Are you having difficulty finishing a round of golf with a score you’re happy about? I’ll just call it “closing round blues.” And it’s an all-too-common lament. You play great golf on the first nine holes but you tend to lose it on the back nine – especially on the last four holes.
Meltdowns in the final rounds and final holes have become legendary among tour pros. In 1999, Frenchman Jean Van de Velde had a three shot lead standing on the tee on the 72nd and final hole of the Open Championship at Carnoustie in Scotland. As meltdowns go, this was epic: Van de Velde made a triple bogey and then lost in a playoff. As Yogi Berra once said, “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over!”
In our own games, we can find it challenging and downright bothersome to overcome nerves and keep our head while trying to finish out a round of golf. Stories are plentiful from golfers who are trying to break 100, or 90, or 80 for the first time, only to falter on the last few holes. In my humble opinion, those breakdowns are all set up by the player focusing on his score instead of paying full attention to the process of his play, trusting that the results will follow confident swings, shots and putts. As I look back, some of my best golf rounds have been when I didn’t know what I shot until the round was over.
Late-round fatigue can also be an energy-sapping and score-ruining problem. Golfers need to hydrate and utilize energy snacks early and in the middle of rounds. Playing golf for over four hours on warm (or even mild) days is usually more tiring the older we get, so we have to be disciplined in keeping our stamina up, both physically and mentally.
On most golf courses the second nine holes is harder than the first nine. Golf course designers like to make the last few holes especially difficult because tournaments and matches often come down to the final few holes to decide the winner. That was the case at the Donald Ross designed Pinehurst No. 2 several weeks ago. For that reason players’ coaches usually recommend a “conservative target – aggressive swing” approach for the closing holes. Even Scottie Scheffler pays attention to that strategy.
If you think just “trying harder” is the answer to closing out your round, think again. Golf is not like football or wrestling, where the harder you try, the better you may get. You may be forgetting about calming your nerves, your pre-shot routine and reassured breathing, before you swing the club.
You know what kind of shots you are expected to hit on the three or four holes to finish a round. A fool-proof way to develop the confidence you need to play the final few holes well is to identify the shots you will need for those particular holes, and practice those very shots on the practice range. But there’s the old saying: “Every time someone comes up with a fool-proof solution, along comes a more talented fool.”
Finally, try eliminating the self-imposed pressure you put on yourself by demanding that you absolutely must achieve the results you’re expecting on your round of golf. It would be best if your first goal is to “do your best,” while the rest is mostly beyond your control. Sometimes we have to put golf, which is our fun recreation, in its proper perspective.
