I know I told you to forget about the outcomes. Focus only on the process. Do your bit from the time you reach the ball to the time you let it go. Be the ball, Danny.
There's a bit of paradox here. If we want to play our best, we have to be in the present, but if we want to improve our best, we have to look at what is missing. I stand by everything that has be put up here about the process being the way to get the most out of your game. That being said, if we really want to improve, we have to do some analysis of the outcomes.
This analysis must be handled carefully, and the timing of it may be critical based on the golfer's personality and beliefs. Some phychologists suggest the golfer should do his routine, let the shot go, go find it, repeat steps one and two. All this would be done without any judgement about the outcomes. The ultimate definition of playing the game. This approach may be the best to take for certain types of golfers. Any analysis would be done in the form of debriefing after the round.
One of the pitfalls of this method is failing to recognize patterns. By not doing any analysis during the round, you may limit your ability to adjust to the conditions. You might neglect to recognize a habitual miss that you have the ability to fix quickly and easily.
Another method would be to completely separate the shotmaking process from the result. Once you have the result, compare it to what you had planned. If you get a different result than you wanted, try to assign a cause, without making any judgements about yourself. An objective analysis. What factor or factors resulted in the miss. Did you perform a good process? Did you make a good swing? How was the contact? Did you hit the right club? Did you read the wind correctly? Did you figure the yardage? Did you read the lie? Did you get the spin or release correct?
Once you have assigned a cause, file it in the data set for use in the next shot. It is critical that you avoid attaching emotion to these outcomes (unless they are positive).
The most common pitfall is to hit one bad shot and get into trying to fix the swing. I would recommend avoiding this until you have hit at least three of the same shots in a row. Even then, be careful.
The more the analysis is about fitting your game to the golf course, the more likely it is to help.
I'm going to introduce a concept called "Trying it on." Not every method fits every golfer. You think of a few different solutions to your issue, then you "try on" each one. The concept allows you to make a change for a brief period without making a huge commitment. If the method works for you in the short term, you can decide you want to take the steps to make it permanent.
I trust that your questions will help to define these issues further. The purpose of this thread is to open a discussion of outcomes and to try to find the causes. To try to teach you how to think critically on the golf course. I invite you to describe a shot and its outcome that is different than what you had planned. We can try to figure out what you could have done differently.
HB
P.S. One shot at a time. If we're going all 18, I'm going to go get a cart.
Good stuff . . . do you keep a log on all this stuff? Or is it just analysis and move on?
Bucket,
At the pro level, I'm keeping data on every shot. It's mostly numbers, club, carry, pitch, and roll. I use a simple shorthand in the yardage book. As you keep track of these things, they seem to sink in. Just like the guy at the auto parts store knows all the parts by number. In fact, my first couple of years, I could tell you the numbers of any shot my man hit (although you might have to describe the hole because I don't remember hole numbers). It's all a blur now.
For every shot, I have an expectation about where it will go if the player makes a good swing. If it comes out different, I'm going to try to figure out why. The purpose of this exercise is to avoid mistakes on subsequent shots. The shot in question might not have turned out badly. Say we hit 9 iron to keep it short of the flag, but the shot ends up hole high. I have to wonder if he hit it especially well, if the wind is shifting, is the ball going far, etc. It's all an effort to adjust to the conditions.
Another benefit is noticing what you need to work on. Distance control with wedges. Overdrawing mid irons, etc
Here's a senario. Player comes up short to a front flag on a par three, with a slight mis-hit. If he does not realize or admit that he mis-hit the shot, he may think the hole plays long. The next day, with a back flag, he insists on more club and sends it over the green. Bogey at best. You have to be honest and objective to collect good data.
During a practice round, I asked a sports phsychologist (caddying for a young client for the week) this question: "There seem to be two schools of thought about what to do with a bad shot. One says blame any miss on someone or something else. The other school says look at it, accept it, but don't attach emotion to it. Which is right?" He says, "It depends on what you want. Do you want to feel good right now, or do you want to get better?" Exactly (of course, caddies don't like getting blamed for something that's not their fault).
Sometimes you leave out a factor like downslope or mis-read a lie. Whatever causes the shot to fail, I want to know. More than once, my player and I have not been able to account for a shot and finally had the loft checked and found it off.
Sometimes, a shot comes out wrong. Say you are first to hit on a par three. You play it over and over in your mind. Talk to your player. Even after you see it sail long, neither of you can see anyway you could have pulled one less club based on the information you had when you pulled it. That's golf.
The whole point is to learn the factors, adjust to the conditions of the day, and pull perfect clubs all day. The other day, my player told me about a club I told him to hit on the last hole in San Diego on Sunday years ago. It was like 210 to front left pin, 4 over the front edge, about 204 to carry the water, and there's a little backstop behind the pin. He's thinking 4 iron all the way. I say no, it's 5. And give him some data from the day to back it up. He says OK and hits the 5 a little past the hole. He couldn't believe it. Funny thing is, I have no memory of this shot at all.
In the end, a big factor in being successful at golf will be making quality decisions.
At the pro level, I'm keeping data on every shot. It's mostly numbers, club, carry, pitch, and roll. I use a simple shorthand in the yardage book.
Another benefit is noticing what you need to work on. Distance control with wedges. Overdrawing mid irons, etc
One says blame any miss on someone or something else. The other school says look at it, accept it, but don't attach emotion to it. Which is right?" He says, "It depends on what you want. Do you want to feel good right now, or do you want to get better?" Exactly (of course, caddies don't like getting blamed for something that's not their fault).
In the end, a big factor in being successful at golf will be making quality decisions.
HB
Another grandslam dinger . . .
Would you advise the same type of record keeping for the handicap/club player type? Do you record the data on a spreadsheet or something? Or just look at it after a round?
What do you think about those Bushnell lazer yardage thingies or whatever they're called? Would that help a person make progress?
Would you advise the same type of record keeping for the handicap/club player type? Do you record the data on a spreadsheet or something? Or just look at it after a round?
What do you think about those Bushnell lazer yardage thingies or whatever they're called? Would that help a person make progress?
The last statement is GREAT!
Bucket,
What's a spreadsheet? OK, I know, and I have done a small one when working for a new player, charting shots against each other to see the pattern. I keep the notes in my yardage book. If I get a new one for that year, I will transfer all my notes about shots hit on each hole for as long as I have been to the tourney (pain).
I will reference these notes before and during the round. Par three yardages from 182 to 195. 6,6,5,6,6. It's gonna be a six unless it's into the wind. It might change when I get there, but I still want to try to prepare before the round. I might go through it after the round, but I like to do all the work during the round (usually when they are putting).
For the club player, I would keep track for a few rounds to learn how it works. You might find out that you don't club as well as you think. Once you catch on, the real skill is the analysis of the conditions. It would help to do it every so often as your swing improves or you change equipment. The ball makes a big difference.
I use the Bushnell Yardage Pro 1500. As accustomed as I am to real numbers, I find it very difficult to play without one. My thinking is built around numbers, and I find it difficult to trust the number when using eye or sprinkler heads. Besides, I don't want to have to walk yardages on my day off. Or look for balls. I do think that they are a good tool.
I'm making a effort to get this thread back to topic. Much like poker, you can make exactly the correct play and have it turn out wrong and you can make the wrong play and have it work. My idea in starting this thread was to offer an arena to consider the play of a hole like they do about the play of a hand of poker. All you can do is get your money in good. It could be a discussion of a hole at your course that you find difficult. It could be help in assigning a cause to a particular shot. OK and I often run through a debriefing of the day's action over dinner.
I'm making a effort to get this thread back to topic. Much like poker, you can make exactly the correct play and have it turn out wrong and you can make the wrong play and have it work. My idea in starting this thread was to offer an arena to consider the play of a hole like they do about the play of a hand of poker. All you can do is get your money in good. It could be a discussion of a hole at your course that you find difficult. It could be help in assigning a cause to a particular shot. OK and I often run through a debriefing of the day's action over dinner.
HB
OK . . . I got a hole at my home course that is #1 or #2 handicap and its a short one but really tight. Dawgleg right with a pond on the right that snakes into the driving area about 230 or so out or so. The fairway slopes left. The pond makes the corner really tight. It can be tough a tough hole to bust a drive because there is OB all down the left side and a creek with trees and junk. So if you can carry the pond which runs away from you at the corner . . . you can go through the fairway. If you push it the carry gets longer. You can hit about any club you want from the tee. Even a 6 iron. But then you have a tough second from about 175 to 150 that plays a club longer. The green has flickdid slope on it and the pond comes in to play on the second shot more the farther you lay back on the fairway. It is a short hole but diabolical. If you don't hit it in the fairway . . fahgiddaboutdit. The if you don't get it close get ready to 3 jack. Hit it long you may hit it over the green back into the pond.
I can't figure out how to get it in play of the tee . . . it's got my mind all up in its clawz. Too much bad history at the hole.
OK . . . I got a hole at my home course that is #1 or #2 handicap and its a short one but really tight. Dawgleg right with a pond on the right that snakes into the driving area about 230 or so out or so. The fairway slopes left. The pond makes the corner really tight. It can be tough a tough hole to bust a drive because there is OB all down the left side and a creek with trees and junk. So if you can carry the pond which runs away from you at the corner . . . you can go through the fairway. If you push it the carry gets longer. You can hit about any club you want from the tee. Even a 6 iron. But then you have a tough second from about 175 to 150 that plays a club longer. The green has flickdid slope on it and the pond comes in to play on the second shot more the farther you lay back on the fairway. It is a short hole but diabolical. If you don't hit it in the fairway . . fahgiddaboutdit. The if you don't get it close get ready to 3 jack. Hit it long you may hit it over the green back into the pond.
I can't figure out how to get it in play of the tee . . . it's got my mind all up in its clawz. Too much bad history at the hole.
Bucket,
First off, there was a post somewhere about a virus running around. I think I may have caught it. I had a long drive over the weekend and stopped for fried chicken twice. The doctor says there may be hope because I only had the three piece dinner.
Since this hole has caused some problems, we want to eliminate the big number, so the driver is out. We want to find the easiest tee shot that still gives you a chance on the hole.
You need to do a little recon. You want to go down to the landing area and find the widest spot that still leaves you a reasonable second. Much of the time, the area will look much larger when you are standing there than it does from the tee. You may find that you think, "I could never miss this area with a five iron." Then measure back to the tee. If you don't have a laser, you could step it or just hit multiple clubs off the tee in practice. You want to figure the club that gets you just into trouble and hit one less. Don't try to do anything fancy with the tee shot.
If you tee shot leaves you an 8, 7, or 6, you should be able to hit the green a high percentage of the time.
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