Help me break through (mental game)
07-26-2010
, 06:21 PM
Quote:
Some great post above.
Tony and other golfers, I am curious do you beleive that let's say 99% of puts are within your control of making? (Which of course is very different then saying you should expect to make 99% of your puts)
To me there is a big difference if you approach a put saying I CAN make this put vs I MIGHT/COULD/SHOULD make this put.
Tony and other golfers, I am curious do you beleive that let's say 99% of puts are within your control of making? (Which of course is very different then saying you should expect to make 99% of your puts)
To me there is a big difference if you approach a put saying I CAN make this put vs I MIGHT/COULD/SHOULD make this put.
For some reason I feel like studying some stock charts......
nitBO
07-26-2010
, 09:45 PM
07-27-2010
, 12:40 PM
07-27-2010
, 12:56 PM
Quote:
The bolded is important, nobody is saying a scratch golfer should always get up and down 70% of the time. But your home course is different, you know every blade of grass, every good and bad place to miss is, every break on the greens, etc. It makes is very simple to get up and down regularly.
Like ship, at my home track, I get up and down a ridiculous amount of the time. In tournaments or strange courses, it's not near that number.
BO
Like ship, at my home track, I get up and down a ridiculous amount of the time. In tournaments or strange courses, it's not near that number.
BO
I think the 2.1 bogey per round difference at 40% vs 70% is what makes somebody a scratch vs a +2. Then you eliminate some 3 putts and penalties and you are a +3. Get better from 70-120 and you are a +4. During this process you are tightening up your mental game and you are a +5.
All these are on your home course, of course...so, naturally, you enter Tour school as an amateur and make it through all 4 stages. You then go out and play the Nationwide Tour as a +6 assuming you have it all figured out until you miss your first 4 cuts in a row. Finally, exhausted, you will make a couple of cuts but miss at second stage and go back to selling electricity.
I feel like I have lived this post along the way.
Anyone want to buy some electricity?
07-27-2010
, 06:30 PM
I wish I still lived in Jersey. I'd totally drive up there and we could help each other get better
07-11-2014
, 02:22 PM
In hopes of making up for the complete abortions NXT and I constantly throw up, here are a few good posts to read while we are in the thick of golf season. I came across these while nosing around for inspiration to get mind golf mind in shape to caddie in 2 weeks.
Quote:
I always found the putting stats to be pressure relievers. Putting has always been my trouble spot. Once I realized that from outside about 8 feet you are going to miss more than you make I found it relaxing. Then you can hit the putt with no expectations but putting a good roll on it. I always liked to think of a hurricane track for my putts. The longer the putt the wider the track gets around the hole and thus less chance of the putt going in. The closer you get the tighter the track becomes around the hole and thus make more. But having proper speed on every putt is the main thing that really needs to happen for the greatest expectation. Once you have read the putt, addressed and lined up the putt there really is nothing left to do but put the right pace on the putt. When people say they got line locked on that putt I don't really understand how that happens, aside from ADD. Are they saying that as they were stroking the putt they were focused on line? That obviously isn't the time or place for that.
Outside of 20 feet you really aren't going to make very many so having the proper speed to get the hurricane track to at least get to the hole instead of just short is the key to making more 25 footers. I really believe the reason it seems (or seemed) like Tiger makes so many bombs is that he doesn't leave any short. That doesn't mean he crushes it by, but he has virtually perfect speed on 95% of his putts.
Obviously in Tony's post above dropping the 3 putts is what has led to 1 less putt per round. Is that due to speed control or better short putting? Also, I spoke to Tony on the phone this morning to ask him a few questions about Forex trading and I can assure you his spreadsheeting makes the game more fun for him. It is his personality and it does not make him over mental about his game while in the heat of the battle. He just likes to analyze data and find leaks.
As to the up and down percentage, I don't know that a scratch would have much better than a 40% success rate. If it were higher where would the extra strokes come from to get to +3-6? It really is all just math. If the Nationwide average is 55.84% right now and they are probably +5-6's on average I think somebody who is 5 shots worse would be probably averaging 35-40% for saves. I'm not saying that the Nationwide guys short games aren't but 15% better than a scratch, they are averaging 55% under MUCH harder conditions (firmness, speed, pin positions, nerves, etc). I am just saying from a scoring perspective the average wouldn't dictate that a scratch is averaging over 40%. When I am at home playing I would think my U&D rate is 70% but it isn't that in Nationwide events.
I made a spreadsheet similar to Tony's in 2008 while playing amateur events. I had a column of goal percentages for GIR, Putts/GIR, scrambling, 3 putts and putts from 5-10 and inside 5. It would then take my actual score and combine with actual stats and adjust it based on my goal stats were and give me a predicted "best" effort day. I used that to track what I considered to be my potential if I could get my real stats inline with my goals. I believe at the end of the summer my actual scoring average was 70.5 and "potential" was 68.5. So I knew if I could get my stats where I wanted what my average would then be. At the highest level it is such a small amount you can actually improve that I found this method helpful for practice time to get the highest yield out of effort. I was working full-time, playing amateur golf, and thinking of entering Tour school as an amateur so I didn't have much time to waste on what I perceived to be my biggest leak.
One other stat that I tracked that I believed transformed my game was the mental scorecard I have detailed somewhere here before. It is a yes or no question after each shot of "was I committed to what I was trying to do there and was I thinking of anything else while executing?" The first time I tracked that at the Texas state am in 2008 and I think my % was about 80%. The goal for a professional would be over 95% committed. I had the word "Acknowledge" written on my ball as my mark last year on the Nationwide Tour and it served as a reminder to "Acknowledge the thought and let it go" if I was not focused on the task at hand. THAT IS THE WAY TO DROP YOUR HANDICAP 10-20% IN A MONTH OR LESS.
Maybe.
Outside of 20 feet you really aren't going to make very many so having the proper speed to get the hurricane track to at least get to the hole instead of just short is the key to making more 25 footers. I really believe the reason it seems (or seemed) like Tiger makes so many bombs is that he doesn't leave any short. That doesn't mean he crushes it by, but he has virtually perfect speed on 95% of his putts.
Obviously in Tony's post above dropping the 3 putts is what has led to 1 less putt per round. Is that due to speed control or better short putting? Also, I spoke to Tony on the phone this morning to ask him a few questions about Forex trading and I can assure you his spreadsheeting makes the game more fun for him. It is his personality and it does not make him over mental about his game while in the heat of the battle. He just likes to analyze data and find leaks.
As to the up and down percentage, I don't know that a scratch would have much better than a 40% success rate. If it were higher where would the extra strokes come from to get to +3-6? It really is all just math. If the Nationwide average is 55.84% right now and they are probably +5-6's on average I think somebody who is 5 shots worse would be probably averaging 35-40% for saves. I'm not saying that the Nationwide guys short games aren't but 15% better than a scratch, they are averaging 55% under MUCH harder conditions (firmness, speed, pin positions, nerves, etc). I am just saying from a scoring perspective the average wouldn't dictate that a scratch is averaging over 40%. When I am at home playing I would think my U&D rate is 70% but it isn't that in Nationwide events.
I made a spreadsheet similar to Tony's in 2008 while playing amateur events. I had a column of goal percentages for GIR, Putts/GIR, scrambling, 3 putts and putts from 5-10 and inside 5. It would then take my actual score and combine with actual stats and adjust it based on my goal stats were and give me a predicted "best" effort day. I used that to track what I considered to be my potential if I could get my real stats inline with my goals. I believe at the end of the summer my actual scoring average was 70.5 and "potential" was 68.5. So I knew if I could get my stats where I wanted what my average would then be. At the highest level it is such a small amount you can actually improve that I found this method helpful for practice time to get the highest yield out of effort. I was working full-time, playing amateur golf, and thinking of entering Tour school as an amateur so I didn't have much time to waste on what I perceived to be my biggest leak.
One other stat that I tracked that I believed transformed my game was the mental scorecard I have detailed somewhere here before. It is a yes or no question after each shot of "was I committed to what I was trying to do there and was I thinking of anything else while executing?" The first time I tracked that at the Texas state am in 2008 and I think my % was about 80%. The goal for a professional would be over 95% committed. I had the word "Acknowledge" written on my ball as my mark last year on the Nationwide Tour and it served as a reminder to "Acknowledge the thought and let it go" if I was not focused on the task at hand. THAT IS THE WAY TO DROP YOUR HANDICAP 10-20% IN A MONTH OR LESS.
Maybe.
Quote:
I would say 100% of putts are OUT of your control to make. It is idealistic to say this, but, the only thing you can control is your thought process. You can't even 100% control your stroke so how would one truly expect a putt to be within their control to make. Once you have hit the ball it is completely out of your control....wind, spike marks, grain, footprints, speed variance from green to green, etc.
I think the focus should be not on I am going to make this putt before you hit it, instead going through a mental routine that is a complete checklist of what needs to happen to ensure you have done your part to make the putt.
My routine is:
Read putt as you are walking onto green by looking for the low spots and drainage.
Read putt from behind and only go to other side of hole if you can't get a good initial feel.
If the greens are tricky look at the putt from the side to analyze inclines and declines for speed.
Now actual process of putting:
Visualize putt rolling along my intended line and falling in front of cup with correct speed from behind the ball.
Move into putt and make one practice stroke looking at the hole.
Take mini-steps from practice stroke and focus on keeping shoulders square to the line, not square to the hole.
once setup is complete with square shoulders and body move putter in behind the ball.
Take one look to feel that the putter is square to intended line.
One more look and think only of speed.
Look back to the ball and let it go.
I think the focus should be not on I am going to make this putt before you hit it, instead going through a mental routine that is a complete checklist of what needs to happen to ensure you have done your part to make the putt.
My routine is:
Read putt as you are walking onto green by looking for the low spots and drainage.
Read putt from behind and only go to other side of hole if you can't get a good initial feel.
If the greens are tricky look at the putt from the side to analyze inclines and declines for speed.
Now actual process of putting:
Visualize putt rolling along my intended line and falling in front of cup with correct speed from behind the ball.
Move into putt and make one practice stroke looking at the hole.
Take mini-steps from practice stroke and focus on keeping shoulders square to the line, not square to the hole.
once setup is complete with square shoulders and body move putter in behind the ball.
Take one look to feel that the putter is square to intended line.
One more look and think only of speed.
Look back to the ball and let it go.
Quote:
One thing you really need to do is go to the course with no expectations. Mainly because expectations are pointless and a waste of energy. There shouldn't be any such thing as a birdie or par hole. You are very capable of making birdie (or double) on any hole so don't waste time putting pressure on yourself. Take the easiest par 5 at your course and I bet your average score is over 4.5. If that is the case you make more pars than birdies so isn't that a par hole? Take the hardest hole on the course and I bet your average score is under .5 over par. So doesn't that make it a par hole? Anytime you make something other than a par is just variance for that day. Sure there are holes you make more birdies on than others, but I am assuming you have birdied every hole on your course at least once in the past. Take each shot in isolation and play the game like it is pool. The thought process should be where do I want this shot to go to help me score the best on this hole. It is irrelevant if it is your 1st shot or your 12th on the hole. I agree this is perfect world thinking and almost impossible to execute correctly every time, but that should be your goal.
Quote:
But you did say 40% is terrible on their home course. All I am saying is that I am not sure that it really is...if you are a scratch and average missing 7 greens per round if you got up and down 40% of the time you would make 4.2 bogeys on those holes, @ 70% that is only 2.1 bogeys per round. If you think of the other ways to make bogeys - 3 putts and penalties - I would just think those ways would lead to 1 bogey per round - if you are a scratch. Throw in a few birdies and you are a scratch. Scratch being a measure of "potential", not average.
I think the 2.1 bogey per round difference at 40% vs 70% is what makes somebody a scratch vs a +2. Then you eliminate some 3 putts and penalties and you are a +3. Get better from 70-120 and you are a +4. During this process you are tightening up your mental game and you are a +5.
All these are on your home course, of course...so, naturally, you enter Tour school as an amateur and make it through all 4 stages. You then go out and play the Nationwide Tour as a +6 assuming you have it all figured out until you miss your first 4 cuts in a row. Finally, exhausted, you will make a couple of cuts but miss at second stage and go back to selling electricity.
I feel like I have lived this post along the way.
Anyone want to buy some electricity?
I think the 2.1 bogey per round difference at 40% vs 70% is what makes somebody a scratch vs a +2. Then you eliminate some 3 putts and penalties and you are a +3. Get better from 70-120 and you are a +4. During this process you are tightening up your mental game and you are a +5.
All these are on your home course, of course...so, naturally, you enter Tour school as an amateur and make it through all 4 stages. You then go out and play the Nationwide Tour as a +6 assuming you have it all figured out until you miss your first 4 cuts in a row. Finally, exhausted, you will make a couple of cuts but miss at second stage and go back to selling electricity.
I feel like I have lived this post along the way.
Anyone want to buy some electricity?