Back nine blues

[sprcoop]

Two rounds in a row only 5 over on the front (encouraging for an 18 cap) then shoot 50 something on the back for no good reason. One back 9 I had two PAR 4s that I took a 9 on. I wonder if it's conditioning even though I don't feel tired or stiff. Seems like bad decisions.

 

Mental fatigue? Just not that bright?

 

I feel like I'm on the cusp of real improvement.

[ctsgolf]

I was 1-under going into #9 last weekend and shot an 80.

 

I've done similar a few times this season, including being E through 13 and shooting a 78.

[Springsteennut]

Most years I usually struggle on the back 9. This year it’s been pretty consistent that my back 9 scores have been several shots better.

[Moonlightgrm]

Stay hydrated, bring something to munch on, and keep your potassium levels up (organically bound minerals in pill form, bananas, etc...).

[RuffingIt]

could be a number of factors. Im directly the opposite. Back 9 for me has trended to recovering the mess i made on the front. This season I started to bring snacks (almonds and/or trail mix) and extra hydration. Those extra seconds to a minute or two to grab a bite or drink, helps keep my mind off the anxiousness for the next shot and let go of the previous shot, when the group ahead of me starts to lag a bit.

[Lefty96]

I had the back nine blues today.. I’m usually a low 80s high 70s shooter. Today I found myself standing on 10 tee 2 under par. I’ve never shot a 34 on nine before so that was cool. However the 42 i shot on the back nine felt a little disappointing. Still a good round for me though.

[golfguru80]

hydration!!

[jonnymc44]

In our club championships, scratch medal over 36 holes, on Saturday I shot 38 36 for a 74 and went into the second round in 3rd position.

On Sunday I shot 36 45 for an 81. I missed out on the knockout by 4 shots having had 2 triples on the back 9 finishing in 12th (top 8 go through). I was tired and my mental game just went completely. It's the first time this season that I'd played back-to-back 18 holes and was more tired than I thought I would be.

I'm still pretty happy with my game as the guys that went through were all +1 to 2 handicappers and up until 4 weeks ago I was still playing off 8, now playing off 5. I gave them a good run!

[MelloYello]

We've all done that many times.

 

But don't start over-thinking it. You said it yourself. You're an 18 handicap. That means there's going to be a lot of variability in your game over 18 holes. You strung together a bunch of relatively good holes but then it caught up with you. There's no fooling the golf gods. If you were capable of shooting lower scores whenever you felt it best to do so you'd have a lower handicap.

 

Take a moment to study why you blew up on those bad holes. Odds are that what you got lucky with on the front, didn't go so great on the back. You probably screwed up on some shots that you're not that great at in general.

 

Instead of saying "I need to focus more" (what does that even mean!?), ask what you can do where the rubber meets the road. If you're prone to randomly driving it OB it means your driving swing ain't great. If you randomly chunk chip shots your short game needs work.

 

It's not "focus" that is going to get that 18 handicap down to a 10. It's understanding the realities of how you can ensure better shots.

 

Trying to "focus" your way to better golf is only going to leave you stressing out more as you attempt to "will" yourself into a better score. It simply doesn't work that way. Not this side of scratch anyhow. :)

 

 

[HatsForBats]

Golf happens. I wouldn't be too worried about it over such a small sample size but I certainly would be annoyed.

[sprcoop]

Thanks for the comments. Some of you guys with much better caps than mine admitting back nine blow ups makes me feel better. Yes... I'm shallow enough that other peoples pain makes me feel better.

[bhazelri33]

Try looking at it as three 6 hole rounds. Since you're an 18 hdcp. I think trying to shoot 28-29 for 6 holes would be a good target number. Some 6 holes will be easier than others to shoot 28-29 just due to the mixture of par 3,4, and 5s. This way youre not focused on the front 9 vs back 9.

[HonestPlayer]

It depends how you play. Also if you eat enough and drink water etc. My course has an easier front 9 for my style of golf. I also have less experience on the back nine, sometimes I just play the front 9 in evenings. Our back nine has the hardest hole and tougher short par 4's. Back 9 there's also the fatigue factor.

[shanx]

Me too. Had two front nines under 40 recently (36 for one of them), limped in with low to mid 40s every time.

 

For me, who is not used to shooting in the 30s, I think it is a mental block that happens. I seem to take the back nine off, as I am really satisfied with my low front nine. I need to learn how to keep the hammer down and keep playing my best.

 

Yesterday I shot 39 - 46, but the heat really started getting to me on the back...

[sprcoop]

Could have been bad luck/false alarm. Saturday same conditions (windy, ~105F), time of day, fluid intake, food etc. 47 front 43 back. So it was just me being stupid(er) on the back 9 last couple rounds, not a trend.

 

How do you hit 7 GIR (no penalties), get up and down twice for PAR, never do worse than double and end up with 90? Gotta quit with all the senseless doubles.

[andrue]

This happens to me a lot. In my case I seem to develop a desire to 'get it over with' and start to rush and not pay attention. It only happens in competitions.

 

Last weekend was typical. Captain's day comp and I was only +7 at the turn. Playing off 22 that gave me the possibility of coming in below 90 and maybe even winning. But then my swing collapsed and I was lucky to walk off with a gross 98 :-/

 

Today it didn't happen and I think it was because I was determined to approach the round the same way I approach social golf - an enjoyable few hours on a course. I managed to keep the feeling throughout the round. Had a couple of blow up holes but no collapse.

[SNIPERBBB]

Irs usually one or the other 9s that are horrible and the other good. Today first 9 was crud...first two drives found left PA. So went bogey-double. Chunked a 65yd approach but managed par. 3 putted for bogey on the next. Routine par on the #1 handicap hole. Chunked two chips on the next and made double. Routine pars on the next two holes. Chipped in for birdie after finding the right PA on the closing par 5 of the front for 42.

 

Start the back nine with straight 4 birdies, with the one on 9 making 5 in a row (new personal best). The last bird was a bit of a lucky chip in. Parred the next two, drove the 320(actual yardage) par 4 16th made bird for personal best 6 birdies in a round. Routine par 17 then 3 putt bogied 18 for 32(best ever 9 hole score) to make 74.

 

Crazy game.

[iutodd]

Yep just shot 38-43 for a very discouraging 81.

 

Double on 17 when I needed a par-par finish to shoot 79. Had two looks for Eagle and three putted both times...four three putts overall...

 

Hit the ball beautifully all day though. Next time I’m going to put it together. It was speed control that killed me. I can fix that.

[hgtiger24]

I have the back 3 blues right now. Probably need to focus on hydrating better through the round. I get to 16 and just kinda lose the swing. last time i was able to walk 18 i was 1 over through 15. finished double, bogey, double....

[Nard_S]

I have this issue, on reflection much of it is due to allowing body to quit. Legs & core get lazy, become all arms and get all disconnected which leads to demoralizing play. Fatigue and dehydration can precipitate this but a conscious effort to keep solid body movement held to the end can pretty much avoid the letdown.

[Brandons68]

Back 9 blues have been nasty to me recently. Shot 34 on the front in a tourney a few weeks ago turning into the easy side (back nine) and end up shooting 41 on the side. Fast forward 2 weeks at the same course and I drop a smooth 44 on the same side.