The power of suggestion...

[Bigvivec]

The power of suggestion…
I was playing this morning and came out of the box hot…the first three holes were all fairways and greens with tap in pars…I hit the tee shot on the 4th with good distance to the center of the fairway and as I was walking up to the ball I started to reflect on how well I was playing…writing the headlines so to speak, one of my mental no-no’s…I further teased the golf gods by making a comment to my caddy while pulling a club for my approach about what a good day it was going to be…his might as well have been the voice of the gods because he answered with a single word, which translated means “not yet”…I should have kicked him for that one as it planted a seed of doubt…I hit the approach well enough, but under clubbed and caught the front of the green…it was an 8 iron and I loaded it with spin, a little overconfident thinking that I was going to stick it next to the stick…the seed of doubt took root…anyway, no release and a long way to go to the back pin position, I walked away with a disappointing 3 putt after pushing my 5 foot par putt over the right edge…I actually had some nerves on the putts as the thoughts in my head weren’t about getting the ball in the hole but about living up to myself proclaimed prophecy …I hooked the ensuing drive and approach…took a penalty for a lost ball in the rough right of the green, and it continued from there…gone was the good groove and I battled through the next 4 holes taking 3 more strokes until I righted the ship and got back on track finishing out -1…stiff price to pay for foolish mental behavior and nothing I can really say about it because I know better and I had the game today, just figured out a way to mess it up…I guess I was a little fragile today; been working on some things and I don’t really trust them yet, but everything was running smoothly until my mental blip, and then smoothly again after I got over the deer in the headlights feeling…it can really be between the ears sometimes…

[Leaguegolf]

Go ahead.........blame it on the caddie.

[Bigvivec]

Just ask Diane...I'll whinge and place blame with the best of them...better than the alternative (couldn't be MY fault)...

[JimSomebody]

Originally Posted by Bigvivec

I'll whinge and place blame with the best of them...better than the alternative (couldn't be MY fault)

Think I read somewhere that it's helpful to blame bad golf on external factors, in order to preserve self-confidence, which is so necessary. Of course, denial works only so long...

[Bigvivec]

Originally Posted by JimSomebody

Think I read somewhere that it's helpful to blame bad golf on external factors, in order to preserve self-confidence, which is so necessary. Of course, denial works only so long...

You guys are all jerks!!!

[Bigvivec]

All I'm saying is seeds of doubt...my swing is pretty fragile right now as I am still unsure of the building blocks that I have put in place recently...been hit and miss lately and the last thing that I need is my silent partner (he says almost nothing and that how I like it) decides to pipe up and rain on my declaration that I was off to a good start with a "not yet!" Right away I start to second guess myself and why? Because now I'm thinking that if the one guy that watches me swing all the time doesn't think that I'll have a good round, then why should I think that...




And I thought you were the "nice" guy Jim!?!?!


I was joking around with the jerk comment, but honestly guys, I don't understand you sometimes...In a caddy I want supportive...not a guy who is going to bring me down, throw out negative thoughts etc...he's not a member of my fourball that I trade light insults with and rag on after a bad shot...he's my helper and alerting me to the fact that he's waiting for the other shoe to drop when I'm feeling good about a fast start isn't helping now is it?

Whatever...

[C-Tech]

My best rounds come when I don't keep track of my score hole by hole. I write down the score on that hole and put the card back in my pocket. I don't add em up at the turn and I don't look back at the front nine while I am playing the back. I am always surprised when I finish and it adds up to less than I would have guessed. The other thing that helps is if I keep myself calm in the face of obvious bad luck. Once I start adding em up and planning ahead, I am dead in the water. It isn't gonna be pretty from there on in.

[Viper]

The main organ used in golf is the brain, but sadly it usually receives even less time in the gym than all the other essential muscles put together.

[JimSomebody]

Originally Posted by Bigvivec

...And I thought you were the "nice" guy Jim!?!?!

I was joking around with the jerk comment, but honestly guys, I don't understand you sometimes...In a caddy I want supportive...not a guy who is going to bring me down, throw out negative thoughts etc...

Wasn't trying to zing you with my "denial works only so long" comment, BigV. I was just naturally extending the idea that blaming anything but oneself might be helpful for one's game sometimes. And I know you were joking about your "jerk" comment; thought it was funny!

Agree about what's good in a caddy... sort of like unconditional positive regard. Not like the Scottish caddies one hears jokes about:

Bad golfer to caddy: "Do you think I can get there with a 5-iron?"
Caddy: "Eventually."

[C-Tech]

Bad golfer to caddy, "You must be the worst caddy on earth."

Caddy to bad golfer, "That would be too much of a coincidence."

[Leaguegolf]

Originally Posted by Bigvivec

All I'm saying is seeds of doubt...my swing is pretty fragile right now as I am still unsure of the building blocks that I have put in place recently...been hit and miss lately and the last thing that I need is my silent partner (he says almost nothing and that how I like it) decides to pipe up and rain on my declaration that I was off to a good start with a "not yet!" Right away I start to second guess myself and why? Because now I'm thinking that if the one guy that watches me swing all the time doesn't think that I'll have a good round, then why should I think that...




And I thought you were the "nice" guy Jim!?!?!


I was joking around with the jerk comment, but honestly guys, I don't understand you sometimes...In a caddy I want supportive...not a guy who is going to bring me down, throw out negative thoughts etc...he's not a member of my fourball that I trade light insults with and rag on after a bad shot...he's my helper and alerting me to the fact that he's waiting for the other shoe to drop when I'm feeling good about a fast start isn't helping now is it?

Whatever...

Sorry to be the one to break it to you BigV but if you let a casual comment from your caddie get to you, there's more "fragile" there than just your game.

[JungleJ]

I agree with BigV though - if you're paying someone to caddie for you, you want supportive and helpful, not deflation.

Anyway - I quite like to "suggest" to my brother-in-law that he needs to watch out for deceleration in his putting stroke. Sure enough, next green or two he will leave a short one short!

[Bigvivec]

Originally Posted by Leaguegolf

Sorry to be the one to break it to you BigV but if you let a casual comment from your caddie get to you, there's more "fragile" there than just your game.

Yep...I'm a regular house of glass...when my office door is locked it's cause I'm crushed that the Prime ribs were overcooked...


A statement gave me cause to second guess myself...next time I'll remember to be a leagueSomebody like fortress...

[Diane]

League - I'm with BV here. I expect a caddy to make me happy and that means staying out of my head. I expect compliments and support. Hey that's part of what he's getting paid for.

BV - don't listen to them. It's not a matter of being fragile. A caddy's job is much more than just carrying your clubs. He broke caddy rules.

[Leaguegolf]

Originally Posted by Bigvivec

Yep...I'm a regular house of glass...when my office door is locked it's cause I'm crushed that the Prime ribs were overcooked...


A statement gave me cause to second guess myself...next time I'll remember to be a leagueSomebody like fortress...

Suit yourself, but I've never let a caddie's comment get inside my head. I may second guess myself on club or shot selection but never on anything a caddie might say. Was he out of line? Sure. Did he plant a bad seed? Probably. However, you are the one that nurtured that seed. You don't have to be a fortress but like a poor shot, you have to put a poor comment aside and get on with putting a good round together. It's called mental toughness. You either have it or you don't.

Just curious.........Did you fire the caddie or will you use him again?

[Leaguegolf]

Originally Posted by Diane

League - I'm with BV here. I expect a caddy to make me happy and that means staying out of my head. I expect compliments and support. Hey that's part of what he's getting paid for.

BV - don't listen to them. It's not a matter of being fragile. A caddy's job is much more than just carrying your clubs. He broke caddy rules.

Heaven forbid you should ever get a caddie with a loose tongue that knows anything about "outfits."

[C-Tech]

Originally Posted by Leaguegolf

Heaven forbid you should ever get a caddie with a loose tongue that knows anything about "outfits."

I think I hurt myself....

[Diane]

Originally Posted by Leaguegolf

Heaven forbid you should ever get a caddie with a loose tongue that knows anything about "outfits."

League - I've never had a caddy who wore a Hawaiian shirt when they work. I'd say they probably know more about golf outfits than you do.

[Bigvivec]

Originally Posted by Leaguegolf

You don't have to be a fortress but like a poor shot, you have to put a poor comment aside and get on with putting a good round together. It's called mental toughness. You either have it or you don't.

Just curious.........Did you fire the caddie or will you use him again?

I don't agree with that...like I said if it were you or another person I was playing with making the comment, the guy cutting the hole or the grass, I could brush it off...but my caddy or the course pro throws me a black raincloud mid round I'm getting thrown...I suppose in your book it means I don't have it...

The caddy is my regular and is almost exclusively used by me (save for the days that I don't play like rainy today...) We worked it out...

[Diane]

Originally Posted by Bigvivec

I don't agree with that...like I said if it were you or another person I was playing with making the comment, the guy cutting the hole or the grass, I could brush it off...but my caddy or the course pro throws me a black raincloud mid round I'm getting thrown...I suppose in your book it means I don't have it...

I don't think League understands the bond between caddy and golfer outside of the pros.

[C-Tech]

I know if I had a caddy, I would expect him to find a way to take strokes off my round, not make my life harder. And Diane, if we are making comparisons to the pros and their caddies, BigV's caddy would already be at the next tournament looking for a new bag because any pro on tour would have fired his caddy on the spot for that kind of comment.