taking golf too seriously

[Chas]

And working on too many things in a shortish period of time is a big mistake. A long time ago I took line dancing lessons with my girlfriend (an excellent dancer, unlike me). I could sort of learn one in a session OK but come the next week we had to learn another, and so on. If we had kept with the one until I had it down pat I'd have been able to move on and learn another well but that never happened. OK so the analogy is a bit weak but both involve a rapid series of moves that have to become subconscious or it's a bust. The good news is that you can learn golf at your own pace, if you're a patient person.

[tuffluck]

thanks for all of the good feedback and unique tips.  definitely some solid advice here.  i played again today and overall much better...shot a 92 with 2 quintuple bogeys.  that's not a joke.  i am really starting to think there is a curse against me breaking 90 more than 1 time in my life, because the first quintuple was unbelievably ridiculous (story below).  good news is with the driver tightened up i hit it great!  i didn't lose a single ball and my total average (using gps) went up quite a bit from 271 to 280.  so if nothing else, i feel good about that.

quintuple bogey...there is a tough 210y par 3 with woods on the right and water on the left, maybe 25y in between.  my least favorite hole of all courses i play.  i fanned it into the water off the tee, and on my drop hit the fringe and it rolled down away into the woods behind a lone tree.  left handed 6i out, beautifully struck up to the same fringe and it stopped for a second, then rolled back down.  this time lie was deep rough on a severely sloped/angled hill from hole, hit the fringe yet again with what i thought was a darn good chip, but alas it rolled back down the hill.  next time i got it to stop and two-putted for an 8...next hole i got a 9 on a par 4, mostly out of leftover frustration from the par 3 just before.  internally i lost my temper, but i didn't physically react once which is impressive for me.  kudos to some of the comments in this thread for helping me keeping my cool.

and btw the reason i was so delicate to get it just on the fringe was because the hole was close to the fringe and about 10 feet behind the hole is a small bunker.  overall the only poorly struck ball was the one in the water...a more skilled player would have played the hole better for sure, but there was a ton of bad luck nevertheless (i think).  it happens a lot to me!!

[tuffluck]

another ridiculous thing was me hitting my 56 into a green 75y away, hit 3' on the green and spun backwards down a hill.  it was ridiculous because i have never spun a ball backwards with a wedge before in my life.  guarantee on a day i was not teetering with an 80s score that would have never happened.

[Rick Martin]

OP - I have rounds of golf where nothing seems to go right. Most of the time I find that my course management was the culprit.  I hit at targets or use clubs when I should be playing more conservatively or playing for bogeys instead of going for shots that I can hit 1-out-of-ten times.

I also have to manage my expectations realistically. Sometimes when I dive into the 70s, I expect to do that every round. And when i don't, I can be a little testy to those around me.

Also, if you're competing against fellow players, I say forget them and play against yourself. Try to score better on every nine.  I find when I compete against others, that I press too much and make poor swings.

You might read up on Bob Rotella's books to learn to adjust your mental game.  Expectations need to equal skill.

[kevin.chan]

Just like things in life , you set some expectations .  It is a same when come to golf.

When the journey is not on the way you wanted and you cant do anything about it ...man ....

However , if you able to overcome some bad shots and turn into a great recovery like a chip in or long putt ..that kinda feeling is always a great one !

[carrx]

The improvement curve I had required that I play smart golf until I had the requisite skill to play aggressive golf.  When I was trying to break 90, I was laying up on Par 5s where I didn't have a better than reasonable chance to get there in 2.  I was laying back off the tee to keep the ball in play, and aiming for the centers of greens.  I was playing angles from the tee to the fairway (expressed here earlier).

Now that I'm a comfortably competent player (not "good", but passable), I can afford to be more aggressive off the tee, hitting drivers on short par 4s and trying to scramble for birdies.  I go for par 5s with less regard for where a poor 2nd might leave me, because I have greater confidence in my short game to keep me together.

A rule of thumb to consider is to never let your disposition/attitude cost you any shots.  There are enough shots lost to bad decisions, poor execution, and plain bad luck.  If you can handle the heat, stay "in" every shot, use your brain, and I think you'll be surprised at how much fun you can have, even if your best play is to punch out of the trees sideways.

[turtleback]

A great resource is Ray Floyd's Book The Elements of Scorin g : A Master's Guide to the Art of Scoring Your Best When You're Not Playing Your Best

It is all about course management.  There is some discussion of it in the Reading Room forum.