What do you do when the wheels come off?

[maigre]

All my life, I've had times on the golf course, where I lose my ability to hit a good shot. I might be in a period where I'm playing well by my modest standards only to find that, all of a sudden, my shots are either or all of weak, low, and fat. Sometimes other things, too. At least I tend, at this stage, to hit it straight enough that I'm not losing balls all the time when this happens. Often, the next time, I'm fine. Or I'll work it out at the range pretty quickly. Though this can happen there, too.

 

As an aside, awhile back, I saw a friend at the range, a big, athletic guy who hit it consistently and very long. But this particular day, he was not hitting it well, and was desperately trying to fix it, ten balls, ten different swings. He was in a near panic. The fix it approach wasn't going to work. I'd never seen him hit it this bad before. But I'm sure that the next trip, he was back to striking it well.

 

Everyone at any skill level is going to have days where the wheels come off, relatively speaking. The other day, I hit fat shot after fat shot on the front nine. It was really frustrating. Even my practice swings were out of sync and felt awkward. I hit a few good shots, but only a few. Even the passable ones felt weak. Less ball speed, less spin, lower ball flight. Finally on the 10th hole, I sort of figured it out by easing off a little and doing a couple of things that have worked for me recently. I thought I'd been doing them throughout the round, but I know I wasn't or I wouldn't have hit it so poorly. At least it came back to me.

 

What do you all do when things go astray during a round to get it back, or at least salvage enough out of it to enjoy the round? I accept ups and downs, but it's frustrating to feel like I've regressed years all of a sudden. At this stage, I KNOW it'll come back, because it always has before. But I'd like to find a way to minimize the damage more quickly than I tend to do. I'm not talking score here, it's more a ball striking thing, though score suffers along with it.

[Sean124]

Jameson generally helps. Or it doesn’t, but I don’t care anymore. 

[Tax77]

It always comes down to address and ball position for me. If it goes bad I usually catch it quick, ball to far forward and my right shoulder sticking way out on the line. Pull city. I'll hit a couple punch shots, then its all good.

[Warrior42111]

 

Or if it is really  off the tracks

 

[xkilgorextroutx]

If I'm at the range, I'll take a break for 10 mins and just relax, maybe hit a few short pitches to get things working again. If I'm still off, I walk away. 

 

If I'm on the course, I'll club up and just hit punch shots around the course to get the ball moving forward. Isn't always pretty but something about doing that tends to sync things back up for me after a few holes. If it doesn't, I just won't touch the clubs for a week to clear my head and take a break. 

[Zitlow]

Relax your mind. Tension is friction and friction is a swing wrecker.

[getitdaily]

I go back to a small list of faults and fixes that I've documented through the years and validated in lessons. Off the rails usually means several flaws have encroached and I've somewhat ignored them. 

[Zitlow]

Ego is not your amigo. 

[Socrates]

9 hours ago, Tax77 said:

It always comes down to address and ball position for me. If it goes bad I usually catch it quick, ball to far forward and my right shoulder sticking way out on the line. Pull city. I'll hit a couple punch shots, then its all good.

 

5 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

I go back to a small list of faults and fixes that I've documented through the years and validated in lessons. Off the rails usually means several flaws have encroached and I've somewhat ignored them. 

Going off the rails happened to me this fall.  I kind of felt it coming, but too stupid to get help.  When it finally totally came off the rails, I was ready to quit.  Couldn't hit a shot that didn't go left or was fat.  Went to the range in frustration and was ready to blow a gasket.  Luckily my instructor was there and spent a few minutes with me.  Setup was bad.  From there the takeway was bad.  Result was bad.

 

Got me into a better setup position and worked on the first 6" of the takeaway.  Instant result.  It only took me 3 weeks of practice to make it feel normal.  Then the snow came.  Got 5 months to think about it.

[2bGood]

When it goes bad I try to simplify things and just hit a solid shot I can build off of.

 

This typically mean slowing the swing down (in theory anyway as my slow swing produces more club speed😀) and shortening my swing a bit.

 

Also if things are going bad it will also mean I will end up off the fairway and having to hit some sort of shot back in to play. I really look at these shots as great opportunity to find my swing. Typically the situation does not call for distance, jut to get the ball back in the fairway, with a wedge shot or punch shot -so my focus is about getting the club on the ball and make solid strike. Then build off of that.

[dvq9654]

For me, it almost always goes bad off the tee. I get mad, curse a little and then fight like hell to get up and down and make the best score I can. More often than not, I can find a feel and tee game starts to come together and despite a tough stretch of holes, everything is ultimately ok. I think the key is to vent my frustration while still focusing on what I can fix / control. 

 

That said, if everything is off for a day, I just keep playing trying to find something and then hit the range afterwards, video myself and get myself back on track so: 1) I'm not upset after the round; and 2) the outing was somewhat productive. 

[jholz]

I'm a lot like @2bGood above. It's not like I don't have bad rounds, or that there aren't typically a couple of "off-the-rails" type shots in every round I play. But, I never really feel that the game has completely gotten away from me. I know I can pull it back. 

 

But those bad shots are very disappointing and will make you look totally stupid. The question is, of course, how far do you go with those feelings of disappointment and embarrassment? 

 

Earlier in my golfing career, bad shots tended to compound. I'd be totally emotional and/or try to be a hero. I couldn't just suck it up and hit a simple shot back into the fairway. That's an attitude for destruction.

 

I think a change of attitude and approach is necessary. When you hit that really bad shot, you are most likely in damage control from then on. You're probably in bad position. Your swing is shaky. Your mental state probably isn't too great. Things could get real bad, real quick if you are not careful.

 

As such, that's a situation where I'm looking for the simplest, easiest shot I can make. It's damage control, sure, but it's also a chance to search for some confidence. I'll keep looking for those easy shots until I figure out what's wrong. That may be the next shot, it may be a shot I hit a week later on the range. Who the hell knows?

 

Whether I happen to solve the problem quickly or not, this approach enables me to keep my scores from getting completely out of hand, and even on a super crappy day, I can usually pull off a handful of decent shots. Doing that, I can generally walk away from the course with a decent attitude and a desire to return. 

Edited November 17, 2021 by jholz

[Socrates]

38 minutes ago, 2bGood said:

When it goes bad I try to simplify things and just hit a solid shot I can build off of.

 

This typically mean slowing the swing down (in theory anyway as my slow swing produces more club speed😀) and shortening my swing a bit.

 

Also if things are going bad it will also mean I will end up off the fairway and having to hit some sort of shot back in to play. I really look at these shots as great opportunity to find my swing. Typically the situation does not call for distance, jut to get the ball back in the fairway, with a wedge shot or punch shot -so my focus is about getting the club on the ball and make solid strike. Then build off of that.

Usually works for me too.  Thinking about the swing and where it goes wrong and applying a correction.  I felt it was the setup, but didn't know/feel what part was wrong.  Just completely wrong to a point where when the band-aides all failed, I was off the rails.  Sometimes you need that complete failure to right the ship.

 

During the course of a round, it's just find something that works and gets me back to the clubhouse without blood loss.  I will usually resort to a shorter swing and a block fade.

[scooterhd2]

I revert to a low punchy swing 10-2. Ball back a bit. Stance slightly narrower. Just doing a 9-3 or 10-2 type swing. Sort of a Tommy Fleetwood esque held off finish. I find that really minimizes what can go wrong. And besides taking a few yards off the ball, I probably play some of my better golf this way. Have hand more than a handful of rounds be +6 on the first 4 holes, switch to the Fleetwood swing and shoot 1 over on the last 14. 

[Lobby]

When the wheels come off on the GC for me, I generally just ride that hearse of death until I crash and burn all the way to glowing cinders. 
 

That may be too destructive for y’all, tho

[ShortGolfer]

The first hole of the course I play is really hard.  The tee next to the starter eats slices with scrubby rough to the right.  So I play the forward tees and slice it into foot tall grass.  A 50 ft round unmowed ball collector.

I just continue playing and I always seem to get it sorted out after the first few holes.  Part of the problem is adjusting to  new cold weather clothes without a practice range.

There is a practice green and chipping area but sometimes the geese make that unusable.

Edited November 17, 2021 by ShortGolfer

[maigre]

Thanks for all the replies to this. I hope to see more.

 

The 9 to 3 swing approach is one that I use sometimes. I ought to go to it sooner than I do. I keep thinking it's going to come back on the next swing. At least on the course. At the range, I'll adapt a little more quickly. The not caring method is probably the healthiest. I'm working on that.😀

[Pepperturbo]

LOL  I've never lost my swing to the point it's gone with all clubs for an extended period, so, it's relative.  The way I experience that though, is I get mentally lazy over the ball which leads to sloppy setup and resulting mechanics.  In essence, my "attention to detail" is momentarily nonexistent, and it usually happens with driver.  That's when I pause myself - put away driver and only use my 2i or 3i off tees.  For some reason, regaining focus and finding my swing is much easier with 2 or 3 iron.  

 

My friends seldom see me go off the rails, so when they see it, they are quick to say something like, "what the hell was that?"  I might have noticed I was off, but when I hear someone else say that sucked, it kinda slaps me upside the head and gets my attention.  From that time forward it typically takes 1-4 holes to get back on track. 

 

We all know playing good golf is great, but it's just as important to know how to recover your swing while playing.  Tour players do it all the time, viewers just don't know that's the case.  Show up with less than your best, work with what ya got till ya find something better.  How often have we heard a Pro say he didn't have his A game but was able to get around the course. 

Edited November 17, 2021 by Pepperturbo

[msg]

Good or bad, I just stick to my routine and the mentality of one shot at a time. I do not try to change anything and I try my best to keep myself as calm as I can and not panic. I keep telling myself to just do my routine, stick to it and whatever the result, it's ok. I don't count the score or focus on what score I will end up if I do this and that. I just go through the process. As cliché as it may sound, it has never failed me since I have started doing it. 

[bladehunter]

7 hours ago, Zitlow said:

Relax your mind. Tension is friction and friction is a swing wrecker.

Underrated advice.  If Youll just slow down.  Club up , and concentrate on solid contact vs swinging hard , it will fall back in the slot.  For me I go back to one thought.  Smooth , and contact. Then adjust accordingly to flight.  

[DaveLeeNC]

I used to play or practice 6 days a week. I no longer do that and a typical week these days is a round of golf and no practice. 

 

A year or so ago I got to the point that I could not make consistent solid contact with anything other than my driver (put a ball on a tee and give me a softball sized clubhead and I could do OK - otherwise ....). For quite a long time I played golf with a full swing with driver and half swings otherwise. My 100 yard club was a 6i to give you a feel for what I am talking about here. When I was more than about 130-140 yards out I had to decide 'do I just hit the ball 140 predictable yards or try a real golf shot with unpredictable outcomes'.  My decision would vary. 

 

I am officially old and play the senior tees (say 5500-5700 yards at par 72) so that helps with the lack of distance. And there are a few courses where you often cannot run the ball onto the green, and those courses were a real problem for me. I have since mostly fixed my issues so play 'real golf'. But on days where the swing is totally off, I am back to hitting 6i's from 100 yards. 

 

dave

 

ps. On par 3's of 150+ yards I would hit half swing drivers (with varying degrees of success). 

[Justsomeguy]

Range I don't care.

On course, if I'm having a day where I need help just getting through it, I'll use my 3h for every shot and just make punch shots except for the tee balls. It's the easiest long club to hit, it works for every distance and every lie that doesn't involve sand.

So I'll do that and just try to enjoy myself and make a game of it.

It actually helps dial me in, so if the round improves I'll go back to other clubs too.

[naval2006]

On the OP, golf is quite a peculiar game.  Everytime we get into a slump we believe what's happening to us is unique, so the suffering and grief are out of proportion.  

 

When going back to normal takes longer than expected I notice we are angry, frustrated and too focused on mechanics.  It's not easy to calm down and go back to what has always worked well for you.  It helps to think about the senior pros, they learned to swing the club and never changed.  Whenever they are off they try to get back to what has always worked for them and the fundamentals.

[NoTalentLefty]

Continue fighting thru playing the same way until I realize it ain’t getting better, somewhere around the 16th. Then I pull the 3 wood out and use it off the tee. Everything becomes better and I beat myself up cause I didn’t figure this out by the 3rd or 4th tee shot that went like a pop up to the 1st baseman. 

[joostin]

Started well at the range yesterday, hitting my draw.  Moved up and wheels fell off - hitting everything weak right including some sh@*ks.  Didn't feel fast or even secure with grip.  I tried some normal "resets", and nothing really worked until I thought I'll bash some drivers.  But instead of driver I whipped long irons with fast full backswings, and hit bullets from then on.  Complete reset... who knows....  Maybe I just needed the body to react to the full stretch and swing free.  Hopefully that rings true in the future, so here's my go-to list of "resets", minus taking a break:

 

- Fast full swings (new, TBD)

- Chip, punch shots

- Slow smooth swings

- If on course, break holes into groups of 3, start fresh on next round of 3

- Turn around and take some lefty practice swings

 

Of course I normally forget to reset or keep trying to power through, and continue to be terrible until the last few holes, when I'm all warmed up!

[OnTheBag]

I was looping for a guy a few years back that "lost his rhythm" mid round.  It was a BIG tournament with a TON of money on the line as he watched positions slip by with each bad swing.  He looked at me with tears in his eyes and asked if I had any suggestions.

 

I handed him a 6 iron on a 450+ yard tee box and said "just a smooth easy swing, how much worse can it get."  He fumbled his way back and actually birdied the last 2 holes.  

 

Going off the rails is almost always a rhythm/timing problem.  I am in no way a swing coach, but every time I've seen pros lose it mid round, it's been because their timing got off.  Face position, low point, caught inside, etc.... all boil down to timing.  

 

When this happens, take out a short club and make 4 or 5 good short swings with it.  Then work back toward a longer club.  Above all else, leave the driver and long irons in the bag.

 

Best thing to remember, it has and will happen to everyone.  

[ShortGolfer]

I just did that.  The 4I wasn't working so I switched to the  7I for the rest of the round.

Then I did some practice chipping with the 4I before my next round. 

Of course I don't normally chip with the 4I but I thought it would help.  It is an Executive course and the chipping green is all that is available.

I was then able to make a nice drive off the tee with the 4I to restore my confidence!

Edited November 22, 2021 by ShortGolfer

[TIM929]

Take less club and build up to driver during play. 
 

 

[dbleag]

Slow everything down.

 

Take slow practice swings with eyes closed.

 

Make sure no playing partners are close by when doing this.    🙂  

 

Attempt to eliminate mechanical thoughts and focus on slow speed with balanced finish.

 

Keep an extra ball in your back pocket.  😄😄

 

[Obee]

I'm rare in this way, I think, but I usually will make a drastic grip/alignment/ball-position change. Very rare for me to not be able to fix my contact immediately if I do that.