Confidence!

[jack1]

Am wondering if anyone has got thoughts on this. Basically, on the course i cannot hot a straight iron to save my life. However, when it doesn,t matter and i want to send a ball i have had enough of into the wind..... Straight as an arrow .... Time and again and again and again. Which makes me think, i have a swing that can do the business but cannot repeat it on the course. Total confidence breakdown.... How can it be retrieved?

 

[Foxholer]

Go round some Par 3 courses - for fun - hitting more than 1 ball (if allowed )

And (bad) tension is a killer of the golf swing. So try to reduce it. Taking 1 extra club and swinging less than full can help.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

A good pre-shot routine will help. Doesn't have to be anything elaborate or fancy as long as you are doing the same thing and taking the same amount of time each time.

 

[the_coach]

often times trying to hit one shot, or every ball dead straight is a real tall order.
am guessing you probably have noticed over time that the majority of your shots kinda favor one type of ball flight curvature over any other, so allow for it some as you play your shots.

if you play the same course mostly you should have noticed hole for hole which side most of the trouble is, so where it's a ways safer to be looking to put your ball, where the biggest margin of error is.

second shots to the green or third depending on standard, often times most course designers have put the most trouble to the front segment of the green, sure sometimes trouble at the back but usually that's not the case so take one club more. look for a line that you won't shortside yourself many times smartest play simply to center.

one of the biggest reasons the ball doesn't go where higher index players want it to is often times because they are not aiming where they think they are, largely because of the ways they go about it.

don't pick your aim line from the side of the ball as you set up. first off stand some feet behind pick your target line, but define it to a small reference point, then pick a spot say 6" to 12" in front of the ball as the line you want the ball to start on.

when you walk around to the side to take set-up, aim the leading edge square to those 3, - ball, spot in front, target - set chest/shoulders, hips parallel left & square to that ball/target line, then set your feet square.
keep a little motion going maybes just feeling the ground very small weight shift foot to foot, don't freeze rock still.
then from your last look at target when your eyes get back to the ball smoothly pull the trigger & execute the shot you've 'seen'.
this routine doesn't have to take long, but whatever it is, do the same thing before each shot in the same ways over the same time period.

get there at the ball just take aim from the side as you set up with a thought of hitting it 'somewhere straight down there' & that's where the ball will travel .... somewhere.

many times folks hit repeat 'good shots' at the range simply because they are standing in the same position, dragging balls with the same club then hitting a whole bunch of the same shots just out to a rough same target, often times what they don't see is there distance dispersion front to back pretty big even if the balls appear to go straight often times there will be 30-40 feet front to back.

as well as block technical swing thought practice where you are dealing more with one club to groove a feeling a move whatever.
set aside a good spell of time to practice 'play'. don't hit the same club to the same target square to the mat line.
put yourself diagonally left then right on the mat.
hit say a metal then a 7i, pw, 5i, driver - change it up each shot all to different lines out on different targets to left, center, right of the range.
practice your aim from behind, your walk round & club face aim, ball, spot, target. get the psr down good, repeatable & to a reasonable amount of time.

do all that you should see some progress out on in play.

 

[jack1]

Thanks for the comprehensive response coach. However i think it is probably just "bad tension". Not sure how to reduce that though. Never understood the purpose of the pre shot routine. Is that meant to help bad tension?