Shot a new personal best, but I'm not sure how I feel about it.....

[copperjeff]

So I was able to play nine holes today at my local executive course (par 61, 30/31) I shot a personal best but I just don't know how I feel about it.

 

I started at the range and just could not put the club on the ball. I tried every club in the bag and worked through a small bucket. With about 5 balls left i decided to just get the club on the ball no matter what. I accomplished that, but it felt horrible. I thought about not even playing! I wandered over to the first tee though and made a slooow easssy swing and bunted driver into the fairway. As I walked up the fairway I thought about my grip, made and adjustment on the approach and smoothed a shot onto the front of the green. 35 footer for a birdie try and I poured it in.

 

My confidence was very high. The last time I played this course a week ago I had about 5 birdie putts (only made 1) and something just clicked in my brain about how easy scoring actually can be.

 

Two holes later I hit an awful tee shot on a tiny short par three and couldnt get up and down. Back to even. I stayed even all the way until the 9th hole. I pushed my tee shot (a par 3 over water) to the left rough. I let my concentration slip on the chip shot and duffed it to the fringe. 30+ feet and I 2 putted for bogey. Of course I tried the chip shot again after finishing the hole (was done for the day had to meet the wife for valentines dinner) and chipped it to tap in range.

 

So on the positive I shot a personal best 1 over par 31. But its an executive course, and dang it an even par was in my sights. Oh and my previous best for the front nine on this course was either 33 or 34, but was a struggle and happened over a year and a half ago.

 

I just dont know how I feel. One part of me feels awesome because 1 over on any 9 holes should be fantastic, but yet I am disappointed in the finish, and my ego fights the "legitimacy" of a +1 for just 9 and on a little executive course.

 

Sorry for the long read, but just looking for some thoughts from others.

 

Thanks!

[Chief Illiniwek]

You oughta feel great about it! I don't know how long the par 3's are but par 3's generally play difficult to par compared to par 5's.

[martinbns]

+1 is a great score, I have many times over the years shot 39 or 40 with a double or triple early and they feel great. When I shoot the same score but finish bogey, double it feels awful. One of the best rounds I have ever played was in my club championship a few years ago, shot 83, started double, quad.

Golf is about getting it in the hole in as few as possible and you just did that better than you ever have before, be proud of yourself.

[Ranchobob]

A good friend of mine says "distance ain't but a thang" and it's very true--in my game at least.

There are a couple local courses I play frequently with one being about 1000 yards longer than the other. I typically score about the same number. (Infuriating!)

So be proud. That's good shootin'.

[TexMex36]

Be proud man! Yardage doesn't matter. At the end of the day all that matters is how many shots it took you to get the ball in the hole.

[Forged4ever]

First CJ, Hat's Off for a phenominal round!!

That's fantastic!!

Secondly, what you did is a Great accomplishment, I don't care if a course is 7000 yds long or 5000 yds long.

Go stand on one of those tees at your course.

Now look at that little ball.

Now look down the fairway to that pin.

I don't care if it's 99 yds or 199 yds.

Try to locate the cup so that you can actually see it.

To put that ball that you are holding, into that cup up the fairway, in 2-3 shots/strokes is incredible!

We get jaded by listening to the forum phenoms speak of cutting doglegs with 330+ yard drives, then throwing a 265 yd 3FM into a 595 yd par 5, and you'd think that everyone plays the "tips" and routinely used red ink, LMAO.

No, what you achieved, a good many in this board could not, and you are to be commended for a great round.

And it's just like anything else. Once you do it once, the second time is easier.

You hit the nail on the head when you brought up your confidence.

That's the most important factor to good scoring.

I can't speak for anyone else, however I'll always take a confident, positive mind frame over a perfect swing.

It's amazing how the ball finds the hole when it's player believes in himself, lol

Again, Congratz on a Great round!!

Let us know how your season progresses

My Best to you this season


Fairways & Greens My Friend,
Richard

[GWD]

Score is not the only measure in golf. As you point out through implication, how one feels about the round is supremely important.

If golf is to be played for enjoyment then not having enjoyment is contrary to the goal. Instead of dwelling on individual shots, one can view the experience as a whole. After all, you had a series of pars in the middle of your round and barely mention it in the post. A lot of thing must have gone well.

Remembering the good while relegating the bad or frustrating to the background of thoughts may serve you better in your enjoyment of the game.

[596]

Really? What's with all the pats on the back. You guys a bunch of wussies?

Be a man, play a REAL course. Your 31 on a par 3 course sucks. Just throw away your clubs and never play again. Real men don't play anything under 7,000 yards into a 20 mile per wind, with 6" long rough.

Just kidding............nice nine.

[Shallowface]

One over is one over no matter where you shot it.

Shooting low scores leads to shooting more low scores. Next time you have a good nine going, you'll benefit from this experience and be able to finish it off. You'll be more comfortable with the (self inflicted but no less real) pressure.

Well done!

[Hawkeye77]

Hey, Tiger needs the par 5s to go low, you are doing it without them!

[llewol007]

I say you take every sign of improvement as a victory. In the game of golf, that feeling of striking the ball well does not translate to automatic low scores. Its about putting it all together. From the tee to green and everything in between. Golf is about management of mistakes and taking what the course gives you and being able to capitalize when you can. I remember starting a round with no warm up and practically a new putter with about 15 minutes on the practice green. Mind you, I had a pro take a look at my swing and he broke down what was wrong. I quickly realized this swing flaw that has hindered my progress. I told myself for that day, my goal was to stick with my new swing regardless of score. Also, I knew with my putter that it would take a while for me to grasp the feel and roll that I would trust thru out the day. Well, guess what, I end up going birdie birdie birdie on the 4-6 holes and end up 3 under after 9. My expectation was a collapse as I have never been in that sorta situation before. Back nine starts of with par, par and the next three holes manage to give back the birdies I had. Going into 18 I kept with my swing and drilled my drive as well as my approach to 6 feet. I end up draining the birdie putt to shoot one under. That victory in my mind taught me that my game has progressed from where I was at a month earlier. I know the potential is there and even though my golf score can go completely the other way, that victory showed me that I can shoot better scores. Golf is about gaining courage to pull of shots you didnt have before, or possibly shoot the best score of your life. It helps to solidify your game and help you gain confidence so that those times when you do run into mistakes, you have a better game plan to get out of them and get yourself back on track. Even though your score came on an executive course, its the challenge you had for that day. Next time it will be 18 with the same if not better outcome. Embrace it. Now the challenge is to improve on that and make that the norm every time you go out. You did it once. You know you can do it again.

[Parker0065]

Congrats on a great round!

Like others have said put that experience in the bank! Irregardless of the course you had to hit clutch shots and get the ball in the hole.

You need to completely reverse your course of thinking if you ever want to learn how to score consistantly. How do you think any of us ever gained any confidence without having success from easier courses first. If your in a scoring slump it's ok to "move up" a tee box every now and then and shoot a low score to get the confidence going.

If you really want to learn how to score then mix it up and maybe once a month play a long tough course and a short easy course outside of your normal home course that your comfortable with. The long tough courses force you to learn how to face adversity, while the easy short courses are to boost your confidence. You can more or less do the same thing at your homecourse by changing tee boxes.

[sharkiesj]

Nice round!

Curtis Strange once said that he'd look at his rounds of golf thru the year like this. 10% of the time, he'd be striping it, just killing it, just murdering the ball doesn't matter what clubs he was using. Another 10% of the time, he didn't have jack, couldn't hit a green cant make a putt can't hit a fairway, can't do anything in spite of trying everything. The other 80% of the time he was just making it up as he went along, trying to plot his way around the course with what he had for that day.
He said people look at pros and think they are on all the time and that is so untrue.

So what you did was probably very normal ballstriking-wise but you scored really well. Ask any pro and they'll tell you the exact same thing...scored well but gotta hit the range and iron a few things out. Moral? It's not the score, it's not the destination, it's the journey.. You're getting better and better so enjoy the process..

[Medic]

I made my first (and only) ace on an executive course. I came here with the same sort of a question - wasn't sure it counted or meant anything. The guys here taught me a great lesson and now I am going to pass it forward.

A "one over" is still a "one over" and is a GREAT round regardless of what course you were playing. Kudos and congrats on the accomplishment. And now it is time to set the new goal - even par or below.

Think of it this way - odds are you shot one of the lowest rounds on the course that day. (if not the lowest) Most people who played that same day didn't score anywhere close to that low. You earned the right to smile about the round, hold your head up high, and brag just a little.

[Priceyd]

Main thing to think about to score that good a score you hit a lot of good shots, less horrible shots you hit the better you should score, any golf course is hard especially if over a 10-15 handicap, when I play some apparently easier courses I expect to score better but my handicap is what it is because it's down to the Indian, enjoy the good score carry it on to your next round

[copperjeff]

Thanks for all of the encouragement guys.

To clarify I had an absolute blast while going through the round. Somene mentioned the string of pars, and those were awesome. I only missed the green on 1 of those and had left myself the nastiest downhill left to right slider that looked like a 4 footer but really had to roll 5-5 1/2 ft.

I think the most fun I had was trying to balance my focus on the shot at hand, with not burning myself out on it, all the while trying to bash the even par thoughts out of my head.

Im just mad at myself for allowing myself to lose focus on my final chip shot and duff it, when I knew that I had the ability to give myself a resonable shot at par on the final hole.

[Medic]

[quote name='copperjeff' timestamp='1392486792' post='8674215']

Im just mad at myself for allowing myself to lose focus on my final chip shot and duff it, when I knew that I had the ability to give myself a resonable shot at par on the final hole.
[/quote]

Uggghhh! Story of my life too buddy! One shot away from even.

But....

Still bragging rights in my book. Awesome round - in more ways than one. (Fun, relaxing, played well, immersed for that period of time in something enjoyable, and a GREAT score!)

[cardoustie]

Puff out your chest and strut around

A PB is always awesome

[PeanutsDaddy]

My home course is a par 69 (36/33). A few of my friends razz me for playing a 'short track'. It's satisying when they join me for a round as they often shoot much worse than they anticipate and then piss and moan about the narrow fairways, small bumpy greens and numerous water hazards. You've got to get it in the hole and every day presents a different challenge. Congratulation on the accomplishment Copperjeff. Continue to go low, invite your friends for a round and then take their money ; )

[strokingforscratch]

Dude..that's an awesome round. I generally think of it like this----
Drop your average dude at 150 yards on every hole----and call 'em par 3's. +1 is friggin' difficult to come by....it requires holding your crap together, and making the shots, for nine holes---which you obviously did.

[goobers80]

[color=#800080]You haves to hit golf shots no matter how longs the courses are. [/color]

[strokingforscratch]

[quote name='PeanutsDaddy' timestamp='1392488059' post='8674339']
My home course is a par 69 (36/33). A few of my friends razz me for playing a 'short track'. It's satisying when they join me for a round as they often shoot much worse than they anticipate and then piss and moan about the narrow fairways, small bumpy greens and numerous water hazards. You've got to get it in the hole and every day presents a different challenge. Congratulation on the accomplishment Copperjeff. Continue to go low, invite your friends for a round and then take their money ; )
[/quote]

I play a short track as well, a little over 6000 yards, par 71. I've had folks up to play that are accustomed to playing long links----and it eats their lunch. It's especially satisfying, after the initial ribbing, when you see that little glimmer leave their eyes and their mouths turn down...and by the time we reach the turn, it looks like someone kicked them in the junk. What's more satisfying is the fact that I know the back 9 is when the course starts getting real tough...

When I play their courses, it feels like I'm on vacation----and taking a long walk in a very nice park.

[OrangeCrush]

Back in Summer 2012 I shot a 81 my career best, i took a triple on the 4th hole because I couldn't get out of a bunker. I was +5 thru 4, I shot a +1 for the rest of the front 9. I just knew I had a lot of pars. I WILL NOT add my score after 9 to see where I am at, i let the score count at the end. Well the back was going well too..4-5 pars, I think a couple of doubles with a birdie or 2. I knew I played well but when I sat down to add it up and I saw 41-40 my 1st thought was about that damm triple on 4. If I had got out in 1 and made bogey, I shoot a 79. A year and a half later it still eats at me a little. But its just a GAME and we move on!

[Kaysquare]

It's golf....if you had a great score, just enjoy it. Heaven knows we all have days where nothing works, so enjoy those days where everything goes well.

[copperjeff]

[quote name='Kaysquare' timestamp='1392572982' post='8679923']
It's golf....if you had a great score, just enjoy it. Heaven knows we all have days where nothing works, so enjoy those days where everything goes well.
[/quote]

Yea had a day yesteray where nothing worked. I managed to scramble my butt off and keep things together for 7 holes, but most of the rest were a disaster. Played 18 but shoulda stopped at 9. Good thing Ive got that PB round to keep me going!

[copperjeff]

Well its been a few rounds since the +1 and the swing and short game have come and gone and come back again, but today I shot a +2 at the same course. Nothing spectacular in it either except for a 40ft downhill slight left to right breaking birdie putt, (course i also missed an easy 5 footer straight up hill).

I feel better rounds in my veins..... One day.... Heck I might even get my driver straightened out and be able to take this to a full length course /sigh

[Pigems]

Congratulations on the great round! It's actually pretty crazy because I had an almost identical experience one day for my best round. Par 3 course and I went Birdie on the first, par'd 2 thru 8 and on nine I hit my tee shot over the green, duffed my chip shot under the pressure and ended up with bogey for a round of even par(30). I was playing a new to me set of irons with reg flex graphite shafts and was swinging easy and smooth just like yourself that day. I was so excited/scared to mess up that I didn't play the back jine and just went home lol

Maybe there is something to this easy smooth swing eh? Cause I've never come close to that score again since, I'm normally around 34-38 for 9holes on that course.

[copperjeff]

A smooth easy swing certainly helps. Of course the craziest thing is that the easy part of the easy swing seems to be the hardest thing to do!

I also find that I play better when I have no expectations, and feel like I can take my time. I fact I usually play better when I am paired up with people so I dont just rush through my round. This is especially true in regards to the short game. With other people around I always crouch behind my putt to get a solid read, and plan my chip shots better too. I can get into the habit of when I am by myself of just walking up and hitting the putt or chip without giving it much thought or plan. I play ok that way but not really well.

[dan360]

As was already said, par 3s play more difficult to par than 4s and 5s.

Look on the positive side, you played your best round ever and STILL had potentially better golf in you. That should make you feel pretty darn good.