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Walked off the first hole in shame today.


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I've been out of the country and busy with graduation stuff for the last 3 weeks, so it's been almost a month since I've gotten to hit, but I decided to go out and play today - or try to. It was a bit of a last minute decision, and I didn't have time to warm up at all. Oops.

I walked up to the first tee expecting to be alone, but ended up being paired with a threesome, which I normally don't mind. I walk up with my 3 wood, take a few practice swings, step up to the ball confidently... And totally miss. Didn't even move. Step back, take another swing, try again... Miss again. Finally on the third try, I hit it. Topped it so hard the ball made a divot and went about 15 yards.

I Made a joke, drove up to it, grabbed my iron... And missed again. Then topped it about 20 more yards. By now I'm flustered as all hell and no one else has driven to their second shot yet.

It takes me four more topped and thin shots to get to where the other guys hit their drives to.

I finally get up there with my hybrid, take another swing... And top it another 10 yards. I picked my ball up and drove back to the clubhouse without a word.

I was going to hit a bucket and go back out if they let me, but they had league play starting so I decided to just hit the bucket. I had to go down to taking half swings with my pitching wedge just to f****** make contact with the ball, and even when I worked badk up to my woods I was thinning or straight topping about 60% of my shots. Eventually I just drove off in a s*** mood.

I have no idea what to do now. I guess I just need to go to the range for a day and figure out where my swing went, but I feel like the memory of that single hole is going to haunt me for the entire summer. How the hell do I get this out of my head?

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You should have finished your round. Plenty of opportunity to replace that negative memory with a good one.

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Many of us have similar experiences--lack of consistency, topping, chopping, wiffing the ball. If we didn't we'd all be professionals or single handicappers. After fifty three years of playing this game I still have to remind myself that I'm not a good golfer, never was, and certainly, at this age, will never be good at the sport that I continue to enjoy even played badly.

I understand the need to sometimes simply walk off--I've done it but always have come back. Guys like us play for the occasional good hole, good shot, decent round, the "why can't I do this every time?" moments.

I say hang in there, enjoy the game, enjoy the environment, enjoy the constant challenge--that's what we can do on the course--every time.

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9 years ago I stumbled into a spell of absolutely horrible golf that lasted for years, but I never walked off and learned to deal with my embarrassment. It has served me well since: I am playing well enough now to have fun on the course again, and it was a valuable life-lesson as well, because before golf I was used to being good at what I set my mind to.

 

Keep at it.

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As several other's have said, most of us have had a bad round (or 2 or 3 or more) like that. If golf wasn't so damn frustrating it wouldn't be so much fun and rewarding when you hit that great shot. I have started this season off in a terrible fashion. I finished last season playing much stronger than my 14 index and was very excited to start this season with the goal of getting back down to a 9 or 10 this summer. Well my first 3 rounds (including a disaster today) have been 98, 93 and 94. Ugh!!! I am so frustrated and trying to see how I lost so much golfing ability over the winter. Granted the winter in Chicago can be really crappy, but not that bad.

 

Thanks for letting me vent in talking about your round. My game will come back around and your's will too. Have faith, a few beers and couple of range sessions. Sounds like a good prescription for both our games. :golfer:

Just an older guy with 7 or 8 clubs and a MacKenzie Sunday Walker bag

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OP took 8 strokes to get to his fellow player's balls. Let that sink in.

 

....last week, I used my rangefinder for my third shot into a 150yd par 3. Let that sink in!

 

Lol Friggin' golf :angry22:

 

I got a case of the yips so badly that I switched to putting lefty just to be able to pull the club back. Let that sink in!

 

This stuff happens. Being humbled occasionally isn’t really a bad thing.

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OP took 8 strokes to get to his fellow player's balls. Let that sink in.

 

....last week, I used my rangefinder for my third shot into a 150yd par 3. Let that sink in!

 

Lol Friggin' golf :angry22:

 

I got a case of the yips so badly that I switched to putting lefty just to be able to pull the club back. Let that sink in!

 

This stuff happens. Being humbled occasionally isn’t really a bad thing.

 

3 weeks ago I shot 70 in a tournament. I was -4 thru 13.

 

 

Last weekend I shot 85 in a tournament.

 

Let that sink in.

 

Sometimes this game just hops up and laughs at you.

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I once playing with a guy at men's night who lost 4 balls on the first hole, bush. water, water, over green into bush. I believe he lost over 4 sleeves during the round, he stayed for burgers/beer and said his round went better than last week.

 

As the saying goes .... It could of been worst if ....... " Fill in Blank " !

 

D.

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May be a good time to get a lesson or two? When I came back to the game after several years away, I thought I could pick up where I left off. I was wrong. Getting some lessons helped make golf fun again for me. I still go to the Pro when I can, and he works wonders for me. My swing likes to wander off down new and untrodden paths, but he always puts it back on the right track.

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vance astro,

 

we feel your pain, and hope you soon return.

 

rest a bit now and when you're ready, be loose, hit a few from the bucket, get your turf legs back back and go tear the place up.

 

make it feel good again.

 

all the best.

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Stuff happens in golf. I've had a poor twelve months and it's only just (hopefully) started to come good again. As others have posted - I'd have carried on. Everyone's been there. Little that happens on the first hole ever bothers me because I'm an amateur, a high handicapper and I never go on the range before a round. But best of all, you have 17 more opportunities to fix your score card. If that doesn't seem likely then just stop scoring and use the round for practice. Or enjoy the scenery.

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I'm guessing you're not a "seasoned" golfer ? Am I correct ?

Besides, traveling will put a big toll on your physical and mental stability. Especially traveling to and from overseas. The change of time zone alone will throw off your tempo and timing.

Your body and your mind were not "sync" like you believed. Trying hard from memory is never the good idea when starting cold without loosen up before teeing off.

What did the 3-some do when you were struggling ? Anyone tried to joke about it and make you feel at ease to settle back down from the anxiety ? It's all about tempo when you're out of sync.

Try to loosen up before you step up to the tee shot and not attempting to hit your longest drive until you figured out your tempo for the day.

 

Many of the golfers will figure out their tempo for the day before their tee time. They do that on the driving range and the practice putting green. Quick tempo or slower that day, as long as they work together. Curtis Strange stated in one of his video, they ( the pro) go to the driving range to find their preferred golf swing for the day. Meaning, they could work the golf ball either way but fro certain day, they might favor a fade instead of a draw. and that will be the go to shot of the day if they need to depend on it.

 

Keep hydrated is so important, because if you "dried up" from traveling or over consuming alcoholic beverage the night before, your tempo and timing would be way off from the dehydration.

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I've done this. I usually just call it a day after 9 if things are going off the rails, but one day I walked off in the middle of the 2nd hole. I was hitting the ball horribly and could feel myself sinking into depression. It wasn't one of those things you can just talk yourself out of. I didn't want to become completely unglued and ruin everyone else's day, so I apologized to my partners and trudged back to the clubhouse. I've never played that particular course since. I hate that golf does this to me. After a while, it's just abusive.

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Said just about everyone who’s ever played this game.

 

Look, you didn’t play for a month, didn’t hit balls, got paired w a bunch of people you just met and so what were your expectations? Of course you hit the ball like crap...all your answers were in your post.

 

I’m guessing if you would have stuck it out another hole or two you would have been fine.

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I had a 6 week spell a few years back where I was hitting the best drives, 3 woods, long irons, and putts of my golfing life.

 

I was also guaranteed a roughly 25% chance (I kept track over 3 rounds after I noticed the trend) of shanking my mid irons down to my wedges. Literally. Like 6 or 7 a round, sometimes more. I told a couple friends after about the 10th round of this crap that if I couldn't figure out what the hell was happening, I was selling my clubs. I went to the range after that round with only my 9 iron & alignment rod and hit a bucket, it was a mixed bag of shanks and startlingly crisp, clean contact/divot. no rhyme or reason, it was like pulling the arm on a slot machine: same damn club, same alignment, same ball position, same "check myself halfway back" drill... and nice clean hits with a random lateral 100% off the hosel. I decided to throw the clubs in the closet for a few months and take a break.

 

I begrudgingly got talked into playing another round a couple weeks afterwards, and proceeded to shoot an 81 (I was around an 11-12 cap) with 3 bad tee shots (driver went away again, imagine that!) forcing punch outs. Absolutely nailed every short iron and wedge I hit, and I haven't hit a full-fledged shank on the course since. I cannot explain why golf does this to us, all I know is that I'm not on TV in the final pairing but I still find this game absolutely intoxicating. Good luck and don't give up!

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I'm a 2 HC and i went over 2 years not being able to get a fairway wood airborne. now it is one of my favorite clubs in my bag. I'm currently going through something similar with sand play, and i know i'll get past it. Golf is so freaking hard. The difference between topping it, shanking it, missing the grooves on the toe, chunking it, and dead flushing it is mere millimeters. Once i realized that even though some of those misses visually look horrible, i'm never that far off from hitting it great. it still happens sometimes, and i just laugh it off and move on.

 

I would have picked up on number one and tried again on number two. you don't need a scorecard to have a good time.

 

You can find it. once you find something that works, get lost in the process and just trust it. It's in there. you just have to find it

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I haven't hit a full-fledged shank on the course since..................

 

Oh crap!, now you've gone and done it big time...........You've actually said the "s" word out loud and now all who read it will do it and it will be all your fault....... :WTF: :scare2:

 

I've said that word a million times and it hasn't affected me, LOL.

 

I have much bigger golf issues now than that shanktastic period a while ago. namely, having a 17 month old daughter and a wife who works Saturdays and designated Sunday as family day. I haven't swung a club in over 3 months.

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How the hell do I get this out of my head?

 

You don't. Embarrassing failures are rarely permanently forgotten. No matter how hard you try, even years later, something small will trigger the memory of that day.

 

What do you do? You acknowledge the event, resolve to get better, and keep on keepin' on.

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ACCEPT IT... and move on... just keep your chin up,.. yeah, it sucks to suck, but...

 

My second competitive 9-hole tournament, as a high school freshman at 13 YO,.. #1 hole is a 530 Par 5... with a small pond in front of the tee box, that is shared with #7 tee... why, I have no idea... except...

 

Yeah, the freshman (ME) hit not one, but two... into that pond that serves no "golf" purpose. Totally topped both drives...

 

Finished with a smooth 49 on the front 9. I beat half of the Frosh/Soph team that day...

 

Bottom line, commit and overcome... or don't play... I don't care either way.

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How the hell do I get this out of my head?

 

You don't. Embarrassing failures are rarely permanently forgotten. No matter how hard you try, even years later, something small will trigger the memory of that day.

You know that puts me in mind of the time I struck the ball perfectly with a sand wedge. Only snag was that I was in a bunker at the time and the ball was never found ever again :)
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