What is the best way to become consistent
- Thread starter AMcC
- Start date
garyinderry
Ryder Cup Winner
What is consistent?
1) Knocking the ball around in a decent score relative to handicap?
Achieved by thinking your way around the course as well as you can and giving each shot as much concentration as you can muster. A never give up attitude is also a must. Don't drop your head and grind out the best score you can on any given day no matter how poor the last shot was.
2) not hitting the odd wild shot which can damage a round?
This won't ever stop. The amount will reduce as your skill level improves. You have to use your course management to try and make your miss less damaging. Example, out of bounds down the right, bang it down the opposite fairway to the left and take it from there. The pros do it at the old course, you can do it at yours if it saves your score.
1) Knocking the ball around in a decent score relative to handicap?
Achieved by thinking your way around the course as well as you can and giving each shot as much concentration as you can muster. A never give up attitude is also a must. Don't drop your head and grind out the best score you can on any given day no matter how poor the last shot was.
2) not hitting the odd wild shot which can damage a round?
This won't ever stop. The amount will reduce as your skill level improves. You have to use your course management to try and make your miss less damaging. Example, out of bounds down the right, bang it down the opposite fairway to the left and take it from there. The pros do it at the old course, you can do it at yours if it saves your score.
D
Deleted member 15717
Guest
Hit it out of the 'sweetspot' then swing path and club face direction take care of themselves. Incorrect. You can middle it, but if the club face is square to a path going left, then the ball is going left.
Learn to return the club on a neutral path first...then find strike would be my idea.
Foxholer
Blackballed
A huge +1 to this!
SocketRocket
Ryder Cup Winner
Ideally both unless you want to shape the shot in which case an understanding of 'D' plane will help.
SocketRocket
Ryder Cup Winner
I disagree. If you get someone to hit the ball at the correct approach angle and out the middle the rest will happen. I explained earlier that if someone instructed you to hit a nail into a piece of wood with a hammer they wouldnt explain what positions you needed to move your arm through or the path of the hammer, as long as you understand the hammer must strike the ball square and out the middle your on board super computer takes care of how to do it. Only in golf are we given such detailed instruction on how to manipulate our bodies rather than focusing on the actual moment of impact. Due to this so many people playing golf get themselves horribly confused by over complicating the action needed to strike the ball.
If you imagine a nail tacked into the golf ball and you must strike the nail into the ball at the correct angle you will be on the way to good impact. Think of the nail at an angle of 20 Deg for short to mid irons, 10 Deg for wood/ hybrids/ long irons and square for your driver and 3 wood.
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D
Deleted member 15717
Guest
That wasn't what you said earlier....you said nothing about approach angle/path. Just hitting the middle of the club face. The point that bobmac made was that if you aren't on a neutral path, or as close to it as possible, then the desired outcome isn't there, as you'll just middle the ball into the trees.
Get the path corrected first, if there are issues, and strike will come. No point finding the strike, then adjusting the angle, as strike will disappear again
Craigg
Q-School Graduate
So you're agreed that swing path is just as important as finding the middle?
Sorry, but you can't teach someone to middle it, and then change their path later on. If they change their path then they're back to square one. The golf swing can't be taught in bits. All parts are inextricably linked.
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
Surely the main area to look at first to gain consistency is getting as close a possible to getting a repeatable swing path at the correct alignment to get the ball going in the right direction. Even if you don't get it out of the sweet spot then at least it will still go down the middle ish. Hitting the sweet spot isn't much use of alignment and swing path has you aiming 20degrees left or right as the ball sails into the rubbish but nicely out of the sweet spot.
Craigg
Q-School Graduate
SocketRocket
Ryder Cup Winner
No I never. Can you show where I said hitting the ball with a wide open or shut face was good impact. Hitting the ball above the equator, out the toe/heel are guaranteed to create poor shots. If you actually read what I said I explained that 'good impact was what you need to achieve, I also explained that the correct use of the wrists were necessary. Do you take hitting with a wide open/ shut clubface as the correct use of the wrists?
This is what I posted earlier
"IMO you can swing on plane, create lag etc but if you don't make good ball impact then it's going to frustrate your game. For me the starting point to improve is learning how hit out the middle and how to control the wrists to allow this to happen, controlling the ball path has to come after this."
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D
Deleted member 15717
Guest
You said finding the middle...that's it. Nothing about the best path into the ball. No-one else has mentioned hitting it a wide open face (or shut face), just you. Players may well be finding the middle of the face, and puring it...however, if the face is closed to path...it is going left, even if they have middled it.
The player needs to find neutral path, then find the strike with that neutral path. As Phil has said, if path is neutral, then at least the ball should start straight. Then it's face to path control to ensure it stays there!
SocketRocket
Ryder Cup Winner
Thats incorrect. If you use a neutral path or probably better described as an inside to inside path and the clubface is not square to the path the ball will not go straight.
SocketRocket
Ryder Cup Winner
Hitting out the toe or heel will not place the ball down the middle. Swingpath alone will not put the ball down the middle either. The initial direction will be due to the clubface direction then any deviation from that will be the result of the difference between the vector the clubface points and the vecor the swingpath takes at impact.
SocketRocket
Ryder Cup Winner
If that's what you want to believe then carry on. My initial comment was that to improve consistency than work out how to make good contact and hit it out the sweetspot. I also explained that correct use of the wrists were needed. If you want to read that as 'Hitting out the sweetspot is all you need to do' then carry on, I cant be assed to keep explaining to you.
D
Deleted member 15717
Guest
So, in summary, what you are saying is, contrary to your original point...it isn't just 'hit it out the sweet spot and everything else is taken care of'...there are a lot more factors in play, and which is why it isn't just as simple as 'hammering a nail'
SocketRocket
Ryder Cup Winner
It is as easy as hammering a nail. The ball understands nothing about your swing, it only respects the clubface striking it, just like a nail with a hammer. Make good impact and the rest is just baggage.
[video=youtube;4Ot1S-IB4xs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ot1S-IB4xs[/video]
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D
Deleted member 15717
Guest
And if you make good impact, in a wrong direction?
I agree in principal, that it is all about strike...however, that strike needs to be delivered properly to create consistency. No point delivering strike, but in all sort of different angles and the ball firing off to the trees. That's not the consistency we want. Unless consistently inconsistent is a thing
SocketRocket
Ryder Cup Winner
[video=youtube;4Ot1S-IB4xs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ot1S-IB4xs[/video]
