Back to the drawing board

[Youngun5]

6 months of hard work down the crapper today. i had done major swing changes. but my game has totally just gone to hell so i scrubbed them and went back to what i call my "natural" swing. played 27, changed my swing on the third 9, which showed b/c i was only 3 over on that nine. the first 18 i was 15 over. no good at all.

i just dont' know whats going on, golf has become work and just isn't fun anymore, i really don't want this to happen. i burned out with my love of soccer and i don't want it to go the same route with golf. at one point during my round thoughts crept into my mind of quitting which has never happened. help, please!! i just don't see how things could go from how good i was at the beginning of the season to how bad i am right now. i just have nothing going for me, its just frustrating because i know i can do this and have, but just can't find myself on the course, its really eating away at me. anyone gone through this before?? any tips ?

thanks

[Augster]

Gone through this before? Every round.

Seriously though, it is always tough for the changes to stick. I am in the midst of a total revamp myself, which isn't easy when you can't play at all during the winter. Regressing to an old "incorrect" swing is not the correct way to get better.

As long as your new swing is sound, or is going to be, stick with it. I got 5 Lessons from Hogan and am trying to learn that. At least with Hogan's instruction, I absolutely KNOW it'll work once I "get it".

During the summer, I usually play to a 4-6 handicap. With my older swing. The problem is, I NEVER got better. I went from just barely breaking 100, to a 6 in about a season and a half. Then another year as a 6, and another, and another. Work the short game. 6. Practice putting. 6. NOTHING gets me "over the hump". Thus, I finally decided that my swing isn't consistent enough and it was time for an overhaul.

Everyone on these boards always says to get lessons to improve. I always say hogwash to that. I've had probably 30 lessons, from 4 different teachers. Structured, 1 on 1 lessons. And NOT ONE of them ever said in ANY lesson that your arms "come along for a free ride" as Hogan did.

YOU CAN'T "SEE" THAT ON VIDEO! You can't "tell" that's what the pro's are doing by watching TGC. If you don't "instinctively" do it, you HAVE TO BE TOLD to do it. Otherwise, like myself, you take the easy way out and start the downswing with your shoulders, arms and hands.

Tension in those muscles isn't really "swinging" a club. It's "guiding" it. You can never be really consistent playing like that. When I could play 5 times a week, I could "groove" it and get my handicap down. But if I take a day or two off, it's back to square one. There is no "swing" to it.

Anyway, I am revamping my swing, and I go on a Texas trip this winter to play a few rounds and vow to stick to my changes come hell or high water. As a "6" handicap at the end of last season (6.6 actually so a 7 I guess) what do I usually expect to shoot? High 70's to mid 80's. In the summer I rarely shoot higher than 85. My rounds, in mostly windy weather were 105, 107, 106, 107, 105, and 89.

Needless to say, after my first 9 was a 55, I was about ready to quit the game and scrap the swing changes. Followed that up with a 50. Then started out with a 56 in PERFECT morning conditions, etc. etc. etc.

The thing is, I understand that my old swing was "unsound". I could get around a course okay, but I COULD NOT be consistent at ALL. One time last year I shot 75 in the morning, felt GREAT about my game, went out in the afternoon and shot 97. Same course, same pins, same conditions. HOW THE HELL DOES THAT HAPPEN!!!

So now I KNOW I'm working toward a more "sound" swing. Unfortunately, I've played exactly 6 rusty rounds on that swing as opposed to 1500 or so with the old swing. I KNOW I'll get better at this "new swing" the only question I have is how long. Only practice and playing with the new swing will make it stick.

Yeah I've been where you are. I've cried at night because I've put so much time, effort, and money into this bedeviled game only to get NOTHING out of it. Only to GET WORSE.

Golf is a game that will crush you emotionally if you let it. And it has a much easier time crushing you when you CARE about your outcomes.

I would say to step back and make SURE the swing changes you are trying to implement are a step in the "right direction". I would also suggest you read 5 Lessons if you haven't (again if you have) and see where your grip/setup/swing/philosphy is DIVERGENT to Hogan's and see about correcting that.

But most importantly for your psyche right now, I would suggest sitting down with Rotella's, "Golf is not a game of perfect". This book will keep you "thinking clear" while your swing is in flux.

I am sorry for the long post. I totally identify with your situation. It's a hard game. If it were easy, people wouldn't play it their whole lives.

Do some reading and evaluating and get yourself ready to ATTACK the course the next time out. You have to do that, or the course will sense fear and bully you.

Good luck.

[Eracer]

I can't know what it's like to be in your shoes. For two reasons - first, I'm not you; second, I've always been a 20 handicap player for a variety of reasons.

But I believe that it is WAY easier to gain 5 strokes by going from a 20 handicap to 15, like I did last year, than it is to go from a 10 handicap to a 5, like I think you are trying to do. You are on a tougher quest.

Augster is spot-on with his advice - particularly about Rotella's book. Read it. Then read it again.

Last year I had a stretch of rounds where I broke 90 every time, and hit 80 once for a personal best. I was ecstatic, and really felt like I had broken through a barrier. But golf, the evil mistress that she is, was only teasing me. I'm back to shooting in the mid to high nineties again, even though (and here's the strange part) I feel like my swing is better than ever. Like you, I'm starting to get frustrated and wonder whether I should even be playing this game (been there, done that - a bunch of times).

One of the great joys of golf is that it affords us the possibility of constant improvement. We start out shooting 120, then learn to break 100, then some people can learn to break 90, and so on. Iis tough to take what one perceives as a giant step backwards. If I played ten rounds in a row and couldn't break 110, I would probably quit playing - at least until I couldn't stand NOT playing.

Now take a step back and realize that it is a tremendous privilege just to be able to be able to play.

Recognize that 90% of the people on the planet will never experience the joy that a well-struck shot can bring, and that 20% of the world's inhabitants are struggling to feed their children and avoid being killed by an evil regime. It may give you a little much needed perspective. It does for me.

So when we hit a bad shot, or shoot a bad score, we really need to say to ourselves, "big f-ing deal!" I'm here, I'm safe, and I get to chase a little ball around out in nature and whack it with a stick that costs more than some people make in a lifetime. Then I get to eat a hot dog, or a power bar, drink a beer or a gatorade, flirt with the cart girl and go home to a comfortable bed.

Don't think me just a bleeding-heart liberal. I believe we make our own successes. But understand that what we perceive as failure can just as easily be defined by someone else as success. Focus on success. And focus on fun.

After all - it's just a game.

[Youngun5]

thanks guys, good advice augster, and good points eracer, funny enough i've actually realized your whole scheme of the world things so early in life, very one of the few kids my age to have done so... but had never attributed it to golf in any way, shape or form. i'm thinking i've kinda realized how little this game means, and will try to just have fun the next couple of times out and see what happens. then i'll try to build a more fundamentally sound swing later, unless i can get away with this swing, b/c i mean there are guys like jim furyk out there who can make the worst swing work, maybe i'm one of those guys, thanks again, i'll let ya know how it goes.

[SiberianDVM]

It's a wierd game, isn't it? I started playing 9 months ago, and my "natural" swing seemed to produce a fade. I got used to it.

In the last couple of weeks, I have been working on my driver swing, trying to get a consistent high draw, as I need the distance. I get the occasional snap hook with the driver, but mostly good shots now. BUT, today, every club, except the wedges and putter was drawing. And I wasn't expecting it, so I missed the green a lot.

I'm not sure that a draw with the irons is a good thing, as there was a lot of roll on the shots that did hit pin high. Not sure how to get rid of it without messing up my wood swing.

[wirehair]

Doc, I've got the same problem. I couldn't get any roll with a driver, they'd look like they're going a long way then drop & stop. I flattened my swing to hit a lower drive & it's working, but like you, low draws with an 8 iron are a bad thing. Tried moving the ball back & hitting down some with short irons. Hit the "big ball" before the little ball, too fat.

Like Roseann Rosannadana said "there's always something". I guess that's something that time in grade will help.

[Rockford35]

Gun,

You have to stop caring. Honestly, thinking about your game does alot more damage than if you go out and let it fly. Don't worry about scores for a while, just play some stick. You'll find your mind more at ease and your swing fixing itself.

It's hard, but it will work. You just have to give up thinking for a while.

R35

[dave.]

You are healthy,outside,on a beautiful golf course,the sun is shining,life is good.Who cares where the ball goes? Enjoy being out there all the same.

Hitting a golf ball is a process that you need to practice to repeat,then just forget the end result and concentrate on that process.And in the mean time,enjoy being out there.

[VtDivot]

I usually have a few beers and hit on the beer cart girl. This makes me feel good.

Also - mix it up, play some match play with other guys in your club or play in a format with a partner so there is not 100% pressure on you. Hit driver everywhere and just try and pound the course into submission. Basically, try and have some fun for a few rounds.

[bubba bazinski]

Besides Rotella's book you might enjoy and benefit from reading Extraordinary golf and the book by Annika's coach "Every Shot Must Have A Purpose" both these books have helped me be able to come back to golf after quitting for 16 years. Now I focus on how I prepared for the shot and how I perceived the shot and behaved after it. Funny how the shots get better when they are no longer the sole focus. Walter Hagen has often been quoted saying something to the effect " I know I am going hit so many poor shots every round" Learning to let them go quickly is key. Tiger's dad told him when he was a kid he had 10 seconds to punish himself then it was back to work.

One of my current goals is to be the best playing partner someone could have. By focusing on that I have eliminated a lot of the negative that use to surround me especially after poor shots. By being unconcerned with my own results, outcome, or appearance I have actually preformed much better.

Best of luck
bubba