What Do You Do When You Have a Bad Round?

[3Mulligans]

What do you do when you're playing really good golf for a long stretch and you go out one day and stink it up -- almost like you've never played before? 

Do you:

A. Play through it no matter how bad it gets

B. Pack it up after a few holes so that you can put it out of mind

I had one of those days today. I've been playing at about an 8 handicap for a while and today out of nowhere I couldn't hit a golf ball straight. I play about 3-4 times a week. At first I decided to play through it, but when it didn't get better I left after about 6-7 holes.

How do you handle those types of outings?

[sjduffers]

Personally, I grind through it and finish the round to the best of my (in)ability for the day. I won't dwell on it after the round is over and it will probably turn out that one of the fundamentals was really off that day, like standing too close to the ball (or too far), or not getting my weight forward properly, etc...

It happens, forget about it and your good habits might just return on their own.

It also helps if you are able to self-diagnose an error in your swing based on post-shot review, perhaps making a practice swing or two after the shot, understanding the ball flights law and what drives them, etc...

Edited August 6, 2019 by sjduffers
typo

[Vinsk]

Usually when my round turns to hell I’m asked to leave. It’s just better for those around. 

[DeadMan]

I always keep at it. I've followed up really bad front 9s with even par back 9s. I also play golf rarely enough that I'm not walking off the course just because I'm playing poorly.

It's sort of a skill to be able to salvage bad rounds. Being able to keep yourself in the game after a bad hole or two is valuable. Or being able to right the ship when you feel a round slipping away from you.

Now, if it's something like making 2 10s in a row, then I'm probably focusing more on enjoying the rest of the day than my score. Maybe I'll try to hit different types of shots or fire at more pins for birdies or something like that to keep it interesting. But it would take a lot to make me walk off the course.

[billchao]

I swear a lot and drop my clubs all over the place, but I play it through. Some days I don't get the game together until the 6th or 7th hole anyway.

[gbogey]

This is real life according to my wife.

Wife’s Diary: Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a nice restaurant for dinner. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it. Conversation wasn’t flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed, but he didn’t say much. I asked him what was wrong; He said, ‘Nothing…’ I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said he wasn’t upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it. On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled slightly, and kept driving. I can’t explain his behavior. I don’t know why he didn’t say, ‘I love you, too.’ When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him completely, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there quietly, and watched TV. He continued to seem distant and absent. Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes later, he came to bed. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep; I cried. I don’t know what to do. I’m almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster. 

Husband’s Diary: six 3 putts… who the f**k 3 putts six times?

[TN94z]

I usually throw a big fit so that my playing partners fall to my level...haha. I'm kidding. I will complain about a shot and then move on to the next knowing that, usually, I will have a great hole or finish strong which takes me from the "I'm just going to quit golf" feeling to the "man that hole was so easy. I cannot wait until I can get back out here" feeling. I agree with @DeadMan that it is a skill to keep calm and salvage a round. It's almost like a challenge. And if you don't, it still beats a day working in the office.

4 minutes ago, gbogey said:

This is real life according to my wife.

Wife’s Diary: Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a nice restaurant for dinner. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it. Conversation wasn’t flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed, but he didn’t say much. I asked him what was wrong; He said, ‘Nothing…’ I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said he wasn’t upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it. On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled slightly, and kept driving. I can’t explain his behavior. I don’t know why he didn’t say, ‘I love you, too.’ When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him completely, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there quietly, and watched TV. He continued to seem distant and absent. Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes later, he came to bed. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep; I cried. I don’t know what to do. I’m almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster. 

Husband’s Diary: six 3 putts… who the f**k 3 putts six times?

That's hilarious!!  And very true...

 

On a side note and off topic, where are you located in TN?

Edited August 6, 2019 by TN94z

[boogielicious]

Unless I am a danger to myself and others, I keep playing. I go back to basics and try to correct the issue.

[Dunit507]

Happened to me last week. 5 is a reachable par 4 for me. I stood there and hit 5 into the woods off the tee. Saved a ball for the par 3 6th hole and chunked it into the water. Packed it up and forgot all about golf. Played 2 more times without being able to hit my driver but today I finally got a day where I hit the center of the driver. 

[3Mulligans]

I appreciate all your input. Also, thanks to the mod who added the poll and enhanced the thread title. I usually give myself about 6 holes to turn it around and then I can't take it anymore. Hopefully today was just a bad outing and not the start of a slump! Good golf is so much more enjoyable. 

[Patch]

I play the round out. It's golf. It's my fault if my body is not ready to play that day. 

Bad rounds that start off bad, or go bad during the round, are why I play 18 holes in 6 groups of 3. 

Other times I might just play the round out with my 7W, a wedge, and my putter. A practice round, so to speak. 

Edited August 6, 2019 by Patch

[Nave]

56 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

I go back to basics

Similar to what I have done when it happened to me. Additionally, I take it as an opportunity to work on the mental part of the game.

[CarlSpackler]

Keep playing of course. The only exception was last month when my foot was hurting so bad I could hardly walk, but that was because of the pain, not my score. 

[Zengolfer]

Play the round, keep grinding and hope that the beer cart girl comes around soon.

[Adio]

Quitting is never an option.  It’s chicken s&@t.  I used to play with a guy that was better than me.  The occasional times that I had him on the ropes and would have beat him, he would quit(usually with a lame physical excuse or mystery phone call from his “wife”).  Needless to say , we don’t golf together anymore. 

[Lihu]

2 hours ago, 3Mulligans said:

What do you do when you're playing really good golf for a long stretch and you go out one day and stink it up -- almost like you've never played before? 

Do you:

A. Play through it no matter how bad it gets

B. Pack it up after a few holes so that you can put it out of mind

I had one of those days today. I've been playing at about an 8 handicap for a while and today out of nowhere I couldn't hit a golf ball straight. I play about 3-4 times a week. At first I decided to play through it, but when it didn't get better I left after about 6-7 holes.

How do you handle those types of outings?

IDK, I’ve never played good golf for a long stretch before. I have gotten a birdie and 6 pars followed by doubles and triples and finally just taking ESC 😂

Stinking it up is kind of par for the course, I think... I never really expect anything any more and enjoy playing.

So, I’d likely just finish the round.

[CharlieB]

I’m cheap, so I play every hole that I paid for. If I quit in the middle of every bad round score wise, I would have never played a round of golf.

[Lihu]

Just now, CharlieB said:

I’m cheap, so I play every hole that I paid for. If I quit in the middle of every bad round score wise, I would have never played a round of golf.

Exactly! 😁