Should have left well alone

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Bit of a frustration post this one. So sorry for the rant.

I used to love my golf. Loved practising, loved playing and did so at every opportunity.

After 2 years I got myself down from 24 to 12 and was starting to shoot a few sub-80 rounds. I had regular coaching and although my swing wasn't perfect it was consistent.

People used to comment that I had an Els like tempo and hit it a long way. Effortless power was an often comment. Although my swing was a little bit flat at times.

At the end of 2010 season I had a discussion with my pro about goals for the next year and getting into single figures was the obvious target. He said we'd have to make some swing changes through the winter but it was the right time to do it. The main changes was getting me to take the club away on a steeper plane.

So we started work on the changes, with me knowing full well I was going to get worse for while before I started to get better. At least 1 lesson a month and 2-3 range sessions a week. After 6 months there was no sign of getting better, I was still getting worse. My usually consistent low 80 rounds had turned into mid to high 90 rounds. I'd lost all confidence. I stand over a shot having no idea what was going on or where it was going to end up. I even shot a 115 in that time.

After a lot of thought I decided something had to change. So I went and saw another pro who a friend recommended who started coaching me during the summer. Things started to improve for a while but consistency was still all over the place. I shot a 76 one week then the following week shot a 110.

At the end of last summer things were still all over the place and I was finding it hard to find time to see my 2nd coach as he was a bit too far away and was really busy, so struggled to fit in lessons when I needed. So swapped coaches again in Oct last year.

And so it all starts again. I really like my new coach, I know what he is teaching is right, same as the other coaches. But for whatever reason, I just can't seem to get any change to stick no matter how much I practice.

My head is a mess, my swing is a mess and I dread playing and have done for over year now.

I am so close to quitting the game it's not funny, which is a real shame as I used to absolutely love it.

My membership is due for renewal at the end of Feb and I honestly think unless I can start to see some light at the end of the tunnel I can see me quitting at that point.

All the time, effort and money I put into this game and it's just making me miserable.

As the title of the post says. I wish I had left well alone with changing my swing. It really has ruined my love for this wonderful game. I wish I could have my old swing back, flaws and all.
 
Jeez, Westy. I've just had a read through your blog and its no wonder your head is in bits. One post talks about hands, the next about feet, then swing plane... You got down to a decent handicap playing decent golf; had you plataeu'd? What aspect had made decide on another change? The game is rarely about constant improvement. Sometimes you've got to consolidate what you've got, run with it for a while, keep stats of your game then work on one aspect of it. Consolidate that then repeat the process of monitoring your game. Identify the weak part then work on that.

Sounds like you've got paralysis by analysis. Stop fiddling with it and just go and play golf for a while.
 
I feel for you. I've done it twice now (golf and snooker/pool) and both times I've been almost obsessed with improving my technique when I used to get compliments with my own self-taught technique.

In my case case - and I'd guess the same for you - it's just the type of person I am.
I can't be happy just being pretty good and being better than most of my mates, I have to strive to be better.

Both times I've said to myself many times I wish I hadn't started tinkering, but I couldn't be any other way. It's just how I am.
 
I agree with Hobbit.
As soon as someone's handicap drops, the cry of "swing changes to get lower" can be heard.
Quite often people go bacwards.
When your handicap drops a few shots, it takes time to get used to playing to it. 4 or 5 shots off a handicap means you have to consistently play better to score and that's hard.
Surely a better way would be to spend a season consolidating what you have, learning to play off the new handicap and then going for any change once the dust has settled..

Westy - take a couple of months off, don't even swing. Come back and just play, don't think too much about technique just hit it.
There's too much going on in your head.
 
Region3 said:
I feel for you. I've done it twice now (golf and snooker/pool) and both times I've been almost obsessed with improving my technique when I used to get compliments with my own self-taught technique.

In my case case - and I'd guess the same for you - it's just the type of person I am.
I can't be happy just being pretty good and being better than most of my mates, I have to strive to be better.

Both times I've said to myself many times I wish I hadn't started tinkering, but I couldn't be any other way. It's just how I am.
Click to expand...

Region, i think you've hit the nail on the head there. Everything I do I strive to be as good as I possibly can. Always looking for that next improvement. Not looking to really be better than everybody else, just see how good I can get at something. And that's just my nature.

And I guess that is what drives the constant changes. But I will say all the changes I have been making are directed by my pro, I used to make a lot of changes myself but stopped doing that last year.

Trouble is now I need to follow through on this swing change as my swing in it's current condition isn't what I'd call usable. It's part new swing up to the top and part old swing on the way down. I think I just need to get through this and then leave well alone.

But that's the exact position I was in at the end of last winter and honestly don't think I can face another summer like last year.
 
I can feel your pain mate, but there is light. I'm six months into a two year project to alter my swing. This was a big decision as I was playing off 8 but wanted to maximise any potential and get consistency. Before I started the changes I thought long and hard about which pro to use. I actually 'test drove' a couple to get their thoughts about how they could help me and what they would do. Once started I prepared myself for a complete change knowing that I was going to be rubbish for a long time whilst the changes took place.

For four months of lessons I couldn't hit a thing. My worst round was over 100 and that has never happened. However, although disappointed and frustrated, I still felt this was part of the change. It was so easy to change pros or go back to my old game...but I didn't. I stuck at it, continued doing good practice with occasional lessons from the pro. The key so far is not to over analyse and to work on one aspect of the swing at a time.

It's only now, six months later, that things are starting to happen in the right direction. Little comments from my partners saying your swing is looking better and more solid do wonders for the confidence. My ball striking is more consistent and I feel that some of the changes are becoming natural.

However, I know that I have a long way to go. My mind set is ready for this though as I know where I want to go. Progress, as someone told me, is a rising sawtooth graph; small progression, with a dip, then progression...

Maybe you have chopped and changed pros too often and maybe gone into to much analysis too soon? Perhaps you get frustrated knowing that you can do it, should do it, but it just doesn't work? The enjoyment for me during this is key, hence I made an effort to play less on the course and do more good practice, little and often. This dovetails well with the pro teaching as he offers a clear strategy of fixes, looking at one thing at a time and getting the basic right.

I would urge you to get the enjoyment back and put less pressure on yourself. How you do that is up to you, and then select and stay with a pro for the duration. At the end of the day, if it doesn't work for you, get back out their on the course and your old swing will come back soon!

Good luck! :cheers:
 
Sounds to me like you're standing over the ball thinking about a million different things that you need to do to hit the ball. Rather than just hitting the ball. I stopped having lessons in 2010 for this exact reason, I couldn't hit the ball for trying to hit the ball.

I used to love practicing and would spend hours at the range working on my swing changes and although I could see the changes working I couldn't put a score together. I loved watching my swing on video and seeing how it had improved but I finally got to the point where I wasn't enjoying my golf so I stopped the lessons, stopped so much practicing and decided this year I was just gonna play as much as possible and see where it took me - the result is my h'cap is dropping.

There are still things I'm not happy about with my swing but while part of me wants to make my swing better the rest of me doesn't want to fill my head with all those swing thoughts again and I can see areas in my short game and putting that will lower my h'cap without messing with my swing.

The bottom line is you don't need the perfect swing to get to single figures. Most of the guys I see at our club who play off lower handicaps than me have ugly swings, really ugly but they get the ball in the hole. If you managed to get to 12 then that swing would have been good enough to get you to single figures. I think what you need is to try to find the swing that got you to 12, stop trying to improve it, work on your putting and short game and enjoy yourself.
 
Guys thanks for the words of encouragement and advice.

I think I'm going to have a few weeks away from playing. Although I said I dread playing I still actually want to play. Is that odd ? Guess it's the optimist in me thinking maybe it'll come good today. :confused:

I'm still going to practice as I think I need to see through these swing changes. I think too much has changed over the past 12-18 months in my swing to get back what I had. :(

I'm probably going to give it until the end of Feb and try to get myself to a point where I have a usable swing and then stick with it through the summer and just go play.

I think the swing thought point is a fair one and something I've tried to stop on the course as I suffered from that through the changes last year. This time I've tried to just go and play but it's probably more the case that these last set of changes haven't settled in yet.

I'll still work on my short game, although at the moment that's probably the best part of my game and all that's been keeping my scores from being really shocking over the past few months.

Thanks again for the encouragement. I really don't want to quit a game I've enjoyed so much and put so much into.
 
Westy,
What you describe is practically a mirror image of me my friend......With the exception of the lessons.....Im self thought and started 2 years ago off 21......Im now down to 16 with a lot frustration...As you probably seen from some posts i went through a bad season last year right the way through the summer making changes.....

Im still not 100% but like you i always push myself to be and do the best i can with the resources i have....
I want to get the best from myself but i have to enjoy it too....Thats the hard part...Balancing fun with being seriousness.

Iv gone full circle from slicing and fading the ball to drawing and hooking it....Not easy....And there have been times when i have questioned my goals but im still young enough at 37 so if i can battle through a few not so good years of changes im hoping in 2 or 3 years time it'll pay off.

I understand your frustration also in standing over a ball and not knowing where its going to end up....That was one thing that was fairly consistent with an out to in swing...At worst it was a straight pull left which was very rare when i had the slice minimised to a gentle fade but that fade i always new where i was aiming and where it would end up......

I too have been guilty of overcomplicating things with my swing....I wanted to find out why a shot happened and what caused it and how it could be fixed....I know that without the internet and books id still be slicing the ball but they can be the worst possible measures at times especially the amount of conflicting information theses days in magazines....Its total lunacy.....In my opinion they just want to fill pages and dont seem to care whats put in them just so Joe Public will buy them.....
 
I was close to quitting then changed to stack and tilt and now I don't really think about my swing at all, certainly not the 3,000+ swing thoughts I used to have that would change every other day. Shame my body can't cash the cheques my head is writing... still swing too hard with too little club... but hey, what's new :)
 
Tempo is one of my many issues at the moment.

12-18 months ago it looked like I swung in slow motion.

I was looking at a vid of my swing the other day and thought, geez that's too quick. Then realised it was actually playing at half speed :confused:
 
Because there are some poor sods, like me, who take it far too seriously. We know we do, but that's just how we are.
 
It certainly seems to have got a hold of you Westy.
My tuppence worth would be, not to give up on this great game, just go out and play,

Hit the ball, go find it and hit it again and just enjoy it.

Hope you pull through.
 
Westy, I have a feeling you have lost the reason for playing in pursuit of perfection & single figures. I bet if you had the 12 h/c swing and carried on playing for the enjoyment it would have come down further just through playing with a free mind and an easy swing.

I am sure you will work through this blip. As said, maybe have a few weeks off playing and assess what you really want out of golf - enjoyment of playing golf or a killer handicap that puts more pressure on to maintain?

good luck :)
 
I know where you are coming from. My pursuit of a decent swing and a desire to get back close to single figures are well documented. I think everyone knows that three or four years ago I was mashed up in the head trying to think of too many things. I swapped to a golf pro with excellent teaching credentials and he got me from 18-11 (ok it drifted back to 13). However in the last few lessons he made some changes that I couldn't get to work. I knew what he was trying to do but I couldn't replicate what I was doing during and straight after a lesson into other range sessions or on the course. I was playing shocking golf and not enjoying it.

I decided to get a fresh pair of eyes to look at my swing. The guy I'm with now has really re-invigorated my game. He's changed the swing a fair bit and in the space of one 30 minute lesson can really see some improvement. I have a much clearer idea of what the swign shoud be doign and its all much simpler than with the previous guy. We're working on SUBSTANCE OVE STYLE. I'll never have a textbook swing but if we can get something that works regularly and caters for the flaws I've got then we're take that and its how many and not what it looks like.

I'm proof positive of what can happen if you stick with it. I would never have thought I'd have won the qualifier at St Pierre iin the GM Centenary event let alone coming so close in the final. My game was a mess at the time but I went out to enjoy the break (took HID along) and just try and not embarrass myself. Played with a new freedom and swung so much better.

I'd stick with the new guy and keep the membership. You'll regret it in the summer especially. My advice from one that has been there is to either take a break from the range, just play and accept that it may not go so well although I think as soon as you free your mind frm a trillion swing thoughts you'll find the old tempo and timing or have a complete rest from golf. No games, no practice, no watching instructional clips, DVD's books etc. Let your mind quieten down.

Once you're ready, go back to the teaching pro. Explain the situation, the frustration and the desire to improve and see what he says. I think you are tryingto change too much too quickly and you can only focus on one change at a time (I know I've tried). Decide what needs the work, get the drills and enjoy the practice. If you still don't get any better the last resort is to ditch the tuition, go back to swinging it as you did and just accept that your handicap is what it is. Chances are you'll enjoy it a lot more and a good round will bring a cut anyway and maybe a bit of silverware or vouchers.

I hope you find the answer and the mojo soon
 
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