Hitting the wall in a round..

[cougar978]

I have noticed a very frustrating trend in my game - for 15 or 16 or so holes, everything is going just fine, even on difficult courses, and for two or three holes, I completely lose my ability to function at a high level on the golf course.

Let me give an example from this past Saturday at Nags Head Golf Links on the Outer Banks of North Carolina - this is a very 'sneaky tough' course where a lot of tourists come in with high hopes of doing well because it's a short track and quit either because they run out of balls or patience. I first played this course with my dad in 1993 (as a player who made the JV squad on a VERY good high school team) and didn't come close to breaking 100.

If anyone has played there before, the first eight holes are difficult, but manageable, and I was one-under going into nine with birdies on 5 and 6 (par 5 and short par 3) - left another birdie on the lip on 7, and rolled one about a quarter inch high on 8.

Nine is a short, tricky par 4, where you're basically hitting to an island fairway with scrub brush right and the Currituck Sound on the left. There's about a 20-25 mph wind blowing off the sound, so I figured I'd go with a 2-iron and try to get inside 130. Blocked it WAY right - was either OB or unplayable - so I re-teed with a 4-wood. Ballooned the 4-wood about 190 yards into some tall grass. Hitting four, tried to go for the green from the tall grass with a 7-iron - chunked it into some more tall grass and elected to take an unplayable. After the drop for the unplayable, I shanked my wedge about 40 yards right (by the clubhouse and bar area), but pin high. Hit a lob wedge to five feet and made the putt for a snowman.

Ten is a medium-length par 3 over water, a pretty simple hole. We got stuck behind some guys that took FOREVER to finish the hole (they did let us play through on 11, however), so I got about 20 minutes to think about how I just went from -1 to +3 on one hole. That resulted in a pulled 6-iron up against a tree root, and having to punch the ball from against the root into a greenside bunker - couldn't get up and down - double.

After that, I shot even par the rest of the way in (birdied 13 and bogeyed 18) for 76.

It is really getting frustrating to play well for 15-16 holes and then get killed on two or three. Does anyone (scratch or better) have any advice on how to stay focused the whole round, and play the entire 18 without getting blown up? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[GThunter5]

This happens to me sometimes.

I either start getting tired, or just plain lazy.


Either way its frustrating.

What I have started doing to improve is slowing down and taking my time after a bad shot

[retexan599]

Yes this happens with me also...I think of it like a baseball player gets in a slump...so I get into a slump for a couple of holes, then it seems to come back and I have a 'streak'...funny old game. Today I made par on a longish #18 which is always a difficult hole for me so I finished well and that amends an earlier slump

[LaPuzza]

Both times I've flirted with breaking 100, I upt up an 8 on the 18th. One was a par 3.

I feel your pain.

[flopdarock]

lol... so far no scratch or better has posted... but i feel your pain... every now and then a blow up hole or two will kill my round even if the rest of the round im firing at pins

[cougar978]

lol... so far no scratch or better has posted... but i feel your pain... every now and then a blow up hole or two will kill my round even if the rest of the round im firing at pins

I guess that's their special way of saying 'figure it out yourself, dumbass'.