Inconsistency.....it's killing me!

Bucket92

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Your situation sounds exactly the same as me mate! Drive it miles, shot 84 the other day with a mate then play poorly in the medal on Saturday. Consistency is what I really really need.
 

lyden

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I'm no expert but I suffer with the same tee shot issues, my driver swing is fugly but today I cleared the driving range at my club that measures 290 and I have no handicap to speak of. I think the way we deliver power often causes inconsistency, when I try to smash it I often come over the top using my arms causing a slice.
 
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thecraw

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I love golf however the game is proving a mystery in terms of getting a level of consistency.

I played in the Saturday Roll Up off 13 (we have a pretty penal handicap system to ensure a spread of winners) and scored 37 points and still felt there were shots left out there. However in the main my game was brilliant. The driver was gun barrel straight and going around 260-280. Every time I stepped up to the ball I knew what I was going to do and generally I did it.

Fast forward 24 hours and we have a stableford comp this morning. Confidence was high given my golf yesterday especially coupled with playing off my official handicap of 20. Had good partners and was really looking forward to the round what with the recent weather, a genuine opportunity for an early season cut.

Sadly it was like night and day. Driver was ballooning wide right, pitches were heavy and putting was an unmitigated disaster! Ended up scoring 36 points which actually doesn't sound that bad however the standard of golf to score that was truly rubbish. I also had a lot of luck! The tree gods were on my side and twice I clattered into big bits of wood only to be chucked back out on the fairway. I also thinned a ball on a 200yd Par 3 which ended up 10 ft from the pin.

It's the driving that is really frustrating. I work really hard on it and think I'm getting somewhere and then I get on the course today and I cannot control anything. Swing feels the same as yesterday however the results couldn't be further apart. On the plus side this weekend was e first time that. I have taken to the course and not been wearing almost every piece of golf clothing I own to try and keep warm!!


I'd just chuck it mate.
 

Oddsocks

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Ridiculous statement... In your world does the distance go up 10 yards every shot you are cut.

Far from it, but I'm very realistic in knowing how far 260-280 yards is, and also the type of golfer you need to be to hit that type of shot. These distances are very rarely found in cat 3 or 4 golfers, normally low cat 2 or cat1.

My point was proven when the op confessed this was downhill with a tail wind!, think that proves my point totally!
 

Oddsocks

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I'm more curious how you could come out with this statement :wtf??? :confused:

See above reply, the odd drive that distance doesn't mean that's how far you hit it, it simply means you can possibly hit that far on rare occasions, or there was other factors involved, ie good bounce, hard fairways, tail wind, downhill etc.

You hit the ball as far as it lands, if that's 220 yards with 60 yards of roll then it's 220 yards, not 280 as the final distance is irrelevant when carrying hazards ;)
 
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road2ruin

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Far from it, but I'm very realistic in knowing how far 260-280 yards is, and also the type of golfer you need to be to hit that type of shot. These distances are very rarely found in cat 3 or 4 golfers, normally low cat 2 or cat1.

My point was proven when the op confessed this was downhill with a tail wind!, think that proves my point totally!

That's not strictly true. I said that the 280 drive was downhill with a tail wind however there were at least 2-3 other drives that were on the level with no wind that cleared 265 yards.

I'm not sure why (in your opinion) there is any correlation between handicap and length off the tee?! I play with high handicappers that can out drive plenty of the low handicappers. Generally speaking the big difference in handicaps becomes more obvious the closer you get to the green with the lower guys reaching the green in reg (or better) and not having 3 putts etc. I realise this is a pretty sweeping generalisation however that's how it is at my place.
 

Roops

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I am pretty much in the same boat, so feel your pain and frustration. We had our first medal of the year on Sat and pretty much up to now I have been playing pretty well.

Come Saturday, felt I had a really good attitude going out to play. I was two over after the round and felt a bit cheated until I looked at yesterday's scores, where no one broke par. So what does all this mean. It's easy to beat yourself up when you know you can do better and it doesn't happen, but your approach should be to go out and commit to your shots and play the best golf you can on that particular day. That way your score will reflect the Golf game you have on that day, be it good bad or indifferent.

After all, even Tour Pro's can't do it to order and they spend their entire life working at the game.

One other thing to bear in mind, you probably get all the Bar Fly's giving you earache about your handicap, "You should be cut" blah blah blah, try and shut all that drivel out. Your handicap is what it is, the less you dwell on it the better. I don't know how much you play, but a Cat 1 once gave me a really good piece of advice, "If you want to get a Handicap you need to play once a week, if you want to keep it, you need to place twice a week, if you want to improve you need to play three times a week and if you really want to be good you need to play at least four times a week".

Good luck in your next comp.
 

Oddsocks

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That's not strictly true. I said that the 280 drive was downhill with a tail wind however there were at least 2-3 other drives that were on the level with no wind that cleared 265 yards.

I'm not sure why (in your opinion) there is any correlation between handicap and length off the tee?! I play with high handicappers that can out drive plenty of the low handicappers. Generally speaking the big difference in handicaps becomes more obvious the closer you get to the green with the lower guys reaching the green in reg (or better) and not having 3 putts etc. I realise this is a pretty sweeping generalisation however that's how it is at my place.

My point is if most people focused less on distance and more on dispersion better scores would come, and consistency would improve. It's easier to hit 80% consistent 100% of the time than visa versa.
 

harpo_72

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Ignoring distance stuff, modern equipment helps everyone and its all possible, which is just my opinion. What I think is happening here is the good round over confident hit the ball as hard as you can on the next round. I seem to suffer with this myself, and when I lack confidence I think I have wound my swing down and concentrate on letting the club do the work I achieve better results. The point is when you try to hit, you initiate the downswing poorly (or at least I do!) resulting in that over the top swing and a cut or huge pull off the target line. I do this because my right side initiates the downswing because my body thinks that is how I am going to generate power. So doing a few free fall drills or getting that left hand pulling the toilet chain at the top drill will initiate the downswing better and visualising hitting the turf after the ball will all help. Dunno if this helps but for me I have taken a few years and lessons to realise that these were my issues. None of the pros seem to see it, but having said that how could they know what starts my swing as its such a small thing. I spent loads of time flattening my swing out and generally ruining my natural plane :( but I am now moving to a better plane and my power is as before effortless .. When I am initiating my downswing correctly !
 

patricks148

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I love golf however the game is proving a mystery in terms of getting a level of consistency.

I played in the Saturday Roll Up off 13 (we have a pretty penal handicap system to ensure a spread of winners) and scored 37 points and still felt there were shots left out there. However in the main my game was brilliant. The driver was gun barrel straight and going around 260-280. Every time I stepped up to the ball I knew what I was going to do and generally I did it.

Fast forward 24 hours and we have a stableford comp this morning. Confidence was high given my golf yesterday especially coupled with playing off my official handicap of 20. Had good partners and was really looking forward to the round what with the recent weather, a genuine opportunity for an early season cut.

Sadly it was like night and day. Driver was ballooning wide right, pitches were heavy and putting was an unmitigated disaster! Ended up scoring 36 points which actually doesn't sound that bad however the standard of golf to score that was truly rubbish. I also had a lot of luck! The tree gods were on my side and twice I clattered into big bits of wood only to be chucked back out on the fairway. I also thinned a ball on a 200yd Par 3 which ended up 10 ft from the pin.

It's the driving that is really frustrating. I work really hard on it and think I'm getting somewhere and then I get on the course today and I cannot control anything. Swing feels the same as yesterday however the results couldn't be further apart. On the plus side this weekend was e first time that. I have taken to the course and not been wearing almost every piece of golf clothing I own to try and keep warm!!

Isn't inconsistancy part and parcel of being a high handicap?

if you where driving everything 300 yards, hitting gir and no more tha 2 putting you would be off Scratch or better;)

I 've never found distance anything to do with handicap, in fact two of the longest hitters i've ever played with were off 20 plus, 280 and 280 straight can be very different;)
 

Pin-seeker

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Far from it, but I'm very realistic in knowing how far 260-280 yards is, and also the type of golfer you need to be to hit that type of shot. These distances are very rarely found in cat 3 or 4 golfers, normally low cat 2 or cat1.

My point was proven when the op confessed this was downhill with a tail wind!, think that proves my point totally!

Nah sorry but it was a stupid statement to make & now your babbling :sbox:
 
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Snelly

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I 've never found distance anything to do with handicap, in fact two of the longest hitters i've ever played with were off 20 plus, 280 and 280 straight can be very different;)

This has not been my experience. Most very good golfers are long hitters. I have played quite a lot of scratch team golf and it is pretty rare to play in matches where any of the players are not capable of hitting the ball reasonable distances.

That said, I know that every once in a while, very long hitting higher handicappers are evident.
 
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HomerJSimpson

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Ignoring the usual petty arguments regarding who can and can't hit it 260 yards or more, golf is all about consistency. I have been swinging great on the range during the lay off for waterlogging, snow, biblical plagues etc we've been suffering. Back on the course and that swing has disappeared.

It is coming back but I am having 15 good holes and 3 nightmares and can't put a good round together. I have had good ball striking rounds and not scored and not swung as well and made a decent points tally. I think the OP needs to stop worrying too much. Off the correct handicap (20) with card and pencil is a different ball game to a roll up with the boys for a few quid per head and its about learning to graft a score, especially when it isn't coming easily
 
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