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Is it possible to have one or more "bogey holes" on a course; you know, the one that you know will wreck your scorecard everytime.  I have one on every course, and on one course (Pype Hayes) it's the par 3 16th (all 122 yards of it) AND the par 4 17th (454 yards).  No matter how well or badly I'm playing, my playing partners always mutter "it's OK, we'll get some shots off him when we get to the 16th".  Somehow it makes it worse that not only are these holes consecutive, but I only have one hole to recover it!

Is it psycological, or is it just that type of hole doesn't suit my game?  Am I on my own here? 

psychological - 100%

Look at it this way - a bogey hole to most people is a hole that no matter what they do or how they play is always a poor hole. If you tell yourself this your effectivly saying that there is some supernatural power or something in force on a particular hole.

Now, if you go to this hole and convince yourself that no matter what you do you will have a bad hole, having a good one is impossible.

It's the same as teeing off beside water and occupying your brain with 'must not go in water. must not go in water, must not go in water' - every time you will put it in the water becasue the brain is being fed images of water.

Your brain controls the club - it holds the instructions. Fill it with shit like bogey holes and it will react to satisfy the thought.

J P, I agree 100%.

Next time you play the holes, take a different route. Just like someone said above, on the par 4,  take a club that you are comfortable with and you  feel like you can hit well. For me, this would be my 3 wood as i can play this from anywhere, tee, deck and it goes the same distance, if not further, than my driver - i have considered taking my driver out .. 

Anyway, thats for another topic! 

Here is a test - every time you go to sleep between now and the next time you play this hole, convince yourself that it's the opposite of a bogey hole - it is infact the best hole for you on the course. The easiest par on the course, and one that you quite often birdie.

Do that, really convince yourself and I guarantee you'll play it better.

A few people on here knock the mental side of golf - but what they fail to understand is that everything is mental. The way we see the world is mental - anyone that says golf isn't a mental game, doesn't grasp physics and biology.

Holes 1-17 are my bogie holes.

Oh, and the 18th can sometimes trip me up too!

On my Home course is hole 5 & 14. Just don't seem to be able to make better then 5 there each time. So thats 2 dropped shots a round.

On my other course, Belton Woods its probably the 6th & 11th. Two different holes entirely but they always seem to catch me out and I tend to make double or worse on those two holes.

i think its a bit of both. psychological at first.then its the clubs.  it used to happen to me on the 11th hole @ heaton park golf club where you after go over the trees for the first time . (theres 4 holes at heaton park that you after go over trees but the other 3 are straight forward ) but the 11th is also a call over hole when you get on the green you mark your ball then call the next group over . so there extra pressure on, but  i changed my clubs a few times  and hey presto  it works for me .now i don't worry about that hole anymore. now its just the other 17 to work out

Thank god it's not just me!!!  I know it's a mental thing but it makes no difference.  I think we all have them but some of us are too proud to admit it. 

On the par 3 I mentioned there are two different pin positions about 30 yards apart but the same distance from the green.  From the alternative tee, I have no problems. 

I think some holes can be bogey holes based on shape and length and location of hazards, but that's surely the fun of golf. The course management area is one which seperates really good golfers from fairly good ones. Planning a different route in, diff clubs etc is what it's all about, just like learning or playing a new course.

On the MENTAL side, being able to switch off then refocus helps too rather than thinking too much in between holes and shots. 

I use my glove as my key, take it off to relax then reapply it to get back in the mind set to play.

Chris changing clubs is an idea that has worked for me and was sparked off by another thread on this site.  When I changed my membership to a different course all 4 of the par 3s became bogey holes and my scores jumped up. 

However I have cured it by over clubbing on the two short holes and using a three quarter swing.  On the long holes I lay up treating them as short par 4s.  I started averaging 21 shots for 4 holes in my first ten rounds but have got it down to a more managable 16 over the last ten. 

I agree with all that has been said about mental attitude.

Having said that, I would understand it if you had some greens you couldn't reach in regulation. 

I only drive it 210 yards so I really struggle on par fours over 400 yards.

Still, nothing a little swing improvement won't cure.

I know what you mean Chris. I think its a case of telling yourself before you even tee off that your gonna have a bad hole, makes you have a bad hole.

I have exactly tte same at Forest Hills where theres a long par 5 and the second shot is a fairway wood over a small brook. Every time i go in it. If I try to lay up then I go in it. It draws me in. A friend told me to be positive and approach the hole differently and do you know what... didnt change a bloody thing... still in the brook.