Golf Score Rollo Coaster

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By Carl T

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  • 15 Replies
  1. Carl T

    Carl T
    Little Rock, AR

    Just curious if anyone besides me has such a huge swing in golf scores from week to week. Last week the last three rounds I played I shot 3 over for nine holes and the next day 6 over for nine holes (thunder storms ceased play for two consecutive days) and yesterday I shot 25 over par. Looking at my handicap stats for my last 20 rounds my low score is 80 and my high score is 97 with an average score of 85.6. My hcp index is 10.0. I always seem to have at least one or two blow up holes but yesterday it was just one continuous train wreck except for the number one handicap hole which I pared. In other words I only pared one hole out of 18 and shot the highest score of the year in the prime time of golf season ! Am I alone in this situation ? Just venting...
  2. Spudstarch

    Spudstarch
    Walnut Creek, CA

    I'm right there with you, but I'm pretty sure of the factors which lead to my bad round the other day. For me, it was the recent high (95 degree) temperature that I am not used to. I went out practicing early and exhausted myself before the round. Second, I think I actually play better by myself or with strangers, since my usual golf partners tend to lack the proper golf etiquette and can be somewhat disruptive. It might be the familiarity, which causes them not to care that they are making practice swings, and searching for abandoned balls while I take my swing. With strangers, there is a little more consideration for etiquette.

    Hi scores happen, which is why only best scores are considered for handicapping. I just consider playing with friends as training to become more mentally focused for more competitive rounds.

  3. Marc W

    Marc W
    Newark, DE

    Michael U said:

    I'm right there with you, but I'm pretty sure of the factors which lead to my bad round the other day. For me, it was the recent high (95 degree) temperature that I am not used to. I went out practicing early and exhausted myself before the round. Second, I think I actually play better by myself or with strangers, since my usual golf partners tend to lack the proper golf etiquette and can be somewhat disruptive. It might be the familiarity, which causes them not to care that they are making practice swings, and searching for abandoned balls while I take my swing. With strangers, there is a little more consideration for etiquette.

    Hi scores happen, which is why only best scores are considered for handicapping. I just consider playing with friends as training to become more mentally focused for more competitive rounds.

    I play to an 11 HCP and the last 6 rounds I've played have been with "drinking buddies" and there is just a total lack of golf etiquette with them. They alternately are rummaging through their bag for another ball, moving the cart while I'm trying to swing, taking practice swings while I'm trying to swing, casting shadows over the hole while I'm trying to putt, etc. For the most part, it doesn't start to be bothersome to me until everybody is either inside 100 yards of the green, greenside chipping, or on the green to putt. My fairway and GIR numbers aren't bothered too much, but everything inside of 100 yards just collapses since everyone is around and carrying on how ever it is that they do. I'm rather looking forward to this week being able to get a few solo/with random pairing rounds in.
  4. Carl T

    Carl T
    Little Rock, AR

    Thanks guys for the insight. Both of you are spot on what happened to my game. I was playing on a very hot, humid morning, which I prefer to play in the afternoon, my partners were carrying on conversations constantly in the back ground when I would be addressing the ball and as we were a team playing against another team, I felt like I needed to play better than my partners as I had the lower handicap than them. We count the best two balls out of the group for a team score on every hole. I completely lost my focus and concentration and was looking forward for the round to end because I was playing so badly. One guy in particular is always making comments about my swing and is always chatting about knocking the ball in the hole while I'm addressing my ball on the putting green. I know he means well but I don't need a cheering squad when I am playing golf. I usually play much better when I am playing with players who are much better golfers than me. Our group is made up of about 15 players and teams are made by the random grouping of balls tossed into the air. Odds were that on this given day, the worst golfers which includes me, were all on the same team. One more thing that was a factor was the slow play. My partners were oblivious to an open fairway and would continue to carry on conversations while other groups of golfers were pulling up behind us and waiting for us to play. That drove me crazy as I would end up just making a swing without any thought just to hit the ball to try to stay ahead of the groups behind. I love golf but when days like this one prompted me to post this discussion it really stress me out that I could not overcome the mental anguish that was going through my mind.
  5. Lou G

    Lou G
    San Diego, CA

    I tend to play better with familiar people.  In regards to strangers, I seem to play better with seniors as opposed to young hotshots that can hit an 8 iron 160 yards.  There are some days when I play better by myself. 

  6. Tracy C

    Tracy C
    Bluefield, VA

    I play to about the same handicap and have the same results. I concentrate on trying to minimize the big numbers even if I have hit a couple of bad shots in a row. Just turning a double into a bogey makes a tremendous difference. I have to really convince myself to take my medicine and start over on the next hole.
  7. Scott M

    Scott M
    Birdsboro, PA

    I agree completely with Tracy. Quite a while ago I asked a buddy of mine about getting better and he said the key to breaking 80 was eliminating doubles. He's right. As soon as you hit a poor tee shot, the next objective is about punching a ball near the green or pitching in to the fairway, hitting and green and two putting for a par. The worst scores come from letting your last shot ruin your next. I understand golfing with guys with poor etiquette and it's aggravating but as BH says, "golf is played on a 4.5" course between your ears". I highly suggest reading Dr Bob Rotella's "The Golfer's Mind". His books are excellent and I also recommend finding golf buddies who know the game and practice common courtesy on the course.

  8. Carl T

    Carl T
    Little Rock, AR

    Played with the group yesterday and "my team" was a group of guys who not only are all good golfers but practice good golf etiquette. Poor putting on my part led to my usual score in the mid 80's but the difference was night and day from the last game. Made only one double, the weather was mild for this time of year and we played in the afternoon. All factors in favor of what I like. Playing again today and I'm hopping that the golf Rollo Coaster is still on it's way down the track. I hate it when it slows down and starts climbing upward !
  9. Mike C

    Mike C
    Dallas, TX

    Glad to hear your golf is getting back to more normal.  Sometimes it can be outside influences, but other times it can be you are just a little bit off.  I think it is easy to get your game just a little off and the results can be dramatic.  Sometimes it is needing to focus and other times I can't figure out why I am off no matter how hard I try to focus. 

    This reminds me of a round I was having where I could not seem to get anything right.  As soon as I had a good shot, I would make a poor shot the next time.  The more I tried to focus, the harder it was to make shots.  I was so frustrated by the time I finished the front nine and I had shot a 53!  Something clicked at the turn and I relaxed, just made my shots and everything just fell into place.  I got into the groove and ended up shooting a 33 on the back for a 20 stroke difference between the nines!

    I guess the point here is that your game can come and go and often times we don't know why.  Go back to the basics of your game, relax and eventually you will find your groove.

  10. Carl T

    Carl T
    Little Rock, AR

    Another factor that we all run into. Our club schedules tee times about 8 minutes apart. When it's your time to play you tee off and for the next four or five holes you and your group is moving along keeping up with the group ahead when all of a sudden you are waiting in the middle of the fairway and from that point on it's hit and wait, hit and wait. You can only play as fast as the slowest group in front of you. You hit a wonderful drive and you are in the middle of the fairway, waiting for the foursome on the green to finish. They take for ever and then exit the green and move like the living dead. Finally they are in their carts and gone and now you hit your 140 yard club and pull it hard left 20 yards off the green down a steep embankment and now will be lucky to make bogey. Such is the game of golf and patience is the one thing I still need to work on. I get in a rhythm and then when it's broken it can spell disaster as for as my score.
  11. Carl T

    Carl T
    Little Rock, AR

    Mike C said:

    Glad to hear your golf is getting back to more normal.  Sometimes it can be outside influences, but other times it can be you are just a little bit off.  I think it is easy to get your game just a little off and the results can be dramatic.  Sometimes it is needing to focus and other times I can't figure out why I am off no matter how hard I try to focus. 

    This reminds me of a round I was having where I could not seem to get anything right.  As soon as I had a good shot, I would make a poor shot the next time.  The more I tried to focus, the harder it was to make shots.  I was so frustrated by the time I finished the front nine and I had shot a 53!  Something clicked at the turn and I relaxed, just made my shots and everything just fell into place.  I got into the groove and ended up shooting a 33 on the back for a 20 stroke difference between the nines!

    I guess the point here is that your game can come and go and often times we don't know why.  Go back to the basics of your game, relax and eventually you will find your groove.

    I think you hit the nail on the head. The key to a good swing is to be relaxed. Sometimes it is just hard to do when you let things outside your control get to you. Yesterday I shot a 40/40 after my fourth round in as many days. Today was the sixth day in a row of playing and I just could not focus toward the end due to just being worn out. Shot a 44/47 but I was just physically tired. After not hardly being able to play all winter, I feel like I need to take advantage of the beautiful weather we have been having. The bad news is I am just beat up and need to rest for a few days but am looking forward to next week. Our club is going to undergo major aeration next week so I am planning to do a lot of range practice. To sum up this weeks rollo coaster scores were 81,97,87,85,80 and today 91.
  12. Ashley L

    Ashley L
    Kennesaw, GA

    My suggestion is to start tracking Fairways hit, GIR, and putts. I'm betting you'll find a pattern when your scores get out of control.  I've had some similar issues recently, and it's usually related to my recovery game. I hit greens (or just off) and I'm around par. Begin missing greens and putting myself in bad spots, and my scores balloon. 

  13. SGB

    SGB
    Leesburg, FL

    Ashley,

    I too started to track Fairway's hit, GIRs, putts, etc and it made a big difference in how I spent my practice time. Of course one round out the short game is right on track, the next week it is the long game! I play much better when I am walking as it helps me to forget about that last bad shot or re hit that good shot again! 

  14. Carl T

    Carl T
    Little Rock, AR

    I do not need to track this problem as it happen way too often. The scenario. I hit a bad shot. I'm in the trees and do not have a shot to the green. The smart play is to just get the ball back into play in the fairway where I will still have a chance to get up and down. The problem is that I do not really analyze the situation and pick an area where I would like my next shot to be. Case in point I can think of two things I did in this situation recently that hurt my score. One, I hit out of the trees way to hard and ended up running the ball across the fairway into another group of trees where I did not have a shot or two, hit my ball from behind a tree without looking how far I needed to go to clear the thick grass rough and had a hard time even finding my ball much less advancing it to the green. We all hit bad shots time to time but I just seem to hit two bad shots back to back which is just a lack of focus and may be due to just being physically and mentally tired. This situation usually happens around the 14'th hole and onward to the eighteenth. Just talking about this helps me in the future to just dig down and focus to get the ball back in play to at least give myself a chance. Thanks guys.
  15. Padraic S

    Padraic S
    Spanish Fort, AL

    See I have a problem like you. I have a plus two  handicap and I can't break 75 right now. I don't know why. I want to play better, but I have to just stay patient and have perseverance for the next couple of months. I hope that it will go away soon.

  16. Frank P

    Frank P
    Port St. Lucie, FL

    Military

    Folks, I think it's called the game of golf. We are all chasing it. Just look at the best in the world on tour. Sometimes this week's winner is next week's missed cut. As long as it's human beings swinging these clubs, there's a lot of rungs up and down the ladder.

                                                                                         Frank P 

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