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Bouncing back after a bad shot or hole

I have my share of bad holes from time to time. It's no fun making more than bogey. I tried to tell myself a long time ago, after a bad hole, get your head up and make a good shot(s). It's easier said than done, but I can't change what's on the card now, so why dwell on it. It's ok to be frustrated with the hole, but that frustration isn't going to HELP me make par or better the next hole. The key is not turning a double bogey into two double bogeys.
 
I usually have a few poor shots to follow and it seems like if I start out like gang buster then it just gets worse as the day goes by, the mental game of golf is the biggest challenge of all.
 
Every hole is a new hole for me. Unfortunately, if I have something going wrong that day (hooks off the tee), that can follow me from hole to hole.

On a somewhat related note, I am more affected when I am playing really well and then card a triple. That affects me more than going double, bogey, bogey, par, double.
 
I honestly never think about my bad shots after I'm standing over my next shot. I just try to focus so I can put myself in position to score! Some of those short puts get to me after I've blown it though.
 
No idea what my stats would be, but I easily forget the bad hole and move on. Being in sales for the past 15 years, I learned pretty quickly how to not let negative outcomes affect me. I've brought that mentality to the course and it's helped. I'm usually the opposite - I'll have a great hole or two, feel really good about my swing, then have a bunch of blowup holes instead :)
 
Take your typical par 72 course. Think about it. That's 72 shots for a really good score. Of course you are going to hit some bad ones. But one or two bad shots is not going to turn a 72 into a 100 (or whatever). So why would you ever let a bad shot or two harpoon the entire round? If you stay positive almost any round can turn into a PB. And even if it doesn't you can still hit some great shots, try some new things, and have a productive practice round. And that sets up your next round for success.
 
Tadashi70 said:
How is this stat for you? After a double, triple or a bad hole, how quickly do you bounce back? And the bounce back is relative to your skill level. It could be a bogie, par or birdie.

Do you find this difficult to do? Do you linger on the bad hole for a few holes and make things worse? I guess it comes down to having great short term memory and remembering that it's just a game and not life. We aren't playing for our lively hood hit for personal gain and improvement. Once I grasped that, my bounce back stat really grew.

What say you, how is your bounce back? What is your secret if you have it? What is holding you back if you don't?
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I honestly think if A) You suck really really Bad or b) You are very very good, Bouncing back and refocusing are very easy to do .
Reason is because if you suck you are not expecting much in the first place and if you have a good game then you have been there before, You know you can make it up and will not destroy but so many holes.
The problem is when you have broken 90 and are hovering around 85-87 THAT'S when it will bother you because you will start adding up what you need to break 80 or to keep from going over 90 instead of doing what you should be doing.....Concentrating on your next shot because it is the only thing you are in control of, The bad hole is over and you need to finish the one you are on before you tackle the next one, Once you begin to keep that in mind every time you play THAT'S when you will see your score's start to come down in a big way
 
I hear what you are saying Squiddy, and I do suck. But I want to break 100 as bad as the guy trying to break 90, 80 or 70. But I also have the 5 year plan in mind, so I am always working to get better. Blowing a golden opportunity to work on stuff on the course because I am pissed about a bad shot, or because I can't make a PB, is a huge waste of an opportunity.
 
I'm much better than I used to be. Not necessarily because I play better but because I go out to have fun now versus going out thining I should be playing better than my skill level and getting frustrated.

I only tend to get frustrated if I have multiple bad holes in a row. It can be tough to get settled back down from that.
 
I find that earlier in the round, I can bounce back perfectly and be over it by the next tee box. The later holes, say starting right around 14, give me more trouble as my body starts to fatigue. Not fatigued that my swing is lost, but just enough that bouncing back isn't as easy.
 
robmypro said:
I hear what you are saying Squiddy, and I do suck. But I want to break 100 as bad as the guy trying to break 90, 80 or 70. But I also have the 5 year plan in mind, so I am always working to get better. Blowing a golden opportunity to work on stuff on the course because I am pissed about a bad shot, or because I can't make a PB, is a huge waste of an opportunity.
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Even Pro's have blow up holes, I think most high handicappers forget that some time, Tiger, Phil, Rory, all of them, The thing is they don't usually show those highlights on Sport's Center, To give you an example , 2 week's ago my first 3 holes were double bogey, Bogey and Double bogey, I ended up with a 39 on the front....Why..?..I let them go..Nothing I could do about them, I don't take mulligans so no second shot's...I either had to forget about them and play my game or let the past dictate my future...Being a great Ball striker is good, But being a shot Maker is better, BELIEVE me, I had to bear down quick to keep my composure, And if my Nutty rear end can do it so can you.....When things start going bad sloooooooow down, Take deep breaths and go back to work, You can do it
 
Squiddy said:
I honestly think if A) You suck really really Bad or b) You are very very good, Bouncing back and refocusing are very easy to do .
Reason is because if you suck you are not expecting much in the first place and if you have a good game then you have been there before, You know you can make it up and will not destroy but so many holes.
The problem is when you have broken 90 and are hovering around 85-87 THAT'S when it will bother you because you will start adding up what you need to break 80 or to keep from going over 90 instead of doing what you should be doing.....Concentrating on your next shot because it is the only thing you are in control of, The bad hole is over and you need to finish the one you are on before you tackle the next one, Once you begin to keep that in mind every time you play THAT'S when you will see your score's start to come down in a big way
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If it were easy, I think it would be more common.
 
Tadashi70 said:
If it were easy, I think it would be more common.
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I think it's more common than most people think... Bottom line Tad no one needs a score card to tell them if they shot a good round or not do they..??
And I don't know of a single golfer that does not know whether they have a game or don't, But when you have the people who are just out to swing the old stick they have a totally different mindset from the guy's and gal's that play at a higher level.
The guy that stink's could care less what they shoot and the better golfer know's how to settle down, It's the guy in the middle that have long memories. IMHO, Not saying your wrong but at a 1.8 i don't think you let it get to you as much as a 15-20 because if you have a bad hole YOU KNOW you will make it up, The sorry guy could care less and the mid to high HOPES he will get it right
 
This is the first time I've ever thought about this. Surprisingly, I think I have a tougher time bouncing when I get bad breaks on good shots. For example, I can recover quicker mentally from a pull or hook that winds up in a hazard than if I hit one down the middle and it catches a slope and winds up in the hazard. Probably because I can fix the hook but have no control over a bad break.
 
I didn't bounce back very well at all today on the way to a 93.
 
After a bad hole, I have a much greater chance of making birdie on the next hole. Unfortunately, the converse is also true. On Wednesday I played 9 holes with my daughter and the last 5 holes went bogey, birdie, bogey, eagle, bogey. I'm a bi-polar golfer.
 
The very first thing I thought of today after my round was that I was very happy that I recovered as well as I did. Historically, if it starts bad, it's just going to be a rough day. Today, it started bad and turned into a pretty decent day.

Does great things for your confidence when that happens.
 
I pay to play and I'm not turning pro anytime soon and treat every shot like a new one and I know bad shots are going to happen. I just have a good time now and hit the ball and go chase it.
 
Hawkerman said:
The very first thing I thought of today after my round was that I was very happy that I recovered as well as I did. Historically, if it starts bad, it's just going to be a rough day. Today, it started bad and turned into a pretty decent day.

Does great things for your confidence when that happens.
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Boy, isn't that the truth! I can remember one round where I was 6 over after 3 holes, went bogey-bogey-quad, then played the next 15 holes just 2 over par for a round of 80. That is one of those turning point rounds that reinforces Yogi Berra's contention that "It ain't over til it's over."
 
Lately I have been telling myself that my bad hole was simply me getting sloppy. I take a few swings to get a good rhythm, take a couple deep breaths, shake it off and get back to it. Easier to do between holes as opposed to between shots ... for me at any rate.


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mine all depends on how I'm playing, If I'm playing well and a bad shot pops in then I can recover pretty well IMO, but if I'm struggling and fighting every hole and then a bad(penalty) shots pops up I have a harder time moving on.
 
I had a stretch of holes where I went +7 thru 4 holes. That kept me from breaking 80 today. I'm going to start tracking 'bounce-back' holes. Gotta keep the train from derailing.
 
After a bad hole I move on to the next tee and tell myself; "new hole.......new game".
 
I taught myself twenty years ago to never get too high on the great holes or great rounds, and never get too low and on the bad holes or rounds. I've made plenty of eagles along the way, but the last thing you will see me do is jump and scream because golf will bite you on the butt at first chance........

There are real world and life issues to get bummed about and bad golf is not one of them for me. It is this thought process that gets me through the slow rounds (slow play). I'm at the course to get away from todays fast pace of work and life.
 
After a double, there's a good chance that I'll have another double or a bogey. It's not so much a anger thing as it is now I start to try to "control" the ball rather than hit it. Great point, I need to start tracking that stat
 
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