Beating your personal best

[Roody]

Two weekends ago I was even after 14 holes, on pace to tie my all-time best (even). On 15 tee my buddy says "wow, you've got a great round going. Don't mess it up".

 

I'm like "thanks, a**hole". I bogeyed 15, but I got it back with a bird on 16. I was really nervous on 18, but managed to scrape together a bogey for a 1-over round. Oh well.

 

Had a little team bet going this weekend and my partner was on track for his best round when the away team pointed out he was 1 under on 10 tee. Snapped that drive over the highway and rode my back in to shoot his handicap on the dot. Don't these people know not to jinx the pitcher?

That is the exact quote one of my other playing partners used when I was telling him this story. Whenever I have a friend who is playing out of his mind, I try to keep his mind off of it by striking up a conversation about anything other than golf.

 

I'm not that mad at him for doing that to me to be honest. The bogey on 15 was really not his fault. I hit a great drive, it was the approach shot and chip-on that really did me in. I had 127 to the flag, pretty good wind behind me. So I hit SW, which I can hit about 100 yards. I landed beyond the hole and it bounced off the back. My chip-on was weak, and I just barely missed the 10-foot putt for par.

[AreJohn]

Bringing this thread back. Shot 65 Friday. Hit driver on every hole, went for the green on all the short par 4's, hunted pins and hit my driving iron off the deck into 2 par 5s. Basically did all the things I normally do when I feel like shooting 80 with 5 birdies.

[andrue]

Yup. I'm still waiting for my first sub-80 round. I'm pretty sure it'll be at my home course (if only because it's a par 70) but so far the best I've done is 80. I've come close several times this year. It's quite maddening. I've been +3 at the turn several times but then get a +8 or +9 on the second half. Our course flips back/front on Monday's and Fridays when the longer and harder half plays first and last Monday when I was off work I was (much to my amazement) +3 after the harder half.

 

I didn't let myself get excited about it, just played the easier half one shot at a time. But a couple of chips didn't quite come off and a slightly errant 3h left me behind a bush. I ended up +7 for the second half leaving me at +10 _again_.

 

So I know that I have the ability to be only +6 but I've not managed it yet. Hey ho.

[North Butte]

My personal best round is so much better than my usual run of play that I guess I don't feel any pressure now when I happen to be shooting an unusually low score. It was like the Bishop's round on Caddyshack. Just a surreal experience all around.

 

1) I was playing by myself, so no money on the line, no pressure.

2) It was in the cool part of the year so I was playing the up tees (as I always do in winter). But a nice day so the ball was carrying pretty well.

3) I just had one good bounce after another, a chip-in, a couple of super long putts, I think I even had a bunker shot hit the flag stick and stop instead of rocketing over the green.

4) I didn't even think to add up my score until the 17th hole when yet another 20+ foot par putt rolled in.

5) It was also a few years ago and I'm not getting any younger (nor is my golf game getting any better).

 

So the odds are I'll never come within three or four strokes of that miracle round. It's kind of like having the one hole-in-one I've made in my life. At least I've got that going for me...

[bub72ck]

My PB is 64, which I’ve shot twice. Both times I was unaware of my score. Knew I was low but not sure how low. You have to get the score out of your head. Focus on your game plan for the holes and keep it one shot at a time. I know that’s cliche but it’s the best way to break a PB IMO.

[North Butte]

> @bub72ck said:

> My PB is 64, which I’ve shot twice. Both times I was unaware of my score. Knew I was low but not sure how low. You have to get the score out of your head. Focus on your game plan for the holes and keep it one shot at a time. I know that’s cliche but it’s the best way to break a PB IMO.

 

My best ever competitive score (not playing by myself) was a round where the group was playing "best two out of three net" format. So all the attention during the round was focused on trying to make net birdies or eagles on my stroke holes, making sure to stay in the hole if one of the other guys was in his pocket, that sort of thing.

 

That distraction worked wonderfully well at keeping my mind off my actual, gross stroke-play score. Which turned out to be about 10 shots better than my handicap!

[shanx]

Timely, this thread...

Was a solid "6" handicap for a bit, played a few times a week, dipped into the high to mid 70s a few times a year. Things went wayyyyy south (hence my username), lost the will to play/practice, kids/house came, I would play for "fun" once in a while, pretty much shanking my way around the course...

 

Divorce came, kids grew up, my fire for the game returned. Decided to take lessons instead of investing $$$$ in equipment. Spent a lot of the offseason and early spring working on swing fixes from the lessons I took. Had a few rollercoaster rounds early this year, mostly due to swing fixes, lack of short game practice. I did not get discouraged, just decided to play for the fun of it, not worrying about scores at all. Spent more time practicing short game, hitting buckets to groove the new swing.

 

Played with a co-worker this past Friday, "just happy to be here" was my new motto, had a lot of fun just hitting shots, talking smack, had a drink before the round with lunch...

Went out and shot 79! Lowest score in years! 36 on the front! 4 birdies (lipped out the 5th)! Irons were decent (hit a lot more greens than I am used to), struggled off the tee a bit.

 

Anyway, sometimes our bests happen when we aren't really trying. I take what I am given, keep expectations low, and try to have fun!

 

Keep hacking!

[Joelsim]

I used to worry about score, now I don’t so much, and funnily enough I’ve been scoring better as a result. As long as I feel I’ve had a decent round and hit the ball well, I really don’t mind what I score.

[stormbringer]

Tied my personal best just last night (67). Playing well at the moment and enjoying it. Had two three putts from that round that haunt me but that's how it goes. I knew full well the last birdie try was for 66. Hit a good putt from 15 feet but it did not break the 3 balls I played. I have never completed a round without a bogey. My last two were bogey free going into 15. I would love to go bogey free sometime. I did have a round the other day with no 5's on the card.

 

Funny, I am surprised I am playing better golf in my 50's than I did in my 30's. Did hit 16 greens last night!

[cardoustie]

I sympathize. A few years back I finally shot 68 on my home track ... not an easy feat. 69 was my PB going back 25 years ,,, and I had shot it 20-30 times

This year my index is almost at an all time low and and I have blown three chances at 67 or better in the last month. Two at home club and one at secondary club

5 under thru 12 and shot 70. 14 and 18 are par 5's but 13, 15, and 16 are 3 of our hardest holes. 73.8 / 138

2 under thru 12 and shot 73. That darn 13th again

The other round was a blatant throw up, 4 or 5 under thru the first 6 (the HARDEST part of the course). 200 yards into the par 5 eighteenth and snipe hook a hybrid OB. Lost focus for a few holes. And ... let that slip to a 72 or 73 on the back when the matched was closed. We were in a 2 man match and I wasn't focused on my final score

Anyways, tomorrow is a new day

[marks21]

I play in a 9 hole league on Tuesday evenings and am pretty consistent shooting between 42-45 each week. My league handicap was 7.2 this week ( play as a 12.4 overall) and over the last 4 years, I have never broken the 40 mark. The 9th hole is a par 3 and I have lost count where par would have achieved a score of 39 for my round only to miss the green and be unsuccessful in getting up and down. Tonight, I didn’t have to worry and finally have accomplished my first ever even par round of 36. 3 birdies, 3 pars, 3 bogeys. I am relieved to see progress as I have dedicated myself improving this year and this keeps me motivated to continue improving as I know have prove results are obtainable. I don’t play many 18 hole rounds due to family and work but it feels good to get over this hump.

[Swisstrader98]

Had 2 PB’s in one single weekend this past week and beat it by a solid 3 strokes.

Actually shocked me because it’s not like I did anything new or different, just a bunch of things coming together all at once coupled with a nice competitive match playing against guys that are very solid players which usually ups my game.

 

Someone once told me that improvement in golf comes in bunches, not one stroke at a time. I’m proof of that.

[AreJohn]

> @stormbringer said:

> Tied my personal best just last night (67). Playing well at the moment and enjoying it. Had two three putts from that round that haunt me but that's how it goes. I knew full well the last birdie try was for 66. Hit a good putt from 15 feet but it did not break the 3 balls I played. I have never completed a round without a bogey. My last two were bogey free going into 15. I would love to go bogey free sometime. I did have a round the other day with no 5's on the card.

 

I'm still waiting for the bogey free round too.

I was 3 under through 5 then took a double on the short par 3 6th. Then birdied 8, 10-14, bogeyed 15, and 3 putted for par on the par 5 16th.

The kicker for this was it was a practice round for my member-guest and my partner who normally plays about 2-4 shots worse than me and maybe 20 times a year quietly shot a bogey free 66 for his personal best and an icy 60 for our better ball score. 5 shots better than what we posted Sunday .

 

[Justsomeguy]

> @AreJohn said:

> I've had 4 rounds in the last month where I've been 5 or 6 under coming into the last 4 holes, and ended up shooting 68-71. With 68 being my personal best (and having shot it about 20 times) I'm starting to go grey from the stress.

>

>

>

> So I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced not being able to beat your personal best after being on the number for a very long time? Did you ever overcome it? And if you're still chasing that dream like me I'd love to hear your story too.

 

Play a round from the lady's tees and go 10 under. Mental.

[DrSchteeve]

A few weeks ago I shot my lifetime goal score, a one over par 73. It was my goal because that was the best score my Dad ever made (I think, it's the only scorecard of his I ever found), though sadly he gave up the game before I took it up.

 

So since then, I've been a little ambivalent about playing, as I have been chasing that 73 for a long time (at least 10 years, once I broke 80).

 

So today I made 6 birdies, 5 bogeys on my favorite golf course on the planet (Southern Dunes, just south of Phoenix), a one under 71.

 

Now what?

[Twism86]

Im still new to the game and my best is an 84. That is terrible for many people and most of the people I play with. So hopefully I've yet to have the best round of my life but heres the thing.....

 

At some point you will have the best round of your life and it may take a long time before you realize it.....

 

So, enjoy every round and low score in the moment and dont stress about making the next even better.

[ssf301]

My best was 65. I've done it twice, but it was a loooong time ago. At 51 now I have little hope of ever getting there again, even from one tee box forward. :( An occasional under par round is still doable though. I just have to adjust my expectations.