Golf is a roller coaster, and it affects all players

[PEZGolf]

I love golf but playing the "greatest game of all", as Jack called it when he chose that for the title of his book, can be infuriating at times.  I can play great on one hole, and then mess up on the next one.  Or worse, I can play great for a few weeks and then turn into a real hacker without warning.  But guess what?  Riding the roller coaster is true for all players.  Here are some cases in point:

1,  Last year, Jordan Spieth had a great year, but when it came to the first few tournaments in the Fed Ex playoffs, he played terrible.  I believe he missed the cut twice.  So what did he do?  Worked on his game, and then won the Tour Championship and the entire Fed Ex!

2.  Jack won 18 professional Majors, the most of any golfer, but had slumps during his career.  He had a big gap between Major wins until he won the 1986 Masters, at the age of 46.  Remember the Open Championship at St. Andrews, when he took a 9 or 10 on one hole, and had trouble getting the ball out of a deep pot bunker?  What did he do on the very next hole-----birdie!  Talk about "bounce back".

3.  Walter Hagen got shellacked in a 1925 match with Lighthorse Harry Cooper.  He lost 12 and 11!  The next year, in the HUGE Championship match with Bobby Jones, he waxed the #1 Amateur player of all time, beating him by the same score of 12 and 11.  What did Bobby do?  He won the US AND British Opens later that year.

So-----there is a lesson is all of this for us.  If you hit a bad shot, or have a bad hole, or have a bad round, forget about it, and plunge ahead!  If you keep that in mind, you will be able to "bounce back" and derive real satisfaction from not letting it get to you.  None of us can ever conquer this damn game, but that is part of its attraction!

Edited December 14, 2015 by PEZGolf

[Dave325]

Perfect post and forgetting a bad hole/shot for me, is sometimes harder than perfecting the swing. I try to keep it as my personal Key #6 - Forget the bad shots, don't be so hard on yourself and move on. Thanks for the reminder... I know I need that constant reminder to forget about the bad shots. It seems like I make one klunker and carry it to the next hole. I would really be interested in how the pros in this forum address this within their game.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Dave325

[mcanadiens]

Saturday saw a personal best 81. Sunday, on the very same course, saw an 89. Dealt with it like a real trooper if I do say so myself.

 

[Patch]

Good advice about not letting your last, poor shot, or round of golf dictate what happens next. A golfer's toughest shot/putt will always be their next one. The last one was a done deal. 

Once I learned how to handle both the good and the bad things that happened in my own game, I became a more consistant golfer in a positive way. I still feel that one of toughest things for a golfer to do, to become the best they can, is that they are way too serious about how they plan to progress. In other words they have not learned how to get out of their own way, and play a relaxed game. 

Myself, I just enjoy being out of doors, and golf adds to that enjoyment. I enjoy what ever my golf game is that day. , Good, average, or poor, I'm having a good time. 

[dak4n6]

I am trying to teach my step daughter the same thing - don't look at the last hole/shot/round as a failure, but rather look at the next hole/shot/round as an opportunity. It's actually not that hard to do if you really love the game and can detach from your ego a little bit...

[PEZGolf]

Good posts.  We all have heard the old adage that "golf is mainly a mental game", and if we did not understand it before we took up the game, we certainly learned it first-hand.  I think the mental side of the game is one of its attractions.  On the golf course, we are required to really concentrate, and that takes our minds off other things----the deadly "distractions".  God help me, I love this game, even when it punishes me!

[Grumpter]

Earlier this year I followed up a 1 under 69 with an 18 over 90. To make matters worse the 90 was when playing with a guy I knew through business. We had talked about golf for years and this was the first time we met. Embarrassing for me but still had a great time.

About 1 month ago I had a horrible +19 round (89) which I followed up with an even par 71.

Last week, 4 days in a row - +8 (78), +17 (88), +5 (77), +6 (76)

Much like a credit score there is no use in getting upset, besides briefly during the round, about regular fluctuation.

[MacDutch]

Don't agree. Analyse the bad rounds and you will be able to learn from your mistakes. Be nice to yourself on the course during the round, not after the round.

[RandallT]

My strategy is to think something like this after I make a mistake: "Geez, that was bad, but hey, let's face facts, that's where my game stands right now since that just happened, but it's something I can clearly do better next time if I work on it."

So even though that round won't be the best score, I guess it helps put it out of my mind by just facing reality and filing it away as just something to work on, and that allows me to move on. The worst trap to fall into is to say, "Hey, that's not me. I don't usually do that. Lemme just drop another and consider this next shot as what I should be expected to do." Particularly "gimme" putts (as has been discussed at length on the forum).

Just suck it up, admit that's where you are, and use it as a chance to identify an improvement area. Let the numbers go up and down to show reality, or don't track your score at all.

But enjoy the rollercoaster, and don't try to make it a monorail ride.

 

[9wood]

Someone once told me to give golf a try. It's challenging, he said. To which I replied, so is tossing a marble into a shot glass from 100 feet.

[Lihu]

38 minutes ago, 9wood said:

Someone once told me to give golf a try. It's challenging, he said. To which I replied, so is tossing a marble into a shot glass from 100 feet.

I just talked to a co-worker about this playing partner who hit a shot into the next fairway then proceeded to meticulously pick out his clubs one by one and break them over his knees. Didn't utter a word in anger, just "calmly" picked out the clubs and snapped them at the shafts and placed them gently into the bag in pieces. When he finished, I asked "Beer?" to which he replied "Yes."

My co-worker said "That sounds about right."

It can get pretty frustrating and at times, one time I felt like doing what this person did with his clubs. Lately no, but in the past? Yes. It's a roller coaster of emotions especially when you feel this incessant desire to improve.

[collapse]

 "None of us can ever conquer this damn game, but that is part of its attraction! "........Here's a golf course,par is 72,shoot it....ok did that...ok shoot 68....ok did that....shoot 62...ok did that.....ok shoot 59....ok did that.What exactly defines conquering?....shooting 18?

[Lihu]

3 minutes ago, collapse said:

 "None of us can ever conquer this damn game, but that is part of its attraction! "........Here's a golf course,par is 72,shoot it....ok did that...ok shoot 68....ok did that....shoot 62...ok did that.....ok shoot 59....ok did that.What exactly defines conquering?....shooting 18?

I think a "perfect game" is considered a 54, which is birdie on every hole?

[collapse]

6 minutes ago, Lihu said:

I think a "perfect game" is considered a 54, which is birdie on every hole?

Why are you using perfect game,when conquering is the word used?We are given 72 shots to conquer the course...that is done and beyond...conquered.

Edited December 16, 2015 by collapse

[Lihu]

4 minutes ago, collapse said:

Why are you using perfect game,when conquering is the word used?We are given 72 shots to conquer the course...that is done and beyond...conquered.

Couldn't "conquering" be defined as playing a "perfect game"?

[collapse]

1 minute ago, Lihu said:

Couldn't "conquering" be defined as playing a "perfect game"?

I have said enough...I won't be going down one of your endless roads.

[Lihu]

20 minutes ago, collapse said:

Why are you using perfect game,when conquering is the word used?We are given 72 shots to conquer the course...that is done and beyond...conquered.

 

16 minutes ago, Lihu said:

Couldn't "conquering" be defined as playing a "perfect game"?

 

14 minutes ago, collapse said:

I have said enough...I won't be going down one of your endless roads.

There are plenty of scratch players who don't really consider themselves "conquering a course" by playing to their handicaps. However, very few people have ever shot 54.

Which brings me back on topic, I think the roller coaster is much less bumpy the better you get. Scratch golfers have a bad day when they shoot 2 strokes over, while a bogey could easily shoot 5-10 strokes over their handicap. The roller coaster ride seems to get less "bumpy" the better you get.

[9wood]

1 hour ago, collapse said:

 "None of us can ever conquer this damn game, but that is part of its attraction! "........Here's a golf course,par is 72,shoot it....ok did that...ok shoot 68....ok did that....shoot 62...ok did that.....ok shoot 59....ok did that.What exactly defines conquering?....shooting 18?

When I first starting playing golf I looked like a real doufus on the course. I would get asked to play best ball only to never have any of my balls be best ball. I actually felt embarrassed at times. I would normally shoot about 105 - 114

These days I now shoot in the high 80's and low 90's and have plenty of my shots that are used as best ball

To me that is conquering.