golfrewind.com

Haven't we all been there? I'm currently mired in a 'what am I supposed to do with this thing again?' moment. My last complete round was with two of my best buddies 2 Saturday's ago. Went off at 6 am, beautiful day, it was awesome, I shoot 39 on the front. I'm doing everything just like I want. I'm having fun, swinging easy, hitting hard, making putts, I've got some feel with the short game--heck, it's an easy game.

Then, it hit me.

I get to the #11 tee. It a short par four, with a short carry over water. You could hit a 7 iron over the water. I'm in the zone--I plunk two in the water and it's over. The last 8 holes are as if I've never held a club in my hand before. Every swing feels foreign. I can't get a putt within 6 inches of the hole. I manage to scrape it around and finish with a 47, but am completely exhausted after the round.

Now fast forward to this past Monday. I've got a buddy who owns/operates a little 2,700 yard course on the nicest 'resort/cabin' lake in North Dakota. It's a nice little course. I take my boys up with me (11,7,4). We take 3 golf carts out and cruise around and play 9 holes. We're pretty much the only folks on the course and had a blast. I didn't play much, as I was dodging golf carts and 'course managing' 3 kids, but I did tee off on every hole and played about 6 holes in their entirety. Same thing. I couldn't tell you where the shot was going if I wanted to....

I tried everything. Slowing down, rechecking alignment, lightening my grip pressure, yada, yada, yada.

Funny thing is, I can't wait to get to the range and hit a bucket. I know I'll be fine. Work is crazy with the 'back to school' rush in my business, so I'll have to wait a week or two, but haven't we all been there?

We have all been there, haven't we? Please don't tell me I'm the only one? I can't be the only, can I?

What did I do to peeve the golf gods that put me in this funk? I'm guessing I was getting too big for my britches as I have been having a great summer. I guess now I'm just slapped back into reality.

Please someone tell me they've been there too. Misery loves company, you know.

yip, i was there. at the beginning of the summer. no matter what club i hit (even the putter!!!) i seemed to hit a big snap hook. playing in 4 stableford competitions in a row, my scores went: 21pts, 22, pts, 29pts, 26pts. i seriously considered giving up the game. then i thought, "all i need to do is work hard". i started going to the practice ground, and hitting balls all day. my game finally came round, any my last 5 stableford scores at my club have went: 36, 40, 36, 40, 38.

I was there on Monday. I was 3-putting and 4-putting the whole day. What a time to choke, too! (J. C. Championship) I even greened the par-3 6th hole...I walked away with a 5. What a disappointment. Then Tuesday, after a little focus, a little practice and a little sleep (very little sleep), I was hitting beautifully. Putts started going in. Chips came close. Drives went far. Everything was on at one point or another in the round, and produced an 87 round that I was very proud of, even if it was a par-61 course.
Just settle down, swing, and watch as everything (albeit eventually) comes together. That's my best advice (maybe I should follow that advice once in a while)

this happens to me. it happens to everyone i think. even the pros albeit on a different level. when i was following chip around at the PGA last week he played 1 and 2 round w/ tim petrovic who has earned 900K this year on tour. the first day he shot a blistering 4 under par and his swing was smooth as silk. day 2 he shot 6 over 78 and missed the cut. his swing was a little off. you could tell.

it happens to the best of them.

Does the name Tiger Woods mean anything to you? Every golfer who has ever played the game has experienced what you're going through. Here today...gone tomorrow. We all come out of it (eventually) in different ways. Some hit the range, some just play through it, and some even quit for awhile. The hardest part is mental. Your physical ability will help you find your way back to where you once were......but only if you don't let the mental anguish of the struggle keep you down.

BTW....If you're "dodging carts" driven by a 7 year old there's a bigger problem than losing your golf swing. Please consider that it just takes a second for a tragic accident....our children are too precious to risk.

Then you probably don't want me to tell you about my 4 year old driving either. J/K... he only drove when I was in the cart. Actually, my buddy was with my 7-year-old, and I was with the 4-year-old. My 11 year old had his own cart....actually the cart driving was the highlight of the trip for my boys. They love golf, but cart driving is where it's at...

I wasn't dodging carts as much as I was directing who was to have the next swing. Once we get to the green, we usually just start with whomever is away and let them putt until it's in the hole, but on the fairway, I'm giving hand signals faster than a traffic cop in NYC.

Agreed, I wouldn't turn my 7 year old loose alone on a golf cart, even though he'd think it was grand. He equates Playstation 2 driving games with the real thing....but, then again, so do I....I know I could handle a NASCAR at 200 mph around Talladega....

hey man...it think its cool about your kids.

its awesome you take them out to play and let them drive. my dad did the same with me.

don't change a thing.

"What happens when you just lose it?"

Haven't the foggiest.
Has never happened to me.
Not once.
Ever.

Losing control of the cart, I mean.

I lost control of a greens mower once. Early in the morning, dew on the ground. Wasn't pretty, took a mud bath with SamT's pigs, I'm sure they liked it, but I didn't.

This is a little off topic, but 10 years ago I was involved in helping build a new course. My General Manager called the paper to come out and do a few publicity shots. So when the photographer comes out he starts taking a bunch of pics and then he sees me mowing a green and said he'd like a shot of me mowing the green. As soon as I began to get the mower in proper position, I lost control of it and began sliding down a steep hill and got stuck. So the guy says to forget the mowing part, just do something around the flagstick, so I knell down and pretend to be doing something around the cup. So of all the pics he took that day, he chose the one of me for the front page of the sports page above the fold doing absolutely nothing - and in the background you see this stupid greensmower stuck on the side of the hill.

Atleast you didn't go in the hazard like I did. That was a year ago and I still have not lived it down. The mechanic there was really upset about it till 4 months later he put the fringe mower in the pond on number 6. Totally sunk it, all I did was get the greensmower muddy.

I didn't know that you work at a course...for some reason I assumed that this was something you did while in college or when you were younger - we're about the same age. How long you been doing this?

We are the same age. My friend and Pro from high school owns a driving range and par 3 here in town. He has taught me alot about golf courses and the game.

Sorry ND for going off topic on your thread - I'll mention 4 tips that has helped me when I was more focused on playing than I have been the last 10 years. When the wheels start to fall off - on the first shot after a bad one make sure: 1) make sure you 'see' the clubhead hit the ball 2) forget distance - concentrate on just hitting the shot on line, even if you don't hit it pure 3) relax like your hitting on the range. The reason that a lot of us hit the ball well on the range is that usually we are just concetrating on getting good contact and hitting on line - distance isn't the primary factor on the range; getting good contact is-take that thot to the first tee. By not focusing on distance and just taking a relaxed and rythmic swing leads to increasing your odds to hit a least a playable shot. 4)last thot - put enough club in your hands to comfortably reach your target - this is the most important thing on a par 3 where I think a lot of people try to over swing their irons. Think line first, then distance and stay relaxed, especially the wrists - no tension with the grip or wrists - just hold it firm enough to hold the club, then don't overswing. The wheels will come back on.

Hope this helps you - I am putting my own thots to test because tommorrow I'll actually be playing in a tournament and for the first time in years, I think I'm going to play well. When I was breaking 80 years ago, those 4 thots always got me back on track faster than anything.

A month or two ago, I had a terrible 1st hole on a par 5. First, I sliced the tee shot out of bounds. Then I sliced my second ball and it barely stayed in bounds. I lost it soon after as I hit the ball off the toe and it went OB again. My next shot was a good one to get me to within 100 yards of the green but I shanked that shot. I don't even know what my score was on that hole but it was enough to make me decide I was not going to keep score and I would not try.

I find that usually works. To not try. If you stop thinking about your swing and just hit it, you might start hitting decent shots. Then once you get your confidence back, you can start trying again.