Remove Emotion from your Bag

3 July 2023

We have all been there, your game is going well and life is good, you are carefree and golf seems so simple, almost easy – as the saying goes, ‘this too shall pass’.

Whether it’s a bad swing, bad break, or stupid mistake inevitably at some point you will encounter adversity during your round – the question is, how do you respond?

Notice the use of respond rather than react.

When facing a tricky recovery shot we do not want to emotionally react, instead, consider the options and respond accordingly.

An example of how not to react can be seen in this 6-putt by Danny Lee – not great for the putting stats! It is very easily done, a momentary lapse of concentration and your birdie putt soon becomes a bogey putt, a lot of ‘gimmes’ that don’t get the respect they deserve lipping out.

How often do you or your playing partners hit a bad shot and then follow it up by attempting a ‘hero’ shot and making matters worse?

Rather than taking the easy shot out to the trees, a lot of amateurs will attempt to thread a shot through a gap in the trees after missing a 50 yard wide fairway. Whilst being closer to the hole helps with scoring, the risk of compounding the error typically outweighs the small distance gain.

So, what should you do?

Before teeing up on the first hole you should already have an idea in your head of what shot you are trying to hit.

If you are playing a new course, consult the Shot Scope mobile app to see aerial maps of each hole and devise a strategy. However, if you are playing the weekly medal you should have a strategy in place for each hole. 

That being said, you should expect that not everything will go to plan. 

The important thing is to try to get back ‘on track’ without damaging your score too much. There is such a thing as a good bogey. 

Rather than attempt a high tariff recovery shot and making another error, take your time, consider the easiest option, and try to save your score with considered caution.

How can you devise a strategy for the course? 

With performance tracking products like the X5 GPS Watch, you can analyze your performance on every hole. With the shots plotted and Strokes Gained features, you can see exactly how shots are impacting your scoring and use this information to create your own plan. Then, once you have devised your strategy, stick to it, and recover where necessary – not every shot will be perfect!

It would be naïve to believe that you can remove emotion from your bag entirely, though. Even the Pros struggle. But it is worthwhile to try and respond rather than react. 

Here is a compilation of the Pros showing you how not to react.

Perhaps you should look to Woody Austin when it comes to reactions, even if it is a sarcastic fist pump… missing putts has never looked so good!

The worst thing you can do is let a bad break or bad shot completely derail your game. 

We have all played with someone that seems to think every shot should be perfect and when they are not, things spiral out of control.

In summary

• Manage your expectations
• Devise a plan
• Respond don’t react
• Take the guesswork out of your game with shot tracking and performance analysis technology

Ready to get started? Browse Shot Scope’s range of golf GPS watches with shot tracking technology and begin improving your game today.

One last montage to make you feel better about your game.

_{Featured / cover image credit: Andriiii / Shutterstock}