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The psychology of blowing up: How do you stop it?


ol 3 putts
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I have a problem with blowing up on a hole or even worse a series of holes. Today, I was feeling pretty good as I met my every other Monday 4-sum for our friendly round. We play for quarters, low putts, low net etc. I have been working on breaking 90 and the last 5 rounds I have been doing just that.

That is until today. New irons, slowed my swing down and was even doing a good job of keeping the 3 putts at bay. Shot a 43 on the front (8 over) and was 4 over though the 14th hole. Then it happened I yanked a 112 yard par 3 out of bounds to the left. Went back to the tee and walked off with a 1 over 4. Pretty good recovery I thought and moved on to #16 par, where I yanked a 3 wood OB to the left. on in 5 with a 2 putt, 3 over. Next a hole I always play well and thought would be a chance to stop the bleeding. Yanked one left and long into the water. on in 4 with the 'OL 3 PUTT... 3 over. Last hole a very playable par 5. semi ok drive short of the water. Next three balls got wet, and on in 9. That's right a freaking 9!  Add another 3 putt, for a beautiful 7 over on a hole I normally par and have taken a bird on.

Maybe it was the guys telling me to take a drop on the other side of the water, I refused to do that because it is not a lateral hazard and I count every stroke good bad or ugly. It got to me and I even said (under my breath) "no e-ffin way I'm taking a "chit" drop.

One of these days I hope to kill the guy in my head when I'm playing poorly, I guess today was not that day. So what do you guys do, breathe, yoga, laugh, cry?

On the up side I guess my index went up today, so in two weeks I might get a few of those quarters back.

Golf is like being married to a beautiful woman that can cook, change a flat tire and never turns you down. But   just for fun she slaps you around in public.

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A lot of guys I see blow up because they try and take it out on the ball on the next shot, over swing and compound the bad hole. OB is tough, loss of stroke and distance. In other situations though don't try and hit a shot you just don't have the ability to hit. Just because you can imagine a low 5 wood 220 yard cut shot around the tree to the fairway does not mean you can execute it. When your in trouble, first rule, get out of trouble. Don't try and make up two bad shots with one great one, and good or bad, leave your last shot behind and focus on the next one.

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27 minutes ago, Papa Steve 55 said:
27 minutes ago, Papa Steve 55 said:

A lot of guys I see blow up because they try and take it out on the ball on the next shot, over swing and compound the bad hole. OB is tough, loss of stroke and distance. In other situations though don't try and hit a shot you just don't have the ability to hit. Just because you can imagine a low 5 wood 220 yard cut shot around the tree to the fairway does not mean you can execute it. When your in trouble, first rule, get out of trouble. Don't try and make up two bad shots with one great one, and good or bad, leave your last shot behind and focus on the next one.

A lot of guys I see blow up because they try and take it out on the ball on the next shot, over swing and compound the bad hole. OB is tough, loss of stroke and distance. In other situations though don't try and hit a shot you just don't have the ability to hit. Just because you can imagine a low 5 wood 220 yard cut shot around the tree to the fairway does not mean you can execute it. When your in trouble, first rule, get out of trouble. Don't try and make up two bad shots with one great one, and good or bad, leave your last shot behind and focus on the next one.

I agree 100%, I guess I should have mentioned the three I put in the water on 18 required a 55 yard carry to over the trouble. I wasn't trying to make up for a bad shot, I was just trying to hit a soft 3 wood about 180 yards.  That would have left me about a 100 yard wedge. I've made this shot countless times on this hole. The water should have never come into play on my second shot. I just could not get the club face on the ball and just kept topping it.

Blowing up for me is not about trying to make one up. I just can't seem to recover even though I'm making the right shot choice. It's all in my head and my head hurts.

Golf is like being married to a beautiful woman that can cook, change a flat tire and never turns you down. But   just for fun she slaps you around in public.

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  • iacas changed the title to The psychology of blowing up: How do you stop it?

Most people have limits.  For you, that day, it was the tee shot OB on the 15th.  It was the exact opposite of what you had in mind (knock it stiff, birdie, move on) and exactly one poor swing too many for that round.  I've been in the same boat.  It stems from a strong desire to play well coupled with an inexplicable inability to avoid hitting that handful of awful shots that blow up the score.  I struggle with it all the time.  Could be it is part and parcel to getting better; a result of our constantly revising our concept of an acceptable score downward.  I used to be thrilled to break 90.  Now, an 89 is a bad day.

In der bag:
Cleveland Hi-Bore driver, Maltby 5 wood, Maltby hybrid, Maltby irons and wedges (23 to 50) Vokey 59/07, Cleveland Niblick (LH-42), and a Maltby mallet putter.                                                                                                                                                 "When the going gets tough...it's tough to get going."

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For me it seems to happen when I focus too much on my score instead of the next shot I have to take. What I've foind works well for me is to think about something totally unrelated to golf for a few moments. Usually I'll think about my daughter. What shes up to or how funny she was the other day or whatever. It helps me to clear my head so I can focus on what I need to do on my next shot. Then I just try to do it. Thinking too much is what causes me to start "blowing up" on the course. I think this is true for most of us. 

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You probably don't want to hear this, but... get a better golf swing. I really think it's that simple at our level -- the amateur level. 

Of course, getting a better golf swing is rarely a simple endeavor, as it requires you to -- in the absence of top 5% talent -- find a good golf instructor who can truly help you out. And then you gotta put in the time, work hard, and work smart. But that's how I'd recommend ending (or at least massively reducing) those pesky blowup stretches. 

I mean think about it... if your golf swing is really good... stuff like that isn't gonna happen. I don't care how bad your mental game is. You're gonna shoot lower scores. 

Anyway, it's not a very sexy answer, but I think it's a practical one nonetheless. Cheers, man. Hope you can continue to improve and eliminate those blowups! :beer:

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Constantine

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I have blow up holes every once in a while. Had one today as a matter of fact. 

Unless you are on pro tour somewhere, and a pay check is involved, golf should not be a life or death situation. Blow up holes are going to happen, to everyone. 

After a bad shot, I look for an easy way back to where I need to be. I might take my favorite club and play the rest of the hole with it. Yardage with that club  is not a primary concern. Getting out of trouble and on to the next hole is primary for me.

The golfer has to learn to take the bad with the good. Skill level tells the golfer how they will play. The main thing is to learn from, but to also forget the poor shots.

Don't let a poor shot be an excuse for another poor shot. 

In My Bag:
A whole bunch of Tour Edge golf stuff...... :beer:

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I've noticed I just randomly forget how to swing the club while I'm playing and that usually results in a bad hole(s).  It's pretty damn irritating.

I probably just need to pay closer attention to what I'm doing is all.. which is hard to do when it's so damn nice outside.  :whistle:

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I have to agree with Papa Steve. Too many guys, after hitting a bad shot, whether it's OB or just in the crap, try to get out of it by hitting a "hero shot". You know! The "miraculous" recovery. Which most of us don't have in our bag.

If you're stuck in the crap, and have a punch out, take the punch out! Get on the short grass with a chance to approach the green in a reasonable manner. Forget the hero stuff. That usually winds up costing you strokes instead of saving you strokes! You have to the play the percentages, with a realistic understanding of your own game.

 

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Best way - pick up when you reach your ESC on the hole. 

It doesn't sounds like you really tried anything all that dumb as for a recovery that will sometimes lead to a blow up hole. So my answer is twofold - improve your swing and let yourself get mad for only a certain amount of time. In general, if you're having a lot of blow up holes without stupid decisions, that means your swing needs improvement. But, if the blow up holes are holding your score back, then that's probably a good thing. I'd rather have a bunch of pars and bogeys and the occasional quad versus only bogeys and doubles. The other thing is to let yourself get mad, but set a time limit. I'll yell at myself for about 15 seconds after a bad shot. It's cathartic. But then the focus is on the next shot and making the lowest score. Don't dwell on it.

-- Daniel

In my bag: :callaway: Paradym :callaway: Epic Flash 3.5W (16 degrees)

:callaway: Rogue Pro 3-PW :edel: SMS Wedges - V-Grind (48, 54, 58):edel: Putter

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3 hours ago, JetFan1983 said:

You probably don't want to hear this, but... get a better golf swing. I really think it's that simple at our level -- the amateur level. 

Of course, getting a better golf swing is rarely a simple endeavor, as it requires you to -- in the absence of top 5% talent -- find a good golf instructor who can truly help you out. And then you gotta put in the time, work hard, and work smart. But that's how I'd recommend ending (or at least massively reducing) those pesky blowup stretches. 

I mean think about it... if your golf swing is really good... stuff like that isn't gonna happen. I don't care how bad your mental game is. You're gonna shoot lower scores. 

Anyway, it's not a very sexy answer, but I think it's a practical one nonetheless. Cheers, man. Hope you can continue to improve and eliminate those blowups! :beer:

I'll play devil's advocate and say - no matter how good you get . .even #1 in the world .. you're still going to have blow-up holes.  It's all relative but, in that sense, we're all playing the same game.   

 

http://nypost.com/2016/04/07/jason-days-3-hole-implosion-puts-his-masters-in-jeopardy/

 

http://www.pga.com/news/pga-tour/jason-day-proves-hes-human-one-shot-leads-triple-bogey

 

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/spieth-melts-down-quadruple-bogey-7-no-12/

 

Sure, they go on to shoot a round better than most of us can dream of - but it's still the same . .you can never get rid of the blow-up holes - you can just make them fewer and farther in between and minimize the damage when it happens. 

edit . .what do I do about it?  Nothing, really.  I try (and mostly succeed) to not let it get me down and ruin my day.  Just like an afternoon thunderstorm . . it may be a bummer but it will pass. 

Edited by Rainmaker
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25 minutes ago, Rainmaker said:

I'll play devil's advocate and say - no matter how good you get . .even #1 in the world .. you're still going to have blow-up holes.  It's all relative but, in that sense, we're all playing the same game.   

 

http://nypost.com/2016/04/07/jason-days-3-hole-implosion-puts-his-masters-in-jeopardy/

 

http://www.pga.com/news/pga-tour/jason-day-proves-hes-human-one-shot-leads-triple-bogey

 

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/spieth-melts-down-quadruple-bogey-7-no-12/

 

Sure, they go on to shoot a round better than most of us can dream of - but it's still the same . .you can never get rid of the blow-up holes - you can just make them fewer and farther in between and minimize the damage when it happens. 

 

Yea, the blowup holes will never be eliminated entirely. No doubt about that. But being a 20... a 10... a 5 handicap... even a scratch golfer... the reason they aren't better than they are is due to limitations with their golf swings. 

I'm not saying the mental game doesn't exist because it totally does, to varying extents at different times in everyone's golf "career" regardless of how good or bad they are at the game. Nervousness or negative thoughts can no doubt creep in and affect your swing's tempo, and put you that one nanometer off, and that can be the difference between piping it down the fairway or yanking it OB. 

But really I think it all stops and starts -- particularly for us amateurs -- at how good your golf swing really is. 

And I know you're just playing devil's advocate, but I felt the need to elaborate further. We no doubt all experience our share of blowup holes in this game... in fact, it wouldn't surprise me if it was more normal to have a stretch of several good holes coupled with a different stretch of bad ones that make up many people's typical scores. It's usually those X amount of holes we play well added with those Y amount of holes where we utterly crumble that equal that typical score of 80 or 90, as opposed to, say, just consistently bogeying all 18 holes or something. 

I'm sure it varies, but I guess my last point here is that blowup stretches mixed in with several holes of good golf (for you) is pretty standard for most amateurs. 

Constantine

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4 minutes ago, JetFan1983 said:

Yea, the blowup holes will never be eliminated entirely. No doubt about that. But being a 20... a 10... a 5 handicap... even a scratch golfer... the reason they aren't better than they are is due to limitations with their golf swings. 

I'm not saying the mental game doesn't exist because it totally does, to varying extents at different times in everyone's golf "career" regardless of how good or bad they are at the game. Nervousness or negative thoughts can no doubt creep in and affect your swing's tempo, and put you that one nanometer off can be the difference between piping it down the fairway or yanking it OB. 

But really I think it all stops and starts -- particularly for us amateurs -- at how good your golf swing really is. 

And I know you're just playing devil's advocate, but I felt the need to elaborate further. 

Oh - I totally agree.  The better your swing, the lower your score will be.  Maybe there's the odd head-case out there with an amazing swing and debilitating stage-fright or some kind of real-life tin-cup. .but, for the overwhelming most part . . .the better your swing, the better your golf. 

At least at my level - course strategy and mental game are tiny, tiny factors compared to the quality of the golf swing. 

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4 minutes ago, Rainmaker said:

Oh - I totally agree.  The better your swing, the lower your score will be.  Maybe there's the odd head-case out there with an amazing swing and debilitating stage-fright or some kind of real-life tin-cup. .but, for the overwhelming most part . . .the better your swing, the better your golf. 

At least at my level - course strategy and mental game are tiny, tiny factors compared to the quality of the golf swing. 

Yea, for me too. Course strategy and mental game still matter for us of course, but ultimately my swing (and its limitations) is going to determine how exactly I strategize, like where I aim and what clubs I choose based on the hole's design. It's a different game if you can pipe them down the middle 280 yards with a large amount of consistency, obviously. It's a different game if you can consistently predict your ball flight. 

Constantine

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Sounds similar to when I start struggling. I'll be going along well and a repeated miss starts happening. Right now it's a straight push. Trying to compensate or correct that straight push typically results in a snap hook. I need to find a shot I can fall back to when this problem arises. Be it a specific club I can rely on to keep me out of trouble or learning a technique to snap me out of the bad swing mechanics that lead to the specific miss I'm hitting. I've never been much for preshot routines, but I'm starting to think that it may help a bit.

KICK THE FLIP!!

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:callaway: XR16 3 Wood
:tmade: Aeroburner 19* 3 hybrid
:ping: I e1 irons 4-PW
:vokey: SM5 50, 60
:wilsonstaff: Harmonized Sole Grind 56 and Windy City Putter

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A lot of my blowup holes stem from me trying to do something that is too risky.  I'll have a chip from heavy rough that requires me to carry the ball 20 yards, land on a blade of grass on the fringe and then roll out 10 feet to the hole--so I chunk or blade it and end up having another difficult chip that I probably will screw up as well (and again, and again...).  I find that I have the same problem getting out of jail/trees/heavy rough and often try to pull off a shot I don't have in my bag instead of taking the safe way out.

However, when I am in the right mindset, I keep in mind that priority #1 is to GET THE BALL ON THE GREEN/FAIRWAY.  Suddenly the target is far more achievable and the damage is controlled.

 

Randal

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As others have said, blow up holes are a part of golf, even the pro's post a snowman on their card every once in a while.  

@JetFan1983 nailed, it, unless you're a pro, if you want to reduce blow up holes you have to work on a better swing.  You also need to be more disciplined, listen to your body and mind to avoid hitting two bad shots in a row.  

My natural tendency after a bad shot was to be embarrassed and rush to hit my next shot as if that would somehow erase the bad shot.  I now own my bad shots (I still don't like them) and take some time to consider my options and make a good choice for the next shot.  I challenge myself to minimize the damage and get my mind in the right place to salvage the hole.   

Joe Paradiso

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As others have said, "blow-up" holes are going to happen to even the best of us.  One key is to reduce the number of blow-ups.  A few observations from my 55 years of incurring and watching "blow ups."

1. Don't get angry, at least until after the hole is done.  I see people knock a putt 4 feet past the hole for double.  Rather than mark and gather themselves, they just stride up, give it a 2 second read and miss it again.  Or they make a really poor swing and/or poor choice of shots and rather than pause, re-evaluate, re-set and only then proceed, they quickly repeat the same error.  For example, I recently watched a fellow trying to do too much from a fairway bunker.  The 5-iron hit the lip and rolled back at their feet. Change clubs?  Pick a new target line?  Or just give it another whack?  He repeated the shot again with the same result.  Finally he aimed more right (lower part of lip) and got out on his third.  I believe these actions are often driven by anger (or stubbornness). 

2. Some holes are not a good fit for our game.  Game plan how one can play the hole with less chance of a blow-up, even if it means accepting bogey on a regular basis.

3. Buy LSW.  A very small investment over the course of a golf lifetime and it might give you some more ideas.

Brian Kuehn

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Note: This thread is 2726 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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