Breaking 90- the mental game

[Grunt]

I have just looked at my Golflink records for the last 12 months and I have not broken 90 in stroke events since february. I know I played alot of good rounds in my match play games over the past few months but I thought I was going better than that.
Could it be that I am way better suited to Matchplay and strokeplay has the better of me? In some of my matchplay rounds I was less than 10 over @ 16 etc. It might be the fact you genuinely wipe the hole after it is finished in matchplay. I just might be carrying too much baggage between holes and that is effecting my game. Maybe my golf abilty/inability is not affecting my game maybe it is the mental game that I am not getting right.!

[jaster]

On a Par 72 course, 18 bogies are 90...not that hard really now is it

Do some stats and have a look at where you are wasting most of your shots....then rather than play 4 days a week save one of those days for practising that area. I'll bet it's short game.

[AndyP]

Grunt, do you add up your score at the halfway mark of a round? I don't.

As a result, do you have some idea that you might crack 90 as you near the end of your round? Do you think that it is a mental barrier for you?
It's just a number that ends with a zero.

[Grunt]

I have looked at it Leon, it is actually getting into trouble off the tee. I have an amazingly good short game for a c grader (not trying to sound too good) and that is where the birdies and pars come from in my rounds. It is more the penalties for putting balls in unplayable positions off the tee such as in the rough or worse OOB that gets me into trouble.

[jaster]

Grunt, do you add up your score at the halfway mark of a round? I don't.

As a result, do you have some idea that you might crack 90 as you near the end of your round? Do you think that it is a mental barrier for you?
It's just a number that ends with a zero.

This is a good strategy

Grunt, have you thoughy about dropping the driver?

[Grunt]

Maybe?

[shavey]

Grunt, two words will get you round in the 80's...

"Course Management"...

I see it all the time when playing with high(er) markers who over estimate their ability and get themselves into trouble.

The secret is to play the hole backwards, from green to tee.  Can I suggest, you go to the range and find a club you absolutely love.  Find out how far it goes and try to use it on all par 5's for your approach.  You said you already had a good short game so you may already have that club.

It may not be pretty but if you have 180 metres to go, break it down.  Find the club you love, say the PW (that goes 105).  You want to leave yourself with that yardage.  Hit a short little pitch of 75 for the next shot and your in prime position for a full shot with your favourite club.  Play these two shots around the other way and you will be left with a difficult  3/4 shot which, if not hit well, could go anywhere.

This may be quite difficult to get your head around but it works!  You may find, as it is quite evident at my home track, that playing the smarter options will take all the hazards out of play.  Even if you thin your 75m pitch shot, you should still be in play.  If you tried to hit a 3I to the green and didn't flush it, who knows what trouble you will find.

You would be very hard pressed to find a 20+ marker who can make par 5's in two so play it as a par 5, three shots and two putts.  As previous posts mentioned, record your stats over a few rounds and you will be amazed how much solid putting means to your game.

Furthermore, and this is a problem I sometimes encounter, is to forget a bad hole and move on.  Sounds simple, but break it down like every hole is your first, or play 6 x 3 hole blocks.  Golf is a game of supreme concentration and you need to be able to zone in and out between shots.  Get this part of your game on track and the scores will take care of themselves.

I look forward to hearing about your progress...

Good luck...

Shavey

[Fishman Dan]

Like AP's comments, i like to know what my score is with 4 or 5 to go. Then i can set a goal and try and come in underneath that. It's a way of refocusing close to home when otherwise you might be subject to losing interest.

Setting 6/9/12 holes goals can be misleading, because if you miss them you might chuck in the towel before the game has really begun.

[McMw]

breaking 90 (or not) is usually how well the players GETS OUT OF TROUBLE...

a rule of thumb I live by is to not follow a bad shot with another bad shot...

if u're in the trees - don't be a hero - get it back on the fairway...
too many times I've seen a player hit it into the tree, and all they see is the green...and proceed to hit it further into the trees...

if u're in the drink - don't drop it too close to the hazard line (if permitted) - that's where everyone drops and you'll prob get a crappy lie...

if u have a "jinx" hole - play it differently...learn to accept a bogey or a double at worse - when you get better, then re-think the way to play the hole (playing with better players will defn help - watch how they approach each hole)...


I know it's no fun to play defensive/layup-layup-layup golf...it's boring...
go for the shot - trust your swing!!!
if u hit a bad shot - refer to the rule of thumb I posted...

[BrisVegas]

breaking 90 (or not) is usually how well the players GETS OUT OF TROUBLE...

a rule of thumb I live by is to not follow a bad shot with another bad shot...

Great advice Mau. Avoiding train wrecks is all it takes to break 90. Grunt makes plenty of pars and the odd birdie. He just needs to make no worse than double when he gets in trouble off the tee.

[Jarro]

i think a lot of the time people rush into their second shot (after hitting a bad first one) before they really think about it. I know i tend to rush a bit, usually because i'm pissed off, and proceed to hit another barry

take a few deep breaths and really think about what you want to acheive with the next shot.

[AndyP]

Like AP's comments, i like to know what my score is with 4 or 5 to go. Then i can set a goal and try and come in underneath that. It's a way of refocusing close to home when otherwise you might be subject to losing interest.

Do you mean unlike my comments?

My point is that you don't need to know your current total score at any point in the round (thinking of the past), or have a score in mind that you want to beat (thinking of the future).
Those of us who read Dr. Bob, call it staying in the present. There's no need to think of the bad holes you have already played in the round and getting shirty about it, or how many pars you need in the last few holes to break a certain score. Just concentrate on doing your best on the shot/hole at hand.

[Jarro]

Like AP's comments, i like to know what my score is with 4 or 5 to go. Then i can set a goal and try and come in underneath that. It's a way of refocusing close to home when otherwise you might be subject to losing interest.

Do you mean unlike my comments?

My point is that you don't need to know your current total score at any point in the round (thinking of the past), or have a score in mind that you want to beat (thinking of the future).  

so what do you do when your playing partner decides to tell you "hey, you've got a pretty good round going here"

[shazza_rs]

Grunt,

I find that breaking 90 comes about when I limit the damage when i get myself into trouble. I have had a few rounds in the high 80's and every time i can put it down to getting myself out of trouble reasonably well and limiting the damage to a double bogey at worst.

To be honest with you. A handicap of 25 does not suggest to me that you should be breaking 90 regularly. The difference between say a 25 and a 18 hcp is making sure the blow out holes that you have are limited to double bogey at worst.

Just a thought.

[McMw]

so what do you do when your playing partner decides to tell you "hey, you've got a pretty good round going here"

then u only have yourself to blame for letting a comment like that affect you...

use it as a spur-on to knuckle down and play even better...


I had the same problem before, but after a while, I used it as a confidence booster, and focus even more on the shots to come...

[AndyP]

so what do you do when your playing partner decides to tell you "hey, you've got a pretty good round going here"  

Usually give them a dirty look.
Then concentrate on my next shot.

[AndyP]

so what do you do when your playing partner decides to tell you "hey, you've got a pretty good round going here"  

Usually give them a dirty look.  
Then concentrate on my next shot.  

Lovely...thats gone into the memory bank.

Excellent...with your memory it will be forgotten by the end of the day then.