More Golf equals bad golf?

[Marcop11]

I am about 8 index - mostly b/c of my short game and putting - not my swing. Here is my dilemma lately, when I start out a round or practice at the range, I start hitting the ball very straight with solid contact. However, after a few holes, I start to swing with more confidence and authority and then my swing goes to heck. My guess is that I start to swing to hard and fast, which causes my upper body to start to early and I start pull hooking the ball. This issue also occurs when I am in a match against someone who is much longer than me and I start to press.

How can I ingrain the proper down swing timing? I think I am in good position at the top. Any suggestions? I need more consistency.

Thanks!!

[BrianW]

Re: More Golf equals bad golf?

The problem where you start hitting the ball well then your subconscious starts telling you that if you hit a little harder or faster you will do better is a common one and difficult to manage.

I try to make my backswing very smooth and deliberate, I then almost pause at the top while I transfer my weight over to my left side, I then start the downswing smoothly and accelerate when around halfway down. This allows me to hit through the ball into a nice balanced finish.

A good swing thought from David Leadbetter is to imagine that the clubhead is a car on a roller coaster fairground ride. See the attached:
http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instr...-smoothly-down

I hope this helps.

[Marcop11]

Re: More Golf equals bad golf?

Thanks! I have been able to do the pause at the top drill and keep that mind set on the course. I have trouble coordinating the speed up half way thru the downswing. I am not a long hitter (drive 240 ish), but play with a lot of long hitters, which usually causes me to swing too fast too early trying to keep up.

Any drills on speeding up the down swing gradually?

Thanks!

[cyc53870]

Re: More Golf equals bad golf?

Sigh. Unless we do weights at the gym, most of us have already reached the distance limit of our drives and usually, any effort to increase distance could be disastrous.

By now we should know the distance each club is capable of...

[mconn]

Re: More Golf equals bad golf?

Sigh. Unless we do weights at the gym, most of us have already reached the distance limit of our drives and usually, any effort to increase distance could be disastrous.

By now we should know the distance each club is capable of...

I agree, but what we can hope for is to deliver that maximum distance, more frequently and accurately. I see people too, who thing they have increase distance when in reality they are more consistently long, which is better.

[BrianW]

Re: More Golf equals bad golf?

This may help you:

[GolfJunkieSr]

Re: More Golf equals bad golf?

From my point of view "maximum distance" by itself is counter productive. All a golfer can, and should strive for is maximum "accurate" distance. I am guilty sometimes of swinging harder than I should, and during those times my score pays the price on that hole. Usually it's trying to stretch my "carry" distance, combined with a pin placement that is not ideal for the shot at hand. By the same token I also know that some days I can get away with swinging faster than I can on other days. Weather is usually the deciding factor on those days. I usually figure out what my swing speed for the day is going to be during my my warm up time. Golfers who don't warm up properly will pay the price (score wise) later on in their round due to an ever changing swing.....until they settle down. Now if I don't have time to properly warm up, I just make a mental note that I am not ready to swing full tilt boogie until later on in the round. In essence I warm up while playing during this time. Once I have an idea as to what kind of swing I am going to have, I just go with what I have, for that day. Some days are better than others. Couple that to my pre-shot routine, and hopefully I am good to go 18 holes while playing with in myself. GJS