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Bounce Back With Confidence |
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Written by Bryan Spitzer
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Monday, 14 January 2008 |
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Most weekly golfers have had the experience of putting together a good six-seven holes at (-2,-1, or even) thus far on the first nine and then we take a dreaded double bogey or even worse. At the moment when the ball hits the cup on that most unpleasing hole our thought process becomes that of "I have to make those strokes back, NOW," and we proceed on to the next hole with that one thought dominating and clouding our judgment. 99% of the time, the hole we are trying to bounce back on IS the wrong hole to even think of attaining such a feat.
There may be many reasons as to why this is true and many do not have to do with the length or handicap of the hole. For starters, let’s pretend our dominant shot type is a soft draw which we command on any given shot. Given that, if the hole we are attempting to bounce back on is a 412 yard par four whose fairway runs out at 245, the best we can hope for is a 167 approach, which for most is somewhere between a 5-7 iron, not the ideal club to score when we've just come off a mental blunder at the last. Now i know for most players the 7 iron IS the go to club, but at 167 we sit at the very high end of the range of that club, so 167 is going to generally be a hard 7 iron and given our dominant soft draw chances are we will overcook the shot and hook it beyond the pin, now facing a downhill up and down. We've made it tough to stop the bleeding.
My tips for bouncing back are as follows:
1) Always take a few good deep breaths after a blow up hole and even get a little mad to motivate your competitive self while on your way to the next tee. As soon as you reach that tee forget the entire previous hole and evaluate your scorecard to see what damage control you can apply to correct your errant hole. Look at the next couple of holes for an opportunity hole that fits well into your game and golfing strengths.
2) Follow your preshot routine as it will return you to your normal golfing rhythm, this step is vital to progressing forward and "righting" the ship.
3) Stick to the gameplan, don’t play outside of your capabilities, this game is about minimizing
mistakes and capitalizing on strengths within yourself.
4) Seize the opportunity - Once you have identified where and how you will score, act.
Common Opportunities:
- Long Par fours, where driving is rewarded with a mid/short iron to a "Green light", (not
tucked, hidden or set atop a false front) pin
- Short to mid Par threes with "green light" pin.
- Open Par fives with bail outs along the way and room to lay up
Common "Traps"
- Short Par four with trouble everywhere except the green.
- Short, tight Par fives with trouble everywhere or small greens
- Long par threes (200+), always play these holes as par = success
Following these guidelines will place you in more "opportunities" and less "traps". Overall you should approach any round as there are 6 "opportunities for you to seize
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 28 February 2008 )
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