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I CAN'T PLAY GOLF... Wish I had the matrix blue pill / red pill scenario

DaveyG

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I have wrote out a big long post a few times and just deleted it because the wringing has even annoyed myself but I can't help hating this sport at the moment. Nothing is going right for me my swing feels different also the time I have tried fixing it every way you can think with limited success and even gone for abit of an MOT lesson where I was told I am closed at the top which is causing the hook in worst case or power draw in best.

On top of this I knowi sound like a child but I feel hard done by as when I make a sweet connection getting my ball back in play heading for the green I come back through the trees only to hear "sorry didn't see it mate" my mates were convinced it must have gone off the back of the green as the wind was up but this would mean a PW went 160yards... Yeah right! It was such a clean strike and definitely got over the trees... Anyway other things such as hitting a flag stick and going in the brook tiger style... These are the two only decent shots I had hit...

Long and short of it I hit an 88 on Tuesday then Wednesday 102. I just forgot how to play and haven't got it back on Thursday Friday or Saturday. How. Cash I forget how to swing a club all together. I am not topping it I am connecting properly its just going left everytime however much I exadurate it.


Arghhhh stupid game!

I honestly wish I could go back and not play my first round a year & half ago. Everyone tells me how Much I have improved and I understand I won't ever be getting paid play the game but how can I go around a championship course 6900yards the first time of playing last month +11 and now be hitting scores of +40

It's too far of an extreme surely... I know we all like to moan here but please someone tell me they are capable of actually forgetting how to even swing the club... People say that and then mention they limped in with29pts etc but I am talking full on playing like your nan would!

Rant half over
 

DaveyG

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Also at the lesson I hit the ball the best I had been but still was closed. He said he could see that issue but the swing in full was looking great... I got back to the club hit a great drive on the 1st and felt great - had a nice opening par then reverted back to utter shambles.
 

pbrown7582

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You have 2 choices have a couple of weeks break put the kit in the garage wait for it to hit 20 degrees and sun shining, then start the season afresh. Or go get a lesson bash some balls on the range and play your way out of a slump.
Either way works differently for different people have a beer relax and hope you'll find the mojo again soon.
 

lyden

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I mentioned in another post I played with a 9 handicapper on Saturday that shot 102. These things happen, its how you deal with it that matters. Rory McIlroy comparatively was in the same boat as you 2 months ago, he worked his ass off to get it back even if he's not quite there yet.
 

AmandaJR

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It's too far of an extreme surely... I know we all like to moan here but please someone tell me they are capable of actually forgetting how to even swing the club...

I think my extremes are out of the norm but they're not. It's a game of fine margins and you're swing isn't changing that much - a tiny bit and the resulting ball flight can be massive. Totally lost my swing for 2 holes today (5th and 6th) and worked it out, found it again and was 2 over gross for the next 12 holes. I was hooking...stood open for a few shots and realised left hip wasn't clearing so I was getting stuck and flipping hands last minute never mind losing spine angle.

Check grip (too strong?), alignment (closed?), ball position (too far forwards?) at the range and weaken all elements til you hit a nice baby fade then find a mid-point again. That might not be 100% technically right but usually works for me.

Stick at it - I feel your pain but you're not unique and it's part and parcel of this beautiful but frustrating game.
 

TheClaw

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So the main problem is a closed club face at the top of the backswing? Bad luck isn't making you hit hooks.

At what point in the swing is this happening? What are you doing to sort it out?
 

Evesdad

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You sound like me last summer! Came back from holiday and all I could do was hit it left! Struggled for months thinking I could work through it and tried all sorts of things, couldn't afford a lesson at the time so just plugged away! Then I have in and went to see bob and the problem was my grip! Sorted and since I've only hit less than ten hooks, these are from not clearing the hips and flipping as Amanda mentioned.

I really hope you get it sorted as its soul destroying. Perhaps try a different pro as a one off, different eys and all that.
 

JustOne

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I know we all like to moan here but please someone tell me they are capable of actually forgetting how to even swing the club...

No, it's only you that has ever hit crap shots - we're all pros ;)

Of course people lose their games, some need a short break and some play their way thru it. Some even opt for a different swing method altogether :whistle:
 

DaveyG

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TheCraw - I wish I could leave it but I think i will try and hit the practice range everyday this week. See if I can get it back.

JO - i know everyone has off days but I am talking about complete meltdowns not just a poor scoring round.

To the others thanks for your comments. I have a few more things to look at when I am there. I think the problem is I try loads of different things and don't slow down enough to teat them seperately. Evesdad thats how I feel about lessons as I paid my memberships costs upfront this week - over a grand. I will try this week to find answers if not I will have to get another lesson. My pro is ace and this is te first lesson I haven't felt much benefit from.

I have never seen my playing partners go through this sometimes yes it does feel like just me.
 

HomerJSimpson

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Haven't shot close to my handicap this year but feel I'm improving strange as that sounds. Can't quite get all aspects to work on the same day but still feeling glass half full. If you're really that unhappy, get a lesson and work on the fixes, have a break or grit your teeth and work through it
 

JustOne

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JO - i know everyone has off days but I am talking about complete meltdowns not just a poor scoring round.
.

For my h/cap my iron play is rubbish... and I mean rubbish, so I can relate exactly to what your saying.

I have excuses though ;) .....but it's not easy to find your tempo again without hitting balls.

Learning to make good strikes with half swings is a good start... as is checking/changing basic things like grip and ball position. You can't keep doing the same thing and expecting different results.
 

Coatsy79

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Golf will certainly get in your head, like no other sport I've ever played, it's a surprisingly mental game

You miss hit a few, then you start thinking "what went wrong" then before you know it your over thinking everything and your swing goes completely pants

Sounds easy, I know it's not but whenever this kinda thing happens to me, I try to slow my swing down slightly, not try to "hit" the ball just think about a smooth swing

A few lessons might help if you have a decent pro
 

Curls

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Was in the exact same place as you a couple of years ago, had 3 or 4 lessons and got so tied up in technique I forgot A. what I was trying to do i.e. send the ball to the target and B. how to enjoy myself on a golf course. There's nothing fun about trying to remember 4 swing thoughts in sequence.

I would suggest a break, but if you really don't want to then my advise would be book a local short course you haven't played before for cheaps on tee off times some evening. Later in the week looks nice, tee off at 7 and perhaps only play 9 holes. You won't be wasting much money, you'll have no expectation of scoring (the greens will probably be ropey so doesn't matter if you don't score well), you'll have no expectation of what you should be making on a particular hole. Just go out, hit the fairway, hit the green, putt the ball. Who knows, you might even have fun, and then when you remember why you're out there you'll come back to us.

We've all done it, in the race for improvement we forget how lucky we are to be out on a nice day whacking a ball around a track :)
 

Matty

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I'm willing to bet that there is one flaw that you are overlooking right now - you are trying too hard!

You played the round of your life to +11 and now you expect to do that every time you play the game, give yourself a break. Play for the fun of the game, not the result on the card. Perhaps play a round or two and don't even keep count and if that seems too daunting put the club away for a week or two until the passion returns.

I recall getting down about my game a while ago when I reach a plateau, then I read something about needing to enjoy the game (as you say we aren't going to earn a living from it - so why do we do it?). No if I play a horror shot I smile and remember I could be stuck indoors instead - at least I'm outside, having fun and hitting some good shots.
 

DaveyG

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Reality check - Just got into work and heard a lad has died aged 30 of a heart attack. Saw and spoke to him a couple of weeks ago! So what if my game is down the pan!

Cheers for everyones comments and I am going to work on a few things I hadn't thought of!
 

Region3

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Twice at the weekend I was the lowest hc in the group and both times I hit probably twice as many complete miss-hits as the other 3 put together.

It seems like every week I have a different eureka moment and hence swing thought for my round.
I have had that many now that I don't know what works and what doesn't, and have no idea how to swing a club.

It got to me so much yesterday that I walked off after 10 holes because I had turned into someone I didn't want to inflict on anyone else, and that just isn't me. I could quite happily have sold my clubs there and then. I won't though because I know it's only temporary and come this weekend I'll be itching to play again.
 

One Planer

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I have to say, I found myself in a similar position at the start of the year Davey.

I, for a while, seriously considered an indefinate break, just to try and reset things when I bumped into my current pro who said

"If your car is broken, parking it in the garage and leaving it alone wont fix it"

And he was right. In the end I decided to get a series of lessons booked, and more improtantly, trusted what he had in mind for me and my swing and as it stands I'm glad I did.

I can't even swing a club how I used to as it just feels wrong. I'm hitting the ball consistantly higher and further and the Arthur J's and pulls have gone.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is this. You've tried everything you can think of, by your own admission, to get things right. I personally think you need to get a series of lessons booked with your pro and start at square one. Right at the beginning with posture and work through your swing from there.

Hit the range, work on the drills and watch yourself improve over the coming months. It's what I did. I love to practice and will quite happily spend a few hours going through drills on the range.

I have my final lesson of 5, 2 weeks Wednesday. This will focus on me driving the ball.

I'm that impressed with how things are going, I'm going to book another battery of 5, 40 minute lessons to take over the season at 6 week intervals through the season working on aspects of my game that I feel need improvement.

Best of luck Davey with whatever you decide :thup:
 
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