I’m Almost Afraid To Play Today

[RSinSG]

Last week I had a great range session. Hitting all the clubs clean and even working them both ways. Draining 15-20 putts like they were tap-ins. Play the next day and have a miserable round.

 

Saturday I puke all over myself on the range. Clanking and shanking wedges (20 shots from 50 yards = only 10 on the green and the closest was 4’) topped irons, driver and 3W going maybe 75% of normal. Buddy and I have a putting contest and I can’t make a 4’ come back putt. Literally “one of those days.”

 

So, today I’m worried who is going to show up in league play.  It’s a very funny (funny as in peculiar – not funny Ha Ha) game, that’s for sure.

[jdl]

I play in a Friday 9 hole "after work" league and then usually a Saturday round as well. Many times I've played so bad on Friday that I wonder if I should even bother showing up the next day, but I've found that many times I've had some of my best rounds on that next day. Seems just like the warmup session on the range before a round, hit them bad there and almost always have a good day on the course.

[jordan2240]

I'm a single-handicapper on the range.  Not even close on the course.  Maybe I should just play Top Golf.  Unfortunately, there are none anywhere near me.

[Springsteennut]

How I play one day usually has nothing to do how I play the next time I go out. Every round is a new adventure.

[aenemated]

I had one of the absolute worst range sessions the day before my birthday round last week. Like, everything was wrong and terrible and I almost cancelled the tee time. "I am absolutely not going out and hacking it around like this." 

 

Wound up playing an incredible round with some of the best shots I've ever hit - to the point one of the fellas I got paired with (who had a great round himself) said to me after finishing up on 18, "Son, you've got one hell of a game." 

 

Golf is weird, yall.

[gentles]

5 hours ago, jordan2240 said:

I'm a single-handicapper on the range.  Not even close on the course.  Maybe I should just play Top Golf.  Unfortunately, there are none anywhere near me.

 

Do you hit each of your shots on the range to a specific target with a goal in mind? Do you change clubs every shot? Picture hazards and plan a shot to avoid them? You might be surprised how similar your game is to the range once you put the same constraints in place.

 

Lots of good research out there about transferring range to course - mostly centered around making range practice much more challenging. 

[Roejye]

I've shot my personal best +1 of 35 on a day where I had to cancel a tee time at a course I was really looking forward to playing to, booking a tee time at my home course and being kind of emotionally tired from the morning and not really feeling like playing. 

[Fairway14]

For players complaining about their golf game inconsistency, there is a solution. That is, learn and practice fundamentally sound technique (grip-posture-alignment). The reason these factors are named "fundamentals" is because adherence to them promotes ball striking consistency, round after round, week after week, month after month, year after year.

[phil75070]

There is a reason I refer to myself as "Sybil" as I never know which one of me is going to show up on any given day. We ams complain about our lack of consistency but look at the pros. They can shoot 65 one day and 75 the next and they are the best in the world. 

[jordan2240]

On 11/3/2020 at 5:34 PM, gentles said:

 

Do you hit each of your shots on the range to a specific target with a goal in mind? Do you change clubs every shot? Picture hazards and plan a shot to avoid them? You might be surprised how similar your game is to the range once you put the same constraints in place.

 

Lots of good research out there about transferring range to course - mostly centered around making range practice much more challenging. 

I usually run through my 5 or 6 most used clubs, concentrating both on a target and making solid contact.  Then I'll hit my wedge varying lengths.  Rarely 'duff' a range ball (not that they are all hit on the sweet spot), but 'fat' and 'thin' too many on the course.  I suppose some of it can be attributed to different lies, but mostly it's likely in my head.

[naval2006]

I think this level of inconsistency is pretty much amateur golf at club level.  Tragedy Friday and Glory Saturday is not uncommon among us.  The level of consistency where you hit lots of fairways and greens and you make no huge mistakes is actually pro or college level, younger golfers hitting hundreds of balls daily.  I personally believe if you have a decent swing you often have some serious issues to do with rhythm.  And, as Jack Nicklaus says, if you have my swing but you don't have my rhythm, you'll hit bad shots.  

 

[Tiptx1122]

I had a tremendous round yesterday with finishing up with a chip in eagle. Everything about my game was an A++. I once in awhile have rounds like that but I go out to a different course the next day and I had the hardest time trying to find balls in the fairway that I lost 6 or more balls as I just quit keeping score after the 4th hole. I was going pretty decent except for having to take another shot or a drop because I could find my ball. I know being up all night at work then golfing 1st thing in the morning didn't help. The golfing days are coming to an end soon so any time the sun shines I'm wanting to play but I'm thinking this is the time where I just need to take a small break but it's so hard to do when you just got some new irons.

[puttingmatt]

Relax,

Leave your thoughts on the range, 

Go play golf, don't play golf swing ,

[jdl]

On 11/4/2020 at 8:42 PM, Fairway14 said:

For players complaining about their golf game inconsistency, there is a solution. That is, learn and practice fundamentally sound technique (grip-posture-alignment). The reason these factors are named "fundamentals" is because adherence to them promotes ball striking consistency, round after round, week after week, month after month, year after year.

Oh

[Justsomeguy]

The only people who don't have bad range sessions or bad days on the course are people who don't play golf. - stolen from Monte in another thread.