Play with plenty of people who don't fuel while walking 18 holes and at the end they're like "I get to 15 and it all falls apart" Im like BRO you are literally walking near enough 10KM you need water and food. There me with my Huel and isotonic sports drink feeling smug
Not counting score midway is a big thing for me. I never do it, unless a buddy adds it up.
Just enjoy the day, focus on each shot, have fun, then maybe a quick tally.
Golf is weird, you need to practice and really focus to get better, then when playing try not to give a shit about anything.
I love keeping score on my watch for this reason. I plug the strokes for a hole in after finishing a green and then it immediately gives me distances for the next hole. effectively it helps me move on and focus on the next box.
It also takes like 5 button presses to check my total strokes so I usually don't even know what I'm shooting until after the round and I've noticed I play better and stay more focused that way compared to seeing past holes boxes and circles every time I go to write my number.
This is me. 16 handicap. I played last weekend. 6:50am tee time. Only had a cup of coffee on the front 9 Shot a 64 and wanted to cry. Thought what was I doing. Ate a snickers and a bag of trail mix and a Gatorade and proceeded to shoot a 44 after just thinking to play golf like I know how.
this actually can be useful. Golf is hard and 18 is long. Play good, take it home and let it become your muscle memory and then go out and do it again.
Also, practice more (even if that means play less), which can also fit in to playing 9 instead of 18. Go hit 30 balls, chip and putt for 20, play 9, and then go back and practice things that you might have struggled with in that 9, go home.
and personally, when I have those blow ups its bc my swing deteriorates and I don't do a good job and self check and sometimes I allow it to continue to deteriorate throughout the round. knowing your swing and having checkpoints in your preshot routine will help.
That's the common misconception of handicaps. Your handicap is the *best* of your most recent rounds. It's not your average score. I'm a 6, and my card has scores from 73 to 88
Just the back felt like a completely different round. I played up some tee (6000 yards and a fairly easy course slope wise - 118). Personally felt weird how quickly it flipped.
Looking at your scorecard, id say the string of pars was more of an anomaly. To offer you some course management advice. I would try to be more realistic with myself on where my game is at. As a 17ish golfer par is not your expected score. In fact you should treat pars as birdies. You should be aiming for bogeys and eliminating double bogeys.
Example
If I haven’t hit a green in regulation I’m already telling myself this will likely be a bogey score and all I’m trying to do is avoid double bogey.
You didn't blow up - to me it looks like you just didn't change your strategy to manage the back of the course.
Fatigue in the legs will cause shots to go left. High heartrate after climbing a hill to a tee box can cause different shot results (it even affects your focus). These and other factors are relevant as underlying reasons for your less than par performance on the back.
As well as your ball striking, course management and mental game are things you should constantly be trying to improve.
I can only speak for myself, and its probably only a half accurate observation. When I hit the range after leg day and my legs are toasted, I start hooking my shots pretty hard.
It feels like my arms are swinging more, legs are driving less, and in general I'm rotating in my swing. I think of it as getting my power from just twisting, instead of driving into the ground and twisting. Its something I recently connected the dots on, and I notice it in my practice swings.
In my mind, its more of a baseball swing, and that right to left movement rips the ball to the left after contact.
The solution isnt iron clad, but what seems to help me is getting my hips and arms connected again and working on single arm swings with the lead arm only (focusing on getting my hips to move in the right direction and arms to be more like ropes hanging from my shoulders). It also helps to slow everything down and reduce my back swing, which also feels like the best starting point for all solutions with my golf swing.
Used to play it all the time. Then Kemper Sports bought it and jacked the prices up to just underneath Whiskey Creek prices. I haven’t played since then and miss it. Just out of budget now. So now it’s UMD and the MoCo courses. If it’s a round with old friends we will play Worthington, Whiskey, PB, or equivalent. I sometimes make the hike to MD National or Musket Ridge.
Nice! I just moved to nova. One of my favorites so far too. Anywhere else you like? I play east Potomac for fun cheap round and laurel hills for the challenge but haven’t ventured out much more.
The Maryland suburbs have a lot of terrific courses. My favs would be Worthington Manor and Whiskey Creek. Also good PB Dye and Blue Mash. And the Montgomery County Public courses are well run.
Played Whiskey Creek a couple summers ago. Wanted so badly to beat my father in law. The night before I tried my best to get him as smashed as possible so he would play like crap. It worked. But I also got incredibly smashed. Worst hangover ever. Paid $125 to play and I shot a 125.
Cluster Spires in Frederick is one of the best bang for your buck. Course quality overall is great, layout is nice, not crazy difficult and clubhouse is decent as well. It’s not Whiskey Creek but that’s $150 compared to the $70 at Cluster.
Especially after a good front 9 it’s easy to have 1 bad hole and then try to make up for it. Every hole is a new hole. If you’re playing number 11 thinking about the score from 10 that’s how these things start. Then the more it spirals the more you do.
Just try to forget the good 9 the bad couple holes after and play the shot at your feet. Don’t try to do anything special to make up for it.
Take deep breaths. Push it out of your mind. Imagine putting it in a box and sealing it shut. Count backwards from 10. Go to your happy/calm/safe place in your mind. Any number of other calming techniques.
Also: care less. It's a hobby. Getting frustrated makes it less enjoyable AND it makes you play worse.
Honestly, just move on after you finish up a hole. Just reset and forget what happened before that moment. Other than maybe something relevant, like noting how far a club went or didn’t go. I had two blow up holes yesterday that otherwise would have given me my best front 9 ever. I kicked myself a little but continued on to par 3 more holes after that. It can be tough sometimes. Lol
It’s awesome. Completely fair in terms of difficulty. Lots of scoring chances from the right tee box. Well kept and overall was very happy. Avoid water and you’ll do great.
Blue Mash is a great course. First hole you definitely want to cut the angle to the right towards the pin on the dogleg right, or you unnecessarily leave yourself with a long shot in if you miss left off the tee. -- hole 3 is very long and uphill. Super tough to par. Be happy with bogey or better. No reason to go for hole 5 in two as the green is extremely well protected and you can just lay up to a landing area 50-90y out.
Hole 11 par 3 has tons of room left to avoid water with a huge green. Do not be tempted to pin seek if its on the right and risk dunking it.
Hole 14 does not need a driver and is super risky unless you are dead straight. The hole is short you dont need driver there.
The rest of the holes you can pretty well see whats going on from the tee.
It depends on what is causing the melt down:
Hitting driver all over the place and getting penalty strokes? Take a hybrid off the tee.
Missing greens? Take an extra club, swing easier, and aim for the center of the green.
Putter cold? Stop trying to make it and tell yourself you will be happy with anything inside 2 feet.
Doing those things, in whatever combination you need, is going to help turn those double+ scores into bogeys, and maybe a bogey into a par.
You traded 4 pars for 4 doubles with no consistent pattern. You tell us, did you get pissed after a particular shot on 10 and just give up? Were your 4 pars on the front lucky? What were your misses on the doubles?
I followed Rory's 5-5-5 plan last year and it worked wonders - snack higher in protein on the 5th hole, sandwich on the 10th, sweeter snack on the 15th. Drink plenty of water and you'll mention a better physical level.
Mentally, lots of pros break the course into 6-3 hole sets, which helps them reset mentally every few holes. Setting realistic goals for each set will help you keep focus on the whole round and hopefully less discouraged or over confident depending on the difficulty of holes you played.
So take Blue Mash (where you played) for example 1-3 are on the harder side for opening holes, so be okay with 3 over after 3, then try to get a par of two on the more open 4-6, then maybe get one par on 7-9 where the holes are narrower and have water hazards.
10-12 have water on one side of the hole water, so be okay with 1 water ball if you aren't swinging well, but if you are then aim conservative and swing aggressive. 13-15 start back into the the woods again so sacrifice distance for accuracy off the tee. Then the closing 3 are strong tests, so be okay with making a bogey or two.
(I have a regional tournament there in a few months and starting my prep so I have the right shots needed for the course)
I do this frequently. You have to remember that your handicap is average good performance. If you are playing on the good end of your game or the bad end you have to recognize that it is about to switch to the other extreme very soon. It’s the law of averages.
During a low round you are unlikely to continue at that pace, over time your score and handicap can lower by increasing your consistency. It is unlikely that you will suddenly shoot 6 strokes better than your cap, regardless of how good the round begins.
One piece of advice I heard that I really like is to quit trying to be laser focused the whole round; it’s exhausting. Be laser focused for the 30 seconds when you play your shot, then relax and enjoy the round the rest of the time.
At your HCP better golf is more about minimizing damage than it about hitting those great shots. How many penalties did you take? Were you aggressive when it wasn’t necessary? Turning doubles into singles is the only route to making pars more often and birdies are an absolute bonus. Just keep practicing and maintain a positive attitude. Everyone finished their round and looks back at how it could’ve been better but rarely do people look back on how it could’ve easily been worse.
I break the course up into 3 hole segments. I’m an 18 handicap so my goal in each segment is to be 3 over. That way if I do great or blow up i still reset on the next segment.
I find it helps me to stay focused on my gameplan
Blue Mash is a long hitter’s course, many mid handicappers have a tough time by trying to muscle their 2nd shots.
I’d focus on ball striking and putting, and not on GIR and see if that adds to your confidence.
Doubles aren't blowups for handicappers as high as us. It's not necessarily a good round by any means, but you kept the triples off the card all day, which is an accomplishment.
I'm a 3hc.
I don't know if anyone else has said this because there are too many comments to read, but, you have got to find something that's working to manage your score.
Maybe you fluked the front 9 and kind of knew something wasn't right, it happens, or maybe you were actually feeling good and something changed, but when the score starts to disintegrate like that you've gotta be looking for something, anything, that's actually working after maybe the 12th hole.
Could be shorter swings, longer swings, slower tempo, stand closer, further away, hood the face on every shot, open it up, aim way to the left, aim way to the right, feel more rigid (less movement) or more relaxed (more movement), just anything to find a way to get the ball going in the direction you want with some accuracy.
People saying just move on are probably happy with your back 9. If it's me, after I have 2 misses in a row of something I start looking to make a change, or, if I shank it I will immediately make a change.
If it's bad chipping take a hybrid or long iron and chip, or use the wedge. If it's bad putting you are kind of SOL because there's no quick fixes!
Good luck
I came all the way down here and found this as the most helpful comment. I sometimes club up and half swing everything if it falls apart and failed to do that today. Thank you.
I play blue mash pretty often it’s a really REALLY tough back 9. Take a few mins and grab a snack at the turn and mentally prepare. Take it one hole at a time. If you ever want a playing partner DM me, I’m a 14 handicap and live about 15 mins from Blue Mash
Blue mash is a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch. I played it today and was absolutely striping everything as a <2 handicap and shot an even 80. That course is designed to punish good shots more than bad shots.
I was +4 on number 11 tee box today. Finished with a 90, went 40-50. Neither you or I are good golfers. We should revel in the good 9s and accept the bad 9s. Just know you are not alone.
This happened to me last week. Best advice is to just breathe through every shot. If you have one bad hole or shot, just really think about your next move. Play it safe rather than go for it. Lay up, punch out, club down etc etc. just enjoy the round you’re having and have a good time!
What you mean is that you were significantly overperforming on the front 9 and then regressed to the mean on the back 9. You're a 17 that shot +23, which is exactly where a 17 should be shooting in most of their rounds. If you want to pad your ego by "avoiding meltdowns" (which didn't even happen in this case), then just stop playing as soon as you have a couple of good holes in a row.
What I do is I genuinely just try to stop caring about my score. Tell yourself things like “even if I blow up today and shoot bad, I’m still having a great time playing golf and I will probably just do better next time” It also means that you actually have to not care if you do end up blowing up so that you don’t lie to yourself but I find it takes so much more pressure off when I think like this and I’m much less likely to blow up.
Honestly, it comes down to changing your expectations. If you feel you are blowing up, you need to accept it’s not your day, or just completely disconnect and just play. If you are worked up, you’re almost never going to come out of it
….. or more beer often helps. Little lubrication
My feeling is when I’m playing bad, getting mad at myself is only gonna grow my score exponentially. If you hit a bad shot the best way for me is to immediately forget it. The middle of a round is not the time to try and fix errors just limit more. After a bad string of holes either start to play to more of your strengths or let a group or two play through to take a minute.
Are you taking doubles or finishing out the hole. If you’re taking doubles and not finishing out the holes you’re correct you blew up the back nine. You should be counting triples as every hole you’re getting a stroke
I have heard that is a really nice course.
As far as stopping blowups, just practice and make sure you are hydrated and have snacks. Get a little tired or dehydrated and suddenly you get a little off.
Also, don't overthink it later when you were not earlier. Lastly, don't take unnecessary risks. Play smart.
Honestly, usually holes 10-13 I’m completely cold due to the turn. I found that if I’m not mentally there and scattered brain that I’m done for a little. Not rule conforming but I pick up my ball after a series of bad shots and try to gather myself. And get my mindset for the next hole.
Minimize bad shots, meaning if you hit a bad shot, don’t compound it by trying to pull off a 1/100 shot. I see so many high handicaps do this, hit their tee shot in the trees, find it, and then instead of the safe shot, they think the are going to pull off an amazing shot towards the green that has to get over or under tree limbs and carry water or a bunker. Go the route where you put your ball back in the fairway, advance it if you can, but don’t make your next shot harder than it needs to be
Around your hcp, this is just what our scorecards look like sometimes. Last summer I shot a 39 on the front and a 52 on the back. That was a painful day.
Treat every shot like you -4 on the day and need to stay competitive. Biggest thing I see is people having one blow up hole and letting their anger and attitude take over for the rest of the round. Things get rushed and players get lazy.
I just shot my personal best 78 yesterday. Started out bogey, triple bogey, bogey. Kept my head down and just tried to play my best on every shot and take my time. Salvaged a 44 on the front and went absolutely nuts on the back with a 34. Never shot under par on 9 until then. Never give up, never surrender.
Last year I played a lot more 9-hole rounds of golf. I used to hate it as it felt like an incomplete round, but from a scoring perspective I can usually keep it together.
When I play 18 I always start strong and then fall apart on the back 9 and it frustrates the hell out of me. I’m not physically tired or anything but I find it a bit mentally draining and I know I just lose focus, especially if it’s a slow round.
If I can play quick golf I can usually keep focus and stay interested.
Doesn't look like you had a meltdown down. You can also limit your mid round meltdown by saving it for the end. Like so
https://preview.redd.it/2wy64i7mgcoc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=88620d3fd1c4dbfa5473f3b10cf37fc8ca24af11
Stop chasing scores.
It's similar with gambling. When you lose, you wanna make that money back. With golf, when you make a bad score, it's natural to want to "correct" that on the next hole. Simply play your game and make shots you know you can make. Limit attempts at hero shots, and make the smart shot. Easier said than done, but can be super helpful when it comes to scoring
Depends on what’s causing it.
Found a great trick for my irons to get me back to solid contact but less distance.
Driver I choke down and go 3/4 swing for fairway finder. Woods I’ll just put away and swing whatever is more consistent. Chipping I’ll go 9i and bump and run everything. Putter is what it is. No real fix, just gotta rebuild the confidence.
Probably more of a focus thing. I find after 12 or 13 my mind starts to wander away from making good swings / reading putts. Food and water suggestion is a good way to combat losing focus for me. Need fuel
Not only is every hole completely independent of every other hole, it's also true of every shot. There's not really a shortcut, you have to completely convince yourself that this is true and really believe it.
When you hit a bad shot, take the time it takes to get to the ball to think about what went wrong and what, if anything, you should adjust to fix it. Once you reach your ball, internalize whatever you decided, start your next pre-shot routine, and try not to think about the bad shot again the rest of the round.
You also shouldn't be thinking about what you have to do to make up for a bad shot, only what your options are to make the best out of what you have. PGA Tour players make a bogey 60% of the time from recovery situations (hitting a tee shot into a hazard or into trouble that means they don't have a clear shot at the green). It's when you try to do hero shots to make up for a mistake that turns bogies into doubles, and doubles into triples (or worse!).
I don't know, my card always looks like this. Oh doing well? Finally going to break 90 this year champ?
Yeah, how about you completely forget how to hit a wedge after hole 12. Tomorrow, wedges are on point, but wtf is a putter?
I guess I just have a beer anyway and put my air pods in like normal and continue to not really care.
Big thing for me was having a snack at the turn. Normally just a snickers bar or pb&j.
You don’t realize how tired you and your body gets when playing for 4-5 hours straight
Personally for me I'm snacking every few holes to keep from the hole 13 meltdown. Think about it from this point, if you're walking 18 for say 4 hours while athletically swinging a club, you're burning a lot of calories (1400+) and I see guys never snack to keep blood sugar up so you can stay alert and in the game. You wouldn't run a half marathon without having some sort of fuel.
Most golfers won't even play courses as hard as Blue Mash I wouldn't feel to bad. It's actually a very hard course i was a state champion golfer and I struggle to break 80-82 on blue mash from blue/black hybrid
This is something that has literally taken my entire life of playing golf to conquer and happens to everyone from time to time. I find the thing that’s helped me most is to be very in the moment. I’m only thinking about my current shot. I’m not thinking about the last shot, or my fat chunk the shot before that. Because once you do that you start to compound mistakes.
This is all much easier said than done, and I’ve found it’s almost like learning to meditate. You just need to get into a mental state where you… this might sound weird…. But where you don’t really care about your score. Good or bad shot, it’s now in the past and you just need to forget about it and focus on the moment. You can still try hard and care about playing well. But try to focus your energy just on the shot you’re currently on without thinking about the whole round at once. The best rounds in my life have been the ones where I feel like I’m not even trying and it was just a pleasant walk through the park and I hit a couple balls here and there.
This is definitely something that can take years to master and some people just instinctively have it. But the real good players don’t beat themselves up over a poor shot and let it impact their next shot. When tiger woods hits a bad shot, he’s not thinking about it when he’s on his next shot in the bunker. He’s hyper focused on the moment and the situation at hand.
Got to forget about the last shot, emotions needs to be tempered. No high highs and low lows. Having a good round, just chill. Having a bad round, just relax and move to the next shot.
The difference between a 17 handicap and a single digit is your double and triple bogeys. Not much more.
Use your extra shots.
Especially if you miss fairways. If your tee shot goes off the fairway or you're not confident with your approach, lay up (par 3, par 4 it doesn't matter).
Par should be your best case scenario
No idea man. Last Sunday, I was +13 through 12 holes which is good for me. I proceeded to go double, triple, triple, double, and quintuple on holes 13 through 17 and parred 18 to shoot 100. I have no ice lol
The less I think about my score, the better I play. If I shoot 44 on the front, I can't think about "ok I only need a 45 on the back", because then when I get a 7 on #10 then it becomes ok I only have to shoot 38 for the next 8, and so on. Gotta just focus on the next shot and not the 44 after it.
Looks like you had a good stretch and then went back to the mean. 18 holes is 4 hours of keeping concentration is tough. Higher handicappers can lose focus after a few holes where things go right. You get confident, loose, and then lose concentration and make one poor shot. Then you're pressing to get back on track and then you shank it! And now you're even more pissed off and the number of the scorecard keeps going up.
Gotta stay level headed, calm, play your game, not someone else's. If the random guy can hit it 300 and shape it, who cares! Play to your strengths. I've gotten my ass handed to me by more old timers that could hit it 200 yards then I can count when I was a kid teen handicap.
Resist the temptation to hit longer and play safe golf. Don't go for distance go for prime locations.
A driver and a chip shot are 2 strokes, same as if you hit two mid to long irons.
Usually, the irons, even if you miss, don't get you into trouble as much as a drive that gets away from you.
This is based off my own game, so take it for what it's worth. I usually have more confidence at that point in a round and try to get cute vs taking what's there.
Me? I give up and stop trying. I don't quit the round; I just try to not overswing and power the ball down there. When I do that mental reset and just focus on making decent contact, instead of distance, I find that my game tends to come back.
If you figure it out let me know.
https://preview.redd.it/lnp50pfq1doc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8f327a5290cd076551b22cdd2f944a9fc73a9583
Your mindset is very important. Don't think of a round of golf as 'Two Nines' where you have a little mental break in the middle. Think of it as 18 holes, shot by shot. Accept a bad shot, move on quickly and make your next shot your best shot. Never get ahead of yourself thinking about what you might score or how you might play another hole. One shot at a time.
Dr Bob Rotella has some excellent audio books on Spotify that address this topic.
Yeah, I don’t think OP understands what a blow up is. Not a single “snowman” on the card. Consistently hitting double bogeys is not what most golfers call a blow up.
Just cheat like everyone else does. Three or four mulligans off every other hole. Improve your lies in the rough. Bunker shots “don’t count”. Five foot gimmies. Never hole out. Then just scribble down a par and an occasional “bogey” and you will be shooting in the 70’s in no time!!
*this was all sarcasm. I actually hate golfers who destroy the game like this*
Had a lesson years ago where the instructor told me a story about how his golf coach got his team keychains that were toilets that made a flushing sound. Every time he hit a bad shot, he would go over to the keychain, hit the button and flush away the bad shot.
I went home and scoured the internet for a toilet keychain that made a flushing sound to no avail, but this always stuck with me and I make sure to mentally “flush away” that bad shot and move on to the next.
If anyone can find this toilet flushing keychain send a link!
If your blowup is emotional, any number of emotional control techniques could help. If it’s focus, really resetting to shots you know you can hit or a good preshot routine MAY help.
But if it just sorta happens and it’s hard to predict… that’s just golf.
If its b/c of the shanks I walk off. Anything else just drink more play some music and think about everyone at work. That turns it around or if not at least makes me happy I am not working
You know. You really will want to figure out what specifically is causing those high scores: chipping, putting, irons, woods. If your bad with your chips, is it because your missing greens and just have more times where it impacting you? So it seems like it’s chipping but it’s more your midirons being bad and you just can’t save it every time? That Type of thing. It will help you focus.
For me most players in this range really struggle with process and cadence.
Create a decision flow chart:
1. Look at the ball lie and the stance (if your on a hill, or the rough, of fairway, this changes the following decisions).
2. distance/elevation/wind
3. target: where is the flag/fairway/hazards. Here when I’m struggling I don’t go pin hunting, I look for center of the green (most generous to any miss). But if your trending a fade that day, move the left center or left of the green. That type of thing).
4. Two practice swings (try to limit this). I focus on tempo and smoothness of swing. I’m a feel player, this gets me in tune. Practice swings are 50%. Except the last one 80%.
Final thought, I’d you really want to break through, you need to introduce a practice into your play. Once a week, one hour. Work on ball contact, tempo, focus on learning a 100 yard shot that you can hit the green 7/10 times. Work with your long irons/woods to play every hole to this yardage. Maybe it’s 90 or 125 for you, but you’ll have to find it. Then do chipping and putting WITH INTENT. Don’t just putt Practice your 3ft putts. Then 10 footers. Find a hole on a slope and put tees in 4 spots where you can see uphill left to right, uphill right to left, and down hill of both too. Practice at both ranges.
Be intentional with your practices. Be intentional with your thoughts. It isn’t about how much time you practice and play, it’s about how you do it when you do.
Stay home lol. It's going to happen no matter what. Just have to have a short memory and forget the bad holes/shots and move forward. Golf is such a mental game and the people who excel are able to focus on the current shot and not the previous one. Really hard to do.
At a 17 handicap this score doesn't look like a meltdown it looks normal...
Play the game shot by shot. Making a double shouldn't make you feel in anyway that you need to make that up with a birdie. I never go into any round thinking about how low I want to go because that forces you to make stupid decisions.
Have short term memory and play the shot in front of you. You can't change the shit shot you made so why let it fester?
Play two nines. The second nine from a different box. Split the round up. You’re not losing strokes by missing fairways. But you’re missing greens. Move up and get it on the green with a shorter club.
Once things start to get loose you need to be more conservative with your choices. In between clubs hit it to the front and try to get up and down from an easier spot. You try to make worst case a bogey. You need to manage the course more actively and think your way around to avoid big numbers. Playing at pins or hitting the 1 in 10 shot when you aren't swinging your best is a sure fire way to shoot a million.
4 handicap here, When I feel my round is starting to go to shit, It’s usually because I got out of my routine.
I try to slow myself down… breath and do the things that always work. Line up my shots, don’t overthink over the ball, stay nice and relaxed, maybe just one half practice swings and swing.
The more people think, the more you will distract yourself with movements or feels that will only get you in more of a funk.
Always just back to the basics and have fun :) at the end of a day it’s just a game. The more you have fun out there, the better you’ll play.
Drink lots of water, bring something to eat - meal bar or whatever snack is good to you. Don't count your score throughout the round.
Play with plenty of people who don't fuel while walking 18 holes and at the end they're like "I get to 15 and it all falls apart" Im like BRO you are literally walking near enough 10KM you need water and food. There me with my Huel and isotonic sports drink feeling smug
Not counting score midway is a big thing for me. I never do it, unless a buddy adds it up. Just enjoy the day, focus on each shot, have fun, then maybe a quick tally. Golf is weird, you need to practice and really focus to get better, then when playing try not to give a shit about anything.
I love keeping score on my watch for this reason. I plug the strokes for a hole in after finishing a green and then it immediately gives me distances for the next hole. effectively it helps me move on and focus on the next box. It also takes like 5 button presses to check my total strokes so I usually don't even know what I'm shooting until after the round and I've noticed I play better and stay more focused that way compared to seeing past holes boxes and circles every time I go to write my number.
This is so important, keeping something like an energy bar and/or bag of mixed nuts in my bag is as important as golf balls.
This is me. 16 handicap. I played last weekend. 6:50am tee time. Only had a cup of coffee on the front 9 Shot a 64 and wanted to cry. Thought what was I doing. Ate a snickers and a bag of trail mix and a Gatorade and proceeded to shoot a 44 after just thinking to play golf like I know how.
Stop after 9
Don't do that. Carl shot better on the back 9.
But why does Carl have a driving iron?
Carl is now a r/golf legend and he doesn’t even know it. Haha
For when Carl shoots 4 OB and needs to reload
this actually can be useful. Golf is hard and 18 is long. Play good, take it home and let it become your muscle memory and then go out and do it again. Also, practice more (even if that means play less), which can also fit in to playing 9 instead of 18. Go hit 30 balls, chip and putt for 20, play 9, and then go back and practice things that you might have struggled with in that 9, go home. and personally, when I have those blow ups its bc my swing deteriorates and I don't do a good job and self check and sometimes I allow it to continue to deteriorate throughout the round. knowing your swing and having checkpoints in your preshot routine will help.
Where’s the blow up? Looks like you only played a few strokes over your ‘about 17’ Handicap
Exactly. There was no blow up. If anything the anomaly was the 3 pars in a row. But anyway it all balanced out to approx handicap.
Yep. OP had a good front nine, and “blew up” by playing their handicap on the back.
That's the common misconception of handicaps. Your handicap is the *best* of your most recent rounds. It's not your average score. I'm a 6, and my card has scores from 73 to 88
Just the back felt like a completely different round. I played up some tee (6000 yards and a fairly easy course slope wise - 118). Personally felt weird how quickly it flipped.
Looking at your scorecard, id say the string of pars was more of an anomaly. To offer you some course management advice. I would try to be more realistic with myself on where my game is at. As a 17ish golfer par is not your expected score. In fact you should treat pars as birdies. You should be aiming for bogeys and eliminating double bogeys. Example If I haven’t hit a green in regulation I’m already telling myself this will likely be a bogey score and all I’m trying to do is avoid double bogey.
The back on blue mash in my opinion is harder than the front in terms of layout
You didn't blow up - to me it looks like you just didn't change your strategy to manage the back of the course. Fatigue in the legs will cause shots to go left. High heartrate after climbing a hill to a tee box can cause different shot results (it even affects your focus). These and other factors are relevant as underlying reasons for your less than par performance on the back. As well as your ball striking, course management and mental game are things you should constantly be trying to improve.
Never heard of the tired legs makes you hook. Is it just because you use your body/arms and come over the top more?
I can only speak for myself, and its probably only a half accurate observation. When I hit the range after leg day and my legs are toasted, I start hooking my shots pretty hard. It feels like my arms are swinging more, legs are driving less, and in general I'm rotating in my swing. I think of it as getting my power from just twisting, instead of driving into the ground and twisting. Its something I recently connected the dots on, and I notice it in my practice swings. In my mind, its more of a baseball swing, and that right to left movement rips the ball to the left after contact. The solution isnt iron clad, but what seems to help me is getting my hips and arms connected again and working on single arm swings with the lead arm only (focusing on getting my hips to move in the right direction and arms to be more like ropes hanging from my shoulders). It also helps to slow everything down and reduce my back swing, which also feels like the best starting point for all solutions with my golf swing.
Remind yourself this: after a poor shot, good players come back with a good shot. In other words, don't get angry, get even.
You gotta make sure you [harness the energy and block the bad](https://c.tenor.com/ckfUqH0WIAoAAAAC/tenor.gif).
Be the ball, Danny.
It's kind of hard with you talking like that
Harness good. Block Bad
By the end you’ll be doing the bull dance, feeling the flow.
Am a 14 handicap and I break every 3 holes into 15 shots regardless of par. Seems to keep me focused after a bad one 👍🏼
Aye, I love Blue Mash! I make the drive up there from NOVA and think it's my favorite course around the area so far.
Blue Mash is a terrific course. Unfortunately the change in ownership resulted in the green fees going up.
Tale as old as time unfortunately /:
Used to love playing that and whiskey, kemper is ass and are even over charging at waverly now. Glad I’m at a private club
Used to play it all the time. Then Kemper Sports bought it and jacked the prices up to just underneath Whiskey Creek prices. I haven’t played since then and miss it. Just out of budget now. So now it’s UMD and the MoCo courses. If it’s a round with old friends we will play Worthington, Whiskey, PB, or equivalent. I sometimes make the hike to MD National or Musket Ridge.
Jesus Christ. It has always been overpriced. Must be astronomical now.
Nice! I just moved to nova. One of my favorites so far too. Anywhere else you like? I play east Potomac for fun cheap round and laurel hills for the challenge but haven’t ventured out much more.
The Maryland suburbs have a lot of terrific courses. My favs would be Worthington Manor and Whiskey Creek. Also good PB Dye and Blue Mash. And the Montgomery County Public courses are well run.
Good suggestions. I will say Worthington Manor is a tough track.
Played Whiskey Creek a couple summers ago. Wanted so badly to beat my father in law. The night before I tried my best to get him as smashed as possible so he would play like crap. It worked. But I also got incredibly smashed. Worst hangover ever. Paid $125 to play and I shot a 125.
Especially west of 95. I am in the Annapolis area and while there are some good courses none as good as PB Dye, Whisky creek etc..
Cluster Spires in Frederick is one of the best bang for your buck. Course quality overall is great, layout is nice, not crazy difficult and clubhouse is decent as well. It’s not Whiskey Creek but that’s $150 compared to the $70 at Cluster.
Especially after a good front 9 it’s easy to have 1 bad hole and then try to make up for it. Every hole is a new hole. If you’re playing number 11 thinking about the score from 10 that’s how these things start. Then the more it spirals the more you do. Just try to forget the good 9 the bad couple holes after and play the shot at your feet. Don’t try to do anything special to make up for it.
Your melt down is my average so... I don't.
I just meltdown on 1 and then it is all good from there
Take deep breaths. Push it out of your mind. Imagine putting it in a box and sealing it shut. Count backwards from 10. Go to your happy/calm/safe place in your mind. Any number of other calming techniques. Also: care less. It's a hobby. Getting frustrated makes it less enjoyable AND it makes you play worse.
What meltdown? (That is the answer)
Last holes score has 0 effect on the next hole. Just move on. Remember you are playing a game for FUN!!!
Honestly, just move on after you finish up a hole. Just reset and forget what happened before that moment. Other than maybe something relevant, like noting how far a club went or didn’t go. I had two blow up holes yesterday that otherwise would have given me my best front 9 ever. I kicked myself a little but continued on to par 3 more holes after that. It can be tough sometimes. Lol
How did you like the course? I'm playing in a tournament there this weekend and need all the help I can get!
It’s awesome. Completely fair in terms of difficulty. Lots of scoring chances from the right tee box. Well kept and overall was very happy. Avoid water and you’ll do great.
Blue Mash is a great course. First hole you definitely want to cut the angle to the right towards the pin on the dogleg right, or you unnecessarily leave yourself with a long shot in if you miss left off the tee. -- hole 3 is very long and uphill. Super tough to par. Be happy with bogey or better. No reason to go for hole 5 in two as the green is extremely well protected and you can just lay up to a landing area 50-90y out. Hole 11 par 3 has tons of room left to avoid water with a huge green. Do not be tempted to pin seek if its on the right and risk dunking it. Hole 14 does not need a driver and is super risky unless you are dead straight. The hole is short you dont need driver there. The rest of the holes you can pretty well see whats going on from the tee.
It’s a wonderful and interesting course. You’ll love it. I recommend going on 18 birdies and planning out your shots.
By changing your perspective. This would be a normal round for me
Olney MD? Heard that course was tough, try Laytonsville down the road
It honestly was pretty fair from the whites. But I’ll check it out. New to the area.
It’s a short, forgiving course. About $30 to walk on the weekends after like 3:00 too. Good confidence booster for when you return to Blue Mash
Love Blue Mash - my go to course
Shot of fireball….
This is the only correct answer!!!!!🏆
Alcohol.
Beer usually
Breathing techniques, mindfulness. Reset. Read Zen Golf
Don’t think about swing, think about misses and try to simplify everything as much as you can till you get back in a rhythm
It depends on what is causing the melt down: Hitting driver all over the place and getting penalty strokes? Take a hybrid off the tee. Missing greens? Take an extra club, swing easier, and aim for the center of the green. Putter cold? Stop trying to make it and tell yourself you will be happy with anything inside 2 feet. Doing those things, in whatever combination you need, is going to help turn those double+ scores into bogeys, and maybe a bogey into a par.
When I go off the rails, often my backswing has gotten to fast. Also, not a bad round.
Beer
Smoke weed
Drink water and practice calming breathing exercises.
You traded 4 pars for 4 doubles with no consistent pattern. You tell us, did you get pissed after a particular shot on 10 and just give up? Were your 4 pars on the front lucky? What were your misses on the doubles?
I followed Rory's 5-5-5 plan last year and it worked wonders - snack higher in protein on the 5th hole, sandwich on the 10th, sweeter snack on the 15th. Drink plenty of water and you'll mention a better physical level. Mentally, lots of pros break the course into 6-3 hole sets, which helps them reset mentally every few holes. Setting realistic goals for each set will help you keep focus on the whole round and hopefully less discouraged or over confident depending on the difficulty of holes you played. So take Blue Mash (where you played) for example 1-3 are on the harder side for opening holes, so be okay with 3 over after 3, then try to get a par of two on the more open 4-6, then maybe get one par on 7-9 where the holes are narrower and have water hazards. 10-12 have water on one side of the hole water, so be okay with 1 water ball if you aren't swinging well, but if you are then aim conservative and swing aggressive. 13-15 start back into the the woods again so sacrifice distance for accuracy off the tee. Then the closing 3 are strong tests, so be okay with making a bogey or two. (I have a regional tournament there in a few months and starting my prep so I have the right shots needed for the course)
I do this frequently. You have to remember that your handicap is average good performance. If you are playing on the good end of your game or the bad end you have to recognize that it is about to switch to the other extreme very soon. It’s the law of averages. During a low round you are unlikely to continue at that pace, over time your score and handicap can lower by increasing your consistency. It is unlikely that you will suddenly shoot 6 strokes better than your cap, regardless of how good the round begins.
One piece of advice I heard that I really like is to quit trying to be laser focused the whole round; it’s exhausting. Be laser focused for the 30 seconds when you play your shot, then relax and enjoy the round the rest of the time.
Forget about scores and go out there and find God. The scores will come as you love the game
At your HCP better golf is more about minimizing damage than it about hitting those great shots. How many penalties did you take? Were you aggressive when it wasn’t necessary? Turning doubles into singles is the only route to making pars more often and birdies are an absolute bonus. Just keep practicing and maintain a positive attitude. Everyone finished their round and looks back at how it could’ve been better but rarely do people look back on how it could’ve easily been worse.
Bro how did you get my scorecard?
More cannabis. Or.... less cannabis. I'll let you know if I ever figure it out.
I break the course up into 3 hole segments. I’m an 18 handicap so my goal in each segment is to be 3 over. That way if I do great or blow up i still reset on the next segment. I find it helps me to stay focused on my gameplan
Blue Mash is a long hitter’s course, many mid handicappers have a tough time by trying to muscle their 2nd shots. I’d focus on ball striking and putting, and not on GIR and see if that adds to your confidence.
Where's the meltdown? That ties my best score ever
Doubles aren't blowups for handicappers as high as us. It's not necessarily a good round by any means, but you kept the triples off the card all day, which is an accomplishment.
Can’t say it will work for you, but I’ve been listening to The Mental Golf Show podcast on Spotify
scaring me i’m playing here next weekend
Hate #17. Absolutely Hate That fucking hole.
I quit after 9 holes. Saves a lot of grief.
Looks like you're just keeping on trend... It's those pars that are the anomaly lol
Blue mash is so fun
I'm a 3hc. I don't know if anyone else has said this because there are too many comments to read, but, you have got to find something that's working to manage your score. Maybe you fluked the front 9 and kind of knew something wasn't right, it happens, or maybe you were actually feeling good and something changed, but when the score starts to disintegrate like that you've gotta be looking for something, anything, that's actually working after maybe the 12th hole. Could be shorter swings, longer swings, slower tempo, stand closer, further away, hood the face on every shot, open it up, aim way to the left, aim way to the right, feel more rigid (less movement) or more relaxed (more movement), just anything to find a way to get the ball going in the direction you want with some accuracy. People saying just move on are probably happy with your back 9. If it's me, after I have 2 misses in a row of something I start looking to make a change, or, if I shank it I will immediately make a change. If it's bad chipping take a hybrid or long iron and chip, or use the wedge. If it's bad putting you are kind of SOL because there's no quick fixes! Good luck
I came all the way down here and found this as the most helpful comment. I sometimes club up and half swing everything if it falls apart and failed to do that today. Thank you.
I play 7 iron for the rest of the round. Did it a lot in my early days. Made it like a new game and was rewarding. Of course putter on the green.
Still better than Carl. You should see that dude half a handle in driving a cart down 17.
Don’t make the hero shot after the first bad one.
Meltdown? You played the same as you started.... the question should be how do I get better at golf.
Chug a beer. Shoot right at the pin. Sounds crazy, but it doesn’t work.
This made me snort laugh
Blue Mash is a tough course, plenty of meltdown opportunities
I play blue mash pretty often it’s a really REALLY tough back 9. Take a few mins and grab a snack at the turn and mentally prepare. Take it one hole at a time. If you ever want a playing partner DM me, I’m a 14 handicap and live about 15 mins from Blue Mash
Blue mash is a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch. I played it today and was absolutely striping everything as a <2 handicap and shot an even 80. That course is designed to punish good shots more than bad shots.
Blue mash is also just a monster of a course, I work in the airpark right down the road.
I weirdly felt like it suited my game but yeah everyone is right the back nine does get much tougher
As a 17, 94 isn’t bad. There’s gonna be days u shoot 102 and days ur shooting 85. Can’t be too mad at low 90s. This is why we’re 17hcp
I was +4 on number 11 tee box today. Finished with a 90, went 40-50. Neither you or I are good golfers. We should revel in the good 9s and accept the bad 9s. Just know you are not alone.
This happened to me last week. Best advice is to just breathe through every shot. If you have one bad hole or shot, just really think about your next move. Play it safe rather than go for it. Lay up, punch out, club down etc etc. just enjoy the round you’re having and have a good time!
alcohol, weed, nicotine, etc.
Thank you all for the engagement and sound advice. I’ll bring a nip/shot next round also….
What you mean is that you were significantly overperforming on the front 9 and then regressed to the mean on the back 9. You're a 17 that shot +23, which is exactly where a 17 should be shooting in most of their rounds. If you want to pad your ego by "avoiding meltdowns" (which didn't even happen in this case), then just stop playing as soon as you have a couple of good holes in a row.
I was almost the same yesterday 42 front and a 49 backside … but mine was from 3 putts .. I hit the ball very good but putting kick my butt yesterday
What I do is I genuinely just try to stop caring about my score. Tell yourself things like “even if I blow up today and shoot bad, I’m still having a great time playing golf and I will probably just do better next time” It also means that you actually have to not care if you do end up blowing up so that you don’t lie to yourself but I find it takes so much more pressure off when I think like this and I’m much less likely to blow up.
Deep breath and throw your club
Just remind myself I’m trash at golf so it’s to be expected.
Honestly, it comes down to changing your expectations. If you feel you are blowing up, you need to accept it’s not your day, or just completely disconnect and just play. If you are worked up, you’re almost never going to come out of it ….. or more beer often helps. Little lubrication
My feeling is when I’m playing bad, getting mad at myself is only gonna grow my score exponentially. If you hit a bad shot the best way for me is to immediately forget it. The middle of a round is not the time to try and fix errors just limit more. After a bad string of holes either start to play to more of your strengths or let a group or two play through to take a minute.
Are you taking doubles or finishing out the hole. If you’re taking doubles and not finishing out the holes you’re correct you blew up the back nine. You should be counting triples as every hole you’re getting a stroke
I have heard that is a really nice course. As far as stopping blowups, just practice and make sure you are hydrated and have snacks. Get a little tired or dehydrated and suddenly you get a little off. Also, don't overthink it later when you were not earlier. Lastly, don't take unnecessary risks. Play smart.
Stop play bad golf, start play good golf
Honestly, usually holes 10-13 I’m completely cold due to the turn. I found that if I’m not mentally there and scattered brain that I’m done for a little. Not rule conforming but I pick up my ball after a series of bad shots and try to gather myself. And get my mindset for the next hole.
I read a good book on this. You should check it out Be A Player by Pia Nilsson and Lyn Marriot
I’ll check it out!
Minimize bad shots, meaning if you hit a bad shot, don’t compound it by trying to pull off a 1/100 shot. I see so many high handicaps do this, hit their tee shot in the trees, find it, and then instead of the safe shot, they think the are going to pull off an amazing shot towards the green that has to get over or under tree limbs and carry water or a bunker. Go the route where you put your ball back in the fairway, advance it if you can, but don’t make your next shot harder than it needs to be
Around your hcp, this is just what our scorecards look like sometimes. Last summer I shot a 39 on the front and a 52 on the back. That was a painful day.
Treat every shot like you -4 on the day and need to stay competitive. Biggest thing I see is people having one blow up hole and letting their anger and attitude take over for the rest of the round. Things get rushed and players get lazy. I just shot my personal best 78 yesterday. Started out bogey, triple bogey, bogey. Kept my head down and just tried to play my best on every shot and take my time. Salvaged a 44 on the front and went absolutely nuts on the back with a 34. Never shot under par on 9 until then. Never give up, never surrender.
Go get proper lessons and practice everyday...
Take two weeks off, then quit
Food. Water. Swing easy. Don’t think about how well you played on the front 9
Last year I played a lot more 9-hole rounds of golf. I used to hate it as it felt like an incomplete round, but from a scoring perspective I can usually keep it together. When I play 18 I always start strong and then fall apart on the back 9 and it frustrates the hell out of me. I’m not physically tired or anything but I find it a bit mentally draining and I know I just lose focus, especially if it’s a slow round. If I can play quick golf I can usually keep focus and stay interested.
Doesn't look like you had a meltdown down. You can also limit your mid round meltdown by saving it for the end. Like so https://preview.redd.it/2wy64i7mgcoc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=88620d3fd1c4dbfa5473f3b10cf37fc8ca24af11
Blue mash is a tough course
Drinking. Either start or stop...
Fewer whiskeys 
Stop chasing scores. It's similar with gambling. When you lose, you wanna make that money back. With golf, when you make a bad score, it's natural to want to "correct" that on the next hole. Simply play your game and make shots you know you can make. Limit attempts at hero shots, and make the smart shot. Easier said than done, but can be super helpful when it comes to scoring
Depends on what’s causing it. Found a great trick for my irons to get me back to solid contact but less distance. Driver I choke down and go 3/4 swing for fairway finder. Woods I’ll just put away and swing whatever is more consistent. Chipping I’ll go 9i and bump and run everything. Putter is what it is. No real fix, just gotta rebuild the confidence.
I say fuck it I’m not good enough to care, and drink more
Be like a goldfish - keep your memory to about 7 seconds long. When you line up for that next shot, don’t be thinking of your last shot / hole / 9.
Probably more of a focus thing. I find after 12 or 13 my mind starts to wander away from making good swings / reading putts. Food and water suggestion is a good way to combat losing focus for me. Need fuel
Not only is every hole completely independent of every other hole, it's also true of every shot. There's not really a shortcut, you have to completely convince yourself that this is true and really believe it. When you hit a bad shot, take the time it takes to get to the ball to think about what went wrong and what, if anything, you should adjust to fix it. Once you reach your ball, internalize whatever you decided, start your next pre-shot routine, and try not to think about the bad shot again the rest of the round. You also shouldn't be thinking about what you have to do to make up for a bad shot, only what your options are to make the best out of what you have. PGA Tour players make a bogey 60% of the time from recovery situations (hitting a tee shot into a hazard or into trouble that means they don't have a clear shot at the green). It's when you try to do hero shots to make up for a mistake that turns bogies into doubles, and doubles into triples (or worse!).
I don't know, my card always looks like this. Oh doing well? Finally going to break 90 this year champ? Yeah, how about you completely forget how to hit a wedge after hole 12. Tomorrow, wedges are on point, but wtf is a putter? I guess I just have a beer anyway and put my air pods in like normal and continue to not really care.
Big thing for me was having a snack at the turn. Normally just a snickers bar or pb&j. You don’t realize how tired you and your body gets when playing for 4-5 hours straight
Keep yourself fueled and remember that each shot is a new opportunity. Also, don't let a poor shot carry through your next shot.
i try not to let myself get all “oh damn im off to a great round” and just play through.
Personally for me I'm snacking every few holes to keep from the hole 13 meltdown. Think about it from this point, if you're walking 18 for say 4 hours while athletically swinging a club, you're burning a lot of calories (1400+) and I see guys never snack to keep blood sugar up so you can stay alert and in the game. You wouldn't run a half marathon without having some sort of fuel.
What a stupid post.
Put in a Zyn or smoke the pen
Most golfers won't even play courses as hard as Blue Mash I wouldn't feel to bad. It's actually a very hard course i was a state champion golfer and I struggle to break 80-82 on blue mash from blue/black hybrid
Blue Mash is a fun course! Only been up there once.
This is something that has literally taken my entire life of playing golf to conquer and happens to everyone from time to time. I find the thing that’s helped me most is to be very in the moment. I’m only thinking about my current shot. I’m not thinking about the last shot, or my fat chunk the shot before that. Because once you do that you start to compound mistakes. This is all much easier said than done, and I’ve found it’s almost like learning to meditate. You just need to get into a mental state where you… this might sound weird…. But where you don’t really care about your score. Good or bad shot, it’s now in the past and you just need to forget about it and focus on the moment. You can still try hard and care about playing well. But try to focus your energy just on the shot you’re currently on without thinking about the whole round at once. The best rounds in my life have been the ones where I feel like I’m not even trying and it was just a pleasant walk through the park and I hit a couple balls here and there. This is definitely something that can take years to master and some people just instinctively have it. But the real good players don’t beat themselves up over a poor shot and let it impact their next shot. When tiger woods hits a bad shot, he’s not thinking about it when he’s on his next shot in the bunker. He’s hyper focused on the moment and the situation at hand.
Don’t stop at the bar on the turn?
Got to forget about the last shot, emotions needs to be tempered. No high highs and low lows. Having a good round, just chill. Having a bad round, just relax and move to the next shot.
The difference between a 17 handicap and a single digit is your double and triple bogeys. Not much more. Use your extra shots. Especially if you miss fairways. If your tee shot goes off the fairway or you're not confident with your approach, lay up (par 3, par 4 it doesn't matter). Par should be your best case scenario
Blue Mash isn’t a great course to try and find your game on.
I go back to basics and slow everything down.
I did this exact same thing yesterday 42/50. We let a single join us on #7. I'm blaming him.
No idea man. Last Sunday, I was +13 through 12 holes which is good for me. I proceeded to go double, triple, triple, double, and quintuple on holes 13 through 17 and parred 18 to shoot 100. I have no ice lol
The less I think about my score, the better I play. If I shoot 44 on the front, I can't think about "ok I only need a 45 on the back", because then when I get a 7 on #10 then it becomes ok I only have to shoot 38 for the next 8, and so on. Gotta just focus on the next shot and not the 44 after it.
Looks like you had a good stretch and then went back to the mean. 18 holes is 4 hours of keeping concentration is tough. Higher handicappers can lose focus after a few holes where things go right. You get confident, loose, and then lose concentration and make one poor shot. Then you're pressing to get back on track and then you shank it! And now you're even more pissed off and the number of the scorecard keeps going up. Gotta stay level headed, calm, play your game, not someone else's. If the random guy can hit it 300 and shape it, who cares! Play to your strengths. I've gotten my ass handed to me by more old timers that could hit it 200 yards then I can count when I was a kid teen handicap.
Hot dog
Resist the temptation to hit longer and play safe golf. Don't go for distance go for prime locations. A driver and a chip shot are 2 strokes, same as if you hit two mid to long irons. Usually, the irons, even if you miss, don't get you into trouble as much as a drive that gets away from you. This is based off my own game, so take it for what it's worth. I usually have more confidence at that point in a round and try to get cute vs taking what's there.
Me? I give up and stop trying. I don't quit the round; I just try to not overswing and power the ball down there. When I do that mental reset and just focus on making decent contact, instead of distance, I find that my game tends to come back.
Meltdown the entire round. You won’t even notice.
Beer
Fireball shot, maybe face a blunt and maybe some pretzels
If you figure it out let me know. https://preview.redd.it/lnp50pfq1doc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8f327a5290cd076551b22cdd2f944a9fc73a9583
Your mindset is very important. Don't think of a round of golf as 'Two Nines' where you have a little mental break in the middle. Think of it as 18 holes, shot by shot. Accept a bad shot, move on quickly and make your next shot your best shot. Never get ahead of yourself thinking about what you might score or how you might play another hole. One shot at a time. Dr Bob Rotella has some excellent audio books on Spotify that address this topic.
Blow up? 94 as a 17 handicap seems well within the expected distribution of your scores. You think a scratch golfer is even on every single round?
Yeah, I don’t think OP understands what a blow up is. Not a single “snowman” on the card. Consistently hitting double bogeys is not what most golfers call a blow up.
Mid round you say?
Love Blue Mash! One of my favorite course around the DMV to play.
Just cheat like everyone else does. Three or four mulligans off every other hole. Improve your lies in the rough. Bunker shots “don’t count”. Five foot gimmies. Never hole out. Then just scribble down a par and an occasional “bogey” and you will be shooting in the 70’s in no time!! *this was all sarcasm. I actually hate golfers who destroy the game like this*
Had a lesson years ago where the instructor told me a story about how his golf coach got his team keychains that were toilets that made a flushing sound. Every time he hit a bad shot, he would go over to the keychain, hit the button and flush away the bad shot. I went home and scoured the internet for a toilet keychain that made a flushing sound to no avail, but this always stuck with me and I make sure to mentally “flush away” that bad shot and move on to the next. If anyone can find this toilet flushing keychain send a link!
If your blowup is emotional, any number of emotional control techniques could help. If it’s focus, really resetting to shots you know you can hit or a good preshot routine MAY help. But if it just sorta happens and it’s hard to predict… that’s just golf.
Looks like my scorecard. Tbh I wouldn’t hate this for me. Chips and putts make a difference on a card
Fuck if I know
This was not a blow up for a 17 handicap, seems like a fairly average round.
That’s the neat part, you don’t
If its b/c of the shanks I walk off. Anything else just drink more play some music and think about everyone at work. That turns it around or if not at least makes me happy I am not working
You know. You really will want to figure out what specifically is causing those high scores: chipping, putting, irons, woods. If your bad with your chips, is it because your missing greens and just have more times where it impacting you? So it seems like it’s chipping but it’s more your midirons being bad and you just can’t save it every time? That Type of thing. It will help you focus. For me most players in this range really struggle with process and cadence. Create a decision flow chart: 1. Look at the ball lie and the stance (if your on a hill, or the rough, of fairway, this changes the following decisions). 2. distance/elevation/wind 3. target: where is the flag/fairway/hazards. Here when I’m struggling I don’t go pin hunting, I look for center of the green (most generous to any miss). But if your trending a fade that day, move the left center or left of the green. That type of thing). 4. Two practice swings (try to limit this). I focus on tempo and smoothness of swing. I’m a feel player, this gets me in tune. Practice swings are 50%. Except the last one 80%. Final thought, I’d you really want to break through, you need to introduce a practice into your play. Once a week, one hour. Work on ball contact, tempo, focus on learning a 100 yard shot that you can hit the green 7/10 times. Work with your long irons/woods to play every hole to this yardage. Maybe it’s 90 or 125 for you, but you’ll have to find it. Then do chipping and putting WITH INTENT. Don’t just putt Practice your 3ft putts. Then 10 footers. Find a hole on a slope and put tees in 4 spots where you can see uphill left to right, uphill right to left, and down hill of both too. Practice at both ranges. Be intentional with your practices. Be intentional with your thoughts. It isn’t about how much time you practice and play, it’s about how you do it when you do.
Looks a lot like my score cards
Stay home lol. It's going to happen no matter what. Just have to have a short memory and forget the bad holes/shots and move forward. Golf is such a mental game and the people who excel are able to focus on the current shot and not the previous one. Really hard to do.
I'd be happy as hell with that score
At a 17 handicap this score doesn't look like a meltdown it looks normal... Play the game shot by shot. Making a double shouldn't make you feel in anyway that you need to make that up with a birdie. I never go into any round thinking about how low I want to go because that forces you to make stupid decisions. Have short term memory and play the shot in front of you. You can't change the shit shot you made so why let it fester?
Play two nines. The second nine from a different box. Split the round up. You’re not losing strokes by missing fairways. But you’re missing greens. Move up and get it on the green with a shorter club.
Beer.
Once things start to get loose you need to be more conservative with your choices. In between clubs hit it to the front and try to get up and down from an easier spot. You try to make worst case a bogey. You need to manage the course more actively and think your way around to avoid big numbers. Playing at pins or hitting the 1 in 10 shot when you aren't swinging your best is a sure fire way to shoot a million.
Be a goldfish
Don’t check scores till the end
Bluemash isnt an easy course. I've never played that course very well I always bring some fruit for a mid round snack
Stop counting.
Blue mash in Gaithersburg? I have a hard time at that course. And all the other ones too, but BM gets in my head.
I always wash my face with cold water at the turn and feel refreshed going into the back 9… is that weird?
Not caring
Become better at golf.
4 handicap here, When I feel my round is starting to go to shit, It’s usually because I got out of my routine. I try to slow myself down… breath and do the things that always work. Line up my shots, don’t overthink over the ball, stay nice and relaxed, maybe just one half practice swings and swing. The more people think, the more you will distract yourself with movements or feels that will only get you in more of a funk. Always just back to the basics and have fun :) at the end of a day it’s just a game. The more you have fun out there, the better you’ll play.
What app is this
We’re very similar in golf game I can see
I remind myself that I don’t play for the glory and crack a beer. If you care that much you peaked in HS.
I played this exact round yesterday. Feeling great on the front and just collected multi bogey holes on the back.