Time for a break...

[Fairway_CY]

After playing a ton of golf (26 rounds) in the last 8 weeks or so... I believe I've hit that wall.  For me... 26 rounds is more than I've played in most years.  I really went 'all-in' on preparing for the final tournament of my season.  Unfortunately, I think it led to me getting burnt out and by the time the tournament came around (it got pushed back by a month due to Hurricane Matthew), I was playing some pretty poor golf.  

My clubs sit across from me in the living room, so... when I get home and begin working on reports for work, they're a constant reminder whenever I look up.  Ordinarily, I'd jump at the opportunity to get out and play, but... I kinda shrug and turn my attention to something else.  Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70 degree range and I've got nothing to do.  Part of me wants to get out to the course and play... but another part of me just wants to sit around and do nothing.  I'm playing Saturday morning for a club event, but... beyond that, I dunno.  

Anybody else hit that wall?  Does it last long or will I be itching to get back out next week?  This is new to me.

CY

[Hacker James]

I am sure you will pull a "Schwartzenegger"....

[CarlSpackler]

Go play. You know you wanna. 

[Papa Steve 55]

I once hit the cart barn wall, that count?

[iacas]

Do something different. Play from the forward most tees. Play a new course. Play a two-ball scramble with yourself.

Or, take a break. The game will be waiting for you when you come back.

[Buckeyebowman]

Yeah, I've had that feeling. My buddy was going to be on vacation for a week this summer, and we had made some "buys" that enabled us to play some superior courses in the area, so we golfed it up big time! We played 5 rounds in 6 days!

We were so worn out after that experience, that we vowed to do things differently in the future. Even though we probably won't! Makes me wonder how the tour guys do it!

It took about a week and I was itching to get back out there again!

[newtogolf]

It looks like the warm weather is going to break next week so I can't imagine at this point letting a nice day pass by.  I really need to move south.  

[Vinny Cap]

Hey CY, Looks like you are all golfed out.  I would think a week or two off would do the trick to get you rested and refreshed.  Might want to move the clubs as looking at them wont help the resting process.

If you lived up north I would say keep on golfing as you never know when the white stuff will end your season but living in SC, I imagine you have a much longer season than I do.

Dont give up, rest, relax, do something different for a bit and you will be back at it and having a blast again.

[DaveP043]

16 hours ago, Fairway_CY said:

Anybody else hit that wall?  Does it last long or will I be itching to get back out next week?  This is new to me.

I'm nearly at that point, at least as far as really playing seriously, or even practicing.  I've had a lot of good golf over the summer, and I enjoy every time I get to play, but I'm kind of looking forward to the colder weather.  I'll have a good excuse to stay home, put a pot of something on the stove all day, and watch football or hockey.  We'll be spending next week playing golf in Pinehurst, so that when December comes I'll REALLY be ready for a break from golf.  I'll get a random round or two in through the winter, but those days are more social than serious, hanging out with the friends who I rarely see outside of golf.  By the time late February comes, maybe early March, and the weather just starts to warm up a little, I'll be totally ready to get back at it with my full attention.

[RussUK]

The old saying "you can never have too much of a good thing"?, turns out it isnt 100% true. I played quite a bit up until the start of last year. Basically i stopped enjoying golf. My swing was off, i couldnt shrug off and injury and just going for even 9 holes was a chore.

I made the decision last spring that i would stop playing. I would go to the range one a fortnight to just hit balls for fun, no swing work or anything. I think i played once last october with a family member. Picked up a back issue in the winter and didnt swing a club for 3 months. Re started with a funny swing this spring but really enjoying my golf again. Back working on a "normal" centre pivot type swing now im recovered and just want to be hitting balls all the time.

Rambling post i know, but sometimes a break allows you to realise what you enjoy most about golf.

[mcanadiens]

It seems I'll be getting a break whether I like it or not. It's going to 70-degrees while I'm at work tomorrow and then the bottom drops out. 40-degrees and rain early Saturday and then colder this rest of the weekend. Talking about snow.

To the point, maybe a week's break won't be a bad thing, but I'm hoping for a little bit more decent weather here in late fall.

[CarlSpackler]

59 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

It seems I'll be getting a break whether I like it or not. It's going to 70-degrees while I'm at work tomorrow and then the bottom drops out. 40-degrees and rain early Saturday and then colder this rest of the weekend. Talking about snow.

To the point, maybe a week's break won't be a bad thing, but I'm hoping for a little bit more decent weather here in late fall.

[p1n9183]

Take a break, golf will wait.

Start playing at 7, at 12 start to practice te became a pro someday. At 20 i realiced that that won´t happend so stop playing and did other sports.. football, handball.. bicicle.. etc.

At 25 i returned to play for 2 more years were again i get borred and focus more on my studies.

This year after 7 years i pick up golf again after graduation and with the objective to achive scratch golf, lowest index/handicap was at 1. How knows.. maybe next year i have to stop playing for another reason... injury.. family, you name it but i know that i can start playing golf whether i wanted to.

[jkelley9]

18 hours ago, iacas said:

Do something different. Play from the forward most tees. Play a new course. Play a two-ball scramble with yourself.

Or, take a break. The game will be waiting for you when you come back.

I like this idea, it changes the game a lot for me (forward tees). Or do the 1-club challenge. I've still been meaning to do this this year.

Another idea is to play a different style. For example, sometimes I'll go out and play a full club or 2 down and only take 3/4 swings. This also changes the game drastically. Opens up the mind a bit. 

If you're struggling putting, just pickup when you're on the green and move on. You can see a lot more holes of golf in the same amount of time this way, too.

If you're struggling off the tee (which, like putting, can be one of the most frustrating parts of golf for a lot of folks) then just skip the tee box and drop in the middle of the fairway @ 150-200 yards in (from the tee box, not the hole) giving you a challenge to make greens in 2 or 3. This way you avoid the frustration of an actual "miss" but still have the challenge of recovery.

Don't keep score. Since you won't be playing by the "rules of golf" I don't believe this is an infraction for handicapping purposes. I could be wrong on that.

[paininthenuts]

I play at least 45 holes every week, and would play more if my aging limbs didn't hurt so much. I know if I play more than that fatigue makes me play worse. My tip is to advise you to analyse your optimum stamina, and discipline yourself to play no more than that. Sometimes 9 holes is enough !!

[Fairway_CY]

Thanks everybody!  

I made it through the week without touching the clubs.  I've got a match tomorrow morning, so... we'll see how that goes.  I think that will be the only time until December that I play, unless my schedule shows an opening.  

I like the idea of playing from the forward tees for a change of pace.  I may give that a try the next time I'm out on the course.

CY

[Fairway_CY]

I left the clubs alone for the week.  I picked up a wedge and took a few swings in the living room on Thursday and Friday, but it was literally about 10 swings total just to get a club in my hand.  

I arrived this morning about 40 minutes prior to my tee time and hit about 20 balls.  I then spent a few minutes putting and then away we went.  

I opened with a double after a pair of poor pitches on the first hole... but then I made par on 5 straight including a near ace on the 6th hole that ran ran out to about 10 feet.  A 43 on the front was followed by a 42 on the back that included a double - double start on that side and I posted a 'could have been even lower' 85.  

I don't get this game.  The 85 I shot today could have been a great round if I had any semblance of a short game.  Meanwhile, I struggled and had to grind all weekend last week to post the 90 - 95 - 90 I posted in my tournament.  

Oh well.  

The love for the game is obviously still there.  I won't play again for another 10 days or so with a busy week with work and the holiday.  

CY

[Buckeyebowman]

Looking at this thread again reminded me of something. My buddies and I would make an annual fishing pilgrimage to the Canadian bush every year for a week. The fishing was so good we'd go at it like maniacs! Nonstop, dawn to dusk every single day!

When we'd finally stagger into our own homes, we'd chuck the fishing tackle in the corner and not even want to look at it for a week or two. We were burned out! Eventually we'd get the itch again, and we'd be back out there.

I think the fact that golf is a seasonal thing where I live (NE Ohio), encourages the attitude that you have to cram as much golf into the good weather months as you can!