My Meltdown at Snow Snake

[weifert]

I began the 18 holes at Snow Snake Ski & Golf carrying more confidence than I'd ever brought with me to a golf course. And by the time I finished them, all of it had evaporated like the dew.

Over the three weeks prior I had spent several hours on the range and on Wednesday was striking nearly every ball well. Maybe a little left or right here, but struck well. Even without the use of my driver I thought I had a chance at a good round.

We were running late to the course and had no time for a wamup, but through the first hole my hopes we're high. I was on the fringe in two, but three-putted for a 5. 

The par three second hole was a chance to try out my newly acquired sand wedge skills off the tee. I hit it into a bunker, but recovered for a bogey.

After that, the strokes began to pile up quicky like the soamy snowflakes that turn this beautiful course into a ski slope during the winter.

I topped or shanked a majority of shots from three to seven, making just enough contact to sputter towards the green for 7 or worse. And just as despair began to see in, we started down back-to-back par fives, one with a water hazard that which I found.

As we made the turn the beer cart girl came into view, bringing relief after two hours of disappointment.

The back nine was more of the same, and so the details aren't worth mention. I will say, however, that Snow Snake is a beautiful course. 

Tree-lined fairways give each hole a sense of intimacy, but also intimidation to the entry-level golfer or anybody who can't keep their drive in the fairway. The greens have little curvature and played fast. The mower we were playing catch-up with may have contributed. No matter how convinced he was that we could play around him, I didn't have the right sign language to explain that unless he's on another fairway his life might be in jeopardy.

As we drove off the tee on 18 we spotted a dead chipmunk on the cart path. Could his last sight was my shanked tee shot screaming towards it through the trees.

How do you proceed a meltdown like that? Well it must start between the ears. How else could a seemingly serviceable swing vanish in a moment. Some have said that even Tiger struggles with a disappearing range swing.

Everything changes on the course. You're not confined to a mat. A bad shot means something. Maybe I avoided that anxiety after the first two holes, but my high expectations and one bad shot probably had me tense, whether I knew it or not.

Back in high school basketball practice, a coach gave me one of the best pieces of advice I received. He said, "Everytime you go up for a lay up, go up there like you're going to slam dunk it. Every time. Even if you can't. If you go up there thinking, 'dont miss, don't miss' you're going to miss it. Go up there like you're going to dunk it and you'll make it."

The same advice could apply to my golf game. Failure is often a self fulfilling prophecy. Whether I was totally aware of it, after one bad shot I was probably thinking, "just don't top it," or something similar for the rest of the round. Tense thoughts lead to tense body and that anxiety itself probably created more topping!

Have any of you other golfers had experiences like this? How do you relieve anxiety once you're on a "stage"?

[Bonvivant]

59 minutes ago, weifert said:

Everything changes on the course. You're not confined to a mat. A bad shot means something. Maybe I avoided that anxiety after the first two holes, but my high expectations and one bad shot probably had me tense, whether I knew it or not.

Was it your post the other day about alignment? Someone said they were having issues with the mat messing with their alignment. I commented there, and I'll say it here too, grass tees are the way to go. Playing off of mats makes me lazy, because fat shots don't look fat (even if you feel it, the ball goes just as far and straight as a good strike, and it breeds bad habits).

Other than that, we all have bad rounds. For me the pressure comes when I am playing with someone that hits it long (I'm taking irons off the tee ATM) and I get thoughts in my head about pulling out clubs that I am not comfortable with. Even if I stick with my game plan, I have to work very hard to overcome the ego in my head that says "pull a 3w and blast it" while I am down on the shot with a 4i in hand. Today I played with someone that hits their 3w or 4hy about the same distance as my 4i (180), and it just made me super comfortable. Shot my best ever mostly thanks to that.

Another thing that may help is not totaling your score up after 9. Wait until the round is completely over and you are off the course before you tally it all up. I did this today even though I knew I was on record pace (ended up 46/46/92).This doesn't help if you are already mentally defeated, but it can mitigate some of the "if I just shoot x pars the rest of the round" type of thinking which leads to you taking tougher shots with higher stress levels. Few people play good golf with they are stressed out. You are close, we should get together for a round sometime. I'm a hack, but I enjoy playing with new people.

[weifert]

3 hours ago, Bonvivant said:

off of mats makes me lazy, because fat shots don't look fat (even if you feel it, the ball goes just as far and straight as a good strike, and it breeds bad habits).

It wasn't me, but I definitely saw that yesterday, especially with my wedges. I thought I had the SW figured out and was hitting a lot of fat shots.

I read a bit about how tension causes a lot more problems than you might think, and thinking back I was probably strangling the club most of the day and trying to hit it.

3 hours ago, Bonvivant said:

Few people play good golf with they are stressed out. You are close, we should get together for a round sometime. I'm a hack, but I enjoy playing with new people.

I'm down for that. Dayton's not far at all.

[Buckeyebowman]

I take it this was your first time playing this course? That can be a problem in and of itself. Plus, it's a ski resort, so I'm guessing a lot of uphill, downhill, and sidehill lies. Don't beat yourself up too bad, and see how your next round goes.

[David in FL]

They call it golf...

...because all the good 4-letter words were already taken!   

[weifert]

2 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

I take it this was your first time playing this course? That can be a problem in and of itself. Plus, it's a ski resort, so I'm guessing a lot of uphill, downhill, and sidehill lies. Don't beat yourself up too bad, and see how your next round goes.

Thanks for the comment. Yeah, it was my first time playing there. My father-in-law and I are trying different courses around Midland when we go up to visit. Great course! Reminds me of Devou Park here in Kentucky because of all of the hills. I'm not too bummed out about it. Just thought I'd try to tell a good story of it. I think that most of my failing here was mental. After the first sign of trouble I crumbled. I use an interlocking grip, and after this round my pinky was sore, which tells me I was gripping the club hard, really tense for most of the round. From what I've read, tension=bad swings.

53 minutes ago, David in FL said:

They call it golf...

...because all the good 4-letter words were already taken!   

Cheers! The one thing I've done that if you're bad at it, it only makes you want to do it more so you can change that. I was joking with my dad that the only thing consistent about my round was that I dropped an f-bomb on nearly every hole. Not great etiquette, but it happens! I'll be back out on the course Wednesday, hopefully with a looser swing!