the back.  As soon as I thought I had shot myself out of the event, I got on a roll.  An inward 34, including a birdie on the final hole, won the event.  It was totally unexpected as I had no idea what I had scored for the back nine.

So that is my story for today.  Anyone have a tale of triumph or woe to share?  Who has tamed the mental side of the game?

 Share

5 Comments

Recommended Comments

RandallT

I seem to have at least 3 "stories" to tell with my game through a round of 18 holes. The first few holes might be one story, and the finishing holes might be another.... but in between, I might get into two or three other patterns of play: a double-bogey train, a string of pars, whatever.

Last round, i was proud because I double-bogey'ed 1&2. I started to feel the day was toast already, but fought that off and just stayed with it. Although I parred 3, I hit my tee shot on 4 OB. It pretty much felt like I had double-bogeyed the 3rd hole too, since I was essentially +6 after 3 holes (still on the tee on the 4th hole because of the OB).

I settled down and "parred" that hole from there (actually a double-bogey), then parred the next 3 holes to get right back into the realm of "bogey golf," my standard these days. It felt like an achievement just to claw back so soon, and I thought "hey, this game's easy."

Famous last words.

The last two holes on the front nine are really easy, and I played them in +3, I think. Duh. The rest of the round was not memorable, but I got around just ok enough.

So not a tale of a great start or great finish, but an example of relaxing and not giving up after a bad start. You never know when you can get hot. I truly felt like after my bounce-back after that OB that I could've parred a bunch of holes the rest of the round, but it wasn't to be. Next round!

(I also wanted to bump this post, so people can see it again. I always enjoy hearing people's rounds where crazy starts/finishes happen. C'mon people!)

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
bkuehn1952

Thanks for the comments. When I started posting "blog" posts I made a mental commitment to myself that I would post something on a semi-regular basis.  It is embarrassing at how few golf-related ideas one has over the course of a month. 

Link to comment
RandallT

Yah, I'm discussing with Erik now about some blog-style posts I could do more in the area of analyzing your rounds (stat tracking/game improvement), and that's my biggest "concern." Concern is too strong a word, but I wouldn't know if I had more than just a few mildly interesting things to say, to a select number of geeks. I'll likely run with it until I'm outta gas. But I enjoy the topics you tend to pick, so good luck keeping them rolling along. Good stuff.

Link to comment
Fairway_CY

I struggle with this on a regular basis.  It seems like there is no real continuity in my rounds.  I've had rounds that I've started horribly and then played fair and finished strong.  I've had rounds where I've started strong, fallen apart and then salvaged it with some okay play at the end.  I've had rounds where things have been poor all the way around.  It just seems to be a matter of letting go of the bad holes.

I played a tournament on Monday and I started with a bogey and a double.  For me... that's about average.  I then reeled off par on 4 straight holes.  Over the next 3 holes, I went triple - birdie - triple.  3 more pars were followed by a bogey and then I finished out my round with par - bogey - triple - bogey - par.  

I think the biggest thing for me was not letting the triples carry over to the next hole.  I caught a pair of breaks after my last triple because I made a stupid play from the tee and got a lucky kick into the fairway and then made an necessarily aggressive play from there that worked out but could have cost me.  In the end, I did enough to win the C Flight by 2 strokes, but I've got plenty of tales from the past where I've taken a triple and then made a foolish play on the next hole and then compounded my mistakes.

Link to comment
Guest PJCdude

Guest PJCdude

Posted

This reminds me of my personal best 91 (take it easy I'm a 23). My usual goal is to just break 100 and I usually fall prey to checking my score around the 14th hole or so. This day I went into the last 3 holes at Van Cortlandt (which I usually play pretty well) with an 80 and I think "I'm obviously breaking 100 today" so I just relaxed and parred the last 3 holes. Funny thing too is that I didn't think I hit any "great" shots every shot just had a purpose and NONE of them were bad.

The next week I'm Playing at Pelham Bay and shoot a 45 on the front. The back is easier and only par 35 so I just need all bogies. Long story short 7 bogeys, 2 doubles (also 2 3 putts) and I have another 91. School is done on Tuesday (I'm a teacher who sneaks off to the range during lunch break) so maybe Wednesday I'll break 90?

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Want to join this community?

    We'd love to have you!

    Sign Up

  • Popular Now

  • Blog Entries

  • Posts

    • JetFan1983
      My Swing (Jetfan1983)

      By JetFan1983 ·

      Thank you!  Here in the video I'm going slower than normal. Maybe like 80mph only at best. On the course it's probably like 90ish mph. The last time I measured my 8-iron going full it was going 88mph and that was in late August. 
    • iacas
      My Swing (Jetfan1983)

      By iacas ·

      Swing looks good. What's your 7I speed up to these days?
    • JetFan1983
      My Swing (Jetfan1983)

      By JetFan1983 ·

      I'm getting in only two range sessions per week at most these days. I prioritize four gym days per week, mirror work, plus an option day for rest or the gym. It's more important for me to be fit than it is for me to be good at golf right now. That being said, each rep I make on the range is about as efficient as ever. My swing is working the best it ever has in my entire life. This is a slower 7-iron swing for me, but the sequencing is looking really good here. That is reflected in my scores too, which are low 80s these days, despite not playing as much as I know I need to to really progress.  Working on: early extension stuff, Penick's magic move, widening the right arm, pushing up with the lead leg, and finally, right side bending an appropriate amount post impact. The last six, seven month or so of core and leg training with my DPT, with a lot of dry needling, has really helped me swing this way. He's TPI certified too and I do the same routine he gives his tour players. Training with him is also training my golf swing IMO. It's insane the amount of work we've done on my left hip and lower back and I'm reaping the rewards now.  I re-upped for another year at PGA National too, so hopefully I can have some fun rounds this winter. Fingers crossed!   The Foreplay Good Good stuff was still up a day later. Pretty funny. I didn't go because I was watching football all day, but it would've been kinda cool to catch the opening tee shots.  I still do rehab twice a week and currently we're doing some work on minor neck and left wrist pain I've been having. Neither I consider serious, but these are just a couple of examples of the weekly grind I face in keeping myself in good shape and why I don't play a ton of golf, which for me, always makes my body weaker in various ways. Golf is exercise too, for twisting related stuff, but it also takes a toll on me in a negative way. Therefore, I always make a point to treat golf like the gym, with highly efficient reps at the appropriate "weight" with appropriate rest and reflection in between. My distances are solid tho. My median driver is probably 260 without trying. My slow 7-iron swing goes like 170. I'm much more concerned with sequencing, and anything that compromises that is a failure in my book, in terms of my long term development.  Anyway, clearly the swing isn't perfect. Bit too shallow going back, with a steepening move in transition, but I'm hitting the middle of the face at by far the highest rate I ever have. I get better every month it seems. It would not shock me at all if I hit like a 3.0 handicap or better at some point in the next year or two or three. Fingers crossed, guys. I know I need to get out there more in order to achieve that. Some future pieces I know I need to focus on more are arms/wrist related. My hackmotion sensor tells me to bow the wrist slightly from P5 onward. I know that's a big reason why I have a bleeder fade miss. Otherwise I keep the face square until that point. The only reason I don't really focus on this one is because it's simply too many thoughts to juggle and I want to get to P5 better with my body and arms first. I have to spend too much bandwidth on not early extending and throwing my arms out in the transition, especially with the longer clubs like 3-wood and driver.  Pretty darn excited though about my game these days. This is the lowest amount of dread I've ever felt over the ball, ever.
    • GolfLug
      Wordle Daily Puzzle

      By GolfLug ·

      Wordle 1,238 5/6 ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨 ⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨 ⬛🟩🟨⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
    • DeadMan
      Wordle Daily Puzzle

      By DeadMan ·

      Wordle 1,238 3/6 ⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.

  I accept
The popup will be closed in 10 seconds...