So I think I've finally figured out what's holding me back from being a truly
good golfer.
My HCI is 6.7 and I play well on occasion...75 is my personal best, and I break 80 every 7 or 8 rounds or so. I'm getting better at putting the ball into play consistently off the tee. My chipping is getting pretty damn good and my putting is not bad.
The other day, I played in a two-day tournament and shot 83-80. Not bad, but not great, either.
I'm missing too many birdie putts because I get nervous over them more so than other putts. I'll sink 5 straight par puts between 3 feet and 10 feet with no problem, but make it a birdie putt of the same length and it's a different story.
Off the tee, when I miss, it's usually more mechanical than anything else, and I can correct it.
My approach shots are hit or miss, though, and I've figured out why.
Confidence.
I don't have confidence that I will hit the shot well.
The other day on two short par 5s, I played the holes about as well as I could ever expect:
Angel Park Palms in Las Vegas
The first one was the ~478 yard 6th hole, a tricky one with two different fairways you could choose from - on the right was a straight 250 yd. carry over a canyon that, if you made, would deposit you around 165 yards from the pin.
Between the two fairways is desert/canyon.
The safer path was to the left - and that's what I chose - a 3 wood (or else I ran the risk of running through the fairway.)
I hit a good drive, right where it needed to be. Now, I could go to the right and lay up, or, I could fly over another canyon, over trees and a sand trap to the green - about 220 yards away.
The distance wasn't the problem - my 4 hybrid is perfect for that. It's just that there was all this trouble - and the pin was cut back left...if you missed the green on that side, you ball was most likely gone. If I topped it or didn't catch it all, the ball was gone.
But I went for it.
Why? Well, I had opened the round with 5 straight pars and I was hitting the ball very well. I felt confident. Not nervous. I knew I had this shot in my bag and hit it pure, launching it over the canyon, straight over the big tree that guarded the green, just over the sand trap, and the ball landed softly on the green about 18 feet from the hole.
Nice, right?
Well, normally, I would not have gone for it because I don't have much confidence in that club - I tend to pull it - and on this shot to that green, pulling it would've been a disaster.
But for some reason, I knew I could do it. It was an insane shot (for me), but I pulled it off.
Confidence.
I two-putted for birdie, by the way. Woo hoo!
What happened after? I got tight when I realized I was one-under for the first six holes and bogeyed the next three holes to finish 2 over par for the front nine.
But I parred No. 10, which was a tough, uphill, 408 yd. par 4 when the other three in my group struggled.
Confidence restored.
Next hole, another short, uphill, 487 yd. par 5 that dog-legs to the left. If you have the distance, you can cut the corner, leaving you with an iron to an elevated, uphill green.
I smoked my drive right over the corner and I was left with 187 yards. A 6 iron for me.
Now, my confidence in that club is about 50/50...but because I was confident that day and playing well, I hit a beautiful shot, pin high, about 12 feet away from the pin.
Great, right?
Well, I got nervous because I did not want to run the eagle putt too far past the hole or something - I wanted an easy birdie putt. And that's what I did. got the birdie.
But what I should've been thinking of was 'make this ****ing putt for eagle." not, "don't blow this birdie."
Confidence.
My game fell apart after that par 5, and I found myself at the 16th hole with an easy 8 iron up hill, with no real trouble anywhere...but by then, I was pressing, trying to win the tournament, and I duck-hooked that 8-iron right out of bounds. Double bogey.
Seriously, think about that for a second - on the first par 5, I hit probably the most beautiful shot of my life. A shot that was scary as hell - but I pulled it off. Now on the 16th, I didn't have the confidence to hit an 8 iron.
Next hole was a 200 yard par 3 to an elevated green with trouble on all sides, and I stuck a 5 iron right in the middle of the green, leaving me 20 feet from the hole. Why? Because all the tension left my body after the double on the previous hole and I was in "**** it" mode.
*********
Anyway, my whole point is that I think we often play ourselves out of a round by
hoping we hit a good shot instead of assuming or
knowing we are going to hit a good shot.
Next round, I'm going to try and consciously be confident in my shots. I know, easier said than done, but I think I can do it.
Because in most of my rounds, when I hit a good shot I'm pleasantly surprised. Like, "wow, look what I did." I'm more expecting disaster and hope it doesn't happen than expecting a great shot.
What about you guys? How confident are you over a shot? And does that confidence change if it's a birdie opportunity? If you're 15 holes into your round and you have a shot at a personal best?