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How do you battle frustration due to golf?


kpaulhus
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Wait till you get older than you'll find out what frustration is all about. I can't hit the shots at 63 that I could 15 years ago. The mind says cut the corner, hit it over the tree, now the body says oh no you don't.

 

I've found a good bourbon helps the frustration part though.;-)

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Live from the doghouse.

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How to deal with it?

I accept that golf is hard.

But I'm always thinking with confidence - I am going to nail this drive, this lob, this putt, and accept the outcome - remember the good, learn from the bad, then put the bad shot out of memory. As someone said on TGC, Rhymer - golfers lie to themselves. 

Then I work my tail off to improve, knowing that my score will not necessarily reflect my work.

Ping G400 Max 9/TPT Shaft, TEE EX10 Beta 4, 5 wd, PXG 22 HY, Mizuno JPX919F 5-GW, TItleist SM7 Raw 55-09, 59-11, Bettinardi BB39

 

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19 hours ago, kpaulhus said:

After having been a single digit handicap for the last 7+ years, swing changes and frustration has me at a 9.7 with the next possible round getting me to a double digit handicap. In the grand scheme of things, Im

still a better golfer than a large percentage of people who golf, but at the same time it’s very frustrating to me to shoot in the mid to high 80’s. I know I’m a better golfer than how I’m playing right now and it’s so aggravating. I joke when I tell my buddies I’m going to take two weeks off an quit, and I know changing my swing for the better is going to take a lot of work, but it’s just frustrating sometimes.

Other than my beautiful wife and dogs, golf is up there with one of the most important things I do in life, so it sucks to suck, ya know. 

Take a few days off an keep my head down and working? What do you do when it just doesnt make sense? 

Wow.  This reads like my autobiography.  My index was around 5, my last two rounds were 91, 88 and that's not unusual for me anymore.  My ball striking is dreadful according to strokes gained stats, but I already knew that.  I've tried more instructors than I can count, including two online ones (Chuck and Clay;  both are very good).  I've tried to make swing changes that make sense, but I just keep getting worse.  I wish I knew what to tell you;  if you find something that helps, please let me know.

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Tempering the frustration of golf is to manage the expectation of reality.

Golf is a game where you invest dollars (practice) and are lucky to get dimes back (results) in return.  Never seen another activity where the results are more disproportional to the effort.

I'll bet the OP is easily capable of carding a 75. The reality is he's usually going to shoot mid-80s which is right on handicap.

Frustrating?  Sure.  Getting to a point where you can shoot mid-70s regularly compared to mid-80s is a pile of dollars one might not have to spend.

The thing I do is to try to BALANCE the frustration with the pleasure of the overall experience golf provides.  For me, even shooting a 93 is way, WAY more rewarding than a day at work any day.  If I hit the ball great during a round, that number might drop to 85 or 87 on a GOOD day, anymore.

It is what it is.  And given the fact that I don't practice anywhere near the amount of time it takes to show marked improvement in scoring, I'm ok with the results I'm NOT getting.

Edited by dave s

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Golf Balls

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To the OP, you are still playing the game better than most golfers but are not playing to your potential.  I would seek out a pro if you do not already have one and take a couple of weeks to work out your game.  It will come back.

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I think there's a lot of good stuff here, but I have two things to add.

This is a bit trite, but things could be a lot worse. Playing bad golf is still playing golf. I went through about a 2 month period where I hit a shank on about 3/4s of my shots. I would go out of my way not to play golf. That really sucked. You could also be physically incapable of playing golf.

The other part is try your best to enjoy playing golf when you're not scoring that well. Maybe take your focus off of shooting a number and focus on doing something else good. Do something stupid but fun like aiming at a ridiculously hard pin. Personally, I enjoy playing golf for more than just playing golf. I like being outside, for example. So I focus more on that when I'm not playing well.

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A lot of good advice here. As frustrating as it can be, I'll use some of the recommended tactics to curb that part of the game. Ill work through this. I always have in the past. This weekend's fun shamble will be good to get my mind off my score and Ill be recharged and ready for Sunday. Per @mvmac recommendation, Ill still have a club in my hand working on something every day. I dont want my hands to look like Alex Noren's anytime soon, but Im not giving up. 

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Kyle Paulhus

If you really want to get better, check out Evolvr

:callaway: Rogue ST 10.5* | :callaway: Epic Sub Zero 15* | :tmade: P790 3 Driving Iron |:titleist: 716 AP2 |  :edel: Wedges 50/54/68 | :edel: Deschutes 36"

Career Low Round: 67 (18 holes), 32 (9 holes)

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Kyle, I read your last  post in your swing thread. The work seems on the money. Sooner or later that's gotta stick and you will be back on your way to 'acceptable' golf. Frustration is just a sidebar.

If you ask me, you will have more success with your drill of turning and shallowing club at the top if you stop thinking of bombing everything.. :-D

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Vishal S.

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Yes, I’ve been told more than once I swing my woods too hard. 

Kyle Paulhus

If you really want to get better, check out Evolvr

:callaway: Rogue ST 10.5* | :callaway: Epic Sub Zero 15* | :tmade: P790 3 Driving Iron |:titleist: 716 AP2 |  :edel: Wedges 50/54/68 | :edel: Deschutes 36"

Career Low Round: 67 (18 holes), 32 (9 holes)

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On ‎1‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 4:48 PM, kpaulhus said:

Take a few days off an keep my head down and working? What do you do when it just doesnt make sense? 

You are going through a swing change. It is a bumpy road till things start to click.

Maybe you need to keep the swing change stuff off the course for a while. I wonder if you would play better if you found one feel on the range before the round and went with that. Leave the swing change motions to the practice range. At least at the range you have video to make sure you are doing things right.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
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What's in My Bag
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13 hours ago, kpaulhus said:

Yes, I’ve been told more than once I swing my woods too hard. 

Yeah big fella, give'em poor sticks a chance to drop on plane at the top. Heavens know with your SS the ball will get small in a hurry anyway.

Honestly, I think you are closer than you think. 

Edited by GolfLug

Vishal S.

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On 1/28/2018 at 10:05 PM, iacas said:

If you're going to keep playing during a transition time (and obviously I know what the transition is for you right now), just play golf. DO NOT work on your swing on the course, not in a scoring round.

Do find a swing that you can play on the course, even if it's just to have stingers, or big slices, or something. Just find something you can repeatedly hit. Find a "get it around" shot.

Practice when you practice, play when you play - even if it's not what your game used to or will eventually again look like.

Very sage advice there.

When I arrive at the course, my only goal hitting balls to warm up is to 'find' a reliable driver swing key that will find the fairway.

Who was it that was asked about what his swing thought was and his reply was something like 'whatever last worked'.

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