We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Horrible golf weekend need to hit reset

I went through something similar recently also.

I played 9 holes on June 9th, and then didn't play again until the 19th where I shot a 50 and was pretty disappointed. I decided to go out the following morning and work out those kinks and what happened? I shot a 57! I was ready to walk off the course after the third hole. I only hit 1 good shot (3rd shot on the 1st hole) through those 9 holes and it wasn't even at the green since I was blocked by trees. Every shot after that was either hit fat or thin.

I went out Saturday on a different course and put together a 45/46 round where I actually played pretty well except for a few blowup holes.

The fun aspect was definitely a contributing factor as when I couldn't hit my way out of a wet paper bag, it was no fun at all but string together a few solid shots and the fun comes back.
 
I"ve had those days, weekends, and even years.... but for me it was just getting back to having fun. I put to much pressure on myself to want to play well and get better, instead of just enjoying the game and letting the improvement come. Gotta just kick back and relax my friend. I know you know how to do that! I'm sure with all the events and golf you've been playing, your body and mind are a little tired. Keep your head up and looking forward and enjoying the game. None of us are pros. We're just getting out to enjoy the company and hopefully hit a few good shots!
 
I'm currently in a bit of a slump myself. I've been pushing a bit hard I think and same thing as you said, just trying to post or shoot a certain number. I've gotten away from putting my focus on each shot and visualizing what I want to do with it. By focusing on the score or where I stand in relation to what I want to shoot, I'm making it harder on myself. I would suggest to do your best to not think about your score, but rather what you are trying to accomplish on the shot that is front of you at that moment.
 
Hawk said:
Here's the thing - you're not good at golf. Neither am I, and despite what you may read, neither are 95% of the people on the internet.

You gotta lose your expectations and enjoy the slight improvements you make. The good shots you make. Enjoy the challenge of scrambling to get the ball in the hole.

Over time your work will make you a better golfer. Rather than expect it to produce certain results (scores), be confident that it will make you better at all the little things that lead up to those scores. No matter what, you're going to have bad days. Probably lots of them. Hang in there and enjoy the journey rather than wait for the destination.
Click to expand...

SO MUCH THIS ^^^^^^^SO MUCH THIS

If it wouldn't cost so much id think about tattooing that on my thigh. Each time I make improvements I forget this valuable advice. It almost always is accompanied by a set-back. Looking back, it comes from trying to shoot a score. Saturday, I tried to shoot a score and was disappointed. Sunday I went out to a track that I frequent and got in a QUICK round. Golf was easy. I didn't have time to think about what I was doing, because I needed to get done and take care of some things. When it was all over, the score was good for me. Oh, I had fun too!

Hang in there CJ.

JM
 
Jeff Spicoli said:
I'm currently in a bit of a slump myself. I've been pushing a bit hard I think and same thing as you said, just trying to post or shoot a certain number. I've gotten away from putting my focus on each shot and visualizing what I want to do with it. By focusing on the score or where I stand in relation to what I want to shoot, I'm making it harder on myself. I would suggest to do your best to not think about your score, but rather what you are trying to accomplish on the shot that is front of you at that moment.
Click to expand...


I'm going through a little bit of the same thing. I'm pushing myself a little too much and getting frustrated when putts aren't falling, etc.

I ultimately just need to step back, relax, and play my game. I suspect there are a lot of MCers that need to take the same approach. Time is getting short!
 
I know the feeling all too well. I posted here very recently about a complete mental melt down and a total inability to play the game at all with any club from anywhere. That went on for 3 consecutive rounds. After over 2 decades of playing this game one would have thought I never picked up a golf club in my life. The score card didn't even come with me and It took me 2 more rounds after those 3 rounds to snap out of it and a third one more to finally play my normal golf again.

I had put too much pressure on myself trying too hard, was obsessed, and doing too much and was mentally burnt out. Bunch of lessons, tons of range time, and a lot of playing. Just way too much way too fast with too much self inflicted pressure that I didn't know I was doing to myself. I was actually nervous when playing and just couldn't function on the course. Since I let the stress go and relieved the pressure things have been pretty good. In fact just yesterday I shot 1 stroke above my PB. My second best round ever.

I'm not saying your in for anything similar as I went through nor for as long as I did but the point is if I broke out of that disaster, you too will snap out of yours. Take the pressure weight off and get the monkeys off your back. Its only golf and sometimes we have to remember to just play it and not worry. It could mean walking away and taking a break. Or it could just mean play it with a different mind set. Throw out the score card, the concerns, and just play your next round for no reason at all but just to hit some golf balls for fun. If you do take a lesson to fix something and then go and play you should still throw out the score card and any pressure of scoring and just play. Good luck. It will come back to you.
 
It's quicksand. The harder you fight it, the worse it gets. We all play golf because we love it. No one here is making a living by playing golf. So if your not enjoying it, it's not worth playing. What works for me is just taking some time off. Don't even think about playing. Then once the itch starts to build again you'll be able to play with a clear mind and probably play better
 
PhillyV said:
It's quicksand. The harder you fight it, the worse it gets.
Click to expand...

These may the most accurate words ever written on the internet. LOL. So freaking true.
 
the range for sure...a lot less pressure, take it easy, relax, and regain focus. I go through spurts like this all the time. You're not alone CJ
 
Michigan Slice said:
After thinking it was all starting to come together, I had a humbling setback this past weekend.
In #Ohiotopia, I couldn't hit ANYTHING! And I truly mean that, if I happened to hit one decent shot it would be followed by 5 horrible ones.

Each bad shot just compounded my frustration. Maybe I'm just playing too much, trying to hard to post numbers on the scorecard,
Click to expand...

Hawk said:
You gotta lose your expectations and enjoy the slight improvements you make. The good shots you make.
Click to expand...
What Hawk says is right on Michigan. Expectations are the killers of having fun playing golf. I have found that when I start making improvements in my game, I have a tendency to also have increased expectations on how I SHOULD be playing/scoring during a round. That will lead to focusing on scoring instead of just hitting as good a shot as I can and moving on to the next one, which leads to frustration and no fun when you are not playing up to those expectations.

The least fun I've had playing golf was when I was down to a 3 H.I. about 10 years ago. My expectations were ridiculous and I would go off the rails if I got a double bogey or missed an 8 ft. putt for birdie or par. I'm slowly working my way back down to that index range and really have to be conscious of what my goals are before starting a round. I have an index card I keep with some keys and mental reminders, and number one in red is "PLAY & HAVE FUN". Sometimes it's hard to do, but I have also improved that part of my game in the past year as well as my ball striking.

Keep your chin up and while you're working on your game also work on finding out the best way to enjoy yourself on the course.
 
Hang in there CJ. As you have already read, EVERYONE goes through this. In the end, it is just a game. And games are supposed to be FUN.
 
Going through the same thing here. Had been playing really well and then a 3 week break because of health issue. Went out this weekend and played terrible, i played better the first time i played in my life. I did hit my old 60 degree lw bad for the last time, it is now in the pond at the course with a broke shaft. Not the right thing to do but it felt good at the time. I thinking about selling out, clubs, cart everything. Tired of the pissed off moods it puts me in. Not worth it. Thinking zero golf for me for quite awhile.

Sent from my Motorola Electrify using Tapatalk 2
 
Keep your head up dude. Any coach, in any sport, would most likely be saying something along the lines of "Take a break and then get back to the basics and simplify."

Hope things turn up for ya.
 
CJ, you are an awesome guy (so I've heard), if you're not having fun out on the golf course then something is wrong. Whether it be expectations, trying to hard, or maybe even some bad luck bounces on the course. I'd take a little break and hit the reset button. Then when you pick the clubs back up, just go out and hit the golf ball. Don't worry about score, or even good shots vs bad, just be happy to be out there.
 
Happens all the time. Like others on here have said, when I hit a funk in my golf game I find taking some time off and focusing on some of my other hobbies is just what the (swing) doctor ordered.
 
I'll usually just take a few days away from the game entirely or just work on putting.
 
It is always hard when you play a lot and do not see good results. Hang in there. Your best golf is still ahead of you!
 
Michigan Slice said:
After thinking it was all starting to come together, I had a humbling setback this past weekend.
In #Ohiotopia, I couldn't hit ANYTHING! And I truly mean that, if I happened to hit one decent shot it would be followed by 5 horrible ones.

My mentality and focus really hit a snag. Each bad shot just compounded my frustration.
Maybe I'm just playing too much, trying to hard to post numbers on the scorecard, maybe I just am what I am.
I put the clubs in my wife's car, I will have no access to them this week, I hope this strategy helps.

But for the first time in a long time, I don't want to play.

What are some ways you recover and reset from disappointing stretches in your game?
Click to expand...

Was right there a couple weeks ago. Having my son for a couple weeks got me out to just enjoys a few nines with him. A few things started coming back. I am struggling with things I struggled with when I started golfing but thought I had overcome. I took this weekend off and want to be in the right mental state which is I don't care what I shoot, I just want to enjoy time out and get some exercise.

Coincidentally, I was asked by my boss to attend a golf outing tomorrow. What should be a joyous day has me quite nervous based on my latest play.
 
Nebgolfer said:
CJ, I've been going through the same thing lately and just recently snapped out of it. What helped me was not worrying about score and finding someone to play with who I could just play with and talk other things besides golf. I think it also helped that he was worse than me so that he had more bad shots than I did so it made me feel better even when I wasn't playing as well as I'd like to. Go out and play Ole Gray's "Good shot" instead of keeping score, and see if that helps.
Click to expand...


It really does help to focus just on the positive and throw the bad stuff into the garbage can. You put garbage in your mind you get garbage out. Same thing with one's golf game. You start focusing on garbage shots and boom :bomb:,,,,, that's what you will start seeing. Try this game and just mark down on the score card your good shots. Heck you might not have but a couple for that round but really focus on the positive only.

http://www.thehackersparadise.com/forum/showthread.php?58669-Game-called-Good-Shot
 
Horrible golf weekend need to hit reset

Get a grip CJ and pull it together. It will be fine once you stop stressing. How do I know? This weekend I couldn't not top a shot. Was driving me crazy. I didn't know what I was doing wrong and I couldn't correct it no matter what I did. Today? Grabbed my 7i, went out to the course and just hit about two dozen shots on an empty fairway. Almost all of them were nice ball flights, only a couple were fat, and I maybe had one topped shot in the whole lot.

What was the difference? As far as I can tell, the only difference was that nothing was on the line and I was relaxed and making any easy swing.
 
Last edited:
Quick Confessional....

My sub for my golf league bailed on me, and if I didn't play 44 points and what was sure to be 1st place would be forfeited.

I played, not great, not overly poorly.
I shot a 47 (think I told a couple people 49, i was wrong)
I apologized to my partner that my heart wasn't in it.

Then mmaynard11 asked about a local practice facility as I was finishing up, we got rained out on hole 16....

So.... I took the morning off.... before 25 holes.

I may need help... lol

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and kind words.
I am still dedicated to improvement, but will not press the issue as much, rather focusing on making a good shot each time.

I have NO idea what I shot with Matt this evening, none, and I don't really care at this point!
 
Last edited:
Horrible golf weekend need to hit reset

Michigan Slice said:
Quick Confessional....

My sub for my golf leauge bailed on me, and if I didnt play 44 points and what was sure to be 1st place would be forefeited.

I played, not great, not overly poorly.
I shot a 47 (think I told a couple people 49, i was wrong)
I apologized to my partner that my heart wasnt in it.

Then mmaynard11 asked about a local practice facility as I was finishing up, we got rained out on hole 16....

So.... I took the morning off.... before 25 holes.

I may need help... lol

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and kind words.
I am still dedicated to improvement, but will not press the issue as much, rather focusing on making a good shot each time.

I have NO idea what I shot with Matt this evening, none, and I don't really care at this point!
Click to expand...

...but after a few tips in regards to alignment theta Slice disappeared.
 
Last edited:
Glad to see you got the clubs out of your wife's car you lug.

We all struggle every now and again dude keep that head up, play each shot and forget about posting a new PB
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top