How Many Times Can a Person Shoot 80 Before Breaking Through? Arrrrghh!

[sjduffers]

It took me a few tries too to break 80, ending with 80 on the nose numerous times, too numerous to recount. Part of it was knowing exactly were I stood and the resulting pressure. Part of it is that the closing hole (in general) is not usually the easiest so as a 12-15 handicap it may be a stroke hole and the difficulty of making par on it ("for all the marbles!") is not to be discounted.

I did what someone suggested here: move up a tee box if you can and/or pick an easier course, or maybe one with a par 70 or 71 if you are trying to do it on a par 72 course. Whatever you need to do to make it "easier". You'll blast through it (maybe not the first time, though) and that barrier will have been "broken", at least psychologically, even if deep down you know that now you need to do it again on your normal track and tee box.

In time, you'll do it everywhere and while breaking 80 may/will become a goal at the beginning of every round, it will no longer be unsurmountable and will happen fairly regularly.

It worked for me, and not only did I break 80 that day,  I shot 77!   Now, I can manage it about 1/4 to 1/3 of the time, so it's still not a guarantee but I am no longer mentally blocked by the idea, even though it is my goal at the start of every round.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[billchao]

9 hours ago, klineka said:

I agree that a small aspect is not zero, but as @DaveP043 pointed out, it was easy to give those mistakes more weight because of where they happened in the round.

Nothing about that double bogey has anything to do with the mental game, IMO.

If @tessallated was hitting the full wedge in for her 3rd shot, rolled off the green, chipping for 4, that means she either needed 2 chips and 2 putts, or a chip and a 3 putt in order to make double bogey since it was a par 5. Or she needed an extra approach shot somewhere before the green.

That sounds like a physical/skill/execution issue, not a mental issue.

Not saying the mental game didn't play a role, but ending the post with 

lends me to believe she thinks the mental game contributes way more to her score than it actually does.

But you're completely ignoring the fact that she knew she needed to par the 18th and was so nervous she backed out of her approach shot. I bet it doesn't happen if she's trying to make par for 85. Pressure situations exist and different people respond differently to the pressure. That's a contributing factor.

Hell, you yourself are thinking about completely changing your game plan on an upcoming tournament due to your experience in the previous one. That's a mental factor that can manifest in your game if you let it.

8 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

So how does a person conquer self-imposed pressure?  I try to think about only the shot I'm hitting, not the consequences, not the score, just the single shot.  I consider the problem areas, consider my shot patterns, the lie, all the factors, select a shot, and then think only of the shot.

I try to do the same. It helps that I never actually know what my score is during a round. I'm just trying to shoot the lowest score I can.

[klineka]

5 minutes ago, billchao said:

But you're completely ignoring the fact that she knew she needed to par the 18th and was so nervous she backed out of her approach shot. I bet it doesn't happen if she's trying to make par for 85. Pressure situations exist and different people respond differently to the pressure. That's a contributing factor.

I agree with that, but my point is that if she had more skill and/or executed better and not double bogeyed the 16th (since it sounds like the double bogey on 16 was a result of execution/physical mistakes), then the mental game might not have played as large of a role as it did on 18. 

8 minutes ago, billchao said:

Hell, you yourself are thinking about completely changing your game plan on an upcoming tournament due to your experience in the previous one. That's a mental factor that can manifest in your game if you let it.

And the reason I am doing so is because at the moment my physical skill with the driver is not good enough to hit driver on every hole and keep the ball in play, so in order to minimize the lost balls/O.B. shots, I reread LSW and am evaluating alternatives to driver off the tee on some holes.

[DrvFrShow]

I know the pressure crap. Like when I KNEW that if I sank a 3 footer I'd have a 39 on the back 9 a couple years ago, and I choked. It was a flat putt, too. I ended up with a 40. Still my PB on the course and it was a par 37 back 9, but still 39 is a 39. 

Breaking 80? But it's just 11 pars and 7 bogeys, right? And you'll make a birdie or two to compensate for the double bogey, right? Sounds easy, right? No....

So how does one do it....

Here's an interesting video that has a system about how to do it. Discuss.

 

Edited May 23, 2019 by DrvFrShow

[billchao]

1 hour ago, DrvFrShow said:

So how does one do it....

Here's an interesting video that has a system about how to do it. Discuss.

 

There's a thread on this already.

 

[Lihu]

On 5/22/2019 at 9:05 AM, tessallated said:

After parring 17, and splitting the fairway on 18 (albeit a little short), I had a comfortable 7 iron to the center of the green, knowing a par gets me in at 79. I was so nervous I had to back off the shot. I then proceeded to hit the worst, fattest iron I'd hit all day. Still, I had a comfortable sand wedge to the pin. Put it 10' away. Lipped the putt out. Tap in for bogey, and what must be my 5th or 6th time shooting 80.

The mental game is real people.

Too bad it was on the last hole, I think your mental game went downhill on your tee shot...

Mental game is like 5%, that’s a hole, next time just play the last hole first... 😂

Seriously, let someone else keep score and just play...Good luck breaking 80, sounds like it’ll happen soon. 😊

[The Recreational Golfer]

One thing I never so is keep my score in my head. After about the fourth hole, I don't know where I stand, and I have taught myself to do that. 

We all know the mental game is real. We all know as well that pressure is self-imposed. So adopt a mental game that does not put pressure on yourself. Play golf, have fun, and add 'em up when the round is over. It really is that simple.