great front 9 bad back 9 HELP!

[Bradderzzzzzzz]

ok i usually shoot about 57-60 on the front nine and today i shot 51! my best is 111 and i really thought i'd break that. well i had a terrible back nine and shot 116! whats some good tips for consistency?

[alf174]

practice, practice, lessons, more practice.

you'll get there.

[Shorty]

ok i usually shoot about 57-60 on the front nine and today i shot 51! my best is 111 and i really thought i'd break that. well i had a terrible back nine and shot 116! whats some good tips for consistency?

Consistency? In golf? Are you serious?

[daveh]

I have no idea, lol. I will break 40 on 9 before I break 90 on 18.

[wedge player]

Consistency? In golf? Are you serious?

agreed lol

[eahollis4]

You may be getting fatigued it's easy to do in the summertime. Try eating something that will give you good energy. I recommend you drink water consistently the day before the round so you won't get dehydrated out there and also drink plenty of water on the course. Make sure you have a good energy snack a powerbar, bannana, crackers etc. Eat the snacks around holes 7 and 14 even though you may not feel like eating it at that moment it will help you stay fsharp and focused during the whole round.

[Marinemike]

You may be getting fatigued it's easy to do in the summertime. Try eating something that will give you good energy. I recommend you drink water consistently the day before the round so you won't get dehydrated out there and also drink plenty of water on the course. Make sure you have a good energy snack a powerbar, bannana, crackers etc. Eat the snacks around holes 7 and 14 even though you may not feel like eating it at that moment it will help you stay fsharp and focused during the whole round.

THIS!! It happened to me yesterday. Down here in the panhandle it's in the upper 90s and you can drink the air. It is oppressive. I had a 44 on the front and a 55 on the back yesterday. That's a good front and a bad back for me. I didn't stay hydrated, and that's what happened. Last spring and summer, I umpired high school baseball in Atlanta. That is another undertaking which requires immense concentration, and immense confidence just like golf. I found out that NOTHING will sap concentration and confidence like heat a poor hydration...Believe It.

[chad1043]

^^^ What he said. I think you might have seen it yesterday. Tiger was chewing on GORP when he was waiting around. He also had a sandwich later on. You have to keep water and food in you. There is a reason the clubhouse is after the 9, stop take a breather, get a water or similair product. Say "hi" to the pretty girl and go shot ther back 9.

[iWALK18]

First of all, Don't add up your score after the front 9, and if possible have someone else handle the scorecard. As soon as you start thinking about score its easy to lose your focus and make mental errors.

I don't write anything down until I get home after my round, and then i recount every shot I hit and add it up. As soon as I see "Oh I shot 38 on the front all I need is 41 to finally break 80" I'm done. I've been having much better results by just keeping my mind off my score.

[NotAStick]

I have been teaching and working with a friend who is in about the same scoring range.

One of my great pieces of advice for him is "play within yourself"

that is, play shots you know you can make. When he tried to hack it out of the knee-high fescue at a green 200 yards away over water, I threw my glove at his head and told him to aim at the fairway 20 yards to the left. For one round, I acted as his "brain transplant".

He hadn't broken 60 all year and he's diligent about his scorekeeping. I told him what shot to play and where to aim ALL through the round and he shot 53. Easy. Could have been 49 without a few other mental mistakes around the green.


I think that when people score well, they start to get greedy and make more BIG numbers. If you play within yourself, you'll improve faster and shoot better scores on the way down.


that's my advice and I'm sticking to it.

[Slim 11]

I have to agree with the idea of not paying too much attention to your score..although I am not one that is able to do it.

I am generally pretty consistent. I either play well for the hole round or mediocre or bad. I rarely make good adjustments within the round (or bad ones for that matter). My brother-in-law tends to shoot really good on one side and bad on the other (usually good first 9, rough back...just happened to us yesterday...he outplayed me on two different tracts for the front nine, but gave them all back plus on the back).

I think being tired has something to do with it, and hydration, but mostly I think it is mental. I think when he hits a bad hole, it takes him out of it for a few holes because he thinks he has just killed a good round. He is getting better with it for sure. His blowups take him out of a few holes and mine usually take me out of the hole I'm playing. When he starts getting back to his groove faster, I think I am going to need to elevate my game to beat him.

[brotekind269]

at least you guys are getting through 9 holes. I was at even par til the 8th par 5... and I shot a 10! I completely changed my game because I knew what I was shooting and wanted just to lay up. Duck hook off the tee, taking a drop in the long stuff, not getting to the dogleg, two lay ups and a pushed approach. double chip, etc.etc.. the rest of the round I just played to my handicap and swore never to lay up again.

[Slim 11]

Chubbs says it "all in the hips" but I think a lot more of it is in the head.

[daveh]

I like the advice being given here. My back 9 is usually close to 10 points worse than the front. I'm going to bring snacks, keep hydrated, and stop totally my first 9.

I know fatigue has something to do with my problem, and definitely the psych out from worrying about the score. Being a new player definitely also contributes to lack of consistency for me, but I know I can shoot better than I have been on 18.

I tried snacking and hydrating yesterday with some success and did in fact get my best 18 from two mediocre 9's. Now i just need two good 9's.

[daveh]

I have been teaching and working with a friend who is in about the same scoring range.

That advice is much harder to follow than eating a couple of granola bars and drinking water.

Pretty compelling story though.

[chad1043]

Glad the eating and drinking worked. I also try to take one hole at a time. Try not to think of it as Nine and Nine... Front and Back...

Remember, you are having fun and outside. Those are the main goals right?

[plickerman]

As others have said, and what brought me to be able to shoot under 100 more consistently was to not worry about the score, don't overthink, and play within yourself.

Too many times it's happened when I ruined a good driving day b/c I suddenlty thought I could hit it a little harder.....which only led to a hook. I think it's imperative to keep your swing off the tee shot "humble".

Also, helped me to think of bogeys as pars. Usually a bogey on every hole is a 90!

[sam004]

Same problem just last week. I wanted to start a new thread to discuss what happened.
Went out as a single after work for a round of twilight golf. Started on the back 9.
Bogey the first 2 holes, then par on each of the next 7. +2 through 9, I am on my way to the game of my life, I thought. Pace was slow in front of me, so I caught up to a two-some waiting on a three-some of middle age ladies walking [Where's the smiley for eyes rolling ?. Thinking about starting a thread on that topic too. :)]
I went on to shoot a 48 or something. Not a bad overall round, but between the pace in front and pairing up in mid round wrecked whatever mojo I was having.

-venting over and done, for now.