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What's more demoralizing as a golfer?

What's more demoralizing on a golf course... ?

  • A topped tee shot on a long par 5

    Votes: 14 17.1%

  • A missed, short birdie putt

    Votes: 17 20.7%

  • A flubbed chip

    Votes: 22 26.8%

  • A three-putt from an easy location

    Votes: 21 25.6%

  • Something else

    Votes: 8 9.8%
  • Total voters
    82
cyoung2ty

cyoung2ty

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On Saturday, I practically ran the gamut of demoralizing shots. Each bothered me, but... one bothered me more than the others.

1. On my 4th hole... I hit my approach just shy of the green in the fairway. I had maybe 40 feet between my ball and the hole... and maybe 20 feet of fairway before the green. It was lift, clean and place due to the very wet conditions, so... I had a perfect lie. Still... I flubbed my chip. I then putted from the fairway and hit the pin, tapping in for a bogey.

2. On the very next hole (a long par 3)... I pulled my tee shot and it kicked down in to the woods. I was able to hack it out and over the right side of the green. Another poor chip left me 33 feet for bogey. It was a straightforward putt. No significant break or anything. I left that about 3 feet short and, in my haste to finish the hole... I missed the putt for double. A three-putt from a fairly easy location kills me.

3. Later in the round (on another par 3)... I hit my 6 iron to 3'9" (winning a $79 CTP). I then proceeded to over-think the putt, finding a break in the putt that wasn't there... and I missed the birdie. Following the round... I found out that nobody else had birdied the hole and if I had just made the putt... I'd have won another $190. This is the one that I haven't stopped thinking about. I've now missed 2 birdie attempts inside of 4 feet so far this season.

To me... the only thing more demoralizing than missing a short birdie putt is topping a tee shot on a long par 5. A 'scoring hole' that I've turned into a struggle just frustrates me.

So... what's the most demoralizing shot you hit in a round? Is it one of the things I posted above or... is there another that keeps you awake at night?
 
I said a flubbed chip. Especially after it came after a great drive.
 
Don't know if it would go with topping a tee shot, but have a sky ball off the tee & not getting past the front tees.
 
missing a short birdie putt
 
I took the birdie putt. I can recover from a topped driver and at least give myself a par putt. If I'm "close", it really sucks to miss and opportunity.
 
I would go with three putt. Time to recover with the other options but putting is your last chance to do something good. Making a three putt just hurts the soul.
 
Short birdie putt. Because it meant that everything else went right on the hole, and that little putt counts as much as everything else.
 
Short birdie putt, because that means you made 2 great shots to get to the par 4
 
Flubbing any second shot after a great drive! Top it, fat, yanked OB, into the water, anything like that. Nothing worse than getting that beautiful drive down the middle, a comfortable club and distance from a perfect lie, and completely blowing it ......... or so I've heard. :banghead:
 
all of it can be demoralizing if you let it get to you... I voted other... lining up on the tee box for your usual shot and the ball going in a completely unexpected direction.
 
Missing a birdie putt short, especially I leave it a foot away. I don't get birdie that often so when the opportunity arrives, I always tell myself to not leave it short. Can't make it if you don't get it there.
 
I said other. For me, it's playing safe with a hybrid or iron off the tee and jacking it up!
 
A 3-putt from an easy spot would be hard to shed. If I play with anyone here and that happens, maybe don't talk to me for a couple minutes. Let me process.
 
Flubbed chip for me. Especially after a good drive. It just sets me down a path that's hard to come back from.
 
I really dislike mis-hitting my chip shots.
 
USAF Ret in Wis said:
I said other. For me, it's playing safe with a hybrid or iron off the tee and jacking it up!
Click to expand...

Oh man! That's a good one too. Well... not good, but... good for the purposes of this conversation.

"I'll just hit my 4 iron to avoid the trouble on the left side."

:mad:
 
A lot has to go right for someone to have a short birdie putt and to have that miss hurts. I may having lasting effects throughout the round.
 
Painful discussion here, but a good one! I went three-putt from easy spot, that is something I have a real hard time getting past - I know I need to man up better and move on.

Topping the drive definitely sucks, but my daughter learned that even with that, you're still not out of the hole. In a tournament she had last spring, she did just that, it was raining and her grips were wet, and she lost control of the club on the downswing. Topped the drive, went maybe 30 yards. She dug in, hit a beautiful 3W then I think 4HY to get greenside, then hit great pitch shot to tap-in distance for one of the most satisfying pars you could ever have.

I'll add to the list of demoralizing situations: You get an absolute gift/break when an errant shot headed for trees/OB hits something and bounces back in play, on the green, etc. Whatever the situation, you should count your lucky stars that you're not dead. Then, on the next shot, you proceed to fat a fairway shot, or yank it in the greenside pond, or if you were already greenside, you flub your chip/pitch, or blow a very makeable putt after the break you just got.

Or, how about when you put an amazing hole together and come up with a birdie, you're feeling so good about yourself on the next tee box, and you proceed to s-word one OB to the right?

Come to think of it, isn't about 90% of this stupid game demoralizing? Why do we do this to ourselves?
 
When I duff a tee shot, I laugh at myself more than get really mad. (it happens far too often to be mad) . But dorking a chip really throws me off. it too happens a lot, but it shouldn't still be happening. When it does that upsets me.
 
Not sure it counts as a flubbed chip, but hitting a perfect drive and then making a mess of your approach can be a killer, especially when you expect to walk off the hole with nothing worse than a par after the drive, but end up with a bogey
 
Combine 2 and 4 and you have the stuff nightmares are made of. Did that last year on a par 3.????
 
I'm going with the short birdie putt. I give myself so few good chances at birdie that it's crushing when I miss a short one.
 
Flubbed chip. I hate having to chip twice. Just kills my spirit.
 
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