Managing Expectations

[EthanSterlingPrice]

The general trend over the last couple months is that I am struggling off the tee. Last year, I was getting off the tee very well (for me), and irons were a struggle. I took a couple lessons and have been tweaking things to get rid of a swing flaw. Iron play has improved pretty dramatically of late, but now I struggle off the tee and I'm having to recover from all sorts of strange places. The course we play for our league is not terribly long so I have started using a 3h off many tees to try to minimize the carnage.

That's a great start man don't give up on those lessons! If you find the right instructor then it makes a world of difference.

 

 

 

In the bag

Driver: Callaway Rogue Subzero 9.5 Stiff flex

3 wood: Callaway Rogue Subzero 15 degree

Hybrids: 17 degree titleist 816 h2

Irons: Ben Hogan Ptx 22-46 degree (4-pw)stiff flex standard lie

Wedges: Callaway Mac Daddy 4 50,54,58 degrees

Putter: Odyssey EXO seven

 

Gig'em Aggies!

[fixyurdivot]

My expectations about my game have evolved in the past decade.  My best handicap was 11 and that slowly climbed to about 16 during a period in my mid 40's.  Upon resuming more frequent play, I worked hard to get back to my prior level of play but simply could not.  Lessons and practice seemed more often to screw me up and I found myself getting overly frustrated internally and not having much fun just being out playing. 

 

A couple of the guys I played with while in WA simply had a "just play and have fun" approach to the game - I think it was contagious.  I now seem to have found the equilibrium point and am totally happy shooting rounds in the mid 80's. I make eagles, birdies, pars, and bogies just like the single digit amateurs and pros - just not in the same frequency. 

[Kenny B]

My expectations about my game have evolved in the past decade.  My best handicap was 11 and that slowly climbed to about 16 during a period in my mid 40's.  Upon resuming more frequent play, I worked hard to get back to my prior level of play but simply could not.  Lessons and practice seemed more often to screw me up and I found myself getting overly frustrated internally and not having much fun just being out playing. 

 

A couple of the guys I played with while in WA simply had a "just play and have fun" approach to the game - I think it was contagious.  I now seem to have found the equilibrium point and am totally happy shooting rounds in the mid 80's. I make eagles, birdies, pars, and bogies just like the single digit amateurs and pros - just not in the same frequency. 

If you come back to WA, let me know and we will tee it up.  My wife and I don't get to Montana much anymore, but she has family in Spokane, CdA, and Sandpoint.

[cksurfdude]

Good topic, "Max"!

(Side bit: impressed one of my bosses early in my Wall St. career when we were riding an elevator together and I remarked, about the dispersion of people relative to the area of the elevator floor, "..good example of maximum entropy")

 

I'd like to also distinguish between "expectations" and "goals" - agree that they are two different things.

 

For example, as a bogey+ golfer, but one with decent ball-striking skills, I "expect" to hit each and every shot solidly and have it end up kinda near where I'd intended.

 

But......

 

My "goals" on the course, for any round, include...

.. Hitting more than half the fairways

.. Hitting 3/4 greens on Par 3s

.. getting down in 3 if I'm 125 yds or closer

.. Getting out of trouble in one shot

.. Get the first putt very close

And,

.. Keeping calm and focusing on the next shot :-)

[MaxEntropy]

Good topic, "Max"!

(Side bit: impressed one of my bosses early in my Wall St. career when we were riding an elevator together and I remarked, about the dispersion of people relative to the area of the elevator floor, "..good example of maximum entropy")

 

I'd like to also distinguish between "expectations" and "goals" - agree that they are two different things.

 

For example, as a bogey+ golfer, but one with decent ball-striking skills, I "expect" to hit each and every shot solidly and have it end up kinda near where I'd intended.

 

But......

 

My "goals" on the course, for any round, include...

.. Hitting more than half the fairways

.. Hitting 3/4 greens on Par 3s

.. getting down in 3 if I'm 125 yds or closer

.. Getting out of trouble in one shot

.. Get the first putt very close

And,

.. Keeping calm and focusing on the next shot :-)

Cool story on maximum entropy! I'm a physics geek so the nickname is somewhat relevant.

 

Last year I was really struggling on the course one day, getting frustrated, and not having fun at all. The guy I was playing with (happens to be very similar skill level as me) kept talking about "his" par, which for him was a bogey. It helped me level my expectations somewhat and helped me calm down.

 

I'm with you, though. These days I "expect" to not miss by too terribly much and I don't get too wound up about a decent sized miss as long as I made solid contact. After many responses here and thinking back, I suck at getting out of trouble. Sure, it would be nice to not get in trouble as much as I do, but I need to not try so many risky shots. It would be great if one of these guys who offered advice and are much better than me were with me and questioned my intentions to get me thinking about what I'm trying to accomplish.

 

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[HardcoreLooper]

Last year I was really struggling on the course one day, getting frustrated, and not having fun at all. The guy I was playing with (happens to be very similar skill level as me) kept talking about "his" par, which for him was a bogey. It helped me level my expectations somewhat and helped me calm down.

This. This is it. At the first tee, we teach kids how to figure out what their personal par is for any hole and to play for that. I like for people to keep a handicap (even if it's not official), because you can use that to calculate a total personal par for any golf course (two over par plus your handicap). Do that and you'll find that you probably don't need to do anything crazy on any given hole. After each tee shot, you can decide if it makes sense to play aggressively or conservatively.

 

After many responses here and thinking back, I suck at getting out of trouble. Sure, it would be nice to not get in trouble as much as I do, but I need to not try so many risky shots. It would be great if one of these guys who offered advice and are much better than me were with me and questioned my intentions to get me thinking about what I'm trying to accomplish.

When you're in trouble, what are you trying to accomplish? Going back to my days as a caddie, my advice was always to hit a shot that:

 

1. Will get the ball back into play

2. You are 100% certain you can hit

 

This may be punching out sideways, or even backwards.

 

Spend at least a little time practicing this shot. As for the shot to hit, it really depends upon the kind of rough you usually play. Our bermuda rough is often not that thick, so a low, rolling shot with a little velocity will hop through it. I putt with a nice big mallet, and I'll often punch out with it. You can't keep these shots too low. If your rough is extremely thick, you may need to get just a little bit of height on it to get a couple of bounces out of it. This is a tougher shot.

 

When you're hitting the shot, don't try to get too much out of it. Don't get hung up on advancing the ball toward the hole unless you have a clear shot with plenty of leeway on both sides. Think about what's the worse error, leaving it in the near side rough or punching it through the fairway to the far side. Guard against the worse error and give yourself credit for a decent shot if you avoid that worse error; Don't beat yourself up for leaving it in the rough. Don't punch out toward a hazard.

 

Practice your escape shot. One of my jobs working at a club was to clean out the trees that lined the range. Up in NJ, we had thick rough, so a hooded blade 7i was my go-to shot to get out of the trees and back into play. With GI irons, there's no way I'd try to punch a 7 out unless I want it to get about 10 feet off the ground. I know it seems crazy to practice this, but having confidence in what you're doing will help you to make a confident, positive swing when it counts.

[dhartmann34]

My expectations are based on my ability. I expect to shoot at or below my handicap. If I shoot above, I'm disappointed. I want my scores to get better and in my head, if I feel if I make excuses or accept poor scores as "it is what it is" then I'm failing myself.

 

That being said, I don't dwell on the previous shot, hole, or round long. I give myself about 5 seconds to grieve on a bad shot or hole and it's on to the next one.

 

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[DaveP043]

My expectations are based on my ability. I expect to shoot at or below my handicap. If I shoot above, I'm disappointed. I want my scores to get better and in my head, if I feel if I make excuses or accept poor scores as "it is what it is" then I'm failing myself.

 

That being said, I don't dwell on the previous shot, hole, or round long. I give myself about 5 seconds to grieve on a bad shot or hole and it's on to the next one.

 

Its important to remember that 70% or more of your scores will be "above par" on a net basis.  You'll be at or below your handicap about as often as a baseball player will get a hit.  

[dhartmann34]

I understand that, but my goal is to get better....and if I aim for my handicap, then my handicap should go down. It's a lofty goal, but it's what I've been shooting for this season. If I wouldn't have had an injury I think I would have hit my 0 handicap number.

 

Its important to remember that 70% or more of your scores will be "above par" on a net basis. You'll be at or below your handicap about as often as a baseball player will get a hit.

[cksurfdude]

Words of wisdom from the funnyman golfer ClubProGuy...

(who thinks golfers should practice the art of the punch-out)

[GB13]

Words of wisdom from the funnyman golfer ClubProGuy...

(who thinks golfers should practice the art of the punch-out)[attachment=65364_Pro_Guy_shirt.jpeg]

My problem is when I punch out, I normally "punch in" to the tree that I need to go around.

My SGI irons are great for many things but punch outs aren't one of them.

[cksurfdude]

My problem is when I punch out, I normally "punch in" to the tree that I need to go around.

My SGI irons are great for many things but punch outs aren't one of them.

Do carry a hybrid (_s)? Depending on the situation, of course, with just a chipping motion they can be very effective punch-out tools.

 

Heck, I even used the putter once!

(..was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place)

[RickyBobby_PR]

My problem is when I punch out, I normally "punch in" to the tree that I need to go around.

My SGI irons are great for many things but punch outs aren't one of them.

That might be more swing/technique than club. I've used several higher lofted/larger clubs to punch out or play under tree branches with no issues

[GB13]

Do carry a hybrid (_s)? Depending on the situation, of course, with just a chipping motion they can be very effective punch-out tools.

 

Heck, I even used the putter once!

(..was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place)

No, I carry a 2 iron instead of hybrids. That is one of the things I miss about the hybrid (don't miss the hooks though). I have tried the two iron punch but I can't get enough speed on it for it to get any height. The punch with the two iron normally looks like I topped it even if I hit it in the center of the face.

[silver & black]

My problem is when I punch out, I normally "punch in" to the tree that I need to go around.

My SGI irons are great for many things but punch outs aren't one of them.

I've used driver and fairway woods for punch outs out of trees and on pine needles. It works pretty good, but you have to watch how hard you swing because it will get out there in a hurry if you aren't careful...lol.