Stupid Mistakes x 8

[doubleduhric]

8 Stupid Mistakes Every Golfer Makes - via blog.hole19golf.com

The link is to the original article. Decent read.. things we all know too well but can never hear enough. Unfortunately there was no by line provided for the write up. Enjoy!!

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8 STUPID MISTAKES EVERY GOLFER MAKES

How many avoidable mistakes would you say the average golfer makes in a single round? It isn't a low number, that's for sure. Even after a solid 18, you may walk off the final green telling anyone who'll listen how close you came to shooting the lights out.

Golf is not a game of perfect, but if you can learn to stop getting in your own way, it will become a much more enjoyable four hours away from the stresses and strains of everyday life.

While golfers can make a whole ream of mistakes throughout a round, here are some of the biggest offenders. (Those who have seen my golf game will understand this is far from an exhaustive list).

1. MISSING A TAP IN

Even the thought makes us wince - but we've all done it. If your putt stops just shy of the hole, don't just try to casually tap it in. It might be an action laced with a degree of frustration, but it's nothing compared to how you'll feel if the ball stays above ground.

It's one of the moments on the golf course where you'd be happy if the ground swallowed you up - to save you from the embarrassment if nothing else. And we all already know how to avoid them. Let's give every putt the respect it deserves.

2. PLAYING THE HERO ESCAPE

We're often told to ignore our inner critical voice on the course. Let's take that a step further: ignore the inner voice urging you to thread one through the trees when you haven't hit a straight ball all day.

When you're out of position, the absolute worst thing you can do - and we can't stress this enough - is take on a shot where the percentage chance of failure far outweighs any likelihood of success. And where the penalty for failure is severe.

OK, so the hero shot is fun. The punch shot back into the fairway is boring. We get it. Regardless, if you can salvage something from the hole by playing it safe, it's the obvious play. It doesn't matter how you scramble a bogey. As cliche as it sounds, there are no pictures on your scorecard.

3. GETTING THE WRONG YARDAGE

There's usually some fairway marker to give you the yardage to the green - the trouble is, is that to the front of the green or the middle? It can vary depending on the course you're playing, so having some way to get accurate numbers is essential.

As you already know, your Hole19 app gives you GPS yardages to the front, middle and back of every green.

4. NOT TAKING ENOUGH CLUB

Golf pros will tell you most amateur golfers overestimate how far they hit each club. Most mid-high handicappers are susceptible to leaving the ball short, and we would rarely go long (apart from the times we blade one off the back).

OK, so you smashed your pitching wedge 155 yards one sunny Thursday last. Nice one. But that doesn't mean you can expect to hit the same shot today in the depths of winter.

Only if you collect average carry and total distance data for each club - and then amend for weather and course conditions - can you ever expect to know how far you hit each club.

If you're not a data-driven golfer and are stuck deciding between two clubs on approach, grab the longest one. Making your target the back 1/3 of the green tends to lead to more greens in regulation.

5. FORGETTING TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF ELEVATION

After leaving a perfect yardage in the green light zone, you strike the ball beautifully, only to see it come up short. You forgot to take a little off into that elevated green again, didn't you!

It's an easy mistake to make, but it's particularly maddening when you stripe the ball exactly as you planned.

Maintain your concentration over the full 18 holes, stay fuelled and try to forget about previous shots (both good and bad). Keeping your head in the game will help you allow for elevation in each of your pre-shot club choices.

6. HITTING THE LIP IN FAIRWAY BUNKERS

Finding the sand from the tee is far from ideal, but don't go compounding the error by getting too greedy. Picking the golf ball clean out of the bunker is tricky enough, but when you hit it flush, you want to ensure enough loft to get back in play.

Lay up to your favourite yardage. It's always preferable to another wasted shot in the sand.

7. FAILING TO READ THE PUTT

A lot of putts are missed because golfers tend to focus on the break of a putt without actually reading it. It's important to know whether the ball will move left to right or right to left, but how much will it actually move?

Try to stand to the side of every putt to help you decide whether it's uphill or downhill, as this needs to be factored in when choosing your starting line and pace. Uphill putts will generally break less than downhill putts.

8. DWELLING ON BAD SHOTS

We've all been there. You've just made a three-putt and lost all focus as you step up to your next tee shot. There's a little pent-up anger and not a hint of a pre-shot routine as you proceed to smash your tee shot into the woods or straight OB.

After a bad shot or a bad break, remember that how you react will determine how the rest of your round pans out. Some of the world's best golfers have a form of 'short-term memory loss' - essentially the ability to stand on the next tee with a clear mind.

If you can learn to put the 3-putt, the chunked chip shot, the plugged lie, or the unlucky bounce out of your mind, you'll relieve yourself of the negative emotions that make it harder to play good golf.

 

Have a Fantastic Day folks!!

[Tom the Golf Nut]

And 9. Forgetting to put the cleats back in your golf shoes like this guy did. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

Agree with all 9! 

10. Showing up for the wrong tee time. 

[Jim Shaw]

#11, showing up for an interclub match in lots of time, at the wrong course...

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

#12 playing the wrong type of shot inside 60 yards

#13 (not every but majority) not fixing divots! @fixyurdivot

[GolfSpy_APH]

38 minutes ago, Jim Shaw said:

#11, showing up for an interclub match in lots of time, at the wrong course...

Funny story when I worked at a course called lost creek we would get at least 1 group a month who would show up for a tee time, but they had booked online and at the time we didn't have online booking so they had actually booked at the lost creek in Arizona and we were in Canada. Nearly everytime we were able to find a way to get them on the course, but we always got a good laugh about it. 

Just like in the same province ppl would show up at the Sydney airport thinking they were flying to Australia not Canada! 

[tony@CIC]

2 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Agree with all 9! 

10. Showing up for the wrong tee time. 

Showing up late or for the wrong tee time

[Stuka44]

#14)  Getting to the first green, and reaching for your putter, only to realize you've left it at home in the basement, leaning against the wall by your practice putting green.  Crap! is that just me!!

[Siamese Moose]

3 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Agree with all 9! 

10. Showing up for the wrong tee time. 

I have shown up on the wrong day.

[GolfSpy_APH]

Just now, Siamese Moose said:

I have shown up on the wrong day.

Thats happened to so many. 

We showed up to play right time and it was a bit cold and the course decided to close. Didn't tell us, email, text or anything. 2 hour drive one way...

[GolfSpy_APH]

15) Show up on time and early to practice, but the course doesn't have any practice facilities. 

[GolfSpy TCB]

17 hours ago, stuka44 said:

#14)  Getting to the first green, and reaching for your putter, only to realize you've left it at home in the basement, leaning against the wall by your practice putting green.  Crap! is that just me!!

I very much resemble that remark Stuka!

[GolfSpy TCB]

#16) Using your 60* Lob Wedge for all shots inside 100 yards (I would say except putting... but I've done that too... refer to #1)

[billybogey]

Taken me a while. Some would say "a long while" but know I'm out on a "Day Pass"; everyday I play golf!!

[barryschwartz56]

Grabbing the wrong club from the bag, i.e. a 6 instead of a 5, hitting it perfect and not knowing why it came up short until you go put it back in the bag.  Most. Frustrating. Ever.

[Golf2Much]

On 1/26/2023 at 2:46 PM, stuka44 said:

#14)  Getting to the first green, and reaching for your putter, only to realize you've left it at home in the basement, leaning against the wall by your practice putting green.  Crap! is that just me!!

That's why I just purchased a second L.A.B. Directed Force 2.1 that I could leave at home and keep one in the bag at the course.    I didn't want to take the chance of being without it!

[Golf2Much]

On 1/26/2023 at 3:33 PM, Siamese Moose said:

I have shown up on the wrong day.

In 1995 I lived in Rochester, New York and wanted to volunteer for the Ryder Cup matches at Oak Hill.  I decided to work security.  Back then our biggest security challenges were checking credentials and making sure people didn't wear metal spiked golf shoes on the course (many tried).  I decided to work double shifts on the first two days to meet my volunteer responsibilities so I could watch the remaining week as a spectator.  

Monday morning of Ryder Cup week I woke up early, put on the uniform that I had laid out the night before and drove to the parking lot.  There wasn't any cars parked at 6AM so I parked at a secondary lot I knew.  I walked through the woods in the dark, on to the course, up to the security trailer and announced I was here and ready to work.  A handful of people in the trailer looked at me confused and said "it doesn't start until tomorrow!"  Dejected, I drove back to home, neatly took off my uniform and went to work.   Needless to say, not my proudest moment. 

[James L. Marshall]

Showing up at the course with the putter at home in the basement several times over the years.  Glad to see I’m not alone!  The good karma of practicing my putting  goes out window with with the foul language and stress of sprinting home or renting/borrowing a putter.

This seems worse than all the others!!!   

 

 

 

 

[MNUte]

For No. 4, I think taking too much club also needs to be included. But that can all boil down to understanding where your miss is and thinking about your shot before shooting.

E.g., if it's a back to front green with not much behind the green, I think I'd rather take a little less club and run something up there or at worse have a chip/putt up. But if there's water or a bunker complex short and no danger long, taking more club makes sense. 

Which blends into No. 3. Knowing the yardage to both your "miss" and "make" points helps with confidence a lot. If I know my make point is 135, but I have only 5 yards of green to work with behind that and 15 yards of green in front of it, I might be looking at my 125 club and rolling it up there. 

[Kenny B]

On 1/27/2023 at 10:30 AM, barryschwartz56 said:

Grabbing the wrong club from the bag, i.e. a 6 instead of a 5, hitting it perfect and not knowing why it came up short until you go put it back in the bag.  Most. Frustrating. Ever.

My wife and I both have Callaway drivers; mine is the Epic Max, hers is the Epic Speed.  On Saturday on the #9 par 5 she hit her diver and it was short of her usual drive.  She put the driver back in her bag and noticed she now had two drivers.