[reachmanxx]

It's very normal - a PB means it's a very good score. You'll need a good day to come close again, but those good days will likely come more often and more consistently if you keep working.

One thing to consider when you get off to a tough start is, rather than getting (or, at least, staying) angry, look at it as a challenge. Tiger started +2 after 3 yesterday and had to grind to turn in an even par day. Even the pros do it.

If 79 is 7 over at your course, and you're +4 after 3, rather than pressing, take a grinding approach. Fairways and greens. Playing smart. Eliminate risks rather than take them. If you find a way to shoot 79 again by playing the last 15 in +3, that will be an even more impressive round.

I know I have a tendency to do things like hit driver on a short par 4 or attack a pin stuck behind a bunker to "go get" some strokes back when I have a bad hole or two. It rarely works. But if I stick to my plan and let good holes come, grinding out some pars, it often turns my round around.

One more thought on PBs in general. My experience is that they come in tiers rather than gradually getting better (at least until a point). My example is from growing up on a little 9 holer in Western KS. Par was 35. I was starting to play "seriously" and remember my dad saying, "If you can play consistent bogey golf, you can be happy with that." Right, dad. I worked and finally shot my first "under bogey" round with a 43. What happened was that became the norm in my mind. A few weeks later, I put a 41 on the card, and after that rarely shot over 44. Of course, then I knew 40 was attainable.

One day I shot 38. Wow! I thought that was crazy, but it didn't happen again the next day. I shot a lot of 40-44s in the weeks after. But I was shooting them consistently.

Finally I broke through with a 37, and after that I shot a lot of 38-40s. It was like the PB was freeing me up to make the last PB "normal". Of course, I then wanted to get to that magic 35. It took a while, and while I was consistently shooting sub-40, I posted a few 42-45s still.

One day it happened, though, and I was -3 through 4 and held on for a 34. The wall was down. And I shot 41 the next time out. Yuck. But after that, shooting 36-38 became normal. Eventually, my PB was 30 on that little course, and my "normal" was shooting 33-36.

Sorry for the long story, but it was how I experienced getting better. I didn't immediately shoot my personal best consistently when they happened, but my previous PB often became the norm. I'd expect you to find low 80s to become your norm until you have another round where it "clicks" and you put up a 76 or 77. Good luck!

This is a mental game. Keep grinding.

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