I can't put two nines together

[JBones]

I have been in a major slump for the last two months; shooting between 76-85 every time out. It's because I can't put two nines together. I'm usually around even, then proceed to play bogey golf or worse. The other day I shot -1, then +12........who shoots 12 over on 9 holes after shooting -1 on the first nine? I can't pinpoint anything either, I hit my driver 280 and close to the fairway on one side, then start hitting it 240 and 100yds off the fairway on the next nine. I hit my irons into the center of the green on one nine and then 30-40yds left or right on the next. The one thing that is staying consistent is my putting, which has been absolutely lights out; my handi has ballooned from a 3.6 to a 9.3 over this time frame and it would probably be closer to a 12 if my putter wasn't on fire. This has to be a mental thing, because I don't feel like my swing can change that dramatically in such a short amount of time. Any ideas or tips?

[Tyk]

damn man, it is hard work to get a handicap to move up like that! Sorry to hear your game is struggling. I wish I had some advice for you but I kind of struggle with the same thing; putting nines together, I'm just currently doing it a bit better than you. I will be even or under on one 9 usually, then the other will be 5-8 over, putting me right in the 77-80 range.

 

Its tough without knowing what you are doing to butcher the side. Is it a couple big numbers, a death by one thousand bogeys, lost balls, missing greens, etc? Most likely its a bit of a mental thing. You either play the front good and feel that a collapse is coming so one bad shot and you're mentally taken out of it thinking "yup, here it comes" or you played bad on the front and as you go into the back you're thinking "whew, got the bad one out of the way!" and that frees you up to play good or makes you determined to depending on how you're wired!

 

I'd suggest not thinking about nines for a bit. Play 3 sixes, or 6 threes. Make a bet with someone based on that premise. It might just take you out of your nine hole mindset and give you something different to think about. You might say "man, I butchered that 3 hole set, gotta win this one" and turn things around without thinking about it.

 

Whatever happens, good luck, it sucks having the game in the dumps.

[Matt Saternus]

Do you keep stats? I'm always torn on stat keeping because I prefer to just play the shot in front of me and not bother with cards and numbers, but stats are usually needed to find the weaknesses in your game. For someone like yourself, I would make the stats pretty specific: not just "Missed Fairway" but "Missed L, pull".

 

Alternately you could look at the mental side of things: are you getting ahead of yourself? In a hurry to get to the clubhouse with your score? I'm reading the Vision 54 books right now and they have some great ideas about staying focused and present. Could be worth checking those out.

[JBones]

I have lost two balls during this time frame. The other day, I had three straight triples; OB tee shot, lost ball, OB tee shot. One of my friends theories was that it was because I swing in control on the front and then as I get loosened up, I start ripping at it and getting out of control; I blew that theory out of the water the other day, by shooting 8 over on the front and even on the back. I think a lot of it goes to course management and the rest is all mental. Some of it is a mixture of both; one of the triples I had went like this, trouble right from the tee to green with nothing but green grass for 150yds to the left, I hit it into trouble right....lost ball...I had hit a provisional into the same trouble, but found it, again instead of playing out left, I set up for a draw right up the trouble line and hit it in trouble again...I made it onto the green in 6 and putted in for a triple. Thats the s*** that is killing me; if I hit anything but driver, I'm most likely in play, if I play the driver up the left side, I'm in play. It's a mixture of mental and management errors. Now that I say that and think back on it, I know that I've been hacking my way around the course and not planning it out.

[JBones]

I'm reading the Vision 54 books right now and they have some great ideas about staying focused and present.

I need to read something like this, because staying focused and present is a struggle for me. In this stretch, instead of doing those things, I've been thinking about where the bad hole is going to come and exactly how BAD it will be.

[RoverRick]

I know this sounds simplistic, but you have to focus on the shot you are about to make and make it the best you can. I have this problem and have no easy answer. You just can not let a bad shot or a great shot have any effect on your play.

 

I could regale you with countless examples of good nine / bad nine from 37/54 to 29/42 but usually 36/41. But the bottom line is it makes no difference what you did on the previous shot. You have to focus on what you have to do and that is get the ball in the hole in the least amount of strokes. You do not have to put it in the hole on this shot but put it where you can on the next shot.

 

I always get in trouble when I start thinking about a score. If I think, I have to birdie this hole, than I press too hard on the tee shot and then have to play great to make par. When I play my best, it is putting the ball in the fairway where I can make a full iron shot across the largest part of the green availible to me. Then I have the green to work with on my second shot. I can hopefully get it on the green or since I am rarely way long, and usually short if not on target I can control my miss. And never go for birdie at the expense of par.

 

I have felt much better about the time I shot 18 pars than the time I shot 29/42 even though the first one adds up to 72 and the second one was a 71.

[revkev]

29/42? I could do that at my course so long as one of the nines was the Par 3 adjacent to the regular 18.

 

I'd find it hard to believe that this wasn't a mental thing - someone who is capable of putting up multiple sub par 9's is also capable of avoiding three straight triples - if they're focused.

 

I know we've talked about this elsewhere but you need to have a game plan going into the round and then you need to stick to it - that helps avoid the craziness. On my home course the game plan is to put the ball into certain spots. That way I have to stay fresh on each tee - for example I know that I want the ball as close to and yet short of the right fairway bunker as possible - that gives the best approach into the green with any pin position. However what I can't tell you until I get to the hole whether or not that will mean 3 wood, 3 hybrid or Driver - it's generally either 3 wood or 3 hybrid but if there's enough wind it can be driver and I've even hit 4 hybrid a time or 2 -

 

I want to be focused on the spot where I'm going to play the next shot from - each shot into that spot is a new game for me -

 

That's one suggestion among a number of good suggestions - of course it's coming from a guy who went 40/35 yesterday. Mine was a matter of struggling with greens that were way slower than the practice green - it took me 7 holes to adjust - 7 holes - what could I have been thinking.

[sparnar]

Do you keep stats? I'm always torn on stat keeping because I prefer to just play the shot in front of me and not bother with cards and numbers, but stats are usually needed to find the weaknesses in your game. For someone like yourself, I would make the stats pretty specific: not just "Missed Fairway" but "Missed L, pull".

 

Alternately you could look at the mental side of things: are you getting ahead of yourself? In a hurry to get to the clubhouse with your score? I'm reading the Vision 54 books right now and they have some great ideas about staying focused and present. Could be worth checking those out.

Matt, I hope we can look forward to forum review of the books? I have seen the books mentioned on a few sites, and they seeem interesting.

 

JB, I can't give you much advice. It looks like your in good hands with the other spies in any case.

 

Good luck though!

[JBones]

I'm going to go out today and use a few of the suggestions. I already have my game plan and I'm not going to deviate from it, I'm going to break the holes up in groups of 3, so I don't get to far ahead of myself or dwell in the past, and I'm going to focus on staying in the shot that I'm playing. I've also been working on shortening my swing the last few days; I've actually picked up some SS, because I'm applying the effort at the correct place and it is also helping me stay in control a little better.

[Matt Saternus]

Matt, I hope we can look forward to forum review of the books? I have seen the books mentioned on a few sites, and they seeem interesting.

 

JB, I can't give you much advice. It looks like your in good hands with the other spies in any case.

 

Good luck though!

 

Yes, there will be a book review coming in the next few weeks. The early preview is: they're good.

[sparnar]

Yes, there will be a book review coming in the next few weeks. The early preview is: they're good.

Thanks! Looking forward to it.

 

Will have to check if there are kindle versions available. Then i'm sold.

 

Just checked, and there are kindle versions available. they are on the expensive side for e-books though at $18.99.

 

Matt, which of the books would you recommend as a starting point?

[Matt Saternus]

Thanks! Looking forward to it.

 

Will have to check if there are kindle versions available. Then i'm sold.

 

Just checked, and there are kindle versions available. they are on the expensive side for e-books though at $18.99.

 

Matt, which of the books would you recommend as a starting point?

 

I'll have to finish all three before I can make a good recommendation. Couple weeks or less and you'll see the review.

[JBones]

Breaking the round up into six three hole segments helped a lot, I didn't get too far ahead of myself and after a group was finished, I didn't dwell on it. Still didn't stay real consistent between the nines, but the score was much better; shot +1 on front, +4 on back.

 

Thanks, everyone for your input.

[Tyk]

Yeah, you're welcome. Now I suck! You didn't fix anything, you just passed your cooties on to me!