What's the worst, or most extreme, thing you have done in response to a bad shot?

OK, let's face it. Golf is hard. It's difficult enough to hit a decent shot inside 100 yards from the middle of the fairway, let alone to play from knee-deep rough, on a downslope, blind and into a howling wind. It's a game which can instantly ignite even the longest of fuses, taking you from utter calm to boiling rage in the time it takes to thin a chip across a green.

Now i'm not asking how to cope in these circumstances. We all know the old tips of counting to 10, taking deep breaths, admiring the scenery, smoking a cigarette. I'm asking what you've done when the red mist decended, in that moment when you have very little or no control over your emotions. Me, i've been guilty of a few golfing no-no's. My 58 degree wedge (the bane of my golfing existence) has been thrown more than once, while my Cobra ZL driver is currently sat in the boot of my car....in 2 bits. I once had a tricky chip shot near the green and had my putter lying next to me as i played what turned out to be a disater shot into the water. As i saw the splash, i turned and banged my wedge into the ground, unfortunately right into the putter shaft. That was an expensive shot. And i what about our old friend the swear word? Yes, i may have muttered, or shouted, a few of those in my time too.

To the high-horse brigade and the golfing saints, please don't hijack the thread with your down-the-nose moralising, telling me and others that our behaviour is disgusting and worthy of 10 years hard labour. This stuff happens all the time, to pros and amateurs alike. In fact, if you were to watch a tour season, or even a single tour event, you'd see most of the behaviour descibed above!

I have the feeling that this thread could become very:

(a) honest
(b) interesting
(c) personal

I punched a fence (beside the tee box) after I hooked a drive OOB, bruising my knuckle and splitting open my hand. It was at the 15th and it wasn't really just that shot that made me do it - it was a culmination of a frustrating round. I can only count to 10 so many times and I don't smoke

Oh, the fence was fine.

Snapped a club over my knee once and threw it in the bin, bizarrely it was returned to me, I had it reshafted with a different shaft and it's been my favourite club for a couple of years now, so a petulant childish and usually regrettable response might well have been the best reaction I have ever made.

I'm usually pretty restrained on the outside though I may be boiling inside.

I did however see a playing partner once slam his pitching wedge against his golf bag - only to discover at the end that he'd smashed his brand new iPhone that was in a bag pocket

Bob_the_Job wrote:I punched a fence (beside the tee box) after I hooked a drive OOB, bruising my knuckle and splitting open my hand. It was at the 15th and it wasn't really just that shot that made me do it - it was a culmination of a frustrating round. I can only count to 10 so many times and I don't smoke

Oh, the fence was fine.

I think the OOB shot is probably the most frustrating one in golf. Luckily here in Dubai there are very few holes with OOB, so i don't experience it that often. When you fail to get out of a bunker, you're basically left with exactly the same shot, but you've just played one more shot. And that's really annoying. But with an OOB, you're playing the same shot, but you've played 2 more. And that's enough to make Mother Teresa turn blue.

The lost ball is another one, especially when you think you've hit a good shot and simply can't find it. The other day my mate hit a wonderful drive down the 9th hole, the fairway of which is blind at around 270 yards. His ball ran over the hill in the middle of the fairway, and we all congratulated him on such a fine shot. We got up there, and his ball was nowhere to be seen. 4 players looking for a few minutes, and nothing. There wa no rough in range, no water. Just an absolute mystery. To be fair, he took it well as he strolled back to the tee. But i'm not sure i would have kep a lid on it like he did!

Smashed a rake - felt bad as it wasn't mine!! Offered a replacement but greenkeeper simply attached a label with an explanation of the damage and my name. Yes I cut it off at the first opportunity and yes I still have it!!!
I usually say "hey ho" and seeth inside for a while!! Then mess the next one up as well!!

super_realist wrote:Snapped a club over my knee once and threw it in the bin, bizarrely it was returned to me, I had it reshafted with a different shaft and it's been my favourite club for a couple of years now, so a petulant childish and usually regrettable response might well have been the best reaction I have ever made.

So maybe i need to get that ZL out of my boot! To be honest, i was going to get it reshafted. It currently has a stiff shaft, but with my swing speed i play better with a regular, so maybe i'll hit it better after the change has been made? It was one of those impulse purchases, i believed the hype and it looked sooooo nice sat there in the shop...

Many, many moons ago I was losing a match I should have won easily, suffering badly from hay fever, I got to the 16th 2 down. Opponent put his second in the water so with a sand wedge in my hand I just needed to hit the green and two putt. Abject push, ball into water, match lost. I hurled the offending club as hard as I could, remembering the old adage that if you're going to chuck a club, chuck it forward so you don't have to walk back to get it. Only trouble being that the water I'd found was also in front of the green. The club bounced once and disappeared into the murky depths, never to be seen again. I even stripped down to my pants and waded in after it, but the bank was too steep.

Never chucked a club since, funnily enough.

Worst I've seen was a pal take a 4 iron to a trolley. Took several minutes and at the end club and trolley were binned - and he then had to carry his bag for 14 very miserable holes!!
Oh and there was the time another pal threw a club so far into the rubbish he couldn't find it - and was somewhat irritated by the sounds of laughter coming from the fairway!!! He subsequently moved to Devon!!

SmithersJones wrote:Many, many moons ago I was losing a match I should have won easily, suffering badly from hay fever, I got to the 16th 2 down. Opponent put his second in the water so with a sand wedge in my hand I just needed to hit the green and two putt. Abject push, ball into water, match lost. I hurled the offending club as hard as I could, remembering the old adage that if you're going to chuck a club, chuck it forward so you don't have to walk back to get it. Only trouble being that the water I'd found was also in front of the green. The club bounced once and disappeared into the murky depths, never to be seen again. I even stripped down to my pants and waded in after it, but the bank was too steep.

Never chucked a club since, funnily enough.

Love it

Oh, and "so with a sand wedge in my hand I just needed to hit the green and two putt". Sounds so simple, doesn't it? If only...

Needless to say I am, at all times, an absolute on the course. However, this doesn't mean to say I don't get a wee bit disappointed with myself on occasions so much so that I decided to carrry out an experiment to see if 'losing it' offered any advantages when it came to playing the next shot. So, unbeknown to my son and, after a particularly poor drive, I chucked it away. Bad idea. I hadn't appreciated that a certain level of skill is required to even be able to execute this 'shot'. I released it too late and instead of throwing it forward ... remembering the adage that it's always a good idea to throw it in the direction you're walking ... it flew high and left coming to rest half way up a tree. I turned around and with mouth agape, beloved son dutifully set off to retrieve it.

I have since carried out a serious study in how to correctly throw one's club and, should I ever feel the need to properly 'lose it' in the future, I have found the Tommy Bolt 'helicopter' method to be the most effective.

Might have broken a club or 3.....

I find all of this behaviour quite appalling.......

I used to be a nightmare for getting in a mood with myself. It always took me about 3 holes to relax and inevitably in that time something worse had happened putting me in more of a rage and so on!

I once threw my putter at my bag using the helicopter method perfected by Gael, only for it to propel itself into the stand leg things and snap one so it was pointing out sideways. I'd only had the bag about a fortnight and it had cost me the best part of £100. I had to walk the rest of the round with this leg pointing out to the side like a beacon informing everyone what a Muppet i was

gaelgowfer wrote:Needless to say I am, at all times, an absolute on the course. However, this doesn't mean to say I don't get a wee bit disappointed with myself on occasions so much so that I decided to carrry out an experiment to see if 'losing it' offered any advantages when it came to playing the next shot. So, unbeknown to my son and, after a particularly poor drive, I chucked it away. Bad idea. I hadn't appreciated that a certain level of skill is required to even be able to execute this 'shot'. I released it too late and instead of throwing it forward ... remembering the adage that it's always a good idea to throw it in the direction you're walking ... it flew high and left coming to rest half way up a tree. I turned around and with mouth agape, beloved son dutifully set off to retrieve it.

I have since carried out a serious study in how to correctly throw one's club and, should I ever feel the need to properly 'lose it' in the future, I have found the Tommy Bolt 'helicopter' method to be the most effective.

Ha ha, that made me laugh out loud in the office! Brilliant!

MustPuttBetter wrote:I find all of this behaviour quite appalling.......

I used to be a nightmare for getting in a mood with myself. It always took me about 3 holes to relax and inevitably in that time something worse had happened putting me in more of a rage and so on!

I once threw my putter at my bag using the helicopter method perfected by Gael, only for it to propel itself into the stand leg things and snap one so it was pointing out sideways. I'd only had the bag about a fortnight and it had cost me the best part of £100. I had to walk the rest of the round with this leg pointing out to the side like a beacon informing everyone what a Muppet i was

Lol, this thread just gets funnier!

I work 60+ hours a week in front of 7 computer screens so far from golf annoying me, I'm like a labrador just happy to be outdoors!

A mate of mine threw a funny fit though - threw his brand new Scotty Cameron at his bag, missed it bounced off the toe on the hard summer ground, took another big bounce and went straight in a lake.

Have also seen someone throw their whole set of clubs in a lake on the 18th, wallet/phone/keys and all. Very funny watching him wade in to get them out but he left the rest of his kit!

sharrison01 wrote:Have also seen someone throw their whole set of clubs in a lake on the 18th, wallet/phone/keys and all. Very funny watching him wade in to get them out but he left the rest of his kit!

Have you actually seen that? I always thought it was one of those urban legend things or something that happened to a "friend of a friend"

All these "my mate" stories are very suspicious! It's a bit like "my mate has this strange rash around his ****, any advice?".

Come on guys, confess; it was you really!

Davie wrote:

sharrison01 wrote:Have also seen someone throw their whole set of clubs in a lake on the 18th, wallet/phone/keys and all. Very funny watching him wade in to get them out but he left the rest of his kit!

Have you actually seen that? I always thought it was one of those urban legend things or something that happened to a "friend of a friend"

Actually saw it. Good golfer as well, 1-2 handicapper. He was using his second set which was on old set of bladed irons and steel woods. The clubhouse overlooking the 18th has a massive terrace overlooking it as well so there was a good crowd to laugh at him...

I had a friend of a friend get so irritated after finding a water hazard he threw his club indiscriminately and it ended up in the lake his ball just went into.

It would have been priceless to see it -- his face was apparantly a picture!

I hope your mate gets better soon Eldest

I would of course own up to any hissy fits thrown on the course. I just think that there's more to playing golf than hitting a golf shot - the banter, the scenery, being out of the office for a few hours etc. I also don't understand it when people get annoyed if they hit a bad shot - they will happen all the time! It's when you hit a good shot that doesn't turn out right that is more annoying but then you can't control everything...

MustPuttBetter wrote:I hope your mate gets better soon Eldest

Thanks. He's got some cream which seems to be working.

theeldestboy wrote:

MustPuttBetter wrote:I hope your mate gets better soon Eldest

Thanks. He's got some cream which seems to be working.

Or so he tells me.

sharrison01 wrote:I would of course own up to any hissy fits thrown on the course. I just think that there's more to playing golf than hitting a golf shot - the banter, the scenery, being out of the office for a few hours etc. I also don't understand it when people get annoyed if they hit a bad shot - they will happen all the time! It's when you hit a good shot that doesn't turn out right that is more annoying but then you can't control everything...

I guess the hissy fits wouldn't look so out of place if they were balanced with equally extreme celebrations after good shots. I mean, when did you last see someone srpinting up the fairway, high-fiving everyone with their shirt pulled over their head? This should be actively encouraged.

theeldestboy wrote:Or so he tells me.

Ha ha, that cream works wonders

Apparently

This will sound terrible but what the hell. When I was new enough to golf and a lot younger but old enough to know better I was playing as in a work society outing in a new job I had started in. I was going along well 18 points on the front 9. On a tricky but short uphill Par 3, I stitched an 8 Iron to about 8 Feet. It was a shared tee box so beaming with smugness I headed off to the green with just my putter in hand. Then I hit my Birdie put, which was downhill so hard it flew off the green and rolled into a bunker. I had no wedge with me, so I had to march back to the tee to get one. This walk of shame only added fuel to the flames and I was ready to explode by the time I had to hit my bunker shot which I duly duffed. That’s when I really lost it and just started whacking and whacking, splashing sand everywhere, until the ball eventually came out. I had sand in my hair, ears, nose, eyes ... everywhere. The lads I was playing (one of who I subsequently found out was a senior manager) with were in a stunned silence and said nothing to me for the rest of the round. I finished with 20 Points and was never invited back! I didn’t pick up a club for about 6 months after too.

Lesson learned: Never mix work and leisure!!!!

detones wrote:This will sound terrible but what the hell. When I was new enough to golf and a lot younger but old enough to know better I was playing as in a work society outing in a new job I had started in. I was going along well 18 points on the front 9. On a tricky but short uphill Par 3, I stitched an 8 Iron to about 8 Feet. It was a shared tee box so beaming with smugness I headed off to the green with just my putter in hand. Then I hit my Birdie put, which was downhill so hard it flew off the green and rolled into a bunker. I had no wedge with me, so I had to march back to the tee to get one. This walk of shame only added fuel to the flames and I was ready to explode by the time I had to hit my bunker shot which I duly duffed. That’s when I really lost it and just started whacking and whacking, splashing sand everywhere, until the ball eventually came out. I had sand in my hair, ears, nose, eyes ... everywhere. The lads I was playing (one of who I subsequently found out was a senior manager) with were in a stunned silence and said nothing to me for the rest of the round. I finished with 20 Points and was never invited back! I didn’t pick up a club for about 6 months after too.

Ha ha, that's a classic golfing image. The amateur, red with rage, furiously hacking at he sand while the ball goes nowhere.

Been there mate, and i sympathise!

I once hit a poor shot, with a 7/8 I believe, and without looking went to thump the ground behind me in frustration. While I had been watching the ball fly towards a nasty bunker however my playing partner had wandered up behind me on the way to his ball. Sadly for him my iron made contact with his shin and not the ground as I had intended. Now my initial reaction was to run as I was so sure he would deck me for it. After about 50 yards I turned to see how close he was but he was lying on the deck holding his shin and writhing in pain.

I then tentatively approached him to see if he was ok, he wasn’t and could hardly walk. We were on 17 so I just helped him hobble to the clubhouse.

Decapitated an umbrella which I had stuck in the ground behind me..... everyone fell about laughing. Lost the tournament by one shot.

I tend to just laugh now, but I think that's old age

McLaren wrote:I once hit a poor shot, with a 7/8 I believe, and without looking went to thump the ground behind me in frustration. While I had been watching the ball fly towards a nasty bunker however my playing partner had wandered up behind me on the way to his ball. Sadly for him my iron made contact with his shin and not the ground as I had intended. Now my initial reaction was to run as I was so sure he would deck me for it. After about 50 yards I turned to see how close he was but he was lying on the deck holding his shin and writhing in pain.

I then tentatively approached him to see if he was ok, he wasn’t and could hardly walk. We were on 17 so I just helped him hobble to the clubhouse.

That's priceless.

As I junior, I played with a kid that had the most fluid club throw I've ever seen. He'd hit a shot, follow through, wind back up and let the club go on a second swing. You can't teach that!

I've improved quite a lot, when i first started, i smacked the stand on my back with a club, bending the stand... also after duffing a chip and run with a 7i i tossed it back towards my bag in disgust, which bent it...
I have been known to attack a tee with a club followed by a sheepish repair job...I threw my ball into the bushes after compiling 10 in the last medal i played, considering i'd already lost one on that hole that was rather foolish.

Now i'm much more contolled generally... even happy go lucky on the golf course and though the requirement to vent does come over me from time to time its normally just a few quite words to myself explaining to myself what a useless, gutless Kumquat I am...

Oh and the other thing i do on occasion when i've hit a bad one is drop my club behind me on the follow through, which is normally caught as it drops... don't know why.. i probably look like a dick... i think it disarms the urge to bury the club into the pristine tee...

A bit boring me I'm afraid. I have been known to utter the odd, loud (I'm ashamed to say) nasty four-letter word and I have made some significant dents in the bark of various trees with the toe end of an iron or two.

The best I can come up with is one day at my old club (Long Ashton, nr. Bristol) I'd just three-stabbed the 10th from nowhere (longish par 4) for a bogey after two great shots into the green. In a moment of much frustration, I dropped the ball and half-volleyed it with my putter in the vague direction of my bag. What a strike.....unfortunately. I've hit a lot worse long irons. The ball sailed over the bag and on......into the car park where I heard a loud bang as it smacked into some unfortunate's car. Went and had a look (honest) but could find neither the ball or identify the car it must have hit. Sheepishly grabbed my gear and made a quick getaway to the 11th tee....

Half volleying the ball with the putter - i used to do that a lot Navy!
Until i realised my putter head was getting wobbly and i got a new one as an Xmas present. Thought i'd best stop it!

It's quite a skill though and if you miss has the risk of making you even more angry!!

I put about 19 deg of loft on an old putter by doing just that, had only played 5 holes too.
Should have sold it to Mac as a chipper.

Have to say I'm not guilty of having a hissy fit (apart from the odd club slam when I was a kid), don't see the point it's only a game.

Saw a nice one on Saturday though. I was stood about 120 yards from our 14th green, Captains Day so big comp, player in front I could see was blowing up, he missed a short putt then obviously decided that was that for his score - right next to the hole he went to smash his ball away in anger.............only he missed and took a massive divot out of the green, about 6 inches from the hole!

The (half) volley with the putter is about as bad as I get these days. Always try to hit the next tee, most often miss entirely. Sod's law, the ones I contact with are usually the ones I aim in the wrong direction!

Diggers wrote:Might have broken a club or 3.....

what round was that diggers?

Does your gap wedge still have a 'gap' between the grip and the club head or have you invested in a new shaft yet?

MustPuttBetter wrote:Half volleying the ball with the putter - i used to do that a lot Navy!
Until i realised my putter head was getting wobbly and i got a new one as an Xmas present. Thought i'd best stop it!

It's quite a skill though and if you miss has the risk of making you even more angry!!

Yeah. It has that effect if you miss it, especially as you realise you just made yourself look a bit of a plank in addition to being angry!

I was playing with 3 mates at Woodbury down in Devon about 5 years ago. Course was absolutely saturated. I'd dug an old sand wedge out the garage and thought I'd give it a go. It was from a set but I'd always used different wedges. Got to one hole where I had a short pitch onto the green but I hit it a bit fat and with a splodge, the ball went about a yard. Next shot, exactly the same thing again. Third attempt, conscious effort not to hit it fat....thinned it right through the green.
In a fit of rage, I hurled the wedge into some thick bushes and trees, never wanting to see it again. Felt a whole lot better after that.

About 3 holes later, one of the guys quietly handed it back to me. Thanking him, I then turned and hurled it into the nearest bushes once again. He didn't retrieve it a second time.

Having had a horrific last 3 months resulting in last weeks complete break there are several incidents where frustration boiled over. The worst though was doing a Stenson (slamming my wedge into the ground and snapping it in 2) after chunking out a fairway bunker into a pond. Actually I say a Stenson but I did it the day before him so technically he did a "me"...and I wasnt stupid enough to finger the ragged edge.

I also had a moment on our Okehampton trip in June during the matchplay day. We had just gone from 3 up to 1 up on 11 & 12. partner was all over the place & not in it. Opponents were gaining momentum but spawning it. Screamed a drive down 13, wedged to 3 feet. 1 of the other pair oob'd the other daisy cut his drive, topped his 2nd, chunked his 3rd but it was downhill so he got on and then bruised the back of the cup with a 10 footer for 4 net 3. I missed the 3 footer for a half. The resultant purple faced FAAAKKK!!! Was apparently heard 6 fairways away.

Embarrassing when I look back on both those incidents, we're supposed to be enjoying ourselves out there!!

Suffice to say, i now know that anger management, way
more than anything else is what I need to work on to move me out of my slump.

Oh, reading these stories has made me giggle my way through the day. To be honest, after my initial confessions, i've probably been guilty of a lot more discretions that my brain first remembered!

JAS, the last FFFAAAAAKKKKKKK! i hollored would have been heard about 6 miles away, let alone 6 fairways!

theeldestboy wrote:
The lost ball is another one, especially when you think you've hit a good shot and simply can't find it. The other day my mate hit a wonderful drive down the 9th hole, the fairway of which is blind at around 270 yards. His ball ran over the hill in the middle of the fairway, and we all congratulated him on such a fine shot. We got up there, and his ball was nowhere to be seen. 4 players looking for a few minutes, and nothing. There wa no rough in range, no water. Just an absolute mystery. To be fair, he took it well as he strolled back to the tee. But i'm not sure i would have kep a lid on it like he did!

That happened to me a few weeks back playing the 3rd hole on the West Course at La Manga. A great drive with a slight draw hugging the right-hand side of the fairway before it would open up into the dog-leg. Or so I thought. I got up there, and thought "What the flip is that baranca doing this close?". I never found the ball, although, in reality, my failure was down to not having played the course before.

Although I'm no stranger to the red mist I am gradually becoming a more mellow player which is manifesting itself in better rounds and more consistent shots. I try not to care about a bad shot or a missed putt as staying calm is more likely to result in the next shot being better.

We're incredibly lucky to be able to play the game, those that can play it well, even more so. There are people through many circumstances unable to play the game or who have far bigger problems to deal with so I try to keep that in mind if I'm on the verge of a potentially embarassing outburst.
The worst that can happen is that you get beaten or you go up 0.1. If that's all you have to worry about then life must be good and therefore we shouldn't get too upset. Easier said than done, but perspective is worth bearing in mind.

Another La Manga anecdote . . .

I was playing the 7th (dog-leg right) on the North Course and was in the bunker in front of the green in 2. I played out, it looked like it was going to go in but ended up 2 foot past. It seemed closer from the bunker so I asked my mate if that was a gimme. "No", he said which surprised me but when I got there he was right, I wouldn't have give it either.

My turn to putt, not concentrating (talking whilst I'm putting) and I miss it. peed off with myself, I didn't take enough time considering the putt back and missed that one, too. In for a 6, after three-putting from no where.

As we're walking to the 170ish yard Par 3 8th tee, I say to my mate,"Excuse me a second I just have to do something", before I proceeded to shout "Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, you Flip useless idiot Kumquat". There was no-one else on the course.

I told him I was going to stiff this next tee-shot. I just knew I was going to stiff it and I did. As pure a strike as you could get. It's the not first time I've played a great shot after being angry with myself, either.

I suggested that maybe I need to get myself angry to consistently play well but it didn't work thereafter. Maybe you are only allowed one 'angry' top stroke a round.

If there's one thing that makes me see it is the helpful golfing partner who (when asked after you've carved one into the cabbage) says rather helpfully yeah - got that one you'll find that NO PROBLEM! No need to hit a provo! Only to find yourself wending your weary way back to the tee in your rapidly increasingly cr@ppy medal round with the group behind you stood back on the tee nodding sagely and muttering - he should have taken a provisional. Funniest (and most embarrassing incident) was at the 18th (long-ish par 3 over a pond) at Puckrup Hall when my mate skulled his first 2 irons into the awaiting pond, lobbed his third into the pond and then hit his fourth oob into the clubhouse carpark practically behind hotel. He then got on his knees and proceeded (in full view of the members behind the green and the approaching senior ladies 4-ball) to smash his three iron in Cleese-esque fashion into the ground shouting YOU F****** C*** at the top of his voice while he dug a hole big enough on the tee to bury a small dog. Needless to say we skipped the after round drinkie-poos on that occasion

Ever wondered why I call myself 4putt?.
I was playing in a particularly slow 4 ball, despite this I had a really good card going. Came to the 17th, a long par 4 with second shot over water. Left my self about a 20 foot downhill putt. Was just about the take my putt when there's a loud shout of "fore" from down the fairway. No shot was played it was just to tell us to hurry up. The shout distracted me enough to put the first putt 10 feet past the hole. 2 putts later the ball still wasn't in the hole. In my frustration I went to smash the ball off the green with my putter, only to miss the ball and leave a deep 6" divot right next to the hole. I can still remember the gasp from the caddies.
It took months for the divot to repair and some bright spark never fails to remind me of my moment of madness when we play that hole.