Have you ever experienced golf burn-out?

[ohiolefty]

I am a teacher and I play a lot in the summer (4-6 rounds, or about 72+ holes, per week). Once I'm in school, I usually play 3 or 4 times a week, some weeks a touch less, until the snow hits.

After a 10 year layoff, I started playing golf again in the summer of 2009. I went from a guy who was happy to shoot in the mid 80's when I played as a kid, to a hacker for a brief minute when I picked the game back up, to a respectable mid-handicap by the end of my first year, to now - right around a scratch. It's been a lot of golf. A lot of sweaty nights on the range. A lot of evenings spent around the practice green hitting endless chips and pitches. A lot of fun.

This year's been a tough year. We had horrendous rain in the spring and as a result, I wasn't able to start practicing off grass in the spring like I normally would. In fact, when most courses opened and when my season started, I hadn't practiced off grass. As a result, I got out of my normal range routine and just played a lot of rounds of golf. I'm back playing as much as always and practicing, but not nearly as much as the schedule I had the last 2 years.

While this year's been good, score-wise, I've hit a mental wall and I'm not enjoying the game that much. I see myself not able to improve on things I know are fixable, including some swing issues. I find myself getting angry at myself on the golf course in a way I don't like, and I also find myself needlessly and sometimes irrationally irritated by poor behavior (etiquitte, speed of their play) from fellow players. I've generally become a bit of an insolent prick on the golf course, at least it feels that way. Golf hasn't been fun, and I think (with many exceptions) I often haven't been a fun person to play a round of golf with this year. Think some crazy hybrid of Ben Hogan and Pat Perez - with way less game, and that'd put you about where I am.

I feel burned out. In the last month, I've had about 4 rounds where I kind of "lost my sh*t" (sorry, but that's the most apt description) and shot rounds in the high 80s or in the 90s. I shot 89 (+19) yesterday after a 50 on a par 35 front 9 - mainly because of just taking drops, crazy sh*t. Some of it was bad breaks, most of it was me reacting badly to bad breaks and throwing up on myself. Increasingly, I just flame out fantastically during bad rounds...and a lot of club slamming, f-word, and cold atitude (not mean, but not friendly) with playing partners. All of which are really despicable behaviors, as is not composing yourself and making a bad round respectable.

...

My question to all of you, especially the better players and/or the ones that have really worked hard to get better at the game, is this: Have you ever 'burned out'? Felt like you've hit a wall or a plateau based on mental stuff and not physical? If so, what did you do? Share your story. I feel like I could have written a book on the topic, and almost did...just feeling bad about my game and, in some respects, myself and my own actions since I've become such a mope about a game that should be fun.

[1par2win]

I think we all have hit that wall. The obvious reply to your situation is taking time off from the game. And when I say taking time off I mean no reading, watching, playing, practicing, or anything golf related for 2 straight weeks. Just get away from it. When the itch returns, start watching some golf on TV. Then pick up a particularly interesting book about the game and then a quick session at the range before a round and voila, a new player is born.

But take your time, people need time and space to decompress and put things back into perspective. IMO, burnout is at it's core is a loss of perspective,

What happens to me is I start thinking in circles and over analyzing everything. Like you said, the first sign is when you stop having any fun with the game. I just took back up fishing this year. When my game is starting to get to me I take a week off and fish. When I return I feel much better and my enthusiasm returns. This has worked so well for me that next year I plan of taking pre-arranged time off from golf as part of a plan to remain fresh. Especially this time of year which in Minnesota means the start of tournament season. Got tournaments every week-end for the next 6 weeks. It's going to be a grind but I feel mentally ready even of my ball striking isn't!

[GaijinGolfer]

A couple years ago I tried to play 3 times a week all summer and by August I started to get burnt out on golf.  Between practicing every day and playing 3 times a week, as well as working 40 hours a week it was just too much.

Now, I just play on Sunday morning and its plenty for me.  I also dont notice that Im shooting any worse scores now than when I played 3 times a week either.

[jamo]

A couple of years ago I got to late October (we were having an unseasonably warm fall) and just decided not to play anymore. My game wasn't going well at all, and a couple of times I got in the car to drive to the course and just decided to turn around and go home. I just wasn't having fun anymore. I was extremely lucky that I could just end my season there and skip offseason range sessions, and when I finally did start playing again I was as excited as ever (in fact, watching the PGA Tour's west coast swing made me extremely antsy). For me, the moral of the story was that taking some time off isn't a sign of defeat. Sometimes it's better to take some time off. I would recommend that if you do, your first round back reward yourself. Pick a course that you've never played before, somewhere you've had your eye on playing for a long time. It doesn't have to be (and probably shouldn't be) a very difficult course, but somewhere that you are going to be excited to play. That's what I did my first round back, and it was totally worth it.

[Spyder]

I think I'm that odd ball that cannot get burned out from Golf. I did come close one time, but I kind of did what jamo, above, suggested. I went and splurged a bit and bought some new golf shirts, new golf balls, new tees, a new glove, some new shoes, and a new putter. This stuff was not just careless spending, but I knew I wouldn't make it through the season without it. Then, I went and played an awesome course (http://www.golfblueheron.com/index.php)!

After that, it sparked the fire again and I was hooked right back in before I could even think of losing interest! Take a week or 2 off and splurge a bit. Take what you would normally spend in that 2 weeks and go play a different course, or get yourself a new club. I picked up the Callaway X-Series Jaws (Chrome) wedge and I was like a little kid ready to show off a new pair of shoes on my first day of school! lol

[ohiolefty]

Looking for stuff about burnout vs. improvement arc. I dunno.

[normdamarine]

I wrote a "rant" topic about a year ago as I was done with golf... I was so frustrated about playing "badly"! I thought about it for about a day and realized that I had nothing to be upset about. If I went out and shot 72 (Which is what I was getting mad about) well, it was a 72 and that was it. I realized that I was just going through the motions and not really focusing on anything. I would barley read a putt and then wonder why I missed it!

The biggest thing you need to do is figure out where you want to go with your golfing career.

Either way I refocused and ended up on Big Break Indian Wells...

[Stretch]

Sorry, nothing useful to add except maybe that you're not alone in feeling like that. Lost my mojo too. Spend far more time crapping on myself for my many inadequacies than I do appreciating the fact that I'm out there in the sunshine playing a game I (used to) enjoy so much. Stupid.

Let me know if you figure it out!

[trickymicky69]

my advice would be - go and play somewhere you have always wanted to play, even if expensive

then rather than thinking about the golf - remember why you play - take a good look around

to be outside, with our friends in beautiful parts of the world

if that doesnt work, get drunk

[MiniBlueDragon]

The only wall I've hit so far is the information wall. I've spent a couple of years now absorbing info from videos, books, lessons, my own notes from practice sessions, notes I've taken from bad rounds etc and my swing is solid and consistent enough that all I now need is practice. I now find myself thinking, "Ooh book! Noooo leave the book alone, your swing is good and you'll mess it all up!"

Golf's supposed to be fun and if its not you need to put it down until it becomes fun again.

[lumpuckeroo]

I'm not sure I have hit the wall during the golf season, but I have always said that I like living in the Midwest because I give my golf game a break.  Don't get me wrong, I really like to golf and always complain that I don't get to golf as much as I want to, but when October/November rolls around, I'm fine with putting my clubs in the basement and getting them out in March.  I find that stepping away for 4 or 5 months really gets me excited about the new season,

Now that doesn't really help with your situation, but you might just try taking a week or two off from playing and practicing.  Get away from the game for a little bit, clear your mind.

[newtogolf]

As the name says, I'm too new to playing golf to be burned out or offer you specific advice on how to overcome it, but I have been burned out by recreational hobbies like racquetball, and long distance running.  4-6 rounds a week is a lot, that's best case 24 hours of your time not including your commute to the course, range time, practice time.  Basically golf has become your full time job in the summer.  I did the same with racquetball, playing almost every night 2-3 hours.   In the quest to become good at something we take something that is supposed to be fun and a break from our normal jobs and make them as intense and pressure filled or worse than a job.

I'm envious of your handicap, you've accomplished what very few of us ever will.  Once you achieve a certain level in a sport, improvements become harder as I'm sure you're realizing, possibly your expectations are too high, not overall, but the time frame you've set for yourself.  Might want to take a step back and focus more on your accomplishments than shortfalls.  Also consider going to the pro shop and testing out some new equipment to set as a carrot for yourself or playing a more expensive course than your typically would as reward for achieving some short term goals.

It just sounds like you've made golf a job, taking a break from it might help, but if you're like me it won't change the goals or pressure you've placed on yourself to improve.  Good luck.

[parbreaker]

I have hit a wall a couple of times. The first time I tried to force my way through it, and just ended up quitting the game for a while. Not the ideal result. I went for years and didn't watch golf, read about it, or even look at a club.

The last time I had a burnout I stopped playing as soon as I felt it coming. I basically went from hitting 1,000 balls a week and playing 54 holes a week, to doing other stuff. I basically lifted the pressure off of myself and only did what I really felt like doing. I ended up watching a bit of golf (maybe only the last 2 hours of sundays) and playing a round every couple of weeks. I filled my time with other hobbies. Eventually my itch became stronger and before I knew it I was back to my old ways.

In the end, I think burnouts are something that any serious player is going to have to deal with. You might have to find your own way of dealing with it, but the best advice I could give is to really pay attention to your feelings... and don't go against them.

[NBGolfer]

I have never really experienced the "wall".  Could be because I am up north and we have a 6 month off season, which is hard on the game but also can be viewed as a good break that allows me to take up different interested over the winter and by the time spring rolls around I am hungry to get back out there.  As far as the anger issues I often fight those as well.  This year I have been much better and I really had to examin my game and realize I wasn't going to fire under par every round and make every 5 footer.  Once I really stood back and accepted my game as is, it helped in that area as well.

I don't think there is anything wrong with stepping away for a week or two until the itch returns.  I also like the idea of going to play a different course to see if that helps ignite the fire again.  I often do that a couple of times a summer to shake things up.

[Bad Golfer]

I play about 3 or 4 times a week and I must admit that sometimes a game becomes a chore, and when it does, I might just as well have stayed at home.

I sometimes even get that feeling mid-game, after 6 holes perhaps, and the rest of the round is just "going through the motions".  I wish I could re-kindle my appetite for lots of golf, but I think I will simply remain a mid-handicapper for the rest of my days.

[Mrgreenjeans22]

I recently went through a "burn out" a few weeks ago, admittedly I still kinda am but slowly coming off of it.
I found the whole reason I get burned out is because this season has really been an improvement for me since I started, I went from shooting 100's easily down to low 80's and even once a mid 70, That when ever my old bad habits would start to show up and I would hit just one bad shot it would start this negative domino effect with me. I would basically just talk myself down in my head and that one bad shot just became an awful round, simply because I have these pro-level expectations of myself. Couple this with the fact that i tend to play at least 72 holes a week, and that for the last 40 days its been hotter than hades, any "bad" round becomes a blow up week, and just makes me want to quit.

Anyway, I resolved to just take a few weeks off, The itch is back and I'm definitely watching firestone and starting to play rounds again in my head, but I'm still waiting myself out before I play again just so, as 1par said, Get the game back in perspective. Once I start letting go of the mentally that I'm not a PGA pro and that I'm here because I love the game for both the fun and challenge is when I think I'll be able to go back out.

[Pope33]

I go through a burn out almost every single year around end of Sept or early Oct. Kinda come to expect it now. I get looking forward to hunting season and stop caring about golf. My game really starts to struggle about that time every year because my mind isn't in it anymore. I do like living in the upper Midwest where we don't take it for granted that we are able to golf everyday and thereby enjoy every round more because we can only play it for half the year.

All I can say is enjoy it while you are interested and find another hobby to take up the rest of the time while you don't. I play basketball, go hunting, and ice fishing to pass the time until I yurn for golf again.

[GaijinGolfer]

Originally Posted by Pope33

I go through a burn out almost every single year around end of Sept or early Oct. Kinda come to expect it now. I get looking forward to hunting season and stop caring about golf. My game really starts to struggle about that time every year because my mind isn't in it anymore. I do like living in the upper Midwest where we don't take it for granted that we are able to golf everyday and thereby enjoy every round more because we can only play it for half the year.

All I can say is enjoy it while you are interested and find another hobby to take up the rest of the time while you don't. I play basketball, go hunting, and ice fishing to pass the time until I yurn for golf again.

Same here.  In October when hockey season starts I start to lose interest in golf.  Luckily, almost all of the courses around here close for the year on November 1st, so its not a huge deal.  Even if I lived in a place that had a climate that allowed me to golf year-round, if I had a choice between playing 18 holes of golf or playing in a rec hockey league; Id choose hockey almost every time.