I originally was going to do this blog under the title things we should do but don’t. I realized that all the things I was about to write about happen when we are playing the game. I am not sure I would classify these things as mental aspects of the game but more on how we process a round of golf. These are the things we need to do in order to get a round back on track, or to accept on how a round is going, and what if anything to do about it. We all have the goal to score as well as possible during a round. There is no question for most of us that is our biggest failure. How to turn around a bad start or better yet just how to avoid a bad start.
The first thing you have to do is to accept the vagaries of the game or some like to call it the rub of the green. When tour players scores vary by 6 to 7 shots on a day to day basis, then we should never get upset when that happens to us. If you start out a round by missing a couple of 4 to 6 foot putts in the first 3 or 4 holes you had better come up with a strategy to deal with that. You have to get out of the mindset that you will try and make up for the misses. You should get into the opposite mindset and begin to play super conservative. Even on shots from about 70 yards and out start to ignore the pin and get the ball on the green. Drive the ball to the widest part of the hole. If you make a longer putt or push or pull a shot relatively close to a pin and make a birdie, then you may take a little more aggressive attitude. Let the round dictate your play, not you trying to dictate the round.
You must correct mistakes quickly. What does this mean? It means that if you leave a 20 foot plus putt about 4 feet short on the first hole, your next putt of that length better be long. Sometimes that next putt may not happen for 3 or 4 holes. Maybe you miss the green on the next couple of holes but hit the chip shots real close to the hole. You could hit one of your approach shots very close to hole and make a birdie. It might not be until the 5th hole or so that you have another putt over 20 feet. Regardless, you want to hit that putt past the hole even if it causes you to 3 putt, if you knock it way past. It is the only way you are going to get a true feel for the greens. If you don’t make the adjustment quickly you may never make it, and it will certainly cost you more than one stroke.
The same thing applies to bad shots. Let’s say your opening shot either goes way right or way left. Maybe your opening tee shot is good, but your iron shot is either a big pull or push. A quick fix for this is to aim your next shot where the bad shot ended up. If you hit a big push slice on your tee shot, then on the second hole aim to the right. This should allow a little more over the top action and a better release of the club, allowing you to get closer to the middle of the fairway. What should you do if there is trouble on the right on the next hole? Take a 3 or 5 wood off the tee. Just do the opposite if your opening shot is a big pull or duck hook. If there is trouble on the left, then to avoid another big push to right, swing with less effort and aim down the middle. Do the same for iron shots also and you should correct your errors quicker with no conscious swing changes. Once you get back on track you can begin aiming at your projected target again.
Finally, you should feel that the round is going to progress naturally with no interference from you. What I mean by that is that the round should start out slowly. No matter how much you get to warm up feel that you are swinging easily and in control. In the beginning of a round your distance should be less. In the early holes take more club. If you are at a 7 iron distance then take a 6 iron for your approach. Eventually your distance will increase during the round. It will happen around the 3rd to the 6th hole. You will notice this with your driver. Then use the normal club for your iron distance. If you get off to a hot start, then this may happen quicker and eventually if some adrenaline is kicking in you may see an increase in normal distance. Do not fight this. In this case when you have a 7 iron distance go to the 8 iron. Remember to always evaluate your lie. A tight fairway lie is going to travel less than a lush fairway lie. A ball in the rough will go farther than a ball in the fairway. A ball in the rough is much more unpredictable on what it is going to do than a ball out of the fairway, so plan accordingly. Remember let the situation dictate what you are going to do. Do not try to force the situation. If you can do all of this during a round of golf, you will score much better on a day to day basis. Trust me this is easier said than done. I know from experience. Hopefully, I finally get better in doing all of this. See you on the links.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 