Golf is not for the mentally imblanced!

[paterick]

Man!
went to the driving range today felt centered and calm. got a medium bucket and went from the sw to driver, eveything was swoosh and straight. then i started switching up from driver to W then back to w, then to 6I, etc. about half through the bucket everything went to hell and i started slicing everything. i am like, well am i not getting my hips through? am i not setting my left foot first. whats going on. am i swinging with too much arm? am swing outside in? the more and more i hit the more i realized it may be ryythem problem. i got fairly clamed down but the confidence was gone. inever got the 6I back and the others like the W was cutting slightly.

my routine is to take each stroke like i was on the course. stand behind the ball, pick my target, then walk up and set up. i do this compulsivly to try and recreate the course action. if i dont, my positure and all kinds of stuff changes if i just stand over the ball and hit.


any suggestions on how to keep in the swing when you have it?
Note: i am not concerned about distance, just that it goes straight!

thanks

paterick

[ph_kingston]

Re: Golf is not for the mentally imblanced!

It's a weird thing, but as I warm up for a round at the moment I have an attack of the shanks but it never seems to appear on the course. The only reason I can summise is that I just get too loose on the range and lose concentration. The way I get it back is to think about tempo and tempo only. If you're hitting the ball pretty straight then clearly the mechanics of the swing are basically sound. When you hit a bad shot, sit down, take a break, clear your head and approach the next shot completely afresh, it's the nagging doubt creeping in that exacerbates the problem.

[TeachingPro]

Re: Golf is not for the mentally imblanced!

Now you know why I never practice!

Working at the range I see it everyday and it's typical of most amateurs although it does happen to pros as well (see below). It's happend to me plenty, even when I was on the range at tournaments ...

Like you, I'm not always sure what it is other than having come up with an analogy. It's like a car going from a start, through the gears to top speed - there's a lot of focus, the excitement, the driver is fresh and 'in the zone' and as he starts to gear down, he starts to slip the clutch a bit, maybe grinds a gear and all of a sudden the car and the gears are everywhere!

It happens and I'm convinced of it that its becuase although you're 'in the zone' and doing the right things, you've lost that "EDGE".

My advice is don't try to work through it, rather go home. I once saw Greg Norman walk off the range after hitting a few (maybe a dozen at the most) balls. His caddy walked passed and said to Nick Price's caddy: "Gregs not with it today". I never forget that and it's a true story I tell my students often when we talk about practice.

[Mr_Change]

Re: Golf is not for the mentally imblanced!

I have to admit, I about 9 months ago I was ontop of my swing, not the distance but the control, had a very exhausting day at work and when to the range like usal, and could not hit a ball. hooked it sliced it fat shots, but when through my normal 2 buckets like that, it took me 2 months to get back my controlled shot. I have a practice round of golf every monday and tuesday, I used to hit the nets but now i just have about a dozen swings, hit the ball about 4 times into the net just to help me loosen up, then tee off.

[ph_kingston]

Re: Golf is not for the mentally imblanced!

I've come to the same conclusion Graham and now only specifically practice my short game and putting. My first shot on the range before a round is generally good, if a little stiff, so once I've hit the first really sweet one I change clubs. Once the shanks starts kicking in I take a break and then hit a few drives before pulling out the wedges for to get my touch and feel. As they're not happening on the course I guess I'm pretty relaxed about the whole thing.