Do you let it deflate you?

Trout Bum

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Do you let bad days on the course deflate you?

I've come to a point where my game has gotten really inconsistent due to not playing much or practicing and it used to really bother me a lot because I was always measuring myself, I got deflated thinking about how much work went in to the game and how much it takes to keep it going. Realizing it's a game that requires an investment of sorts, I've become ok with the fact that right now I'm simply not able to be competitive. Golf is a game that can deliver some serious butthurt but it's still a game.

Do you let it deflate you when you don't play to your potential or you aren't hitting it well?
 
I'll be honest, yes, sometimes. The days where I just play normal bad (in my world - 90 or so), I can deal with, but when I show up with absolutely nothing and barely break 100 or worse, I find myself wondering why I even play, why do I spend money of this dumb sport, etc etc. It usually goes away pretty quickly, but I won't deny it happens sometimes.

But, I also have days where I feel like I'm the greatest golfer in the world (NOT true) haha, so it all balances out.
 
Do you let bad days on the course deflate you?

I've come to a point where my game has gotten really inconsistent due to not playing much or practicing and it used to really bother me a lot because I was always measuring myself, I got deflated thinking about how much work went in to the game and how much it takes to keep it going. Realizing it's a game that requires an investment of sorts, I've become ok with the fact that right now I'm simply not able to be competitive. Golf is a game that can deliver some serious butthurt but it's still a game.

Do you let it deflate you when you don't play to your potential or you aren't hitting it well?
I do get deflated which is odd because when I step back I don't care much what I shoot. I think for me it is I know what it could be but I can't quite get there due to lack of practice and drive.

As with everything in life I am much harder on myself than anyone could ever be. The same holds true for golf for me

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Not really, but that's more due to my hdcp than anything else. I know that I have a long way to go before I'm fairly consistent, so I take the good with the bad.

I had a round this summer where I didn't get the ball airborne for 3 holes in a row. It was miserable. I ended the front 9 with a solid par, then scored a PB over 9 on the back. It comes and goes, for me especially. I can't get to the range anymore with the regularity that I used to, so that's part of it for me as well.
 
If I'm honest I think it deflates me a little, but I get back out there as soon as possible to erase the bad memories.

I used to let a really bad showing in a tournament keep me down for a few weeks but this year I've been better at snapping out of it and getting back to work. I always try to keep my expectations in line with the amount of work I'm putting in.
 
After a crappy hole I think of what I could've done differently. Next tee box it's a fresh start. As amateurs we have to accept that we're going to have blow up holes. Even when I posted worst round of the year I was like whatever, I'll do better next time. Some days we just don't have it.
 
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Do you let bad days on the course deflate you?

I've come to a point where my game has gotten really inconsistent due to not playing much or practicing and it used to really bother me a lot because I was always measuring myself, I got deflated thinking about how much work went in to the game and how much it takes to keep it going. Realizing it's a game that requires an investment of sorts, I've become ok with the fact that right now I'm simply not able to be competitive. Golf is a game that can deliver some serious butthurt but it's still a game.

Do you let it deflate you when you don't play to your potential or you aren't hitting it well?

I love this site just for these type of threads.

Played my worst round of the year yesterday. It was really discouraging as I expected more of myself and I'm trying to end with my HDCP under 20.
I must have had 6 OB's on the first nine. I stop counting strokes after 12.

I came home and "Sulked" about for 2 hours.

Reality is that I'm expecting too much at the time of the year when it's cooler and the greens are aerated.

I have to learn to let that go and enjoy the day.
 
A bad day on the course is still better than working

I never let a bad round get me down. I am competitive, but golf is a stress relief and sometimes my round will reflect how I am feeling in general. At the same time though, golf is my chance to forget about everything else and enjoy chasing that little white ball around the countryside
 
it depends on what is going wrong. there are times when i'm just off enough to miss my yardages and then not get up and down often enough. that's frustrating, but i'm ok with it.

then there's what unfolded over the past few days and what i have experienced before, where i get a case of the shanks and lose all confidence. that is so disheartening and makes me want to walk off the golf course, then take a pair of tin snips to every shaft in my bag to so i never play this demon game again.
 
It may deflate me for a short time after the round. But rarely does a bad score stay with me. I usually just move on. I don't feed my family with my scorecards. They really are a low priority for me.
 
You know... I normally don't. I play double boggy golf. Some days I do better, some days I do worse. Most the time all of the extra strokes come from chipping and putting, but Im almost always on the green in regulation.

No matter how the day goes, I always have fun, and I always manage to hit enough good shots to keep the spirits up and enjoy the round...

But on Friday, I went out for a round with my primary playing partner, and while I was on the 16th tee box coming down in my swing, he thought it would be a great time to make a video and purposely chirpy me for his personal entertainment.

Now he can be really annoying most the time... The time before last we played, I almost knocked him out with the pin, because he wants to always comment and coach, and then curse me when I return the favor...

So I go to tee off a second time, because I tell him that it was highly uncool that he just did that to me, and right as Im coming down in my second swing he starts replaying the video and it's loud enough that it throws me off again...

I love the guy, because I have to. He's family.

...but I swear to cheesus, Im never playing another round with him.

I held on to that frustration for the whole weekend, and even had the girlfriend and family constantly asking the highly annoying and repetitive "Are you okay?"

...and the thing is,

NO. Im not okay!

Golf is the one sport that I've participated in, that the worse I play, the more I want to play. It's the one thing I've really greatly enjoyed in this last year. And, with all of the stress that Im currently experiencing, with a job I dislike but can't replace, with a sick live in girlfriend (who hasn't worked in 2 months) that I'm having to financially support with nearly no income, and some other things that are going on...

NO. Im not okay!

Golf is my therapy. Golf is the one time of the week that I get to go out, have some quiet time to myself and work on improving myself. It's the one thing during the week that helps dissipate the BS before the following week of BS starts.

And money is so tight right now that I only had enough to play that one round this weekend.

And this asshole came along, and f*cked up 2 hrs of pleasure and enjoyment in a 10 minute window of time, and ruined the next 3 holes and my whole weekend.

So no. I normally love golf and want to play 24/7, but I'll never play with him again.
 
I have to say I did start letting my bad round start bothering me yesterday. But as I was driving home I started thinking to myself, came to the conclusion that I just had 3 days of golf with a great group of guys and no kids or wife bothering me. Even though it was probably my worst round in months I'll still take that any day of week.


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Sure it does. Sure I usually manage to have some laughs and a good enjoyment no matter my performance because it otherwise doesn't pay to then participate in a recreation that uses resources of a lot of my time and money. That being said I am not going to lie about golf being so much more enjoyable when I play well.

Sometimes its not so fun especially when you spend extra resources and put extra efforts into lessons and practicing and doing as much as you can to be a better and more consistent player but the results don't seem to change. Its very disheartening to put a lot in and not be able to really advance much at all. I alwsy say (and some people don't like this and even take offense to it) but I don't care how much good effort and time one puts into it, if you can be pretty darn good at this game you are lucky because plenty people put just as much if not more and just cant get to the same place or even close. And when your one who cant get there but puts in those similar efforts its even more frustrating because there is no excuse that you didn't put enough into it,

So that said, it sucks sometimes and sometimes I have walked away and even took small time off. When it no longer is fun enough Id rather do something else with my time and money and there is nothing wrong with that. It silly and almost stupid imo to do something your not having fun doing. Most all the time I manage to enjoy my choice of recreation (golf) and keep it enjoyable even when things are not going well but I admit there are times it sucks. I have learned to shrug it off as for attempting my next shot no matter how annoyed I may have been with previous so its not as though I am miserable while taking my next shot or playing the next hole. But the over all performance at the end of the day can at times be a turn off especially when you feel you made good efforts for this not to happen. Even after reviewing the first 9 I have walked away. Its just stupid and pointless when the fun is gone. Its not often at all and pretty rare the fun is all gone but I admit it does happen.
 
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Therapy for me as well, and when I approach it that way I normally play better than when I do if I am expecting to play better. Yesterday, I started the day off with a triple. I had just got new irons and wedges and wanted really badly to play well. Starting off with a triple really bummed me out, so I reset the expectation to simply enjoy myself playing the game. I like counting out yards. I like the strategy. I like that you need to execute specific shots to score well. So I focused on those aspects of the game, rather than my score....shot 82. Had I continued to play poorly, I am sure my attitude would poor as well, but most of the time, I can shake off poor performance by continuing to go through the motions, which I actually really enjoy.
 
Yes, but it's a bigger issue that just golf. I'm working through some major struggles mentally so playing bad golf is extremely deflating.
 
I've had enough bad days on the course to learn to deal with it...


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Nope! I'm not a pro and never will be. Bad shots are going to happen. Is it a much better day when i'm shooting well...absolutely! When I was younger I used to be a sulker but now that i'm older I just put the scorecard away and have some laughs with my friends.
 
Im in the same boat as you are. Due to my work schedule, I dont play or practice as much as I used to and my game has suffered because of it. I dont let it get to me. Sure, I want to play my best but Im also a realist and I understand that if Im not playing and practicing a lot, Im not going to shoot low scores.
 
Used to but not anymore. I know the next round will be a new round and don't want to go into it with mental baggage. Had a round a little over a week ago where I had 3 uncharacteristic blow-ups on the way to a front nine 46 then went on to play the back in 1 under 35.
 
A bad round will get me down for a bit but I'm usually over it within a couple hours.
 
Bad days on the course does deflate me. Hell a bad range session deflates me. I will not let it get in the way of a great day. When I am obviously struggling out there I try to keep a positive attitude and enjoy the company.
 
Nope, it's frustrating while I'm out there. But it's golf, not work. And i go home to my wife and move on with my life.
 
Yes really bad days deflate me .

Take this Saturday for instance . My average round for the past 25 was like 73.6 and I went and threw up an 84.

It really bothered me. Usually if I can keep it in the 70's I'm happy but really bad rounds bother me more than they should .

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I used to let it bother me for a couple hours after a bad round but that ended after I had kids. After being a parent I no longer had the time or energy to be upset about my golf game. Golf is just recreation for me and if I'm going to be upset about it I need to find a different hobby.
 
Do you let bad days on the course deflate you?

I've come to a point where my game has gotten really inconsistent due to not playing much or practicing and it used to really bother me a lot because I was always measuring myself, I got deflated thinking about how much work went in to the game and how much it takes to keep it going. Realizing it's a game that requires an investment of sorts, I've become ok with the fact that right now I'm simply not able to be competitive. Golf is a game that can deliver some serious butthurt but it's still a game.

Do you let it deflate you when you don't play to your potential or you aren't hitting it well?

I used to. But coaching has helped, I want my kids to realize that bad days happen and sometimes you have to lock in, go to a go-to shot, and just grind out the round while minimizing big misses as much as possible. Its changed everything for me mentally.
 
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