Unrealistic expectations?

[SiberianDVM]

Saturday I had 1 birdie, 4 pars, 11 bogies, 2 doubles.

Sunday I had 0 birdies, 4 pars, 6 bogies, 4 doubles, 4 others. Couple of bad holes there where I put myself in bad trouble off the tee.

I think that if I am capable of making pars on some holes, I ought to able to par ALL of them in one round. My playing partner says I'm nuts, and that I should be happy just hacking around.

Who's right and what are your expectations when you got to play?

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

Right now, at my level, what I'm trying to work on is eliminating anything worse than a bogey. Once I get that, then I can start working on eliminating the bogeys.

[DaveE]

It's tough to say who's right but I know from experience that unrealistic expectations can take all the fun out of the game. I know because that's what caused me quit the game for 5 years.

I try to limit my unrealistic expectations to the next shot I'm about to play.

I have goals but for me that's different and it doesn't mean I don't get pissed after a stupid shot.

My best round ever is +10 and I've done it 3 times. I think it would be very unrealistic to expect to shoot that score everytime I go out even though I try. On the other hand, I think it's ok to expect to play bogey golf or better since I carry a 17 index.

I'd do whatever works for you and if high expectations makes you play better then so be it. But don't let it take the fun out of the game.

[Davebud]

And they might be unrealistic, every time I go out I am going with the idea that I should shoot 3 at Par, 6 bogeys, 9 double bogeys. It has not even been close yet, but I will continue to go with those expectations. I still have every intent of breaking 90 this year, right now however I would just love to get in under 100.

[longiron]

Like Dave said don't go over board with yours or you will do more harm then good. I think you should have goals or you will just stay a "hacker".

When i play par 3's are birdie holes, par 5's are birdie holes. If i get par on them it really don't hurt but boggy kills me. As far as par 4's i just try to make par. I find that i get into trouble if i "try" to birdie one.

[ezra76]

My dad and I had this discussion after our round. We both played like crap and blew a lot of oppurtunities. He just plays for fun and has no inclination to put a lot of pressure on himself. I on the otherhand put a lot of pressure on myself. I have shot in the mid 80's last year and it wasn't that difficult. I have the game to do it, I know that. Making adjustments to course conditions and better club and shot selection are key for me. I try to do too much sometimes and wind up turning an easy par into a double. My swing is getting back on track and my putting is getting much better after switching back to my old one. I only had one 3putt yesterday and was nailing the driver. Not making the necessary adjustments for the 2in. grass on the fairway as well as the unholdable greens cost me dearly.
To me the game is about competing against myself. It is a lot more fun actually to put the pressure on to score. I have been working hard this year so far and I know it will pay off eventually. The game is reaching a point where the mental challenge is now coming into play for me. I'm working on taking the shots I know I can hit consistently and using the best ones possible for the hole. I like to think about my approach shot before I tee off, play for the best position. On an approach I pick my miss. This challenge of the game is what I love. If I could shoot 72 every time out, then I would get bored. I used to say it's the good shots that keep me coming back, now it's more like the bad shots that keep me going.

[mont86]

I'm a double bogey player 80% of the time, the other times less or more about half the time.

[DouginGA]

I am slowly improving my game. Shot a good 82 sunday. What is helping me most is NOT worring about what i score. My goal is no bad hits or putts. I had two three putts sunday and had one hole where i chunked the first chip and sent the second one to the far side of the green. Those three wasted shots kept me over 80. The game is the total of individual shots, so I feel the key is in each individual shot. Play each shot to best of your ability and the score will reflect that. At our level higher scores than you think you are capable of are usually attributed to two things: chunks and getting greedy.

Chunks are almost always lack of focus and concentration. Make each shot count. Seems obivious from a distance but how often have you hit one and then thought "god! what was doing there? "

Getting greedy happens to all of us. Like Doc's story about the three? wood into the tree on the caddy thread. I had several choices on sunday of "chip out of the woods or smack the three iron out of the woods thru the knot hole in the tree and onto the green". I went the safe route both times and took a good short iron and one putt to make par once and took a bogey on the other. Going for the "great shot" was about a 25% chance of making and about a 75% of being worse off and wasting shots.

Best way to lower your score and meet your expectations is to play each shot wisely and to the best of your ability. Forgot how you got where you are, dont think about where you will be after the round, just make the shot that faces you right now the best one you can expect to make. But I expect to break 80 today

[Eracer]

I like your attitude, Doug. We are human, and this game we play is more about misses and mistakes than it is about successes. What matters is how we handle those mistakes. Not worrying about score, but enjoying it when we score well. Not getting upset when we make a poor swing, and enjoying our good swings. Dreaming of shooting par, but not being upset when we don't. All these things make this a more enjoyable game. It's hard to have dreams and goals that we can't attain. We have a natural inclination to feel like a failure when we don't. But we'll never be a failure if we keep striving to improve. Keep striving to get better. And most importantly, keep striving to have more fun.

[Augster]

Originally Posted by SiberianDVM

Saturday I had 1 birdie, 4 pars, 11 bogies, 2 doubles.

Sunday I had 0 birdies, 4 pars, 6 bogies, 4 doubles, 4 others. Couple of bad holes there where I put myself in bad trouble off the tee.

I think that if I am capable of making pars on some holes, I ought to able to par ALL of them in one round. My playing partner says I'm nuts, and that I should be happy just hacking around.

Who's right and what are your expectations when you got to play?

You are exactly correct to think you can par every hole, even though your handicap is nowhere near scratch.

Rotella talks about it in his books. He talks about when you "get hot" and "play over your head" and par, or birdie, like 3 or 4 holes in a row and that is totally foreign to you.

What you are ACTUALLY doing is getting a glimpse of HOW YOU CAN PLAY when you don't get in your own way. If you can par one hole, you can par them all in a round. It's just rinse and repeat.

BUT, can you stay out of your own way? Will your swing continue to cooperate? How about your nerves? You start out with 6 straight pars, how much are you going to be thinking about it and putting more pressure on yourself? Is your swing sound enough to withstand the added pressure?

So yes, if you can physically make a par on a course, you "should" be able to par them all. It will become how you handle your good play mentally that will allow you to do it or not. That is why it is said that most of this game is mental.

I go out each round expecting to shoot below par and do everything possible to achieve it. It hasn't happened yet, but I will keep trying. Play each shot as smart as you can and success will come.

I'm a 7 and have started 3 rounds this year even through 7 holes. One round I was one-under through 5. In all cases I totally crumbled to a 38 or 39. Obviously, my physical game was doing okay. I was even through 7. It's the pressure, real, imagined, or "ignored", of shooting a great round that brought me down.

At the time, you try to say you made a bad swing. It should never be a bad decision. But really, deep down, I know it was mental anxiety that caused the bad swing. Or two. Or four. The classic "throwing up on yourself".

Just like Julie on BBV topping her approach from 135 in the fairway. How many tops do you think she hits in a year as a scratch golfer? I'd say none most likely. The pressure got her mentally and it forced a bad swing.

So DVM, I believe you are exactly correct to think that you can shoot 18 pars. You "can" do it. Whether you have the mental toughness to do it will be the deciding factor.

[NBGolfer]

I think it's good to want to get better. The difference is to try not to get discouraged too much with bad shots. That's why I love and hate golf in the same day. A great quote is "You need a fantastic memory to remeber the good shots and a short one to forget the bad ones"
I am in the same boat as most here. Shoot low/mid 80's but miss a lot of chances to better my score every round. I just try to take the misses out of my game for now.
For example, Make a good drive and then have say a 90 yard chip... I try and put a good swing in and just be happy to hit the green or get it close, rather then duff a fancy flop shot. And be happy to get it on or close rather then be pissed its not within 10 feet of the flag. Then make a run at a good put and sometimes they drop for a par/birdie and sometimes they don't.
I find the best thing for me is to take some practice time around the practice greens to get a better short game and hopefully try to get it close rather then be happy it's on. Then hopefully can knock those strokes off sooner then later. But I def don't think there is any problem with trying to better your game.

[P_102]

Unrealistic? Yes and no. First try to do away with anything over bogey. It's all about course and game management, (Ezra mentioned earlier). I can't remember your distances, but play the best shots for the hole(s) at the time, ie; If the wind is in your face on a par 5 and you know you can't reach it (in 2), use whatever you have to to make sure you're in the short grass, etc....There are at least 6 holes on my home course where I use this tactic (long iron or 5 wood vs. driver) and it has really saved my game. Sure, I may have a 4 iron into a par 4 vs. a 7, but I'm safe in the fairway and, if I miss the green, I still have a chance to get up/down vs. getting into trouble off the tee.

Oh....and work on your short game.

P_102

[SiberianDVM]

First try to do away with anything over bogey

Oh, believe me, I already do this.

use whatever you have to to make sure you're in the short grass

This is my biggest course management problem. I always want to go for it. Last weekend I was in the water twice on the same hole.

work on your short game.

Chipping & putting is the best part of my game. Wedges still need some work.

[P_102]

Well, by your numbers I think you need to try harder! (27.7% of the last 36 holes were over bogey)....I've learned to look at bogey as an acceptable score on some of the harder holes (dependant on conditions), at least until my short game gets even better.

Edit: Not as much that I accept bogey as that I accept the fact that I may not be on the green in regulation very often on certain holes and, therefore, even though I want par, I do not get upset w/ bogey (unless I do something stupid like missing a 3' putt, LOL).

Next time out, consider leaving your driver at home. You might be surprised at the results.

P_102

[SiberianDVM]

consider leaving your driver at home

I just got a new Tour Edge Exotics driver and have only played 2 rounds with it. I hit some of the best drives of my life with it. 28 times off the tee with it, only 2 that I couldn't find. They were huge hooks that went OB into someones back yard.

My problem lately has been foozling my fairway woods from uneven lies. Plan on working on that tonight at the range.