Frustrated

[JaY_B]

Another almost good round today and I threw it away, I'm getting really frustrated at poor scores, today for example, another 8 over. I just can't seem to get any self belief or confidence going, I know I can do it, but instead of committing to the shot I stand over the ball doubting myself and end up trying to save the shot with my hands due to a bad swing caused by a lack of trust.

I spend a lot of time on the range, my swing is good and on the range I murder the ball, I just can not bring this on to the course and this puts pressure on the rest of my game, this will probably make no sense to a lot of people, more of a rant thread I suppose, frustrated at myself because I know I can do soooooo much better and I am not doing myself justice

[underparnv]

I'm in the same boat with you right now. I played at Cascata in Vegas this past weekend for the Nevada Mid-Amateur and shot rounds of 89-79-80. I haven't lost that many balls since I started playing this stupid game!

Ugh...better get it together quick since the Club Championship is this weekend...

[JaY_B]

Yeh, I have two big comps coming up over the weekend and next week and need a nice handicap cut for college, I know I have it in me I just have to get out there and do it, big push now to improve myself mentally for the coming competitions.

[GaijinGolfer]

Sounds like maybe you need to spend less time on the range and more time actually playing golf.
Playing more and going with your instincts (instead of doubting and second guessing yourself) would go a long way to help your confidence and trust in your swing, IMO.

[whip_it_out]

I have a similar problem, buut i get there a different way. I tend to have 2-4 doubles that turn a 76 to an 84. Its killing me. I'm not hitting the ball terrible, but I miss one shot where I CANT miss the ball, like the pond, or dead behind a tree where its impossible to reach the green. It's one bad shot in one of those 4 double's a round that KILLS me.

[Dent]

I know what you mean about confidence. But I'd have to say something I thought I would never say, and many might disagree with me. Confidence Kills

Whenever I have confidence and really commit to the shot, I will nail it.

Lately, 4/10 times I will make the shot correctly. I get so over confident, that I flub the shot, or screw up. I think too hard about letting confidence do the work and getting the ball where I want it. I honestly think too hard about "I will make the shot, I will get it on the green"

Although everyone says confidence helps so much, over-confidence kills.

[Ben]

I just can't seem to get any self belief or confidence going, I know I can do it, but instead of committing to the shot I stand over the ball doubting myself and end up trying to save the shot with my hands due to a bad swing caused by a lack of trust.

Well, that's all there is to it really. You just have to simply give up control. I remember Nick Faldo commentating on a tee shot Sergio took a few weeks back late Sunday afternoon at the PGA that made a whole lot of sense to me. Something along the lines of, "Sergio knows where to and how he needs to hit this ball. He's just got to swing the club instead of steer it." It's simple but makes a ton of sense. The golf swing happens far too fast to be able to control the actions of the swing once it is in motion. Pick your target, make a good practice swing mimicking the swing your need to perform the shot, step up, and fire away without undue delay.

TitleistWI's point is one to be taken as well.

[ks8829]

In my opinion what I would do is the following:
differentiate your golf game with the mental game by doing the following:

Your game
keep score of the following below:
1) fairways hits
2) green hits
3) putts per round
4) up and down

practice in the areas that you are the weakest and improve that stats.

Mental game
1) Stop over thinking
2) Don't care about the score and have fun
3) Say to yourself that you are going to play well before you hit the first tee
4) read and research on the mental game of golf


You need to find out if its really mental or you just need to practice more on a particular aspect of your golf game.

[JaY_B]

Cheers for all the replies guys, Ben and Titleist your both right, I should spend more time learning to *play* the game rather than perfecting my swing.

Ks8829, I really should start keeping stats, if I am going to take this game seriously I need to start focusing on details like those, I will probably invest in some Rotella books soon, especially the putting book that Ben has recommended in a different thread.