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A tale of two nines

I am pretty sure my scores would show an improvement on the Back 9. And some of the best 9 hole scores I have ever had have been playing an extra 9 in a day. And believe me its not due to any conditioning advantage I have... My endurance conditioning regimen would include watching a 3rd college football game on any given Saturday in the Fall & the same on NFL Sundays...

My 1st eagle was on the 34th hole of the day about 10 years ago.
 
JB said:
I then started paying close attention to my warm up routine. How I wanted to make sure I was banging balls to get loosened up, but also practicing with a purpose like seeing fairways in between flags on the range, chipping to a location rather than just pitching the ball. Hitting different types of shots, etc. Since that time, the tales of two nines seemed to have gone away for me.
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JB's post says it all. I see so many players go out to the range, bang 40 balls as fast as they can and usually 10 of them are drivers. Then they go over to the practice green, hit three putts and head to the tee. Needless to say, this is about as wrong as it gets.

Give yourself at least 30 minutes, 45 if possible to get to the course, get loose via stretching, and then start working on shots... not banging balls. Tiger Woods has mastered the warm-up and although most amateurs don't have the time or discipline to mimic his routine, we can all learn from it. He starts talking about his warm up routine at 3:55.

 
Bandon Dunes. 61 / 41 (including a smoking 32 for holes 10-17 and a brutally ugly 9 on the finishing hole).
 
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This thread is showing that I am kind of normal after all. I shot 46/39 Sunday. Night and Day.
 
ArmyGolf said:
For me it is very random but I know that when I have a good round I am usually 3 or 4 strokes better on the back 9. If I could play 9 holes for a warm up prior to every round I'm very confident my scores would start to drop.
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I think you're on to something with the "warm-up" holes. Invariably, it takes me 3 to 4 holes to be "in" the round, even after a purposeful range warm-up and putting. I have only been able to confirm this one time... There is a course in the western Chicago 'burbs (Prairie Landing) that has a 3-hole practice facility. I have played the course twice, using practice holes to warm-up the 2nd time. I definitely played better to start the "actual" 2nd round - don't remember the exact stats, but know I was at least 2 strokes better than the round without the practice session.
 
It's weird, but I have been just the opposite lately...starting off really strong on the front and then fading a bit in the middle and then coming back at the end..,..I think for me it's more of a concentration thing...something I am really trying to work on lately.
 
First nine my tee shots are all over the place but my irons are dead on so I tend to score more. Second nine my tee shots are very good but I tend to hit irons right and start to lose focus on the greens. If I just focus on putting on the second nine everything evens out
 
mikedean441 said:
I'm a stats geek so bare with me a bit. Was looking through my last 10 rounds and just seeing if besides crappy putting if there was anything else hindering my game. I joke about taking 14 holes to get "warmed up" sometimes but sadly after looking at my scorecards for the front 9 vs the back 9 at different courses it may be true.

My last 10 scores have shown the following differences:(
0, -6, -2, 0, -5, -4, -2, +5, -1, -3.








So in summary out of 10 rounds ive been better 7 times on the back, the same 2 times and worse only once (and that once came courtesy of a blow up 9 on a par 3).

Anyone else run into this? What do you guys think it is?

Curious as to what others are seeing/have experienced.
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I just checked my last 20 rounds. Average score: 74.4, average front nine 38.1, average back nine, 36.3. Surprising to me actually. Since I always warm up, I'm guessing my putting gets better on the back once I get the speed of the greens down. Unfortunately I don't track putting stats anymore - probably will start.

If not that, I need to figure out how to get my head screwed on straight sooner in the round ;-}
 
Maybe try to really narrow your focus on the shot at hand? You, especially now, have this idea that you aren't getting warmed up till later in the round, I've said before myself. Just try focusing one shot at a time, forget about the last or worry about the next. It generally helps me, I got away from it big time on Sunday and my round was terrible, I've also scrounged together rounds in the 80's by focusing and sticking to a game plan.
 
Yup I've had numerous rounds like that and for me it boils down to focusing more.
Usually going near 50 on front and bearing down to get near 40 on back.
Crazy game
 
Over the past 5 rounds I've played. I've played better on my back nine and it comes from just getting my swing figured out
 
TripleBogieTim said:
It's weird, but I have been just the opposite lately...starting off really strong on the front and then fading a bit in the middle and then coming back at the end..,..I think for me it's more of a concentration thing...something I am really trying to work on lately.
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Same here. For some reason I start strong and tail off on the back nine for some reason. I don't believe it's fatigue at all, if my front is good and I start off with the same pace on the first several holes on the back, I start thinking "what if" regarding score in a good way and must have too much stuff running through my head and usually undermine myself with a bad score on the back 9. I think for me it's mental.
 
went backwards today with the 40 then 45...there goes that theory
 
I almost always play a few strokes better on the back, unless I played REALLY well on the front. My worst spread was when I was having a lot of swing issues (blame my school coach), I shot 56 on the front, and then ground out a 44 on the back with 23 putts (including 3 fringe putts)...
 
Typically I am a much better front nine than back. I tend to attribute it to having a better mindset and focus on the front, at the turn my usual mid-round hotdog tends to send my round into the pits.
 
I typically play much better on back, but I think it mostly has to do with the fact that it plays much easier.
 
I have some courses that I almost always do better on one nine over the other. My regular course I usually did better on whichever nine I played second. Not sure if that will continue when the new course opens.
 
I used to have a really bad problem with this. I'm talking about shooting 49 or 50 on the front, and 41 or 42 on the back. It was crazy. For me, I really think it did come down to warming up. I'm just one of those guys whose back and shoulders are really tight until I take 20 swings or so, so a small bucket is imperative for me to start the round well.
 
I usually do better on the back 9. I think it's just a matter of getting into the groove & feeling comfortable. I try to hit a small bucket of balls & do some chipping & putting on the practice green to loosen up but only playing a couple holes is what gets me in the zone
 
I was like you for a while but then I changed my warm up. Once I'm loose I then hit a few balls like I'm playing. So if the course opens with a par 4 I would hit driver then a 9 iron second hole is a 160 yard par 3 I would hit my 8 iron. In short I play the first few holes on the range with the clubs I anticipate to hit
 
I actually have the exact same problem Mike but I know it is because my course really doesn't have a range facility to warm up with. Most times I am stretching and swinging the club to "loosen up," practicing putting, and then hitting the first tee. It then takes me anywhere from 3-7 holes to find my groove and by then my front 9 is toast!

My last 10 are -2, -3, -2, -4, -5, -3, -5, -6, -3, -5

Granted the back nine is easier at my course, but not 5 or 6 shots easier!
 
I'm with trippleBogieTim. I usually start off ok, either lose steam or concentration towards the start of the back nine, then pull it back together on the last 2-3 holes. it is less apparent in the middle and end of the season, but after a winter off, it shows.
 
in my early days of playing golf i'd slump around the 13th but now there is no dramatic drop off but i do notice that i start well and tend to lose my drive for a few holes at random times.
 
War Eagle said:
Two options mike...

1. Hit the range for a good bit and play some "simulated" holes. I.E. Hit driver, than an mid/short iron/wedge, and then a chip. Get your body in the motion of playing a hole, rather than a typical range warmup (Wedge, Iron, Driver, repeat).

2. Start on the back 9 first.
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#1 is my usual warm up War! But I only have so many shots in my back, so I'll pick maybe 4 holes that may be more difficult than others, simulate them on the range, and stop there. That and a good 5-10 min of stretching seems to work well for me.
One thing I have noticed , and you & Mike probably have noticed as well based on the incredible results you guys had in the fitness thread, is that I do now tend to finish stronger while the guys I am playing with seeem to fade a bit. I know my one friend, who is the same HC as me, lately has been ahead 2-3 strokes going into the last 4-5 hioles, but I have beat him every time.
 
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