thinking about the shot too much!!

[bigfoot1985]

i have been playing really bad recently yet i know i can do so much better, my problem is i stand over the ball thinking i should be doing this and i should be doing that and i felt i was thinking about the shot too much!!

Well today i went out and thought sod it, im just going to go up to the ball no practice swing and just hit the ball... Well what a difference. Played really well Felt alot better about just hitting the ball and not thinking too much about things.

So my advice is to not over think about where the club should be on the back swing and how much flex a knee should have and just hit the ball!!!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Regulars on here will remember a few years back when I use to play with 8962 different swing thoughts in my head over any one shot. Hit it, find it and hit it again was the mantra on here and by and large that is what I do now. The problems start though when a shank or a nagging slice (the latter yesterday) pop up from nowhere and you can't help wonder what you are doing to cause it. Cue more swing thoughts and more problems.

 

[Lump]

I agree with homer. Its finding a happy medium and that one swing thought that works.
I struggle with this. When things start to go wrong I tend to speed up, sometimes it'll work but I'll stop thinking and slip into a bad swing.
What I have found helps me is to have a set routine and make sure I follow it. It especially helps with putting.

 

[Mr_T]

I agree bigfoot, there are times when i just hit it and don't worry about the swing, although when you do think through a shot and you get it just right its a great feeling

 

[Bash]

It's like Dr Bob Rotella says. The place for all those thoughts is on the practice field. Too many things going through your head on the course is bound to have a negative effect.
I went out on my own yesterday and just hit balls, not taking the 'age' I normally do over a ball and parred the first 5 holes, making me think "why can't I play like that in comps?". Don't know whether all those thoughts makes me too tense or whether my little brain just can't cope with more than two or three thought processes at a time!!
Either way, I think if you've practiced enough (or at least done a proper 'warm up session' before your game), you can hit the ball without having to over-think your shots

 

[Khamelion]

The last game I played, I didn't do any pre-game praticing or warm ups. As it was a cold-ish day I did a little bit of stretching while waiting for our Tee time to arrive, then just played, no over thinking or cogitating over the ball, short delay then smack, played one of my best rounds this year with a 91.

I dare say it would've been better but I was on-call and while chipping on to the 15th green I got a call for a customer problem, so the last 3 holes was literally hit and run, while the mantra of this thread is to play without thinking, these last three holes was play without thinking but while panting like a knackered horse

So I can vouch for the no thinking when over the ball routine, just not for the running between shots.

 

[One Planer]

I used to think my way through he shot.

I've come to realise that's what the practie ground is for (as has been said). Now I just try and make a concious effort to swing in a smooth, controlled manor rather than swinging so hard I come out of my shoes , and let the rest take care of its self.