How do I NOT lose my marbles after a bad shot/hole?

[CBVegas]

Introduce myself ...  Name is Chris..  from Las Vegas ...

AM Tour player..  handi 3.4  home course is Spanish Trail CC

very competitive and since october been playing in tourneys and goal is a mini or higher ...

I have been a pro athlete before so I'm not a 30 year old coming from the couch to the range...  I've been playing since I was 6 and stopped after high school to pursue owning my own business and a careare in teaching jiu jitsu and pro MMA ....  I picked the clubs back up daily in october and was around a 20 handi and have dropped it to a 3.4 since then...
anything else you want to know about me just ask...


anyways I'm coming off of 2 wins on the am tour and yesterday we had a tourney at a course I was not able to get in a practice round at due to scheduling conflict...

anyways as I sit and think back to losing my cool it was the first hole....

score was par 5 my score was 5

but thats not the issue.. the issue is I was 12ft from pin lying 2.. so yes I 3 putted from 12 feet...  it's not that I can't putt i just hit a bit hard on first put and put it 12ft past hole....  half rolled my 2nd putt and tapped for a 5  ....

I think what made me lose it was on my walk up to the green I was already worst casing myself into a birdie and going for the eagle ...

then I half way recovered on 3,4, then 5 was a short cut 334 par4 for and I pushed the drive could not find then had to play provisional and bogeyed it...  now I'm steaming and could not regain composure until hole 10 and went nearly flawless on back with an eagle .....

heres my question..  for someone who wants to play competitive and take it to next level and next level ...  how can I overcome this frustration of I gotta get that stroke back I lost there or there...

what can I do?

[Mr3Wiggle]

Originally Posted by CBVegas

Introduce myself ...  Name is Chris..  from Las Vegas ...

AM Tour player..  handi 3.4  home course is Spanish Trail CC

very competitive and since october been playing in tourneys and goal is a mini or higher ...

I have been a pro athlete before so I'm not a 30 year old coming from the couch to the range...  I've been playing since I was 6 and stopped after high school to pursue owning my own business and a careare in teaching jiu jitsu and pro MMA ....  I picked the clubs back up daily in october and was around a 20 handi and have dropped it to a 3.4 since then...

anything else you want to know about me just ask...

anyways I'm coming off of 2 wins on the am tour and yesterday we had a tourney at a course I was not able to get in a practice round at due to scheduling conflict...

anyways as I sit and think back to losing my cool it was the first hole....

score was par 5 my score was 5

but thats not the issue.. the issue is I was 12ft from pin lying 2.. so yes I 3 putted from 12 feet...  it's not that I can't putt i just hit a bit hard on first put and put it 12ft past hole....  half rolled my 2nd putt and tapped for a 5  ....

I think what made me lose it was on my walk up to the green I was already worst casing myself into a birdie and going for the eagle ...

then I half way recovered on 3,4, then 5 was a short cut 334 par4 for and I pushed the drive could not find then had to play provisional and bogeyed it...  now I'm steaming and could not regain composure until hole 10 and went nearly flawless on back with an eagle .....

heres my question..  for someone who wants to play competitive and take it to next level and next level ...  how can I overcome this frustration of I gotta get that stroke back I lost there or there...

what can I do?

For me it's all about self control.  If I hit an awful shot I need to step back and compose myself and not bring that negativity into my next shot.  Also, focus on not trying to make up for my bad shot by hitting a low percentage miracle shot.  Usually once I battle through the initial wave of anger after a bad shot, I'm good to go.  Just have to grind it out.

[Shorty]

How can you lose a ball and "then" have to play a provisional?

Anyway, on the par four fifth you birdied with the second ball for your bogey, so what are you whining about?

You should be celebrating the fact that you made bogey with a lost ball. And you're "steaming".  Most people are extremely happy with a bogey after a lost ball, so I don't really know what you're on about.

You three putted from 12 feet on the first. So what? Still a par.

You aren't as good as you'd like to be. Who isn't? Get over it.

You are setting ridiculously high standards for yourself and have fooled yourself that winning on a Mickey Mouse "AM Tour" means anything. It's just a bunch of hackers trying to win some of the money they've paid in entry fees back.

What you have to do is realise that you are playing a game. Noone else really cares how you do so make it easy on yourself.

The fact that you claim to be  a "pro athlete" means nothing in golf. And you're experience there obviously hasn't helped you with even the most basic sports psychology knowledge:  staying in the present.

You are not going to make money playing the golf, so just enjoy it.

You have to stay in the present. The process is very simple to learn, but hard to do.

I. Hit the shot in front of you.

2. Accept the result, no matter what it is.

3. Repeat

[lostmyballs]

Shorty's icon really does fit his communication style, doesn't it?

To the original poster, my recommendation is to use your instances of failure as opportunities for improvement (I can speak from experience - I have experienced lots of opportunities for improvement, if you know what I mean). Perhaps you jot down to yourself those weaknesses in your game that you need to focus more on. For instances, find an angle on a practice green similar to the 12' put you misjudged. Conquer that put when its practice time. But leave it alone until then. I find that it helps me shrug off a bad shot when I can say, "well, that's what I need to improve on for next time". You aren't getting cheated, remember that. You owe it to yourself to learn from your mistakes, but you certainly don't fix those mistakes by ruminating on them when you should be focusing on your next shot!

[Hollister]

I do not mean to offend you with junior golf blabber. But I am still smiling after have seen this video a while ago. No voodoo, simple "truths", understandable. Nice prep talk most of us should have received while in school. But it is never too late. I few Zen ideas should be applicable to golf, too.

PS: How do tour players handle their issues? Just watch the blow-ups every Sunday on TV. Why does Charlie Wi and a lot more do not close the deal on Sundays? At least Tiger seems to be getting the Zen-master again. The mental game is the hardest to tame and own expectations are very big competitor.

[CBVegas]

I don't remember asking you if you thought I would make money playing golf...  and I think you misunderstood my post.. evidently you don't comprehend your reading as well as you strike a golf ball..

as you said the past is the past and we all know to forget it..  but with any sport..  how?  any tricks of the trade Mr. Tour player.

you have made some good points in the post aside from making sounding like an a**hole but it is what it is..  3 types of people

you saying I would never make money playing golf is one of the dumbest statements I've heard ...  have you heard the expression HWPO

Originally Posted by Shorty

How can you lose a ball and "then" have to play a provisional?

Anyway, on the par four fifth you birdied with the second ball for your bogey, so what are you whining about?

You should be celebrating the fact that you made bogey with a lost ball. And you're "steaming".  Most people are extremely happy with a bogey after a lost ball, so I don't really know what you're on about.

You three putted from 12 feet on the first. So what? Still a par.

You aren't as good as you'd like to be. Who isn't? Get over it.

You are setting ridiculously high standards for yourself and have fooled yourself that winning on a Mickey Mouse "AM Tour" means anything. It's just a bunch of hackers trying to win some of the money they've paid in entry fees back.

What you have to do is realise that you are playing a game. Noone else really cares how you do so make it easy on yourself.

The fact that you claim to be  a "pro athlete" means nothing in golf. And you're experience there obviously hasn't helped you with even the most basic sports psychology knowledge:  staying in the present.

You are not going to make money playing the golf, so just enjoy it.

You have to stay in the present. The process is very simple to learn, but hard to do.

I. Hit the shot in front of you.

2. Accept the result, no matter what it is.

3. Repeat

[CBVegas]

my original post is asking what do you do.. what is your train of thought..  we all know we are supposed to get over it ...  but how..  is that alone what separates the PGA pro's from the mini pro's?

[Harmonious]

Take this for what it's worth:

You are not (yet) a pro player.  Therefore, you are going to screw up more than a few times during the course of a round.  Guess what?  In amateur tournaments, EVERYBODY will screw up more than a few times.

I saw many guys who hit it farther, whose swing looked prettier, who seemed to be better players. But they were prone to explode after just one bad hole.  It was all over for them. They pressed more and more, took unnecessary chances, and tried for miracle shots that never came off. At the end of the day, they were toast.

I became successful in tournaments when I adopted the mindset that getting a bogey, or worse, early in a round would not lose the tournament. I forced myself to just plod along (one shot at a time and all that) and was just as likely to drop a couple of birdie putts later on to reduce some of the damages. Usually it was good enough to finish well.  Couple of club championships and county/city amateurs, so I must have done something right.

[Ernest Jones]

Bring your own beers, it's cheaper And never forget, it's a game!!

[Ernest Jones]

Originally Posted by Shorty

How can you lose a ball and "then" have to play a provisional?

Anyway, on the par four fifth you birdied with the second ball for your bogey, so what are you whining about?

You should be celebrating the fact that you made bogey with a lost ball. And you're "steaming".  Most people are extremely happy with a bogey after a lost ball, so I don't really know what you're on about.

You three putted from 12 feet on the first. So what? Still a par.

You aren't as good as you'd like to be. Who isn't? Get over it.

You are setting ridiculously high standards for yourself and have fooled yourself that winning on a Mickey Mouse "AM Tour" means anything. It's just a bunch of hackers trying to win some of the money they've paid in entry fees back.

What you have to do, is realise that you are playing a game. Noone else really cares how you do so make it easy on yourself.

The fact that you claim to be  a "pro athlete" means nothing in golf. And you're experience there obviously hasn't helped you with even the most basic sports psychology knowledge:  staying in the present.

You are not going to make money playing the golf, so just enjoy it.

You have to stay in the present. The process is very simple to learn, but hard to do.

I. Hit the shot in front of you.

2. Accept the result, no matter what it is.

3. Repeat

Only because you've been a pompous ass about grammer and spelling in the past...

[CBVegas]

Harmonious that's the mindset I need... I can play well strike well but I lose it then lose judgement I need to overcome that... Solid advice

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by Ernest Jones

Only because you've been a pompous ass about grammer and spelling in the past...

Muphry's law perfectly described!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Stretch]

When you hit a bad shot, try to watch it fly exactly the same way you would if it was one of your playing partners who had hit it -- ie. with mild interest, but detached from the ultimate result. This is called "taking yourself out of the frame" and the aim is to get to a point where you inhabit only two emotional states on the course, happy/satisfied when you do something good and neutral when you make a mistake.

[GaijinGolfer]

You need to think about one shot at a time.  If you hit a bad one, put it out of your mind and move on.  You cant do a thing to change the last shot you hit but you can do a heck of a lot to change the shot you are about to hit with the proper mindset.

[Ernest Jones]

Originally Posted by Shorty

Muphry's law perfectly described!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Drat! LOL!

[darkstar76]

If I were you I would begin & end each day with a firm stare in the mirror. As you stand in front of your reflection repeat the following words: I. AM. AWESOME.

[ev780]

Originally Posted by CBVegas

Introduce myself ...  Name is Chris..  from Las Vegas ...

AM Tour player..  handi 3.4  home course is Spanish Trail CC

very competitive and since october been playing in tourneys and goal is a mini or higher ...

I have been a pro athlete before so I'm not a 30 year old coming from the couch to the range...  I've been playing since I was 6 and stopped after high school to pursue owning my own business and a careare in teaching jiu jitsu and pro MMA ....  I picked the clubs back up daily in october and was around a 20 handi and have dropped it to a 3.4 since then...

anything else you want to know about me just ask...

anyways I'm coming off of 2 wins on the am tour and yesterday we had a tourney at a course I was not able to get in a practice round at due to scheduling conflict...

anyways as I sit and think back to losing my cool it was the first hole....

score was par 5 my score was 5

but thats not the issue.. the issue is I was 12ft from pin lying 2.. so yes I 3 putted from 12 feet...  it's not that I can't putt i just hit a bit hard on first put and put it 12ft past hole....  half rolled my 2nd putt and tapped for a 5  ....

I think what made me lose it was on my walk up to the green I was already worst casing myself into a birdie and going for the eagle ...

then I half way recovered on 3,4, then 5 was a short cut 334 par4 for and I pushed the drive could not find then had to play provisional and bogeyed it...  now I'm steaming and could not regain composure until hole 10 and went nearly flawless on back with an eagle .....

heres my question..  for someone who wants to play competitive and take it to next level and next level ...  how can I overcome this frustration of I gotta get that stroke back I lost there or there...

what can I do?

So my first teacher (God rest his soul) used to mutter under his breath, "next hole" after a bad hole.  I never really appreacated it's simple elegance until I started play more competitively.  Now when I blow up on a hole I just mutter, "next hole" and clear my head.  Works best for match play but can also be applied to stroke play.

Accept what is.  The next hole is just over the rise.

[Motley01]

Chris,

First rule of thumb. Don't listen or even read ANY comments from Shorty. He does nothing on this board but have bitchy comments.

Now to your questions, like others said, your " Competitiveness " is getting in the way, after a bad shot just learn to breath, take some big breaths, relax, and compose yourself.

That's why the PGA Tour guys have made it to where they are, they have to quickly forget bad shots.