Going Under Par or Even Par

[Dominic]

I have never shot under par on 9 or 18, but I have come close on many occasions. I have shot 73 once and 74 two times. On 9 i've shot two 37's in the last few weeks. There have been many times where i was one or two under with a few holes to play. What happens every time though, is I start to have bad thoughts. I think in my head I know I'm going to blow it on one of these holes. When I'm on the tee box I see myself hook it out of bounds before I hit it, and normally these shots/holes follow. For those who with a strong psychological game, what do you do to put yourself in a good frame of mind, and keep a very good round going. Thanks!

[delav]

The even-par with several to play scenario always freaks with my head too. I find that bad thoughts result in bad swings, for sure... For starters, I try and avoiding monitoring my score card during the round. Keep track of fairways, greens, chips, putts... etc, but avoid the temptation to think about how many strokes you are over or under. This will help on good and bad rounds.

When you are approaching a shot or teebox, forget the OB and concentrate on visualizing the shot you want to hit. Where will you start it, where do you see it ending up? Think about the swing mechanics for your shot, and visualize the perfect ball flight. Many times, having a positive image is just as effective in aiding you as a negative thought it helping you. When I starting thinking "don't push" or "avoid the left" somehow hell breaks loose on the tee.

[Shorty]

For those who with a strong psychological game, what do you do to put yourself in a good frame of mind, and keep a very good round going. Thanks!

The Bob Rotella books really are good. A person with a really strong mental game probably wouldn't know where he stood on the final tee with regard to scoring. Obviously, you'll have an idea, but you have to avoid the temptation to start adding up and doing the "If I get par on 7 and 8....." thing. You MUST remain in the present.

[Shorty]

Think about the swing mechanics for your shot,

Absolutely DO NOT think about swing mechanics during a round. Especially a good one! You have to trust your swing. Go for the smallest posible target. The practise tee is the place to think about swing mechanics.

[delav]

Absolutely DO NOT think about swing mechanics during a round. Especially a good one! You have to trust your swing. Go for the smallest posible target. The practise tee is the place to think about swing mechanics.

I agree, perhaps I should choose my words a bit more carefully. In this context, on the tee box, I am referring to visualizing the shot I'd like to hit, and thinking about basic setup/swing changes that influence shot shape.

[senorchipotle]

i'm going to give you the best advice you will ever have on this subject. in your next round, play from the women's tees. seriously. hopefully you will shoot under par. when it comes to the next round, subconsciously you'll know you've already done it.

[kilbyman]

Just take your bad thoughts out of the game by not adding up your score until the end of each nine.

[ks8829]

When I shot -3 and even par recently, I remember, I birdie the 18th hole on both occassion. I was standing about 90 yards away on my third shot into 18th on a par 5 and the usual though is to play for par and shoot -2, but my friend and playing buddy said you will not have too many chances to shoot -3 so go for birdie instead of protecting a par and so I changed my thinking and attacked the flag for an easy tap in biride to shoot -3.

If you are shooting even or under par your obviously playing well, so do not let yourself become your worse enemy and continue to play strong and finish strong. I believe everybody needs to have rounds as you describe where you are playing well and can not finish it off. be confident and keep calm and know that you can do it and you will soon.

[Shindig]

With scores like that, you're going to shoot even or under one of these days. Next time you're in that position, it could be that day. Tell yourself that today is clearly your day. Play like you're playing with the house's money.

[saevel25]

Just shot even par yesterday. 1 birdie, 1 bogey, 7 pars. It was a very solid round. But you do get to a point wondering if this can last. But when it came to the shot at hand, i was really concentrated on that shot alone.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Ive shot under par 4 times. Simply put..it was all putting. Draining those 7, 8 footers for par. My ballstriking wasnt really spectacular in anyway. I had 27 or less putts in all 4 of those rounds.

[IcemanYVR]

The Bob Rotella books really are good. A person with a really strong mental game probably wouldn't know where he stood on the final tee with regard to scoring. Obviously, you'll have an idea, but you have to avoid the temptation to start adding up and doing the "If I get par on 7 and 8....." thing. You MUST remain in the present.

I second Bob Rotella's books, "Golf is not a Game of Perfect" and "Golf is a game of Confidence" have both done wonders for my game.

Ive shot under par 4 times. Simply put..it was all putting. Draining those 7, 8 footers for par. My ballstriking wasnt really spectacular in anyway. I had 27 or less putts in all 4 of those rounds.

Putting is the key... practice your putting so that you can make a few more of those 5-8 momentum saving par puts.

I broke par before I shot even par, but don't try to protect par... play your normal style of golf and don't take any unnecessary risks... Good Luck

[shortstop20]

Do not think about the score. If you still end up thinking about it, strike up a conversation(if the time is right for that) with a playing partner, or do your best to think about something else.

There's no reason to think you'll hook it OB or anything, after all, you came this far.

You can do it, you just have to believe you can.

[srjorion]

If you have a hard time not thinking about your score try focusing on your score in three hole segments. Try to simply shoot overall par on those three holes, and then start over for the next three holes. Twice I've shot my best round at the time doing this. Once I had an eight foot putt to break my previous record and the other time I had a chip in to do so. I found out after the round what the score was and if I had known what those shots were for it would have put a lot more pressure on me.

[clubhousehero]

I know how you feel. If i par the first hole i get excited and the rest of my round goes down hill after that.

[deronsizemore]

It's just something that if you keep putting your self in that position, you'll shoot par or break it at some point. I was the same way. I kept getting close but every time the last few holes I'd be thinking about it and would screw up. Eventually I put myself in that position enough times that I was more comfortable being even or under coming down the stretch and didn't put as much thought into the fact that I had a chance to break a personal best. Once I finally got over the hump, it seemed that it was no longer a big deal and I was able to do it all the time.

[right handed phil mickelson]

i'm going to give you the best advice you will ever have on this subject. in your next round, play from the women's tees. seriously. hopefully you will shoot under par. when it comes to the next round, subconsciously you'll know you've already done it.

Perfect advice. Playing from the womens tees a couple times will let you get used to the idea of being under par, and learn to cope with it and not let it freak you out so much.

How I cope with the under par part of it, is if I start getting thoughts in my head about being under par, I'll wipe em out, take a few deep breaths, shake it out, and loosen up. Just start to swing freely and not think about any part of my swing. No mechanics, just maybe think about good tempo. Easy back easy through. No number counting. This gets me focused on the shot at hand, and hit my go-to shot to get it into the fairway, or safely on the green. Once you get to around the handicap you're at Dominic, it starts getting more mental than physical. It takes some time, but once you work out how to get past these mental obstacles, and how to maneuver around the course efficiently, you're scores will drop dramatically.

[Dominic]

Thanks for all the advice guys! I've been using a lot of the suggested advice and i've been coming close. I really liked that 3 hole seperation idea. I started off my round double bogey then par'd the next. At this point I made my goal to go even or putter on the last two 3-hole rounds. I ended up playing -1 the rest of the round and shot a 38 so I think it's gonna be coming soon!