Questions for Gary Leboff

[Alex_narey]

Hi Guys,
Any more questions for GM's resident mental expert this month that I can fire over to him for his column. AuburnWarrior is in for our April issue.

Email me at alex_narey@ipcmedia.com if you prefer...

Cheers

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I've been having a number of lessons which means my game has suffered. I'm finally getting to grips with the changes on the range but as soon as I step onto the course I have no trust. My tempo quickens and everything is out of synch. I play badly and confidence in the changes is shattered.

I understand that on course scores will suffer and I'm not bothered about playing badly if I can see some progress but how do I develop some sort of acceptance on the course when things go wrong

 

[HRC99]

I'm really struggling with a bit of anger management. I'm fairly long off the tee and often have just a short pitch to the green of anything between 60-90 yards.

If I don't capitalise on a really good drive, I get very angry with myself as I can't believe that I can hit such a great shot and then mess up an "easy" one.

This anger can lead to my game really spiralling downwards quickly, as I start to swing faster and lash at the ball to take out my frustration, this then leads to worse shots and more anger.

I know I shouldn't let it affect me but I really struggle with controlling my frustration.

 

[Whereditgo]

My best rounds always come when I feel nice and relaxed, perhaps not even thinking about how I'm scoring. However, in comps it's almost impossible not to know and if I'm having a decent round I can feel the tension creep into my game and I really struggle to bring it home.

Best result to date was winning the October medal in an absolute gale, had a bit of a disaster on the 3rd and figured that was the card wrecked again, so just swung nice and freely for the rest of the round and carded a nett 71.

 

[Robobum]

Why do the majority of really good rounds always seem to start with a sloppy bogey?

 

[brendy]

Why does the word shank strike fear into every golfers heart?
I can play 14 great holes and all of a sudden my mind just throws the word in there, Im not afraid of a shank (it doenst happen regularly). I dont like hitting them but I just sigh and walk on and play the next shot properly, it doesnt bother me so much as it does to some yet confidence does take a knock whether I realise it or not.

I can intentionally say SHANK SHANK SHANK SHANK (Ok you get the picture)over and over to myself and never hit one, yet occasionally my mind just opens up the possibility that this particular shot might cause one, and off it goes, just a one off though, never two in a row.
What causes the mind to be so self destructive and are there any fixes, quick or other?

 

[ADB]

I want to understand why we change make/model of clubs and how we can harness that 'new club' feeling. Speaking personally, if i get a new club I will be very positive in terms of the initial feedback it gives me, the performance and shot dispersion - sometimes even if the results are average. I somehow 'will' the club to be the one I have been looking for and, sometimes against my better instincts, persevere.

On the flip side, if I suddenly get it in my head that a club does not suit my set up, my eye or any other reason - I will have to get rid even if I am playing well with it!

I suppose I am basically saying that given the set up of the clubs is correct for your swing, how can you retain a positive feeling about your kit, rather than dwelling on the negatives. BTW I totally accept I am a bad workman....

 

[bigbiffa]

im with you on this! i have a prob at the moment, i know im doing it, i know what i need to do to prevent doing it, yet i KEEP doing it!!! aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrghhhhh, and yet sometimes it just all clicks and i play beautifully!

 

[Faldo_Fan]

Why can't i get over the mental block of one particular club???
For me it's the 3 wood, i'm satisfied with my Driver, i'm also satisfied with my hybrid or 2 iron. But for the life of me i cannot use a 3 wood. I'm sometimes lucky if i even make contact with the ball when trying to use it.
It's not the club as i've now been through about a dozen different ones. I don't think it's the swing as i always believe i make exactly the same swing as i do with a long iron (possibly that's not actually what happens). So it MUST be a mental block???