Mental Game

[Sandpiper3]

How do you stop sucking in the middle of a round and just hit the damn ball properly when you do it all day long except on the course?

There must be something wrong in my mental game, cuz I literally cant hit an approach shot, but can do everything else just fine.

What do you do to just forget about the last couple (or last 5 rounds worth at this point...) stupid retard shots and get on with hitting better shots again.

(i know someone is guna say "well i just think of all the ppl who are worst off than me blah blah....")

[twofast2s]

well when i get frustrated at the course, i usually stand behind the ball and go back to the basics; aim, pivot, and good tempo. take two deep breath while examining your shot and do couple of practice swing.

then get to the ball, set up, relax and swing. just think of "good" tempo. most of the time i can get back to my rythm, but sometimes i can't shake it off. i think these things just happen and gotta accept that you can't be good all the time and try to have some confidence and fun.

[JEFF4i]

Club up.

Take a shorter swing, insisting on rhythm and fluidity of it, and if you don't hit it as far, just play accordingly.

Always helps me.

[PhillyEagle]

My mental game is keeping me from shooting in the 70's in tournaments. I've played in 7 tournaments so far, and whenever I start off well I shoot a high second nine because in my mind I say "I gotta keep this up to stay under 80", then when I bogey or double a hole, I end up saying to myself "I need to par out now, shit".

Tournament
#1 - 42 front, 39 back (81) -- I doubled 18 when I was on the fringe with my 2nd shot on the par 4
#2 - 40 front, 46 back (86) -- 11 over last 6 holes...finished triple bogey on 17 and 18
#3 - 45 front, 38 back (83) -- After blowing it on the front, I had no pressure to break 80 so I freed up and played well on the back
#4 - 41 front, 41 front (82) -- best mental day, just bad short game
#5 - 46 front, 38 back (84) -- One again, had no pressure after first nine so I was able to play easily on back
#6 - 45 front, 44 back (89) -- Not confident on any swing that day...overall bad
#7 - 40 front, 45 back (85) -- Tripled the 16th, missed a short putt on 17 out of frustration

[Sandpiper3]

Haha, PhillyEagle that sounds familiar to my spring tour this year.. We play one round a week on different courses for an order of merit.

R1- 41-32 for a 73 Played a 30 yard slice that day (no lie) birdied the first 4 straight holes after the turn and made one bogey and another bird on 18
R2- 34-50 for a 84 On my home course (sandpiper), had 3 stroke lead through nine...
R3- 35-49 for a 84 Again had a 1 stroke lead through nine at my other home course (Swan-E-Set). Nobody shot under par on the front at either
R4- 37-45 for a 82 Just plain old bogeyed EVERY hole in from 8....
R5- WD for "personal" reasons to try and gather myself
R6- 46-35 for a 81... Was out of it after the front and knew it and played a decent back nine.

All courses were par 72 (36-36). I know I was a winner on spring tour this year... It was like two completely different people, i actually drew a gallery of some of the other players when I teed off later cuz they wanted to watch and see if I could finally bring it together and go low, too bad it nvr happend...

[PhillyEagle]

Obviously you can play based on your nine hole scores and your handicap, just not producing. Ever think of trying a sports pyschologist? I never tried one (I would like to eventually though to see what it's about though).

[Sandpiper3]

Obviously you can play based on your nine hole scores and your handicap, just not producing. Ever think of trying a sports pyschologist? I never tried one (I would like to eventually though to see what it's about though).

That may be a good call, dont know how to go about finding one though...

Maybe if I go to PA for school this fall they'll have a prof I can mooch psyc off of and put it into golf

[PhillyEagle]

That may be a good call, dont know how to go about finding one though...

Yeah that's my problem too

Maybe if I go to PA for school this fall...

PA as in pennsylvania?

[Sandpiper3]

PA as in pennsylvania?

Yea. I made a thread askin aboot PA, its in here somewhere, theres some detail in there if ya wana read up. Dont really wana type it all out again

Here's the link to it: Whats it like?

[PhillyEagle]

I live right outside of PA, 10 minutes from philadelphia....but 6 hours from Erie.

If you ever visit Philadelphia or something else a little closer in PA towards Philly, PM me.

[jskd82]

If I mess up early in the round I just tell myself that there is a lot of time to make it up and it has worked the past two times that I have played. I didn't do so well on the front nine but made up for it on the back nine. At times i'll close my eyes and take a few deep breaths to help me relax, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't lol. If I get to the point that I am swearing after every shot that I mess up, it's too late and the round is ruined for me because I let myself get too pissed to recover. I try not to let that happen and I am getting better at it lol.

[warbirdlover]

Had this problem and then played a round with my son-in-law who's just beginning. I was kind of "showing off" and every shot worked. No dubs or idiot shots I had a picture of the shot and was telling him what I wanted to do and I did it. Weird.

[cypressperch]

It almost looks like you gambled on a bunch of shots on one side and won, but on the other side, gambled and lost. Such extremes as these are not common on such a regular basis. This is not as crazy as that woman who has made twenty or so hole-in-ones, but it is very unusual.

I think you can take a really good look at your cards for those rounds, and you should be able to find your answer or cure. Were there certain holes that you blew up on, or was the damage spread fairly even over all the holes? Was it a mental thing? I doubt if your swing has been disappearing one nine and then reappeared the next, or the other way around. That something is happening so different in one nine compared to the other should make it easy to see.

If we want to play well every time we play, and play well from start to finish, we have to have the same preparation, frame of mind, pre-shot routine, and swing tempo among other things. Keep things the same. Go to bed the same time the night before. Get up at the same time. Eat a breakfast that is going to give you the energy you need. Find the right snack to eat during the round like a banana or Power Bar. Drink water at every hole. Do not think about golf between shots. Thoughts about golf come from always visualizing the shot, doing the pre-shot routine the same way, executing the shot with the same tempo every single time. Always a follow through to a good finish. Evaluate the shot. Stop thinking about golf, and move on to the next shot. Treat every shot with equal care because they are equally important. Play one shot at a time, finish the hole put down the score, it is now history. On to the next hole.
If this sounds a little mechanistic, well, it is. You want consistency, and nothing is more consistent than a good machine. But remember, BETWEEN SHOTS YOU ARE NOT A MACHINE. Look at the course and enjoy it. Think how lucky we are to spend time at such nice places playing such a challenging game. Enjoy the challenge and the course. Another shot approaches, another challenge. Repeat your Golf Machine Routine and on to the next shot and NO THINKING ABOUT GOLF BETWEEN SHOTS. (I cannot be sure what your problem is, but I am fairly certain it has to do as much, or more, with what you are doing between shots as during the visualization, pre-shot routine, and execution of the shot.

There is definitely a mystery here, but it is going to be great when you crack it. You are near the point where rounds below 70 are to be expected. That kind of golf is in you, and you have proven it. In general, you now have highs and lows. You must find a way to start well and then sustain it. If you think about your rounds from start to finish, your golf brain will burn out before a round is completed.

If you have not learned about the book TOUR TEMPO yet, there are some simple ideas in there about tempo that may be the key you are looking for.

Best of luck. Cypressperch

[jamesD]

hi sandpiper3 85 pect swing 85 pect power. works for me good golfing

[JEFF4i]

And stop sucking, that'll help too,

(I think he's moving at the moment though)