What Do You Do When You Have a Bad Round?

[Patch]

24 minutes ago, p1n9183 said:

I wait all week to play golf on the weekend. It doesn´t matter my score I will play and enjoy every single hole of the round.  

I wait all night, while sleeping, to get on a golf course the next day. Practice, or play. Just got to hit some balls everyday.

[Rkrider99]

There is another option that I don't think I've seen here. When I'm having that round from hell, I just tear up the scorecard, and play. Don't bother keeping score for that one. Now, that doesn't work if I'm playing in some kind of match, but if I'm out there with friends or family, and it all goes south, I stop keeping score.

[gbogey]

I will add that my home course for the first 9 years that I played golf had 6 holes in the first 7 that were highly difficult and was much easier over the last 11.  It took me a while to figure out that the reason I wasn't starting off well was because that part of the course was harder.  Eventually I realized how to pace myself because I knew that I could easily play the last 11 close to par or a just 2 or 3 over.  It was a good lesson to learn about how a round may not be over.  Of course, it really helps to know the course you are playing well.

[freshmanUTA]

When I start playing bad I just remind myself that even touring professionals shoot in the 80’s because this game is stupidly hard. Granted they’re playing courses that are a lot tougher than what I play, but knowing even the best of the best golfers struggle helps me relax. Once I calm down I usually forget about the bad holes and play better.

[Bonvivant]

6 hours ago, Lihu said:

Scratch in 15 months from an 11? Sounds like the potential for a very frustrating 15 months... 🤪🤪😁😂

Give it a listen. Comedy gold with interesting golf stories as well. There's more than one season, so obviously they didn't get there but the progress was interesting

[rehmwa]

1 hour ago, Sandy Divot said:

I could feel my frustration growing, and I really didn't want to blow up, and say something I might regret, so I made an excuse, and left. 

the actual solution to that is to speak up (courteously) BEFORE you get frustrated - you are responsible for how you feel about things, not them

stewing in your own juice is a terrible way to deal with people - the worst thing for you and them is to glare at them and hope they can read your mind......

Edited August 7, 2019 by rehmwa

[easyjay39402]

I enjoy the challenge of golf, and finding ways to score when the swing or putter isn’t cooperating is part of that for me. I’ve been working on achieving the “one shot at a time” mindset for the past couple of months. Don’t keep up with my overall score. I treat each hole as a singular experience ... basically, I’m playing 18 rounds. I start each hole with a fresh scoring plan for that hole, taking into account what is working. So far, this approach has worked well, especially on days when some aspects of my game are off.

[Lihu]

8 hours ago, Bonvivant said:

Give it a listen. Comedy gold with interesting golf stories as well. There's more than one season, so obviously they didn't get there but the progress was interesting

I will, I’m guessing they weren’t super serious either. 😊

[jamo]

I can think of a time or two where I had paid for 18 at a meh course and I was playing like shit and the pace was slow as molasses so I just called it after 9. 

That's pretty much it though. I've never left after 5 or anything like that. There's pretty much always something to be learned. 

[DaveP043]

1 hour ago, jamo said:

I can think of a time or two where I had paid for 18 at a meh course and I was playing like shit and the pace was slow as molasses so I just called it after 9. 

That's pretty much it though. I've never left after 5 or anything like that. There's pretty much always something to be learned. 

This reminds me of a friend who got so frustrated that he quit after 13, pulled his bag off the cart and started walking back.  He didn't realize quite how long a walk it was going to be!  

The moral of THAT story, quit when you're close to the clubhouse.  After 9 makes sense that way.

[DennisMiller]

23 hours ago, Jeremie Boop said:

This is interesting to me. So many people focus on the range prior to a round but I have never heard anyone talk about going after the round to fix issues....

Back then, I was in my 30s and still had a very good game. More so, I had a ton more energy and strength than I do now. I could easily play 27 or 36 holes a day, so playing 18 and going to the range after was easy.

Without making too much of political statement about global warming, at 70 yrs old now, plus taking some medications that make me less tolerant of the high heat and humidity, it's hard to finish 18, much less be tempted to hit balls.

[Yukari]

When I have a bad round, I head to the range after the round to figure out my swing.

[DrvFrShow]

Work on course management. I don't have to play that well. Just good enough. See I've learned something.... if I get on the green in GIR + 1 and two putt, I get a bogey. If I do that on every hole, I shoot a 90. And for me that's not a bad round. If I get a 1 putt and then it's an 89.

[golfer2b2000]

I have NEVER walked off the golf course during a bad round.Don;t believe that anyone should either. When I am having a difficult round where nothing seems to be working, the first thing I try to do,(but sometimes still doesn't work), is remain positive. Play the rest of the round one stroke at a time, just like you should be doing anyway. Try to play within yourself, and try to at least hit a few above average shots. Try to enjoy the rest of your round, and I usually just finish my round, then just go home and basically forget about it. Now if it's just ONE bad round the better golfers can do this. If it is a reoccuring problem, or issue, you may have to go to the range and work on it. But this does happen even to the better players out there. Some dwell on it, and some don't. I believe that the truly better players will just put it aside and forget about it...

[Yukari]

Have a cold one.🍺

[bwdial]

I have quit one round of golf - other than for lightning - in thirty years of playing, and that was because I hurt my left knee and could not put any weight on it. 

I figure I've paid for the round of golf, I may as well get my money's worth.  Plus, the more shots I take, technically, I'm playing more golf, so I'm paying less per shot.

[3Mulligans]

Well it worked for me to walk away on Tuesday. I came back Wednesday and had a great round, and followed it up on Thursday and Friday with the same. I don't have those rounds where I can't strike it well very often and sometimes it's best not to let it get in your head. Again, I was playing by myself and I'm playing under a paid annual membership. So I appreciate all the feedback, but we all have to do what feels right in the moment.

[Lihu]

6 minutes ago, 3Mulligans said:

Well it worked for me to walk away on Tuesday. I came back Wednesday and had a great round, and followed it up on Thursday and Friday with the same. I don't have those rounds where I can't strike it well very often and sometimes it's best not to let it get in your head. Again, I was playing by myself and I'm playing under a paid annual membership. So I appreciate all the feedback, but we all have to do what feels right in the moment.

Yeah, I remember this days when I could play daily... oh wait, I could if I wanted to 😂

So, I’d say given your ability to play daily puts a different perspective on things. Sure, “come back tomorrow”...