Managing the Up and Downs of my golf swing

[drscott266]

Need help with something that seems to be consistent for me, which is my game seems to be either on or off. I'm a 6 handicap who can literally step up to the first tee and feel the same every time, but shoot 72 or 82 depending on what game shows up. This goes for my home course or travel, which is starting to really frustrate me since I can't pinpoint the issue. At this point I feel like I am more accomplished than I have ever been, in terms of having been able to pull off different shots and post good scores... some days I feel like i can't even make contact with the clubface. I guess if I had to put it in a simple question, what do people do when a round starts off poorly and you realize you don't have your best stuff? I don't have much time to practice, but I play weekly so I honestly don't think its rep's that are the issue. I am starting to think its my alignment being off and trickling down to making poor full swings. I do spend time putting and chipping when possible, and hit a few range balls if time permits... generally if I get out of the house its to play. I am starting to get really down on myself since I know what my game can do, and to literally flub tee shots some days just baffles me. I know this is tough to answer, but I'm just looking for general thoughts from folks as I know I can't be alone.

[wagolfer7]

To get consistency it takes consistency. You admit that your practice is limited and reps on the golf course is not the same as reps for practice.

But your in the same boat as pretty much everyone. Shoot your best round today and shoot 10 worse the next day.

A few things that helped me find a little more consistency. May not work for everyone, but a few things I try to do.

 

1) Swing Every Day - This does not mean going to the range. Even if all you can do is swing in your back yard. Try to carve out 10 minutes a day to swing. You don't need a net or even hit a ball. Just focus, take your time and try to swing the club. I highly recommend at least getting a mat, that way you can swing 100% and not worry about the wife yelling at you about the divots. Mix in some short game to help not get bored. Swings Mon / Wed / Fri / Sun - Short game / Tue / Thurs / Sat. Whatever you decide. But 10 minutes a day really helps with muscle memory and keeping swing thoughts fresh in your mind.

 

2) Start Recognizing Your Bad Tendencies - try to find your miss on the 82 days as opposed to the 72. Were they all left? Was contact poor? Short game? All of it? Start honing in on what causes your misses. We all have a bad habit or tendency that we can easily fall back into. Taking your eye off the ball, not getting your weight transferred, faster tempo, alignment, etc. Recognizing what your bad habits are, will help turn the round around much quicker. I think a lot of golfers play well when they have 1 maybe 2 swing thoughts they are focusing on. But what happens when those swing thoughts quick working? This is where knowing what your natural bad habits are help a lot. Because most likely you fell back into something along those lines.

 

3) Don't have expectations - This one is just mentality. Golf is a cool game because you just don't know what's going to happen. If you start off with 3 bogeys on the first 3 holes, don't say "well here we go again". And start envisioning an 82. You can still rattle off 3-4 birdies and get the round back under control. As they always say "one shot at a time". Focus on the next swing and next shot. Don't sink into that "here comes that 82 round again" mentality.

 

4) Understand your swing - I believe to really find consistency you need a sound swing. That means studying the swing whether through a coach, attending a clinic, watching videos, coming to this forum, etc. Learn how to make good swings. As we were told as kids, "practice makes permanent". Just because you are spending time on golf, doesn't necessarily mean you'll get better. You'll just get better at what you are doing. If what you are doing is wrong, you are not getting to get the results you are expecting. I watch a lot of guys grind at the range and they'll hit 100 balls in 15 minutes. In my opinion, that's just swinging the club and not really helping anything. If you go to practice, truly practice. Have something you are trying to work on, focus on it, and really try to implement those into your swing. And realize that things like posture and alignment take practice. It's not just having a good method (although that helps a ton), you still need reps on your process and what good alignment / posture looks and feels like. This is another thing you can work on as well without hitting a ball or going to the course.

 

Anyway just a few ideas. Good luck mate. And don't get too frustrated. The majority of us are going through the same stuff.

[Max21]

> @wagolfer7 said:

> To get consistency it takes consistency. You admit that your practice is limited and reps on the golf course is not the same as reps for practice.

> But your in the same boat as pretty much everyone. Shoot your best round today and shoot 10 worse the next day.

> A few things that helped me find a little more consistency. May not work for everyone, but a few things I try to do.

>

> 1) Swing Every Day - This does not mean going to the range. Even if all you can do is swing in your back yard. Try to carve out 10 minutes a day to swing. You don't need a net or even hit a ball. Just focus, take your time and try to swing the club. I highly recommend at least getting a mat, that way you can swing 100% and not worry about the wife yelling at you about the divots. Mix in some short game to help not get bored. Swings Mon / Wed / Fri / Sun - Short game / Tue / Thurs / Sat. Whatever you decide. But 10 minutes a day really helps with muscle memory and keeping swing thoughts fresh in your mind.

>

> 2) Start Recognizing Your Bad Tendencies - try to find your miss on the 82 days as opposed to the 72. Were they all left? Was contact poor? Short game? All of it? Start honing in on what causes your misses. We all have a bad habit or tendency that we can easily fall back into. Taking your eye off the ball, not getting your weight transferred, faster tempo, alignment, etc. Recognizing what your bad habits are, will help turn the round around much quicker. I think a lot of golfers play well when they have 1 maybe 2 swing thoughts they are focusing on. But what happens when those swing thoughts quick working? This is where knowing what your natural bad habits are help a lot. Because most likely you fell back into something along those lines.

>

> 3) Don't have expectations - This one is just mentality. Golf is a cool game because you just don't know what's going to happen. If you start off with 3 bogeys on the first 3 holes, don't say "well here we go again". And start envisioning an 82. You can still rattle off 3-4 birdies and get the round back under control. As they always say "one shot at a time". Focus on the next swing and next shot. Don't sink into that "here comes that 82 round again" mentality.

>

> 4) Understand your swing - I believe to really find consistency you need a sound swing. That means studying the swing whether through a coach, attending a clinic, watching videos, coming to this forum, etc. Learn how to make good swings. As we were told as kids, "practice makes permanent". Just because you are spending time on golf, doesn't necessarily mean you'll get better. You'll just get better at what you are doing. If what you are doing is wrong, you are not getting to get the results you are expecting. I watch a lot of guys grind at the range and they'll hit 100 balls in 15 minutes. In my opinion, that's just swinging the club and not really helping anything. If you go to practice, truly practice. Have something you are trying to work on, focus on it, and really try to implement those into your swing. And realize that things like posture and alignment take practice. It's not just having a good method (although that helps a ton), you still need reps on your process and what good alignment / posture looks and feels like. This is another thing you can work on as well without hitting a ball or going to the course.

>

> Anyway just a few ideas. Good luck mate. And don't get too frustrated. The majority of us are going through the same stuff.

 

wow im saving that!

[drscott266]

Thank for the response, I think subconsciously I already was getting close to those conclusions. I reached out to my pro and we set a plan to watch me play nine and hopefully start identifying my tendencies we haven’t seen while hitting range balls. All very good advice you provided and much appreciated.