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Ever want to give it up?

shank

Well-Known Member
Jan 16, 2008
59
0
Been playing since last October. I seem to have shot some decent rounds and even got into the 80's a few times.
Over the past few months I've taken some lessons and now I really stink. I've done all the drills suggested and I hit about 500 balls a week.

Over the past month my distance has been going down and down. Tonight I hit 100 or so 8 irons. Most were in the 70 yard range. A month ago I was 100+ yards for the 8 iron. My driver...well it stinks. 100 to 130 at best. Was at 200 when I started lessons.

I just re-did my entire swing a month ago and it is real bad now. Too many thoughts over the ball.

What to do?

It's not fun at this point. I finally found time in my life to try a game I followed my whole life. I want to enjoy it and be decent, but this is sucking.
 

Pa Jayhawk

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2005
7,196
62
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United States United States
In those 500 balls a week, how much of that is short game????

That is where you will make up the strokes. Speaking from experience, if you spent the same amount of time working solely on short game you may not only score better but be happier with your game. This year I spent almost all of my time on short game and it is almost Zen like from a relaxation stand point. I figure no matter how I hit the ball, if I can simply keep it in play and get within 100 yards in 2 shots I will score well.

500 balls a week just sounds like an awful lot for anyone that is not almost treating this as a profession. What do you focus on when hitting those balls, or are you just pounding away with no real goal or train of thought. Every shot you hit on the range should have a well thought out purpose, otherwise you are likely just pounding away and wearing yourself out in the process. If you have no plan you will not improve no matter how many you hit. If I hit 100 8 irons in one night I would likely want to quit the game as well.

When I used to frequent the range I would likely only hit about 25-30 balls tops in an hour of practice. Then if I did not spend at least 2/3rds of my time on short game, I felt I was concentrating on the wrong thing. Not to say I didn't still practice my shots on the course, just only about 20-40 shot a week in practice rounds in between short game.

Simply put, if I hit 500 balls in a week, and still spent ample time on my short game, I would have to be on the course about 8 hours a day. Before you think of giving up the game, just get away from hitting golf balls and spend the same amount of time on short game and see how relaxed and comfortable you feel knowing you can recover from any poor shot. Even though I likely spend 4-6 hours a week practicing short game I rarely even touch a putter in that time as I am comfortable with that part of my game.

Quality, not quantity is the purpose of the game and why the low score wins.

edit 1 - BTW, this is the first year since I started about 7 years ago that I did not visit the range 1 time all year. In the process and through dedicating that time to my short game I dropped my index about 8 strokes between last year and this year.
 

SilverUberXeno

El Tigre Blanco
Jul 26, 2005
4,620
26
Jayhawk, if he's hitting his 8-iron 70 yards, what would you qualify as short game?

SHANK,

Have I considered quitting? HA. I'd be surprised if there were two consecutive weeks this summer that I DIDN'T consider quitting. I HATE playing average or worse golf. I do not play golf "just to have fun". It's a challenge for me, and failing the challenge is like failing anything else: it really sucks.

As for your individual problem; I have no way of knowing what you're doing wrong. The distance you've lost is SUBSTANTIAL, though, and needs to be found again.

A related anecdote...

I got a new set (the one you see in my signature here) and I started played the worst golf I'd played in a long time. I was hooking EVERY shot. This is coming a few weeks after I shot par on the front of a fairly demanding course. I couldn't even put a 9 iron within 20 yards, laterally, of where I wanted it, and I lost about 15 yards in distance. This set was totally fitted to me, and took a long time to build due to the intricacy of it.

I got this set at least 2 months ago, and only in the last 2 weeks did I finally start hitting the ball the way I used to. Not only that, I'm hitting it BETTER.

You have to understand that swing changes can't start working right away. Think of it like this... Imagine you just find out you've been driving in the wrong direction for 2 hours. Even if you turn around IMMEDIATELY, you don't even start making PROGRESS until you cover the ground you lost due to your mistake. Self-taught golf swings can be great, but oftentimes you have a few bad habits that, in conjunction with new-found, proper swing mechanics, wreak havoc.

My debilitating hooks are/were a result of a compensation I was making. Now that I have no need for that compensation, I'm seeing the ill-effects of it. But it IS worth it. I really think, now, that once I work this out, I'll be hitting the ball better than I ever have. I am BOMBING drives again, and I smoothed my 7-iron about 170 yards on the course Thursday.

FYI, I did not really want to hit it that far. Worked out, though.

I'm not promising you that things are gonna turn around. It's possible you've been sabotaged. But keep in mind, RE-BUILDING is a lot harder than building. You have to get through all the bad habits before you can form good ones.

Without standing in front of you though, I can't begin to suggest a thing.
 
OP
S

shank

Well-Known Member
Jan 16, 2008
59
0
  • Thread Starter
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  • #4
I've spent the entire time away the course with nothing but an 8,9,and PW.
I hit at my HS football field since there is no driving range within 40 miles of me.

I think it's the whole inside out thing thats killing me. Seems I'm trying too hard to swing across the ball.

Oh well, I'm going to keep on. I guess it's just sad when I have to hit a 3 wood to 130 yard par 3:dead:
 

Skiddlydiddly

Well-Known Member
Jul 17, 2007
308
0
You've been playing less than a year, and you've shot in the 80's a few times?!

Why are you trying to change anything about your game?!!!

Go back to whatever you were doing before your lessons and enjoy yourself.
 

SilverUberXeno

El Tigre Blanco
Jul 26, 2005
4,620
26
Shank; how old are you? Describe your size, generally. What you're wearing is irrelevent, so don't listen when Rockford asks you.

It is very unlikely that the limit of your potential is 130 yards with a 3 wood. I hit my 9 iron 130 yards, and I'm far from superhuman. I'm not tooting my own horn here; I'm saying that you should not be CONTENT with what you've got going on.

READ:

"The Natural Golf Swing" by (George?) Knudson. This will give you a nice overview of good golf fundamentals.

THEN READ:

"Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf" by Ben Hogan. This is a more intricate explanation of the golf swing. I think it's better to read Knudson first. Sort of like taking basic bio, then a more advanced bio.

If you really have broken 90 already, you've definitely got potential.
 
OP
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shank

Well-Known Member
Jan 16, 2008
59
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  • #7
43 yrs, 6'0 tall, 220 lbs...decent shape. I usually walk, jog 4-5 times a week.

I have pured out some iron shots and I know whats out there. I just am frustrated at this point with these horrible iron shots.

Hows this to curl your hair...about 20 in a row...30 yard PW shots. I almost gave my clubs away on the way home.

I got some video feedback on my last lesson and things didn't look "that" bad.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR

Oh yes, I have OCD. I try to be perfect in everything I do. I played so much golf in the past month my fingers are bleeding. My instructor was laughing when the blood was pouring out of my glove.
 

Pa Jayhawk

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2005
7,196
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United States United States
Jayhawk, if he's hitting his 8-iron 70 yards, what would you qualify as short game?
Did see that, and doesn't really change my opinion. I think it is a matter of just hitting to many golf balls and the time could be better spent elsewhere. Need to get away from hitting so many and find a way to relax and be comfortable with the game, then the distance will likely come back. If I hit 4 x 8 irons 70 yards, another 96 isn't going to change my perspective if I don't specifically change something in my swing and have a specific plan. It is just going to piss me off more, make me tense up, and hit it worse. Again I don't think hitting 500 golfballs a week is going to do anything but make you tired. If I get tired, I hit the ball poorly Time could be better spent relaxing with short game for a while.

Again, still do the range but simply get about 30 or so golf balls and make them last an entire hour, develop a good preshot ritual, and have a specific purpose with each shot. I see him going through 100 golf balls in an hour with reckless abandon outside of just hitting the ball. Using the same meticulous manner and preshot routine on the range that you have on the course will lead to better shots. Hitting one after the other with no different thought between each shot is just pissing away your time and money and making you tired and you could be better off practicing short game.

Again, I would seriously doubt than anyone hitting 500 balls in a week that is not a professional, already has a stable swing, or spending several hours a day doing so is simply wasting their time. The other method is to stay with the current plan, get tired and weary of the game and likely end up quitting. My wife only hits her 8i about 70 yards, but keeps the ball in play and shoots in the 80's, and even 90's off the white tees. But she doesn't obsess with distance, and spends her time concentrating on technique. Which preshot, mental perspective and short game are more important I believe. The rest will follow suit.

Do you think that hitting 500 balls in a week is going to cure this issue??? And actually, I personally consider short game about 60 yards and in, and more specifically spend the majority of my time on shots 40 yards and in as is likely where a ball will end up when I miss the green. Outside of 60, I have club that I can execute with almost a full and slightly modified swing.
 

Eracer

No more triple bogies!!
Oct 31, 2005
12,405
8
You already know what the problem is. You are too mentally involved in the process. Your brain is working too hard. Let the game teach you to relax. Learn how to focus properly.

Forget the other guys' book suggestions (I respect you guys - you know that - but he doesn't need swing training, he needs brain training.)

Read Harvey Penick's "Little Red Book" and Bob Rotella's "Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect", and "The Golfer's Mind."

When you practice, hit wedges. Only wedges. Try to hit them half as far as you can hit them. Learn to control your swing. Learn to let your swing go. Learn to control your mind. Learn to let your mind go. Then worry about mechanics.
 

SilverUberXeno

El Tigre Blanco
Jul 26, 2005
4,620
26
A 6'1" 220 pound guy in decent shape needs more than mental training if he's hitting a PW 30 yards.

I'm 5'10", 150, and I think I could hit my putter 30 yards consistently. PW is about 130 right now.

Whatever you're doing wrong, Shank, it's serious. But let that me an enlightening thought. With a few GOOD pointers, you'll quadruple your distance.

But if your fingers are bleeding... Take a week off. It's not that I care dearly for you, but you'll ingrain bad habits when your body naturally tries to work around the pain. It's better for your game right now if you let your hands heal up.

Also- hitting balls when you don't know how to fix your problem won't help. Don't go practice until you have an idea.
 
OP
S

shank

Well-Known Member
Jan 16, 2008
59
0
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OK, I didn't a ball this entire weekend. Tomorrow going to play a round for fun. No score, just ready for some fresh air and look over a new course.

I'm going to just try and have some fun.

I'll report back with the news!
 

BrandonM7

Well-Known Member
Nov 23, 2007
1,156
2
Jayhawk, if he's hitting his 8-iron 70 yards, what would you qualify as short game?

:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

Have I considered quitting? HA. I'd be surprised if there were two consecutive weeks this summer that I DIDN'T consider quitting.

I'm right there with you brother. Different level of expectation, but same thoughts. I told myself (and my wife and playing buddies) that if I didn't get to a certain point this year that I was hanging it up - I'm not interested in playing a game that's this expensive like a total dumbass. I mean if I suck at horseshoes or badminton that's okay, but I'm not spending hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on a game that I can't play worth a crap. The difference between you and I is that I'd be perfectly content playing average golf, or worse honestly. My goal was to be able to eagerly play a round with anyone, and not have to worry about chopping the ground or shanking and toeing more often than making a clean strike. Thankfully I've met that goal as of right now - but if it all cracks and I play garbage golf consistently between now and December 31 all this crap goes in the attic and I go back to my motorcycles and off-road vehicles.
 

Sandpiper3

Golf Course Designer
Aug 9, 2006
5,058
2
I love how Im shooting like high 70s and low 80s and im mad and contemplating quitting. Even though Ive lost like a club and a half of distance out of nowhere and have absolutely zero confidence stepping up to any single shot i hit, still to me its a far cry from where I was a year ago at this time, feeling like i could pick off a pin from 220 with a 4 iron knowing exactly the shape the ball would take and its trajectory. Having absolute confidence that I could go out onto a course and pick it apart and shoot under par without too much difficulty...

A lot can change in a year, ive definitely learned that. By no means will I ever play golf for fun, I play golf to be the best, I may not ever become the best, but that's why I play.
 

mddubya

Hybrid convert
Nov 6, 2007
6,029
2
If you are hitting 500 balls a week, but hitting them poorly, you are doing yourself more harm than good. Right now all you are doing is ingraining what is apparently a flawed swing into your muscle memory. And you defininetly need to let your bleeding hands heal before you even think of picking up a club again. Or work on your putting till the heal.

I know nothing about your swing, or your instructor, however, unless his name is Butch Harmon or Pelz, and he laughed as your hands bled, you might want to consider a new instructor? Having said that, it sounds like you are in dire need of another lesson immediately, (as soon as your hands quit bleeding).

And after your next lesson, when you do go to the range, instead of just pounding ball after ball, as someone else told you, hit each shot on the range like you are on the course. Go through your entire pre-shot routine. If you don't have one yet, develop one. Stand behind the ball and pick a target, aim for it. Take a practice swing behind the ball. then walk up to the ball, set up, look at your target again and swing away. Do this each and every time. This will get you programmed to do it on the course, and prevent you from hitting to many balls.

And yes, I think we've all considered quitting. Personally I've gone from thinking I was Champions Tour bound to wanting to quit on the same hole. Nothing like hitting a 300 yard drive to within 100 yards of the green, and end up making a bogey because you fluffed your approach shot and then 2 or 3 putted, :confused:

Finally, if you are OCD, this may not be the game for you. The odds of you EVER thinking you have MASTERED golf and being satisfied with your game are slim to none. I mean, even the pros hit the ball into the water and woods sometimes. Unless you can learn to enjoy this game even when you have a bad round, it can and will make you miserable. I know, I went through basically what you are going through at the beginning of the summer. It got to the point I actually dreaded playing, but I felt I had to keep on. Finally one day it hit me how silly and rediculous I was being and thank goodness it became fun again.

So best of luck to you, and remember, in golf, you sometimes have to get worse to get better.
 

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