How do you recover from a bad....

[chisag]

10 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

This is probably one of the reasons that I don't just quit or give up playing. You don't have to learn everything over again but every day is a new experience. It might be kinda boring if it wasn't and we could just record that perfect swing and press play every time. I have to remind myself that it's a game and to embrace the challenges.

 

... So True! I tell some of my friends that ask me how I can play 5 days a week and I tell them when I am playing well I can't wait to get back out and repeat it and when I am playing poorly I can't wait to get back out and fix it. 

[chisag]

12 minutes ago, Javs said:

Interesting mechanical approach to putting. However, I would submit that some putts are different. A fast downhill putt for one. I hit those putts on the toe of the putter. I have found hitting the putt on the toe helps kill the speed of the putt. I have become extremely confident and consistent using that technique.

 

... LOL, that's the first time anyone accused me of a mechanical approach to anything, let alone putting. My stroke is repeatable as far as staying on the same path, but everything else is pure feel. Distance, line, break and grain. I mentioned earlier I play fast downhill putts off the toe of my putter too. 

[Javs]

10 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

Yes! As well as their shoulder line. I see a lot of people either open or closed to the path with their shoulders even though their feet may be aligned. 

I agree to a point. Jack Nicklaus was arguably the best putter ever and he putted from a very open stance. He said that bent over open stance helped him see the line better. However, his hands and arms always went down the target line. Meaning you can putt from a square or open stance as long as you are consistent in rolling the ball down the target line. This requires the arms and hands working together. 

[fredsharky]

2 minutes ago, Javs said:

Agree with this above. Practice is where I think about swing or path etc. On the course my thought is where I want the ball to go and scoring. During my pre shot I determine distance, where I want to hit it and the flight I want. Then I see that shot, quiet my mind step in and pull the trigger. I am a very fast player and I do not like my mind clogged with needless thoughts. I play my best when I see it feel it and hit it, repeat. 

Yep, I am 100% in total agreement here - nothing more detrimental to your golf game than your brain. Work all that crap out on the range or putting green and once you are on the course just play. 
The thing about golf is that every day is different, one day you shoot the best round of your life (68) just out of the blue and the very next day you shoot a 95 on the same course with almost the exact same conditions - one day I was just playing the next day I was trying to play 

[Javs]

5 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... LOL, that's the first time anyone accused me of a mechanical approach to anything, let alone putting. My stroke is repeatable as far as staying on the same path, but everything else is pure feel. Distance, line, break and grain. I mentioned earlier I play fast downhill putts off the toe of my putter too. 

Sorry I was referencing the statement “Since every putt, even one that breaks 10 feet, is a straight stroke through the ball, every putting stroke should be exactly the same”. Wasn’t implying you were mechanical. Just analyzing the strike aspect.

[Javs]

8 minutes ago, fredsharky said:

Yep, I am 100% in total agreement here - nothing more detrimental to your golf game than your brain. Work all that crap out on the range or putting green and once you are on the course just play. 
The thing about golf is that every day is different, one day you shoot the best round of your life (68) just out of the blue and the very next day you shoot a 95 on the same course with almost the exact same conditions - one day I was just playing the next day I was trying to play 

Agree even the best in the world struggle. All we can do is try to stay out of our own way!

[chisag]

15 minutes ago, Javs said:

Sorry I was referencing the statement “Since every putt, even one that breaks 10 feet, is a straight stroke through the ball, every putting stroke should be exactly the same”. Wasn’t implying you were mechanical. Just analyzing the strike aspect.

 

... You left out "Just a shorter or longer stroke." which brings feel totally into play. All good amigo.   I think we see the printed word differently as well as having our own perspectives. cnosil and I have gone back and forth over the years with mechanics vs feel when it comes to putting. But deep down I think we are probably very similar, we just go about it differently. 

 

[Javs]

13 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... You left out "Just a shorter or longer stroke." which brings feel totally into play. All good amigo.   I think we see the printed word differently as well as having our own perspectives. cnosil and I have gone back and forth over the years with mechanics vs feel when it comes to putting. But deep down I think we are probably very similar, we just go about it differently. 

 

Yes sometimes reading a post without in person perspective is hard. I am also a feel player. Heck I hit all my clubs various distances depending on the shot I am seeing. I have been known to choke down halfway on the grip to take a longer club and flight it down a certain distance. When I was younger I used to experiment with all kinds of shots when I was working the range. I think feel players have more fun! 

[cnosil]

56 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... I am reminded of Freddie that once said he is striving for perfection even though he knows it is unattainable and accepts what he has that day. I admire your goals even though I think it is impossible to move your hands and body the same way with so many moving parts at such high speed. Speaking of Freddie, I watched him hit his opening tee shot in a Tournament and hooked it OB. Teed up again and did the same thing. Teed up a 3rd time and just bombed it down the middle. It was a turning point for me because if Couples can hit 2 really bad tee shots in a row, what chance do I have to not hit bad tee shots because my hands and body didn't react the way they should? Still the goal, but I became much more understanding that on any given day I can hit some horrendous shots. 

... Pia Nilsson and Vision 54 says everyday your swing is different depending on things like how much sleep, what you ate, stresses in your life away from golf and a myriad of other things that effect your swing on any given day. The key is making your swing that day work to your max benefit. 

I am realistic and know that players hit less than perfect shots and are swings aren't perfect; that's why the driver dispersion pattern for a PGA pro is about 60 yards wide.   When something in our swing gets off we make adjustments to be able to accomplish the goal of hitting the ball.   I just think that that type variation also happens with the putter.  You don't hit the ball as far so the dispersion/variation appears smaller.    If the putter head droops a little too much you have to make a compensation to get the center of the putter back to the center of the ball at the correct face angle.  

Like you have said our goal with putting is to aim the putter face where we want the ball to go and swing the putter with the face going straight through the ball where the face was aimed   it sounds simple, but we do have variation.  This past weekend Rory three putted from 2 feet which requires a significant variation or really terrible aim. 

[LinksgolfFever]

I agree with all of the above.  For me, all of my practice time is focused on where I have fallen short in previous rounds (on the range, the putting green, short game area, etc.).  When I get on the course I limit myself to a singular thought of the day.  E.G., tempo, timing, alignment.  My music helps keep the mind quiet, (earbuds only).  

[chisag]

43 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Like you have said our goal with putting is to aim the putter face where we want the ball to go and swing the putter with the face going straight through the ball where the face was aimed   it sounds simple, but we do have variation.  This past weekend Rory three putted from 2 feet which requires a significant variation or really terrible aim. 

 

... I have mentioned this before but you would love or hate my home course. I have over 500 rounds and still miss read putts. We have experimented quite a few times and a putt from the exact same length but 6 inches to one side or the other can and will do radically different things. The putting surface is like the ocean with very small basically imperceivable waves that make similar putts do different things. Additionally many putts need a perfect line and speed to go in. Having played on bent greens, a putt just outside the whole that breaks a little can break in the top with one speed or break into the bottom with a slower speed.

... On these Gary Panks greens at Aguila that isn't the case. A putt 3" outside the hole can break 1" and then putting it again 1" outside the hole it will break 6". I have hit the same speed putts in a scenario like that and only one line at one speed will go in the hole. It is equally frustrating and a fun challenge at the same time. Like I said, over 500 rounds and every putt is a new adventure! 

Edited January 22 by chisag

[billpierce]

Bourbon cures bad shots. 

[billpierce]

3 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... I have mentioned this before but you would love or hate my home course. I have over 500 rounds and still miss read putts. We have experimented quite a few times and a putt from the exact same length but 6 inches to one side or the other can and will do radically different things. The putting surface is like the ocean with very small basically imperceivable waves that make similar putts do different things. Additionally many putts need a perfect line and speed to go in. Having played on bent greens, a putt just outside the whole that breaks a little can break in the top with one speed or break into the bottom with a slower speed.

... On these Gary Panks greens at Aguila that isn't the case. A putt 3" outside the hole can break 1" and then putting it again 1" outside the hole it will break 6". I have hit the same speed putts in a scenario like that and only one line at one speed will go in the hole. It is equally frustrating and a fun challenge at the same time. Like I said, over 500 rounds and every putt is a new adventure! 

Seems a good thing!

[Hook DeLoft]

To the original question, whether I can leave a bad shot behind depends on the day. Some days I am relaxed before reaching the golf course and have a feeling of moving slowly. On those days I quickly get over a bad shot. Other days, I am easily distracted and feel unable to slow down. Those are the days when a bad attitude is hard to overcome. I really need to work on that. 

[Padavich09]

How do i handle a bad shot, a bad series of shots, or a bad round.  I just go out and play another round...lol 

As a 26.8 hdc, i cant get real mad or overly frustrated.  so many times, I've stepped up to my 2nd shot in the trees and had to laugh off the tree kick. Or I drill a 3 wood 25 yards and then go hit the same club and nail a beautiful looking shot, so maybe now i can get bogey instead of double...lol  

Its just a game. I am competitive as it gets, but golf is different. I dont golf with anyone I can beat, just the way it works out. my skill level is not to the people i play with, and I try to stay upbeat as possible so i dont ruin their rounds.

Just can't let it kill your whole round or week of rounds. even the pros screw the pooch sometimes...lol

Edited February 6 by Padavich09

[NubianRugby]

On 1/21/2024 at 1:20 PM, EnderinAZ said:

So how do you get past frustration and anger and back to playing and having fun? Can you move past? I know a lot of guys who can't. When you move on does your golf game improve or just stay the same? When you move on have you set yourself in a "grinding " mode, or shifted to a laissez faire attitude that says the game is in the toilet but I am outside on the course and it is too nice out here to be upset over a golf game that means nothing. Or do you put your game in god's hands (or golf gods hands -your choice-) and trust he (they) will see you through to a happy ending?

It can be difficult, but once I remember that exactly noting is at stake and I'm there to have fun I get back in the groove. If that doesn't work then I start pounding beers until I forget about the bad shots.

[Big moose]

If I hit a bad shot first of all I don't get mad I try to not compound the situation by doing something stupid and making another bad shot. I'm not good enough to get mad, I play because it's fun.

[KidWiff]

For better or worse, i have a very short memory.  I don't hold grudges (ok, maybe one or two, but we won't get into that here  )

So, for me.... almost every shot is an opportunity for a new start.    If i'm on a heater, i just roll with it.   If things have gone sideways, i just try to focus, slow my transition, which is where things usually get way too fast, and then put a good swing on the ball.   Like a buddy of mine says....  "Hey, we're not that good... don't expect too much"