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Blow Up Holes?

JB

JB

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Do you suffer from them frequently? What causes you to have one?
 
Ugh. Yes. Because my short game stinks. And I'll be honest, my putting stinks sometimes too. I have my driver, hybrid and irons down but those stupid little chips get me every time.
 
The last several rounds, I have had multiples. They usually come from lack of concentration/focus, trying to hit a hero shot when I should just take my medicine and move on or having had a lay off and not enough reps to be consistent. When I've played better, I would almost always have 1 a round and that came from a lack of focus or bad course management, which I suppose could be the same.
 
Yup! I’m probably down to one every other round. I do a fair amount of re-teeing and often play more aggressively than is necessary.
 
JB said:
Do you suffer from them frequently? What causes you to have one?
Click to expand...

I used to. Running gag in my league was just wait, a blow up hole is coming. Sometimes I would get a crappy bounce and the wheels would come off or I would try to do to much ( big driver bomb, reach in 2 on par 5 when lots of risk, or blow a par 3 tee shot ). Either way, here comes the blow up hole

Blow up holes cost me 2 par or better rounds last year. Shot 75 with a triple bogey on the last hole at En Joie Golf course during one of my NYSGA Amateur tournaments and shot a 74 at one of my league events double bogeying the last 2 holes, including 1 in the water on the par 5 18th.

But since about mid season last year I was able to reduce the blow ups which has really helped drop the scores.
 
Depends how you define blow up hole, but for me a true blow up hole is triple or worse. By that estimate, I average 0.4 per round so every 2-3 rounds I have one. It usually happens because of a bad tee ball followed by a stupid hero shot attempt, OR a real shameful short game display, usually involving a bunker.
 
I have cut down on them, but they still pop up once every other round or so. I eliminated the hero shot approach and adopted a take my medicine approach. I've learned I can have a bad shot on a hole and still make bogey. Now, blow-up holes include two (or more) bad shots and almost always a three-putt.
 
I have a tendency to have one in tournament rounds if I check/hear the scores or live leaderboard late. Just this weekend I had someone tell me I was up one going into 15 on day 2. I had a 3ft par putt and promptly pulled it the lipped out the bogey because I didn’t reset. I hit the next tee shot ob and finished 3rd. My mental game is the only thing as week as my short game.
 
Every round.

My problem is that I don't get mad - I'm not good enough to get mad over bad shots. I do, however, get frustrated. And that frustration tends to stick with me for 5-10 minutes and my next few shots end up being poor as a result.

I've gotten a LOT better about managing expectations and reminding myself that I'm out there doing something 1) I paid to do and 2) I genuinely have fun doing. But I still have blowup holes because I can't get out of my own way sometimes.
 
That is a killer for me. I will be playing well and then, hello Mr double Bogey followed by his friend Mr triple bogey. Losing focus, concentration maybe. A lot of times golf for me is just entertainment and I lose the competitive edge. The comradery takes over....it becomes more about being with my dad then worrying about shooting 80.
 
Ohhhhhhhhh yes. They do happen to me. Every round. It never fails.

Very excited to have a shot scope v3 to put into play this year with my new clubs from the grandaddy to be able to compare some stats from my grint account last year.

The reasoning for my blow up holes I would say are 70% tee box issues. When I hit a BAD drive there is a good chance I’m going to end up in OB or penalty. The problem then becomes I put a lot of pressure on the rest of my game but particularly my short game. I’m someone who can be a great short game player when I’m playing carefree. When the pressure is on however I can easily blade one, chunk one, miss one on the wrong tier etc. that coupled with penalty strokes can lead to multiple triples.

After struggling with the tee ball at the hideaway I was able to get a round in once I was home. Played without a driver or a hybrid. Was teeing off with a 5 iron or driving iron. Shot 1 over through 7 including squandering a chance of birdie making the par 5 in 2. The 8th hole I flubbed my approach. Then sent the next one way over the green by blading it. Triple bogey and bogey finish to go +5 on the 9 when I had playing perfect golf for 7 holes.

If I can remove blow up holes my handicap would be significantly lower.
 
i'm not prone to more than triple, fortunately. but if i'm being 100% honest, that's probably because i either 1) pick up, and/or 2) pretty much always play ob as a red stake.
 
I’ll have them every now and then and usually result from a bad tee shot, which has me trying to hit a hero shot.
 
There's this thing called tempo and this other thing called hero. They always are involved in blow up holes for me.
 
Oh yeah.... while better than it used to be, i'm NOT immune to the blow up hole. I lose focus for a couple of shots (usually starting with a tee shot) and it's off to the races.
Put me down for a 7
 
I don't suffer from them frequently, but it does happen. I would say every 3 or 4 rounds I have a really bad hole that I need to deal with. It usually starts with a terrible 100 yard drive right into a tree, then try to get it out of there unsuccessfully a couple times then finally get around the green then miss the green to the other side then ....

I would say I'm usually pretty consistently poor / average at best.
 
They don't happen too frequently anymore but its Usually a wayward tee shot or worse....el hosel
 
Oh for sure. I would say lost drive or shank that goes OB are probably the biggest culprits for me.
 
A blow-up hole for me usually starts with not fitting my eye off the tee; sometimes I just can't visualize the correct starting line or take a certain line only to find out I should have been 5 yards to the left.

While it doesn't meet the above criteria, I can immediately go to the first hole of the Woods nine at my home course. It's a hockey stick shaped hole where the tee is at the tip of the blade, so you are hitting blind over a hill at an angle to the fairway. If you go too far left and straight the irrigation reservoir is in play. First swing of the day, either without the necessary draw or if pushed off the toe a bit can easily put me OB quick. Take a drop at the point of entry and hit my third to leave 200 in. I still can't reach, so I'm going to be at least five to get on.

Don't even get me started on four putts....
 
Now we’re talking my language here. I need to bring this guy along in my head for the following scenarios:
- trying to keep up with long ball guys off the tee
- short game outside my ability
- trying to reach long par 5’s in 2
The list goes on and on.
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Nice try😏





It's almost always a series of bad decisions.
Think tin cup
 
Sure I have them. They are caused by my loft. You know loft….. Lack OF Talent. It is usually an errant tee shot or my pull/hook miss with irons.
 
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