How To Overcome a Blow-Up Hole

Blow up holes happen to everyone. It is an experience no one wants and one that we know all too well. A player is left feeling naked and exposed as all confidence vanishes in an instant. When I’m in the midst of a blow-up hole all I want to do is leave. Get as far away from the course as I can. As I have found, it is exactly this resistant feeling that keeps the blow-up hole (and bogey train for that matter) rolling forward and gaining momentum. Let’s unpack how to overcome a blow-up hole.

Mentality

The key to overcoming blow-up holes is all mental. It lies in being easy on yourself. Acknowledge that you may have thrown a poor shot or even a series of poor shots. No biggie! This does not need to define your round and throw it into a tailspin. We must find a way to get mental distance between our play and our emotional reactions. It is easy to be critical of yourself and try to tweak mechanics after a blow-up hole. But first, tweak your mindset.

Start with allowing yourself to throw bad shots. Yes, it is ok to throw bad shots. EVERYONE does it! Take some alone time after a bad shot to simply breathe and move on. The potential negative spiraling energy from a bad shot is what can lead to a blow-up hole or possibly a blow-up round. I experienced this stranglehold many times in my amateur career. One single poor shot could derail my round into a downward spiral. These rounds typically had an “Ohh No” moment followed by hyper energy that I could not shake. This led to a mindset of trying not to mess up too badly instead of playing confidently. This mindset will always result in shaky play.

This is often how we climb aboard the bogey train.

The Bogey Train

Choo Choo all aboard!! Actually, everyone deboard, please. No one wants to take a ride on the bogey train. The conductor is not having much fun and feels out of control. The bad breaks and missed fairways and missed putts and bogeys are adding up. How did it get to this point? Often the train started rolling with one poor shot followed by an emotional reaction. This gathered steam and became stronger and led to a full bore train rolling down the tracks. The bogey train is a state of mind. Give yourself a break and deboard that train. But how?

Before the bogey train can gather steam, you can stop its momentum after one single blow-up hole. One of the best antidotes is using a mantra. This is simply a word or phrase that we repeat in the mind. My go-to is “I can.” This phrase is short and sweet and to the point. It allows no space for negativity and has a centering quality to its repetition. In higher stress rounds I will repeat this throughout an entire round. However, if I stray from a mantra and find myself having a blow-up hole I know where to start, “I can.” This allows for a gap between how the round is going and my emotional involvement in it. This crack in the door allows for a calming of the nerves and the possibility of getting back on track.

Feel free to experiment with mantras that speak to you. Just be sure to keep it short and simple and introduce it in practice rounds. This way, when the going gets tough in a competitive round, it can surface of its own accord and help guide you through difficulties. When using a mantra for an entire round be sure to introduce the phrase during warm-ups. This tends to lead to a comfort zone where the mantra almost repeats itself on autopilot. I highly recommend trying this in practice as it can lead to a shedding of pressure before and throughout your round.

After a blow-up hole, it is imperative to turn your attention away from what happened. Living in the past and diagnosing the blow-up hole will only lead to more problems. It is imperative that you move on and focus on your next shot. Simple things you can do to shake the anxious energy are jumping jacks, lunges, a short walk on your own, burpees, etc. You get the idea. Do something to get that energy moving and pass it through. Then come back to focusing on your breath or mantra and throw that next shot.

You vs. Your Round

This final piece of information may just be the most useful. It is a lens through which you can view your round. This mindset allows you to have space between your play and your emotional reactions. What is the mindset, you ask?

“Don’t live the story of your round.” Professional disc golfer Nate Perkins gave these instructions in a demonstration on how to overcome a blow-up hole. He reinforces this mindset is a huge difference between amateur and professional players. Typically amateur players are on a rollercoaster ride throughout their rounds living and dying by each shot. Perkins says the best pros are able to put distance between themselves and their rounds.

Blow up holes leading to a bogey train happen all too frequently. They are never enjoyable and take mental energy to fuel the ride. Make sure you take the fuel away and redirect your intention. Use a mantra if you find it helpful or do some quick physical activity to get the blow-up hole energy flowing out of you. Be easy on yourself and you’ll soon be on board the birdie train!