I’m My Own Worst Enemy

I’ve been having some weird scores lately and its starting to get comical. Today I had 5 penalties and four 3 putts in an otherwise pretty good round. Two OB’s by inches and failure to clear a lake by a foot. Then on 4 of the greens my first putt came out of a cannon leaving me very difficult come back putts. On one green my “lag” putt ended up 25 feet past the hole. Who does that? 

After all the self-inflicted wounds I still ended up shooting +4 but its maddening when you realize what could have been. Tomorrow I spend more time on the practice green that for sure. 

Bro i'm a 1.6 now and don't have a birdie in 8 rounds! 8 rounds!!!!

My 15 foot putting so far in 2020 can only be described as "Sergio while in contention" levels

I left a 4 footer short last round

... LOL, that is hard to do! I hate it when I go one round without a birdie but 8?!? You must be going crazy. Most I have gone is 2 rounds and I felt like a poser.

This is my longest drought i can remember. I think i went 4-5 rounds a couple of seasons ago because i remember posting about it. Im not overly concerned as frustrating as it is, it's a combination of COVID rust and early season short game woes. Ironically my scoring is OK.....i went 76-76 this past weekend

I've been able to sneak in a couple 9-hole rounds since the season opened, but yesterday was my first full round of 18......man, it was a struggle.

My short game clearly needs a bunch of work....there's only so much one can do on the tiny practice green & chipping area at my club and in my backyard.....you just have to get out on the course to really get dialed in.

I agree. 3 putting is the worst...until I 4 put!

... Now that you mention it, after a long lay off like winter I usually don't count my first several rounds. So yea, no birdies with Covid/rust is easier than it sounds.

I am a scratch player who is currently on a 0 for 16 scrambling my last 4 rounds.

I have had everything from easy pitches, flop shots, bunker shots... putting everything within 7ft and I have missed every single one of them. I need someone to blade their wedge into my shins if I don't get my next scrambling opportunity done

clearly the ballstriking is crap right now too but these misses are not big. These are relatively easier up n downs :(

Haha, yeah that is pretty crazy too! I guess it just goes to show we are still amateurs at the end of the day. Subject to some pretty large ups and downs.

I'm a pretty streaky putter at the best of times so i can get ice cold. This is one of those times.

I think i need to snap a putter over my knee or something, maybe it will exercise some demons

Are you, by chance, having marital trouble?

No things are good there, both of my wives still don't know about each other

Course Management 101

I love the Sergio in contention reference!! That's funny stuff.

To the OP, I feel your pain. I’m usually a “steady” slightly better than bogey golfer. I’ll have the occasional birdie and a few pars sprinkled in with a number of bogeys, and shoot 85.

Im going through swing changes now, and the results are very encouraging, except I’ve had 3 rounds in a row where if I had only played 12 holes I would basically be low single digit / almost scratch. The other day, I shot 90 with a quintuple, a quad, and 3 triples. Even the rest of the round. Had a similar round my last time out...shot 87 with a triple and 4 doubles. I can now make double from the middle of the fairway with no problem. And I can find at least 3 or 4 penalty areas off the tee in a round. Add to it a couple of 3 putts and there you go. It has to be “mental”, right? I feel like I look back on the round and think “I was hitting it pretty well...why was I such a moron on 3 and 11 and 12?” Oddly though, I feel like these big numbers are more fixable than the constant barrage of bogeys that I’m used to.

"I can now make double from the middle of the fairway with no problem."

Thats some funny stuff there.

Today I didn't have any major blow up holes but for some reason I had difficulties with my driver and fairway woods off the tee. Today I topped a driver 92 yards, a 5W 66 yards and hit a 3W 18 yards after I pulled it into a tree by the forward tees and almost got a negative yardage drive. I was able to salvage two pars and a bogie but didn't much enjoy being the comedy relief for the group.

It’s definitely a finicky game. The last three weeks every driver tee shot was either a cut or fade no matter how hard I tried to draw it or just hit it straight. Then last Monday night in league I fought a draw/hook off the tee. Don’t feel like I’m doing anything different at all in my swing. Absolute insanity!!!!

Thankfully, i finally broke the birdie drought with 2 today.

I actually added it up and it was 7 rounds and not 8. Still pretty bad.

My friend who is a 15 index has more birdies than me this season through 10 rounds

You guys aren’t trying hard enough. During today’s 9-holer, I went par, par, bogey, double (from the middle of the fairway), triple, double (missed a 3-footer), par, par, par. That’s a smooth 8 over for 9 holes. I’m a 3 BTW. It takes dedication and effort to play this badly.

This thread is clutch. Thought it was just me. Got the game in shape this Spring, down to +2. playing Mostly with 8 to 10 clubs and a flask.

Fast forward a few weeks. .. haven’t sniffed par.....85 today with a birdie on 18 , only my 2nd ?in four rounds. ? Happy times.

I'm in a funk with my putting right now too. I think I have 7 three putts in my last 27 holes. Doesn't help that I keep switching back and forth between putters I guess, but it's terrible.

I am in the same situation this year.. Just can't get comfortable with the swing on the putter..

I just installed counterweight Superstroke this weekend along with changed my grip (not doing the interlocking grip).. Hope to do better this week..

I'm really good about having a really dumb double bogey to keep a special round from being really special. Vividly recall 4 putting on the par 3 15th at my home course last year to shoot 69. To be fair to myself it was a clown pin position that day that if you missed the putt, you were lucky to have anything shorter than a 3 footer coming back.

I'm having a really weird stretch of golf lately. Only one over par round in last 14 rounds but nothing really low. I actually had 6 consecutive rounds of even par 72. Hitting ball good but not making anything and not 3 putting either. I can't remember it happening in the past but I do remember having 3 consecutive rounds of 84 in 2004 which is still my highest score at my home club but 3 rounds in row! It got so funny that my buddies got me a 84 hat from 84 Lumber store. It was so hilarious and my friends still ribs me about it to this day.

We ALL leave shots out there...anyone who walks off the 18th green can tell you how many shots they left out there, no matter what level of play. It's golf, it's part of the game. The opposite can also be true. I played nine holes a week or so ago and had four birdies...the putter was really hot.

This game is hard because we make it hard. It is mostly between our ears. Lol!

Thanks,

Jeff