# Just a Thought



## FrogsHair (Mar 4, 2010)

I was watching the EPGA, and there are few big names that will probably miss the cut. The announcer saying their "Open" preparation will start sooner than expected. Just wondering if anyone thinks that a player might miss a cut on purpose, just so they can start prepping for a up coming major? Or, maybe not missing the cut on purpose, but tweaking their games, trying different shots in preparation, which in itself might cause a missed cut. Opinions?


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## Cajun (Jan 17, 2010)

If they are doing that, they better not let their sponsors find out.


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## stevel1017 (Apr 30, 2007)

trying to miss the cut on purpose, not likely
trying different shots to prepare, in all probability, and if they miss the cut, oh well


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## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

Phil Mickelson once made a comment that he loses interest in a tournament when he isn't in contention. He apologized for having said it later on, explaining that he just reacts emotionally to the helpless feeling when he gets when he is so far behind that he can't make up enough to win. I don't know how sponsors react to something like that.

I can't imagine any of those guys really stop trying, but we always hear about how hard it is to control your emotions and subconscious body responses to break through for your first win, or second, or third, until winning becomes second nature. Under the circumstances that you can win millions of dollars without ever having to win a tournament, it does make me wonder if some players might play conservatively to make a big check instead of hitting a risky shot and giving themselves a chance to win.

Consider - Let's say it's near the end of the season and you need to make a big check to secure your card for the following year based on your money winnings. Does that take priority over trying to win, knowing you might lose second place and drop down to something so much lower that your check leaves you short of insuring your card?


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## Fourputt (Nov 18, 2006)

It's certainly harder for the average golfer to stay focused when he knows that the round he's playing is bad enough that not going to be of any value, whether it's a competition, or just for handicap. 

I have trouble keeping my focus in a match once the outcome has been decided. My last match I won on the 12th hole, 8 and 6, and I made 3 doubles in the last 6 holes and still shot an 81 (which shows just how well I must have been playing in the previous 12). I just made some very weak swings after the match was over, and even though I felt like I was still trying just as hard, the concentration was somehow not there.

So I can understand what Phil was saying.... it's just hard to keep interested when the round (or tournament) has lost any meaning.


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## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

Hey Rick - snow gone? 

To leave the subject of how the pros look at things and reduce it to us weekend warriors, let me say this... Keeping in mind I don't play in competition except with myself, when a round has long since gone to hell, what I'll do sometimes is try to practice with certain clubs. I might play a par 5 with a succession of 7 irons, trying to move the ball either way or using the GPS to measure distances under the given conditions. I have a par 5 at Calusa that always seems to eat my lunch. One day, I hit four consecutive 8 irons to get to the green and then one putted for par... My buddy David then declared I had officially discovered the secret to golf.

I won't do this is I feel i'm holding up the golf course, but it usually works out as long as 2 shots of whatever I'm hitting is as far as my drive might usually be. In other words, I'm waiting to hit to the green from the same place I would usually be and not holding up the group behind me. Since the par 4 holes at Calusa usually leave me between a 6-8 iron to the green, the equation is nothing more than one extra swing to get on.

One day there was practically nobody on the course and David decided he wanted to aim at the traps to work on his sand game with a new wedge. Needless to say, he missed the traps, but he hit more greens accidentally than he usually does on purpose.


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## FrogsHair (Mar 4, 2010)

Staying focused is tough during a round that has lost it's competitive value. The other day I was putting really lousy. Actually my entire game except my driver tee shots was pretty much in the tank. I knew what I was doing wrong (pushing putts) with my flat stick, which was the result of poor concentration on my part. So I went with the next best scenario which was to not make double bogey on any hole. That was a game plan I was able to manage.

I know a few golfers who try to stay focused through out a round, even between shots. I can't do that. Doing that for me would mean I was not out there playing for fun. Once I hit a shot/putt, it's time to take in the scenery, sip a beverage, converse, eat something, while not thinking about my next shot/putt till I start my next pre-shot routine. Obviously there is little time between putts, but none the less I can always forget my last shot/putt till later on. I suppose you could call what I do between shots/putts my "post shot" routine.

Years ago I was hitting fatties during a round with my PW. After 4, or 5 holes it was apparent I was not going to have a decent round. So, I played the remainder of the course with just my PW, and putter. It worked out quite well, because by the end of the round I was not hitting any more fat shots. Other times during a "lost" round, like Dennis, I will do other things that pretty much amount to on course practicing. Usually those practice shots are from terrible (lies) situations. This kind of practice gives me information I can use later on...as needed.


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## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

You mentioned forgetting the past shot and concentrating on the next one. Maybe I hit so many bad shots these days that they all run together, leaving the good shots in a position to stand out so well in my mind. One way or the other, it's something I feel I've worked on and accomplished, remembering the good shots, because it's a bit contrary to my own nature.

I'm such a realistic person that some people might even say I'm negative. (I don't feel I am) The point is, I'm too realistic for my own good sometimes. I tend to stay in the moment and never lose myself in what people like to call, "the zone"... It's just a feeling I don't think I've ever had.

I can be distracted by the beauty around me, or the feeling of playing a historic golf course and wondering if the greats of the game ever stepped exactly where I am then. I often question whether the pros have trouble concentrating when they see the beauty of Augusta National surrounding them. I can look at great golf photography and feel moved...

You know what I miss a lot about golf? I miss there being a clubhouse with a restaurant and bar at Calusa, where I play most. When I first read Frogshair' last post, I initially misunderstood when he said something about eating at the course... that it was during the round, not after it.

I used to love the hour after the round, having a beer or a Coke, a burger maybe, sitting and talking with the guys I played with, even if we weren't talking about golf. Now, in the past 3 years since the fire that took the clubhouse, nothing has been built in its place and there's nowhere to sit except outside under a hot tent enclosure where you can take a drink you have to buy in the trailer 100 yards away. God help you if you want seconds and have to make that walk again, plus there's no food. Needless to say, after a round here, air conditioning is the first thing you look for.

So, the end of a round isn't a pleasant, gentle merger back to life as we know it. it's a harsh transition straight into a hot car, hopefully with AC that works quickly, a shower at home and something to eat you fix yourself.

Strange how a casual thought about food would make me go off on a tangent like that, but I do miss the fellowship that always followed a round.


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