Two 9s What the ****?

[jetsknicks1]

I played the best 9 holes of my life today to start the round. 2 pars and 3 birdies! On 9 I have a bogie putt to give me a 39 (Never in my life have I come that close to breaking 40), which I promptly miss to give me a 40. Still, my best 9 ever.

I start the back 9 by hitting 2 out of my first 3 drives OB. I than proceed to throw up all over myself, to come in with a smooth 51.

Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the front 9, and it's one of my lowest scores.................But WTF?

[montru]

I had used to have the same problem. what you need to do is do not add up the card until AFTER you've palyed all 18 holes. I know is is very tempting, even when you know you have had a good 9, but resist thew temptation and just play one hole at a time. It worked for me, my best round to date is a 37-39 = 76, I knew I was on a role and just kept going!!!!

[cactusdr]

Sounds like you're human. Your brain got in the way.

Screw the back side. You just proved to yourself with the right mindset you can actually break 80. The heck with breaking 40 for 9, think in terms of breaking 80 for the round.

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by jetsknicks1

est scores.................But WTF?

I've never met a golfer who hasn't done exactly the same thing more than a few times.

[johnclayton1982]

About four hours ago I shot 42 on the front, thought I could break 85 for the first time, and promptly got a 9 on hole #10 and finished with a 49 on the back for a usual 91.  This is pretty common.  I just think you get better at playing by practicing playing, if that makes sense.

[Mattplusness]

Same shit happened to me my last outting. I shot a "good" 53 on the front (Good meaning I had a few pars, a birdie, but then there was the hole with two going OB and 1 lost ball). On the back? I shot a 41 - my best 9 ever.

Funny how this game works, eh?

[Bryan SD2]

Some good thoughts so far.

You don't need to "break" 40 twice to shoot X, Y or Z.   I've broken 80 regularly for years, and simply play the course in relation to par for the entire 18.  I'm even after three, +1 after four, back to even with a birdie on 5, etc.   That might sound like  big leap, but to shoot 80, you need to be +8 on a par 72 course.

So try to play it that way.  No way you should shoot XX on the front nine, stand on the 10th tee and think, "I can break 80! (95, 90, whatever)"

When I was a youth player (11, 12,, etc) I made my own "par" of 45 by trying to make a 5 on all 8 holes for 45.  Par 3's were easy, Par 5's tougher.  A 4 on a regular Par 4 was a big bonus.

[jetsknicks1]

Thanks for the words guys. Today I shot 46/48=94, which is still a bit better than my average. You guys are right, I started thinking about it on 9 and my head got in the way. I'll be out there again next Saturday and we'll see what we find. :)

[Hackforfun]

Did that exact same thing this past weekend. Went out in 43 with some makeable putts left on the green. Start the backside Quad,par,Quad and finished with a 52. Definitely a focus thing because my ballstriking wasn't much different between sides, a few more fat on the back perhaps and I had the same number of pars each side. Got to keep telling myself, one stroke at a time.

[jetsknicks1]

Originally Posted by Hackforfun

Did that exact same thing this past weekend. Went out in 43 with some makeable putts left on the green. Start the backside Quad,par,Quad and finished with a 52. Definitely a focus thing because my ballstriking wasn't much different between sides, a few more fat on the back perhaps and I had the same number of pars each side. Got to keep telling myself, one stroke at a time.

Very frustrating is'nt it? Of course, lack of consistancy is why our handicaps are where they are.

[B of H]

I shot 47-34 two weekends ago on a 76/141 rated course, strange things happen in this game.  I finished the round: birdie, birdie, triple, birdie.  Got the triple from puring an iron shot through the wind over the green OB then made a bogey on my reload essentially.    (I lost 4 balls on the front via pull hooks)

[RayG]

I'll have various rounds that seem to follow the same MO each time. A bad start with 3-4 bogies in a row, then par in the 9, then start the back even for 3-4 holes then bogey in. Drives me nuts. But as some have suggested, don't keep checking the card. I used to (and will still do it occasionally) keep the math in my head- just track each hole individually and not write anything down. Less of a distraction. I found that playing each hole as it's own distinct experience improved my overall scores. If I found trouble on a hole, I played the smart route to minimize the 8's. No blasting through that grove of trees to try and get it close. Knock it back into play and play for the bogey- if it gets close and I make the par, great- if not, I was only one over for THAT hole. Then on the the next. It's more like playing 18 individual one hole courses.

[tristanhilton85]

Same happens to me... one nine (usually the front) will be much better than the back.  I find if I try not to think about score or trying to make a certain number on a hole that I play better.  It can be hard though.

[MSchott]

It happens a lot. Probably due to mental and physical fatigue. I played for the first time this year a month ago and shot a nice 45 on the front. I tired on the back, my short game went to hell and I shot 52 on that nine for a 97.

[Hackforfun]

Originally Posted by jetsknicks1

Very frustrating is'nt it? Of course, lack of consistancy is why our handicaps are where they are.

Yes it is frustrating. More practice, more playing *whisper*lessons*/whisper* might help

I would love to get to the point where the sub 45 a side me turns up to golf more often. I actually fel like I am playing golf then because more often than not the ball goes where I want it to hahaha! Then the scoring is down to getting up and down getting a few longer putts to drop etc.