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Fearless or Fearful

Probably driven the ball the worse this year than the last two, but I'm usually pretty free and easy. A big case of the hooks will make me a little nervous though. Still, I always think that the next one will be the good one.
 
Ole Gray said:
When you're on the teebox with your driver are you fearless or fearful. I've seen quite a few of my friends step up there and whack away with no fear what so ever in their eyes. The fairway could be 15 yards wide and folks like DawgDaddy & Vman pull up their pants and nut it up. :bomb: My wife KellyBo is also one of the best drivers of the ball I have ever played with. Plenty long and more often than not in the fairways. I play my best golf from the turf with my irons but too often I have had to come out of the woods on my second shot because of my fear of missing it off the tee. I tend to guide the ball way too often instead of free wheeling it. Guiding the ball will do nothing but put ya in bad places plus rob you of solid contact with the big stick. Are ya scared of messing up or do ya fire away with confidence?
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I can't say that I'm either one. It varies with the situation, but in general I don't have any fear when playing my driver. There are certain holes where it wouldn't matter what club I had, I'd be a bit cautious (translate that as some days I'll use 3W instead, or choke down on the driver - I still try to make a normal swing).

Maybe I'm less nervous with the driver than I might have been, now that I no longer hit the ball as far as I once did. I also don't hit it as far astray when I miss one.
 
I like stepping to the box with the driver in hand. The way I see it, I don't have a choice but to hit the driver and I might as well chill out and hit the SOB down the middle. My thought is that I'm one swing from piping that perfect drive and if that gets me a par or birdie, let's just get it over with.
 
It all depends on my feet. If my feet dont feel like I am standing correctly I get very fearful. Even more so when its a whole round and not just a hole or 2.
 
Usually fearless. Sometimes I worry where it will go but if I'm feeling like that, I usually wouldn't feel any more confident with any other club in my hands. So why not just swing free and let 'er rip?

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I try and walk the line between the two. I try not to do anything stupid that will hurt my scoring chance however I try not to give up a chance to score either.
 
For the first time ever, this season I'm swinging the driver with confidence. My miss (push fade) still shows up but I've tweaked my swing and my driver has become very solid when I put a good swing on it. If there is trouble right I just tell myself, put a good swing on it and you're fine where in the past I got very tentative with trouble right. I guess this is the first season I trust my driver swing and as a result I put confident swings on the ball.
 
I think a lot depends on how well you scramble. My boss is one of the best scramblers I've ever seen. Thus, he plays every shot without fear.

Me, on the other hand, I try not to get myself into situations that might be beyond my skill level, so I almost always play it safe.
 
Here's the reality: You can play well with a fearless but middling shot off the tee.

But you can never play well with a fearful shot off the tee. Doesn't matter the club. Fear is tension, tension leaves the face open, an open face will never have good results.

I've played well closing the crap out of the club face off the tee. For that matter, I've played so well I've done it on purpose.

But when I'm tense I leave the face open and cut across the ball. Push-fade/slice, every time.

Tension/fear for me made my neck/shoulders tense and my hands grip the club too tightly. And that's a slice every time. I think every fault in golf can be fixed aside from "I'm afraid I'll slice." Because it inevitably turns into a slice, IMO. I know guys who can play a cut off the tee because they're afraid to hook, and guys who can play a closed-face low runner off the tee because they're afraid of a ballooning shot. But I don't know anyone who's played afraid of a slice and made a suitable compensation. I've never heard it said, "I'm afraid of what will happen if I slice, so I'll do X" and had it turn into anything but a slice.
 
Paladin said:
Here's the reality: You can play well with a fearless but middling shot off the tee.

But you can never play well with a fearful shot off the tee. Doesn't matter the club. Fear is tension, tension leaves the face open, an open face will never have good results.

I've played well closing the crap out of the club face off the tee. For that matter, I've played so well I've done it on purpose.

But when I'm tense I leave the face open and cut across the ball. Push-fade/slice, every time.

Tension/fear for me made my neck/shoulders tense and my hands grip the club too tightly. And that's a slice every time. I think every fault in golf can be fixed aside from "I'm afraid I'll slice." Because it inevitably turns into a slice, IMO. I know guys who can play a cut off the tee because they're afraid to hook, and guys who can play a closed-face low runner off the tee because they're afraid of a ballooning shot. But I don't know anyone who's played afraid of a slice and made a suitable compensation. I've never heard it said, "I'm afraid of what will happen if I slice, so I'll do X" and had it turn into anything but a slice.
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I prefer to call it cautious rather than fearful. I can play a cautious shot with confidence. I'm not being cautious because I'm scared, I'm playing it like that because I want to give myself the best chance for scoring. I will have just enough apprehension to put the driver back in the bag and take a 3W or hybrid, then swing with the confidence that I have the right club for the situation.

So in retrospect, I feel that a little fear can be a good thing if you recognize it and can adjust your plan for the hole to accommodate it.
 
Fourputt said:
I prefer to call it cautious rather than fearful. I can play a cautious shot with confidence. I'm not being cautious because I'm scared, I'm playing it like that because I want to give myself the best chance for scoring. I will have just enough apprehension to put the driver back in the bag and take a 3W or hybrid, then swing with the confidence that I have the right club for the situation.

So in retrospect, I feel that a little fear can be a good thing if you recognize it and can adjust your plan for the hole to accommodate it.
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I definitely agree with you. My percentage of quality shots versus awful ones has a huge advantage when I play the smart shot. If im prone to a particular hazard, then a little fear combined with course management can set me up for much better score. Back down a club and live to play again.
 
Fourputt said:
I prefer to call it cautious rather than fearful. I can play a cautious shot with confidence. I'm not being cautious because I'm scared, I'm playing it like that because I want to give myself the best chance for scoring. I will have just enough apprehension to put the driver back in the bag and take a 3W or hybrid, then swing with the confidence that I have the right club for the situation.

So in retrospect, I feel that a little fear can be a good thing if you recognize it and can adjust your plan for the hole to accommodate it.
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Bugman said:
I definitely agree with you. My percentage of quality shots versus awful ones has a huge advantage when I play the smart shot. If im prone to a particular hazard, then a little fear combined with course management can set me up for much better score. Back down a club and live to play again.
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I would agree with both of these above
 
Fourputt said:
I prefer to call it cautious rather than fearful. I can play a cautious shot with confidence. I'm not being cautious because I'm scared, I'm playing it like that because I want to give myself the best chance for scoring. I will have just enough apprehension to put the driver back in the bag and take a 3W or hybrid, then swing with the confidence that I have the right club for the situation.

So in retrospect, I feel that a little fear can be a good thing if you recognize it and can adjust your plan for the hole to accommodate it.
Click to expand...

Bugman said:
I definitely agree with you. My percentage of quality shots versus awful ones has a huge advantage when I play the smart shot. If im prone to a particular hazard, then a little fear combined with course management can set me up for much better score. Back down a club and live to play again.
Click to expand...

I agree with the above. I wouldnt even refer to it as fear at all. In fact i look at it as playing smarter, managing a better game, playing to ones stregnths, or playing to what the hole asks for and/or gives you in order to have best par chance with a chance at bird. I think so far as to even say that it takes some courage to do that instead of smashing away. I take more pride in the fact that I may have used my 5w or 4iron or whatever and put myself in great position to approach and end up with a par or even a chance at bird. Feels very nice to know i managed the hole correctly (for me). Anyone can just take a driver and just have at it without much thinking. Thats the easiest part imo.
 
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