When you are closing in on a possible PB?

I wish I didn't know what I was at score wise like some of you are able to do. I ALWAYS know where I'm at. My PB round, I was -3 through 15. I didn't change my strategy or my plan on hole 16. I did what I always would try to do. But I sliced a ball in to the water with a club I NEVER slice. My score was in my mind off the tee though. Double, Bogey and thankfully birdie finish. So I still PBd, but I still think what could have been. I went back and played that hole after I was done with 18, and of course I birdied it with no pressure.

I always have lots of thoughts in my head when I'm playing well. It's why I don't seem to break 80 as much as I know I should. I absolutely need to have a stronger mental side of this game
 
When I shot mine all I knew was that I was playing well. Just a nice walk that day, guys I was playing with said you have a good score on the front and we make our points so keep it up. I had an idea where I was at, but never asked, never really felt like I was breathing I was so relaxed that day.
Was really fun and have sniffed it a couple times but couldn't close out.
 
I think we all have to get comfortable on the course as we break through each scoring plateau in golf, whether it's breaking 100, 80, par, or going really low into the mid or low '60s.

I remember I had a big mental block as a teen trying to break 80 the first time, but once I did it a handful of times in one month, it was on to the next goal. I don't have many sub 70 rounds anymore, especially with my home course as a par 73, but I actually focus and score better on the back nine when I give myself that chance after a solid front nine. You have to train yourself or trick your brain to not care about the score/result.
 
"Personal Bests" for me these days is breaking 80.

Although I might have a small thought I'm playing well, I never know my final score till I'm done playing.

I never think about my over all score when playing. All I want to do is hit the ball, go find it, and hit it again.
 
The last 2 PB I have shot are when someone else is keeping score - more than once, usually when a course is backed up, and I add up my back 9 with a few holes left, things can go sideways if I say "if I just go par, bogey, par" etc....
 
It can definitely get in your head. For me it usually is worse if I start off really strong and then think "oh I can go low today". The PB's that I have had over the last couple years have actually been when playing in money games. One is our usual weekend game and I was playing well and was around E or -1 through 12 holes. There are few birdie holes after that and the game pays out for birdies so I was just focused on playing each hole for birdie or par and wasn't focused on my score. I finished those last holes strong and ended up with PB's of 69 then a couple month later a 68.

The most recent was this summer in an afternoon team game. We ended up having a wolf game I was -1 through 10 holes and was still 2 shots behind one of the other guys. My goal was to hang around with him. He blows up 11 though and I just keep grinding away pars. They played "crybaby" on the last 3 holes so the bet was upped to $20 per hole. I end up making a good par on 16 to halve it then drain a long birdie putt on 17 to win the hole. The new big loser ups it to $50 on 18 and I strip my 3h off the tee and get chosen. 197 out and I hit my 7i to about 8 ft and make the birdie putt there for a PB -3 69 from our tips. I was never thinking about my score but just played each hole as they came as part of the wolf game.

Those rounds have made me realize to stay kind of aggressive (not stupid trying to cut doglegs) and not try to play it too safe. I would rather be aggressive and have a bad hole then try to play it safe and have one. That has to be the most on of the most frustrating things to me.
 
Next spring I'm going to be in a position of *really* wanting to hit a certain number for a personal best for some additional reasoning beyond simply improving the PB. I've already thought about how it'll probably get in my head if I'm on track for it, so this will probably only make it so that's it MORE in my head, since it's already in my head and we're several months away haha.

Once I hit that number, improving the PB from there would be a goal of course, but not nearly as thought-provoking for me as this first goal. From that point on, it'd be more of a "if it happens, then great, if it doesn't and I was close, still a good round and a fun day on the course" type of a thing.
 
I struggle when hitting a PB. Took me a while to break 80 at my old club in the UK, that had a tricky 18th. I finally did it by shooting a 7 on the last. A couple of months back I shot my lowest round of 74 (it tied my lowest round to par which was +5). I went out in 1 over and knew I was playing well. But I couldn’t help jumping ahead of myself. 10 hole was a double by playing a bone headed shot into water. Ended up grinding like hell that entire back 9 to shoot that 74. That’s why I could never play this game for a living.
 
I'm in the habit of not really focusing on where I stand, score-wise, in a round. I pay close attention to where I stand in a match but not my gross score. The low-scoring days usually come when I'm putting lights out, which is something that I do keep track of in my head. I'm always trying to break 30 putts per round, with no 3 putts.
 
It totally gets in my head - not just for PB but if it looks like I'm going to be even par for my handicap or better.
Only on my home course though - I guess because I know what's coming 🤷‍♂️ I even start thinking about how badly I'm allowed to blow up and still meet my goal :facepalm: I really need to stop doing that ...
 
When I first broke 80 the last few holes were a nightmare mentally... Started birdie, eagle on 2 par 4s when u was playing off 18 so net -5... Just about kept it together to finish on 79...

It was many years ago but I can remember my playing partner signing the card and sticking it in the Handicap box...


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I generally don't look at my score during a round however I have a very good sense of where I am at in regards to par. In a tournament I can get a bit tight sometimes but when that happens I try to fall back on my preshot routine/process. This helps me get committed to each swing. I don't change my strategy. I tend to play a fairly conservative strategy so it wouldn't require a change.

I will also probably never have another PB in my life so I don't have to sweat that.
 
This sums it up pretty well.

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That's pretty much rule #1 on what not to do. Lol You could make it anything. Started trying to play ______er. Gotta stick with what's been working usually.

What sealed the deal was my DOUBLE PAR on the long par 5...that I birdied the last time I played so I went in thinking I was on my way.... Nope. Hard ******* nope. Killed my score with that one hole.
 
I can't tell you the amount of times I have gone back and added up a score or gone on to Arccos/ShotScope after and been pleasantly surprised by a score. Usually my scrambling a short game erases a lot of mistakes.

That being said I generally know when I am playing well. Since my perception is usually worse, if I am thinking I am playing well it usually means I'm playing really well. Unless I am in a scramble or a charity tournament I do not pay attention to score each hole. In the past year, I've gotten in the habit of not keeping a scorecard unless I have to and relying on my tech to go back on. That way I am not mentally "getting ahead of myself" or thinking man I need a whatever here to make a PB.
 
I never track my score while playing, by the 15th hole I usually know I have a good round going, that’s when things fall apart. Getting to a new PB is all about keeping cool the last 3-4 holes, an extraordinarily difficult task.
 
I will admit, that I am constantly looking at my score and each hole might be played a bit differently if I am getting close to reaching a personal best.

I usually start thinking about things after the 10th hole.
 
I’ll admit that if I have a good front 9, I will calculate what I have to shoot on the back to get a certain score.
 
When you're playing well, just go for the ride and add 'em up when the round is over.
 
OK, went through the entire thread and could not find what 'PB' means? Is this special Hacker's Paradise lingo? 'Provisional Ball'? Hmmm, think not.

"I shot my PB earlier this year." .... Hmmm, 'Personal Best'? Only took me 15 min. ;)
 
I might be immune, or maybe it's just that my best scores aren't all that remarkable? But I honestly had no idea where I stood either time I shot my best ever score (73; +3) and was also oblivious the time I shot my best ever score to par (74; +2). I play with some guys who are acutely aware of where they stand every round but I never add them up until I'm done, just never have.
 
I don’t keep track of my score on a scorecard during around, I just add it up after +/-‘s. But drives me crazy at times as I have a friend that plays a lot and he’ll keep score for everybody on a scorecard and I remember one time I was on the 16th Tee box and he said something to the effect, boy you’re having a good game, -3 with three to go. Well that was a curse, I ended up even par for the round after bogeying the last three holes 🤬.
 
Well, a PB for me is about 50 years in my rear view mirror! A few years ago, after a front 9 score of 40, I started the back with a few pars. I started thinking about breaking 80. Things were going well until a bad drive on the par 5 17th. I hit it in the water left of the fairway, so had to drop and hit 3. Instead of limiting the damage I tried to hit hero shots and paid the price! Quadruple bogey 9! I settled down enough on the par 4 18th to hit my best drive and approach of the day, almost making birdie. But, I settled for par and a 40-40=80!
 
It gets in my head for sure. Best round this year was an 84, but I went 39 on the front. Went bogey, chip in for birdie, and bogey on 10-12 and it was like once I realized breaking 80 was a legit possibility things just fell apart. Wound up making double on 3 of the last 4 holes. Maybe next year...
 
I know when I’m playing well (or not so well). I don’t ever keep a mental tally of my score and really don’t look at the scorecard until the round is over. (Other than to jot down the score on a hole)

I also don’t ever want to know what holes I’m stroking on. It doesn’t make a damn bit of difference to me. I don’t play this game with my handicap in mind.
 
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