RangeMonkey
Active member
Ok, I’m starting a thread to stop me from hijacking other threads with my tales of misery.
Here’s a summary of what is spread out over other posts, with some bits I haven’t mentioned yet. It’s basically my “story so far”.
In August last year, a bloke a work mentioned he goes to a local driving range (Trafford Golf Centre) after work, and asked me if I fancied a trip out the next week.
Now, I’m 53 and overweight, but I have a very sporty background. I’m a long time practitioner of yoga and Tai Chi, and have now and then instructed Tai Chi. I’ve competed in fencing, archery, martial arts, tennis, badminton and squash. I’ve been an obsessive indoor rower, once rowing a half marathon in just over 90 minutes. I’ve been a sport rock climber. I’m quite competitive.
This means I didn’t want to turn up at the range with work colleagues, having never hit a golf ball in my life. So, on a day off I happened to have, I went to the range to book an “assessment lesson”, thinking I’d get a few tips, and perhaps not embarrass myself in front of the lads. At the lesson, the PGA coach would not believe I’d never hit a golf ball. Almost every ball I hit went reasonably straight, and by the end of the lesson I was hitting a seven iron about 120 yards. This is what I fully expected. I’m good at sport. One time I trained with Shaolin monks, and the instructor, who could barely speak English, came to me in class and said “Your kungfu very good”. I thought I could die happy.
But now golf has robbed me of my self-satisfied demise...
After the assessment lesson, I went to the range with my workmates, and they, too, would not believe I’d never played. I was puzzled why they were hitting them all over the show.
So, I decided to book more lessons, and buy some clubs.
By October, I’d started working to a training plan and keeping range stats, and with all my clubs, I was hitting 70-80% of my shots straight (within my fairly generous definition of straight - would it hit a 30 yard wide fairway), and getting fair (but no good) distance.
In November, it fell apart. Sucdenly, in every session, the only way I could make half decent contact was to reduce to a half swing. By this stage, I’d had about 8 lessons. I was due my next lesson, hoping this could be sorted, when I broke a rib.
The physio said I’d be out until New Year, but in my youth I’d fought martial arts comps with broken toes and fingers, so I had no intention of letting it take that long! By the beginning of December, the physio gave me the all clear, and I went back to the range.
I was in the same place as before, barely able to hit the ball. At my next lesson, it seemed to come together, but at my very next range session it was gone again. And the next, and the next...
Afer going all through December and barely managing to hit a dozen decent shots out of about 800 range balls, I posted on here that I was desperate, and thinking of giving up.
Also, over Christmas, I went onto my local par 3 course twice. I thoroughly enjoyed it... but more for the walk than the golf. First time I played 10 holes and shot 61, second time I played 13 and shot 79 ... that’s 13 par 3’s, so 40 over on 13 par 3s. Statistically, that’s about the same as shooting around 145 on a par 72 course... the WHS will apparently allow handicaps up to 54...but not 73!
Then I went for another lesson last week, and again, during the lesson, things improved dramatically. And this time, at my next three range sessions, I was hitting the ball the best I ever have. I had one session with my hybrid where every single range ball (40) on the bounce carried about 160 yards, and landed within a 20 yard wide slot on the range. I was deliriously happy, and posted on here to say so.
Then, again, it fell apart. I don’t mean it got less good. I didn’t go to topping or shanking a couple, or missing the target. I went to missing the ball.
Probably one swing in three was an air shot. I had 40 range balls, and must have had to swing 50 or 60 times to shift them, because I keep missing. And when I did hit them, generally, I barely made contact - maybe clipping the ball by a millimetre or two, and giving it just enough momentum to trickle into the gravel in front of the mat. I made enough contact with three or four to send them out to about 20 yards.
So, apart from three good sessions, I basically haven’t been able to hit the ball since the beginning of November, despite a couple of lessons in that time.
Since August, I’ve had ten lessons, I visited the range 4-5 times a week, and I‘ve hit over 5000 balls. Ive got six more lessons pre-paid for, but I’m not sure I can face doing them. After being at least “good” at every other sport I’ve tried, and frankly, really good at a few, this seems to have me beat.
It‘s so frustrating that it started so well, and for three months I saw steady, significant gain, to then be followed by almost three months where I honestly - literally - could do no worse if I swung with my eyes shut. That’s not an exaggeration, it’s really that bad.
I‘m away with work at the moment, so even if I were tempted to give it another go (and currently I’m not), I couldn’t.
At the moment I have no plans to visit the range or the course, or to take any more lessons.
If after a week or so, I feel I want to try, then I’ll book a lesson, and see what happens.
If I haven‘t had that desire by a few weeks from now, I’ll probably hold my hands up, admit that I‘m nto suited to golf, and sell my gear.
P.S.
This is all long-game. My short game shots (“finesse wedges”, a la Sieckman) seemed ok still, last time I tried about a week ago, and haven’t suffered the same slump. I’ve had no short game coaching. I’ve self taught from Sieckman and Pelz. Maybe I need to find a par 2 course...
Here’s a summary of what is spread out over other posts, with some bits I haven’t mentioned yet. It’s basically my “story so far”.
In August last year, a bloke a work mentioned he goes to a local driving range (Trafford Golf Centre) after work, and asked me if I fancied a trip out the next week.
Now, I’m 53 and overweight, but I have a very sporty background. I’m a long time practitioner of yoga and Tai Chi, and have now and then instructed Tai Chi. I’ve competed in fencing, archery, martial arts, tennis, badminton and squash. I’ve been an obsessive indoor rower, once rowing a half marathon in just over 90 minutes. I’ve been a sport rock climber. I’m quite competitive.
This means I didn’t want to turn up at the range with work colleagues, having never hit a golf ball in my life. So, on a day off I happened to have, I went to the range to book an “assessment lesson”, thinking I’d get a few tips, and perhaps not embarrass myself in front of the lads. At the lesson, the PGA coach would not believe I’d never hit a golf ball. Almost every ball I hit went reasonably straight, and by the end of the lesson I was hitting a seven iron about 120 yards. This is what I fully expected. I’m good at sport. One time I trained with Shaolin monks, and the instructor, who could barely speak English, came to me in class and said “Your kungfu very good”. I thought I could die happy.
But now golf has robbed me of my self-satisfied demise...
After the assessment lesson, I went to the range with my workmates, and they, too, would not believe I’d never played. I was puzzled why they were hitting them all over the show.
So, I decided to book more lessons, and buy some clubs.
By October, I’d started working to a training plan and keeping range stats, and with all my clubs, I was hitting 70-80% of my shots straight (within my fairly generous definition of straight - would it hit a 30 yard wide fairway), and getting fair (but no good) distance.
In November, it fell apart. Sucdenly, in every session, the only way I could make half decent contact was to reduce to a half swing. By this stage, I’d had about 8 lessons. I was due my next lesson, hoping this could be sorted, when I broke a rib.
The physio said I’d be out until New Year, but in my youth I’d fought martial arts comps with broken toes and fingers, so I had no intention of letting it take that long! By the beginning of December, the physio gave me the all clear, and I went back to the range.
I was in the same place as before, barely able to hit the ball. At my next lesson, it seemed to come together, but at my very next range session it was gone again. And the next, and the next...
Afer going all through December and barely managing to hit a dozen decent shots out of about 800 range balls, I posted on here that I was desperate, and thinking of giving up.
Also, over Christmas, I went onto my local par 3 course twice. I thoroughly enjoyed it... but more for the walk than the golf. First time I played 10 holes and shot 61, second time I played 13 and shot 79 ... that’s 13 par 3’s, so 40 over on 13 par 3s. Statistically, that’s about the same as shooting around 145 on a par 72 course... the WHS will apparently allow handicaps up to 54...but not 73!
Then I went for another lesson last week, and again, during the lesson, things improved dramatically. And this time, at my next three range sessions, I was hitting the ball the best I ever have. I had one session with my hybrid where every single range ball (40) on the bounce carried about 160 yards, and landed within a 20 yard wide slot on the range. I was deliriously happy, and posted on here to say so.
Then, again, it fell apart. I don’t mean it got less good. I didn’t go to topping or shanking a couple, or missing the target. I went to missing the ball.
Probably one swing in three was an air shot. I had 40 range balls, and must have had to swing 50 or 60 times to shift them, because I keep missing. And when I did hit them, generally, I barely made contact - maybe clipping the ball by a millimetre or two, and giving it just enough momentum to trickle into the gravel in front of the mat. I made enough contact with three or four to send them out to about 20 yards.
So, apart from three good sessions, I basically haven’t been able to hit the ball since the beginning of November, despite a couple of lessons in that time.
Since August, I’ve had ten lessons, I visited the range 4-5 times a week, and I‘ve hit over 5000 balls. Ive got six more lessons pre-paid for, but I’m not sure I can face doing them. After being at least “good” at every other sport I’ve tried, and frankly, really good at a few, this seems to have me beat.
It‘s so frustrating that it started so well, and for three months I saw steady, significant gain, to then be followed by almost three months where I honestly - literally - could do no worse if I swung with my eyes shut. That’s not an exaggeration, it’s really that bad.
I‘m away with work at the moment, so even if I were tempted to give it another go (and currently I’m not), I couldn’t.
At the moment I have no plans to visit the range or the course, or to take any more lessons.
If after a week or so, I feel I want to try, then I’ll book a lesson, and see what happens.
If I haven‘t had that desire by a few weeks from now, I’ll probably hold my hands up, admit that I‘m nto suited to golf, and sell my gear.
P.S.
This is all long-game. My short game shots (“finesse wedges”, a la Sieckman) seemed ok still, last time I tried about a week ago, and haven’t suffered the same slump. I’ve had no short game coaching. I’ve self taught from Sieckman and Pelz. Maybe I need to find a par 2 course...
