Afraid to go low.....

[David in FL]

Everyone's heard the phrase...... But does it really apply to normal schlubs like most of us to whom going low is still laughably high to a lot of others?

I was lucky enough to be able to sneak out and play yesterday afternoon. Beautiful day in the mid-70's here in FL (sorry guys). Course is pretty tough. 72.8/135 from the 6,600 yd blues.......I don't even consider backing it up to the tips on this course.....as Dirty Harry says, a man has to know his limitations!

Went out in 36 which is a personal 9 hole best on that course by a stroke. Playing within myself and just enjoying a beautiful afternoon. Bogey on 10, but it was a 3 putt bogey on a tough hole with an absolutely sick pin position. Feeling pretty positive, mentally I'm thinking I can get the stroke back.....and promptly hit it to 10 feet on the 185 yd 11th and sink the putt. Nice solid par on 12. On the way to 13 I start to map out the rest of the course in my head and start to do the math. What I should have been thinking is "I've got another par five, an easy par 3, and of the remaining par 4's, two are pretty benign.......this is an opportunity to go low".......

......instead, rather than thinking about the opportunities for birdies and easy pars, I started thinking about the chances I had to screw up a good round. As a result over the last 6 holes I managed to throw up 2 doubles and 2 bogies on the way to a 78. Still a decent round for me, but not the round that it should have been. Why? Because instead of thinking about how to get to 70.....I was thinking about how to protect a 73 or 74.

Add another "goal" for this year. I'm good at shooting mediocre scores. I don't need to practice that anymore. This year I'm not going to be afraid of shooting good scores.......at least that's what I'm telling myself . We'll see if I can listen.

[bruce]

I think to shoot a good score you have to forget about score or you will put unnecessary pressure on yourself,hole by hole,pretend your playing match play against whoever is playing with you.

[xTsUnAmI]

I think to shoot a good score you have to forget about score or you will put unnecessary pressure on yourself,hole by hole,pretend your playing match play against whoever is playing with you.

Exactly, I try to take everything one shot at a time. If I find myself focusing on the holes ahead, I try to turn my focus back on whatever my next shot is gonna be.

I played my local course, which is fairly easy. +3 the front side, but on the back just keeping my focus I managed 1 birdie no bogies. I don't think it's a good idea to think to far ahead.

[flopdarock]

i think im the opposite... im afraid to go high and that gets stuck in my head... then i end up having a bad round... all i can hear is... damn that 3 putt is gonna jack my score up... or dont miss this... you need a birdie to make up for that bogey... etc etc... so trying to avoid a score higher than my last round makes me shoot like crap

[Big Padrigo]

I'm not quite at the same level but am having a similar scenario at the minute. I have set myself the goal of trying to break 80 before my first child is born. Given that baby is due in 3 weeks I don't have a lot of time, but I'm certainly flirting with 80 regularly. Last Friday I shot an 81 with a good back 9. Last Saturday I had a good front 9, 3 over. Of course I then start thinking, I'm playing well and I'm well placed to break 80.... cue a triple on the next hole. I actually didn't play the hole horribly, I was in a greenside bunker in 2 and had a finese bunker shot where I missed by spot by a matter of inches and ended up in another bunker....

Ended up with a 44 on the back 9 for an 83. Basically that triple and a 3 putt on the last green cost me a 79. Two small mental errors.... very frustrating.


I have started trying not to be aware of my score, like have someone else mark it for me otherwise my mind wanders and I start thinking about it. I know I play better for longer when I don't know what my score is. Finding that mental calmness and staying there is my biggest challenge right now.

[Big_M]

I remember when I used to get close to breaking 80 and I would struggle in... then one day it just happened, before I knew it I was 5 over with two to play and there was pretty much no way to screw the pooch. Since then I have shot in the 70's numerous times, in fact it is fairly routine now. There isn't really a number that has scared me in a while. I have played 9 at level par and still was pretty comfortable going into the back... maybe too comfortable because I used driver on a hole I probably should have hit 3-wood on and ended up taking a penalty stroke and a double on the way to a 75 (my personal best). I guess I might get nervous the first time I approach par for 18... but not the same way I did when I was trying to break 80.

[iWALK18]

I'm so afraid to go low.

Best round of golf I have ever played I had NO idea what my score was till after the round. (Saxon woods from the blues for you Westchester NY guys)

I shot 80, which I only realized after I had missed a 3 footer to 3 putt 18. I'm a total psycho headcase so I'm not surprised this was the case. Anytime I add my score up on 15 or 16 I'm done for...

[ks8829]

when you shoot a low score all aspects of your game has to be on and that means to hit your driver well, irons, wedges and getting up and down to save par and make a lot of putts.

The moon has to be align and the golf gods have to cooperate. if you practice putting, chipping and have a good short game within 100 yards you can consistently shoot low scores. I know because my friends does it every week I play with him.

[thedoxology]

Everyone's heard the phrase...... But does it really apply to normal schlubs like most of us to whom

When I was 19 or so (seven years ago), playing my home course from the tips, I was 4 under par through 15. I had just birdied the par 5 14th, and par 3 15th, two holes that give me trouble due to OB VERY tight right. So now I'm cruising and 16, 17, and 18, are all OB right, 16 being right on the fairway, maybe 15 feet of rough. I proceed to push 2 balls OB, to take an 8. So now I'm even, with 17 and 18, a very easy par 5 left. Still thinking I can get under par, I go to 17 and push 2 balls OB right, to take another 8. By this time I'm 4 over and so pissed off I par the 18th to shoot 76.

To this day I've never gone under par on 18, I've gone under on 9 countless times with the low being 33. And I can remember almost every time falling into your 'protect' mode. Thinking I can shoot a 38 and break par or something equally dumb. After hearing that story you probably don't want to hear my advice but I've taken 2 years off the game, gotten a hell of a lot wiser and now play the game with a different attitude. That said - What you should've been thinking about was your next shot and that only. Talk strategy inside of your head, pretend you're talking to a caddy or something. "Aim here, take xxx out of play".

[Quinn07]

I can completely empathize with you guys. I have been playing golf for 12 years now and I just broke 80 last year. Once I had done that, it became more easy, however when I had a chance to break 78 I would fall into that head game and lose my composure. I have read a couple of books about the mental game of golf over this terribly long off season and I am going to try and put their strategies into play. I am hoping that if I can start to get out of my own way, I can shoot a lot lower.

[shakogolfer78]

well during my sophmore year, I broke 80 for the first time shooting a 79 in a tournament even! I accomplished this by not adding up my nines until after my round so I was clueless to my score. I knew that I had a good round going, but all I focused on was the shot and the hole ahead of me. I was so excited I finished with a T-7 (easy short course) and I remembered why I love to play this game. After that round I have floundered around the 80 mark since, but vow this year to have more rounds in the 70s than the 80s. Last year I played in a HS tournament at my home course, and I knew where I stood on the 18th tee needing a par to shoot a 76. Then I proceeded to sky a hybrid off the tee, chilidip my approach into the bunker, and three putt for a double and a 78. I was a little upset about myself, but I handed in my card and realized that I placed T-5 out of 96 golfers ( the temp was 40 with a brisk wind) I was wearing a stocking hat and rain pants the whole day. After these experiences, I relaize that if I work on my weaknesses (ball striking, consistency) and keep a level head my scores this year will drop sooner than later.

[JonnyGolf]

I think to shoot a good score you have to forget about score or you will put unnecessary pressure on yourself,hole by hole,pretend your playing match play against whoever is playing with you.

I'll disagree here. I think your knowing the score is unavoidable and attempts to ignore them are futile. You need to get comfortable going "low", whether that number is +5 or -10. You've got to feel that you've been there before and you understand the pressure, and you can make good swings despite the pressure.

[Norm3333]

IMO, Rotella's book "Golf is not a game of perfect" does a good job discussing this exact subject. Like Quinn, I read it over the winter and am looking formard to trying his recommendations.

We'll see.

[DavidFehertysBike]

I play 9 holes at a time. No matter what i did on the front, its irrelevant and i dont think about it anymore. I play the back, then add up the score in the house.

[golf hungry]

When I was shooting in the high to mid 80's I never knew my score. Now in the 70's and low 80's it is IMPOSSIBLE not to know. Even if I don't look at the score card I know excatly where I am. It is unfortunately eaiser to know if your 3 over thru 16 than 16 over thru 16.
I find my problem on 16 when I know 3 pars make the round!

[Norm3333]

I play 9 holes at a time. No matter what i did on the front, its irrelevant and i dont think about it anymore. I play the back, then add up the score in the house.

That's the way to do it. But it is not easy.

What would be great would be if I had a caddy that kept my score and could completely ignore the total score. If I could just accept each stroke for what it is and totally concentrate on the next shot, I would probably score a lot better. Forget about the score and concentrate solely on the next shot. That is my goal for this year.

[DavidFehertysBike]

That's the way to do it. But it is not easy.

I find that trying to totally concentrate on each and every shot is mentally exhausting. You have to let yourself go every now and then and just hit the ball. I try to focus on playing the hole instead of shot by shot. Say i hit a real stinker off of the tee and im behind a tree or something. Im thinking "i got 4 more swings to get my bogey" Im not really thinking " i gotta hit a low hook out from under this tree now" I think about how im going to play out the hole from there instead of fixating on one particular shot.

[VMAN]

I find my problem on 16 when I know 3 pars make the round!

I have the same issue. I've overcome it a few times, and those have been great not just good rounds. It's hard to keep that free swing and putting that got you there when you're pressing for a score.

There's something to being in a zone. Finding it is hard. I'm working hard on not trying too hard and being tolerant of my mistakes. Focusing on making a "good" shot after a bad one not necessarily a miracle play.