Do you think your terrible shots are mental or physical?

[PracticeSwinger]

For the sake of clarity... Masters 2019 : Finau / Molinari / Koepka rinsing it on 12 Sunday afternoon... are any/all of these mental or physical ?

(Idem Spieth, Smith).. i.e. - do we define external factors to a normal shot causing you to mishit it - a mental error or a physical one?... even though you are a Tour pro that has a dialed in / repeatable swing... I can see both sides of the argument

[goudok]

11 minutes ago, MtlJayMan said:

For the sake of clarity... Masters 2019 : Finau / Molinari / Koepka rinsing it on 12 Sunday afternoon... are any/all of these mental or physical ?

(Idem Spieth, Smith).. i.e. - do we define external factors to a normal shot causing you to mishit it - a mental error or a physical one?... even though you are a Tour pro that has a dialed in / repeatable swing... I can see both sides of the argument

Performing under pressure is a different beast, sure the first time might be mental, but Tiger was the best iron player of the generation if not all time and he is the one who delivered a good iron shot.  That is physical.  
Koepka won 4 majors and according to him he is the best mentally prepared out there, so that was physical.  

[goudok]

One more thing, what is the difference between TIger now and 10 years ago.  Is he a mental midget all of a sudden to why he can't win?  No, it is physical.

[bladehunter]

29 minutes ago, goudok said:

Define better?  What you said is all physical.  If you hit 5 out of 10 perfect on the range and 2 out of 10 on the course due to bad lies, that is physical not mental.  Then you need to go practice on sidehill lies.  If you have an easier time getting into a rhythm.  This is also physical, practice like you play, take time in between range shots take a few minutes between.  Again less target oriented?  I am absolutely target oriented, you always have targets to shoot at, this is also physical which is an easy fix, have targets.  That is not mental like you say this is all physical.  

Define bad .  Bad direction. Bad strike.  I think you’re saying bad strike.  Others are saying bad result.  

[GolfTurkey]

IMO mental vs physical is a lot like short game vs long game, in that it can separate players of similar abilities.

[goudok]

Just now, bladehunter said:

Define bad .  Bad direction. Bad strike.  I think you’re saying bad strike.  Others are saying bad result.  

Bad is bad.  Again it is a players fault for not aligning yourself to targets at a range.  If I I am aiming at a flag and have a good strike but the ball pull hooks 100 feet that is a bad shot, this should would not give me confidence and it is physical for hitting that shot.

For example, worst part of my game is fairway woods off the deck. Sure I can hit 8 out of 10 perfect on the range so one would think it's mental but it's not.  It's always the first 1-2 shots on the range that are bad and then I get into what was called "rhythm", but on the course you have 1 and it your first shot that counts.  So it is physical and I need to practice that my first shot on the range is good before trying to trust that shot on the course.

[goudok]

1 minute ago, GolfTurkey said:

IMO mental vs physical is a lot like short game vs long game, in that it can separate players of similar abilities.

I understand what you are saying, but if one shoots 80 and the other shoots 75 they because of what "mental" these players are not similar abilities.

[goudok]

I am not saying mental game isn't part of it, but 99% of the time someone shooting what they shootis physical.

Edited February 27, 2023 by goudok

[tthomasgolfer605]

5 hours ago, dfeldss said:

This is the only video I have of my swing right now for reference 

 

 

You guys can't see why his iron play isn't very good? 

[tthomasgolfer605]

4 hours ago, Obee said:

 

That's a damn good move. I could get you down to 2 in a couple months with some on course work with that move. Guaranteed.

I'll take that bet unless you change his weight transfer. 

[tthomasgolfer605]

6 hours ago, dfeldss said:

 

 

I have a decent swing and hit as well anyone on my day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I highly doubt that.

[dfeldss]

8 minutes ago, tthomasgolfer605 said:

I'll take that bet unless you change his weight transfer. 

Tbf he did amend that to a 6

Edited February 27, 2023 by dfeldss

[tthomasgolfer605]

7 minutes ago, dfeldss said:

Tbf he did amend that to a 6

You hang back way too long. That leaks into iron play. 

[geauxt]

This is a surprisingly contentious thread

[tthomasgolfer605]

1 hour ago, goudok said:

I am not saying mental game isn't part of it, but 99% of the time someone shooting what they shootis physical.

Inconsistent low point is my guess.

[Obee]

16 minutes ago, tthomasgolfer605 said:

I'll take that bet unless you change his weight transfer. 

I said 6 after reading that he’s currently an 11. 
 

I also said, I need to see him hit some wedges first. And, yes, the first thing I would do is tell him to hit ridiculously low wedgeshots, which will very quickly fix his weight transfer. I would adjust his aim, his ball position vis a vis his aim, and tell him that he has to hit the ball 40 feet off the ground with a 90% full wedge. With commitment, in one week he would be able to hit that golf shot. And then he is off to the races with his ball striking. 🙂

[goudok]

4 minutes ago, tthomasgolfer605 said:

Inconsistent low point is my guess.

And according to some low point being inconsistent is mental. 

[Obee]

1 minute ago, goudok said:

And according to some low point being inconsistent is mental. 

Touché. 🙂

[Obee]

10 minutes ago, geauxt said:

This is a surprisingly contentious thread

It’s been a long winter, my friend!!!

 

😉

[tthomasgolfer605]

3 minutes ago, Obee said:

I said 6 after reading that he’s currently an 11. 
 

I also said, I need to see him hit some wedges first. And, yes, the first thing I would do is tell him to hit ridiculously low wedgeshots, which will very quickly fix his weight transfer. I would adjust his aim, his ball position vis a vis his aim, and tell him that he has to hit the ball 40 feet off the ground with a 90% full wedge. With commitment, in one week he would be able to hit that golf shot. And then he is off to the races with his ball striking. 🙂

I hear ya. I've played with golfers who max out the 460cc driver with a super strong grip and hitting way up on it. On a dry course they'll carry it like 210 and it'll roll like 100 yards. Then they proceed to skull it into someone's pool on their second shot. 

[goudok]

5 minutes ago, Obee said:

Touché. 🙂

I used to be that naive when I was much worse. I used to complain why do I hit so well on the range but shoot a million. Then realized I actually suck on the range too. Once that was understood I then got better. 

[Obee]

12 minutes ago, tthomasgolfer605 said:

You hang back way too long. That leaks into iron play. 

100%.

 

It can also be Band-Aid fixed by moving ball position back and learning to play low draws with the scoring clubs. 
 

I am completely self-taught, and that is what I did in order to learn how to make consistent contact. It leads to a bit of a one-dimensional ball flight unless you have serious skill, but it works if the golfer has solid proprioception and power.

 

Or, the OP may wish to go down the road of lots of lessons. Both routes can work—one is just a lot less expensive… 😉 

 

Most of it depends on what the OP is willing to put in, time-wise/$$$-wise and if he is a “lesson taker” or not.

 

I never was.

[dfeldss]

9 minutes ago, Obee said:

100%.

 

It can also be Band-Aid fixed by moving ball position back and learning to play low draws with the scoring clubs. 
 

I am completely self-taught, and that is what I did in order to learn how to make consistent contact. It leads to a bit of a one-dimensional ball flight unless you have serious skill, but it works if the golfer has solid proprioception and power.

 

Or, the OP may wish to go down the road of lots of lessons. Both routes can work—one is just a lot less expensive… 😉 

 

Most of it depends on what the OP is willing to put in, time-wise/$$$-wise and if he is a “lesson taker” or not.

 

I never was.

lessons aren’t in the cards for me right now, so hitting super low wedge shots it is.

 

Im self taught so far too so now I just need to put in the time

Edited February 27, 2023 by dfeldss

[tthomasgolfer605]

1 minute ago, dfeldss said:

lessons aren’t in the cards for me right now, so hitting super low wedge shots it is.

Just pay attention to your sternum with iron shots so it's not way behind the ball. Do you purposely try to get a positive angle of attack with driver? 

[dfeldss]

3 minutes ago, tthomasgolfer605 said:

Just pay attention to your sternum with iron shots so it's not way behind the ball. Do you purposely try to get a positive angle of attack with driver? 

Yeah I had a bad low hook spell with the driver that I “fixed” by trying get super positive and now I actually hit a nice high cut usually with. Obviously no good with the rest of my clubs and I didn’t even really realize I was doing it with the others but it makes sense 

[tthomasgolfer605]

3 minutes ago, dfeldss said:

Yeah I had a bad low hook spell with the driver that I “fixed” by trying get super positive and now I actually hit a nice high cut usually with. Obviously no good with the rest of my clubs and I didn’t even really realize I was doing it with the others but it makes sense 

What's your clubhead speed with driver?

[dfeldss]

Just now, tthomasgolfer605 said:

What's your clubhead speed with driver?

Never measured. I assume you’re going to think I’m BSing but I would guess 120+ based on what I see on good strikes on the course 

[Obee]

18 minutes ago, tthomasgolfer605 said:

Just pay attention to your sternum with iron shots so it's not way behind the ball. Do you purposely try to get a positive angle of attack with driver? 

GREAT advice. The sternum is hugely important in getting people the understand solid contact. 

[tthomasgolfer605]

4 minutes ago, dfeldss said:

Never measured. I assume you’re going to think I’m BSing but I would guess 120+ based on what I see on good strikes on the course 

Ok. I would suspect an angle of attack issue with irons if you're an 11. With that speed, scratch or better is doable. I'm guessing distance control issues due to inconsistent contact. 

[tthomasgolfer605]

8 minutes ago, Obee said:

GREAT advice. The sternum is hugely important in getting people the understand solid contact. 

I also understand that people are happy with outdriving their buddies, so they change their setup and swing to max out the driver. Most tour pros average a negative angle of attack with driver because they know trying to get a positive angle of attack will leak into the rest of their game.