golfrewind.com

I have been golfing casually for several years but decided to get serious this past summer. I took a series of five lessons and hit the range a couple of times a week. I got new game improvement irons and a couple of other clubs that seem to have helped a little and I even stopped drinking beer altogether on the course (just water now). I usually play once or twice a week and my wife is suprosingly supportive of my new obsession.

Initially after starting the lessons I could see improvement in my swing and I was able to strike the ball crisper and more consistently. My scores never improved too much and I never did break 100 but usually shot close to it. Now, lately I have seen a slow drop off in my game and have been scoring mostly above 110 in my last several outings. I feel like I am still using the same technique I was taught and am as focused as ever but my shots are not as consistent and I just can't seem to put a good round together. I have tons of confidence when starting out the round and am always thinking this is going to be my breakthrough round but then I have a bad hole or two and it just brings my whole game down.

If I could just hit the ball consistently I think I would do ok but instead I am hitting it thin, hitting it fat, slicing it, hooking it or just pansiing my chip shots on probably half my strokes. The one place I do feel fairly comfortable now is on the green which oddly enough I didn't take a lesson for yet. I am not expecting to get down into the eighties or even low nineties this year but it would be nice to see SOME improvement in my game before the season ends. I have heard that your game will actually get worse before it gets better when taking lessons but I have been at it for almost three months now. Is this a normal progression for someone making fundamental changes to their game or do I just flat out **** at golf? Can any of you share your stories of progression from being a total hack to being a semi-competent golfer to hopefully give me some encouragement? Or if anyone has any generaly advice that will help me out I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Matt

This is a normal progression for anyone who is not born with a natural talent for golf. And natural talent for golf is much rarer than it is for any other sport. The game is just that hard. You should give yourself a few years of serious effort to improve, not a few months. If you give it time, you will improve. Shooting near 100 is quite good for someone with your limited experience. Most good players have been playing for years to get where they are today, often starting when they were kids.

I agree with straightshooter that it just takes awhile. If you want scores to improve the quickest, however, really work on chipping, pitching and putting. If you tally it up you are probably spending half your shots once you are near the green.

Man, I share your pain, that's all I can say. Although I've been trying really hard for about 5 years now. I often feel that I just suck and that I'm never going to be any good, but then I have some kinda break through and feel I'm on my way. Usually a start going downhill again.

I think we're just too impatient. I know when I make a swing change, I start swinging slowly, not trying to hit it too hard, to learn the change. It works, so I start trying to hit it a bit harder, and soon I'm swinging way too hard and trying to hit the cover off it, and this is when it all turns to custard.

Everytime I have a lesson I'm told to slow it down, don't try and hit it so hard. But we all want to be Tiger Woods, and he hits it hard.

Oh well.

my biggest break through came when i started thinking about managing myself around a golf course. i broke away from the long ball syndrome and tried to move around the course with a bit of logic. for me it was things like laying up to my favorite distances, trying to eliminate the left side of the golf course, aiming at the middle of the green on tough pins, trying not to hole out every put etc. yesterday for instance there was a par five that is reachable for me. for my second i was 180 out uphill all the way. the problem is that there is a huge tree blocking anything that wants to come in from the left. i like to move my ball from the left so instead of trying to thread it straight or work it from the right i layed up with a seven. chip, put...birdie. not too long ago i would have went for it regardless and who knows what i would have carded. minimizing the risk of getting in trouble and playing for bogey instead of being a hero has helped my score tremendously. it's a fun game isn't it?

You just have to keep working at it. I have finally gotten my swing down to were I hit most of my shots straight, but when I start rushing myself and try to hit the ball hard I get all jacked up and everything goes straight right.

It is normal...keep at it, working on the short game inside 100 yds, examine your course management and don't overswing as all the previous posts suggest...take out a scorecard and imagine your way around the course, playing shots that you are sure that you can pull off (120 yd half swing with 5 iron for example)...establish your own "pars" for each hole that are realistic to your ability...your scores will drop, confidence will grow and your swing will hopefully be freed up by these advances...

Thanks for all of the replies and encouragement. I will keep working on it and although I don't have a terribly fast swing I am still probably swinging harder than I should be - especially on the longer irons and rescue club. I will also put more time into my short game and see if I can pick up a few strokes there. One other thing I might try is to see if my pro can play a few holes (hopefully nine) with me and identify and correct some of what is going bad out there. I know it takes time but I just want to see some signs of improvement. Thanks again.

Matt

i was golfing with a friend on sunday and he hits the same distance as me off tees and he also hits some good iron shots,he averages 100 and i average low 80,s,he throws away shots around and on the green and then as he gets tense he hits the ball in that fashion,i have found that its not only taking a slower swing but also a relaxed smoother swing that brings success,if he hits a bad shot ie massive divot and ball hardly moving then he does it again,keep your eye on the ball and let your body turn bring your eyes up and you will see it naturally,so what i am saying is that a relaxed golfer will always be able to hit a better ball,keep practising with purpose as i am and it will get better

There are golf camps all over the country now. You did the lessons, but whatever you learned might not have "taken" over the long haul. A camp might help you improve a little faster. I emphasize MIGHT>

I am not saying it's the only answer, and it might not even be time yet. I suggest it because you want to get better, fast. You also need a better understanding of your, YOUR, golf swing. A camp might help you understand YOUR swing, and also help you get around the course better.

A camp would be fun and a great tool (for lack of a better word) for my golf game. I am just not sure if I could get the time and the wife's ok to do it right now. (Two young kids and a bunch of other stuff...) I will look into it though - thanks for the suggestion. I think I discovered one thing I may be doing wrong at the range yesterday - bending both arms slighly on my backswing. I tried correcting that by keeping my left arm straight and it seemed to help but I didn't figure it out until near the end of my time there so I will have to work on it tommorow a little more. That may explain though why I can hit better with my driver than most of my irons though because my typical driver backswing doesn't involve bending the arms. Maybe I'm onto something here or maybe it's just another carrot on a stick, we'll see. I am also going to try the drill in the post by mr3856a to see if that does anything for me. My goal is to be a bogie golfer by the end of next summer and I AM GOING TO MAKE IT! Thanks for all of the advice and tips.

Matt

3 months is not a long time.It took me 2 years to get where I could hit my driver over 200 yards and this past week end my irons were right on but could hardly make contact with the driver.Incedentely,I did not buy a new driver till I started hitting my old one well.There was nothing wrong with it,was my swing that needed fixing.

I read somewhere that it takes around 660 balls to develope muscle memory.

I am a high handicap also. I stopped thinking about my bad shots. When you have a bad hole, forget about it. You start over with the next hole. Don't look at your total score. Break it down by holes. It got me to shoot under 100 this year and I was usually 110-120 for the last 5 years.

A positive attitude is the only way to play.

3 things, time practice and practice, well id say that to get good and put alot of time into it firstly you have to enjoy being out on the course and not see it as a chaw, then its just practice.