Temper?

[silver & black]

I'm curious as to how you handle your emotions on the golf course. 

 

I've always been of the opinion that if the game makes you so mad when you aren't playing like you think you should, you probably should find something else to occupy your time. After all.... the reason you're out there is to have fun and relax, right?

 

As we all know, this game is very humbling and can let you know in a heart beat that you don't own it,  and you will never master it. You can play extremely well for a period of time and then, all of a sudden, you have that round that comes from left field for no apparent reason that lets you know you're not nearly as good as you think you are!

 

Personally, I don't get "mad" on the course. I'm human and I do get aggravated with myself at times, as I'm sure all of us do. But, I don't let it ruin my day or the guys' day I'm playing with. If I'm having a less than good day playing, I just roll with it and enjoy the company of my friends and the day full of great scenery... and beer! The next time out is almost always guaranteed to be different so, why get pissed about a bad round?

 

I've witnessed club throwing, club breaking, smashing tee markers with the driver, turfing the green with the putter after a missed putt, all manner of foul language at high decibels, etc....... 

 

I tell every new golfer that I play with that they have no reason to get pissed. You haven't played long enough or know enough about your swing, equipment or the game to be angry about anything. Just wait until you understand a little more about the game, your swing and equipment... and then you still suck...lol! THEN you can be "upset" but.... DON'T BE AN ASS and ruin the day for the guys you are playing with... or others around you within ear shot.

 

I'll say it again; if the game makes you that angry, why do you waste your time and money to "have fun?"

 

Obviously, this isn't directed at anyone on here...... just in general across the golfing world.

[Blade]

Totally agree. I don't want to be around anyone who acts like that. What's the point of being out there if it ruins your day? Very classless to act like that and ruin the day for the people around you especially.

[Mr_Theoo]

When I get mad or frustrated I try to keep it as internal as I can as to not ruin anyone I'm playing with day as well.

 

Because I'm not very good its easy for me to shrug off the bad shots that come up in a round. When I play alone I let out a little more emotion because I know I should be playing better but I still try not to let anyone around me see it.

[Lonnie96]

When I get mad or frustrated I try to keep it as internal as I can as to not ruin anyone I'm playing with day as well.

Because I'm not very good its easy for me to shrug off the bad shots that come up in a round. When I play alone I let out a little more emotion because I know I should be playing better but I still try not to let anyone around me see it.

I bet theo would just lay into someone

[Rickles]

I sometimes say crap, after a bad shot, but usually I say "c'est la vie" and move on. I was reading some of the vision 54 mental stuff and they say that it takes 5 times to ingrain a positive memory versus a negative memory. That means that if you want to have confidence when you play golf you have to really celebrate the good shots and shrug off the bad ones. Most of us do the opposite we get angry at the bad shots and then act like it's no big deal and that's what we meant to do when we hit a good one.

 

Getting angry only makes you play worse by robbing you of your confidence in the future. It's a vicious downward spiral. I bet that if most of us would make a commitment to make little to no reaction after our bad shots and really celebrate our good shots we would play better as our round went on. Lets try it and upward spiral!

[whiskey golf]

I don't really do anything after a bad shot unless it's every shot then like after a bad drive I may hit my driver on the ground but not anything extreme, just raise it a little and bring it down. I don't throw clubs or yell, I'll curse but it's only to myself and I try to keep it to a minimum. I try to not let golf get to me.

[SMRT]

I tend to curse a lot. It does not have to be on bad shots though. I have made some shots that someone at my skill level should not pull off. I think I curse more on those than the bad ones.

 

Now I do my best laugh off bad shots because they are so bad that if I did not laugh I would have to quit. Mostly those 20 yard chips that go 5 yards or 50 yards.

 

Golf is hard and I know my skills have a long way to go before I can say I am a good golfer so I just take the bad with the good and enjoy being on the course playing this amazing game.

 

It took me a couple of seasons to be able to laugh at myself on those misses but since I have I enjoy the game so much more than before.

[RookieBlue7]

I used to be the guy that beat his bag up and broke a club or two when playing badly. I haven't in years save the Scotty this past year. I had a good round going in a tournament and jabbed a 3 footer to win a pile of cash. Snapped it over my knee and immediately regretted it.

 

I normally don't get mad at all. Generally laugh and make fun of myself. But occasionally I'll be in a bad mood and take it out on myself .

[RoverRick]

I remember when I was 12 and my grandfather was teaching me how to drive his truck, I hit a post going through a gate and just sat there waiting for him to explode.  After a few minutes he said, "Why the hell are we just sitting here?  You have already hit it, now figure out what to do and do it."  This is my philosophy on the course. 

 

However, that does not mean I do not get mad.  If I miss a shot I will perhaps say something that would offend half the alliances and associations in the world.  If I continually do the same thing over and over I will get really angry and perhaps pound a club into the ground.  I will say that I never get very mad on the green.  I have hit really great putts that did not go in the hole and have hit some terrible ones that have so they even out.

 

However, one should keep their emotions somewhat even.  You would never run around the course, jumping and screaming simply because you made a good shot, so why should you stomp around yelling and throwing clubs or something like that when you make a bad shot.  A fist pump when the shot is good with perhaps some verbal accompaniment when it is a good shot.  Therefore, I also see nothing wrong with chastising yourself when you mess up however, when the club goes into the bag so does the emotion.  After all, "you have already hit it, now figure out what to do and do it."

 

Good or bad you have already hit that shot and can't have it back.

[BIG STU]

My golfing attitude has changed a full 360 since I don't play money competitions or gamble for big money any more. I used to get mad at myself and throw and break clubs.Back in those days I probably threw and broke more clubs than Tommy Bolt. Not proud of it just stating facts. Now I am lackluster maybe too lackluster I just hit it find it and hit it again. I don't really get into my focused mental zone like I used to. I take time to stop and smell the roses so to speak. I enjoy the view so to speak look at the birds and nature enjoy the beautiful course for what it is. I do get mad at myself now and then but I think what the heck? I aint loosing any money here. I have been enteraining the thought of playing a couple of mini events next year but I don't know if I will like getting in the mental zone required for me to compete. Heck I am enjoying myself playing like I am now lackluster don't give a hoot don't care if I shoot 75 or 85 just having fun

[kygolfer1980]

I used to get very angry on the course and have even broken a few shafts.  Always felt like an ass afterwards but didn't stop me from repeating it.  I got to thinking that when my son starts playing,  it won't be acceptable for him to act like that so I got my emotions under control as he will soak up everything I do.  I regret ever throwing that 1st club,  there is no acceptable reason to do it.

[dru_]

I don't find that I have much temper over my own play, but..  I really do not cope well with playing partners that are utterly disrespectful of the course, game and people around them.  Slow play, rude play.  These things can set me off.

[revkev]

I used to have a terrible temper on the golf course and with the trumpet. The rising cost of equipment in both arenas caused me to reconsider how to handle my temper. I'm a much better person for it. In golf I will quietly swing and visualize the proper result after a bad shot that helps me let it go. I quit playing the trumpet. That was tough but I had to do it.

[Maverickping]

When I started golf in 1999 I got mad once with my nephew and my brother there. Sweared, threw a club and saw my nephew with a smile on his face. Right away I understood the error I'd made. Said I was sorry and that was the last time. Under my breath "once in a while" I might say something but nobody would ever know. I play golf to have fun and understand my limitations, so I just enjoy being out there.

[SPY ZINGER]

I never get angry at anything on the golf course. I'm not good enough to get mad at myself.

[EJ Mac]

I quit the game about 3 years ago because of it becoming too tasking and no longer an enjoyable hobby, along with spending more time being angry and full of unrealistic expectations. I struggle with the expectation aspect to this day, knowing good and well I can hit the shots, even with my limited knowledge and experience of the game, to be a single digit capper. I tend to vent too hard at times but it is over very quickly. My goal for the next year is to end that altogether and learn to be an iceman and thankful to be on the course. 

[silver & black]

Being as I started this thread, I should come clean. I am somewhat gifted as an athlete. I could play baseball, football, tennis, etc...

 

When I took up golf I figured it couldn't possibly be that hard. LOL! Golf is the most challenging game/sport I have ever tried to be good at. I have been so mad at times I could spit nails over this game. I will tell you that I have never thrown or broken a club over it. I have cursed and hit the ground with a club or two...lol. I attribute my training in martial arts to maintaining a cool head on the golf course.... for the most part.

 

I don't care so much about swearing or hitting your club on the ground as I do about throwing, breaking clubs and being a general ******* on the golf course.

 

We are all human. We all expect better of ourselve's. That said, this game is not one that is in any way able to be mastered. some of you can play at a very high level. most of us struggle to be somewhat better than average. The point I was making with this thread was/is...... do you have fun even though it doesn't go as you had hoped?

[SeeRed]

"...do you have fun even though it doesn't go as you had hoped?"

 

This is timely, as my game has taken an ugly-ish turn lately. I have been able to control my temper but not my disgust or disappointment on the course. What can I say? Like many who have posted here, I have high expectations of myself. However, during my most recent round we were coming up the 9th fairway and could hear the guy on #1 berating himself after every less-than-perfect shot. Clearly, he was not having fun. It didn't really sink in at the time because I was struggling with my own swing troubles, but has become clearer to me since. I really do still pursue this game to have fun. It will be important for me to remember this going forward.

 

BTW RPII, yours was a great story that really made me stop and think about my own reactions and the perspective through which I see my own experiences on the course- never mind how others might see me as well. Thanks for sharing.