"ON" one day, "OFF" the other

[Fastback]

I was on the range the other day and was hitting the ball great, of about 100, i hit about 90 quite well, about 10 poorly.. i go the next day, and complete opposite, about 10 half decent, 90 complete shanks

I couldnt figure out why one day i'm fine, the next, complete hack

only thing i can think of to explain it would be that i had a headache the second day and mentally i wasnt in the right zone

has anyone really experienced this sort of thing?

It really put a dampener on whether i can play this game at all. I'm hoping my next outing i'll turn things around, but i'm trying not to think about it too much as it might makes things worse

[ezra76]

Keep practicing and playing. Ask questions, try new tips, possibly get a lesson or 2. This game will get a little easier and a lot more fun when you are able to hit the ball more consistantly and trust me... if you keep practicing you will.

I mentioned this before, last time I went to the range I cold $hanked the first 3 shots with a GW. I had that "oh no" feeling. I just hit a few very short pitches, not much longer than a chip and worked my way up to full. So I may have screwed up the first 3 but #20-30 were all within 12 feet of the stick on the little 100yd. "green". You'll get it man, I have confidence, I've been there myself.

[Fastback]

thanks ezra, i will keep practicing and hitting the course.. as you mentioned the more practice the better

I intend on getting more lessons.. i was hoping id practice what i was first taught to a point where id be pretty comfortable hitting shots with those techniques, then go for more lessons and develop the swing further

I dont know whether thats the right approach, or to just go for another lesson even though i havent got it down yet.

[Sandpiper3]

I went cold last week, i just kept hitting balls until it got better again. Its all just a timing issue if you have a sound (even soundish) swing. I ended up having to stay an extra 1.5 hours then expected because i just couldnt get it right. So grand total of 4.5 hour range session.

The mrs. is still a little p-oed about that... i was ended up missing our movie, she still isnt talking to me.

[Johnny Par]

Originally Posted by aimr75

I was on the range the other day and was hitting the ball great, of about 100, i hit about 90 quite well, about 10 poorly.. i go the next day, and complete opposite, about 10 half decent, 90 complete shanks

I couldnt figure out why one day i'm fine, the next, complete hack

only thing i can think of to explain it would be that i had a headache the second day and mentally i wasnt in the right zone

has anyone really experienced this sort of thing?

It really put a dampener on whether i can play this game at all. I'm hoping my next outing i'll turn things around, but i'm trying not to think about it too much as it might makes things worse

Same thing happens to me. In the 3 months that I've been playing, I hit balls great one day at the range, go out onto the course, hit it like crap, go back to range, hit great, hit bad, ughhhhhhh. Still searching...

[ezra76]

Not sure where you guys are... Austrailia and NYC?? I got a lot and still do get a lot more out of playing during the offseason than at the range. Bring 15-20 balls you don't care too much about and just play 2,3 or however many balls it takes to get the shot right. When I'm out alone in the winter I'll hit at least 2 balls every hole/shot. Including putts, chips, pitches, tee shots, I'm looking at around 200 strokes for a round. That's a lot better than hitting 120 range balls for the game.

[Fastback]

Originally Posted by ezra76

Not sure where you guys are... Austrailia and NYC?? I got a lot and still do get a lot more out of playing during the offseason than at the range. Bring 15-20 balls you don't care too much about and just play 2,3 or however many balls it takes to get the shot right. When I'm out alone in the winter I'll hit at least 2 balls every hole/shot. Including putts, chips, pitches, tee shots, I'm looking at around 200 strokes for a round. That's a lot better than hitting 120 range balls for the game.

i agree, last time i went on the course, there was nobody behind me, so alot of shots i'd hit 5 balls to the green for practice..

I live in Australia, its summer over here.. i try to get out onto the course before the range, but sometimes, finishing work late, i can only make it to the range

[Fastback]

Originally Posted by Johnny Par

Same thing happens to me. In the 3 months that I've been playing, I hit balls great one day at the range, go out onto the course, hit it like crap, go back to range, hit great, hit bad, ughhhhhhh. Still searching...

what you may be finding is that you establish a groove on the range much more so then on the course.. you have the luxury of hitting 100 balls in a row.. on the course, you usually get one hit then move on..

my problem was that i had a terrible session even on the range

[Sandpiper3]

Originally Posted by aimr75

what you may be finding is that you establish a groove on the range much more so then on the course.. you have the luxury of hitting 100 balls in a row.. on the course, you usually get one hit then move on..

my problem was that i had a terrible session even on the range

I find that i get in better grooves on course, because im just going shot to shot etc. At the range its just hitting, and usually working on things, so a lot of shots arent "great", and plus at the range i doddle a lot between at most 5 shots (doddling being thinking about the shot, practise swings etc, checking video and such).

[Fastback]

Originally Posted by Sandpiper3

I find that i get in better grooves on course, because im just going shot to shot etc. At the range its just hitting, and usually working on things, so a lot of shots arent "great", and plus at the range i doddle a lot between at most 5 shots (doddling being thinking about the shot, practise swings etc, checking video and such).

i tend to think about my swing on the range, but basically hit one after the other..

[Sandpiper3]

Originally Posted by aimr75

i tend to think about my swing on the range, but basically hit one after the other..

Yea, thats a big thing ive tried to get away from this past year, because hitting ball after ball you do get in a groove, and i dont want to really be in it whether it be bad or good, even if its good, its still not the most efficient way to practise.

[clint]

Originally Posted by Sandpiper3

Yea, thats a big thing ive tried to get away from this past year, because hitting ball after ball you do get in a groove, and i dont want to really be in it whether it be bad or good, even if its good, its still not the most efficient way to practise.

I've thought that recently. Now I try to hit no more than two balls in a row. Then I'll step back, clean my club, and then go through the shot routine again. This is serving me two purposes. One, to quit hitting shot after shot, and two, to develope a shot routine.

[DouginGA]

Good days and bad days, up and down. But the thing to remember is overall progression. My bad day this week would have been a good one a few years ago. I feel like now a 90 was a lackluster round, but two years ago that would have been great.

[Johnny Par]

I tried something new yesterday at the range. I drove the ball with my driver. then took out say, a 6 iron, hit another ball. then took out my lob wedge and hit a chip/pitch shot.

The results were pretty good, if I hit a bad shot, i simply hit another and moved on. It helped me to not get into a groove with a single club and really think about the shot.

Although it took more time to finish the bucket, I was in no rush.

[JEFF4i]

Welcome to golf, there's always something wrong, always something that will give you grief, and(for WBL and Ez) always a reason to buy a new club.

However, the constant challenge is why it is so great.