Assuming you have been playing for a number of years, are you expressing more anger/frustration on the course or have you mellowed?

[Wu1f]

As I've mentioned several times before, I just started playing again this year after being away from golf for 15 years.  Back then I let frustration get the best of me from time to time.  A very telling story is that my best friend started calling me "dumba$$."  I finally asked him what was with the abuse.  He said that's what I called myself after almost every shot, so it seemed appropriate.  Ouch. 

I look back at me then and have to admit that it's kind of embarrassing.  While I still get frustrated, I have mellowed and accept that bad shots are just part of the game.  I tell myself that it just makes the next shot even more challenging and fun.  Plus I don't want to be thought of as "one of those golfer" or as a "dumba$$."

[MNBogies]

I’ll admit I let frustration get the best of me a little sometimes after crappy shots. I bought my first cart this year and walking to my next shot has given me the chance to forget about that shot, take a breath, and start planning out my next shot.


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[Tom the Golf Nut]

They call me Mellow Yello

I don’t let anything bother me. A bad shot is dismissed or laughed at. If you let it bother you you’re going to add stress into your next shot. Stress in golf is a sure killer. 
I have a good friend that a golfer. After a round or two I found that although we were great friends, we just weren’t good golfing partners. He gets so mad after a bad shot. He throws a temper tantrum, curses, throws his clubs. Not just tossing his club aside but full helicopter mode. Usually further than his ball went. His stress affected my game.

Lucky for me I moved out of state many years ago and we are still great friends. We just don’t play golf together. Luckily I never had to hurt his feelings by refusing to play with him. Trying to calm him down on the course was an exercise in futility. 

 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

I have massively mellowed out. Started playing in college and was admittedly used to being able to pick up a sport and not suck at it. Golf was the exact opposite. So as a college kid who played baseball, being bad at something really ticked me off lol. Over time as I’ve come to understand the game much, much more, I’ve realized that getting mad does nothing but make everything worse and make it unenjoyable. Which is the exact opposite reason I play. 

[elight]

Understanding the game better has helped me to avoid the meltdown. I used to meltdown out of frustration because I was playing terribly but didn't know why. It seemed like nothing worked and I felt helpless. Once I learned why I was getting these results, I came to peace with it - at least it made sense. Unfortunately I can't fix everything overnight but at least I can accept the reasons for my poor play and know there's a path to improving. 

[unccross]

I’m just starting my second go at golf after a dozen years off. Started back to spend more time with my dad and have really been enjoying it.  I pretty much quit because I was getting upset most times I played, if I didn’t play well. This go around it’s just about being out and a break from other stress in my life. 

[GolfSpy_BEN]

I’ve posted about this a couple of times, but it bears repeating. I’ve adopted the goldfish approach to golf and it has made my rounds profoundly more enjoyable. After each shot and/or hole, I think about it for ten seconds and then forget it and move on to the next. Never get too high or low and maintain an even keel throughout the round. When I was younger, a bad hole had a way of sticking with me and my rounds would snowball. Age and experience have taught me that one bad shot or hole doesn’t ruin a round, but a couple certainly can, so focus on the task at hand and let the bad thoughts/stuff go.

[Preeway]

Over the course of 18 holes I might get mad at a shot or two but tantrums, never. Same can be said for the highs as well. I once birdied two of the first three holes and was fairly non-chalant when teeing off on the 4th hole. It took a long time but I came to learn you have to play one shot at a time and have a short memory if you want to play well. 

[Another Steve]

I was “that *******” when i was young, yelling, swearing, generally being obnoxious. Was quite an embarrassment to my mentor. Then I got a clue. As a longtime member of CTA “club throwers anonymous” I will say that golf definitely helped me to learn to just let it go (pun intended)…… helicopter a driver 50+ yards down the fairway- check. Bury putter past the top of the neck in the green - check but not proud of it and I did an ok job fixing the hole. Snap shaft(s) across knee - multiple checks.

I had to learn that while it could be advantageous to channel anger back into the game (or literally into my opponent in the case of hockey), golf requires a more zen-like approach. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

I'd say I'm the same. I'm not one to get overly high or low on either side.

A lot more level headed and just enjoy being out golfing when I can be.

My expectations are a lot higher now then they were but my attitude really hasn't changed much. 

[berkeleybob]

I’ve noticed that whenever I’m golfing with other folks, my temper is pretty even throughout the game. It used to freak me out when I first started playing with strangers. I wasn’t throwing tantrums, but my shots would run wild and I was definitely getting frustrated that it showed by the time I made it to the green.

In fact, now I’ve had better scores when playing with others than when I’m playing alone. I’d be playing fine, but I two bad shots in a row on the same hole and my mind has a mini meltdown. It’s possible playing with others has a grounding effect for me. 

[Rob Person]

While I haven't been playing a long time (under 2 years) I can't say I have ever had a tantrum or wild outburst on the course. (I did have a heated argument after a round with the group in front of us once,  but they literally started it with an intense temper tantrum).

My introduction to actually playing golf is a little different though. Had a truly bad shift at work.  Next day it was still in my head and couldn't snap out of it. My co-shift Sgt. Said let's go whack some balls at the range. It forced me to concentrate on something other than thoughts. It worked! Next off duty day, he asked if I'd join him for a round, and I did. I dug out my inherited set of 25 year old clubs, and off we went.

Golf for me is an outlet for the day to week stresses my job carries. Admittedly,  it started out as just a game of Whack-F@&%! we played a slow paced, rarely busy, local course once a month. We partied a little (nothing Obnoxious, we are public servants after all)

Then I started ENJOYING the game, started to improve, and suddenly started to want more! 

Sure, I get frustrated at bad shots, but like was mentioned, i take the next.club out, and focus on my next shot.

when I play golf, it separates/removes my work from my head. It's MY healthy place when im on the course.

 

[ParFore74x]

I still get frustrated from time to time but usually I can get past it pretty quick nowadays.  I still have the occasional “can’t seem to do anything right” round but I’ve accepted that not every round can be an improvement or record round. Golf is full of ups and downs and dealing with the downs goes a long way to improving enjoyment. One if my biggest realizations over the last couple years us that a bad shot doesn’t need to define a hole. Some if my worst tee shots still end up with a par on the hole due to a great recovery shot or solid up & down. That’s a gratifying feeling and can make the whole round better. 

[Rob Person]

25 minutes ago, ParFore74x said:

I still get frustrated from time to time but usually I can get past it pretty quick nowadays.  I still have the occasional “can’t seem to do anything right” round but I’ve accepted that not every round can be an improvement or record round. Golf is full of ups and downs and dealing with the downs goes a long way to improving enjoyment. One if my biggest realizations over the last couple years us that a bad shot doesn’t need to define a hole. Some if my worst tee shots still end up with a par on the hole due to a great recovery shot or solid up & down. That’s a gratifying feeling and can make the whole round better. 

Absolutely! We've all had bad shots, bad rounds, bad weeks! But maaannnn, there is always that one GREAT shot that just boosts you up too!

[Josh Parker]

I'm pretty level headed.  I have had rounds where I have gotten in my own head but never tantrums.  

[Byrnzee]

11 hours ago, GolfSpy_BEN said:

I’ve posted about this a couple of times, but it bears repeating. I’ve adopted the goldfish approach to golf and it has made my rounds profoundly more enjoyable. After each shot and/or hole, I think about it for ten seconds and then forget it and move on to the next.

This mindset aligns well with Tiger's 10-step rule too: he may get angry after hitting a bad shot, but he only allows himself to be angry for 10 steps and then he forgets about it and moves on.

I like to think of myself as a fairly mellow guy, but obviously golf can be an infuriating sport at times. I have been trying to apply the mindset that @GolfSpy_BEN and many others above have stated where I try to make the best out of every situation. Approach each shot as a new situation and figure out the best path to success from that spot.

My thought process is even a bad day on the golf course is better than a great day nearly anywhere else!

[vandyland]

I have never been an angry golfer but more a despairing/down in the dumps golfer. While not cursing or throwing clubs, it still impacts those you are playing with so I have tried (and mostly succeeded) to mask my overall disappointment in my game or my swing or my decision making from my playing partners. I think the despair comes from practicing a lot and investing a lot of time in working on my golf swing only to see the same (or worse) errors and bad shots. I erroneously believe that if I put a certain amount of time in it will yield better results, but golf doesn't always work that way. 

[StrokerAce]

I think part of learning to become a better golfer is also learning to let go. 
Yes, it sucks to follow a great shot with a bad one.
Yes, it is maddening to miss gimme putts.

But until I could acknowledge it, accept it and move on, it carried over and that wasn't good. 
Don't get me wrong; it's hard, really hard... maybe the hardest thing to do while you're playing, but it makes for a much more enjoyable experience and better scores once you figure it out.

Just as a side note: watching tournaments on television sometimes it's hard with a majority of the players to tell whether they hit a good shot or bad shot. Chris Kirk is a great example. He smoked a 5iron to 2 feet on the 17th hole to basically win the tournament and he didn't even smile.

Jordan Spieth is kind of the opposite (lol) he is an emotional guy and I love when the mic is close enough to hear his chatter.

[Another Steve]

Nothing wrong with showing your emotions or chastising yourself for messing up a shot - and knowing what you did to mess it up - the key is to let it go before you pull the next club out of the bag. 

Edited January 9 by Another Steve

[Dweed]

22 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

They call me Mellow Yello

 

Das right, das right.

Oh what a great song for the course.  I used to get pretty PO'd on bad shots. Years ago I thought I'd rid myself of frustration on one bad shot and I slung my 7 iron down the fairway. No one in front of me. Result of such action? I tore my right bicep and that severely limited my golf for months while it healed. 15 years later, my right bicep still has excessive bulge.  I can feel it when I'm trying to lift too much. I learned to keep my golf shot emotions in check. It also helped with lots of practice I became a much better golfer, so I have fewer bad shots than before. Still get some for sure but...

[Stuka44]

"NO MORE PULLING A  PUNDERSON"

I have mentioned this in a couple different places.  "Pulling a Punderson" is what my two older brothers and I now refer to the incident as, when I quit after 9 holes, and unstrapped my bag from the cart, and walked off the course.  The course was PUNDERSON state park, golf course.  My game had began to wane  when I had stopped working shift work, and would often be working 3p-11p, and would play 3-4 times per week, and was on days with weekends off playing only 1 time a week.  My expectations did not come down like the amount of rounds a week I was playing had.

NEEDLESS to say I pulled a Punderson, after shots on the first 9 that didn't meet my now unrealistic expectations.   THANKFULLY I was able to overcome this UTTERLY, embarrassing  tantrum, on the way home, about a 35 minute drive.   I realized that at 57, my two older bothers being 8 &10 years older than me, that we,  all of us, were closer to the end, than the beginning, and that every minute together was precious. 

SOME of you may get this movie reference, but I realized that if "Patch Adams" had built an Ass-H%@*, that's how big of one I had been.  I swore that I would NEVER, let anything about this game bother me EVER, again.  I am happy to say I am still 100%, and I don't even worry about "pulling a Punderson" anymore.   I have logged  a few 8's, 9's, and even a 1 PUTT 10, with 3 or 4 tree ricochets in the middle, AND HAVE DONE IT ALL WITH A SMILE ON MY FACE.

I don't want to sound like the grim reaper, or that I know ANYTHING AT ALL! BUT

Do NOT! Let this game rob you of the one thing, you can't get more of, ENJOYABLE time on the course with People You Care About!

[higherplane]

About 6 years ago played on a somewhat unusual course with an 150 yard par 3 that had the worlds biggest pricker bush in front of the green. Below the bush had about 1000 golf balls. Started laughing at this setup and have not gotten truly upset since.   Try to focus on basics when shots go wrong.