Control on the Golf Course

[CybrSlicr]

We went out on our second to last round in my league tonight. My team is way out of the running for anything, so the last two weeks for us are all about shooting a decent round (the points don't matter).

I get off the first tee box badly, make two more horrible swings on the opening par 5. I come up with a good Rescue 3-5W-PW combo and 1 putt for 7. Yuk!

I hit a low screamer of the next tee that holds the fairway. A beautiful Rescue 5 has me on the green in regulation and I 2-putt for par.

The next is a reachable par-5. I get a good swing off the tee with my 3W, and an average Rescue 5 leaves me 50 out. I run the wedge long, but I come recover with the 60 degree and 2 putt for bogey.

I par the next par-3. On the par-4 13th, I hit my tee shot into the woods, and a couple of blown irons later I have a 7.

I hit a big slice off the tee on the next par-4, recover from the tall grass, get on the green in 3 and 3-putt for 6. So far this is an ugly round!

On 7 and 8, I putt up back to back 4's. So I hit the 9th tee box looking at a par 4 with a chance to shoot 45 (which is my target score for the round). I get away with a hook off the tee, recover to 140yds out in the fairway. I open the face on the 8I and put it in the trap just below the green. Two wedges later I am in the rough just outside of the trap, a wedge and 2 putts and the 45 is now a 49!

The clubs start flying here (yes - I am embarassed to say it). I grind the round to work off the 7's and after doing it, I blow the round with the 8 on the 9th hole.

Having thrown up 3 pars in the round I know I am capable of swinging better. I also know that I will hit bad shots. It just eats me up inside when all I tried to do was really put up a 5 on the hole (46 would have been fine with me) and I implode.

Does this happen to you guys/gals? What do you do to keep your composure on the golf course?

[BoarderDave]

I tend to throw my clubs around too

I dont do full throws.. kinda just drop it next to my bag..... from about 8 ft away.

Other than that I just curse to myself... maybe take a few extra very hard swings after a bad shot. Get mad and screw up the rest of the hole.. and probably the next 4 or 5 holes. (which explains why my best score is an 80 )

I need to work on that.

[JEFF4i]

I try not to throw my clubs. I'm a very intense person and get down on myself sometimes. What really helped me? Seeing people do it, made me feel guilty about how I looked.

[Jules150]

i let the game inside my head sometimes too, just yesterday i hit a bad shot, slammed my club into the ground, then looked up and realized my golf coach was watching me. I was pretty embarrassed and because of that i managed to keep my temper under control.

Another thing that helps me is a quote my uncle told me, (who never has any emotion while playing), golf isn't about the shot you just hit, its about the next one. So i say that to myself and try to get up and downs and such.

[Sandy]

However bad my shot is, all I do is look around me and remember I'm on a golf course, with a club in my hand, another shot in front me, and I'm *not* in my office, cleaning my house or any of those million other places I could be that *aren't* out on a golf course...

Seems to work for me!

[SiberianDVM]

Every time I feel the urge to throw a club, I remind myself how much they cost.

[todmun]

I was playing with a guy who after a great shot threw his club.(like he was angry) He looked back at us and said "just practicing for the next bad shot". I thought it was funny.

[Rosmo]

Someone on here gave a tip that Tiger does when he hits a bad shot that I have been trying hard to follow...when Tiger hits a bad shot, he gives himself 15yrds to be mad about the shot and then he lets it go and focuses on the next shot. It works really well when I remember to do it.

[Stanters]

Originally Posted by Sandy

However bad my shot is, all I do is look around me and remember I'm on a golf course, with a club in my hand, another shot in front me, and I'm *not* in my office, cleaning my house or any of those million other places I could be that *aren't* out on a golf course...

Seems to work for me!

Me too - I try and ENJOY golf as much as possible. I like to play well obviously but there are many worse things in life than 3 putting from 3 feet, I just can't think of any right now.

1 shot can't ruin a round but 1 tantrum can for you and your playing partners.

[Sandy]

The other thing I usually do - but obviously this depends on how often you play or how serious you are as you play - is that if after 3 or 4 holes it's obvious I'm having one of 'those' days, I put the scorecard away and use the rest of the round to practice shotmaking, taking chances I wouldn't usually bother with if I wanted to get a good score, and use the chance to get some quality practice in on dealing with situations I might face when I *do* want to post a good score!

Of course, it helps if you're willing to pick up your ball every now and again if you take this approach, so as not to slow things down if it gets even worse!

[Scotty01292]

I have never thrown a club in my life... If I play a bad round, my head goes down and I keep playing badly. If I have a bad hole, I keep concentrating, and try to start playing well...