Bad Shot Signal, What's yours? Options

[mat562]

An odd topic; but one that came to mind after a comment from a playing partner the other day. After a bad strike, my standard reaction is apparently always the same - in my case a Sandy Lyle-esque one handed follow through where the club hangs limply, and vertically, down my back with only my left hand on the grip as I look on despondently from a pretty standard follow through position. 'Regular as clockwork' apparently - albeit I hope that refers to my reaction always being the same and not my propensity to hit crappy shots.

Hopefully people won't be answering that they sling the club into the nearest pond or hammer the tee with the clubhead, but what are other members' characteristic reactions to a bad 'un? Swearing's allowed in my book as long as it's not too loud and there are no sensitive types or juniors present.

Fire away.

This post has been edited by mat562: Jun 12 2009, 07:22 AM

[jjj912]

I never had anyone say anything about my bad shot reactions - they're usually too busy dodging the ball to notice (that's why it's called a duck hook ).

If I'm feeling particularly frustrated, I'll sometimes gently slam the back of the club onto the ground. Or if I put six feet's worth of speed on a twelve foot putt, I do that little post-putt routine where you take a practice swing or two with enough speed to send the ball to Mars.

[taskerc]

For me it is the extended pose of pain and a few choice words of encouragement, such as "go on - if you want to be bad, be VERY bad" - and quite often a few words I don't say in front of my kids. On chunked approach shots the clubhead has been known to find itself stragetically placed back in the offending location....

Chris

[PML101]

mines walking 10 yards out of the way to pick up my club or as was the case the other night 5 minutes looking for my 4 iron in the thick rough....

[Bogie Hokie]

I typically drop the club coming out of my backswing (not a throw, honest), landing headfirst and falling away a few feet from me.

[Williams5203]

Most recently, I have just been dropping the club as I finish my swing, perhaps a fore* letter word maybe mixed in. When I first started to play well, I would have a bad swing and on occasion throw a club. I have ceased to do so for the following reason. Once while playing a round on the back nine, late, near dusk the course was relatively empty. I ripped a drive into a 390 yard par 4. Left with but a wedge shot, I proceeded to skull the wedge over the green, shanked two more balls, and proceeded to hammer throw the wedge across the fairway, some 65 yards, which happens to get stuck 20 feet up in a white pine.... sheepishly I climb up and get it out.... and have yet to lose my temper like that again on the course, and the my game has gotten much better because of it.

So from now on we go with the club drop...

[DFinch]

I grab my back, cringe, and if anyone is nearby I say "I hit that too pure".

[mitchleary]

Most of the time, laugh and say "WTF am I thinking/doing?"

[theelvis510]

mines walking 10 yards out of the way to pick up my club or as was the case the other night 5 minutes looking for my 4 iron in the thick rough....

LOL, Sounds like the old me. A pine on the left side of the 7th at Winter Pines in Orlando now has one of my 3 irons and I no longer throw clubs. Now I just yell expletives like a tourettes patient and have another drag on my cigar.

[Tenementrock]

I typically just utter an "f" word. Just once at regular volume and with little fanfare.

[woohoo4me]

I grab my back, cringe, and if anyone is nearby I say "I hit that too pure".

If I hit it particularly bad, I'll throw some grass in the air post-swing to verify wind direction, then remind the other members of my group that they can't hold my underwear.................

[DFinch]

I grab my back, cringe, and if anyone is nearby I say "I hit that too pure".

If I hit it particularly bad, I'll throw some grass in the air post-swing to verify wind direction, then remind the other members of my group that they can't hold my underwear.................

Lol. I tell everyone around me that I could have hit that shot stiff "If I wanted to".

[Headgames]

Once I know it's going bad, my unusually sensitive gag reflex will kick in and I start vomiting uncontrollably. As I stagger to my bag, sputum pouring forth, I'll typically stand on my club by accident, breaking it in half, causing my to trip and knock my bag over - more often than not into a nearby pond. Once the voming has subsided, the tears usually start, and I'm bound to spend the next 5-10 minutes in the fetal poition on the teebox/fairway/green rocking myself and saying "I did my best! I did my best!! I did my best!!"

Side note - my friends are always yelling at me for slow play...what gives???

This post has been edited by Headgames: Jun 12 2009, 10:22 AM

[woohoo4me]

Once I know it's going bad, my unusually sensitive gag reflex will kick in and I start vomiting uncontrollably. As I stagger to my bag, sputum pouring forth, I'll typically stand on my club by accident, breaking it in half, causing my to trip and knock my bag over - more often than not into a nearby pond. Once the voming has subsided, the tears usually start, and I'm bound to spend the next 5-10 minutes in the fetal poition on the teebox/fairway/green rocking myself and saying "I did my best! I did my best!! I did my best!!"

Side note - my friends are always yelling at me for slow play...what gives???

You sir, are welcomed in my group anytime......

[AndrewS]

Once I know it's going bad, my unusually sensitive gag reflex will kick in and I start vomiting uncontrollably. As I stagger to my bag, sputum pouring forth, I'll typically stand on my club by accident, breaking it in half, causing my to trip and knock my bag over - more often than not into a nearby pond. Once the voming has subsided, the tears usually start, and I'm bound to spend the next 5-10 minutes in the fetal poition on the teebox/fairway/green rocking myself and saying "I did my best! I did my best!! I did my best!!"

Side note - my friends are always yelling at me for slow play...what gives???

hahaha! Can I ask what happens with your unusually sensitive gag reflex when you're going good out there?

[avrag]

in my case a Sandy Lyle-esque one handed follow through where the club hangs limply, and vertically, down my back with only my left hand on the grip as I look on despondently from a pretty standard follow through position.

Well for me, it is a very similar motion, or finish position. The right hand comes off the grip at about the time the hands reach breast high in the follow through, and then the left hand goes on, but barely holds on to the club, so that it just hangs down my back.
However, this is inevitably accompanied by the uttering of the words "Geh' bitte!"
Translated literally, those words simply mean "Go, please!", but in this case that's not what is meant, and it's not addressed at the ball.
In the Viennese dialect "Geh' bitte" means something like "You're getting on my nerves, stop what your doing, this is ridiculous!" For those of you not familiar with this beautiful language, which shares only about 80% of the words with German, but little else, especially not the pronounciation, it is best to imagine it said in a tone which oscillates between utter disgust, fatigue, despair and loss of all hope. The sound is not all that different from Bostonian English. Red Sox fans must have said "Geh' bitte!" a lot and shaken their heads in the pre-Francona era. So, I hope, you get the idea.....

This post has been edited by avrag: Jun 12 2009, 12:47 PM

[jaskanski]

When the tempo gets a bit too high and the adrenaline is a little too much, an overcooked draw (cough, hook) usually pops it's head up from time to time, usually the last 4 holes is a good bet. This usually results in me looking at the ground in disgust, probably with hand on hip and shaking my head like I knew a might do that. Only trouble is, looking at the ground is not a good idea as it's probably the one time you should be looking where your wayward shot has ended up. I fall for it every time. Bugger.

[mat562]

...this is inevitably accompanied by the uttering of the words "Geh' bitte!"

I don't know if it's a phrase that translates directly into Austrian, but some of my mutterings after a bad one would be easily understood by a non English speaker and probably qualify for a quick 'Entschuldigen' afterwards.

p.s. that looking at the ground when the ball's sailing into the bushes thing is known as 'doing a Poulter' at my place - namely poncing about posing and feigning disgust when you should, by rights, be watching where the bloody thing is headed to save a load of hasssle when it comes to finding it later.

I'm certainly guilty of it occasions too.

This post has been edited by mat562: Jun 12 2009, 12:57 PM

[Headgames]

Once I know it's going bad, my unusually sensitive gag reflex will kick in and I start vomiting uncontrollably. As I stagger to my bag, sputum pouring forth, I'll typically stand on my club by accident, breaking it in half, causing my to trip and knock my bag over - more often than not into a nearby pond. Once the voming has subsided, the tears usually start, and I'm bound to spend the next 5-10 minutes in the fetal poition on the teebox/fairway/green rocking myself and saying "I did my best! I did my best!! I did my best!!"

Side note - my friends are always yelling at me for slow play...what gives???

hahaha! Can I ask what happens with your unusually sensitive gag reflex when you're going good out there?

When I hit one on the screws I do pretty much the same thing, just instead of crying, there's a bit of a delay, after which I start laughing maniacaly (think Dr. Evil). Usually this happens in the middle of one of my partners' backswing.

They always get so pissed and start to hate on me when I hit a good shot. I just can't figure what their problem is....

[Chunkylover77]

One bad shot rarely results in anything. Two bad shots will result in a few choice phrases better left for the docks. More than two in a short stretch of holes and I will do my best Eugene impression as I leave limbs on every hole.

[dlo]

I generally refer to the ball while in mid flight as either a "$lut" or a "h00ker." I also like to direct it in such a way as to get th worst possible outcome. For example:

"go on, get in the bunker and plug you $lut!"

I also like to make completely ridiculous assements of my game and environment. "I don't think I had enough club" or "Lot more wind than I expected." after hitting a 75 yard worm burner.

This post has been edited by dlo: Jun 12 2009, 01:38 PM

[jaskanski]

p.s. that looking at the ground when the ball's sailing into the bushes thing is known as 'doing a Poulter' at my place - namely poncing about posing and feigning disgust when you should, by rights, be watching where the bloody thing is headed to save a load of hasssle when it comes to finding it later.

Guilty as charged. I've actually done it Poulters place too - a round at Woburn I'd rather forget. Still, at least I didn't have the flair hair on at the time with a white belt attached to lime green trousers - that would have been really embarassing.

[Sawgrass]

After my first bad shot: Smile gently and artfully summon up good feelings about myself and my game, as proscribed by golf shrinks everywhere.

After the second bad shot in a row: Clench my teeth and genuinely hate myself for the next three holes, as derided by golf shrinks everywhere.

May I also offer a reaction I observed from another golfer? A guy I was paired up with at a resort course whiffed his tee shot on the first tee three times in succession. He looked up at me and said, "Tough course!" I was so amused at his humor and attitude that I didn't mind the slow round which followed -- well, maybe a little bit.

[Skaffa77]

Hmm...well this all depends on the company I'm with and how badly I'm playing.

Example...if I'm playing golf on the job...I contain it. Might have a few words with myself under my breath or tap my bag with the club.

If it's my normal crew...I'll be more vocal and critical of myself. I'm a little more likely to hit my bag hard with the club. One or two random bad swings...I might just be vocal about my displeasure of the shot...my tap my drive or iron on the ground several times after the shot. If I'm having repeated issues, you see lot more frustation where I might complete let go of the club at the conclusion of my backswing when it still has some speed to it...surprisingly, I think I picked up this habit from watching Tiger Woods...

If I'm playing on my own and the course is empty, I hyper critical about my game. I'm very likely to let my anger get away from me. I've definitely thrown my fair share of clubs and/or balls...although I've gotten much better about that. After seeing others do it, I realize how stupid I would look. Although, I did get somewhat upset recently where I threw my TP Mills after 3 putting the 18 green within 10 feet. I was very relieved to see that I threw it hard enough to just miss the cart path. Boy...I felt stupid afterward and would have regretted it had it landed on the cart path.

[tburchell]

If its just the first one its usually just a an exasperated "bah". Subsequent poor shots result in "What are you doing Todd, don't go right/go left/etc." If it continues, I may strike the ground in frustration.
On the green, its always "Don't kill it" if too hard, or "Hit the ball" if too short. Way offline is "well, that was close"

[chaley6077]

If in no other part of the game, I've mastered this aspect. My "fundamental" approach is to go with the one-hand off the club follow through for those shots where I make a bad swing or do something that resulted in the ball going just a little off target, but where I didn't do anything so stupid that I'm truly hacked off. The one-hander, like a pure swing, just happens on its own and I don't think about it.

On the other hand, when I'm really about to blow, I just drop the club out of it's natural finish position (no throw, just a drop). The club drop move is a conscious and unnatural move, akin to flipping the club over and hitting lefty, that serves as a meltdown-preventer. I've learned this somehow shorts the two-step process that would otherwise inevitably play out as 1) me hitting a flubbed pitch shot --> 2) me doing very horrible and unflattering things to my equipment, the course, and my and others' respect for me as a human being. When I started dropping the club I found I'd still be a little pissed for a few seconds and on occassion toss out some gentle obsceneties, but I didn't take the next step and start acting like an enraged chimp strung out on PCP.

They need a tips section in the back of Golf Digest for this subject.

[Pepperturbo]

I know before those watching... from the pace of my take away, then impact. If it gets fast, it's going left... to fast, it's blocked right.

IMO the whole idea is knowing our signals when they happen, not afterward using body style observations from the pea-nuts gallery. Bad shots are created at impact; and that's when a golfer should know from the club head talking to his hands.

This post has been edited by Pepperturbo: Jun 12 2009, 02:45 PM

[alfie]

I'll usually just yell out an "Arghh..." along with a "d*mn it!" to punctuate the frustration

[Ryan_Less]

If it's a tournament usually nothing... maybe a little club tap... if it's with my buddies i usually let out a contrived stream of every possible expletive followed by some obscene gestures towards the direction of the golf ball and then we all have a good laugh out of it.

[EnglishBob]

I tend to talk to the ball asking it where the hell it thinks it's going, usually followed by a couple of vigorous practice swings to get the memory out.

[dhabomb]

I will just "gently" "rest" my club on the ground or "place" it in my bag, AS HARD AS I CAN!

[Shanks For The M...]

I do the same thing every time, as evidenced on video. I start taking the club back down, and loosen my grip, which lets the club spin in my hand. I might be able to find a video of it.

[fore_life]

my miss is usually an unexpected fade which can get slicey, so its usually just me leaning left while groaning a long sorrow-filled "duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude."

[Lefty Cat]

Mine is usually a club drop on the follow through followed by a where the eff is that going. If Im playing with a couple others I'll mention something about not committing to it, haha.

[CMAN300]

A couple of years ago it would have been a 15 yard walk to go pick up my club but now I just drop the club behind my back at the end of the follow thru and catch it with my right hand. That usually means I hear a remark of someon saying that my catch was better than my shot.

[FlorentinePogen]

Varies.

According to playing partners, my favourite "reaction du jour" ATM is "Ochferfuxake...."

[thelefthander]

in my case a Sandy Lyle-esque one handed follow through where the club hangs limply, and vertically, down my back with only my left hand on the grip as I look on despondently from a pretty standard follow through position.

This, although I am usually balanced on one leg, desperately leaning to which ever way the shot should have gone, laughing like a loon

[justaman5]

I have two sons, ages 19 and 17 now. Their birthdays kinda overlap and a certain time of the year they are only one year apart. When they were 5 and 6, I purchased Junior club heads, shafts and grips from Golfworks, and put them together for them. We went to the driving range and worked on the fundamentals. After a few minutes, both of the were set up with a small bucket of balls. They teed it up, and swung. Then both of them said "AW SxxT". I said boys, you cant say that, you know its not nice and you will get in trouble at school.

They both said almost together, "Dad that is what you say". Needless to say I worked on not using those words after a shot. I and was actually quite embarassed at the time, as a few heads turned at the driving range.

[muzz]

I grab my back, cringe, and if anyone is nearby I say "I hit that too pure".

If I hit it particularly bad, I'll throw some grass in the air post-swing to verify wind direction, then remind the other members of my group that they can't hold my underwear.................

Lol. I tell everyone around me that I could have hit that shot stiff "If I wanted to".

LMFAO....he was classic wasn't he!!

[muzz]

I also like to make completely ridiculous assements of my game and environment. "I don't think I had enough club" or "Lot more wind than I expected." .......after hitting a 75 yard worm burner.

LMAO