In my tryouts the other day, I noticed there were several shots, even some that I was very confident in, where I found myself decelerating. Most of these were chips, putts, and 50-60 yard shots. Most people struggle with have wedges but I have found that I have a lot of confidence in them. Now my big question is, how do you keep yourself from trying to aim the ball on the tee, not decelerating in shots, and being fully commited? Obviously some comes from practice but what else is necessary to remain unconditionally confident?
Confidence in the club I'm using is the key for me. I had a friend ask me recently "You're not really going to try to reach that with a 6 iron are you?" It was a distance I was sure of, a club I hit well and a shot I've got, but his question got inside my head and I overcooked the shot. I should have stepped away from the ball and either committed to the shot I had decided on or gone with a different club. Once I was no longer confident in the shot, I was as good as done. I knew it before this happened, but this reinforced it in my mind. You've got to believe in the shot you are trying to make.
In my tryouts the other day, I noticed there were several shots, even some that I was very confident in, where I found myself decelerating. Most of these were chips, putts, and 50-60 yard shots. Most people struggle with have wedges but I have found that I have a lot of confidence in them. Now my big question is, how do you keep yourself from trying to aim the ball on the tee, not decelerating in shots, and being fully commited? Obviously some comes from practice but what else is necessary to remain unconditionally confident?
Try this one. Make your backswing as slow as possible, infact slower and in more control than a 100 foot putt. So next time on the range when you practice 50 - 60 yard shots address the ball and say to yourself really, really, really dont hit it just a smooth slow swing,- your built in intent and feel will get the ball there.
I have been working hard on footwork and the effects have become especially apparent in my short game...it seems that by bringing the knee through has really helped in both control as well as better ball striking...
what i do when i'm having problems decelerating is, i take the club back slower and shorten my backswing just a tad. ie it takes me a half SW to hit 50 yds. so i try to take it 40% back and this in turn forces me to make sure i accelerate through impact. almost like i'm overcompensating. going just that little bit less makes me fully commit to the shot.
If you normally hit the putts and pitch shots good but did not do it in try outs, you went into the fear mode, choking in some terms. Be task focused on your shots not on the outcome.
If you normally hit the putts and pitch shots good but did not do it in try outs, you went into the fear mode, choking in some terms. Be task focused on your shots not on the outcome.
I think that was the big problem. I was nervous and realized I was playing poorly and I started to just completely second guess my game. But I have been leaving putts short a lot lately so I don't think the nervousness had any impact on that.
August 9th, 2006, 03:51 PM
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