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Sometimes the best play is to take a lesser club and play for a layup than to go for the green in one on the second shot, it sounds as thought you are getting alone well with your driver I would again do as you just said in your last post a par or one over is much better than trying for the green in two of the tee and going OB or worse making a triple on a par 4.

A little advice from someone that has played golf for 43 years.1. 6 months is not enough time. 2. You are spending entirely too much time just hitting balls. If you are
just pounding balls with no purpose, then the number of balls you hit means nothing.
Actually you are doing more harm than good. Each ball you hit should be at a target
you should go through your pre-shot routine with each shot and you should not hit more than 6 balls in a row with the same club. You can play a few holes at your course in your mind on the practice range. always have a target and and swing though
on each shot. 3. Find you a good teaching pro, get some lessons and stick with the
things he has taught you, whether good or bad. 4. Don't ever give up, you have to change your mind to a positive attitude no matter what. Last and not least, don't hit so many balls and not so often, even after a lesson, back off the practice sessions, and finally play for the enjoyment. If you take it too seriously, it will become more of a job and I try to play to get away from my job. I have played much better since I stopped taking the game so serious. Keep us informed as to your progress.

Bcoon I agree. I described my range routine in this thread. I hit towards specific targets take notice of my divot etc. Unfortunately I was able to play one of the par three courses Thursday.

On the first tee a 125 yarder my first shot was pushed to the right into a ditch. My second and third shot hit the poor guy’s pool screen and tile roof to my left. By the tenth hole I had lost half a dozen balls and called it a day. 70 to 90 percent of my shots are either topped or hit fat. After six months of practice I am still failing to simply set the ball in motion on a consistent basis. This is what is leading me to believe that I have an issue with my depth perception and hand eye coordination.

I still have half dozen balls left and plan on playing a full size course this weekend. I don’t think these par three courses are doing me any good. Having to hit lasers or miss the course all together has taken my confidence level to a new low. Hopefully being able to cut loose with my driver, which seems to be the only club I can hit at this point, and not having OB less than thirty yards to my left and right will clear my mind well enough to at least hit the ball.

I have 500 dollars worth of new equipment sitting here and I am beginning to feel a bit foolish. I need to get to a point where I can at least keep the ball in play, or clean these clubs up and see if I can get some of my money back out of them.

I hope that I am not coming off to negative here. I really do love the game and God has given me plenty of desire to play. It’s just a question at this point if he as also given me the ability.

By the way thanks to all who have taken the time to respond here. I try to make it a point to keep any displays of anger or frustration to a mimimum on the course so as not to ruin my partners round. At the very least you guys have provided me an outlet for all my *itching and moaning, and I thank you all.

Murph, don't despair, EVERYONE has the ability to play this game. It is just tough when we start missing the shots. Confidence plays a HUGE part in hitting good shots. Add a positive visualization into your routine where you "see" the shot you want to hit and then don't think about HOW to hit it, simply look at the target, line up and swing. Sounds to me as though you are thinking about too many things. Don't give up. If you are ever close to Hilton Head, let me know and I will take a look at it GRATIS.

That goes for any of the regulars on this board. Anyone desiring a tune-up or to learn a new shot or just use a range, let me know when you are in the Hilton Head area and I can take care of that for you (yes, GRATIS as well).

Murph, I'm afraid your unique issues aren't going to be solved on a golf message board. Usually beginners will spray their drives all over the place, but will generally keep their wedges in play. You're spraying your wedges OB left and right, but you're fairly consistent with your driver. I think at this point, without any of us ever seeing you swing the club, it's impossible to give you any advice except for the "stick with it" comments.

UC, I LOVE that signature...must say starting the day off with a laugh is always good.

I love my driver. I get my hip through I can see it off the club head and despite being a bit short its a reliable club. But then comes my second shot where I have to hit an iron off the deck and all of the sudden I go retarded...There has to be an answer to this!

The revelation came when I understood "stance." At one point I thought there were some clubs I could hit and others I couldn't. That was nonsense because all the clubs are in fact the same. It's magic!

See:



The left most ball is your driver and so on down to the wedge.

I do this a little differently because I got it from Hogan's book. He advocated a closed stance for long irons and woods, even for middle irons, and closed for wedges. And I position the ball in the same place inside my left heel for all shots. The right foot moves back and away as you take more club.

You should read that book and read all posts by THIS USER. Both have served me well. A full tutorial on the stance is available HERE.

Each club requires a different stance relative to the club length. That's the secret.

Don't give up!!! (Of course you're entitled to feel like throwing in the towel ... but that's a whole different thing)

I remember playing my very first round about 20 years ago when I was still a kid. I still remember what I shot ... 157! Whatta ridiculous score! I must have hit nearly every hazard on the course. At the time, I didn't know if this score was good or bad. I had nothing to compare it to, and nobody told me otherwise. My 12 year old playing partner was happy with his 150-something score, and he thought I played great so I was happy. But next time my goal was to beat 157. And ever since then, my goal has remained more or less the same.

What's the meaning of this story? Adults are more prone than kids to set up expectations for themselves. If you approach this game with little expectation other than to have a good time and be satisfied with your round at the end of the day, then you're well on your way. Of course, I have to remind myself about this every once in awhile, too. With the degree of enthusiasm you've got, it's only a matter of time before you'll see improvement.

It's a given that we're going to have expectations. First, make sure they're achievable. Second, keep in mind one caveat about expectations: Don't use them to measure your performance otherwise you might get a complex, especially if your expectations aren't realistic or are too high. Rather, if you view them as guidelines or achievements, it'll hopefully prevent you from turning the learning process into a race - and that's not a fun way to learn anything. Btw, I think if everyone learned how to play golf in 6 months we'd all be bored.

Well the towel has been officailly thrown in.

At the range today I was simply unable to hit any club in the bag. All of my irons where either topped or hit fat. None flying more than 90 yards. My slice is back with a vengance also. Simply put there is not a club in the bag that I can succesfully hit and advance the ball with. I was supose to play today but thought it it would be wise to call and cancel considering my problems.

I guess this just aint my game. Thanks to all who tried to help.

Murph,

Sorry that you have decided to throw in the towel but only you and you alone can make that decision, you have pursued on of the most frustrating games in sports it will humble the most seasoned golfer. I would like to just say that I do hope that sometime in the future that you do give golf a try again, golf is more of a mental game than a physical game there is a saying that the shortest most difficult golf course in the world is the distance between a golfers ears. I am honored that I was able to offer some advice to a fellow golfer good luck and hope to hear from you again.

Hal

Murph,

Throwing in the towel today doesn't mean your golf days have to be over. My guess is that if you care enough about your abilities to enlist a golf forum for help....you'll be back! This game is like a like a long lost love. Just when you think you've gotten her out of your heart, something will remind you of her, and before you realize it...you'll have a club back in your hands!