I’m sure you’ve experienced this yourself.
You’ve started your round, you’re playing nicely through the first few holes, the ball is zipping out of the middle of the clubface and all is well in your golfing world.
Then out of nowhere comes the first chip in the windscreen, the first bad hole, that’s then followed by another and then before you know it, disaster has struck and you have a car crash of a hole and your scorecard now lies in tatters.
What seemed like moments ago, you were ticking along beautifully, now you’re questioning your very own existence on this god forsaken mud ball.
You’ve gone from hero to zero in no time flat.
The above scenario is one that plays out on many courses across the world.
No golfer, from weekend warriors, die hard amateur enthusiast to tour pro alike, are exempt. They all suffer the same cruel fate at the hands of the golfing gods, taking a potentially great round and turning it into a dive round.
So what do you do when your round starts to take a turn for the worse?
What happens if you get on the bogey bus or the double bogey train and you only have what seems like a one way ticket?
It’s a sickening feeling and one of the most frustrating things about this game, but it can be conquered and here’s how.
First of all, from my extensive experience, most golfers are world class at taking a bad situation and making it worse, I bet you’re no different.
So from now on, make it a policy, when you are in trouble, the first thing you have to do is get out of trouble. Not play the miracle shot, but steer yourself to calmer waters, if that means chipping out sideways then that’s what you do.
Secondly, again in my extensive experience, most golfers overreact.
If you’ve just made a stupid mistake or a silly three putt, then yes it is annoying, but that is all it is, a stupid mistake or silly three putt, it’s not going to ruin your round unless………..you let it. This can ward off any potentially run of bad holes right there and then, nip it in the bud before it can even happen.
You choose how you think and how you react. For the sake of good scores, stay calm.
Next, don’t panic, never panic.
You may have just duffed a chip or shanked an iron shot or hit a tee shot out of bounds, it was one shot and that is all it is, one shot.
Just because you have hit one stinker of a shot does not mean you are guaranteed to hit the next one badly. So calm down, reflect, take a deep breath and then go play the next shot.
I can’t tell you the amount of times I have gotten myself into a bad situation on the course and have averted potential disaster for the round by thinking clearly.
So many times I’ve wanted to play the miracle shot but chipped out sideways instead, hit the next shot to around twenty odd feet and then holed the putt, no dramas no damage.
So there you have it, next time you get a ticket for the bogey bus, the above is how you make sure you get off at the very next stop.
Now onto more pressing matters, if you’re looking to improve, to shed a few strokes from that scorecard of yours, you could do worse than picking up a copy of “9 Ways to Lower Your Handicap & Shoot Your Best Round Ever”, it’s free for the time being and you can get the skinny at this link here.
Until next time , play easy.
Bob James PGA