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How to stop thinking about the final score? Or how to not let it impact your round?

Read a lot of Dr. Bob Rotella.
 
it is interesting as we dig into this topic more than just saying it as we normally do

. I think most of us amateurs subconsciously think ahead even if just a little bit even if they don't believe they are doing it. I mean you can think only of the shot your taking but if on the tee still sneaking in the thought of par. Screw up a shot somewhere (perhaps the approach) and focus on the next shot as your taking it but also sneaking in thoughts of bogey. I think it would have to take some good mental practice to really not think ahead at all and make it a true habit.
 
rollin said:
it is interesting as we dig into this topic more than just saying it as we normally do

. I think most of us amateurs subconsciously think ahead even if just a little bit even if they don't believe they are doing it. I mean you can think only of the shot your taking but if on the tee still sneaking in the thought of par. Screw up a shot somewhere (perhaps the approach) and focus on the next shot as your taking it but also sneaking in thoughts of bogey. I think it would have to take some good mental practice to really not think ahead at all and make it a true habit.
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Have you tried it? It's not that difficult to stay in the moment unless you have a sever mental gap. I mean if you cook, there is a mental process you go through. The same holds true for golf. People make it more difficult than it is.
 
Thats a great way to put it mr kong. I just think many have never really tried to focus on just the shot. I truly believe to many try and fix things on the course. My first instruction I ever recieved was work on the range play on the course. It took some time , but it has definitely stayed with me
 
Tadashi70 said:
Have you tried it? It's not that difficult to stay in the moment unless you have a sever mental gap. I mean if you cook, there is a mental process you go through. The same holds true for golf. People make it more difficult than it is.
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This is very well said. I think you're right, people make it a lot harder than it has to be but for some it is very hard not to think ahead. I believe it's a process that one must learn when it comes to this sport. A lot of other sports are fast paced and you don't have time to think that far ahead, golf you have a lot of time between shots and unless you find something to block or distract you it's natural for you to think about what you're doing. Find a good partner and talk as much about non golf related subjects as possible.
 
Tadashi70 said:
But you aimed low, if I'm under par my swings get agrees ice my lines get aggressive and I try to go as deep as I can. I'm not thinking I might make a few bogies. That preset your score. Instead you should have played and been excited about the 77
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Believe me, I get what you are saying, I just need to put it into better practice. I was pleased with the score but I knew immediately after that I had set myself up by getting ahead of myself. More work to be done on the mental side is all.

JM
 
funny I actually find that writing down the score makes it easier. Once i write it down i can move on to the next hole & i don't need to think about the previous then at the end just add it up
 
I tend to forget about the score around the 7th......beer that is.

In seriousness it's something I struggle with too. I try to just play every shot as it's own and make the best if every shot. I don't want to fall into the trap of trying to take off strokes on the next one. This strategy holds well until the first par 5 I butcher and then it snowballs. I can be 4 over through 8 and feeling great and then **** the bed on the 9th and the wheels come off in route to a 15 over in the back.

I wonder how much. Good sports psychologist charges on a weekend.


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Tadashi70 said:
Have you tried it? It's not that difficult to stay in the moment unless you have a sever mental gap. I mean if you cook, there is a mental process you go through. The same holds true for golf. People make it more difficult than it is.
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The only time I know for certain I did it was in my recent total collapse to even hit a ball for a fewl rounds ( a total disaster and brain fart lol) which I shared on the forum in another thread. I just had no choice for several rounds but to only think of striking balls and i didn't even care about score (wasnt even possible to add it cause it was that ridiculous at the time) it just wasn't golf at all. As I was pulling out of it I didn't even care where they went as long as I hit them cause that's how bad it really was.

But anyway when I got my ball striking back a few rounds ago I am back to normal now. I try not to think ahead but I can honestly say I'm not sure if a do it totally. I should try to do it the way I did it during my collapse and totally put it out of the brain 100%. It was easy to do then because I had no choice because I could barely hit a ball at all in that breakdown but being I did it there I guess I still should be able to do it now too. I'll give it a good honest try next time out.
 
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Don't add it up at the turn. I know it's easier to know where you are when you aren't shooting a ton of bogeys, doubles and triples or worse, but just don't pay attention to it. Maybe have someone else write down the scores so you don't ever have to look at the card. If you keep track of fairways, putts, etc., it's easy to do after the round.
 
Smallville said:
Don't add it up at the turn. I know it's easier to know where you are when you aren't shooting a ton of bogeys, doubles and triples or worse, but just don't pay attention to it. Maybe have someone else write down the scores so you don't ever have to look at the card. If you keep track of fairways, putts, etc., it's easy to do after the round.
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You know I tell ya, when I had my collapse and unable to strike balls it was so easy not to know because there were so many strokes even just through first few holes that it was actually hard to remember without a score card. But playing my normal (but still not great) rounds of golf and keeping score in relation to par by just using a plus type of system I must say its pretty hard not to know because that's just too darn easy (as long as the golf is reasonable) to keep track of. Its just too easy to know (for example) that your +6 through 5 holes, or plus 12 through 12 holes or whatever.
The trick or difference I guess is not about knowing but about still being able to not allow it to be in your thoughts when hitting.
 
When i am having a bad day i try to take it one hole at a time if i am having a good day i try to feed of it and keep the good round going
 
Funny thing happened yesterday, I went into my round with the thought of doing exactly this.
I wouldn't think about my score, at all until the end.
I didn't take a scorecard with me, just would enter all the scores and stats on my phone golflogix app, then immediately turn it off.
I went into 17 unknowing what I was shooting, when I seen I was at 75 going into the final 2 holes I was astonished on how well I played.

I knew the round was going pretty well, I just had no idea how well without the scorecard looking at me!
 
you know what might be funny about this is that by trying not to remember the score we might unfortinately actually remember it better just simply due to telling ourselves to forget it. Kind of a catch-22

"ok I'm at +4 but forget about it and just hit"
"a bird?, ok i'm at +3 but forget about it and just hit"
"a tripple? hey I'm at +6 but forget.........." And so on

Just having some fun with this but it could happen in such a way. But i'm just going to try not to know or at very least not care about it and just let it go even though I may know what it is.
 
CJ I had the same experience as you when I dropped my PB a couple weeks ago with the exception of I knew where I stood on every hole and every shot.

My focus was just different that day it was on executing every shot.
 
For me i never add up the front 9, i wait until after the round and add it all up at the same time. I am pretty lucky that i have had enough bad holes in my 12 years of playing that these days when my game is a bit better i don't get bent out of shape and can forget it.
 
I try my darndest not to look at the scorecard, and focus just on the shot at hand. Today was better than others. I'm trying to develop that tunnel vision where all I'm really seeing is where I want this shot to go. I've come to realize that I'm better at hitting out of crappy lies and through/over trees because having that frame of reference, that specificity, really helps me focus. It seems like, if I've got an 8 iron in my hand and I look at a gap between two trees, I can picture how I want my shot to go far better than if I'm in the middle of the fairway and staring at the whole of the green. I'm trying ti apply that and imagine hitting through some hoop or target in the air en route to the green...it's not perfect, but it's something I'm trying to focus on, just how to hit this next shot and not worry about what my score is going to be. The physical part of the game seems like the easy part in comparison.
 
I read somewhere to try and break your round into 3-hole groups. Have a score in mind and focus on getting that score for those 3-holes…and go to the next three. I find it works pretty well, especially if you know the course. Keeps your focus on parts of the round not the round at whole.
 
StLCardsFan said:
One option is to not write the scores down until you are done. Just play each hole and shot individually as best as you can and go for the best score on each hole. At the end just write them in and see how you did. If you don't know where you are at, it might not be an issue.
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This is what I've come to do. I used to write down extensive stats while playing and I think it distracted me from the shot/hole at hand. Now I just go from shot to shot and try to make the best of every hole. I have a general idea of how I'm scoring but sometimes a horrible feeling round will turn out better than expected and vise-verse. When I'm done I'll go back through my round on the scorecard and write down all the scores/stats and find out. Guys will ask me what I shot and when I say "I don't know I'll have to add it up" they give me the "Really?!" look, LOL!
 
I keep score on my GPS. It does stats too and that is why. It also allows me to see and enter one score and to avoid seeing the score card or adding things up at the turn.
Its harder to do with paper but I let someone else keep score when there is a card involved, with specific instructions that I don't want to know my score at the turn.

I am thinking for paper a clip with 18 pieces of paper so you can write your score and move it to the back of the stack so you can't see scores might help you work on what Bob Rotella calls "staying in the present".

The latest book I read on the mental side of the game really helped with this its called "Zen Golf" by Joseph Parent.
 
Thanks for the tip Ted. I'm going to search for that Zen Golf book right now. The best advice I was told is that golf is 20℅ physical 80℅ mental.

"Some people say it's ok to lose if your opponent has a hot round. Phooey on that. I hate to lose -- period. If a guy is going to shoot a 10 under par, I am going to shoot an 11 under par." -Jack Nicklaus

Chicago Style Golf
 
Tedfroop said:
I keep score on my GPS. It does stats too and that is why. It also allows me to see and enter one score and to avoid seeing the score card or adding things up at the turn.
Its harder to do with paper but I let someone else keep score when there is a card involved, with specific instructions that I don't want to know my score at the turn.

I am thinking for paper a clip with 18 pieces of paper so you can write your score and move it to the back of the stack so you can't see scores might help you work on what Bob Rotella calls "staying in the present".

The latest book I read on the mental side of the game really helped with this its called "Zen Golf" by Joseph Parent.
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I've got the Zen Golf and a bunch of Rotella's books, I need to read them again. They helped me last year a lot, but the human memory is short.
 
My friend I was playing with yesterday told me that I over analyze my game in round because I keep a journal of each hole I play. It's not insane like, "Dear Journal, On 4 today my foot cramped and I felt gassy." It's actually just a written version of what you get in the golf shot app. Anyway, he thinks that as I'm writing the stuff down I'm breaking it down as I do it. I looked at him and said, "If you think that, ask me which clubs I hit 2 holes ago and see if I remember." I then had to explain to him that I just write it down and move on, then analyze after the round.

I know what you're talking about though, Castor. What I stopped doing was putting circles and squares around things and don't add up my score until the round is over. Something along the lines of never counting your money until the dealing's done. Your brain will add 10 strokes if you let it.

And Freddie, you're right about having mental discipline. I think it's something that comes with age and experience. The first time you're able to start living in the moment you're able to not worry about the past or future.
 
I was listening to some commentators talk about the pros and this subject the other day. They were essentially saying they didn't understand how pros couldn't embrace knowing where they stood. Winning is after all, their job. So why wouldn't you want to know what you have to do?

Now, we're not pros, but I think I'm going to take what they said to heart. I'm going to try embracing knowing where I stand and chasing my goals. With that said, I don't think you can do that without taking Freddie's advice to heart. You can't go into a shot thinking about what you have to do 3 shots from now. You have to focus on what needs to happen on THIS shot and this shot alone.

I think as Freddie said, learning to know where you stand and what you need without it coming back to bite you is a learned skill that takes practice and discipline.
 
Castor Hades said:
As we all know, the mental side in this game is important, and a lot of the issues we have are related to the human mind.

What I've noticed often is that if I play well in the beginning, I start to think about the end result and I often play a bad back 9. If I play so-so golf on the front and I "know" the PB or par round is lost, I play pretty well, since there's no pressure to perform.

I've played several times the back nine to par when the front has been like 40-45 shots. Yesterday I played the front nine -1, and I let the idea of a good final score enter my mind. I ended up playing the back nine +6.

Any tips on how to stop thinking about the final score, or any tips on how to not it let impact my performance if I think about the final score?
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I used to struggle with that all the time and had several similar experiences. One of them I was on pace to easily break 80 for the first time ever after 12 holes. I finished with a 97. Other times, I felt like I played so well but it wasn't showing up in my score and I would be so frustrated. Eventually I learned to do two things that help me the most on the course and I generally began shooting much lower scores.

First
I stopped adding up my scorecard. I wait until the round is over. I won't even look back at how I am doing except for putts. I just write down the score for that hole and number of putts. This alleviates a ton of pressure.

Second
I don't worry about what my score even after I add it up. I focus on how I feel my ball striking is for that round. If I feel I am striking the ball well, I have learned to enjoy the round even if I ran into some bad luck or poor choices that cost me strokes.

That approach dropped 10 strokes off my game quickly. I am working at maintaining that approach now as I try to regain my form after a multi-year lay off.
 
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