[actrisski]

I have a great round going -- then hit one or two bad shots --- swing too hard usually , tempo off , whatever... HOW do you let those go ? I have the hardest time letting bad shots go - even though I know these are part of the game....

[WepKeyday]

I had that issue last Thursday and wasn't able to recover from it. Just one of those days where I couldn't keep good swing thoughts in my head.

Usually taking some easy practice swings while focusing only on tempo gets me back in line. I like imagining the sweet swings of Freddy Couples or Stuart Appleby to get me in the right mindset.

[MilenaMKB]

I take a deep breath, clear my mind and tell myself I can do it. I don't dwell on the bad shot(s) from that moment forward. They're over and done with and there isn't anything I can do about them except make sure my next shot is a better one.

[mikajuise]

I have a hard time with this as well. One bad shot leads to a snowball effect for the rest of my round Lately...I just laugh it off because I'm not good enough to get upset...so I just take it hole by hole. If I have a bad tee shot, I make it up on the approach shot and my putts

[offinoNem]

My daughter's coach tells her she can get as mad as she wants short of swearing and club throwing after a bad shot.

For ten seconds. Then it's time to start thinking what needs to be done to hit a good shot with the next swing.

Kevin

[Vkowefek]

What I do is immediately take another swing to get the feel of how I wanted the first one to be. That way I at least leave move forward having removed the bad shot from my swing thought. I dont get ticked off when I miss a shot and tell myself I can still hit a good approach shot (if I was off the tee), or I can still hit a good chip or putt. As the old golf addage says....three bad shots and one good putt is still par, everyday. Heck, even Boggie on a Par 3 fits that addage....and my game.

[sherrferris]

My daughter's coach tells her she can get as mad as she wants short of swearing and club throwing after a bad shot.

For ten seconds. Then it's time to start thinking what needs to be done to hit a good shot with the next swing.

Kevin

I do the same thing except I include the swearing along with the occasional club slam. But the "ten second" part is the same.

It works wonders for clearing the mind.



-JP

[RogerButton33]

I just remember what my dad told me, " Son you are not good enough at this yet to get mad over a bad shot". He would ask me if I was hoping the shot would land where I wanted it to or expecting it to land where I wanted it to. I got what he was saying about not visualizing the shot and just swinging and hoping.

[sherrferris]

I just remember what my dad told me, " Son you are not good enough at this yet to get mad over a bad shot". He would ask me if I was hoping the shot would land where I wanted it to or expecting it to land where I wanted it to. I got what he was saying about not visualizing the shot and just swinging and hoping.

With all due respect to your dad, I never bought into that line of thinking.

If you know what the right shot is and you know that you have the potential to make it happen and yet the desired outcome still eludes you, I think you have every right to be mad. How else are you going to get better?

In my opinion, that type of thinking draws an imaginary line in front of you which says that you're not "there" yet and that you don't have "permission" to get mad and that begs the question: "At what point do you officially 'get there' and at what point are you officially allowed to get mad?"


It's sort of like walking onto a dance floor and then making the conscious decision to begin dancing.

A similar and quite common line of thinking is the idea of being "allowed" to play from certain tee boxes; how will you ever know if you can handle the next set of tees if you don't try? And if you DO try and you become overwhelmed, does that mean that you can't handle them, or does it simply mean that you have to learn more?

To this day (as I always have) I still get mad at myself when I mess up something that I know in my heart I am more than capable of doing and that's what keeps me moving forward. I believe that if I settled for "where I am" and then waited for "permission" to take the next step, I'd still be waiting to break 100.

Getting mad is good. It clears the air and helps you focus and forces you to do better.

At least that's the way I see it.


-JP

[RogerButton33]

With all due respect to your dad, I never bought into that line of thinking.

If you know what the right shot is and you know that you have the potential to make it happen and yet the desired outcome still eludes you, I think you have every right to be mad. How else are you going to get better?

In my opinion, that type of thinking draws an imaginary line in front of you which says that you're not "there" yet and that you don't have "permission" to get mad and that begs the question: "At what point do you officially 'get there' and at what point are you officially allowed to get mad?"


It's sort of like walking onto a dance floor and then making the conscious decision to begin dancing.

A similar and quite common line of thinking is the idea of being "allowed" to play from certain tee boxes; how will you ever know if you can handle the next set of tees if you don't try? And if you DO try and you become overwhelmed, does that mean that you can't handle them, or does it simply mean that you have to learn more?

To this day (as I always have) I still get mad at myself when I mess up something that I know in my heart I am more than capable of doing and that's what keeps me moving forward. I believe that if I settled for "where I am" and then waited for "permission" to take the next step, I'd still be waiting to break 100.

Getting mad is good. It clears the air and helps you focus and forces you to do better.

At least that's the way I see it.


-JP

I see what you are saying and don't disagree. My father was and still is a stickler about self discipline and saw it as wasted energy. I took it as his long winded way of saying forget about it. LOL

[AngelinaLip]

If it is a shot that screws up my round I can't let it go. I have to work on that this year but it is really all I think about.

[actrisski]

Good suggestions -- that is what is maddening is that I have birdied every single hole on my course -- not in the same round of course, but I know I can play every hole well if I hit good shots. What really gets me going is if I hit a drive OB, then hitting 3 from the tee - wow. BUT I have made Bogie in that situation, rare, but it happens.... I am consciously working on the "every shot is a new shot" philosophy this year... easier said than done