Golf_Digest_USA_-_May_2019

Play Your Best Gimme One Thing

T

here is a statistic tracked on

the PGA Tour known as bounce

back. It’s the percentage of time a

player who makes bogey or worse on a

hole follows it with a birdie or better on

the next. Cool stat, right? In 2018, the best

at bouncing back was Dustin Johnson. He

did it nearly 30 percent of the time.

Unfortunately, amateur golfers are

more apt to have the opposite occur. How

many times have you made a birdie on a

hole and then carded a double bogey,

a 7 or even a snowman on the next? I’ve

got a name for this phenomenon, but I’d

rather not repeat it here. Let’s just call it

the PBFU. If you tend to follow up excel-

lent play with a blow-up hole (or holes!),

you might think it’s just a coincidence or

that you’re simply unlucky. But I think it

typically happens for one of two reasons.

For some golfers, a birdie alters their

personality. They get cocky and try to

play the next hole like they’ve suddenly

developed an elevated skill set. They

haven’t hit a draw off the tee in three

years, but now they’re aiming like the

water on the right isn’t a concern. The

pin is tucked behind the deepest bunker

in the state, but they’re taking dead aim.

Other golfers freeze up. A birdie

might be such a rare prize that they want

to protect it. Their play becomes ultra-

cautious. They steer shots, which leads

to big misses. They try to lag their putts,

but the ball comes up way short. The

conservative mind-set also infects bet-

ter players, especially if the birdie puts

them in position to post a good score if

only they can “par their way in” or avoid

any doubles.

Putting a circle on the scorecard is an

achievement any golfer should be proud

of, but you have to remember the law of

averages if you want to avoid making a

mess on the next hole. Remember that

a birdie typically represents the top end

of your potential. You know those invest-

ment-bank commercials with the dis-

claimer that past performance does not

guarantee future results? Remember that

after you make a birdie. The shot you’re

about to hit, and the score you’re about

to post, are most likely to be average.

That’s not an insult. It’s just math. And if

you plan for that, you won’t fall victim to

playing too cocky or too conservatively.

Ask yourself, How would I play this hole

if I were coming off a run of several holes

where I made my usual scores? Reframing

your perspective in this manner is going

to let you sidestep the dreaded PBFU.

—with ron kaspriske

corey lundberg is a Golf Digest

Best Young Teacher. He’s based at Altus

Performance in Dallas.

Be Cool

Avoid the post-birdie dumpster fire

by corey lundberg

hulton archive/getty images