Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

On the up....for now at least...

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • On the up....for now at least...

    Here's my latest blog entry:

    I had a terrible range session a week or so ago. I was disparately trying to get my free-flowing swing back. Changing stuff, ball position, stance, grip etc etc and getting worse and worse. It got to the point that I couldn't take the club back away from the ball. I was paralyzed. Paralysis by analysis. I went home, upset, worried that all my progress this year has been a flash in the pan. Thinking that rather than risk the sorrow and embarrassment of more rounds above 100 I might put the clubs away and do something else.

    Then I came to my senses.

    Why was I swinging so well earlier?
    I was just letting go and trusting myself to put the clubface on the back of the ball

    How did I feel when I was swinging?
    Loose, uninhibited, free

    What was I thinking about before, during and after my swing?
    My target, aligning the clubface, aligning my body and then just let it go

    I realized all this grip, stance, arm here, weight there etc was just inhibiting my natural swing.

    I went to the range with a fresh mind. Grab a ball, grab a club, pick out a target, go through the preshot routine and fire! No interference from that little voice in my head that says, "Hmmm I saw in an article that if you do this that and the next thing you will have a choke free swing for life".

    I felt so free. I just made sure I was aligned properly and let my subconscious take care of the club.

    The results? I was striking the ball again with the most unbelievable purity. I was holding my pose after each beautiful swing watching the ball soar and fall and bounce along the range. It felt good to be there holding the pose in perfect balance. I played a little imaginary round in my head using the markers, greens and flags as targets. I must have sent 90-95% of those balls where I was aiming.

    The hook was gone (1 hook out of 150 balls)
    3 fat shots
    2 shanks
    2 slices
    3 pushes
    2 pulls

    137 shots worth posing for.

    Can't wait to get to the course (my course and range game are identical by the way).

  • #2
    Re: On the up....for now at least...

    Beauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuty mate!

    I'm just getting into this 'target focused, trust the swing' golf. It worked out well for me (96-87 in club champ, winning the 4th flight).

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: On the up....for now at least...

      Originally posted by LowPost42 View Post
      Beauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuty mate!

      I'm just getting into this 'target focused, trust the swing' golf. It worked out well for me (96-87 in club champ, winning the 4th flight).
      Good stuff, especially the 87!

      I feel like if I can hit decent tee shots like I did on the range (nothing spectacular, just a nice 200 yard 5w with a slight fade or draw) and putt like I have been lately that I will shatter 90. Trouble is making sure I stay the course after a triple or a quad. Too many times I have looked at a 92 afterwards and thought, damn 14 great holes and those bad 4 in the middle, that quad really derailed me for a bit. I need to be able to start over after a bad hole and keep up the momentum after good holes.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: On the up....for now at least...

        The 'secret to my success' is literally taking it one shot at a time.

        I decide beforehand that I will approach every shot with a positive attitude, and that I'll make the best decision for the shot at hand. The tough part is keeping the thoughts about the 'meaning' to the current shot out of my head (although I did a pretty good job this weekend). I even got the s****s and made a snowman, but during that period I didn't get upset, (just a bit surprised) and kept at it. The next hole after my 'episode', I made a double (hit my tee shot into jail, got out, missed the green, on and 2 putt), then had another bad score (involving poor choices and a lateral hazard), but then made my 'standard' bogey (3 on, 2 putt) on the next hole. So a little disruptive, but 'banished the thoughts' about what it was doing to my round, and focused on the shot at hand - where and how I wanted it to go, got balanced in my setup, and made my swing.

        The next step for me will be learning when to 'take my medicine' to take the big number off the card. Where I made 9, had I simply too the drop from the hazard, I would have made no worse than 7, probably 6. The snowman was kind of unavoidable (didn't expect the episode).

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: On the up....for now at least...

          Well done, Snowman - stick at it! Good to hear things are going your way

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: On the up....for now at least...

            My main problem is lack of focus during a round. In the past I have had some great success in seeing the green and thinking, "okay, 105 yards to the centre, pin is at the front, bunker front right, green is sloping towards me with 2 tiers, anything above the cup is 3 putt territory, I want to be short and left of the hole, AW will get me a comfortable 90-95 yards...".

            Unfortunately I will then drift out of that focus and instead think, "140 out, that's a 7i" and the ball will sail into a bunker right infront of the green or land in a water hazzard to the right of the pin".

            If I could stay focussed and analytical, I would do a lot better. I am going to write on my glove and scorecard. THINK ABOUT EVERY SHOT!

            Comment

            Working...
            X