My “bad streak” is actually permanent

[JV24601]

So am I right in saying you were a bit flat footed during your swing and tended to slice/fade the ball?

I can’t recall ever being told I’m flat footed but I’m absolutely fading and slicing the ball yes. Badly

 

[IanM]

....it's not permanent yet!

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

It might shave a couple of shots off my handicap, but would shave a lot more off my enjoyment of playing golf.

Anyway, this thread is about how good/bad your golf is, not how good your clubs are.

I get what you are saying Nick but you certainly put yourself through some pain ?‍?

 

[Orikoru]

I’m crap at golf so take my opinion how you will.

My tendency has been a big over the top move with an armsy disconnected overswing. I actually could hit the ball pretty straight with decent distance when I could hit it cuz my early extension compensated for those moves. Trouble is I used to fat everything then progressed to not being able to hit the ball off the ground after trying to learn the perfect swing. I quit the game. After 6 months or so I started practicing again in the garden following Marcus of zen golf. What a difference it makes to your swing, especially over the top and overswing, when you use your legs properly. I’ve learned that all these hands, armsy disconnected issues stem largely from the upper body driving the swing instead of it coming from the ground up. No amount of tinkering (and believe me cuz I followed a method of mechanically getting every body part to move in the correct way for a year) can compensate for a swing that is generated in the correct way from the ground up.

Now I know I started off saying I’m crap at golf which is contradictory to what I’ve said above. It’s because I can see and feel the difference in my swing during practice (it’s like night and day) but I haven’t been back to the course for health issues. So I’m not providing “proof” but just an option you can explore.

I almost mentioned the Zen Golf myself but I knew you'd come and do it, ha. I think that kind of different approach might be really useful here for the OP. Just like a total reset and new way of looking at the golf swing, as it sounds a bit like death by too many lessons and too many swing thoughts at the moment. He possibly needs to get some of his natural body movements back.

 

[bobmac]

I can’t recall ever being told I’m flat footed but I’m absolutely fading and slicing the ball yes. Badly

Concentrate on finishing with weight on left foot and try to finish the swing earlier (so that the club is pointed almost at the target rather than behind my neck).
Problem is over-swing and massively coming across the ball

You have 2 of the hardest things to fix in golf.
Lack of weight transfer and an out to in swing.
No wonder you are having problems.

Golf can be broken down into 2 things....
How you hit it
Where you hit it.
Your lack of weight transfer is affecting how you hit it (contact) and your swing path affects where you hit it.
It sounds as if you're trying to fix both and achieving neither.

There are ''fixes'' that you can use like changing the ball position, grip and aim which don't fix the problems but works with them.

You might want to look into that

 

[PhilTheFragger]

"Clubs -xx Various old wooden woods. xxx Various old bladed irons. xxx Various strange old putters."
Get rid of these, you might achieve a reduction. ?

It might shave a couple of shots off my handicap, but would shave a lot more off my enjoyment of playing golf.

Anyway, this thread is about how good/bad your golf is, not how good your clubs are.

But part of the fun is looking at the old clubs that Nick is going to play crap with today ???

 

[Curls]

Listen to Bob. He knows his onions.

My buddy is 50 and strong as an ox, has been playing off ~21 for years and loves his golf. He has a short swing, an awful grip, he can barely drive it 180 and 50 of that is run. He doesn’t care. He loves playing matchplay and is competitive off his handicap on his day. Heck of a putter he breaks my heart far too often. He plays a few comps a year and doesn’t enjoy it but it keeps his handicap active so he can play away courses that require one (not that they ever check). He went through the anguish of quitting and trying to get better until one day he just decided to be happy at his level and not chase anything.

I’m not saying you should give up. Im not saying you can’t improve and if anyone can help Bob can. But you would lose the solitude of a course to yourself at dawn, a round with the lads followed by unmercifully bantering over pints in the clubhouse, the thrill of playing a top course and all the other magical things the game can offer if you’re not beating yourself up over it.

It’s a hobby, it’s not life and death and no one judges you on your number. We attach too much self worth to chasing a little ball around a field. Most people only listen to your round so they can tell you about theirs.

Bad lessons can send you spiralling. A good lesson can turn it all around in an instant. If you love golf but hate what it does to you, you’re a lot more in control of that than you think. Everyone who has played the game for a decent length of time has felt disillusioned with it at some point. You are definitely not alone.

 

[JV24601]

Bob and Curls, thank you.
Kind of confirms the title of this post I suppose. I can maybe get away with it a bit more if I change ball position and grip.
I’ll look into it and ask at my next lesson.

Funnily enough I’m sure I’ve got the right instructor now, just a shame I’ve arrived at him as ‘damaged goods’.

Might look into zen golf too as mentioned by others a bit later down the line if I have the motivation still.

Thanks to all for your great input as always. Much appreciated

 

[Crow]

I get what you are saying Nick but you certainly put yourself through some pain ?‍?

No pain no gain.
That's what they say isn't it?

 

[Crow]

Bob and Curls, thank you.
Kind of confirms the title of this post I suppose. I can maybe get away with it a bit more if I change ball position and grip.
I’ll look into it and ask at my next lesson.

Funnily enough I’m sure I’ve got the right instructor now, just a shame I’ve arrived at him as ‘damaged goods’.

Might look into zen golf too as mentioned by others a bit later down the line if I have the motivation still.

Thanks to all for your great input as always. Much appreciated

If you've got a good instructor I wouldn't look at any YouTube instruction, it'll just mess with your brain, I speak from experience. (More pain! )

 

[pendodave]

This is a timely thread. I've suffered a great deal less than the OP, but have shot around 10 worse than my hcap (10) in the 2 comps played this year . Been pretty grim in knockabouts with mates as well.
I can remember enough about golf to avoid running up big scores, but literally every part of my game is a bit rubbish. On the plus side, I no longer get particularly tetchy about it, but in my 15 years of playing i've never gone downhill so far or fast. The energy to get back at it has yet to appear.

 

[inc0gnito]

I almost mentioned the Zen Golf myself but I knew you'd come and do it, ha. I think that kind of different approach might be really useful here for the OP. Just like a total reset and new way of looking at the golf swing, as it sounds a bit like death by too many lessons and too many swing thoughts at the moment. He possibly needs to get some of his natural body movements back.

Haha oh no I’m starting to become a sales rep!

 

[Voyager EMH]

I've seen plenty of players go through what you are experiencing, getting frustrated, angry even, looking for solutions, trying to work out what's going wrong. In terms of the swing it is usually a matter of tension and tempo. (If that last sentence does not apply to you then ignore the rest of my post).
A bit less tension over the ball, at the start of and during the swing and a slower or more even tempo throughout the swing and the game becomes easier. Experiment on the practice ground with a ridiculously slow swing and such a lack of tension that you feel "floppy" just to see how it feels hitting a ball like that. Then increase tempo in small steps to what is reasonable and normal, but stay relaxed. If you start the very first bit of the downswing slowly, you will naturally accelerate through impact without "trying" to and you will achieve that distance you desire.

 

[chrisd]

I've been through some really bad times in the last couple of years, mainly with the driver and putter and my once 10 handicap has gone to 15 under the new system. I know age (68), and too many medical issues play a part, not that I can't hit ok I can still hit a 7 iron 165 yards and a 19 ° rescue club 220 yards but if i can't get off the tee properly I'm not going to score well.

Then suddenly a week or so ago I hit a driver where I just felt my hands taking the club back rather than feeling turning my shoulders or my hands, arms shoulder and torso and bingo - the best drives on Friday in a vets league match that I've done for ages and ages and its amazing how quickly the confidence returns.

The putter was changed to an Evnroll during the last lockdown and I'm feeling much more that I can at least get the ball to the cup.

My advice would be to anyone with a bad swing fault is to try anything that will change what is going wrong even if you're doubtful it'll work and you hopefully stumble on the cure - after all you really have nothing to lose if you're playing and scoring badly because of it

 

[rudebhoy]

I've been struggling to hit my irons for about 9 months now. My driving is decent enough (a bit slicey but not overly so), my chipping and putting is consistently good, but the number of second shots I duff or shank is horrendous. To make matters worse, if I go to the range or practice ground, I will hit 90% of my irons/hybrids well, step on the course, it goes to pieces.

Had 2 lessons last year that were a waste of time as I hit just about every shot well, and the pro couldn't see any major flaws.

It comes and goes, but had to walk off after 9 in a comp this week it was so bad. Walked straight over to the practice ground, within a couple of shots I was hitting it great again. Massively frustrating.

I've got a playing lesson booked for the week after next, hopefully that will help.

 

[Curls]

I've been struggling to hit my irons for about 9 months now. My driving is decent enough (a bit slicey but not overly so), my chipping and putting is consistently good, but the number of second shots I duff or shank is horrendous. To make matters worse, if I go to the range or practice ground, I will hit 90% of my irons/hybrids well, step on the course, it goes to pieces.

Had 2 lessons last year that were a waste of time as I hit just about every shot well, and the pro couldn't see any major flaws.

It comes and goes, but had to walk off after 9 in a comp this week it was so bad. Walked straight over to the practice ground, within a couple of shots I was hitting it great again. Massively frustrating.

I've got a playing lesson booked for the week after next, hopefully that will help.

That is frustrating. And if you can strike them well immediately after I’d say it is where your head is at. Not just the consequence of a ball in play and a card in your hand which is obvious I mean both your position and reaction to the target. This is just a guess so take or leave!

It might be your alignment. On the range it’s easy to align because there’s parallel lines everywhere. Have you ever asked a buddy to check where you were aiming when one of these shots went wide, duffed etc? If you’re not aiming correctly then the ball isn’t where you think it is in your stance and if it’s just a little forward it’s easy to fat it. Your head is behind the ball and you don’t know it.

2nd part. On the course hitting an approach shot are you thinking about the green or pin when you’re swinging? That’ll hurt unless you’re really close, most players are better off focussing on the strike area and just middling the ball through that corridor you strike through. One thing to watch out for is you don’t get short on the backswing trying to hurry up and get into that area but if you take the target out of play (once you’re aligned that’s it you’ve done all you can and have to forget about it) you might start overcoming this.

Easy to check on your own too. In a practice round on the course when you feel like you’re all lined up take a tee from your pocket and put it where you think the ball should be in the middle of your stance. Then drop the club along your toes and step away. Is the left railway track just left of target and is the ball where you think it should be? Either of these a no and you’ve got a really easy fix for your issues, very much hope that’s what it is and you can get back to throwing arrows ?

 

[Tashyboy]

You have 2 of the hardest things to fix in golf.
Lack of weight transfer and an out to in swing.
No wonder you are having problems.

Golf can be broken down into 2 things....
How you hit it
Where you hit it.
Your lack of weight transfer is affecting how you hit it (contact) and your swing path affects where you hit it.
It sounds as if you're trying to fix both and achieving neither.

There are ''fixes'' that you can use like changing the ball position, grip and aim which don't fix the problems but works with them.

You might want to look into that

If I had to break down my problems at the moment. It would take me 3 paragraphs to say what I have highlighted in bold. So, if you was giving advise to someone who was suffering with both problems.Which would you sort first. Or is there a drill that could kill two birds with one stone.

Cheers Bob.

 

[Sweep]

I have had slumps before and come out of them quite well, but coming out of lockdown 1 I was dreadful and I didn’t really recover last year. Throughout lockdown 3 I tried to get my swing back by using my cage net and skytrak but tbh - and I know this sounds odd - I think I actually did myself more harm than good. I only practiced irons as that what was causing the most problems and when they didn’t work I would go to half swings and quarter swings, therefore losing all distance. I tried so many things that would work one session and not the next I ended up in a state of absolute confusion. Of course, under normal circumstances I would have had a lesson but that option wasn’t available.
Returning to playing in March, my golf was the worst it’s ever been. Oddly, all the things I hadn’t practiced were OK considering, but irons were dreadful. Looking at my scores I realised it was over 2 years since I had a decent score, so like the OP just decided I wasn’t as good anymore, so either play occasionally or pack in. Renewal of my membership was highly unlikely and I would never have believed that!
I had a lesson on iron basics, just to try to get back on track. The pro explained that I had become very ball and not target oriented and this can happen when continually hitting in a net with no tangible target to aim for. His Trackman showed that every iron I hit was coming out of the heel less than 1mm from the hosel. Over the past couple of weeks I have worked hard on getting the strike out of the middle again and when it happens it’s a feeling I had long forgotten. By concentrating on the ball and not the target my distance has suffered badly and is still nowhere near what is should be, but very slowly I can see some progress. Clearly, I had tried everything and was working on the wrong things because the central issue of heel strike was not known or addressed. No matter what I tried was never going to work.
My advice would be to get some professional help in form of a lesson with a pro you can trust, with the tech that can show you in a way you can understand. Certainly do not give up or accept a level you are unhappy with before exploring this option.

 

[bobmac]

If I had to break down my problems at the moment. It would take me 3 paragraphs to say what I have highlighted in bold. So, if you was giving advise to someone who was suffering with both problems.Which would you sort first. Or is there a drill that could kill two birds with one stone.

Cheers Bob.

Do you want the long version or the cheat?

 

[Sweep]

I've been struggling to hit my irons for about 9 months now. My driving is decent enough (a bit slicey but not overly so), my chipping and putting is consistently good, but the number of second shots I duff or shank is horrendous. To make matters worse, if I go to the range or practice ground, I will hit 90% of my irons/hybrids well, step on the course, it goes to pieces.

Had 2 lessons last year that were a waste of time as I hit just about every shot well, and the pro couldn't see any major flaws.

It comes and goes, but had to walk off after 9 in a comp this week it was so bad. Walked straight over to the practice ground, within a couple of shots I was hitting it great again. Massively frustrating.

I've got a playing lesson booked for the week after next, hopefully that will help.

You have summed up my usual problems ... and something I think is much overlooked in golf.
If someone I didn’t know saw me on the range they would probably estimate my handicap is at least half of what it is... as long as they didn’t see the first couple of shots.
I believe your body very quickly works out what it needs to do and once you are in the swing you will be very happy with the results. On the range you can hit the same shot over and over in quick succession. It seems so simple. On the course the same shots come along at least 15 mins apart and it counts.
I once explained this problem to a county player. He didn’t understand why I just didn’t do on the course what I did on the range. That’s talent I guess.