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Lower scores without trying too hard?

TTime

TTime

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When I go into a round wanting to play well I get the feeling that I'm trying too hard and end up with high scores. If I go into it with a "whatever" attitude I tend to play well. In general that's what I've found out this season about my game.

Trying to find a balance between being focused, relaxed, and not thinking about playing well is tricky… Anyone else working on this?
 
TTime said:
When I go into a round wanting to play well I get the feeling that I'm trying too hard and end up with high scores. If I go into it with a "whatever" attitude I tend to play well. In general that's what I've found out this season about my game.

Trying to find a balance between being focused, relaxed, and not thinking about playing well is tricky… Anyone else working on this?
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I am for sure. I have a bad habit of saddling myself with high expectations before I've even struck one ball and it rarely works out.
My best scores tend to happen when I'm just out there to enjoy the game.
 
Try breaking your round up into smaller sections like every 3 holes or so being its own mini-round. Tends to keep my mind pretty relaxed and not focused too much on one specific hole. Might not work for you, but it's something that has worked decently well for me this year.
 
cbaker2882 said:
Try breaking your round up into smaller sections like every 3 holes or so being its own mini-round. Tends to keep my mind pretty relaxed and not focused too much on one specific hole. Might not work for you, but it's something that has worked decently well for me this year.
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That is a really good idea. I will for sure give it a try
 
I just try to focus on the shot at hand and accept whatever result happens then forget about it til I get to the ball. I try not to set expectations before a round.
 
It isn't easy to do, some of my best rounds have come after terrible starts and vice versa. I have been trying to play one hole at a time but for an average amateur golfer it is tough to not get ahead of yourself.
 
I find as soon as I am thinking about anything other than the hole I am on, things go haywire.

Prime example, I shoot 40 on the front yesterday, so I have 44 more strokes to match my PB.... I start watching the card more, keep thinking what I need to do on the remaining 9/8/7/6/5 holes..... and end up parring one hole on the back, and shoot a 45. Finish the round 6, 6, 6 and I miss my goal by a stroke.

Have expectations for the hole you are on, and relax. Relaxed golf = good golf!
 
I'm in the same boat. I find that I play better by myself or when I play with strangers. When I play with people I know I'm too concerned with either competing with them or showing them how I've improved. Basically, I play poorly under pressure.
 
I never push the issue. I play every round like it means nothing. Just have to block out what just happens and keep nothing but positive thoughts in your head.
 
The book Zen Golf helped me with all this a whole lot. Learning to relax "on command" so to speak is a skill we can all use from time to time. Keeping your head in the present and focused on the next shot is a skill that needs constant work.

That's usually where I fall down is not working on that mental part of my game enough. I need to keep that in front of me as something that needs the same attention as my swing does.
 
OP - same with me. I find when I pressure myself I don't score as well as when I go out and relax and have fun. And to emart2173 point, I've been focusing on the shot at hand, not the one I hit before. It's been working for me.
 
I usually eat a real heavy breakfast before I play my round. I feel so bloated and tired that it really relaxes me to play well. Kinda just treat the round as a nice cart ride thru the park
 
jamant12 said:
OP - same with me. I find when I pressure myself I don't score as well as when I go out and relax and have fun. And to emart2173 point, I've been focusing on the shot at hand, not the one I hit before. It's been working for me.
Click to expand...

Thats good to hear. That was one of the first tips I tried from Dr. Bob Rotella.
 
TTime said:
When I go into a round wanting to play well I get the feeling that I'm trying too hard and end up with high scores. If I go into it with a "whatever" attitude I tend to play well. In general that's what I've found out this season about my game.

Trying to find a balance between being focused, relaxed, and not thinking about playing well is tricky… Anyone else working on this?
Click to expand...
I used to get all jacked up before I played, ready to birdie every hole, etc. High expectations led to a lot of highs and lows emotionally and scoring-wise on the course. I would also get to the point where I would play "whatever" golf and then remarkably start playing well again but also could lose it due to lack of focus.

This year I have found I made the effort to keep a more even keel by playing what I call "Boring Golf". No heroics, no Tin Cup shots, just try to hit fairways and greens and make a shitload of pars. When I do this my mistakes are less and the birdies will come. I also got some good advice from a friend, who's a scratch golfer, who noticed I focus better in match play over stroke play: play match play against the architect. This allows me to focus better shot to shot and forget about past holes. PLUS I'm looking at how holes are designed to be played and taking what the hole gives and not trying to force shots that don't work.
 
It sounds like a lot of us are working on this. I struggle to find the sweet spot between relaxed and indifferent. Breaking the round into three hole increments works but I still watch the card a bit too much when things go well.


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TTime said:
When I go into a round wanting to play well I get the feeling that I'm trying too hard and end up with high scores. If I go into it with a "whatever" attitude I tend to play well. In general that's what I've found out this season about my game.

Trying to find a balance between being focused, relaxed, and not thinking about playing well is tricky… Anyone else working on this?
Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with wanting to play well as you get to a round. And wanting to play well and trying too hard do not have to be intertwined. But I would ask, do you only get that feeling once you begin to play poorly? ..........the reason I ask is because playing poorly seems to (from what many will say) always go hand in hand with one believing they are trying too hard, or overthinking, or whatever. But imo Its really like "the chicken or the egg scenario".......... Which one came first? Its the same with playing well. Play well and most will say the opposite........"its amazing how well I play when Im not over thinking or trying so hard" But again, which one came first?

Well......while I do believe trying too hard and overthinking can be detrimental it actually imo very often can be the poor play itself that then initiates the other thoughts. When we begin to play poorly we can try to and may even put it behind us but then it happens again and naturally one wants to know what to fix so we try harder and we think more. It goes hand in hand. We play well we feel good, we play poorly and we don't. Not much of what I am saying may be any answer I understand but its just that I don't really believe in the logic that its "always" the "overthinking" and/or the "trying too hard" that caused the poor play so much as its the poor play that causes the others.
 
rollin said:
There is nothing wrong with wanting to play well as you get to a round. And wanting to play well and trying too hard do not have to be intertwined. But I would ask, do you only get that feeling once you begin to play poorly? ..........the reason I ask is because playing poorly seems to (from what many will say) always go hand in hand with one believing they are trying too hard, or overthinking, or whatever. But imo Its really like "the chicken or the egg scenario".......... Which one came first? Its the same with playing well. Play well and most will say the opposite........"its amazing how well I play when Im not over thinking or trying so hard" But again, which one came first?

Well......while I do believe trying too hard and overthinking can be detrimental it actually imo very often can be the poor play itself that then initiates the other thoughts. When we begin to play poorly we can try to and may even put it behind us but then it happens again and naturally one wants to know what to fix so we try harder and we think more. It goes hand in hand. We play well we feel good, we play poorly and we don't. Not much of what I am saying may be any answer I understand but its just that I don't really believe in the logic that its "always" the "overthinking" and/or the "trying too hard" that caused the poor play so much as its the poor play that causes the others.
Click to expand...

You asked if I get that feeling once I start playing poorly. My answer is sometimes yes, but most of the time no. I'd say I'm having the same issue as Annhl8rX. I tend to play better by myself or with random people. When I play with my friends it seems like I'm trying too hard cause I'm subconsciously trying to show how I've improved. I really have to get rid of that mentality, it makes me get frustrated quicker/easier. Goes without saying but I've played well with friends, and have played very poorly by myself.

There's great advice and comments in here that I'm going to work on.
 
This is something i mess up on, especially when i forget to play one hole at a time. When i shot my PB i didn't even know it until i was in the car. One hole at a time.
 
My best ever round came when I least expected it - it was a tough course that I played fairly regularly and I was out with a friend for a chance round as we both had a free afternoon

The course was quiet, the weather was warm with very little breeze and I was striking the ball well. I knew I had played relatively well based on the number of pars I was writing down on the card but I didn't total the scores until after the round

Walked off the last hole and I was adding the scores up, and had to hand the card to Adrian and ask him to make sure I had added it up correctly as I didn't believe I would break 80 on that course, but I had done it with a 79
 
I agree with you 100%. All of my tournaments I have entered in this year, I've had high expectations of myself. I find that I psych myself out and end up shooting higher than my normal score. I actually played against a school yesterday, and found myself struggling on the first 4 holes. I was shooting over par, until I told myself to calm down. I decided to just have fun, and relax. After I started playing like I was just going out to shoot a fun round, I found that I was able to recover and win my match by 4 strokes. Golf is such a mental game and it can be so easy to psych yourself out.
 
I'm in the same boat. Best scores when u don't care and just enjoy myself and accept every shot. Zen Golf and the Rotella books help but it's harder to do than just saying you'll do it. Just takes time and practice, like every other part of this game.


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I'm also at that point where I need to find the right balance between not caring enough and caring too much. I've got to figure that out.

When I care too much it's the golf version of a lousy day at work, and that is nowhere fun, with me whining and complaining for four hours.

If I don't care enough I end up taking stupid risks and experiment with shots, ending up in blowouts.
 
This is me.... Sometimes. It usually happens after I have a good sub 80 round. Then the next round I expect it to be easier. It never is. I play my best when I play carefree.


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I started this game at age 12 and it took me until age 35 to really understand what it meant to play one shot at a time.
 
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