Why am I playing so poorly?
Posted on
December 30th, 2009
by gcw
Matt asked:
I started out this golf season in april playing really well… breaking 80 from the blue tees and shooting in the low 80s from the tips. I was hitting the ball a long way off the tee but rarely in the fairway so i would have to scramble for par and if i hit the fairway with a good drive i could make birdies. I was getting pin high in 2 on par 5s with the occasional birdie. So i took lessons to straighten out my drives. I started lessons about a month ago. Now I can hit fairways consistently but I have not broken 90 since. This has never happened to me before and it has been going on for about a month.
Golf drills – http://www.golfdrills.org
I started out this golf season in april playing really well… breaking 80 from the blue tees and shooting in the low 80s from the tips. I was hitting the ball a long way off the tee but rarely in the fairway so i would have to scramble for par and if i hit the fairway with a good drive i could make birdies. I was getting pin high in 2 on par 5s with the occasional birdie. So i took lessons to straighten out my drives. I started lessons about a month ago. Now I can hit fairways consistently but I have not broken 90 since. This has never happened to me before and it has been going on for about a month.
Golf drills – http://www.golfdrills.org
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4 Responses to “ Why am I playing so poorly? ”
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Golf clones – http://www.golfclones.org
When I started I was really good. I was only a couple over par my first time. After about a month or two though I lost my swing after not playing for a week and then had to take lessons and it fixed it. I really don’t know what is messing you up though.
Golf drills – http://www.golfdrills.org
You’re playing poorly for only one reason. You do not know your swing and the teacher who is helping you doesn’t know your swing either so you are adjusting here and there or there and here never really understanding what you are doing – looking for that feel and when you get it – you play well -when it leaves you’ll be searching again. You have bought into the notion that we are all different that we all have our own magical swing. Not so. There is 1swing4all.
Your feel will come back but you won’t know why. I have a friend who plays from 68 to 86 – one day below par another day barely breaking 90 and he continues to wander and will do and eventually lose the low scores and maintain the high scores as he gets older.
You sound intense about your game but you play by feel and feel without mechanics is like dust in the wind – bound for somewhere else eventually. Mechanics 1st then feel not the other way around.
Imagine walking the course with Harry Vardon, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Bruce Crampton and putting like Walter J. Travis. If you do not know who these people are then it’s time to learn. The Scots used to play a wooden golf ball and sand for greens and still play at Par or better. Now that’s Golf!
golf tips
That is golf. What kind of course are you playing on and breaking 80? Did you play by the rules, USGA? Tee to green my friend. Just relax and be the ball. Take a deep breath, make every shot count and most importantly enjoy yourself. It is just a game have fun.
Golf swing lessons
Without more information its hard to be certain, but here’s what I believe is probably happening…
Remember that there are two kinds of practice, and two kinds of thinking.
Mechanical thinking: This is what you do on the range. This is where you are changing your swing, thinking about mechanics, and trying to correct your contact and ball flight.
Target thinking: This is what you do on the course. No swing thoughts (one simple one at most). You are focusing on visualizing the shot and hitting the ball at your target.
This is one thing pros understand exceptionally well. You must separate these two lines of thought, because thinking mechanically on the course will ruin your game. The pros even spend a portion of their time on the range thinking about targets, pretending to play a round of golf. There is a time and place for mechanics, and it is not on the course.
I suspect after your lesson you have become more mechanics oriented, so even though it has straightened out your drive your overall game has suffered.
My official recommendation… work on clearing your mind of technical thoughts when on the course, and talk to your teacher about what happened, he will be able to help you separate your two kinds of practice as well.