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Can't hit the ball while dragging your lip!!

I'm guilty of this as well. It seems worse when I play with others because I don't want them to think poorly of me. I play practice rounds throughout the week and scrambles often to make sure I get plenty of enjoyment out of the game without the stress. I also feel like I play better when I'm alone and listening to music. Specifically easy going music like reggae or similar styles of music (Marley's, 311, Slightly Stoopid, etc.)
 
I started keeping notes in my iPhone for this very reason. When I'm playing bad I'll read through and focus. After all, I'm outdoors enjoying the game I love and life is good. No need to be a perfectionist and I know I'm not going pro lol.
 
I golf with strangers quite a bit and the only type I can't stand to golf with is the ANGRY golfer :at-wits-end:
 
Tadashi70 said:
Play within yourself and stop dragging your lip to the next shot.
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I use to do this all the time and now that I have gotten past it I enjoy golf a lot more and don't get as frustrated on the course.
 
I am SO guilty of this... I haven't shot over a 77 in the past 10 rounds, but at the same time I've picked up a new nickname: Angry Bird

I cussed so loud and long after fatting a wedge from the middle of the fairway the other day, my throat was sore!
 
I sometimes play with a guy that's about a 20-handicap. He spends the entire round cussing, slamming clubs, dropping them on the ground, etc. Makes the round completely unenjoyable, especially as his tirades are so ridiculous. He gets violently mad when he missed the green with a 3-wood from 210. Are you kidding me?
 
I read a quote a few months ago from Tom Watson. To paraphrase: Stop dwelling on the last shot and start thinking about what to do with the next shot.
It's helped me keep a much cooler head on the course.

Also, keeping score one hole at a time and not looking at the earlier holes in the round has helped me with dwelling on bad holes and keeping expectations under control on upcoming holes. Keeping score on an app with my phone, instead of the normal scorecard has really helped with this.
 
Great post and this is something I had to remind myself of today. I had a horrible front 9 probably my worst I've had in years and I refocused and reminded myself that I play this game because I love the challenges it brings, I went out on the back 9 and shot 3 over including 2 birdies.

We get frustrated from time to time, but at the end of the day if you're getting so frustrated that you aren't even enjoying the game it may be time to rethink your approach
 
best advice I've ever received: "you're not good enough to get angry."

I played a round with a former player turned teacher, and he had to pick up on several holes, and probably would have shot high 80s if he'd played everything out. THAT guy was good enough to get angry, but not me.

where I get in a vicious cycle is when a particular miss comes up and no matter what I try, it won't go away. it can be the sh@nks. the y1ps. the blocks. you name it. bad shots will always happen, but when it becomes an unplayable pattern, I want to walk off the course and quit.

great thread freddie, and a great reminder that this is supposed to be fun. we actually pay tons of money for the clothes, equipment, gadgets, balls, greens fees, and the use of hall passes for those of us with SOs and children, so why not actually try to enjoy it?! that is directed squarely at myself.


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Thanks for the reminder, Panda!

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Totally agree. I sometimes need to remind myself and try to focus on the positives and also the fact that im blessed to even be able to play at all. It is just a game after all right?
 
Wait one minute, temper g your expectations doesn't mean you're not good enough. It means just know what you are capable of on a regular basis. Will you take down a tour star, maybe not unless it's Tiger. But can you take Cookie down or Texas hacker or Hawk or Trout or Jimmy or jrod, hashtag, Harry or rhi....hell to the yeah. But just know your limits.
 
Solid comments Tadashi70, there is enough thoughts going on between the ears as it is, no point in getting angry or upset. If I have a bad hole I just say to myself..."next hole...start of a new round"
 
tanker337 said:
I read a quote a few months ago from Tom Watson. To paraphrase: Stop dwelling on the last shot and start thinking about what to do with the next shot.
It's helped me keep a much cooler head on the course.

Also, keeping score one hole at a time and not looking at the earlier holes in the round has helped me with dwelling on bad holes and keeping expectations under control on upcoming holes. Keeping score on an app with my phone, instead of the normal scorecard has really helped with this.
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This is the hardest thing for me to do. I used to break down the course into 9s. If I made a mistake in started thinking to my next scoring opp. Then I was 3 shots worse then before because I moved away from the moment. I still find myself breaking the round a part and have to remind myself to stay in the present. I have no issue letting go but my type A golf game has me looking down the road
 
Tadashi70 said:
This is the hardest thing for me to do. I used to break down the course into 9s. If I made a mistake in started thinking to my next scoring opp. Then I was 3 shots worse then before because I moved away from the moment. I still find myself breaking the round a part and have to remind myself to stay in the present. I have no issue letting go but my type A golf game has me looking down the road
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A very wise man once told me to put the blinders on. Of course that was for something a little different, but it also works with other aspects of the mental game.
 
wadesworld said:
I sometimes play with a guy that's about a 20-handicap. He spends the entire round cussing, slamming clubs, dropping them on the ground, etc. Makes the round completely unenjoyable, especially as his tirades are so ridiculous. He gets violently mad when he missed the green with a 3-wood from 210. Are you kidding me?
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I know that guy! We have him in our skins group.
 
caeleric said:
best advice I've ever received: "you're not good enough to get angry."
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It's true and once I figured this out golf became even more fun.

I have mad respect for those who put in the practice hours and play top tier golf but that's just not my reality. If I can make it through a round without losing a ball or two it's all good.
 
Tadashi70 said:
These thoughts are coming from the number of negative or less than positive post I read on a daily basis about peoples games. I know that people are going to get down on themselves over the course of 18 holes, that is human nature. But the level of self guilt that carries over from hole to hole or even post round is staggering to me.

Golf, at it's core, is a game meant to be enjoyed. I see more people losing their sh*t on the course then I do smiles and high fives. This I understand but do not get. We pay good money to play this game that we love and to be upset over a missed shot or a missed putt is not doing anyone any good. When you get upset and hold onto the feeling it will effect your game. As you begin to unravel the anger will get greater and greater. Before you know it, you have no idea why you were angry or frustrated to begin with. So why not just let it go right after it happens.

I think a lot of it goes to managing your expectations and do not place unrealistic expectation on yourself. If you are a bogie golfer, embrace it and deal with it. One low round or PB doesn't mean that is the norm, it just means you had a great day. Once the round is over that great day on the course is over and everything resets. If you are lucky you will remember what made that last round your PB. More than likely that will not be the case.

Do you ever wonder why Jordan S. is able to bounce back. He has no short term memory and plays each shot as a new shot. He knows he has the skill set to make birdies and put himself into scoring opportunities. Weekend golfers have that same skill set. It may not be to make birds or even pars, it may be to make one shot less the next hole. Knowing what you are capable of on a consistent basis is key. If you don't make a ton of birdies then don't expect to get that shot back from the last hole. Look to make par and not give away more shots. Maybe its to make a double vs a triple. Play within yourself and stop dragging your lip to the next shot.
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You da man Freddie, I feel like you wrote this for me. I have gotten much better about this, but can still get down on myself from time to time.
 
McRock said:
Rotella writes some good books. I follow his advice, and my mental toughness has actually given me much greater consistency round to round.

~Rock
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he sure does. It has been an eye opening experience putting his concepts into use. The one thing I need to start doing is writing down the good shots in a journal instead of using a mental journal. I had a couple shots/putts in my last round that I started having negative thoughts then went back to thinking about the mental journal and hitting similar shots and it worked.
 
Best post I have read on this site yet!

I am guilty of getting upset with my game, but as I get older I am getting much better at just letting it go. But it is a work in progress.
 
Like my Dad, the 87 year old golfer, preaches; "just be thankful you are on the right side of the grass to play golf, now sink that damn putt"!
 
This is so true.. I used to get really angry on bad shots and I could feel my grip getting tighter and tighter. I have come to realize it isn't worth it and I have worked very hard to forget the last shot (good or bad) as soon as possible.

Great stuff Freddie!
 
I still struggle from time to time. Just like the next guy, but since finding THP, my mental game (temper) has been much better.

Great thread Freddie!

JM
 
I think this is why I play better when I consciously play fast. No time to think about the last shot because the next one is coming up quickly. Today in my 9-hole round we got around in just over an hour and I shot one of my best sides of the year.
 
I enjoy these helpful "Deep Thoughts by Tadashi". I look at golf the way I look at skiing. If I'm skiing sweet pow and face plant, I just laugh because I'm skiing sweet pow. When I hit a bad shot golfing -- no shortages here -- I just laugh because I'm golfing. If I didn't love it, I wouldn't do it. Now to be fair I do at times get down on myself while golfing. That usually happens because I want so badly to get better. I can usually shake it off though by reminding myself that I am not as good as I think I am or want to be, but fortunately I'm too stubborn to let reality get in my way. That tends to make me laugh too.
 
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