Can You Forget Bad Shots?

[Patch]

I was golfing with younger guy last week who I met for the first time on the first tee. From what I could tell during the first few holes, he was a pretty good golfer. I thought I was in for treat to watch someone with a good golf game.

Wrong. On the 6th hole he shanked a shot, got pissed, lost his confidence, and bogie plused the next few holes. 

At the turn we went in for some beverages. The 10th hole had some folks waiting, so we had some time. We got to talking about what had happened at 6. We talked about how it was important to forget bad shots asap after they happened. I explained how I tend to forget the bad shots, and sometimes even the good ones, while looking forward to the next one.  This, I told him, was probably the strongest part of my game as far as being consistent through out my whole round. Bad shots happen. No big deal.

On the 2nd nine he shot a 33, while finishing with a 77. I got my treat. That 33 was a pleasure to watch. He lost 7 shots on holes 6-9. Me, I shot a 41/41 for an 82

So are you the guy/girl who can forget the bad shots, and not allow yourself to let those bad shots dictate how you play from there forward?

[Dave2512]

I forget it once I move beyond the consequences. If the bad shot means I am hunched under a pine punching out and that mess leads to pulling it into more trouble then no I have a bunch of bad shots to deal with. Chances are for the next few holes I play extremely conservatively to not get into a funk.

Though I have a tendency to remember problem areas of the course and plan for it. I play one course a lot and other sporadically. At the home course I play holes 2-3-6-11 like a wuss because if there's a double coming it's going to happen on those holes. In fact I considered starting a thread about it because I am stumped on hole 3 in particular.  So despite not getting all heated up the almost constant poor performance on certain holes stays with me.

[newtogolf]

11 minutes ago, Dave2512 said:

I forget it once I move beyond the consequences. If the bad shot means I am hunched under a pine punching out and that mess leads to pulling it into more trouble then no I have a bunch of bad shots to deal with. Chances are for the next few holes I play extremely conservatively to not get into a funk.

Though I have a tendency to remember problem areas of the course and plan for it. I play one course a lot and other sporadically. At the home course I play holes 2-3-6-11 like a wuss because if there's a double coming it's going to happen on those holes. In fact I considered starting a thread about it because I am stumped on hole 3 in particular.  So despite not getting all heated up the almost constant poor performance on certain holes stays with me.

This is how I am, I don't get mad at myself but I lose confidence in my swing which changes not only how I approach future holes but also messes a bit with my swing.  

[Dave2512]

2 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

This is how I am, I don't get mad at myself but I lose confidence in my swing which changes not only how I approach future holes but also messes a bit with my swing.  

It's a huge reason I hope Game Golf expands the HBH analysis. I remember bad shots but I have no clear idea if I actually score better with the foot on the gas or playing to avoid potential trouble.

Personally I think it looks silly when amateur golfers get super crabby if they hit a bad shot. That's all we do, it's a succession of misses some worse than others. On a good day I hit maybe 2-3 yeah I executed that perfectly shots. I make a fair share of pars playing ugly but I know it's not great golf or anything.

My goal isn't perfection just not causing myself unnecessary trouble. When I see guys really struggling it's usually because they try to hit every tee shot as far as they can without a plan. They don't anticipate their miss, they hope for their best. Which I don't get because the best is a couple times a round thing. I know I can't count on best of day it just happens so I look at each shot as what can accommodate mediocre to average results.

[saevel25]

For me it's more the overall confidence in different aspects of my game.

When my short game is in a bad place then every short game shot is just scary. It's not that I remember every short game shot or the last one. It's just a feeling of dread over the shot because it's the cumulative negativity I've put on that part of my game over a few months. 

When I know a part of my game is in good standing, then one bad shot doesn't bother me because I know it's one of golf's random, 'Golf is Hard' moments to keep me honest.  To quote chapter 1, sentence 1 in Lowest Score Wins,  "Golf is hard." 

People have the right to get frustrated. That is fine. I can't sit back and say I haven't been unreasonably frustrated with my game. In the end it's a game. It's a blasted addictive stupid game.  I will say this. As I have gotten better at golf I have realized how unreasonable my expectations were when I was younger and a much worse golfer.

When I see a mid to high handicapper get upset about snap hooking or banana slicing a shot into the trees. If that golfer has never tried to seriously get better at their game then they just need to live with the fact that their swing is going to be prone to those shots happening more often than not. 

 

[DrvFrShow]

I try to get back up on the horse again. But if my back is sore, the swing becomes all arms and there's not much I can do about it except more practice to get the golf muscles in shape. Making a series of bad shots gets real frustrating. I also have to remember that hitting off grass takes off about 7-8 yds from what I see at the driving range hitting off mats. I've done that on my approach shots at least and have been about 6 yds long of the flag instead of just short of the green - note the approach shot wasn't necessarily for a GIR.

But anticipating the miss isn't always easy if the miss isn't repeatable.

[Fourputt]

If I couldn't shake off a bad shot, I couldn't play golf.  I've had rounds which were nothing but one bad shot after another, with 3 or 4 decent shots sprinkled in to at least give me something to work with.  There are days when the swing just isn't there.  I don't let that weigh on my mind.  

I hate it when I have a good round going and I make one crappy swing that results in a double, but I also know that it's something that's going to happen from time to time, even on my best days.  I just move on from there.  

[Dave2512]

FWIW I think this is why tracking stats is helpful. I know from 4 seasons of tracking stats exactly how I score and it's not a bunch of doubles or worse. When it happens I know it's an infrequent occurrence, also know my average par or better is higher than any other so it's the bright side.

[sarena1594]

I'm good at forgetting the shot, but it tends to affect my confidence level if I hit a few bad shots in a row or have a few bad holes in a row.  Sometimes, playing well gets into my head.  There's been numerous times where I'm on the back 9 playing well with a great chance of shooting my best score ever, but then I start thinking too much and my good score is ruined by the time I'm walking off the 18th green.

[Club Rat]

Bad shots are generally the results of a bad swing, which I immediately clear my mind and move on.

I have more problems with "bad play or bad decisions" which usually loom for a couple of holes.

But what really gets my blood boiling is making a bad putting stroke on a make-able birdie opportunity like an easy five footer.

Also, I sometimes get tweaked when the rub of the green occurs frequently, like my ball ending up in an old divot a couple of times in a round, or having re-occurring bad bounces.

I'm like WTF, if it weren't for bad luck, I guess I wouldn't have any luck at all......

[bkuehn1952]

A single shot, I do not dwell on it.  Two or more in close succession, especially with similar characteristics, and the confidence ebbs,

I came to #18 Thursday and bunkered my 3rd shot on the par 5.  Nice sand shot to 3-4 feet and then a pushed miss for a bogey.  Finished 2nd by a shot.  It cost me $25 finishing 2nd and I will dwell on that!!   Grrrrr.  

[Rainmaker]

I never had a problem with getting mad about bad shots.  I don't shoot 33's, either.  I'd be mad too much.  However, I did have a huge problem with losing confidence in my swing.  I'd shank one and then get all "correcty" and, a lot of times, really struggle to make a normal swing for a while after that. 

I have been trying to train myself to hit every ball exactly the same way on the course.  That is, I already *am* trying to do everything I can to hit a good shot.  I don't need to alter from that.  I don't want to ever think "why did I hit that shot so poorly" while I'm on the course.  I think I'm doing ok at it, too . . I just need to play some more golf. 

[RFKFREAK]

Seeing as how I'm basically someone that shoots between 95-105, I probably shouldn't get mad but I do and I have let it carry over until something "good" happens and then I'm able to put it out of my mind.  I'm mean, I'm a 25HC and still put up the occasional round in the 120's, if you can count two rounds in eight as "occasional." 

But, as @colin007 can testify, I can just have breakdown holes and that usually happens when I have a problem off the tee.  Sadly, over the last 20 or so rounds, I would say that I've been hitting the ball terribly with my driver and when you're facing a 500 yard par 5 and your tee shot only goes 120 yards, it's hard to stay positive about a round when it's not the first tee shot that was less than 200 yards.

[isukgolf]

I golf for fun ... so yes shaking off a bad shot is easy ... the ones what stay with me are the ones that hit a house ... I have gotten better, and do not slice near as much as I used to ... thanks to TST.

 

In fact, I sure I have not hit a house in 2016 ... 

[Jeremie Boop]

I've gotten a lot better at brushing off the bad shots, however if I end up getting angry for any reason it really screws me up. That's not only if it's a bad shot/series of shots. If I get a call or text that angers me then it will have the same effect. As an example, today I was playing decent, bad shots weren't weighing me down, but the 8th hole I hit a push fade/slice that ended up close to an adjacent fairway. While we were still on the tee I saw some people driving up that fairway, I turned to a guy who was playing along with us and said I hope they don't pick up my ball. Sure enough, they pulled right up to where we saw my ball land. A guy got out, picked up a ball, and walked on. So, once we got over to where my ball should have been, nothing. We wait for them to finish hitting and I call out "hey, did you fellas pick up a ball" knowing full well they did. A guy answered "No. One of us hit a shot from over there but we didn't pick up a ball".... Now, nothing pisses me off as much as being flat out lied to. Not only did I have to drop a ball because the took mine, but then I ended up rushing my next shot because during this exchange other people behind those guys were waiting for us to clear out. The anger lingered through the 9th hole causing to struggle and eventually just pick up after hitting 3 balls in the pond. I was able to shake it off starting on the 10th thankfully and was able to play the rest back in a much better mindset. Even after screwing up on the 11th and carding a triple I was able to finish up the back nine in 6 over. All that said, it's been a long road and struggle to be able to not carry over my anger over bad shots and I'm very happy that I'm able to do a better job of it.

[9wood]

6 hours ago, Patch said:

So are you the guy/girl who can forget the bad shots, and not allow yourself to let those bad shots dictate how you play from there forward?

What bad shots?

[colin007]

2 hours ago, RFKFREAK said:

But, as @colin007 can testify, I can just have breakdown holes and that usually happens when I have a problem off the tee.  Sadly, over the last 20 or so rounds, I would say that I've been hitting the ball terribly with my driver and when you're facing a 500 yard par 5 and your tee shot only goes 120 yards, it's hard to stay positive about a round when it's not the first tee shot that was less than 200 yards.

Yeah it seems like on your breakdown holes things get compounded, one mistake leads to another.

Happens to me to. If I push slice my first tee shot OB then I'm pretty much guaranteed to pull hook my reload.

[RFKFREAK]

9 minutes ago, colin007 said:

Yeah it seems like on your breakdown holes things get compounded, one mistake leads to another.

Happens to me to. If I push slice my first tee shot OB then I'm pretty much guaranteed to pull hook my reload.

This.

I'm not sure if this is a mental thing or if it's just my sucking happening all at the same time for a certain period of time.