Lost it?

[Papa Steve 55]

We don't have the coach helping us out. It can take a bit to figure out the things we are doing wrong. Putting is usually  a strong part of my game. A couple weeks ago I had a 50/50 chance on anything outside two feet. It lasted for a few rounds and a few hours on the practice green as I tweaked and tweaked  my stroke and stance. Not sure when I realized the issue was the death grip I had on the putter. I'm sure the worse my putting got the tighter the grip got. A pro would have had it figured out walking to the next tee.

[RH31]

19 hours ago, Machine528 said:

  I am disgusted and trying to figure out how this could happen. Do you have any suggestions on how to deal with this if it happens again? 

Try not to get caught up in the "that's 4 bad shots in a row, or that's 3 bad holes in a row" mindset.

One shot at a time.

Focus on fundamentals. Having a solid, consistent, pre shot routine is always good.

Of course if you can figure out what a common flaw to avoid in each shot that may help.

For me,I have a tendency to sole the club too heavily when I address the ball. Full shots, pitches, chips, putts, for whatever reason it can creep into my setup and start each shot off poorly.

[jsgolfer]

I think @iacas said in another thread, which I can't remember, most amateurs, me included, get caught up in the front 9 back 9 scores, rather than looking at the 18 holes in its entirety.  I believe his point was, that your handicap is your handicap and your going to shoot a little above or below it most of the time.  So if you're a 14 handicap you probably shoot roughly 86 on a par 72.  And whether you shoot 36-50, 50-36 or 43-43 or some other combination, you will sometimes play all of your good holes in a row and then other times it will be inter-dispersed throughout the round, but for the most part you will play the 18 holes at or near your handicap.  So you just need to continue to practice correctly so that you minimize your bad shots and follow the advice in Lowest Score Wins.  

I'm sure he'll correct me if I misunderstood what he was trying to say.   

[Jeremie Boop]

34 minutes ago, RH31 said:

Try not to get caught up in the "that's 4 bad shots in a row, or that's 3 bad holes in a row" mindset.

This is a good recommendation. It's something I've gotten better at but still have some issues with. I've been able to not think about how I've done on previous holes like I used to, good or bad whatever I did on the last hole is no reflection on what I'll do on the next. What I struggle with is forgetting the bad shot I just hit. Not so much that I get upset and stew about it, but more because I try to recover all yardage lost in one shot when sometimes it makes more sense to play 2 shots to recover. This is probably why I can have a streak of good*ish* holes in a row with one bad hole then right back to better scores again for the most part. I'll make/save par or bogey sometimes the laugh and say "welp, that was 3 bad shots and a good pitch/putt!" Trying to focus on what you did right on a bad hole will sometimes be just what you need to start the next hole with a positive attitude also.

Edited June 23, 2016 by Jeremie Boop

[WUTiger]

When you have a blow-up hole, take a deep breath and calm down.

Then, line up your shot, focus on the back of the ball, and hit it. As the special ops people would say, you've got to "trust your training." If you start overthinking on shots, and get beehive brain, what tempo you have goes out the window.

Basically, don't try to diagnose what went wrong. Just rely on your normal set-up - doing things right - and hit it.

[Dave2512]

Three weeks of solid practice probably feels good but that's not much time to ingrain real change. I am working on the same things my instructor had me doing summer of 2014. It's a long battle and I often have weird periods of regression, usually when my head isn't in it or my body doesn't feel good.

We also go through the usual range of good and bad scores relative to our respective skill levels. My last 20 will typically have a spread of about 8-10 strokes best to worst. The difference between an 84 and 78 for me is two bad holes and a silly mistake or two like a 3 putt after hitting GIR. Some of it just because golf is hard. If I hit a green but leave myself a 90 foot putt over every contour to a pin on the back corner where the green slopes away it's a tough 2 putt. Other days it's because it's windy or whatever.

Regardless I really haven't had a way to measure progress other than my instructor showing my what I've change in before and after vids and seeing my handicap trend down with each update. It takes more than three weeks for that.

[bplewis24]

22 hours ago, Grndslmhttr3 said:

I once shot a 75 in a high school golf match. I would've been more than excited if our matches weren't 9 holes.

Ha! 

[Valleygolfer]

No offense but you are a bit of a head case when it comes to golf but so am I.

You have to learn to trust your swing again and not pressure yourself after a good nine. If I knew how to do this, I fix it on myself first.... I'm getting better though.

[boogielicious]

7 hours ago, Valleygolfer said:

No offense but you are a bit of a head case when it comes to golf but so am I.

You have to learn to trust your swing again and not pressure yourself after a good nine. If I knew how to do this, I fix it on myself first.... I'm getting better though.

Therapy helps! And for therapy, I mean playing more golf!

[Valleygolfer]

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

Therapy helps! And for therapy, I mean playing more golf!

It is the only cure.... I don't know how great first 9 hole rounds I've had that I've $#!t the bed on the back nine.

[Machine528]

Today was a huge step in the  right direction.  Played a super tight course.  Recorded 3 birdies on the day and had 3 blow ups.  Two 8's and a 7... What I'm happy about is every blow up I followed with a par.  Shot an 87 with way to many wayward drives... Think 7 ob... I know what I need to work on !