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Confidence when playing golf

emart2173 said:
Short game is where I have confidence issues sometimes but it doesn't affect me nearly as lack of confidence with driver/wood swing off the tee


I'm moving to the fade as we'll for the same reason of removing the left side of the course
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As long as you can resist the temptation to chase the extra distance a draw presents, its a nice way to play the game.
 
LordByron said:
As long as you can resist the temptation to chase the extra distance a draw presents, its a nice way to play the game.
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I started the move to the fade last year and from a carry distance perspective in was seeing no loss so I'm good with being able to resist that. I'm working to make it a more consistent swing this year.
 
Confidence issues hit me most often on the greens, most days I tense up over every 3-7 footer. On those rare days I'm confident putting, life is good. Sometimes I'll feel uncomfortable setting up to a bunker shot too. I tense up and KNOW it'll be a crappy shot ... and I'm never wrong in those instances. Other times I'll go a couple months without hitting one awful bunker shot? Other than on the greens (almost always) and those rarer tensed up bunker shots, I really don't sense any pressure anywhere else on the course.
 
The saying "where the mind goes the body follows" was probably created because of golf. We've all had those rounds where you're pumped and can't miss (at least for a few holes) and other rounds where you've apparently forgotten how to swing a club.

My mental demon is pitching/chipping. I can practice all day long without an issue "because it doesn't count". Once I'm on the course I can easily take 2-3 strokes to get on the green from ten feet because I'm afraid that I will hit it too hard.

The sad part is that being a #ShortKnocker putting and chipping was what kept me competitive with the bombers. Until I can resolve the cranial-rectal inversion, I have tried to adjust my game so I'm left with a full swing approach.
 
Confidence affects me the most off the tee, and just off the green. If I'm not feeling it with the driver or even a 3W, I'm in trouble.

If I'm 20 yards off the green, I'm OK. If I'm 5 yards off the green, especially to a pin that's on the other side... look out. For some reason I've always had trouble gauging those shots, to the point where I'll decel and hit a bump and run fat, sending it a whopping 5 feet.
 
emart2173 said:
This is kind of what I was alluding to. We all play at different levels of success or consistency. Some may have a 5-10 yard fade and know that regardless if their swing gets away from them their ball is going to go left to right and it may be a little worse than avg but not too bad so they can step up to the tee and know where they will be playing their next shot from.

Others may go thru a stretch where they have no idea if ball is going to go straight, left or right and there goes their confidence.
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I've been going through that stretch since I started playing golf.
 
I'll add that whatever small bit of confidence I may be able to conjure up during a round is quite fragile. One bad shot won't kill it, but a blow up hole will.

I never have one blow up hole. It's either none, or several of them. One always leads to more.
 
Confidence can be a 20 shot difference for me
 
jdtox said:
Confidence is huge on the golf course. Try hitting one off the hosel during a round and see what happens...you start to question everything and your game goes in the toilet.
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^Amen to this ^
 
I have to believe it, to achieve it. I kind of live and die by this on the course.
 
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