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  • Confessions of a Wretched Tournament Golfer

First round of my club championship today. GHIN says I’m a +1.7. Shot 86 after being +2 thru 11 and never been more ready to quit golf.

Need to play in more tournaments, but can’t without neglecting my responsibilities to my girls. Which leaves me stuck in this pattern of playing decent sometimes but like a donkey in events I care about. Pissed…

Chubbs01 the worst part about it is that you’re likely an excellent player as a club golfer but don’t play well in the events that people look up the scores on. Then they think you’re fudging it or not as good for some reason. You are though. You don’t have to play well in the other events to be “good.” Chin up

    Welcome to the club, Chubbs, we hold secret meetings every Tuesday.

    But fo real…100% feel your pain. Life gets nuts like @ckay said. The “no kids” life was sure different 😂. I wish I would have practiced more 😂😂😂. My solution is, short game. If I can work on a ton of putting (house) and maybe 30min-1hr on wedges maybe 1-2 times a week, I’ll be ok, this is just a theory. But I do ramp up practice before qualifying, maybe two weeks out. So you don’t neglect your loved ones all season, it’s just for two weeks 😂😂. And by ramping up, I mean range/play 3 times a week 😂. I’ll be the first to admit, hands down, it’s tough to be on the course with my wife/daughter doing something else, the “man what the fuck am I doing? Out here playing solo, beautiful Saturday, and practicing….”

    Bottom line, my take, don’t be hard on yourself. Win that mental battle. I know it’s tough. Maybe you need to intentionally make sure the stand on you bag doesn’t work and unfortunately, your clubs fall over….oops…sorry guys I don’t know what happened…is everyone ok?

    Just my thoughts, but I’m a lunatic 🤷‍♂️

    First off I have to commend you for two things.

    1. Keeping yourself in the round and still posting a score no matter how bad it was
    2. Publicly posting your score on a forum for all to see

    Golf is not an easy and tournament golf is a whole different animal. You definitely have the game but you just need more tournaments reps so you don’t make the mistakes you did before. You need to feel the nerves and how it will effect your swing. Those easy 3-4 footers aren’t easy anymore when everything counts. Don’t let the round discourage you and use it for motivation to get better.

    dphatt Those easy 3-4 footers aren’t easy anymore when everything counts.

    This shit right here!!!!

    Regular round 4 footer - “I’ll just bang this it real quick, par, next”

    Tournament 4 footer - “Why is there 8ft of break? Which way is the wind blowing?” 😂

      86-81; same pattern as yesterday where 12 holes in I started hitting some massive double crosses. Good thing I don’t keep High Noon’s in the house…lol.

      dphatt you’re correct that more tournament reps are the remedy, but not sure I can make that happen without compromising as a husband and dad and that’s not in play.

          Chubbs01 Naturally, I'll defer to @dphatt on the deep tournament play knowledge.

          You're focused on the right things (family), so your game isn't going to be as sharp as you hope to be. Give yourself some grace to make mistakes and miss shots.

          Here's what I'd offer as a middling mid-am who plays a couple of tournaments a year:

          • You don't have to read them but Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect and Zen Golf are quick and good books about getting in a healthy mind-state for golf
          • When you run into a dreaded double-cross, do what works for tennis players: What that means is if you double-fault, the next serve needs to be the smooth one that you just put into play. Just get the point started, take what comes, and then try for the big first serve after you're back in the game
          • Keep putting yourself out there. People who tee it up in tournaments are the man in the arena

            Weve all been their guys. I found that money games certainly helps with pressure control. I dont play big bucks but 20 to 100 certainly makes it stings and will keep you focused the entire round. Keep after it

            4 months later

            A happy update to this: decided to play in the 15 hdcp and under Calcutta my club’s MGA puts on about 3 times per year. Much more money involved in this than I’ve ever played for. Day 1 today was 45* and some wind but I brought in a 69 which was the low individual round by 4. Didn’t get much help from my partner, but we’re right in the scrap to cash.

            if you haven’t read it, highly recommend Break Free from Suckville by Dr. Bhrett McCabe.

            Warming up for the second round, my back goes out and I WD after trying to play the first hole.

            So bloody typical…

            Putterho I have not, but am highly intrigued. If it will keep me from waddling around the office like a man twice my age, I’m all in. Lol