Yesterday, I played a good round of golf, yet did not score well. I finished with a 79 and felt that I could have scored a great deal lower. I started off worse than normal, but after a few breakfast balls 😉 we started our round. Running to the first tee after 5 days of house renos left me a little tight, but I quickly loosened up. Anyway, without complaining about my start, I hit the ball well for most of the round. I did however, struggle with two clubs and I really felt like the should be relegated to the penalty box (sin bin). They let me down and cost me at least five strokes.
The first club that needed to stay in my bag was my eight iron. Normally a very steady club for me, I found that I had the lefts with this club yesterday. My first three approach shots from 145 to 155 yards finished left of the green and two were short. Now chipping for birdie, I was fortunate enough to shot two up and down for par and finished one for bogey. After a bunch of holes (six I think) I had another opportunity and was let down again but missing the green. This last shot with my eight iron the last straw and I thought about benching this iron. Fortunately, I did not have to use it again, so I think my game stepped in and benched it for me.
My next club that needed to go the penalty box was my putter. I realize that can not put my putter in the sin bin, but man did I ever want to use a different club on the greens. Without going through the long drawn out details, I can sum my round up like this: I had 10 birdie putts; I missed all ten and seven of them missed by six inches or less……all short! Yup, I could not get the ball to the hole even though I was telling myself that I needed to hit the ball past the hole. Well, it never really happened and being short on seven straight in birdie putts cost me at least 3 if not 4 strokes. Believe me if it was any other club, the penalty box would have had a visitor for sure.
Suggesting that I do not use clubs because I am hitting them poorly is a bit with tongue in cheek. I would rarely bench any club because of poor play, but sometimes I have doubted my club selection and have clubbed up and hit softer in order to avoid using a club I am hitting poorly that day, but this is a rare thing. I believe that if I am going to carry 14 clubs, I should use 14 clubs if the need arises. However, hitting club poorly, repeatedly, does make me think about sending it to the penalty box or sin bin.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
Jim, that 8-iron could just as easily been a 9 or 7 based on distance. Probably a slight mechanical error. The putter? Meh, it happens. We can’t roll the rock like Patrick Cantlay all the time.
I benched the driver on Sunday but felt like benching my whole bag. Currently in the throws of a horrendous “life gets in the way of golf” slump. It’s all good because a bad day on the golf course is better than a good day at work. Play well.
Brian
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Brian,
That is a shame that you are struggling. I hate those stretches of poor play. I hope you rebound soon.
Cheers Jim
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I’m sure we’ve all felt that way, but it’s not a good way to think. Barring some kind of damage, it’s never the club and thinking it is only makes it harder to solve the real issue. It creates a barrier in the mind that follows us around and reinforces the wrong thinking.
I’ve had an issue with the 7,8, and 9 irons myself recently. I was using the 8 to hit off the tee on #3 at the home course and kept coming up short and right. On #16 I was pushing the nine iron out to the right and on #5, the 7 iron kept missing right. It wasn’t every time, but it was too often. I don’t know why I was making the mistake, but I did figure out what the mistake was so I can keep it from happening again anytime soon. It was simple. For some reason I was setting up just a little too far from the ball. Hit’s on the toe side, and divots with the heel deeper than the toe both gave the issue away and provided the solution. Make I’m the right distance from the ball. What caused me to do it is anyone’s guess. Why I was only doing it off the tee I can’t say either. I just know I was. It’s so easy to make these little errors and sometimes so hard to catch them. But I’ve been good at checking my divots. And checking the face of my club after a swing. And this time, I saw the pattern that helped solve the issue for me. You’ll likely find your issue with the 8 equally mundane and simple to solve once you figure out what it is. That’s always be the trick though. What’s causing it. The club itself is the least likely option. Especially your brand new custom fit Mizuno’s.
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Kevin,
If I knew why I make the mistakes I do, then I would be a much better player. Interestingly, errors revert back to normal as fast as they appear. Golf is strange and intoxicating at the same time.
Cheers Jim
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