Frustration

[BogeyNoMore]

Am I the only one who gets frustrated by how inconsistent they are when playing?

Probably. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure you are.

 

[wkelly42]

My biggest frustration has been playing like crap when I'm with other people. With my schedule, I usually play solo rounds, so it's a whole new experience when I'm with a group. The pace is different, there are people watching me, etc. -- it just seems like I can count on adding 5-10 strokes per 18 if I'm with other people.

 

[Cygnus]

Frustration is usually not a problem. But last week I had such a terrible round, short ass drives terrible second shots, missed putts, I felt like I was playing my first time again.

I personally was very embarrassed and decided to work on my game every day. I have a schedule set in place and very curious to see the progress.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

.... felt like ... my first time again.
I personally was very embarrassed ...

Cygnus, sorry you feel that way, hope you get over it eventually.
I have rather fond memories of my first time....

 

[T.Hizzle]

My biggest frustration has been playing like crap when I'm with other people. With my schedule, I usually play solo rounds, so it's a whole new experience when I'm with a group. The pace is different, there are people watching me, etc. -- it just seems like I can count on adding 5-10 strokes per 18 if I'm with other people.

I hope you don't play tournaments.. You'd really be pissed.

 

[burdphil]

I personally learned a very valuable lesson last week. I was on the same card in my league with this guy who is an old school pro (PDGA # in the 6000s) who is one of three guys who wins most of the local tournaments around here. Usually on this particular course he crushes me by at least 10 to 15 strokes.

On this day, however, he threw OB on four of the first six holes, missed several putts and basically couldn't do anything. It was crazy. And yet through it all he was completely relaxed, smiling, and having a good time.

Everybody has bad days. Everybody. Watching his chill attitude as he was grinding through one of his bad days made me feel so relaxed about playing that I beat my personal best on that course by five strokes that night.

 

[bradharris]

I personally learned a very valuable lesson last week. I was on the same card in my league with this guy who is an old school pro (PDGA # in the 6000s) who is one of three guys who wins most of the local tournaments around here. Usually on this particular course he crushes me by at least 10 to 15 strokes.

On this day, however, he threw OB on four of the first six holes, missed several putts and basically couldn't do anything. It was crazy. And yet through it all he was completely relaxed, smiling, and having a good time.

Everybody has bad days. Everybody. Watching his chill attitude as he was grinding through one of his bad days made me feel so relaxed about playing that I beat my personal best on that course by five strokes that night.

That's a very good point. Once you make a mistake or two, if you let it get in your head, you'll likely make more mistakes down the road. If you can stay relaxed and loose, you can forget the bad throws and just focus on executing the next one.

 

[mjoyce]

Also people have a tendancy to try to make up those mistakes by running at long birdies instead of playing conservitive and letting the game come to them. Sometimes when you do that you can leave a difficult par putt. Miss that and you bogie. Adding a stroke. When I have a couple bad holes I trie to just forget about it. Move on to the next shot and try to throw it well. Nothing changes the past. There's no delorian with a flux capacitor on the course that you can fire up to 88MPH

 

[jtreadwell]

I can usually keep my cool, but if I'm stuck in a bad game rut I play a "relaxed rules" solo round to get the frustration down. Basically, I go out and play, but allow myself to take a few steps away from the disc in bad lies and even throw some mulligans if I make a really bad shot. It takes my mind off of the score and bettering my game and lets me just throw for the fun of it. If I'm playing with a buddy of mine and we're both having a bad time of it, sometimes we'll play best shot between the two of us and just see how good a score we can get. That takes a lot of the pressure off as well. It seems like most of the frustration we golfers feel on the course comes from wanting to compete (either with others or ourselves) and by taking that factor out of it it's easier to have a fun round and loosen up. I always find I shoot much better after playing a very casual round.

 

[Jtrain]

I usually got better at that but when I did I just start laughing and the more you get frustrated the worst you will get, dont think about hitting the tree because if you do the higher chance you will hit it

 

[RustyStrings615]

While it is definitely a mental issue as well...there are some mechanical fixes that will help your consistency. Watch the latest Dave Feldberg clinic (the one with Sarah Hokom in it...I forget the title) and he talks about keeping the disc on the line all the way through your throw...instead of trying to bring your release point to the line at the last second. Most often if I mess up..its on the distance or apex point...but I almost always hit my initial line. This is something I've been doing for a while...and all of my buddies agree that consistency/control is my strong point ...of course I have my weaknesses too..that's for another thread :\

 

[Hampstead]

I was frustratingly consistent yesterday.
I had 12 putts hit the chains/basket and bounce off.
It got to the point where all I could do was laugh.
It was a beautiful day, no reason to get angry.