The psychology of scoring

Today felt like a struggle on the course. On days like these, we tell ourselves to keep going and not give up, but drawing a line under the previous hole can be a challenge for almost every golfer. After all, golfers have an incredible ability to turn one bad swing into a full-scale investigation of their technique, equipment, and life choices.

When attending prize givings on a Sunday evening at the clubs where I've been fortunate enough to teach, I would often hear tales from players about how brilliant their front nine had been (22 points, for example), only for disaster to strike on the back nine. Equally common was the opposite story: a dreadful front nine followed by a terrific recovery coming home.

Golfers love telling these stories. In fact, if you listen carefully, you would think that most competitions are won on the front nine and lost on the back nine—often by the very same person.

This really highlights the power of drawing a psychological line under what has just happened and starting again. The simple act of turning the scorecard over can be surprisingly liberating. Suddenly, all those empty squares on the new side of the card offer fresh hope that you can turn things around or, if you're playing well, provide nine new opportunities to start protecting a score that doesn't actually need protecting.

But what if we didn't have to wait until the 10th tee for this fresh start?

Many years ago, I attended a PGA seminar with leading mental coach Karl Morris. Karl spoke about this exact scenario and how it affects so many golfers. He offered an alternative way of thinking about scoring that he calls "Super 6s". Since that day, it has become one of the ways I approach competition golf.

The concept is simple. Instead of dividing your round into two blocks of nine holes, divide it into six blocks of three holes. Each three-hole block becomes its own game.

To win the game, you need to score under par for those three holes (more than six Stableford points). Score exactly six points and the game is a draw. Score fewer than six points and you lose. It doesn't matter whether you're one under or three under, one over or three over—you simply win, lose, or draw that three-hole game. Then you move on to the next one. Over 18 holes, you repeat the process six times, hence the name "Super 6s".

What I particularly like about this approach is that it stops one bad hole from moving into your head rent-free for the next two hours. A double bogey on the first hole of a three-hole game is annoying, but it isn't the end of the world. You still have two holes left to salvage a result. Golf suddenly feels a little less like a marathon and a little more like a series of manageable challenges.

My scorecard today was a perfect example of why this approach can be so helpful. I managed to win more of my Super 6 games than I lost, yet still finished the round at +2. On another day, that score could easily have drifted further in the wrong direction. By focusing on the next three-hole game rather than the mistakes I'd already made, I was able to regain my focus, reduce my frustration, and keep moving forward.

Golf has a remarkable ability to convince us that one bad hole has ruined an entire round. The reality is that most golfers are only ever three holes away from feeling optimistic again.

Either way, Super 6s provides a simple reminder that every few holes we have an opportunity to start again.

Karl Morris is Europe's leading golf psychologist and hosts the excellent "Mind Caddie" podcast, which I would highly recommend to any golfer interested in improving the mental side of their game.