Golf Tips: Don’t Let a Bad Shot Derail and Ruin Your Round

In today’s golf tips, we look at how to avoid the dreaded mid-round meltdown.

It’s happened to all of us. Whether it’s a round of golf that has been teetering on the edge all day and finally collapses or a flush shot that turns out bad. It can lead to a mid-round meltdown. Today’s golf tips will look at some ways to avoid that. I included the shark in the intro with remembrance to his 1996 Masters breakdown.

Depending on the type of golfer you are, or at least the type of golfer that you think you are, you have found yourself in either or even maybe both of those situations. I know I have been in both, which is to be expected for someone who shoots in the low 80’s fairly constantly.

I’ll give a quick personal example where if I would’ve kept my head, it would have led to the best round of my life, and it wouldn’t have been close.

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I had never broken 80. I had shot 80 or 81 all summer. Eight straight rounds. I was happy with it but wanted that magical 70’s number. Enter the 15th hole, with me at +2 through 14. A short par four, and I’m feeling nervous. I snap hook my tee shot, and it leads to a double bogey.

Instead of trying to re-group, I tried to force it and recover shots. I went driver on the next hole, after sticking with a 4-iron or 3-wood all day. Shanked it and it was another double. Then bogey, and another bogey. Guess what? Another 80.

If I could’ve taken a minute to re-group, gather my thoughts, and think a little about the smart path to take, I should’ve been able to finish with a 77 or 78. Instead, I let a bad shot derail what otherwise would’ve been a very special day.

I’ve had it happen to high school kids on my golf team as well. Sometimes I can help them get out of it, and other times I’m not.

The one that stands out, and made me want to write this golf tips article, happened to my top golfer, Carson Linville. He is the best golfer I have seen in person. An incredible golfer who is still going down his golf path, and is already winning tournaments and setting records in college. Even as a scratch golfer, bad shots can get to anyone.

140 yards in and he hits, to him at least, a shot that feels perfect. As it is flying, he thinks he is going to have a birdie opportunity inside ten feet. Alas, it flies off the back of the green into some think rough on a slope. That was on the 11th hole, and it not only ruined his round, but it ruined his chances at winning State.

Oh, did I forget to mention that this was at the State Tournament?

It led to a bogey. Then bogey-bogey-double-bogey-bogey. Or somewhere in that range. From even through 10 to +7 for him once he finished. An even-par finish would’ve led to a tie for first place. Luckily for him, he was able to take this as a learning experience on his way to college.

He even had some thoughts on the mental side of it that he wanted to share, and you can tell he learned from the experience.

"“Having a next shot mentality is the most important thing. Once you have hit a shot, whether good or bad, that shot is done. You need to move on, try and make the best swing you can on the next shot. You can make a bad swinging day a decent round by keeping your head up and grinding.”"

Not all of us have this type of opportunity.

There are a few ways you can try and avoid or fight the ugly numbers on the scorecard.

Bad shots happen. Whether it is a shank, like a snap hook, or a ball that you thought was flush and turns out poor. How you come back from it is up to you, and is why golf is one of the toughest mental challenges out there.

Stay within your game, and don’t try and force recoveries. Sometimes, it is okay to take a bogey. If you are in a difficult shot after your incident, stick to your gameplan. Maybe you can hit that delicate flop onto the 6 square inch section of the green that it needs to land on to get it to trickle down for a five-footer.

Chances are, you have a 5% chance of hitting that shot. It’s more likely you skull it past the green, and end up with a double bogey, which is only going to make the situation worse.

Take the safe route. Get on the green, take the two-putt (heck, maybe you drain the long first one) and walk away with bogey. It isn’t what you wanted, but there is no reason to make it worse.

Here is where people get into trouble. They know they hurt themselves on the last hole, and they think “Okay, I’m going to make it up here” and they play the hole differently than what has worked in the past. It rarely ever works. It doesn’t even always work for the professionals.

Get back on track. No need to muscle driver, or try and seek the tucked pin that is behind a bunker. Play to your strengths, and let your own game put you in a position to succeed. It’s amazing how well you can score by playing smart low-risk shots. A lot of golf tips are simple in theory, it’s the implementation and execution that troubles us.

There is always a walk from green to tee. Take that time to think about your shot and what happened. You do need to analyze it and think about it, but that time should be limited to 45 seconds. If you want to mull and contemplate over it, save that for the 19th hole.

Once you step into the next tee box, that shot should be out of your head. Positivity and confidence can do wonders on a golf course.

If you step up to a shot thinking something along the lines of “I hope I don’t shank this” or “I don’t know if I can hit this shot” or “Hopefully this doesn’t end up short”, you are going to find that those exact things happen a fair amount of the time. Mindset and visualization mean a lot in golf. Even repeating a mantra that you don’t necessarily believe can turn help to fix your round, or at least even it out.

Keep it in mind next time your round starts to go downhill. No one wants their round to go downhill at all, so hopefully, today’s golf tips help to avoid the rare occurrence of it happening. Okay… the strong likelihood.