Big score on a hole is caused by:

[Golfer71]

My number one cause of a big number is the "Brain Explosion", It usually starts with a topped or shanked ball, this results in embarassment and an urge to get the ball where it should be quickly.. this excess haste more often than not leads to another shank, topped or fat shot. I've been aware of and suffered from this affliction for a number of years and still it rears up from time to time.

Of course the cure is to calm down and get the bad shot out of mind before taking the next but it's easier said than done!

Bad chipping comes a close second.

[Eeryck]

For me a bad drive is recoverable. However, a two chip typically makes me so mad that I follow it up with a 3-putt.

[FortAsel]

... the inability to do it in lower scores

[mruseless]

However, a two chip typically makes me so mad that I follow it up with a 3-putt.

Yeah, makes me pretty mad too. Luckily it doesn't happen too often any more.

[Cruzin99]

It's typically a bad tee shot that does me in, but I also know that my course management could use some work. I've been doing a better job lately of getting myself into position to use my wedges since i have them pretty dialed in. One thing that has hurt me is that i didn't have a club i could hit between the driver and 3h, which left a pretty big gap (205-250yds). I just got a new Driver, 3 wood, & 5 wood, so that will definitely help with the yardage gap and will provide some options off the tee if my new driver starts acting like my old one :)

[ks8829]

I recently scored a 9 on a par 4 and after that score you look back and analysis what you did and what I could of done differently to prevent this big score and this is what I came up with below:

1) after a bad shot I tried to get to much out of the next shot and hit it out of bounds.
2) I lost my concentration and did not care about the next shot

So next time to eliminate the big score I will do the following:

A) after a bad shot before I hit my next shot ask myself about the possible 3 shot decision:
I) conservative shot back in play
II) medium shot with some risk
III) high risk and high reward shot

B) When I lose my concentration I should trigger something to get me back into focus and concentrate and not give up the hole.

C) Change my mind set and take my medicine and now play for par and be prepared to settle for boogie.

[jamesgoodchild]

Errant drives followed by really bad decisions on recovery.

[chrt396]

More often than not my big score is caused by me trying to be a hero, e.g. trying to play a 90 degree cut with a 3-wood around a tree instead of just punching out, taking driver off the deck, trying to play a stinger hybrid when the wind is gusting in my face and hooking it O.B., or my personal favorite, trying to take 3-wood out of a fairway bunker on a long par 5.

I remember way back when...I watched a tape by Jack Nicholas on course management. Boy...did he have it right! Like you...I could slap myself upside the head for some of the dumb decisions I have made trying to make that "Pro" shot. It is just too tempting at times and gets the best of me. I can be heard walking to the green saying.."You IDIOT!"..."You Dummy!!"..."What were you thinking!!!!!" That is usually about 3-4 holes a round. I get down on myself for those insane decisions! Then I get a great shot...and I feel all better about myself..and so the viscous cycle goes!

[GrahamD]

hitting it in the water or going ob is what get my scores very high

[Lefty731PM]

For me it's almost always a poor drive that gets the ugly ball rolling.

[imtomtomim]

my big score usually comes from a terrible tee shot. But it's not only that. I get pretty creative with my recovery shots and they usually work out enough to get me on in regulation but recently, I've had this affinity for the trees. I've clipped so many leaves and stuff just watching my ball drop 2-3 yards short of the green. About a week ago, I played a quick nine and ended up with this problem on 6 of the holes. I can't help it, I just want to put the ball in the hole. I know I play better when I go for safe shots but it's just so much more fun for me to just go for it, thus resulting in my crappy scores.

[Parker0065]

For me it usually comes down to one simple thing "Bad Decisions"!

[mruseless]

Last weekend I had a 9 on a par 5 hole, it went something like this:
1. Tee shot hooked into the trees.
2. Recovery shot forward, should have went sideways. Ended up behind another small tree next to the fairway.
3. Tried the hero shot, a 5 iron which I thought would just clear the tree (it was only about 10 feet tall). Hit more of a stinger straight into the trunk and bounced back toward me.
4. Punch shot forward well to the side of the tree. Should have done this on my last stroke!
5. Missed my approach shot (175 yards) right of the green
6. Hit a poor chip shot, leaving about a 35 footer. Getting pretty irritated at this point.
7,8,9. Three putt, which always seems to happen on blow-up holes, probably because I've lost my focus by this point.

[tm22721]

It's no fun to play within my limitations.

But my worst days are when I forget that simple rule.

[dave s]

Last weekend I had a 9 on a par 5 hole, it went something like this:

Oh man, not being able to stop the bleeding is the WORST part of a blowup hole. You're TRYING to do the right thing ... it's just not working out.

But I see that for you, (and just like me!) a hole like that always starts with a bad drive and can easily go downhill from there!!!! dave

[Chief Broom]

I played 9 holes this morning before coming to work and in the middle of a decent round I carded a 7 on a par 3.

I pulled my tee shot about 20yds left. Missed the greenside bunker, which was good, but playing an easy pitch shot over the bunker onto the green my SW caught the grass and the ball dribbled forward into the bunker. My third shot took too much sand and stayed in the bunker. Fourth hit the green but on the far edge and rolled off about 10yds (small green). Fifth was a chip back onto the green but left me with a ten footer to the cup. Sixth laged up close, but no cigar. Tapped in for seven.

Overall the bad tee shot started me off in the wrong direction. It was bad luck that my lie was in some shaggy grass, but that's why you keep them in the fairway/green. Playing an easy pitch made it much more likely that the club would get caught up in the grass, but that was the only shot option I had other than playing the ball away from the cup in order to have more options (putting from the rough, chipping, etc.). The poor sand shots were no doubt helped by my frustration level at that point (hitting 3 then 4 on a par 3). The final chip wasn't terrible, but it wasn't what I wanted either. I did pull it together enough to putt well, I never see a 2 putt as a bad thing (unless I'm within a few feet from the cup to begin with), but at that point it was pretty much moot.

[mikelz]

For me it usually comes down to one simple thing "Bad Decisions"!

One of my old teachers told me that double bogey or worse is because I lose my concentration.

I believe that. For me it starts with an emotional reaction to a bad result. Then, I'm playing the next shot still upset and my thinker goes out go lunch. In that state of mind I'm more likely to try a hero shot or hit the ball in a blind panic. When I accept the fact I'm going to hit a couple of balls into trouble and have to deal with it, that stuff doesn't happen much. I'm more likely to remain more or less rational when I get to the ball (or lake). Keeping you head screwed on, playing only shots you know you can hit and being able to take a punch from the game will keep you out of "Malfunction Junction" .

[ZaPPPa]

Yesterday was a perfect example of why errant drives lead to blowup holes. Until the fifth hole I had collected a double, bogey, bogey, double.. not too bad for a 25+ handicap.

On hole 5 I clipped my driver.. This happens when I come in too low, clip the ground and the driver bounces up and out either topping or clipping the ball on the inside, leaving it anywhere between 10 and 20 yards out.
Obviously shaken, I am then forced to hit either a hybrid or long iron out of the thick rough from 300+ yards out.. This is a huge weakness of mine. So, I face a bad lie, with a problem-club from a huge way away.. At that point I am looking at at least a double...
The safe solution is to take a high iron and put it on the fairway and then take either the 3W or 5W, but even then my 3rd shot will land where normally a good drive would be.

The 6th hole the exact same thing happened. So, I took a second tee shot just to see if it would happen again... Got the first ball on the green in 5, the second in 2.. and I did not mishit out of the rough or anything.