The Most Demoralizing Shot in Golf

[mcanadiens]

  On 12/31/2019 at 12:42 AM, Vinsk said:

I haven’t hit a shank in over a month😃. But come on people, nothing is more demoralizing than a shank. 

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Had a spell of shanks a while ago and that sucked worse than anything and it wasn't even close.

The distant second for me is the greenside bunker shot when you miss the sand entirely and knock the ball into next year. Normally, anyone you are playing with is already on the green. They'll putt out before I ever get to where I launched the ball. So everyone is waiting on you to hit whatever goofy pitch shot and putt you need just to put a number on the card. ,,, I get those sand blasts right almost 80% of the time, so the exceptions are infuriating. 

[criley4way]

  On 12/31/2019 at 12:52 PM, mcanadiens said:

Had a spell of shanks a while ago and that sucked worse than anything and it wasn't even close.

The distant second for me is the greenside bunker shot when you miss the sand entirely and knock the ball into next year. Normally, anyone you are playing with is already on the green. They'll putt out before I ever get to where I launched the ball. So everyone is waiting on you to hit whatever goofy pitch shot and putt you need just to put a number on the card. ,,, I get those sand blasts right almost 80% of the time, so the exceptions are infuriating. 

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That is a stretch of bad shots. Shanks are horrid because they are waiting in the wings and you "know" they are going to show up. 

[phillyk]

3 putt pars.  3 putt bogies suck, but its so much worse when you're staring at an eagle chance and 3 putt.  

[DeadMan]

For me, it's a shank. The next couple of shots after a shank are really nerve wracking. 

Close second is a shanked chip. Those are just wtf moments. 

[Kevlar10]

For me it’s a fat shot after you’ve hid a beautiful drive.  We all miss putts, even short ones, but when you’re within 50 yards and you hit a screamer over the green, it can put you in a funk.  I guess it’s kind of like the shanks.  I hit one occasionally but they don’t become an epidemic.  Fat shots, on the other hand do.

[NJpatbee]

I agree with fat shots which can ruin an entire round for me.  Shanks are unnerving but for me they are an anomaly and go away after one good swing.  Hitting 3 or 4 fat shots per round can stick with me for a couple of weeks.

[cooke119]

I can end up in the trees and want to chip out back to the fairway but I have low branches in front of me. I practice an 'under the tree shot', keeping it low and straight. But once under a tree and I try the shot the ball flies high and hits a branch and drops. Really gets in my head because I know I'm heading towards a snowman.

[leftybutnotPM]

1. Punch out of sandy lie that you hit fat.

2. 10 - 15 foot putt on 18th green  needed for a good score that you hit underneath the hole.

3. 90 metre wedge that you hit heavy.

Edited January 1, 2020 by leftybutnotPM

[Double Mocha Man]

  On 1/1/2020 at 7:34 PM, cooke119 said:

I can end up in the trees and want to chip out back to the fairway but I have low branches in front of me. I practice an 'under the tree shot', keeping it low and straight. But once under a tree and I try the shot the ball flies high and hits a branch and drops. Really gets in my head because I know I'm heading towards a snowman.

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As a low handicapper I never, never, never, ever, ever, ever swing at a ball and miss... not even close.  Maybe I hit the dang thing 1/8th inch off center.  Well, about two years ago I was in the rough, among some trees, with a scraggly bush in my swing path.  Even with dedicated practice swings I was completely distracted by the vegetation my hands and club were forcing their way through.  Yep, totally whiffed that sucker.  And worse yet, my golf buddy was watching.  Now that was demoralizing!  I made him swear to tell nobody that I swung and missed my ball. 

Long story longer, I hit the range the next day and found a spot on the edge with scraggly bushes.  Dropped a dozen balls in there... and learned a good lesson.  If you are focused those wispy branches are not as strong as you.  You can hit the shot just by focusing and making the corresponding racket one makes when flesh and equipment are swinging through a bush, and ignoring it.  In 5 years when I confront that shot again, I am ready!

[billchao]

  On 1/1/2020 at 9:18 PM, Double Mocha Man said:

Long story longer, I hit the range the next day and found a spot on the edge with scraggly bushes.  Dropped a dozen balls in there... and learned a good lesson.  If you are focused those wispy branches are not as strong as you.  You can hit the shot just by focusing and making the corresponding racket one makes when flesh and equipment are swinging through a bush, and ignoring it.

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Swing hard in case you hit the ball.

[Osnola]

For me, it is a topped tee shot with the driver.  Your on a straight par 4 that is 368 yards.  You swing and top the ball, it hits the ground about a foot in front of the tee, bounces forward about 4' high and goes approximately 23 yards.  No big deal, except your 2nd shot is 345 yards to the green.....

[dagolfer18]

  On 12/31/2019 at 3:10 PM, phillyk said:

3 putt pars.  3 putt bogies suck, but its so much worse when you're staring at an eagle chance and 3 putt.  

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Yep. Pars where you drive a par-4 green or hit a par-5 in two and then three-jack are very annoying. In my opinion, the most demoralizing shot in golf is when you miss two or more 3-, 4- or 5-footers in a row. In other words, you miss a short putt, say, for par, then miss the shorter bogey putt. That really irritates me.

[cooke119]

  On 1/1/2020 at 10:23 PM, Osnola said:

For me, it is a topped tee shot with the driver.  Your on a straight par 4 that is 368 yards.  You swing and top the ball, it hits the ground about a foot in front of the tee, bounces forward about 4' high and goes approximately 23 yards.  No big deal, except your 2nd shot is 345 yards to the green.....

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I was playing the Red at Bethpage where there is basically a grandstand around the tee box, it was packed. Plus I was playing with my boss and there was money on the line. Well, I set up to the ball and hit it about 25 yards down a hill, very very embarrassing! That event sticks in my mind to this day.

[rehmwa]

Pitch or chip from a perfect lie super close or even greenside that you stub in the dirt or double hit.  Gets in your head...

I really do need to take some lessons and review pitch/chip thread vids again.  My technique is complete crap.

[IowaGreg]

  On 1/1/2020 at 10:23 PM, Osnola said:

For me, it is a topped tee shot with the driver.  

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Yuppers…….  BTDT  More than once...….

[The Recreational Golfer]

Laying up sod on a chip that ends up four feet away.

[tehuti]

For me it's always a second shot of 150 yards or longer to the green after I hit a solid drive. For some reason I can't mentally handle it and I shank the second shot.I actually hit better shots from a drive into the rough than I do from dead center of the fairway. 😡

[ncates00]

Hitting any shot into an unplayable position either off the tee or approaching the green.  My short game is rusty and I'm a streaky putter, so I can handle not always performing in those departments.

If the long game is gone, your golf game is gone.  If you can't chip or putt, at least you can still play golf.