It’s only natural to feel disheartened after a bad round, especially if it’s one you’ve been looking forward to. It’s hard work to enjoy the days when nothing is going your way, and it’s why, when it’s all over, so many golfers can’t wait to stick their clubs in the trunk and make a run from the course.
But is that the best way of doing it? Should you actually spend a few minutes after your round on the range, trying to figure things out?
We saw that at the Open Championship on Saturday, when Jordan Spieth missed a short putt to end his third round then literally ran to the putting green to figure it out, and it was a topic broached by Bryson DeChambeau’s coach Chris Como on GOLF Top 100 Teacher Claude Harmon’s most recent episode of his GOLF.com podcast “Off Course”, which you can download on iTunes right here.
Como explained that it’s all about finding your own process. For Bryson, that means hitting the range after things on the course don’t go well, rather than prepping too hard before the round. Before the round, all he’s trying to do is warm up.
“Part of his process is that he’s not messing with his golf swing before the round. He’s just kind of into his warmup, zoned out, just doing this little self-calibration,” he says. “After the round, If things weren’t quite right, he will stay on the range until he feels like it’s somewhat situated, so he can go to bed and feel at ease to start the next day over.”
Being a professional golfer, Bryson’s post-round sessions can last for hours, but recreational golfers don’t need to take it to that extreme. It’s about finding something that works for you. Spending 10 minutes hitting wedges on the range after your bad round may not sound like much, but it can leave what would ordinarily be a disappointing day ending on a positive note, and build confidence for next time.
“It’s just about trying to find something you can go play with the next day,” he says.
Listen to the full episode on Spotify below.
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