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The mental side of the handicap.

Golferbest

Golferbest

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So there are quite a few older threads on focus while playing. There are also so newer one on imroving game through varies ways.
So combining a little from both has me thinking of something.
While watching some golf the other day a pro mentioned that even they make made shots. He also mentioned that its how he/they recover from those shots that keeps them in the hunt. With this I ask do you think you could improve your handicap slightly or maybe even a good bit by actually being able to leave the last shot in the past?
I know im guilty of missing that putt and thinking about it the next time I putt. Maybe I hit a 5 iron way right on number x, well most of the time when I pull out the 5i from that point foward I give a mental note "dont go right".
So do you suffer from keeping bad shots lingering in your thoughts too much?
If so how many strokes do you think you could save if you could let it go?
If not, ate there any tips, books, ways of thinking you could pass on to the rest of us?
 
Fearless golf and Zen putting are really good reads..
 
Carnage said:
Fearless golf and Zen putting are really good reads..
Click to expand...

So your able to forget shots? Do you think this helped you shoot lower?
 
Golferbest said:
So your able to forget shots? Do you think this helped you shoot lower?
Click to expand...


What i have noticed since reading fearless golf is to take my time and that each shot is a new opportunity to flush a ball not to recover from a bad shot. I also take my time now to read putts go through my routine. Overall, I feel more thought through and calm after an unplanned result from a swing. I did recently read it and only have a few rounds since..
 
Carnage said:
What i have noticed since reading fearless golf is to take my time and that each shot is a new opportunity to flush a ball not to recover from a bad shot. I also take my time now to read putts go through my routine. Overall, I feel more thought through and calm after an unplanned result from a swing. I did recently read it and only have a few rounds since..
Click to expand...

Thank you for your info, look forward to checking back up with you in a few months.
 
Putting is the one thing that really gets in my head. If I make a couple, it seems like I make everything. If I miss a couple makable ones, it seems like nothing wants to fall and I start to force it. 2-putts turn into 3-putts.
 
Am I able to forget the last shot, yes. Do I think forgetting the last shot aids in playing better golf yes. But lowering the average handicap, no.

The average golfer doesn't know how to score. They are constantly thinking about where not to hit the ball, instead of focusing the best way to get the ball in the hole. Plus the bad shot you forgot will be joined by another later in the round or a few later in the round.

As a auteurs with inconsistent swings there will be bad shots until you have a repeatable motion or a solid short game. The metal side of the game just one piece of the puzzle and a small piece until the swing is reliable with every club.
 
Agree with Freddie. Mentally it does help to get over shots and it might help you salvage a few shots here and there, however; consistency and a good short game are what ultimately will lower the handicap and keep you out of those mental situations more often
 
Freddie is spot on here...im not even going to try
 
I think being confident in your game around the green is what leads to a lower cap. When I'm at my best I feel like I can get up and down from anywhere so that iron shot that missed the green by a few yards doesn't even seem like a bad miss.
 
I think there's a mentality with better players that allows them to view the golf course differently from a mental perspective. I'm reminded of a time not too long ago playing a course where the 9th is a par 5 with a pond guarding the right side for your second shot. So I had hit a good drive, and was getting ready to play my second shot, and in my head I couldn't get away from not wanting to "waste a good drive by putting one in the drink." My mind was focused on what I didn't want to see happen...which of course is what did. I sliced that guy right into the water.

It takes a different mindset to really get good. Ken Venturi (one of my favorite golfers all time) (I'm paraphrasing) said a pro can look at all the hazards out there and see a window he can hit the ball to, and omit all those hazards and instead just see the window, and hit to it. It reminds me of attending a driving school, the sort of school they send guys to to learn how to drive with night vision goggles and safely knock people off the road and do other silly things with cars. The first thing you learn is what not to look at. You look where you want the car to go, not what you want the car to avoid. I think being able to flip that switch mentally is a huge part of improving one's golf game.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Am I able to forget the last shot, yes. Do I think forgetting the last shot aids in playing better golf yes. But lowering the average handicap, no.

The average golfer doesn't know how to score. They are constantly thinking about where not to hit the ball, instead of focusing the best way to get the ball in the hole. Plus the bad shot you forgot will be joined by another later in the round or a few later in the round.

As a auteurs with inconsistent swings there will be bad shots until you have a repeatable motion or a solid short game. The metal side of the game just one piece of the puzzle and a small piece until the swing is reliable with every club.
Click to expand...

I'm going to piggie back on Freddie's comment...as usual.

I'd like to expand on your first line about forgetting shots. Forgetting a shot or having, "short term memory" is great for playing in the moment and playing for the next shot, a you stated. However, you can't completely delete it from your memory. When I was coaching lacrosse, I used to tell my girls that, "You need to have a short term memory about a bad play, but you need to remember that play after the game and learn from it." and I think that mindset works in most situations in life. Bad shots are going to happen to the best players in the world, but it's the ability to know what you did wrong and work to prevent it from happening again.

To use Jeremiah's 5i example, if a good player pushes a 5i way right, based on their experiences and knowing what they know about their swing they are able to quickly determine why that miss happened. The next time they're over a shot they're not thinking, "Don't pull it." They're focused on their fundamentals and putting a good swing on the ball.

But, for the average weekend golfer who doesn't understand their swing and what causes certain things they are doomed to repeat them many more times throughout the round because they don't know what they're doing wrong. I play with a few guys who could care less about their swing and when they hit the same miss 5 times in a row they start getting frustrated and saying things, like, "Why is that shot going that way?"

I used to get so mad after hitting the same bad shot in a round, but then I started learning about the golf swing and more importantly MY golf swing. Listening to my instructor ask me why that went right and then looking at the video and saying, "I got stuck," or, "I never released the club". Now when I hit a bad shot, I don't get mad or even frustrated because I'm not guessing.

While this mindset isn't for everyone, it's like anything else in life where if you buy into it 100% you will eventually see long term results, i.e. better handicap.

Also, a good book to read is Zen Golf. Probably my favorite golf book I've ever read. Talks about many things, but the focus is on having a clear mind with only 1 swing thought and believing that you are going to hit a good shot. There's a lot of talk about visualization, which I feel is also key to success in golf.
 
I forget my bad shots right away. I know I can hit every club in my bag so I just move on and rip the next one. No big deal for me.
 
I forget all previous shots good and bad. There is nothing you can do about what has already happened. I don't get too high on the good ones and I never allow a bad one have any kind of negative thought enter my mind. If you allow any bad thoughts to enter your mind, your toast. In our mens league, we have a couple of real hotheads. I love it when we play those guys. All it takes is one bad shot and they're all done. Anyone that gets pissed, throws clubs and so on, or complains about the course is the guy you want to have a money round with. Same with the rain. Most hate to play in the rain. Again, if in league play and it is raining at the beginning of the round and someone on the other team is moaning about it, it is money. I just put on the rain gear and go. I haven't melted yet.
 
I don't hang on to many shots at all, it creates clutter in my mind and I just want to think about the next one. I'm honestly not sure it would affect my handicap either way but certainly is food for thought.
 
One of the things that works for me is counting off 10 steps after a bad shot and starting fresh. I think it was tiger who I got me doing this
tap tap taparoo
 
As a golfer who has played the game for 40 years, but who has taken several huge 5 year breaks in the middle in which I never played, I've had to "come back from crappy" about 4 times. Essentially going from near scratch to a 15 and back again. I think that the mental game is the key to PLAYING TO your handicap in pressure situations, but the key to lowering your handicap comes from being able to tame the three "dragons" of golf". IMO, those 3 dragons are: 1) Driver, 2) Irons and Fwoods, 3) Short Game & Putting.

This is what I mean. I think the key to breaking 100 is just to work on all your clubs and make a bit of improvement anywhere you can. A bit of diligence, a lesson or two, and you'll get under 100.

But to break 90, there is no way around it, you're going to have to tame that first dragon and hoist that driver out past 200 and keep it in play with some consistency. If you don't, you cannot hit greens in 2 and that's guaranteed bogey golf, 45+, no matter how lucky you get.

To break 80, you have to tame the first dragon THEN tame the second. You've got to advance those fwoods 200 and put a good number of your irons on the green or very near it. If you do this consistently, you're getting the occasional bird, a bunch of 4's and a few bogies and you've cracked 80.

Then to break 70, all of the above has to be combined with beating the fiercest dragon of all, the one we least like to practice against -- the dreaded short game. Sand saves, up and downs, lag puts and steady handed eight footers. That's the only way to get birds to offset your boge's and get you under par. So when I'm clawing my way back into shape every other 5 years or so, I tackle the dragons in that order. Drives, irons, short game.

It's not easy, it usually takes me TWO YEARS or more, but it works. I shot a 94 in a tournament in early 2012 and a 69 in late 2013.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Am I able to forget the last shot, yes. Do I think forgetting the last shot aids in playing better golf yes. But lowering the average handicap, no.

The average golfer doesn't know how to score. They are constantly thinking about where not to hit the ball, instead of focusing the best way to get the ball in the hole. Plus the bad shot you forgot will be joined by another later in the round or a few later in the round.

As a auteurs with inconsistent swings there will be bad shots until you have a repeatable motion or a solid short game. The metal side of the game just one piece of the puzzle and a small piece until the swing is reliable with every club.
Click to expand...


Nailed it. Tough to follow up this post.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Am I able to forget the last shot, yes. Do I think forgetting the last shot aids in playing better golf yes. But lowering the average handicap, no.

The average golfer doesn't know how to score. They are constantly thinking about where not to hit the ball, instead of focusing the best way to get the ball in the hole. Plus the bad shot you forgot will be joined by another later in the round or a few later in the round.

As a auteurs with inconsistent swings there will be bad shots until you have a repeatable motion or a solid short game. The metal side of the game just one piece of the puzzle and a small piece until the swing is reliable with every club.
Click to expand...

That has been one of the biggest changes to my game. How do I get the ball in the hole!
 
TNTCigarguy said:
That has been one of the biggest changes to my game. How do I get the ball in the hole!
Click to expand...

That is the name of the game. To get me into this mind set I often play a game called 5s. Only birdies and eagles count. The 5s is because you pay $5 per birdie and $10 per eagle. It can expensive if someone gets hot. But it really makes you learn how to score, be creative and learn new shots. You don't want to be the one owing the money
 
Tadashi70 said:
That is the name of the game. To get me into this mind set I often play a game called 5s. Only birdies and eagles count. The 5s is because you pay $5 per birdie and $10 per eagle. It can expensive if someone gets hot. But it really makes you learn how to score, be creative and learn new shots. You don't want to be the one owing the money
Click to expand...

I have to agree and disagree with you a bit. Playing "fives" at your level is all about upside reward, because there is very little downside risk. If you don't get your bird, you get a two putt par -- you don't card a snowman. At your level, you have to fiercely chase those birds and eagles, just like we hear when the tour pros constantly say that they HAVE to go pinseeking if they want to win, that playing it safe earns them nothing.

But if the average 15 handicap goes on course with that attitude he'll always be over-reaching and getting himself in trouble. He'll move back to black because he's sure he can bridge that 250 yard forced carry. He'll try to hit par five's in two and end in the creek. He'll try to thread needle-eye fairways with his big stick and slice OB. And He'll CONSTANTLY short-side himself on approaches. That guy would be better served by eliminating his big misses, laying up with his wedge, and aiming for center green.
 
Miller Time said:
Putting is the one thing that really gets in my head. If I make a couple, it seems like I make everything. If I miss a couple makable ones, it seems like nothing wants to fall and I start to force it. 2-putts turn into 3-putts.
Click to expand...
I agree here--happened to me today. Iron shots or driver shots -I recover fine and did today--never could recover from putting today. I needed to stay aggressive and I got tentative.
 
mark blanchard said:
I have to agree and disagree with you a bit. Playing "fives" at your level is all about upside reward, because there is very little downside risk. If you don't get your bird, you get a two putt par -- you don't card a snowman. At your level, you have to fiercely chase those birds and eagles, just like we hear when the tour pros constantly say that they HAVE to go pinseeking if they want to win, that playing it safe earns them nothing.

But if the average 15 handicap goes on course with that attitude he'll always be over-reaching and getting himself in trouble. He'll move back to black because he's sure he can bridge that 250 yard forced carry. He'll try to hit par five's in two and end in the creek. He'll try to thread needle-eye fairways with his big stick and slice OB. And He'll CONSTANTLY short-side himself on approaches. That guy would be better served by eliminating his big misses, laying up with his wedge, and aiming for center green.
Click to expand...


Well I think his thought still applies here--just adjust it to your level or even handicap the number based on hole handicap.
 
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