Tracking Mental Mistakes - Scorecard

[boogielicious]

The last few rounds I have started tracking my mental mistakes (after the fact of course).  You know the kind, "What was I thinking trying that shot!".  I know we track penalties and a whole bunch of other stats, but I was wondering if any of you track these kind of mistakes as well.  Examples are terrible lies that you try to hit a long iron with instead of just pitching out to a safe place.  Or trying to hit between a small gap instead of punching back on the fairway.

I would be a nice feature on ScoreCard if we could track that.  I really want to cut down on these because it will definitely reduce strokes.

[jeramydavid]

I have been tracking every single stroke, and marking the scorecard to take note of every club, factor, and situation. I should post a pic of a recent scorecard, it is a mess. Each stroke is noted by which club was used. I also make other notes like circiling a putt mark if it was from the fringe or off the green so it doesn't go into the putt or chip count. But I also will note any stroke that was avoidable (mental mistakes, bad choices,) its nice to have a tally to remind yourself what every decision costs or Gains.

[MEfree]

If you are going to note how many strokes you lose by hitting "dumb" shots, you should also note how many you gain- i.e. that long iron you were talking about ends up on the green or you make it through the small gap you had no business taking on.

[boogielicious]

MEfree, good point.  But at an 11 HC, the dumb shots are greater than the really good hard shots.

I do mark up my scorecard with Fairways, GIR, Putts and distance of first putt.  I also add up and downs and sand.  Maybe I will just add a big "D" for mistake.

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by boogielicious

MEfree, good point.  But at an 11 HC, the dumb shots are greater than the really good hard shots.

So just stop playing them

[Audaxi]

Originally Posted by MEfree

So just stop playing them

Ah, but if only it was that simple...For you, it might be, but I know the mental part of the game is what is holding me back. I can post 3 straight birdies, lose focus, then go double, bogey, bogey on the next three holes. It's a vicious cycle really, because I lose focus when I'm doing well and only regain it when I see my game go in the toilet.

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by Audaxi

Ah, but if only it was that simple...For you, it might be, but I know the mental part of the game is what is holding me back. I can post 3 straight birdies, lose focus, then go double, bogey, bogey on the next three holes. It's a vicious cycle really, because I lose focus when I'm doing well and only regain it when I see my game go in the toilet.

Then I think tracking them will really help you...what you should do before you hit any harder shots is ask yourself if you don`t pull it off, then will you record it as a mental mistake.  The more often you say yes, the more likely you will be to play a different shot.

[Topper]

Originally Posted by boogielicious

MEfree, good point.  But at an 11 HC, the dumb shots are greater than the really good hard shots.

I do mark up my scorecard with Fairways, GIR, Putts and distance of first putt.  I also add up and downs and sand.  Maybe I will just add a big "D" for mistake.

I do almost exactly the same thing except I'll mark "DA" at the bottom of the card below a hole where I make a really poor course management decision.  DA (of course) stands for "Dumb A$$".

[boogielicious]

Excellent.  I will start doing that!

[Ben]

Originally Posted by boogielicious

MEfree, good point.  But at an 11 HC, the dumb shots are greater than the really good hard shots.

I do mark up my scorecard with Fairways, GIR, Putts and distance of first putt.  I also add up and downs and sand.  Maybe I will just add a big "D" for mistake.

I understand the point of "I'm an 11 so..." But, if you continue to focus on the bad shots you've made [subconsciously] you'll continue to hit them. Personally I forget the "bad shots" (as I've learned from reading Bob Rotella) and instead, post-round I make note of all the good shots I hit. Trying to be as detailed as possible. Focusing on the good will re-enforce itself and you'll start playing smarter shots, most of the time. It is hard to stay 100% focused all the time, I know, I play this game too. But, it's crucial to advance your game.

Here's an example of a recent round, I call the file "Good Shots"

[saevel25]

Well, if i tracked these over time i probably would be playing shots i do now sooner. I kinda learned the hard way not to do stupid stuff. That doesn't mean i don't. I've had shots were my only option was to hit a 3 foot opening in the trees, with a PW to a green. I hit that opening and ended up over the green, damn i was so exicited about that shot. Most of the time i just punch out, but that shot just felt right. The trajectory felt right with my iron. Then there are times i try to blast a  3 wood under some branches and you hear the CLANK, and think, WTF did i just do that for.

But you get to learning, don't use long irons out of high grass, things like that. But if you need a reminder, its not a bad idea to account for it as a stat.

The hardest one to give up is going for a par 5 in two, those can be either WTF moments, or YAY!!! moments.. :p, really outcomes can really dictate this stat

[boogielicious]

Ben,

I am not talking about bad shots, but shots that had low success probability that resulted in putting myself in a worse position.  I get over bad shots very quickly especially when I know why the ball didn't fly they way it was supposed to.

I like the advice above about asking myself the question before the shot.  But sometimes in the heat of the moment you try things.  I tend to go over the round in my head afterward to figure out what I did well, what I need to improve upon and "what was I thinking!".  I want to eliminate the last one.  I thought by tracking it, I may see a pattern and eliminate it.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by boogielicious

I would be a nice feature on ScoreCard if we could track that.  I really want to cut down on these because it will definitely reduce strokes.

I have considered adding that, but instead what I typically do is put it in the notes for that hole. If I have a particularly bad round with lots of stupid mistakes I'll note that in the notes for the entire round.

But as with any stats, we tend to exclude them from Scorecard because each added stat adds "time" or "weight" to the app that may turn people off. Yes, you can say "but people won't enter them if they don't want to" and while true, it's also true that some people (a lot, perhaps not the majority, but a lot) feel compelled to fill in every stat, and then they find it to be a chore, and they stop using it.

I'd rather people use the software because entering five stats but getting 35+ stats out of it is a good "return on investment." Adding a sixth stat for "mental mistakes" wouldn't net us 45 stats, it'd net us something more like two additional stats: average score per mental mistake, and maybe compared against holes where you make no mental mistake, and then the virtually useless ones like "average mental mistakes per 18" or something.

I add a * to my scorecard when I make a mental mistake and just look at them at the end. If I have more than two I note it. Otherwise I just move on.

[boogielicious]

Thanks Erik.  I rarely use the notes feature unless there is something odd or weird, but this would be a good use as well.  I do go through the round in my head after and make note of mistakes and good shots.