Range swing vs course swing.

[Oddsocks]

OK lads im now baffled. in the last 3 range sessions my swing has been better than ever which has translated into good stats and steady scores out on the course, so far my 3 rounds of the year have been 1 under h/c, equal and 3 over hc in quite challenging conditions after excessive rain for days then a deep overnight frost.

So on tuesday im booked in for my normal lesson, and to say i was ripping it was an under estimate, so much so a long game lesson that was planned turned into a short game lesson as the pro didnt see anything that he wanted to address or tweek.

SO sunday i hit the course and im in high spirits, knowing im striking well, hitting good distance with low dispersion rates, im convinced im in for a good game ........... you know where is it going. A dyer round that see's me finish up 5 over h/c & my faith in my golf ability shot to bits.

Im getting the impression that alot of golfers have a range swing that works, and a course swing that doesnt, but does anyone have any tips on getting that range swing back after a bad start to a round.

 

[brendy]

Plain and simple OS, the range doesnt prepare you for the unique lies you get on the course. I prefer practicing on our practice area rather than the range where you actually get proper realistic lies and conditions.

 

[Oddsocks]

i thought this, but it wasnt so much the lies that were effecting me, i personally just felt that teh swing was different. At that point i lost faith.

on address everything felt bang on but for some reason on take away if felt as if i was taking the club away on the wrong path, almost taking away outside of line and very steep. It also felt like i was struggling with the follow through, almost as if i was quiting on the swing, dispite our discussion of commitment being the thing that makes long irons work the other night.

What was funny is my only strong point sunday was my driving, it was still bang on dispite a wisky one of the first due to still laughing over a joke that was told, and a creative push fade/slice OB on 15th after just missing a hole in one.

 

[surefire]

As above, plus on the course, you don't normally hit the same shot, with the same club, repeatedly in succession with a very small time break between each shot.

If on the range, you constantly alternate the type of shot and club you are using, and take a couple of minutes between shots, the difference might reduce, but you still can't really account for awkward lies and putting strokes every so often.

 

[Oddsocks]

unfortunately my course is a P&P and as such doesnt have a practice area. When im at the range ill tend to vary my clubs quite alot, vary the shots im trying to hit, and also play virtual holes on the course, adapting the next clubs according to the result of the previous shot. when i hit lower clubs i tend to hit the ball from the hole in the matt where the tee sits so the ball is down a little.

It was weird as the 3 rounds ive played this year have been in worse or equal conditions on the same course, yet sunday the swing just felt alien, almost as if i was trying to fix faults after a lesson.

Maybe i should just put it down as an off day. either way im back at the range tonight or tomorrow to work this out of my head.

 

[StrangelyBrown]

Did you go out expecting to score well? Maybe you put too much pressure on yourself.

 

[Oddsocks]

brimmed with confidence "WAS" the word....

 

[chrisd]

I always find that it takes a while to take lesson changes to the course. It's easy to get too mechanical when the new changes arn't grooved properly and the more that you think during the swing the worse it gets.

A tip I was given to clear the head on the swing, is to say to yourself something like "have a nice day" just before you swing so as to completely clear the mind. You will then see the result to know if the changes are working

Chris

 

[USER1999]

I changed my swing over a year ago, and still don't trust it in the comps. It just takes time. It is all in the head, unfortunately. If you stick with it, it will come, but only if you let it.

 

[bobmac]

I find alot of people swing much smoother on the range. Once they get on the course, the horns appear.
Try and keep the speed of the swing smooth and hopefully that will help.

 

[Oddsocks]

when i looked at the finish stance of the bad irons alot of them was like id quit on the follow through. like you said chris when the head is clear its fine, but once its in your head its ball-axed.

Bob, your right about tempto, with a quited follow through i doubt the tempo was the same.

 

[Down_The_Middle]

5 over H/C isn't all that bad is it. I'D take it. How many putts came up short where if they had a bit more roll on would have gone in. How many duff shots,wayward drives where you have to chip backout.Its all these little things that rack up the score.

 

[JustOne]

I sometimes have a little drill on the course that seems to work, I stand behind the ball and pick my line to the target (often just the middle of the green), address the ball (standing square to the imaginary line) then I don't look up again, just trust the line I picked and hit the ball. It's quite strange to make youself not look up again but it seems to work.

 

[Oddsocks]

DTM, i totally get that a bad score isnt just from one area of the game, but generall the swing just felt off.

Drives, 3 bad from 13, doesnt sound bad but if im honest my diring heald the card together.

Long game, again not to bad, the old draw had crept in but wasnt to bad.

Iron play, poor, missed most greens, from our par 3's (5 of) i hit 2, one with a lucky bounce, other 3 were off by miles comparing them to last week where i hit all 5.

stats are as below:

Shots 88 course par 68
Putts 32, left around 5 short on the lip that i can recal
Fairways in Reg 8/13, ones that were missed were just except 3 bad ones.
GIR 3/18, 2 of which were par 3's at one 120 yards, one 140 yards, one was an approach to a par 4, 9i
Up and Down Saves - 3/15
Sand Saves 0/1

the up and down saves im not so fussed about, as i was changing a chipping technique so expected some inaccurate ones, but they wasnt bad chips as such.

When looking at the stats it doesnt look that bad of a round, but being there you would appriciate that my course isnt overly punishing if your straight. Around some of the other courses i play it could have been 10 over h/c quite easy.

 

[patricks148]

5 over is not bad, I think you have too high expectations.

I think I may have shot 5 or 6 over on Saturday at Brora. But I'm not worried about it, its winter time to have some fun without worrying about scores.
I played pretty well hit every fairway, prob 50% Greens in regulation, just a lot of 3 putts. so what almost 3 months till first medal.

 

[Oddsocks]

I sometimes have a little drill on the course that seems to work, I stand behind the ball and pick my line to the target (often just the middle of the green), address the ball (standing square to the imaginary line) then I don't look up again, just trust the line I picked and hit the ball. It's quite strange to make youself not look up again but it seems to work.

Seems we have the same drill and it works 90% of the time. perfect example is our 2nd SI2. Sunday ive nailed a drive up the middle and my GPS is telling me 205 yards to the middle slightly uphill. Theres 2 bunkers short of the breen by about 20 yards, with a gap around 30 foot at most. With my 5w baring in mind its uphil a sweet 5w will get me there, but with slight wind against its risky, i lned up with the gap between the bunkers knowing if its short through wind or fat, it should be safe. Although it didnt get there it pitched just before the bunkers and rolled through the gap and finished on the fringe. the fact that i failed to get down in 2 from 10ft away on the fringe sums it up.

 

[JustOne]

Well do that more often then!!!!!!!

 

[Oddsocks]

i tried, but things just wasnt clicking. On the plus side smith & westerns at lingfield served me a nice 20oz t bone which made me feel better

 

[goldenbare]

oddsocks, did you notice that there are no trees,bunkers,heather,bushes ob's etc on the range? as well as nice lies and repetitive swing you achieve on the range the lack of these hazards makes your swing nice and relaxed.
Enter the afore mentioned ways of making you a bad score as you play round the course and all the muscles from brain to big toe tighten up. Hence different range swing to course swing unless you can stay totally relaxed

 

[Oddsocks]

Golden, at the range I'm becoming alot more focused on dispersion rates abd accuracy against targets, and after a warm up unless I'm working on a specific area tend to play a virtual 9 holes do I'm not just drilling balls for the fun of it. The only reason I was drilling 4i's on Tuesday abd Thursday was because it's been a while since I've enjoyed a good 4i.

Maybe I should just put Sunday down as an off day and a reality check that s good range session during the week doesn't win the weekend conp for you,