Format: Stableford
Venue: [Home course]
Score: 29pts
Handicap mark: 3.1
Themes in reply: Perspective
4th February 2013
Hi Colin,
I hope all is well with you and your family.
I played in the Stableford on Saturday but with little success as follows:
Quite a cold day with a biting N/NE wind. The course was very wet and playing winter rules. I played with FT.
1st – Good 3 wood to the fairway. Came off the 6 iron a bit and it rolled back off the front of the green about 10 yards. Putted up short and managed to hole a really good 4 footer for a par and 2 points.
2nd – Good drive down the RHS. Found my ball in a divot just off the fairway (which means I can’t move it under winter rules). Hit a poor 5-iron right and then a very good chip and run to 4’. Left the putt short so only 1 point.
3rd – Good drive a bit right and then a 3 wood just short of the green (it was right into the wind). 2 putts for a par and 2 pts.
4th – OK utility/4-iron to about 10’ and just missed the birdie so 2 points.
5th – V. good long straight drive leaving 5 iron to the green. Hit it right into the nasty bunker but hit a great recovery to 5’. Missed a very curly putt for birdie so 2 points.
6th – Ok drive up the RHS but hit a poor 8-iron into the front bunker which was virtually full of water. To drop out of the bunker would have been a penalty shot so I played it of what little wet sand there was. Took 2 to get out and 2 putts for a 6 net 5 and 1 point. I later found out that the bunker was GUR but the sign was underwater!!
7th – Ok shot to the green and 2 good putts for 2 points
8th – Good long drive but it caught a fairway bunker on the LHS. Chopped it out and then pushed a 6-iron to the RHS of the green. Took 3 to get down so only 1 point.
9th – Drive a bit left and 8-iron to the back of the green Difficult downhill putt goes 4’ past and missed the one back so only 1 point.
14 points going out so not great.
10th – Drive to the RHS and wedge to the green and 2 putts for a 4 and 2 points
11th – OK 5-iron to about 10’ and 2 putts, 2 pts.
12th – Drive finds the fairway bunker on the left, chopped out and then hit a god 3 wood just short of the green. 2 good putts and a 5 net 4 for 3 points.
13th – Good drive followed by an indifferent 3-iron which caught another bunker about 20 yds short of the green. Up against the face and no sand in the bunker. Hit the face and the ball rebounded and hit me. Not sure what the rule is these days but I played on and got up and down for a 5 and 1 point. I asked the assistant Pro afterwards to look up the rule and deduct me 1 point if necessary he hasn’t. Having said that, I think I should have incurred a penalty of 1 shot.
14th – Right into the wind and hit a v good 6-iron and 2 putts for 2 points.
15th – Tee shot into RHS rough but luckily onto a path. Hit ok 3 wood short of the green. Chipped up but not hard enough and the ball came back to me. Putted up a bit too far and missed a 3’ putt so a 6 net 5 and 1 point.
16th – Downwind and the tee is forward so I hit a great drive over the cross bunkers. Hit my 56 just short of the green and 2 putts for a par and 2 points.
17th – Good drive followed but a not so good 4-iron/utility into the right rough. Chipped up but short, putted up to 3’ and missed. I must say the ball jumped a bit on the putt so a 6 for 1 point.
18th – Ok drive and 3-iron to the middle of the green. However the pin was at the front and I 3 putted for 1 point
So, 15 points coming back making a total of 29.
I didn’t feel comfortable most of the day and in truth only hit a couple of ‘good’ shots. My irons and short play was poor and so was my putting.
Never mind, you have to have bad days to appreciate the good ones! Just for the record, 36 points won it.
Regards,
John
7th February 2013
Dear John,
Thank you for the e-mail.
Your opening sentence is quite interesting. It reads: “I played in the Stableford on Sat but with little success as follows:”
Well, that’s not quite true. Granted, you scored 29pts and you finished 6pts behind the winner but there is quite a lot in the round that you are entitled to be pleased with.
Describing the round to me has the effect of “off-loading” it from your psyche leaving you nice and clear for the next round, which is a highly beneficial bi-product of e-mail coaching.
It also forces you to bring back to memory all the shots, which is also beneficial because when competitive people don’t play well they tend to forget the good bits and concentrate on the not so good bits. So, my job is to help you put the round into perspective so that you consider your performance in an accurate way, which hopefully means that you don’t get distracted by random variations in performance and then go chasing solutions to non-existent problems.
In your particular case, I also need to keep reminding you that you are a very good player who mostly plays very good golf, because your default position is to be slightly overly critical of yourself.
Being overly critical can hide real problems because they can become difficult to distinguish when everything is getting criticised all the time. It is much more productive to be coolly analytical, acknowledge yourself for your good play, take responsibility for your less than good play, and see if you can win the next time!
My overall impression of this round is that you weren’t quite “on blob” and yet you managed to put together a decent score: outscoring your outward nine on your inward nine, following all your less than good shots with decent recoveries, having some very good holes, having no elongated slumps in form, having no one part of your game letting you down, and generally fighting your way to a competitive total. As I mentioned on the phone, you would have been satisfied with this round if it had been the second round in a 4-round tournament. Monthly Stablefords/medals playing to one’s handicap are very much a “sprint” format, and therefore more likely to be affected by random variations in performance than longer formats.
The other thing that struck me about the round is that it probably would have been ok in a matchplay. Of course, it is impossible to be certain, but in matchplay, holes are often won because a bad shot follows a bad shot, and the competitive momentum shifts in favour of the opponent. But if a good recovery follows a bad shot then the momentum shifts back with a vengeance because the opponent is disappointed not to have an easy win.
You began the round with pars on the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th, which in cold, windy conditions could well have seen you ahead in a match. Being ahead would have given you a bit of oomph and who knows how the rest of the round would have gone.
Also, the way you are able to play well right to the end of the round is the sign of a good matchplayer. You would have realised quite early on that you were out of the running for the prizes and the glory, and yet on the 18th you put a three-iron on to the green. In fact, I get the distinct impression from your description that from the first shot to the last you played each shot on its merits, simply looking to play the best shot you could under whatever circumstances you found yourself in. If I’m right, then it is very encouraging, because the ability to recover psychologically from a bad shot before you have to play the next one is a priceless asset in golf.
Finally, you found a lot of bunkers and had quite a lot of fun in them! That’s unusual for you and indicative of an unusual round. And finally, finally (as my kids would say) that must have been one sweet 6-iron into the 14th!
Regards,
Colin
