Ever had a Psychological Problem With a Golf Club?

GB72

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Had a very strange lesson today. Booked one in because was not hitting my hybrid well and it is a useful club on my course. We had a check on the adjustments that we had made to my swing and all was fine, was striking my irons pretty well. Took my hybrid out of the bag and my swing went totally tits up. Tried another club, all was fine, back to the hybrid and swing was a nightmare. My pro fetched another hybrid out of the shop to try and that was fine, went back to mine and it all went wrong again. It was all very strange.
 

TonyN

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Yeah evey club in my bag, and the brolley! But i know what you mean, mine changes from week to week!
 

steve

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yes, i think everyone has this problem now and again.Golf is very much a confidence game,if your having a bad time with a club as soon as its pulled out of the bag your thinking i was crap with this last time ,which normally leads to the same result. :eek:
 

RGuk

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t.b.h. I'm less confident with my rescue/hybrid than my 3/5 wood at the moment. I've hit one or two stinkers with it and now quake hitting it over the lake on my 7th (2nd shot, par 5) and the downhill lie on my 10th (2nd shot, 405 yd par 4).

For me, it's a kind of indecision about what to feel with it. With a wood, I'm trying to make a smooth wide swing that grazes the turf, with my rescue, I'm trying to think more like a 3 or 4 iron to nip it with a touch of downward strike. I think either technique works but not if I swing it fast and scared......silly me.
 

GB72

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Think you are probably right but the question is what to do now. Do I take the club out of the bag for a while or persevere and hope that it just clicks again. The extreme reaction would be to replace it as I was hitting another hybrid pretty well but am a bit loathe to do that for the moment (cannot let the club win after all).
 

ball_basher

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just wondering if you had it custom fitted ? the pro would have a pretty good idea what kind of shaft etc suits your swing , so i would have thought the one he grabbed out of the shop was more suited for you ..
 

GB72

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It was not the club, it was my swing that was going to pot for some reason and only with that club. Mine was a 23 degree regular shafted hybrid and the one out of the shop was the same, albeit a different make.
 

pjaz

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Golf does getyou like that sometimes - it has me in the past.

When I hit a couple of duff shots and feel my nerve going i reach for my 8 iron (my favourite) and use that to get some of my rythm back, even if its off the tee on a par 5. Gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.
 

HomerJSimpson

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It is purely down to memory association with a particularly bad shot you have hit with it. As soon as you have it in your hands you tense up. Your mind associates hitting that club with hitting a bad shot.

As a result the swing you put on the shot will be much tenser and have a different tempo to say hitting a nice 7 iron. This lack of confidence will inhibit things such as a full shoulder turn, weight transfer and a smooth transition from the top.

The good news is that it's not a technical issue with your swing (your good shots with other clubs prove that). If I was in your shoes I'd continue using the club normally. Don't be tempted to use it in other situations to try and prove something but just on the shots you would normally pick it for.

If you are practicing at the range, I would pick it out and go through a pre-shot routine with every ball. I'd picture a hole on my course (I'd actually pick the one you hit the bad hybrid on) and stand behind the ball and imagine hitting the shot on the course and the ball flying high and true.

Get into your address position and as you are getting ready breath in. As you settle over the ball take a waggle to get rid of any tension and as you do so breathe out. Trust your swing and let the shot flow
 
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