confidence at all time low!

[bigbiffa]

well, im done. today i walked off the course. i have spent the last 8 months playing rubbish golf. spent all winter fighting a duck hook, as soon as the season started it turned into a horrible high fade, with the occasional shhhhhhh.....
I just cant seem to square the clubface!
ive had 3 lessons since jan and the one recurring thing is that i dont turn my hips. i just cant seem to do it properly!
so i guess im asking......help me guys!!!

 

[pokerjoke]

It sounds to me that youve just got a serious confidence problem not a golf problem,try to get into your memory bank and start visualising what you used to do and go on the practice ground to fix the problem,get back to basics and im sure your swing and confidence will return.Your advice you gave me for my wedge helped so i hope this helps and you return to your best soon.

 

[sev112]

Lateral thought - if what you think is the prob, is that you can;t square the club face, then perhaps do some practice work where you deliberately try NOT to open/fan the club face on the way back. I.e. don't make an aggressive cock of your wrists - any timing of the release near teh bottom of the downswing and your shot could be a fade or a hook - who knows ?

If you look at Montgomerie's backswing he actually "closes" the club face (relative to his swing path) as he moves away from the ball. Feels odd, but is a good thing to try.

Also/alternatively, have a think about significnatly reducing your backswing length for a while. Lots of the probs with accuracy come from overswniging

Good luck

 

[JT77]

I had probs with a hook over the winter and it was that my swing path was off mate, I am sure the pro would put you right though. Hitting shots with a shorter back swing definately helped me. He got me to hit 7 iron using the same length back swing and follow through. maybe it took my mind off other swing thoughts and got me back on track..

 

[SharkAttack]

You say you have had 3 lessons this year. Did the pro video your swing and show you the problem? A lot of problems are easier solved if you can see where it is going wrong and they put a pro's swing next to it to show what you should be doing. Then take you to the practice area to work on solving the problem.

Shark

 

[Putting_Green_Pro]

It sounds to me that youve just got a serious confidence problem

hahaha this made me laugh. the title is 'confidence at all time low!'

 

[big_russ]

Get an impact bag and work on your swing with it. Slow half swings to start with and work up to a full swing. Pay special attention to getting the correct feeling whilst swinging slowly.
You can even do this indoors whilst doing the half swings.

 

[JustOne]

well, im done. today i walked off the course. i have spent the last 8 months playing rubbish golf. spent all winter fighting a duck hook, as soon as the season started it turned into a horrible high fade, with the occasional shhhhhhh.....
I just cant seem to square the clubface!
ive had 3 lessons since jan and the one recurring thing is that i dont turn my hips. i just cant seem to do it properly!
so i guess im asking......help me guys!!!

>>> This is what you need.......<<<

Only £12.38 and you'll learn everything you need to know about the swing... from start to finish in only 212 pages. It'll make you wonder how no one ever told you this stuff before and you'll love golf forever more.

 

[big_russ]

>>> This is what you need.......<<<

Only £12.38 and you'll learn everything you need to know about the swing... from start to finish in only 212 pages. It'll make you wonder how no one ever told you this stuff before and you'll love golf forever more.

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!! you'll get more sense out of the Tory/Lib-Dem goverment.

 

[JustOne]

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!! you'll get more sense out of the Tory/Lib-Dem goverment.

You didn't like stack and tilt when you tried it then big_russ?

 

[kid2]

This is my 2 bobs worth but on your next practice session or the next time your on the course hit all your shots with your feet together....You wont be scaring anyone with impressive distance but if you can swallow some pride and not worry how odd you will look in front of people then this will get you releasing the club properly turning the hips as its hard not to and it'll teach you to have a nice smooth tempo......

But as with any shot make sure that posture grip and alignment are right first.....

 

[big_russ]

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!! you'll get more sense out of the Tory/Lib-Dem goverment.

You didn't like stack and tilt when you tried it then big_russ?

I've never intentionally tried it, it was just my lazy way of swinging a club but I am trying as hard as I can to get rid of it out of my game.

 

[DCB]

Back to the OP

ive had 3 lessons since jan and the one recurring thing is that i dont turn my hips. i just cant seem to do it properly!

So, the solution is to work on the strike and the correct follow through. Turning the body through the shot properly should take the hook out of play and correct timing of the hands & arms with the body turn should also stop the slice.

Trying hard myself to get a better turn through the ball. Going back out for a spell on the practice ground this afternoon just to work on this aspect.

Stick with it

 

[bigbiffa]

thanks guys! good to see you guys have plenty of advice, good to know the help is there!
in an answer to one of the questions....yes my pro videod it, thats what makes it worse, i can see on screen what im doing, and i know how to fix it, but for some reason its just not happening!
However, after trawling the internet last night, something rung a bell.
I recall on my last lesson the pro said i had been pulling the club inside. having been more concerned with turning my hips, i had neglected this. i saw a video on you tube last night, which was explaining that, if you pull your hands behind your body on the backswing, when you take the club back to impact, there is no way it will be square,as you are approaching it from the inside, and the ball goes right.....
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, is this my eureka moment? i dunno, but its certainly rung a bell.
im hoping this is part of the answer.
anyway gotta do something, since the start of the season, ive went up from 8.9 - 9.9!

 

[JustOne]

thanks guys! good to see you guys have plenty of advice, good to know the help is there!
in an answer to one of the questions....yes my pro videod it, thats what makes it worse, i can see on screen what im doing, and i know how to fix it, but for some reason its just not happening!
However, after trawling the internet last night, something rung a bell.
I recall on my last lesson the pro said i had been pulling the club inside. having been more concerned with turning my hips, i had neglected this. i saw a video on you tube last night, which was explaining that, if you pull your hands behind your body on the backswing, when you take the club back to impact, there is no way it will be square,as you are approaching it from the inside, and the ball goes right.....
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, is this my eureka moment? i dunno, but its certainly rung a bell.
im hoping this is part of the answer.
anyway gotta do something, since the start of the season, ive went up from 8.9 - 9.9!

Are you related to Homer?

 

[bigbiffa]

lol....thanks for that!

 

[JustOne]

LOL... you're welcome

To be honest we've all been to that place where you are now, and come out the other side still alive. Sometimes that's simply through hitting balls until it takes a turn for the better or sometimes it takes more than that.

I opted for a new swing altogether, I can't say whether that would be a wise thing for you or not - my head isn't filled with 1000's of swing thoughts or problems any more. I've only been on the practice ground 3 times this year (total 3 hours) and shot 4 over last time out off the whites. When my timing is good I hit it lovely and when my timing is bad I hit it less lovely and pray for a decent day on the greens - that's all there is to it.

In my opinion the conventional swing doesn't work and some of the things you say make little or no sense to me... you seem to have a head for golf... you retain information... if pointed in the right direction I think you'll do well.

I hit a draw because I know how to hit a draw, I hit a fade when I want to because I know how to do that too... and a hook and a slice and (sometimes) I can hit it straight

If I was standing next to you and asked you to hit a push-draw that started 15 yds right of your target and draws back in could you do it? Would you know how.. or would you be guessing? My point being it is very easy to get frustrated with this game until you really understand it.. then it becomes fun again.

An example being... you said you can't square the clubface... there are hardly any shots in golf where you need to square the clubface, with fades the face is slightly closed to the target and draws it's slightly open.. only a straight shot requires a square clubface and there are not many decent golfers on the planet who only hit straight shots... you might be the only one. Favour one side or the other and you'll make some headway... then learn how to shape it back in using ball position/grip/weight/swingpath/ etc etc.

I'd start by reading this..
http://thesandtrap.com/playing_tips/ball_flight_laws

regards
James.

 

[bigbiffa]

james, that all makes sense m8, it really does, and ive read a lot of articles online saying the same, choose your shape and stick to it etc.
what i really should explain is the unreliability and contact of what happens at impact. when i hit it right with my irons the contact feels terrible, really weak.
Not so bad with the driver, but it goes REALLY high and right! yeeeeuccch
The thing is, over the past couple of years, my reliable shot was the gentle draw, i was hitting in standard!
This is why i know something is amiss(apart from the 6 inches between my ears) with the mechanics.
I HAVE been here before,and i DID come out the other side, but my handicap was WAYYYYY higher than it is now.
Maybe its just the HUGE dissapointment of loosing my single figures, i dunno, probably just trying too hard.......who knows!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I feel for you. Read this and see if it rings any bells http://threeoffthetee.blogspot.com/2010/04/finally-reached-bottom.html

I'm here to tell you that from there it does get better. I had a horror at Pyrford yesterday and got through 6 balls including four in the last five holes but I didn't care. OK I'd gone past the concentrating stage but it was a new course and free so I didn't care. No swing thoughts and no pressure.

I can also tell you that even with my game in a state of flux my recent win (courtesy of HTL's diligence and hard work mainly) and a weeks sabbatical all did wonders. I am not going to win anythin on my own soon but I'm going out and it will be what it will be. As long as there is one ball left in my bag at the end of the round and I can afford to get some more I'm just going out, trying to do as well as I can, and if it goes tits up its still better than being in Homebase or Tescos. Stick with it buddy.

 

[JustOne]

Homer you reach the bottom every other week!

How many balls have you lost this year? I'm wondering if I'm in with a shout? If not is it possible you could get out and play a bit more please?