crisis of confidence! how do you get over it?

[ademac]

I've been playing really poor lately and have very little confidence when stood over the ball on shots over 150yds.
My short game is as good as its ever been but my long game is dire and I'm really struggling to enjoy golf!
I know that I'll go through bad spells but this is horrendous!
I have no idea whats going to happen when I hit the ball, a couple of months ago I dropped 3 shots in 4 weeks but now I can barely play to 25!!!
How do you guys cope when it all goes belly up?
I'm going to book a lesson in the next couple of weeks and hoping it helps!
I cant seem to quieten my head down, if that makes sense? I have too many swings thoughts/doubts and cant seem to be able to just hit the ball at the target like before!
Any mind control tips for a golfer with zero confidence??

 

[GreiginFife]

Personally, I try to forget the bad shots where I can. When I can't get it out of my head I troop down to the practice ground and try to replicate the shot I intended until I figure out what went wrong.
In the main though I do just tend to leave the bad 'uns on the course.

 

[Alex1975]

You have to work out exactly what is going wrong, even if you can then not fix it on the spot you can have piece of mind that it will get fixed. That in its self will give you confidence.

 

[ScienceBoy]

Well I was off 12 last August, after a long break I cannot break 100. Its not due to my lack of good shots, its the amount of bad ones.

I worry too much where the ball MIGHT go rather than where it should.

5 weeks of solid range sessions is helping to sort it, along with 3 lessons.

 

[Stub]

Work on the positives and try to keep things simple. If you have too many thoughts in your head standing over the ball you are sunk. Plenty of practice should groove the good things so shots become semi automatic.

That's the theory now I need to put it into practice - a good start is that I am usually pretty vacant when standing over the ball!

 

[HawkeyeMS]

This may sound stupid but try to stop caring. I'm guessing you're standing over your 150yd shot expecting to hit it crap? If you are then my guess is your probably tensing up and strangling the club even though you might not realise it. Next time you're over a shot make a concious effort to think about how hard you're gripping the club. Then tell yourself it doesn't matter if you hit it crap take a deep breath and relax your arms. You should feel a difference in grip pressure. That's when you hit it.

This is what I do when I'm facing a tricky chip or putt, it's not foolproof and you will still hit crap shots but if you can start to care less you will play better.

 

[ademac]

The point hawkeye makes about strangling the club definitely rings true with me, when I have a tough chip/pitch shot my grip becomes light and I love the challenge and mostly hit bloody good shots, even if I do say so myself!!
The point alex makes about knowing exactly whats wrong sounds a bit too robotic to me, I guess I'm more of a "feel" player and not looking for "the perfect swing".
I do get what you're saying but what if I never find out exactly whats wrong?
I think personally I should take a few weeks off but its hard as I really want to play!
As soon as I start playing well I try and get even better and probably try too hard!
I know I need to relax but its bloody hard!
I think maintaining a good tempo is my main problem but when I try and slow it down I just hit soft slappy, weak shots!
I might just join a par3 course with no holes over 100yds, I might then play better than my handicap!!

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Hawkeye is right.
We all play our best golf when we are relaxed and 'in the zone'
That is a difficult thing to balance.
Some folk need a bit of 'possitive stress' to play well.
Others just fold whenever they are under pressure.
The other thing I would add to Hawkeyes good advice is that you should be aware that your arm muscles are not tense due to gripping too tight.

Do you play lots of competitive golf? Sounds like you do.
Well, give yourself a month off from the competitions and just play for fun.
Concentrate on how well you hit the shot rather than how near the pin it is and remember a great line from a Runrig song 'It's good to be young and daring'.

 

[BluenoseGolfer]

Confidence is a funny thing, I remember last year I played well up until one morning. My first shot was a horrendous hook, and after that shock EVERY single shot I played hooked! It was strange like something just changed in my swing overnight, I'm still not 100% over it now.

 

[ademac]

lol

Lol??? Care to share??

 

[bobmac]

Ademac, you have tried fixing your problems by yourself and I'll bet you now have 15 cures running round your head on each and every shot.
You need to identify what the bad shot is.
Find the real cure
Practice the cure
Godd shots will follow
Confidence grows with good shots.

What is your bad shot....contact or direction?

 

[Scottjd1]

Why not just hit 2 wedges and putt, a few sessions on the range and maybe some lessons im sure you will get it back but dont let it ruin your fun!!

 

[ademac]

Ademac, you have tried fixing your problems by yourself and I'll bet you now have 15 cures running round your head on each and every shot.
You need to identify what the bad shot is.
Find the real cure
Practice the cure
Godd shots will follow
Confidence grows with good shots.

What is your bad shot....contact or direction?

You're right about the 15 cures Bob!
Bad shots are a bit of both to be honest! I hit a lot fat and also if I do connect well it's general in the wrong direction!!
I will have a lesson soon, it would just be nice to be able to clear my head!

 

[ademac]

Why not just hit 2 wedges and putt, a few sessions on the range and maybe some lessons im sure you will get it back but dont let it ruin your fun!!

Thats probably not a bad idea to be honest!
I think I might take 8iron-putter out nxt round and just see how it goes, I'll probably score better in honesty!

 

[bobmac]

it would just be nice to be able to clear my head!

Exactly.
And while you try different cures, it will just get worse.
Don't worry, it will be something simple like swaying or poor weight transfer.
Enjoy the lesson and tell your pro what you've told us.

 

[User 105]

I've gone through, and to some extent still going through, this and it lasted all last year. Combination of major swing changes plus my general competitiveness didn't help.

It started with my driving going off, which then leaked into my irons, then into my short game. Gradually over a period of months I would stand over any shot and literally not have a clue where the ball was going to end up.

Not a good place to be standing over the ball

A lot of it was to do with too many swing thoughts due to the swing re-build and a general lack of confidence that the swing changes were ever going to settle in.

In the end I had to give up on the swing changes and am working my way back to my 'old' swing, which wasn't perfect but worked. Most of the time.

One of the biggest things that helped, and is helping, is a good pre-shot routine.

I stand behind the ball, have all my practice swings, swing thoughts etc there. When i step in to hitting the ball all I'm thinking only is shot shape and target. That's it. If a swing thought enters my head I step back.

And I do this on the range as well. Believe me it takes practice to get over the ball and not think about your swing. Follow exactly the same routine.

My confidence is improving all the time, my game is gradually improving and my scores are starting to drop again as a result. I'm not back to where I was before all the changes started, but I'm finally going in the right direction and I actually have a positive outlook for the first time in over a year.

 

[ademac]

The pre-shot routine definitely is a good idea, I used to do it as recent as a few months ago! I have no idea why I dont now?? But as you've just said about it it has clicked to me that I no longer do it!!
I think a range session with a 9iron and practice routine will go some way to helping before I have a lesson in a couple of weeks.

 

[joma1108]

This was (is) a common fault for me, im a real confidence player and when im playing well i play really well, when im bad im absolutely terrible.

What i have done is go back to basics on the practice range working on takeway, wrist break and then follow through without caring where the ball goes, just lookuing for consistency of strike, then working on direction and distance.

I also work on a pre shot routine on the course, pick a target and make it as small as possible, think about how many times i have executed that shot to my satisfaction and then swing easy.

9 time out of 10 i get where i wanted to be or very close, this in turn breeds confidence in the next shot and so on.

If im over the ball and start thinking too much about it then i walk away and start again and i have found that to help immensely

Good luck and hope it clicks for you soon