Everything went wrong yesterday

[Bullitt5339]

Well, I was excited to get out on the course yesterday to play my new irons, since I was hitting them soooooo much better than my old ones on the range. I took off work early, brought a co-worker with me, who is typically just a bit better than I am, and we hit the course on post.

It was a bit chilly out, and a little windy, so I didn't expect to play perfectly, but what I got was rediculous.

My 1st drive was decent, a little right of the fairway, about 250 out. After that, everything went downhill. I shanked more shots than I have since the 1st year I played, couldn't putt to save my life, and hit almost every tree on the course. I was embarassed and frustrated to say the least. Every drive sliced, every 3 wood shot sliced. I really never had a decent iron shot, and I was leaving all my wedges short.

My playing partner also was playing horribly compared to how we typically play.

I'm hoping it was just the combination of being cold and tight, and my 1st trip to the course with my new irons. I can't believe with 1 month off that my game would have completely died. That would explain why both of were playing horribly at least............lol

Has anyone else just had a day like this? And how did you recover some confidence on the course.

[SSJLaletas]

I have had a day like that last year, in fact I just posted about that day yesterday I think lol. Needless to say it was the worst ball striking I have ever had ever! I dont know who was more mad me or my instructor (probably me). I recovered slightly later in the day, and the next day I had a great round after the first hole. The only thing I did to recover was just to to the chipping green practice a couple of different shots with clubs, then go to the putting green and start hitting a lot of putts just trying to get my mind off of how I was ball striking. It helped that day and the next day was a pretty good round. Just try to get your mind of it, practice different aspects and clear your mind and start hitting quality shots.

[Meddle]

I had a 9 last year in Dallas like that, shot a 56. It was so bad I couldn't even hit a wedge into the green, and I was playing with an old golfing buddy for the first time in awhile. It totally deflated me and ruined the whole trip. So on the car ride back home I kept thinking about it and realized that it was like poison, I just kept thinking about all the bad shots and it was bringing me down. The day after I got home I went to the range and hit some nice shots, and tried to remember those shots. I got some of my old scorecards out and reminded myself that I could play golf, and went out and played a round after that. You just have to get out there as soon as possible so that the bad memory doesn't linger. As soon as you string together a couple of good holes in a row you'll get your confidence back.

[DaSportsGuy]

I fear that's going to be me when Spring rolls around and I'll be swinging a club for the first time in three or four months.

[Deryck Griffith]

I think most people on this forum can relate with the day that you had. The best thing to do is putting things in perspective. You probably were super excited to play the clubs and that plus the weather being cold and your time off are all factors to crappy day at the course. Golf is a big picture sport and you have to remember that time is always the deciding factor in this great game we love. That is the big picture thoughts..time. Give yourself time to bounce back and jot down a couple of key reminders that cause you to hit shanks and other bad shots. Once you write down what causes those things, write down the fixes that you can focus on during your next round.

Good luck!

[murphmjm]

I've had days like that, the best thing is just to try to forget about it. You're a better golfer than how you played the other day, just put it behind you and next time your out you will surely do better. It's your first round in a while so don't judge yourself too harshly. If you see something that you were doing wrong maybe you would want to try to fix things out over at the range and turn your negative into a positive. Odds are it's just a fluke, I'm sure things will be just fine! Also maybe if you just go out next time and play without keeping score, that way if you end up getting a high number you wont be thinking "oh here we go again", you'll get it back, wouldn't really worry too much!

[WUTiger]

Count your blessings! You could be living in a tent in Haiti.