help please

[theeaglehunter]

Having gone through a period of ultra poor play I have now managed to rectify my ball striking on the range and am hitting the ball better than ever before following a lesson with my pro. The trouble is this is on the range and not the course. When my pro has seen me practicing he has commented that I strike the ball well enough with my irons to be playing off single figures if I practice twice a week throughout the summer something I am prepared to do. But the trouble is when I get out onto the course I just loose it. I play on quite a hilly course so whether it's to do with having lots of uphill and downhill lies on the course and not on the range I don't know, but I am in desperate need of being able to take my range form onto the course. I played in a competition last week and met my pre drawn partner on the range for a warm up and he already knew my handicap (18 again having gone up to 20) and he commented that playing off 18 I should walk the competition today by at least 8 shots (a sort of light hearted way of suggesting I am a bandit) to which I replied wait tell we get onto the course. And sure enough it fell to pieces again and I went round and scraped the buffer zone. Does anyone have ANYTHING, anything at all that could possibly help me take my game onto the course? I have thought about an on course lesson but am unsure as to whether it is worth the extra money. Any advice?

 

[TonyN]

Do you practice on matts or grass? What I find helps is practicing my swing on grass without a ball. I also find that after a lesson and a swing change, I find it hard to take good divots, consistently. This drill helps. Also, do you warm up before a game, 20-30 balls on the range helps you to get loose, get a feel for your swing and let go of swing thoughts. By the time you start playing you shouldn't be thinking anything, muscle memory should take over. I guess you normally have a poor start and then play with your head down for the rest of the round!

Also, play to your handicap, if its a par 3, dont be afraid to go for it in 4. like wise with a par 4, be happy with a 5 . anything under, is a bonus. I find when I am playing bad and beating my self up, its because I am trying to shoot a birdie on a 550 yard par 5 S.I 1. Its not going to happen because I am not a pro.

Lastly, I would just suggest relaxing and not worrying to much about your scoers, even play a few rounds with out a card and concentrate on striking/management selection etc.

P.S If your game falls apart...SLOW DOWN and SWING EASY.

 

[USER1999]

Has it occured to you that you hit balls on the range well because you hit them at 1 per minute, and that on the course you can go 10 or 15 minutes without hitting a shot. You never find a rythm on the course so it is much harder.

Ignore what other people think of your swing, and focus on yuorself, and what you want to score. Never thing negative things before going out, along the lines of, watch me fall apart on the course, this is golfing suicide.

 

[theeaglehunter]

Thanks Tony I think what you are saying about trying to go for unrealistic scores on certain holes could be a factor as I try too hard as such and end up hitting it poorly, where as on the range I just relax as if to hit it into an open space but as a result of this I am more accurate anyway. I do practice off grass though, there are no mats at my clubs range other than during winter. Also I do warm up before a round but have to admit I am still thinking of many different things when I am on the first tee- I had never thought of leaving my thoughts on the range I had always tried to carry them on to try and get them ingrained, but I will give this a go. As for not using a scorecard I decided not to bother with this yesterday after my double, double start and chucked it in my bag and forgot about it but that didn't seem to help either. There's definitely something to try there though- cheers.

Murph you know what I would usually be the first person to advise someone not to think negatively but had never thought of this myself- I do often step up to the tee thinking I am going to end up striking it poorly by the end of the round and like you say this is inevitably going to lead to poor performance. I'll try and forget this next time although I bet it's easier said than done. Thanks again though- I can't believe I have ben so daft as to not realise this. I think it's because I am lacking self confidence following my very poor run.

 

[TonyN]

Another tip i forgot to mention, When ever your game starts to slide, give yourself a bigger area on the course to aim for.

I.E If I am striking really well, I will usually attack the flag if its possible and be happy with a 20 ft radius, If i am not playing so well, I aim for anywhere on the green.

Same for your fairway play. Pick your spot and go for it with a radius of say 30-40ft. If you nail it a few times, make the radius smaller and smaller untill your happy your dropping it where you want it. If you hit outside of the radius, just go back to the 40 ft again.

Its important not too 'punch above your weight' as if you miss, it kills your confidence. Confidence is something you need to build up gradually!

Hope this makes sense, dont take too much away from all these tips though or your head will fall off. Just pick out a couple of things you think may benefit you!

Good luck!

 

[USER1999]

Another thing I find transfering from the range is that if I swing easy on the range, I middle it. On the course, I pull a 5i, which would be the correct club, if I hit it with the nice easy swing from the range, and then, for no explainable reason, try to kill it.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I mentioned in a previous post about trying to play every hole as a par 5 making the course par 90 (with your handicap a nett 72). I use this a lot if I am playing horrendous golf as by trying to shoot a 90 I'll still score a nett 76 (+6) and then it is a case of trying to whittle that back down nearer to par 70.

This gives me a wide margin of error and takes into account a certain acceptance that you don't have the game on that particular game to play to or beat your handicap. This isn't a defeatist attitude but is a way of giving a more realistic goal in the heat of battle to ensure I continue to try my hadest to shoot as low as I can.

Always ensure you warm up and hit at least 20-30 balls to get an idea of tempo etc. Also try where possible to use grass to practice on as this gives a more instant feedback in terms of your swing (divot direction, ball contact etc). Also this will give you more practice on sloping lies as I would imagine your alignment is being thrown out by the slope.

 

[birdieman]

I would suggest playing different clubs each shot at the range, ie don't hit 20 seven irons in a row, that's too easy and unrealistic.
Also sounds like simple tension through anxiety when you're on the course. You need to find a way to relax on the course by forgetting about scores and hazards and just enjoy hitting the ball. Loosen that grip, waggle the club a bit etc. Experience helps a lot here, the more you play in pressure matches the more 'old hat' it becomes so you learn to relax. Play some Open Tournaments with folk you've never met on courses you've never played - that becomes invaluable experience.

 

[The23rdman]

Try reading Every Shot Must Have A Purpose

 

[viscount17]

I asked my pro at last night's lesson about practising (I'm not good at doing it).
His advice, never go into the range just to hit balls straight. Hit 5's working the ball; 5 left, 5 right, 5 straight and varying the clubs between sets.
I haven't tried it yet (next time I go) but it's an option.

 

[theeaglehunter]

I would suggest playing different clubs each shot at the range, ie don't hit 20 seven irons in a row, that's too easy and unrealistic.
Also sounds like simple tension through anxiety when you're on the course. You need to find a way to relax on the course by forgetting about scores and hazards and just enjoy hitting the ball. Loosen that grip, waggle the club a bit etc. Experience helps a lot here, the more you play in pressure matches the more 'old hat' it becomes so you learn to relax. Play some Open Tournaments with folk you've never met on courses you've never played - that becomes invaluable experience.

This sounds spot on, whilst I do work through my bag on the range it is usually something like 10 shots in a row with each club perhaps if I varied it up a bit it might help. The experience bit is interesting also as this is what I've been told by numerous people as even though I have been playing for about 18 months now I have only been a member of a club since the start of this year so hopefully I will improve with experience. As for the bit about hazards I currently really am the sort of person that will see a lake and think don't hit it there don't hit it there and we all know the results of this, I struggle mentally to take them out of the equation though. I think in future I may just try and get my head down and play instead of looking up before I swing as part of my pre shot routine. If I concentrate solely on the swing and not where the ball is going I usually hit it better anyway so it's worth a shot.

Thanks for all the advice though people it is all spot on for what I was looking for- hopefully I can put it into practice. And keep it coming if you have anything else to add.

 

[USER1999]

You don't need to look at the target before swinging. If you stand behind the ball, line up a weed, different coloured blade of grass, divot, whatever is about 1 ft in front of your ball in line with the pin, then align yourself with this imaginary line between this point and the ball, you will be pointing in the right direction. No need to look up to check (and see the hazards).
This reduces any course, any shot, to you and your swing. What you have to hit over is irrelevant. It is just geometry. In this way, all shots, and all golf courses are the same.

 

[adamloz]

Hi Eagle hunter, sounds like we suffer a similar fate on the course - I often walk off the rangethinking I could hit single figures but usually end up somewhere in the mid 90's. I think a certain amount of this is experience and learning course craft etc (have been playing seriously for about a year now) which takes a long time, but I also think a lot of it is down to pressure we put on ourselves. I really like the idea of not scoring your round, and keep meaning to try it but somehow cant quite bring mysekf to do it - keep thinking "what if I play really well and shoot sub 90 today and havent recorded it!". Think maybe it would do us good to have a month off scoring and just playing every shot for fun on the course and not constantly trying to get your round scores down - do we really play for fun or are we too hung up on getting ever better and scoring ever lower?

 

[mrobbie]

when you are using the range, make sure you have targets that you play to with each club. Spanking a driver 250+ yards down the range is 1 thing, but was it within say 20 yards (1/2 a fairway width) from where you were aiming? Same with irons - 150 yard 7 iron hit well, or hit well on line with your target?

That will make your range time more useful. Try and spend time on the chipping & putting greens too.

On the course, can't think of much to offer here that's not mentioned above. Its all very individual when it comes to the course.

How is your course management? Always seems to be a big factor in better scoring.

Are you comfortable knowing when to go with the driver, or lay up - even with a mid iron as opposed to a 3 or 5 wood?

Likewise, on a par 5, are you driver & 3 wood as far as it will go, or do you plan to leave yourself an easy shot (e.g. I like to play to leave myself around the 90 - 110 area so I can get a SW onto it; If I neeed 3 shots to get on, I'd rather have my 3rd as a shot I like rather than one I am left with)

Both of these I guess relate to something someone mentioned on here a day or so ago about playing holes backwards - what shot do you want to play to get on the green? What shot(s) do you need to play to get to that point?

Think more about these areas, and you'll soon not be able to think about the negative thoughts.