Positive or negative

[RickyBobby_PR]

What is your reaction and follow on actions after a bad shot or a bad result from a good swing/stroke?  Are you negative snd critical in your mind over your swing, the result, the shot and start the thought process on what to do to fix it? Or are you more positive with thoughts like it’s golf and bad shots/swings happen and then forget about that shot and when you get to the next shot just focus on executing that one?

[RickyBobby_PR]

For me I’m a mixed bag over the year or so. If I have a few bad ones in a row or a few holes with only a good swing/result then I start focusing on mechanics of the swing and get away from playing golf and the shot in front of me.

the prior two years I was 99% positive and it allowed me to lay some of my best rounds.

This year I couldn’t string anything together. I would have a good or ok round followed by several bad ones. My goal in 2019 is to get back to just playing the shot in front of me and not worrying about the score on the previous holes or the bad shots 

[Mr. 82]

Hell, I'm negative over a good shot, so don't even get me started on bad shots.

[perseveringgolfer]

Stands over shot...........

"don't go out of bounds"

"don't go out of bounds"

"don't go out of bounds"

"don't go out of bounds"

 

DANG! I KNEW I was going to do that!!

 

...and repeat 

 

[ga_pike]

Bad result from a good shot?  All depends.  When I switched irons, I started nuking balls over greens.  It happens.  But if I start shanking or something, then it's not a good shot, even if I feel like I'm putting a good move on the ball...  so outside of learning new clubs or something like a divot or unraked bunker...  I'm not sure how you get a bad result out of a good shot.  

 

Also, per Willie Nelson's rules of golf, if you hit a shot but can't find the ball, take a free drop because someone will eventually find it and pick it up at which point it becomes a stolen ball and you are entitled to free relief.  

[RickyBobby_PR]

4 minutes ago, ga_pike said:

Bad result from a good shot?  All depends.  When I switched irons, I started nuking balls over greens.  It happens.  But if I start shanking or something, then it's not a good shot, even if I feel like I'm putting a good move on the ball...  so outside of learning new clubs or something like a divot or unraked bunker...  I'm not sure how you get a bad result out of a good shot.  

 

Also, per Willie Nelson's rules of golf, if you hit a shot but can't find the ball, take a free drop because someone will eventually find it and pick it up at which point it becomes a stolen ball and you are entitled to free relief.  

Some examples would be land in a divot in the fairway, hit a sprinkler head on approach to the green. Bad luck happens even when we make a good swing or putting stroke. 

[DaveP043]

I do my best to be positive leading into each and every shot.  I've played for 50 years, I've hit a lot of good shots, so I refuse to dwell on the bad ones.  I do my best not to do anything special to "make up" for a bad shot, or a bad stretch, my normal routine should work pretty well most times.  And to be honest, bad shots are just as much a part of my "normal" game as the good shots are, I have to expect (and accept) at least a few of them.

17 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Some examples would be land in a divot in the fairway, hit a sprinkler head on approach to the green. Bad luck happens even when we make a good swing or putting stroke. 

There's no question that luck is a part of golf, and sometimes we get a bad result from a good swing.  You've gotta roll with those, and give the next shot your best effort.  After all, sometimes a ball bounces out of the trees and into the fairway, its not like you deserved what you got when that happens.  

[JAGolfore]

My reaction to a bad shot has evolved over the years.  When I was younger I would get upset and it would hurt the rest of my game.  As I have gotten older though I have learned to not get upset.  My game is at a point I can recover quickly and that is what I try to remember. 

As for a positive shot, I try to keep my calm.  We all hit good shots that make us excited.  That's why we play.  You most certainly can hit a good shot or hit the shot exactly how you want and have it not work out.  That's golf.  I feel if I can keep my mind on the task at hand then I will have a fun round and not let one shot good or bad change things. 

I have a new way of thinking for 2019 and I think it is going to be my best year in a long time.

[fixyurdivot]

35 minutes ago, ga_pike said:

Also, per Willie Nelson's rules of golf, if you hit a shot but can't find the ball, take a free drop because someone will eventually find it and pick it up at which point it becomes a stolen ball and you are entitled to free relief.  

I had no idea Willie played here in Yuma. 

In my early years, I reacted negatively to bad shots.  As the years rolled along, that changed and, while I won't say I'm "positive" about a poor shot, I no longer beat myself up over it and now just shrug it off.

[cnosil]

Bad result from a good shot is basically a oh well type of response since I have no control over the result. It could just as easily have been a good result from a bad shot.

I may occasionally half heartedly bang club on ground when I make a bad swing. Only lasts a moment and then I just move on. When I hit a bad pitch shot it is mostly frustration.

Overall I think I am pretty level headed during my rounds and keep my emotions in check.

[chisag]

... Playing QB was a great training aid for playing golf. If I threw a pick or a bad pass and let myself get down, it would hurt my team. They are looking at me in the huddle to lead by example and the only way to do that is focus on the positive and the play I am about to execute. Golf is really no different with the exception of YOU are the TEAM and you only hurt yourself when you embrace the negative.

... The brain is an amazing thing and when you tell it to do something it will most definitely respond. "I suck" or "I cannot putt"  is received and the brain will do its best to fulfill your mandate. Of course we are human and some of us are more competitive than others, so dealing with poor shots or even worse, poor results from good shots is something we have to learn to deal with and then figure out what works best for us. I will certainly have a momentary inner burst of frustration and disappointment, usually with the most egregious admonition we all can muster .... our names. A frustrated outburst of "SAM!" when I hold onto my driver, attempting to steer it and of course achieve the opposite, watching a high weak fade slide into the woods on a tight driving hole. So a good 5 seconds of admonishment and then it is gone, replaced by a positive focus on my next shot. 

... I am reminded of a story where 2 young players were at Ben Hogans tournament and were arguing over which shot is the most important shot in golf, a drive or a putt and they posited their philosophical dilemma to Hogan. "You want to know what shot is the most important shot in golf? It's the one you have right now". And the only way to give yourself the best chance at success is having a positive attitude approaching the most important shot in golf, the one you have now. 

[Golfspy_CG2]

What's the old saying, "I'm not good enough to get mad?"  I try to keep that in mind.  Generally one bad shot won't get me down for more than a couple moments,  unless it was a really simple shot say a 20 yard pitch that I just flat laid the sod over or a simple bunker shot, that I left in the bunker.    Then I get a bit more angry over a stupid shot.   It would take a series of bad holes in a row to really get me down and affect my game.

Along the same lines, I don't starting thinking I've got this game licked and on my way to a + handicap after making a couple birdies in a row 

[perseveringgolfer]

16 minutes ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

What's the old saying, "I'm not good enough to get mad?"  I try to keep that in mind. 

I like that, I'm going to use that in future if you don't mind.

[GB13]

I used to be terribly negative, and it affected my love for the game and my scores negatively. I have tried to be more positive and it has really helped my scores and my it has made me love the game even more. 

[chisag]

... A second piece of my disc cracked off and was pressing against my spinal cord and I needed another surgery, 3 years after my first surgery. I was pretty negative as I was just getting my golf game back. Why me? Why another surgery? Could it get any worse? As someone that had always maintained a positive attitude I was really feeling pretty sorry for myself, doing some stretching exercises while a young girl in her mid 20's was doing the same exercise at the table next to me. I briefly told her how unlucky I was and this was my SECOND surgery and my golf game was going to suffer another year of adjustments. I had to quit teaching golf and sorry for complaining but I was just feeling kinda discouraged. I asked if she was rehabbing a back injury and if so, at her age she would be better in no time, while at age 43 I was not so lucky and I was in for a long rehab. What she replied still stays with me every single day.

... She said she had terminal cancer and was expected to live another 4 to 6 months and wanted to keep up the quality of her life for as long as she was still alive. I played football for 13 years and had some catastrophic blind side hits, but that was by far the hardest I have ever been hit. For one of the few times in my life I was absolutely speechless as there was nothing I could say after bemoaning my "misfortune" while she stared death in the face. I finally apologized and she finished her exercises and as she walked away smiled and said "good luck with your golf game". The fact that she was sincere still brings tears to my eye as I type this.  So a bad shot or bad round isn't even a blip on my radar and I try and be thankful for every day I am alive. 

[GolfSpy MPR]

I've tended to be really hard on myself as well. The biggest factor in starting to break that is seeing my attitude show up in my son. What might seem ordinary when I do it (the disgusted club drop) looks really ugly in a five-year-old. Having your reactions mirrored to you in your children can be a gift.

[robertson153]

I like to keep things neutral. Have a good time, don’t dwell on the bad shots/unlucky breaks, don’t think I’m better than what I am. One of the best pieces of advise I’ve received is “Don’t follow a bad shot with a bad decision.” If I hook one in the woods, don’t try to Phil one through 6 trees. Punch out or take a drop and move on. Playing smarter has really helped cut back on the anger I used to have on the course.


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[tony@CIC]

Unfortunately the competitive side of me mixed in with a good dose of OCD results in a pretty negative attitude when things don't go well. I know that the major block to improvement is this negativity - so that's a key objective for next year.


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[golfertrb]

When I was a younger man I was pretty hard on myself and negative. As I have grown older and matured I have looked at a bad shot as an opportunity to have an incredible up and down :) I have had two back surgeries, including a fusion, and that has had an incredible impact on my outlook on life. I could have been killed but I wasn't - I could have been in a position to never play golf again but that didn't happen. This year I was able to play once a week and even a few times a week during vacation. I'm able to speak and pastor a small church AND play golf?? Pretty awesome :) Amazingly, my improved attitude has an overwhelming positive impact on my scores as well.


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[EthanSterlingPrice]

I have Tourette’s syndrome and with that I have to focus on keeping in check because emotional highs and lows can go to the extreme in either direction so I try not to react too much one way or the other. One good recovery shot erases a poor shot and you can’t do too much about the previous shot.


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[Golfspy_CG2]

On 12/17/2018 at 2:30 PM, perseveringgolfer said:

I like that, I'm going to use that in future if you don't mind.

By all means do so.  It is not an original from me, just something I heard from an instructor once that he said he reminds all his students, I'm not sure where he got it from.   It's a light hearted way to remind us weekend warriors, we don't play this game for a living, so to go easy on yourself, or re set your expectations.   

[SteddyGolf]

Bad shot... you can’t unscramble eggs.

Good shot.....there’s still work to be done.


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[bens197]

My dad has a great philosophy.

If I’m not practicing enough to hit that shot perfect 8/10 then I have no reason to complain.

Just work harder and or temper my expectations.

Golf is fun even when I shoot 88.


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[revkev]

This always gets me in trouble but it’s my way and it works for me.

I get upset, take a post swing, visualize the intended result and move on to make lemonade.




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[THEZIPR23]

I'm 100% a mixed bag on this. If I hit a great shot, I walk up thinking that it could've been better. When I hit a bad shot I take a couple of seconds to compose myself and then when I get to the next shot I think how good the shot from the bad spot can be. Luckily I've hit some crazy shots from terrible positions that I know there is always a way out. 

[MaxEntropy]

Most of the time I do a decent job of maintaining a pretty even keel, but when bad shots pile up back-to-back-to-back, I can get negative in a hurry, but have gotten decent at wiping the mental slate by the next tee. I used to be terrible about remaining negative but in the last few years my attitude has improved. I think a lot of it is not having too high of expectations since I am more or less a weekend warrior and don't have the time I wish I had to practice.

[TR1PTIK]

On 12/17/2018 at 7:15 AM, RickyBobby_PR said:

What is your reaction and follow on actions after a bad shot or a bad result from a good swing/stroke?  Are you negative snd critical in your mind over your swing, the result, the shot and start the thought process on what to do to fix it? Or are you more positive with thoughts like it’s golf and bad shots/swings happen and then forget about that shot and when you get to the next shot just focus on executing that one?

Varies from day to day. I do tend to be more negative though if I had to guess. Regardless of how poorly I may hit a shot, I always stick to my pre-shot routine and try to not to compensate for an isolated incident. I'll never forget getting paired with a threesome a couple years ago at my home course. I don't think the ball hardly left the ground at all on the first hole. It got mildly better on the next hole, but not great. By the time the round was over I think I had the second lowest round in the group and one of the guy commended the way I stuck with my routine. Said something about how he was really worried it'd be a long day after the first hole, but it all came around in the end.

[GolfSpy_APH]

Although I can get frustrated my enjoyment for the game rarely leaves me with a negative attitude towards my game. I know I'll always able to do better and it sucks to have bad rounds, but in the grand scheme of things it could be a lot worse then a bad day on the course.
I think this attitude or mindset has certainly helped me improve my game and hopefully will help propel it to another level next season.

[thegolfclubdoc]

For 2019 I am going to have a different mindset. When I first started playing this great game I used a natural swinging motion, I didn't care about the clubs I used, and I shot decent scores. I felt completely comfortable. But, I let other golfers and commercialism get into my head. Guys would day that I needed to do "this" or "that" in my golf swing. I was told that if I updated my equipment I would play even better. I started to listen and subsequently began to tinker. I had changed clubs multiple times a year since then. I tried every swing tip I heard. My game was in such disarray. Last year I had a changing moment. I was teaching my 5 year old how to hit a golf ball. He has one of those plastic sets. He picks up the club, swings it at the plastic ball and makes contact. Ball flies and he looks at me as if to say "what's so hard about that?" My swing used to look like his. Just back and forth and hit the ball. So I went back to that at the end of last season and played decent golf again. Just hand/eye coordination. I don't think about anything, just swing.

As far as the mental side of things, I have played many other sports and never when playing poorly do I think to change mechanics. I was a great shooter in high school. If I missed 5 jump shot a in a row it never occurred to me to change my shooting form. I just kept shooting and eventually I would get hot. But in golf, for some reason there is this urge to change your mechanics, change your gear. I don't understand it. Anyway, that won't be me this year. I'm going to swing how I want to, use the clubs I want to, and not sweat the bad shots because I know better ones will come.

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[Charli]

Call myself an idiot and forget about it immediately