On average, how many strokes does your mental game cost you per round?

[rkim291968]

Hmm. Ok, so I never try a shot unless I'm confident that I can hit it, I'm not prone to emotional outbursts on the course, and I "forget" shots both good and bad rather easily so they don't cloud my mind and judgment, either.

Add in the fact that I tend to do slightly better under pressure, and I'm practically a mental game god.

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

I too have a perfect mental game.   It's perfectly mental.  TGIF.

[Dave2512]

The only time what is going in my head affects how I play is when I am playing distracted. Totally preventable if I wouldn't golf distracted so zero. I've missed 2 foot putts just going through the motions because I was thinking about something that happened at work and kicked myself for it later.

[billchao]

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

Nah, it's just unflappable confidence. ;-) I'm borderline delusional. I don't know I might not execute a shot the way I envisioned it until after I already screwed it up.

[LeftRightLeft]

I remember reading an article about improving the mental game (maybe B. Rotella?).  The gist was forget about the result, just grade yourself on sticking to your pre-shot routine and maintaining focus while hitting the shot.

If I were to really grade my commitment to my decision-making (certain of the swing I want to put on that particular shot or the club selection), to my pre-shot routine (too often rush through it), and to being totally in-the-moment when I'm ready to swing (focus), I would say there are at least six to nine shots every round where I fail mentally.  This could cause a lost stroke or two, but sometimes the shot comes off anyway.

Too often, I pull the wrong club but hit it anyway because I don't want to walk back to the cart (one of the reasons I prefer to walk).  Or didn't look at the top of the trees to check wind direction.  Or I'm thinking about the result and not the process.  Or I'm rushing because my group is a little slow/ or behind.  Or I was just plain pre-occupied.

As a once a month golfer I expect to make a few bad swings or hit chips or putts too hard or too soft, or have misreads.  That's golf.

However, if the attention was deficit before making the stroke, then it's a mental mistake and I do that way too much.

[SavvySwede]

2-3 strokes but only because most of my rounds are pretty casual and I often play alone in the late afternoon. So I don't mind going for some lower percentage shots just for the fun of it. But I know the risks and play much more intelligently when there is money on the line or I'm playing some sort of competition.

[dfreuter415]

My definition of "mental game" would be Roy McAvoy on the 72nd hole in the US Open.

Tin Cup

[SoundandFury]

Does this include strokes lost because of poor course management, stupid club choice, etc.?

There a par 4 at my club that dog legs hard left off the tee.  If I hit a hybrid that starts draws hard, I'll have about 85-90 yds in.  If that same hybrid goes dead straight, I'm either OB or will have to hit cut gap wedge off a hook lie.  I am quite stupid sometimes, so despite it working out maybe 50% of the time, I still hit that goddamn hybrid every time.  5i would leave me 110-115 even if I miss it straight...

[DrvFrShow]

6-9 strokes. I lose concentration at times. I fail to set up properly on putts. Or start thinking too much during a chip. A skulled or duffed chip is as bad as a duffed approach shot and sometimes worse when it doesn't check and rolls across the green into the bunker on the other side. It doesn't happen often, but it can ruin a hole.

Other stuff is just that I don't know how to play that well yet.

[NJpatbee]

I have had entire rounds ruined because of pressing personal or financial issues, but they have been few and far between.  On a typical round, there are usually 3-4 swings that sabotage my attempt to hit my goal of mid-upper 80's.  They are usually the result of not focusing on my shot at hand or rushing.  These errors range from skulling an easy chip across the green and into a bunker to just yanking my drive OB.  There are also times when I just do not execute well but that is to be expected of a mid-high handicapper and I know what needs practice afterwards.  I do know that I have the ability to lower my handicap by 4-5 strokes if I could stop the unforced errors.

[Strandly]

I seem to forget how to hit a driver as the round goes on which is very annoying and costs me strokes but I guess that's not what the poll is asking.  I've mostly learned my lesson on trying to hit through thick trees and stuff so I would say poor course management no longer costs me strokes.

[pstvev]

Does this include strokes lost because of poor course management, stupid club choice, etc.?

There a par 4 at my club that dog legs hard left off the tee.  If I hit a hybrid that starts draws hard, I'll have about 85-90 yds in.  If that same hybrid goes dead straight, I'm either OB or will have to hit cut gap wedge off a hook lie.  I am quite stupid sometimes, so despite it working out maybe 50% of the time, I still hit that goddamn hybrid every time.  5i would leave me 110-115 even if I miss it straight...

I would say yes.

[natureboy]

So, are you saying that the real mental error is playing golf in the first place?

or perhaps I'm chronically 'mental' all the time - thus the obsession with the hobby

either way works for me

Does this include strokes lost because of poor course management, stupid club choice, etc.?

There a par 4 at my club that dog legs hard left off the tee.  If I hit a hybrid that starts draws hard, I'll have about 85-90 yds in.  If that same hybrid goes dead straight, I'm either OB or will have to hit cut gap wedge off a hook lie.  I am quite stupid sometimes, so despite it working out maybe 50% of the time, I still hit that goddamn hybrid every time.  5i would leave me 110-115 even if I miss it straight...

I make those mental errors too. Bad gambling, but part of the fun of the game. Not really a mental error if you are playing a round to improve and learning to pull off hard shots, but unwise if you are playing for a low score.

I voted 6-9. Most of them coming in the form of allowing muscle tension to creep in with trying to 'swing hard' (even relatively harder with chips sometimes) for extra distance / control instead of relying on my mechanics, which always works better. Sometimes rushing the routine / alignment (especially on the green).

[The Recreational Golfer]

Define "mental game" please.

1. Being able to assess the situation clearly.

2. Given 1., being able to pick the right shot (for you).

3. Executing that shot with confidence.

The subtext to all this is being able to stay wholly in the moment, not being affected emotionally by what happened earlier or what might happen next.

[JazzFatCat]

One of my "mental" issues is that I don't want to slow down the group and I don't want to be seen as a "serious golfer" so I don't take the time to walk around to read a putt from the other side and I don't walk up to the green to get a good idea of where to land my pitch/chip shots. Last year I rarely kept track of my score so it wasn't a big deal but this year I'm a bit more interested in whether I par a hole or not so I think I'll have to force myself to do this kind of stuff even if nobody else in my group does.

I don't have a regular group of guys to golf with so I just get paired with random groups and people don't like playing with someone who is playing a lot better than them so I can imagine that doing this "serious golfer" behvaiour is a bit annoying to them.

[newtogolf]

My mental game costs me quite a few strokes, usually around 6.  Things like wind, people moving around me, insects flying around me and riding mowers cause me to lose concentration, especially in the tee box, and the resulting shot is usually horrible.  I know the right thing to do is step back and re-address the ball but I don't and then after I hit the ball I kick myself for ruining the hole when I know better.

The net result is then I start trying to pull off shots I know I have a low chance of hitting and that puts me into deeper trouble.  I definitely need to tighten up that part of my game.

[mvmac]

I voted 0. Sometimes my mental game/decision making costs me shots and sometimes it saves me shots.

Does this include strokes lost because of poor course management, stupid club choice, etc.?

Yes.

[JazzFatCat]

Taking the time to line up a shot with something close in front of the ball was a "mental" issue I recently fixed this year. It only takes 5 seconds to do and I've proven to myself many times at the range that when I'm correctly aligned to the pin it really looks to my eyes over the ball that I'm aligned to the left of the pin.

[Huddo]

Probably 3-5 for me, due to dwelling over the ball for far too long. My pre-shot routine is fine, I'm pretty sure it's a confidence thing. Hopefully, now that my game is improving, I can start to visualise the shot, take aim and let it rip!