Is Anyone Else Playing Awful Golf?

[mcanadiens]

Hell. I shanked a driver last night.

Didn't even think that was possible.

[CarlSpackler]

1 minute ago, mcanadiens said:

Hell. I shanked a driver last night.

Didn't even think that was possible.

That big banana on #3 was pretty impressive. I'm glad we found the ball on #5 though.

[mcanadiens]

14 minutes ago, CarlSpackler said:

That big banana on #3 was pretty impressive. I'm glad we found the ball on #5 though.

Well, I'm glad I could at least be entertaining, but need to wear the range out this week and be less "impressive" in the future.

[CarlSpackler]

2 hours ago, mcanadiens said:

Well, I'm glad I could at least be entertaining, but need to wear the range out this week and be less "impressive" in the future. 

Make sure you are practicing with a purpose, not just taking your anger out on dimpled white balls. 😉

[Yukari]

Golf is hard.  I was routinely shooting in the mid to high 70's for a month, and then out of nowhere, I am now shooting in the mid to high 80's.

I went back to the range to see what I was doing differently.  I can't for the life of me figure it out.  Everything just feels foreign somehow.

 

[ScouseJohnny]

22 hours ago, Mr Puddle said:

I now find myself hitting between 20/24 pts when playing Stableford.

Surely that's a respectable number of points for a 16 handicapper?

What element of your game is causing you dismay? I went through a stage where I couldn't hit a driver and keep the ball in the fairway to save my life. It wasn't that my game fell apart, but the driver of the tee became very, very demoralizing. There my playing partners' tee-shots would be, nicely in the fairway, and inevitably Johnny was digging around in the right-hand rough looking for his ball and holding up play. It became tedious.

I kept on playing by sacrificing distance off the tee in favor of accuracy. I went the best part of a season hitting an old Ping Zing 2 iron on par 4s and 5s.

In the meantime I bought a new Wilson D100 driver and spent hours with it at the range. Fingers crossed, the ability to hit a driver has not abandoned me, since.

[CarlSpackler]

3 hours ago, Yukari said:

Golf is hard.  I was routinely shooting in the mid to high 70's for a month, and then out of nowhere, I am now shooting in the mid to high 80's.

I went back to the range to see what I was doing differently.  I can't for the life of me figure it out.  Everything just feels foreign somehow.

Same here. Each swing/hole is a new adventure for me. It's like a box of chocolates. I never really know what I'm gonna get.

[NZ Golfer]

what does my head in is playing well off the tee i.e only 90 yards or less going for my 3rd shot on PAR 5 or 2nd shot on PAR4 and then taking 3-4 shots to close out the hole .. just a woeful short game that really kick you in the guts when you know if you played a second shot it would 9 out of ten times end up right where you wanted it ..for me it's pressurizing myself esp. in competition play .. giving away 5-8 shots over no pressure solo play on average 

[uitar9]

On 5/21/2019 at 2:57 PM, Osnola said:

Mr. Puddle, I would think most on here have been, or, are where you are.  I am not good enough to give you technical swing info or instruction, but can only share what I have learned over the years.  Most people want to get started with the driver and learn to hit that.  I have taken a few lessons, but the two that helped me the most were putting and chipping....

Also, I have learned to "manage" my round of golf and play more sensible.  I accept the fact that I cannot hit the perfect shot or make that 1 out of a 100 shot from the trees.  My goal is to just keep the ball in a position that on the next shot I have an opportunity to advance the ball to the green.

My objective over the past few years has been consistency and giving myself a chance.  My focus from the tee box is to just get it on the green.  A bad first shot can be overcome by a smart second shot.  Do whatever you can to avoid 7's or 8's on a hole.  

Don't give up.  Keep at it. 

 

This is my game. Late last year, I started seeing my HCP creeping up a couple of points. I thought about that and decided to use my informal HCP app just to track the number of rounds I play.

I'm out 13 times so far this year and it has decreased by 0.2. Now, all I'm trying to do is to play smarter. I've shot a high of 51 and a low of 39. Probably the range my ability drives. I've come to realize without additional time or more instruction, I am where I am.

That thinking has really changed my attitude when I play. Way calmer. I just have to remember to take my medicine.

No hero shots...I never make them

[dogburger]

Everyone plays awful golf .  Its just a question of how many good shots you can hit while your doing it

[Shindig]

OP, you might be happy to hear that I played awful golf for seven holes today, including two lost balls from tee shots. 

[Southern by Choice]

I’ve always said that I am proof-positive you don't need to play well to have fun at golf.

 

HOWEVER, as a newer golfer, I thought I’d finally begun to conquer the game last year, when I began to break 100 fairly regularly.  My handicap dropped to the mid-20's—the average for U.S. women golfers.  I fully expected my game to continue to improve, and then the exact opposite happened:  my game went to hell and continues to WORSEN.  Handicap Index is back over 30 and trending ever-higher.

 

Golf is much more fun when I play well (by my own standards).  Now there’s a shock!  😏

[IowaGreg]

In my case, when my game goes to hell, I'm typically trying too hard to do better.  Mentally not concentrating on the shot itself.  Trying to hit the ball harder.  Rushing the shot.  Last week was one of the worst days in years. 

Went to a Par 3 9 hole yesterday.  Par 27 and shot a 32.  Happy with that.  Things were much better when I didn't try too hard.

Heck, even the pros don't do great all the time.

[Mr Puddle]

On 5/23/2019 at 11:20 PM, dogburger said:

Everyone plays awful golf .  Its just a question of how many good shots you can hit while your doing it

That's a good way of thinking about it, and in answer to the question, NOT ENOUGH

[tehuti]

Yesterday is the first time I did not play awful golf. During the round I was doing so well I didn’t want to jinx it by saying something, for fear I would return to my usual ways.

Next time out should be really interesting.

[DrMJG]

I think is it not that we are playing great golf as we are, in my case at least, playing improved or more consistent golf.  And, we don't go into detail of what has taken a step backwards as how we regain out steps forward.

I felt frustrated as the OP is feeling.

Lessons, video taping, taking suggestions and tips taken to heart helped a lot.

 

 

 

[Sixwings86]

I played probably my best 8-hole stretch yesterday from 1-8. I shot at straight bogey (2 pars, 2 doubles, 4 singles), which is pretty good for a guy like me who typically shoots over 100.

My woods/hybrids fell apart over the next 7 holes and I pretty well doubled or tripled all of them. At that point my score was wrecked, so I lost some tension and proceeded to hit my best three drives of the day on 16/17/18. Played the three holes at 1 over.

Golf is hard.

[Nail]

Me, I’m scoring no better than a year ago when I was starting out properly, I feel like I’m a better player but my scores are not showing. 

My driving has definitely improved and I’m finding more fairways but my irons are worse than when I started out imo. Well they probably aren’t worse but I feel like they are.

I constantly have people telling me how one of these days it’s all going to click and I’ll tear up the course (in a good way) because of my speed. I leave myself a short iron or wedge when I’m driving well in to most par 4’s but I don’t take advantage of it. The other day I had 190 yards left into a par 5 after a tee shot which is a 5 or 6 iron so I hit a 5 iron, scuffed it about 40 yards and then left a 9 iron way short, left the hole with a bogey, that kind of thing is a regular occurrence. Par 3’s are a nightmare lately. My irons and wedges are a disaster tbh