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I'm such an idiot!

artfulgolfer

Well-Known Member
Jan 8, 2007
80
0
I pulled a Phil yesterday. I'm such an idiot! Yes, I learned what it feels like to totally choke on the 18th coming in with an easy win.

Okay, this was just a men's club tournament, not a U.S. Open., nothing really on the line but some script money, but I still feel like an idiot!

I started the round a little more tense that usual. I got paired with some good golfers that I haven't played with in over a year. Last time I played with any of these guys, I was about a 10-12 handicap at this course. These golfers are all long-time low handicappers. Now that my handicap is down under 4 and I'm currently leading the men's club in point standings, I feel like the "real" players who haven't seen me play in a while are watching me closely to see if I can really play, or if my index and standings are just a fluke.

So, a little tense, I was happy when I at least hit a decent drive off the first tee, but I came up short on my approach shot. I then hit a poor lob wedge over the green to the back fringe, and 3-putted from there for double bogie. I took a deep breath on the next tee and was rewarded with a perfect 7-iron right at the pin, but I hit it so well that it bounced off the back of the green. I couldn't imagine that an 8-iron was the right club for this 163-yard downhill hole, but apparently is was. Still feeling my nerves, my first thought was to just forget scoring well today and enjoy the round. But the guy with me in the cart then gave me a smile and reminded me there's a lot of golf left. I needed the reminder. I then hit a lob wedge to just 4 feet past the hole and made the return putt for par. Whew! Just hang in there.

I then hit 3 great shots into the par 5 third and 2-putted for par, but I still felt tense. I then hit an 8-iron over the green on the uphill par 3 fourth and chunked the resulting chip back, but managed to roll up to the fringe. I then smashed my putt from the fringe 6 feet past the hole. The putt was so bad, one guy asked me what I was thinking! Good question. I collected myself, focused, and sunk the return putt for a much needed bogie. Now 3-over after 4, I just made myself settle down. I just reminded myself to get back to playing my game, one shot at a time. Forget the outcome, have fun.

I succeeded. I went on to shoot 2 birdies to finish the front just 1-over, then birdied again on 15 to get back to even! I started crushing my drives and hitting quality irons into the greens. My putting just kept improving too. I sank some pretty impressive par and birdie putts. I then parred the difficult 16th and 17th and walked up to 18 still even par, 4 strokes ahead of anyone else in the group! I felt pretty confident at this point. I was striking the ball well and can often give myself a decent chance to hit a fairway wood into this par 5 to get on in two and get an easy birdie.

Again, I crushed another good drive, but pulled the shot slightly left and landed a deep fairway bunker. No problem, I can still layup and play for par. I picked the ball out perfectly with an 8-iron, probably one of my best-ever shots out of a deep bunker, leaving me only 95 yards in to the green, and over a lake. Oh, did I mention the lake? Yes, I did. Splash! I dropped next to the lake. Splash again! Jeez, I now was sitting 6 and not on yet.

Still a little rattled, I got the third one over, but nowhere near the pin. I really wanted to make this long putt for triple bogie, but missed by a fraction of an inch to the left and left the ball above and past the hole. I didn't even leave myself with an easy putt for a quadruple bogie! I took another deep breath. Thank God! I made the slippery putt and ended with a 4-over 76!

Turns out, three golfers including myself shot 76 yesterday to tie for the lead, but our club uses the score on your back nine to break ties. My 39 was the highest. I went from 1st to 3rd simply by getting a quadruple bogie on the last hole when all I needed was a triple! I hope Phil feels better now. One guy tried to make me feel better by telling me Tiger shot 76 too, landing a lake on 17 AND 18. Funny, that did make me feel better.

I sure would have loved to shoot my first par in a tournament round! I'll get more chances though. I'll recover, like I think Phil seems to be.
 

warbirdlover

Ender of all threads
Supporting Member
Jul 9, 2005
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central Wisconsin
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It sounds like you still played a super good round. Congrats on 3rd!! And I'm sure you impressed the rest of your group. You outplayed them, right? I'll take your score any day!! :laugh:
 
OP
artfulgolfer

artfulgolfer

Well-Known Member
Jan 8, 2007
80
0
  • Thread Starter
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  • #3
warbird... yes, I'm actually very happy with how I played and with the score. I'm not too concerned about how I place overall either... just want to play well and wanted to finish a good round without choking ;)... I'm getting better at finishing good "recreational" rounds well. The first time (actually the only time) I had a string of 3 birdies in a row, I quadrupled the next hole - funny, I did that by putting 2 balls in a lake too.
 

FKA19

winter ho'in
May 21, 2006
1,202
0
in one of our torueny last year i did the same on 3 different holes. just STUPID moves. i was lucky to come out a 79 with 2 triples, and win by 1. i was +1 on the other 16 holes, but +6 on those 2. i was lucky to still win (junior tourney)
 

BoarderDave

SoCal Golfer
Aug 24, 2006
153
39
Torrance, CA
Country
United States United States
Yeah, sounds like you still had a good round. I hate those single holes that screw up the score. Agh.. my problem is I usually get them early on in the round.. and have a tough time recovering.

I did see Tiger putting it into the lake both times though. Poor guy. I felt bad for the way he was playing. I feel worse for you though. So close.. They should've let you guys re-play first couple holes for the tiebreaker.
 

cypressperch

Well-Known Member
Jun 24, 2006
681
3
Toledo Bend Lake, Louisiana
Country
United States United States
Finishing is the hardest thing to do

in perhaps any competition. All the books on the mental side of golf tell us to "not care too much"; "do not keep up with your score so that a great score comes as a surprise", "do not think about anything but the shot at hand"; etc, etc, etc. This is logical, but it may be impossible, especially in even the lowly competitions we get into.

I have mentioned trying to stay in a state of "relaxed focus." Deep breathing is helpful. Not writing down on your card scores for some holes until after the round is completed can help (though we usually know where we stand in our head all the time). Sticking to the proven pre-shot routine is part of licking this problem. I am currently trying a new tactic which sounded like it might work which is to play a couple of extra holes after finishing every 18 hole round. The idea is that you sort of expect holes after the eighteenth and trick yourself into thinking the 18th is not the all important hole that it is (Actuallly, the last sentence is fale. The 18th hole is no more important than any other hole. No shot is any more important than any other shot. What I have just said is the absolute truth even though the 18th seems to be more important. It is not. Remember this, and forever be cured.)

Actually, the 20th hole is the most important.:laugh:

(Someone is thinking, "No. The 19th hole is the most important.)

Add this last round to all your other experiences. Eventually, it will become less difficult to finish strong, but finishing will always be difficult, especially with something on the line.

Fuzzy Zoeller spoke to a banquet at a Louisiana High School State Championship. He said, "Tomorrow, one of you young men will be on the last hole with the championship on the line. You will either hit the shots necessary, or you will choke and lose." (Fuzzy is a sort of blunt speaker, especially after a drink or two which he obviously had had, one still being in his hand!) Well, a kid that transferred from my school after his sophomore year was a senior. If he parred the last hole, he wins the individual title and his school wins the team championship. After a great drive, he hits his second shot fat and it goes into the lake. He and his team lose by one stroke. I think he blew that shot because he had to have heard everyone saying, "This is exactly what Fuzzy said was going to happen!" So he choked. (I had three guys qualify as individuals and if that player had still been in our school, we would have easily won that championship. I coached thirty years and a couple of third place finishes was as far as we got. But it was fun, and it was hard competing with private schools where most (not all) of the talent goes.

Cypressperch
 

emc

What would the Joker do?
Feb 4, 2006
895
1
Artful, on Sunday I had 3 doubles in the last 5 to lose by a shot. Make you feel any better? Then on Monday I lost my putting touch and choked with 3 easy putts to lose by 1.
 

Eracer

No more triple bogies!!
Oct 31, 2005
12,405
8
Read my "five-putt from three feet" story in the "Hacker's Anonymous" sub-forum.

I love the sob stories, because it reminds us all that we are human, we all make mistakes, we all succumb to pressures both real and imaginary, and, most importantly, we move on and learn from those mistakes.

What lesson did you learn?
 
OP
artfulgolfer

artfulgolfer

Well-Known Member
Jan 8, 2007
80
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  • Thread Starter
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borderdave, yes a playoff would be a better tie breaker, but I was probably still a little too rattled after my finish to have done any better ;)

emc and eracer, looks like we could all learn from the advice given above by cypress! I really like the idea of finding a way to de-emphasize the importance of the last hole(s). There really is no difference between a good start, a good turn, or a good finish. I like the extra holes solution. I'll give that a try. It's also been suggested to me to try breaking the round down into mini 3-hole rounds and just try to play each mini-round as well as possible, then let it go and move on to the next mini-round. Not sure if that introduces too many starts, middles, and finishes to the entire round, now having to come up with 6 good finishes!

Anyway, someone else referred me to the excerpt by Dan Millman who discusses competition in his book, Body Mind Mastery. He says that, "the natural athlete has a way of forgetting the game's outcome the moment it is over, but he remembers its lessons. The usual athlete learns no real lessons, because he's still stuck in the outcome. A natural athlete can't afford to revel or despair over the past. The ancient Olympic wreaths, made of laurel, reminded their wearers that fame is fleeting, and glory fades. The only lasting value in the competitive experience is the lessons we learn and keep alive."

With that in mind, and to answer Eraser, I think the lesson I learned was simply not to put undue importance on the outcome. I've learned to do this in my recreational rounds, and am finally "finishing" those rounds well. This was my first experience doing so in a tournament, and like most new experiences, I failed the first time. I really think I'll handle it better next time.

On the other hand, I had some issues with lakes last night in our weekly Tuesday night league. On the first hole (par 4), I mishit a 5-wood from pretty far out and failed to carry the lake in front of the green. However, the ball skipped 3 times and landed in the rough a few feet past the edge. I pitched up and made the return putt for par. But on the par 3 8th, I put a 5-iron right into the middle of the lake. Another fat shot just like the one on 18 the other day. Both cases involved some indecision about how I wanted to execute the shot, but I swung anyway. Ah, there's the lesson!
 

IrishGolfer

Fac ut gaudeam
Supporting Member
Sep 1, 2004
6,542
4,976
AG

I am the master of the choke and have posted many times here of my shanks, tops, and Zorro exhibitions with the flatstick coming down the wire.

All I can say is it doesn't happen all the time, and the more times you put yourself in that position (ie all the excellent work doen on the first 17 holes) then the more times you will come through on the right side.

Part of it is playing smart and leaving yourself comfortable distances and shots. You say you played a world class 2nd shot from the bunker which sounds like it was a risky play. Were you playing for the fat of the green or firing at the pin, when you found water at the last? Maybe pumped up you still thought you could make par with a close 3rd, maybe playing for a bogey was a better option.

I don't know, but indecision, varying pre-shot routine and trying to hit harder or softer usually lead to screw ups.

Rise above it!!
 

emc

What would the Joker do?
Feb 4, 2006
895
1
I just remembered the biggest choke I know. My brother was playing really well in a scratch cup and on 18 he ripped a drive down the middle. Hitting 7 iron in, he proceeded to hook 3 balls in a row OOB on his way to a 10 and lost the cup by a shot. I've never stopped slagging him about it
 

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