Do you ever seem to just forget how to swing a club?

[Kmagnuss]

I don't understand how I can go to the range 2x a week and play 1-2x a week and 3 out of 4 days I'm hitting out of the middle and then once a week or two I can't find the middle of a clubface if you paid me.  On those days I'll usually start off fine with wedges and then gradually it just starts getting worse and worse until I'm hitting every single shot thin, fat, on the toe, on the heel and a few hosel rockets thrown in the mix for fun.  When that nonsense starts up I just pack it up and go putt, rather than ingrain the poor swing habit.

 

Does this ever happen to you?

 

-Mag

[elwhippy]

Yep, Tonight on the range. Driver was fine. The shorter the club I used the worse the strike. Catching everything out of the toe. 

[LBB]

Yup.  Happens to me once in a while when I over emphasize something I'm working on that had previous success and lose focus on some of the fundamentals.

 

 

[Kai Slater]

It's probably just a minute difference in your set-up, ball position, or how your body is feeling that particular day.  Some days, you just feel better, are little more loose and limber, while other days you're just more tired, tight, or whatever and something in your body compensates, which throws things off just enough to adversely impact your golf swing.

Edited August 17, 2023 by Kai Slater

[OnTheBag]

6 hours ago, Kmagnuss said:

I don't understand how I can go to the range 2x a week and play 1-2x a week and 3 out of 4 days I'm hitting out of the middle and then once a week or two I can't find the middle of a clubface if you paid me.  On those days I'll usually start off fine with wedges and then gradually it just starts getting worse and worse until I'm hitting every single shot thin, fat, on the toe, on the heel and a few hosel rockets thrown in the mix for fun.  When that nonsense starts up I just pack it up and go putt, rather than ingrain the poor swing habit.

 

Does this ever happen to you?

 

-Mag

Many, many, many, many times.  Mid-round of a qualifier used to upset me the most.  Playing decent then you hit one bad shot and the decent into purgatory begins.  As others have said, "Golf is freaking hard."

 

Who knows what causes it....two hairs crossed in your beard, shoe laces too tight, pick your poison.

 

That is normally the cause of the "Injury WD" on tour mid-round.  It is the easy way to avoid carding an 85+ as a professional because you suck that day. 

Edited August 17, 2023 by OnTheBag

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

I should have never read this today before my round. LOL

But seriously, yes. I cleaned up the irons later in the round, but the driver and wood/hybrids never really recovered completely. One little two little three little penalties.................... etc etc etc

 

It's a mental game. I know where my skills are, and my skills aren't that bad. I let the presence of other people I don't know get in my head. They're nice folks pretty much all the time. We always have a good time and nobody takes their round too seriously. Yet, I seem to put this pressure on myself to "do well" and it makes no sense but I can't shake it.

I think that has an effect on a lot of golfers. You ditch your process, rush your swing, and abandon all your fundamentals and are left with Hackersburg. LOL

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

...Anyways.... same time next week, right?

[rooski]

Such is the nature of golf! It involves so many different muscle groups and such specific subconscious timing that one day your left tricep will be unnoticeably tighter than it normally is and you just can't hit a ball. Funny game, not sure why we play it

[SEP1006]

HAH, I'm retired and pretty much play 36 holes everyday except Monday when the Club is closed. Some days golf is so easy and repeatable. And some days like you I just can't hit the center of the club face and leave everything short.

 

When this happens I try to remind myself just how hard golf is. When you see the Pros who hit/practice WAY MORE than I do shoot high 70's that tells you something. Granted they are playing longer / harder courses they are Pro's and this is what they do.

 

I've pretty much just accepted the fact that this is going to happen and that's just what golf is.

 

 

 

 

[Valtiel]

It's an eternal fight for sure, and what helps you start winning more of those fights is gaining an incrementally better conscious understanding of what you're actually doing mechanic-wise combined with what your individual tendencies are. To go from striping it to not finding the face at all is almost always a product of relying far too heavily on instinct/intuition, and since that basically amounts to relying on your brain to unconsciously figure everything out in transition + the downswing, you're running squarely into the volatile territory of unconscious reaction time. Dozens of factors are in play here, and one of the reasons the pros are the pros is that they have far more awareness and control of them. Most of us are constantly towing that line, only *just* getting the clubface to the ball with no room for error. The good days feel easier because we're either processing better/faster (more sleep, more energy, fewer distractions etc) or we're swinging slightly differently in ways that are reducing the number of elements our unconscious needs to compensate for. If you're an overswinger for example with the clubhead getting out of position at the top of the swing, a slight reduction in swing length one day combined with being well rested and processing "better" could result in one of those "hey this game is easy!" days. On the other end, frustration/stress can lead to things going the other way with you swinging even longer and transitioning more aggressively and suddenly your brain can't untangle everything in time and you can't find the face. Very little has changed, yet everything has changed. 

Post up some swings if you can, at minimum some folks can point out where your volatilities are and give you something to focus on. 

[taskerc]

Timing is everything ❤️ I’ve been doing a coaching exercise for nearly two years and that has helped

clean up a lot of my accumulated “uniqueness” 🤭 And as result,

im Hitting the ball better than ever. But, my “lose my swing” issue has been this - some days I can score relatively well and then other days it’s like I’ve never played before - but this is now different since I’m hitting tons of great shots but I swear that every mistake is now supersized in terms of negative score impact. Drives me crazy to the point i’’m asking is the constant pursuit of this stupid game really worth it at all. Love it hate it - maddening game.

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

Honestly, when it happens to me it's simply abandoning all of that. It clearly has a lot to do with the range time versus playing time.

At a range, nobody is actively "watching" and we're all in our own little worlds. On the course, aside from watching each other's shots, I find the other variables present seem to be harder to balance. I'm sure the OP is in the same boat. I just abandon the fundamentals and get clumsy. Clearly, I knew how to swing an iron yesterday. I didn't even have to think about it. I was in rhythm and on time.

I think it is worth finding regular playing partners if at all possible that enjoy playing "quality" golf, or at least want to do so. Somebody to balance out the energy of the unknown folks... Feng Shui man! LOL Balance. 😄

Edited August 17, 2023 by Mikey_HACKilroy

[Rdailey9108]

Honestly it happens to me sometimes. Usually it's because I'm tired or just losing focus. I find if slow it down and take deep breaths and just swing freely I can atleast get out of it. I'm guessing it's pretty difficult to bring your A game every round. 

[Haroputt]

Such is the struggle. 
it’s golf 

Even on the odd days

when the irons/driver/wedge /putting is decent.  Still feel I left many shots out there on the course 

 

[kool-aid]

2 hours ago, Valtiel said:

If you're an overswinger for example with the clubhead getting out of position at the top of the swing, a slight reduction in swing length one day combined with being well rested and processing "better" could result in one of those "hey this game is easy!" days. On the other end, frustration/stress can lead to things going the other way with you swinging even longer and transitioning more aggressively and suddenly your brain can't untangle everything in time and you can't find the face

 

I feel specifically singled out here lol.

 

I think you are right on your assessment though. We as amateurs tend to walk too close to the edge of the cliff and it's easy to fall off

[Port and Starboard]

I forget 3-4 times a round..........at least.

[JetSpeed79]

8 hours ago, Valtiel said:

Very little has changed, yet everything has changed. 
 

What a great way to sum up those days when your swing is just “off”. 

[JohnnyCashForever]

8 hours ago, Valtiel said:

It's an eternal fight for sure, and what helps you start winning more of those fights is gaining an incrementally better conscious understanding of what you're actually doing mechanic-wise combined with what your individual tendencies are. To go from striping it to not finding the face at all is almost always a product of relying far too heavily on instinct/intuition, and since that basically amounts to relying on your brain to unconsciously figure everything out in transition + the downswing, you're running squarely into the volatile territory of unconscious reaction time. Dozens of factors are in play here, and one of the reasons the pros are the pros is that they have far more awareness and control of them. Most of us are constantly towing that line, only *just* getting the clubface to the ball with no room for error. The good days feel easier because we're either processing better/faster (more sleep, more energy, fewer distractions etc) or we're swinging slightly differently in ways that are reducing the number of elements our unconscious needs to compensate for. If you're an overswinger for example with the clubhead getting out of position at the top of the swing, a slight reduction in swing length one day combined with being well rested and processing "better" could result in one of those "hey this game is easy!" days. On the other end, frustration/stress can lead to things going the other way with you swinging even longer and transitioning more aggressively and suddenly your brain can't untangle everything in time and you can't find the face. Very little has changed, yet everything has changed. 

Post up some swings if you can, at minimum some folks can point out where your volatilities are and give you something to focus on. 

 

Light bulb just clicked on.

 

When things go totally off the rails for me is usually just after a very good stretch of golf.  This is usually the period when I begin to ignore my swing keys and play instinctively.  I'm thinking, "Hey, I know this game and my swing and I'm going for it 100%.  Just let the Force flow through me."  It works...for a while.  That is, until it doesn't, and I'm left on the side of the road in the middle of Hackersville with no idea how I got here and with no idea of how I'm getting back to Pure Town. 

 

This season, I've made a conscious effort to begin each round by trying to "relearn" my swing.  That is, I've an index card with my swing keys, and I try to feel "mechanically" each key during warm-ups.  Same with chipping and putting.  Nothing too involved, and definitely no new keys.  I'm just going through each part of my game and trying to make sure the mechanics-that-work-for-me are solid for that day.  Seems to be working...knock on wood.  What's interesting to me is that independently and amateurishly, I think I'm addressing in my game the issues that you talk about in your post above.  Good stuff.

 

 

 

[Golf_Goof]

There was a time when I started learning the game, that I would have a tour pro's swing in my mind and attempt to swing/play that way. Mostly trying to mimic Freddie's tempo. 

 

Now that I've gotten away from that and worked on my own internal mechanical feels; I don't have a clear picture of what I want my swing to look like and feel like that makes me wander off track. 

 

I've seen my own swing on video now thousands of times but I don't see it (mental movie) in the same way. Trying new swing tips/thoughts every round certainly doesn't help 😄

[Zitlow]

That's what happens when someone's swing is held together with bailing wire and duct tape. 

[Darom87]

No.  If something is off, video your swing and fix it.  The body chemistry changes daily.  The golf swing is always a middle ground.  One week you might feel a fade swing for a straight shot and the next is a draw swing for a straight shot.  Feel is not real.  

[J13]

If something is off and the swing is MIA I do the following and in this order:  It's worked 100% of the time for me and something I spoke at length about with Bob Rotella.

 

1. Take 1-2 weeks off from even looking at my clubs

2. First few practice sessions after the hiatus starts on the green and around the green (short game)

3. Once I start rolling some putts and chipping well I move down the bag.

4. When I get to full shots I focus on basics like posture, grip and alignment and hit 1/2 shots then 3/4 shots

5. If you can't find the center on 1/2 shots keep it up until you do

6. Then move to full shots and you are off and running.