golfrewind.com

First off, hello to all in the form. I will admit that this is a pretty sorry topic for a first post, but I'm pretty much at the end of my rope.

I took up golf this past Easter and have been quite devoted to it ever since. I go to the range most everyday hitting 150 to 300 practice shots a day have worked with two different pros, and most every waking moment that I'm not at work is spent on practicing my golf swing. I have resonably decent equipment (Adams tightlie irons, and a cobra driver) and the pro who sold me my irons even came down to the range to help me out.

The problem is that there has been very little progress in the past six months. When I first started I could hit about 20% of my balls cleanly and have them land in play, now six months later, when I go to the course I'm lucky to keep the ball in play with 20% of my shots being clean. I seriously doubt that the ranger will allow me to stay on the course once the season begins as there will be people on most every tee and playing through me as I hack balls out of bounds and slowdown played to a snail's pace will no longer be an option. At this point, all evidence points to a general lack of athletic ability. I am 39 years old and in reasonable physical shape, but don't seem to possess the hand eye coordination or talent necessary to achieve a decent golf swing. I don't expect to be Tiger Woods after only six months, but shouldn't I at least be able to keep the ball in play well enough to enjoy my round by this point.

I often golf with people who say that they only go out three or four times a year yet seem capable of advancing the ball well enough to play. The question then I guess is, should I just assumed that I lack the athletic ability, which is where all the evidence points, or is six months to little time to expect any progress.

I guess that no amount practice in the world will ever turne a pygmy into an NFL football player and I'm starting to think that the same is true where golf is concerned in my case.

As a general rule, nobody likes a quitter.

Hope that helps.

no matter how much you practice or hit balls...6 months is a very very very short time to have played golf. I've been playing for around 17 years and still have those days or even months where nothing seems to go right.

Just hang in there.

I would say that you are trying why to hard to master a game that the majority of people and pros do not master in a life time. Back off a bit on the practice and just enjoy the game, and give it more time than six months, hang in there.

It may be something very minute that is making it hard to hit the ball squarly.

But like others have said 6 months is not very long to be playing golf. Dont quit. Get lessons.

yes. its time to quit.

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I don't mean to insult you johnny but looking at your posts, you sound eerily similar to a certain poster from the boards many of us came from. I hope I'm wrong about who you are though...

As for the originator of this thread, like others said, don't give up yet. Get some lessons or something to find out what's going on. 6 months is almost no time to get good at this game. Don't get yourself down too fast.

I wouldn't quit if I were you. I recently just started to play golf. In fact, I picked it up at the end of the last year. Some people are naturally athletic and some just need to work harder at it. It all depends how serious you are in playing the game. It is a slow and arduous process which requires hours of attention. Don't just try to hit the ball at the range, but analyze what you did when you hit it well and what happened when you hit it poorly. After each hit, try to remember and ingrain one or two things that you learned. It is all about baby steps. We all want to shoot low scores someday, but the journey towards that goal is what defines us and the game.

Thanks for the replys and words of encouragement guys. Being new to golf I have no idea what my progress should be at this point. There have been some bright spots here and there. My banana slice off the tee has become a week two hundred yard fade to the right but there are still days when a dozen golf balls are not enough to get me through a round. While I am still losing balls and hitting out of bounds the pool screens and roof tiles are relatively safe now.

I certainly have no lack of desire to play and I think all it would take to keep me on the course would be to simply keep the ball in play and stop losing balls.

Let me ask this of you guys. How long did you have in the game before you were able to at least keep it on the course? I have had some low ninety rounds and can still beat the guys I started playing with last April but I think at this point it would be as big a thrill for me to get through 18 with the same ball as to break 90.

Murph, I played seriously for about a year before breaking 90. And by the way, some people are just naturals at this game and others aren't. By the sound of it, you are a person of average golfing ability who like most of everyone else has to work at this game.

like i tell my 11 year old when he gets frustrated on the course, "you haven't played long enough to be mad at yourself". stick with it. take it from everyone who's ever played golf---6 months of golf is nothing. i know a lot of people who have been playing golf for years and years who don't hit 20% good shots.

imho, you're hitting too many balls. if you're hitting 150+ balls per day, you're just potentially ingraining bad habits.

don't get frustrated. just think of how great those 20% are....they're what keep a guy coming back for more.....good luck. we'll all be pulling for you.

Most golfers have to play a while before they can break 90, so don't let that bother you. If you're losing a dozen balls a round you might want to consider shorter clubs off the tee ,and using a club that you hit relatively straight to play your approach shots. Accuracy before distance in your case. It's no fun for anybody (especially you) when you spend more time looking for lost balls than you do playing the game.

I have played for years and still have trouble keeping it on the course, there are some days you go out and shoot a great round there are other days noting seems to work. May I suggest one thing I do not know what you have in your bag but try this it may help if you have a driver put it way for a while get a good three wood to use as your driver, long Irons 3-4 take those out play with nothing less that a 5I, get yourself a good rescue club that replaces a 3 or 4 iron, and maybe even get a 9 wood. The most important thing at this point is to enjoy the game, at the end of a round sit down and review in your mind what you did when you made a good shot, and what you did when you made a bad shoot or lost a ball write it down in a note book and review ever once in a while you soon find that you are hitting more fairways, playing the entire round with the same ball and your scores are coming down, again hang in there do not give up.

Do not quit, golf is the best game you could ever want to play and you can keep playing for life.

Like NDShim said, you're probably hitting too many balls. Practicing at the range is about quality not quantity, you need to be practicing correctly in order to get results. I suggest buying a video camera, or going to a pro who uses one in their teaching. It is one of the best tools for improving your golf swing. What you feel you are doing and what you are actually doing can sometimes be completely different. Just keep working hard and you will improve. Good Luck

Took me 6 months to break 100.

Played for 3 more years shooting in the 90's and couldn't break it.

Never had a lesson. Quit for a year.

Started again this summer. Bought used Pings and became a student of the game. I read. I watch. I copy. I practice. Handicap is now 14.

I share your frustration as many others do. Your manner of play does not indicate your potential. Being a good athlete does not make you a good golfer. If it did, I'd be shooting par rounds.