How to keep it going

[BerntR]

As Keith posted on another thread - sometimes it's hard to take success and keep a good round going. I know this has happened to me. I think the key is to expect success and expect to keep a good round going. Trying to protect a good score doesn't work. What do you guys think?

Three words: Confidence, concentration and expectations.

Confidence is good as long as you don't get overconfident. What did Tin Cup say: Be humble?

Be humble and confident - and consentrate on doing your best to produce the shot you know you have in you. And be ready to accept the result.

Expectations are IMO the enemy of good golf and golfing pleasure. Expectations tends to be the super-ego talking to you with a judgemental attitude. If you play poorly for a few holes you will talk yourself out of any possibilities you might have of recovering. If you play to well you will start fearing to blow up a good round now that your super-ego expects you to post a good score.

Trying is to try to make a 60 footer die in the hole without any fear. Expecting is to expect a 2-putt from 60 feet. The trying mentality will 1) increase the number of one-putts, 2) more often than not result in a shorter second putt and 3) make it easier to accept a poor result because you weren't expecting a particular result. The expecting mentality will likely put a lot of pressure on the second put whenever the first one failes - because you expect to 2-putt from that distance.

Trying is to aim for a small spot on the green from 175 yards. Expecting is: "I ought to be able to get this somewhere on the green"

A long time ago, with a HCP of 20, I managed to post a round 8 over par. By halfway I was so far ahead of my handicap that I felt I could do some serious errors and still post a very good score. That thought kept me in play for the whole round. Played the last 9 holes 3 over par and managed to stay focused for 18 holes. I've never done anything like it since.

But it's not easy to stay focused throughout a whole round.

Nowday - with a HCP of 6 - I tend to start thinking of results whenever I am past hole 11-12-13 and still am in position to post a score close to par. Expectations enters the inner dialog and I start doing some very small - almost intangible errors - that turns pars into bogeys.

Most people on my level tend to do one big or many small errors whenever they are in position to "over-achieve". Technically we are good enough to play most courses on par on the very best ball striking days, but past and future expectations creeps in and prevents us from doing that.

I believe something similar happens to top golfers whenever they find themselves a few shots ahead of Tiger on the last day of a big tournament.