Play better alone than in company?

[Norm66]

I've been golfing since August and the past few weeks I've been spending a lot of time at the local par 3 course. I've gotten my 9 hole scores down from the mid to high 40s (cringe) to where I average 39 or 40. My best 9 holes ever was 33.

Unfortunately I seem to play my best when I'm by myself. I hit my shot, grab the bag and walk, hit the shot and walk with no breaks and no nonesense.

When I'm with either my wife or one of my work/golf buddies I just don't do as well as I do by myself due to having to wait on them (especially my wife). It just breaks my rhythm and I make stupid mistakes.

I don't want to spend my whole life playing by myself, has anyone got any wisdom to help me take it slower and still be able to perform to my abilities?

and BTW, I'm not cheating when I play by myself. I don't take Mulligans on bad teeshots and tap in every putt, even if it's only 6" out, no gimmees.

Thanks in advance,
Norm

[DBake]

Try join up with someone at the course and really test your self. You maybe nervous for the first few holes but you will understand that maybe playing with buddies or family you not in the total zone of golf.

[kippax]

im the opposite, im awful when its just me, i rush my shots,then get angry with myself, so my head has gone, and my game.

playing with others im a lot cooler, i set myself targets against the others without telling them. so im pushing myself to improve.

[Rezgolf]

One thing that has helped me stay focused whether I am playing alone or with others, is to have a solid pre-shot routine and stick to it. When you create a habitual process you will feel more comfortable standing above every shot. I am not saying you will hit a great shot every time but you will be more relaxed because your body will recognize the routine and in turn will make you more relaxed.

[slicer69183]

A solid focused routine is the key! Lose focus and your game goes all to heck. That is why a good mental routine is best for really pushing your game to its hights. I have been researching this a bit, seems like you might do or know about vision1golf.com? Might be useful...

Slicer69183

[allin]

I belive the posts focusing on routine are right. You may be thinking about other things, how companions view your play, or distracted by non golf converstation. A routine with a trigger to establish your concentration, after all you only have to be focused for 30 - 45 seconds needed to play your shot.

[Norm66]

Thanks for the replies. I agree, I need to work on my pre-shot routine. The thing is I keep changing it, one of the problems with being a noob. I did see a lesson from Annika Sorenstam that reiterated what Allin said about only concentrating on the shot during the routine and letting your mind relax while walking from shot to shot. Makes sense to me. In practice it'll probably be harder.

[Jeepthrills]

I played alone on Sunday and I am definately better off with competition. I was sloppy and even when I tried to make it a challenge to myself it was tough.

I like to have someone to joke with and get my fire burning.

[cdriver]

I played alone on Sunday and I am definately better off with competition. I was sloppy and even when I tried to make it a challenge to myself it was tough.

I agree. I play with others most of the time. Even when I go to the course alone, I usually end up playing in with another group or someone catches up with me and joins me.

In the dead of winter, I spend time playing alone because I am one of the few hardy players (crazy my wife says) that plays even in the cold. When that happens, I will play two balls against myself, play a game where I try to hit every bunker to see if I can get up and down, play only irons, something different to keep me interested and to sharpen different parts of my game. Having been an only child for the first 5 years, I always was comfortable playing by myself.

[Lbob]

I think I play better with company. The only time I broke 80 was in a foursome created from 4 walk-on singles. I didn't know anybody and really didn't want to embarrass myself. The result was the best round I ever played scoring wise. I agree with the preshot routine comments. But I keep the routine regardless.

[Rafcin]

I guess it depends which kind of "mental golfer" you are. According to golf psychologist (I don't recall - Rotella or Viliante) there are two types of golfers :
"ego golfer" - plays for recognition; it's more important what OTHERS think about his game; needs crawd to preform; gets up with good shots, gets down with bad; thinks about scores and often talks about them;
"perfectionist" - plays to achieve perfection; can shield off the crawd, playing partners, etc; doesn't care for score is still searching for perfect swing...

Guess which one Tiger is

[Thrash13]

Nice avatar Rafi!

I'd rather play in a twosome because it's just more relaxing and fun for me. I play golf to have fun, not to make money. So it's just fun to go out with a friend and enjoy the round.

However, I do play much better when I play by myself. I concentrate a whole lot more, and I take it a lot more seriously.

I feel it's good to play with a group sometimes and by yourself sometimes. It gives me that perfect combination of both worlds.

[Norm66]

Thrash, it's nice that someone else does better on their own. I was starting to think being an only child had ruined me. LOL I agree that it is more fun and relaxing to play with someone though. I actually improved 6 strokes Sunday between my first 9 by my self and 2nd 9 with a guy I met. First time for everything eh?

[ben619]

I play alot better in a twosome, it's just chilled out, have a chat and a laugh whilst walking down the fairway, then be quiet and respectful to each other when taking shots, then just continue. I've got no pressure when I'm playing with John (my playing partner) because I know that even if I'm playing bad, it wont matter much, so most the time I don't play bad with him. On my own, I lose focus easier, and theres no-one to calm me down if I play a bad shot.

[rembrandt]

It doesn't really matter to me if I play with a group or by myself. I generally play better tho if I am competing with a bunch of guys in a daily tournament or in a scramble. By myself, I usually get a little careless but looking back in retrospect, I learned how to play and how to score when I was alone on the course.

[Clubswinger21]

^ funny, i seem to shoot the best when i play my dad, think im more focused and he always likes to play a strict game so that keeps me focused.

when i play in groups i tend to speed up my pre-shot routine and lose focus, also lose strokes on the greens because i feel too rushed to mark my ball, line it up and so on..

the majority of my rounds are played in a two some or by myself and thats when i play my best.

[Chas]

I used to prefer playing alone because I was somewhat self-conscious about my game and easily distracted. But the last few months I've learned to enjoy other people's company yet focus down on the game when my turn comes around. As people say, developing a routine is key to concentration in the presence of distractions like other people. But also you need to be able to think about your next shot as you are walking along, even as you might exchange a word or two with your partners. It's something you get better at with time.

I used to play a lot of tennis and squash, in which you hardly ever say anything to your opponent - unless disputing a call or something .. So it takes a while to learn to integrate the social and technical aspects of the game on the course. But it's one of the unique aspects of the game of golf and a large part of its attraction to me. I meet so many fascinating personalities out there on the course.

[golfchief]

When I play alone I usualy use it as practice, since the course isn't busy and I practice different shots with clubs I normaly wouldn't be hitting from lies I end up with.
I really like playing with someone or a group, I have two games a fun game where I just play and not concentrate on some shots and skip my pre shot routine and the serious game where I use my routine on each shot.
I play better with someone or a group because of my pre-shot routine, I make a decision how I need to play the ball and try my best to pull it off.