Horrendous experience. Confidence knocked.

[claytonmeister]

I played my first 'proper' 18 holes on Sunday morning. At the range, and at a little course I play (3842 yds, par 66) I've felt really good. I've been hitting straight wood/driver shots from the tee and gaining confidence with my irons. I hit a 92 only 2 weeks ago. I felt fairly ready to hit a proper course. I went and played at Deangate ridge. A 5756 yard, par 72 course. I hit a measly 129. I make that 57 OVER!! How eye watering is that? I hit a dreadful drive on the 1st hole and took a 10. I was so disappointed and my head was down. I had been out in London the night before and wonder if this had any effect? Does any one have any explanation to my break down on the course!? Seeing as I felt I was doing so well?

[NuclearMike]

Don't get down after a bad shot or a bad hole.  It sounds as if that 10 stuck with you for a while.  There's nothing that we can do about our golf failures but learn from them and improve from that experience.  Next time out will be better than the last one.  Even if it's not a complete success there will be something positive on which you can draw for the following time out.

[MacDutch]

Originally Posted by claytonmeister

I hit a measly 129. I make that 57 OVER!! How eye watering is that?

Not eye-watering at all, better get used to it. Play 3 times a week and with some talent you will break 100 next year. Or maybe this year. 5756 yards is short for a par 72.

[Meltdwhiskey]

I would not get worked up over that.  As stated, the 10 out of the gate probably had you frozen up the rest of the day.  One bad shot usually leads to more than one extra stroke on the card.  And I think it has been established that the average round of golf for ams is over 100.  This was kind of your first time.

I'd advise using a lot more irons off the tee - notably that first one. You (and I) aren't getting there in 2 most likely anyway.  Play your straightest club.  The lack of distance isn't nearly the killer you think it is.  But hitting it in the woods is.

Now you have a goal to shoot for, maybe try to break 125 next time.  Golf is hard.

[clutchshot]

We all started there, practice as much as you can and it wil slowly go down. If I'm having a rough day, I just play hole by hole and try to see how many pars I can get in one day instead of worrying about bad holes wreaking my entire round.

[2ironfrenzy]

Originally Posted by clutchshot

We all started there, practice as much as you can and it wil slowly go down.

If I'm having a rough day, I just play hole by hole and try to see how many pars I can get in one day instead of worrying about bad holes wreaking my entire round.

This^^ I used to let things get to me on the course, and it more often than not ruined my game. just be patient, and know it is a learning process. you won't become great overnight, but as long as you dedicate some time to practicing you can always get better. just considder every hole a new game.

[dave s]

Couple of thoughts for you when the games starts burning oil and the wheels come loose:

1. If you drive the ball in a bad place, look for your best 'out' and take it.  This will reduce the likelihood of going from bad to worse to worst!  This is what causes 10s on a hole.

2.  Find your 'go-to' club and shot.  Even if it's a 7-iron as a 2nd shot on a 4-par hole with no chance of reaching the green it's better than rolling a 3-wood for slicing a 4-iron off the planet and into trouble.  Example:  My wife's game:  Driver, 5-hybrid, short iron.  She plays every hole this way and keeps it between 95-105 on regulation 18-hole courses from the forward tees.

3.  Start working on your short game.  Getting all chips on the green, then making the 3-5' second putts is the best way to keep your score under control.

Good luck and let us know how your game improves.

dave

[walk18]

I played my first 'proper' 18 holes on Sunday morning. At the range, and at a little course I play (3842 yds, par 66) I've felt really good. I've been hitting straight wood/driver shots from the tee and gaining confidence with my irons. I hit a 92 only 2 weeks ago. I felt fairly ready to hit a proper course. I went and played at Deangate ridge. A 5756 yard, par 72 course. I hit a measly 129. I make that 57 OVER!! How eye watering is that? I hit a dreadful drive on the 1st hole and took a 10. I was so disappointed and my head was down. I had been out in London the night before and wonder if this had any effect? Does any one have any explanation to my break down on the course!? Seeing as I felt I was doing so well?

It was your first round, I wouldn't get too down about it.

[Dave2512]

Hang in there. Just sounds like you're not ready and should spend more time on the exec course and range. If you more than doubled the amount of strokes over par you previous thought was a half decent score on a longer course that is the clue. Few people take up golf and immediately shoot low scores. Heck people play for years without legitimately breaking 100.

Not sure if this will make you feel better but here goes. Last spring was my first year back to golf in 13+ years. The first time out I intended just to hit some balls on the range. I headed over to parents clubs to meet them with my newly assembled bag of used clubs. They surprised me by reserving a tee time. So off I went cold, hadn't been on a course in a long time. I felt like I had what it took to just head out and play. I started golfing in 1976 and played competitive golf into high school. Quit when my interests changed from sports to cars and girls. I played a lot through the 90's due to meeting people in the biz world. Just normal men's club stuff, nothing serious. But I was a decent stick in the 8-12 range without much effort.

Well the joke was on me. I think I completed one maybe two holes before picking up the entire day. I was ready to give it up that very day. Long story longer, I crawled back to the kiddie par 3 I learned on in the 70's and put in my time. I gradually moved up to a longer par 3 and spent a lot of time practicing before making the move back to a longer course. It was months of hard work before I could break 90 and that was with 3 decades of previous golf experience. I play 3-4 times a week and practice at least a 1/2 hour every day to be currently mediocre. Golf is hard. Take your time.

[JonMA1]

Read the "What did you shoot today" thread. You'll read the single-digit players are just as frustrated when they shoot an occasional 85-90. A bad round is relative to your skill level. That's all your 129 score was - a bad round. Just as the 92 you shot the week earlier may have been a good round for you at this point in your game (this is my second year and I don't shoot low 90's yet).

For most of us, we start out not having a clue. We think, this game can't be that hard. So we practice, maybe take lessons, practice, start playing more rounds, learn from friends, and practice some more. Our scores start dropping a little bit at a time. Sometimes it's one step forward, two steps back. If your stubborn enough to stick with it, your skill starts to improve along with your knowledge. Then you start to see flashes of very good golf and that really gets you fired up. Soon you start seeing a pattern and you realize it's not a direct accent. My last time out I shot my lowest 9 hole rounds ever. Yet, I'm aware that there's a very good chance my next round won't be as good. That's not self-fullfilled prophecy, just the normal inconsistencies within my own game.

In my opinion, the sooner you come to terms with that fact that this is a really hard game to get good at, the less pressure you might put on yourself. There's nothing wrong with setting goals and expectations, just be realistic.

Good luck.

[malincanada]

If you look at it statistically then the 129 is actually quite a comparable score compared to the 92 on the much shorter course.

You scored 92 on a course of 3842yds = 41.76yds per stroke.

You scored 129 on a course of 5756yds = 44.62yds per stroke.

By that measure the 129 was actually slightly better even if it doesn't feel that way.

As other posters have mentioned, one of the main ways of gradually bringing down your score is good course management. Don't worry too much about the par of a hole. Instead, set your own goals that you can measure yourself against.

I used to count my score against 6's. E.g. 5 on the 1st, I'm one-under sixes. 7 on the 2nd, I'm back to level. I found that much better than thinking 'Oh God. I'm 5-over already after two holes.

[MackJL06]

my partner in my Work Golf League has been playing for 8 years now.

He shot a 76 on 9 holes last week. You're fine.

Focus on getting better! Have fun!

[clutchshot]

Read the "What did you shoot today" thread. For most of us, we start out not having a clue. We think, this game can't be that hard. So we practice, maybe take lessons, practice, start playing more rounds, learn from friends, and practice some more. Our scores start dropping a little bit at a time. Sometimes it's one step forward, two steps back. If your stubborn enough to stick with it, your skill starts to improve along with your knowledge. Then you start to see flashes of very good golf and that really gets you fired up. Soon you start seeing a pattern and you realize it's not a direct accent. My last time out I shot my lowest 9 hole rounds ever. Yet, I'm aware that there's a very good chance my next round won't be as good. That's not self-fullfilled prophecy, just the normal inconsistencies within my own game.  In my opinion, the sooner you come to terms with that fact that this is a really hard game to get good at, the less pressure you might put on yourself. There's nothing wrong with setting goals and expectations, just be realistic. Good luck.

Very true, didn't ever plan on years of practice to perfect the art, but I think that is why I have grown to love it. [quote name="malincanada" url="/t/67123/horrendous-experience-confidence-knocked#post_846156"]If you look at it statistically then the 129 is actually quite a comparable score compared to the 92 on the much shorter course. You scored 92 on a course of 3842yds = 41.76yds per stroke. You scored 129 on a course of 5756yds = 44.62yds per stroke. By that measure the 129 was actually slightly better even if it doesn't feel that way. As other posters have mentioned, one of the main ways of gradually bringing down your score is good course management. Don't worry too much about the par of a hole. Instead, set your own goals that you can measure yourself against. I used to count my score against 6's. E.g. 5 on the 1st, I'm one-under sixes. 7 on the 2nd, I'm back to level. I found that much better than thinking 'Oh God. I'm 5-over already after two holes. [/quote] I was thinking this too... Most players gain strokes when they longer courses.