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My Rant

Libre

Well-Known Member
Jul 29, 2007
185
107
Country
United States United States
I had such a Strangely Good Round last summer.

Went up to the course stone cold...1:30 in the afternoon. There were two guys I didn't know on the first tee. I asked if I could play with them and they said sure...

I shot even par. Hit ball in fairway, onto green and two putt.

At the end of the 9th, they surprised me when out of the blue they said they had to leave...

So I go to the 10th and sure enough there are two fellows I've never met getting ready to tee off. Same thing...can I tag along?

Shot one over....73 on a par 72 course with slope rating of 136....

You're right Cypress....I had no expectations, almost played mindlessly...fairways, greens and two putts....

I've always dreamed of playing like this - and (so far at least) have failed miserably. My admiration for the above is exceeded only by my frustration at my own inablilty.
I NEVER could get a handle on it. I've been told I have a good, rhythmic swing. I can zap the ball straight and solid - from time to time. I can send a long, beautiful shot off the tee down the fairway - then spend 3 or 4 more shots getting it even near the green. I'll par a difficult hole, next tee, I hit a duck hook or a worm burner or a banana ball - never the same thing. By the end of a round I can think of enough nice shots that you'd think I must have had a pretty good round, but I have so many doubles and triples (and worse) that you'd think a total novice, as green and fresh as the dew covered course in the early morning, had decided to try his hand at this strange game - NOT an experienced player with literally thousands of rounds under his belt.
I've taken some lessons - even went to golf school for a week. In my life I've only managed to break 90 maybe a dozen times. More usually, I'm happy to break 110.
Well, that's my rant - thanks for listening.
 

ezra76

Well-Known Member
Feb 5, 2006
12,412
16
It takes work and practice, that's the great thing about this game to me. It's hard. IMO a player who wants get better has to set goals. Not numbers on the scorecard necessarily but goals to get more consistant. It may take more lessons to find the necessary direction but it will definitely take work. I've been working at several this year and breaking down my swing to bare fundamentals. I have rounds like you describe all the time. On Sat. I had a string of double, triple, double, triple. Followed that up with 4 consecutive pars. I sure worked on my problem areas at the range the next day. Hit 3 buckets of balls and over 100 were 3/4 shots with a 7 and 9iron. I know the swing I want, I now have it close to 50% of the time. It's breaking that swing out the old one that's tough.

To me there is an unseen law of averages to this game. It's what keeps my scores always under 100 and usually over 85. Dropping that average down takes a ton of work. I'd recommend picking up Hogan's 5 lessons and going over the fundamentals, over and over. I never throw my arms up after a bad shot, I know exactly what I did wrong every time. It's always a fundamental mistake.
 
OP
Libre

Libre

Well-Known Member
Jul 29, 2007
185
107
Country
United States United States
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #3
Hey Ezra-
Thanks for the encouragement. I appreciate that you read my rant and offered your perspective.
 

Sandy

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2006
907
0
I never throw my arms up after a bad shot, I know exactly what I did wrong every time. It's always a fundamental mistake.

I think one of the greatest things about golf is that for every single shot *you* are in total control of the outcome. There are no external influences that you can't factor in to your decision, no-one is going to move the ball as you're trying to hit it, and you're given more than enough data (lie, slope, distance, wind speed and direction, potential hazards, etc) to make a correct decision for that particular shot. The only reason we get ourselves into trouble is that we overrule our own personal decision making process too many times, for most people of my handicap this being to try shots we simply can't pull off with any consistency.

The best rounds I've ever had came when I shut that voice up and listened to the more reasoned, logical voice. I think it's telling that my first time breaking 100 AND 90 came with the same playing partner - a woman I used to work with who got me into playing golf in the first place - who barely drives 150yds, plays off the forward tees and is playing a completely different game to mine. I really think that playing with someone who *isn't* going to goad me into hitting driver, who I'm not competing with to reach par 5s in 2, making aggressive shots for the green, etc is an important factor into why I did so well in those rounds.
 
OP
Libre

Libre

Well-Known Member
Jul 29, 2007
185
107
Country
United States United States
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #6
Libre how often are you three of the tee in one round?
Back when I played a lot (2 - 3 times a week), I'd say I was 3 off the tee at least once a round. Back then, I played by the rules scrupulously, because I wanted to know just how well I really played and I wanted to get my handicap as low as I could and I wanted to excel.
That was then, this is now.
Now, I'm just trying to get around the course with a minimum of delay to others, execute individual shots as well as I can, and have a good time. Once I've had 3 or 4 quads I don't really give a rap about my score, so if I drive into the woods or OB, I don't hit another ball - I walk up to where my ball went out and drop one. I don't submit my scores, and I don't play against anyone, so my concience is intact.
 

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