Post swing change slump

I'm in a horrible slump. I haven't broken 90 in 6 rounds, but my short game is fine. It's my long game that is suffering.

My swing is all over the place right now, and my driver has the slice of death on it and has absolutely no distance because of the slice. My long balls all have slices on them, and I frequently lose balls due to.. you guessed it, the slice.

One lesson did this to me - basically told me to keep my wrist completely flat. I don't know if i should stick with trying to fix the consistiency problems myself or go back to get another lesson. Basically, I was playing in the mid to high 80's when I decided to go get a lesson.

I went to the range for 2 weeks and didn't play a round and just practiced. I think part of the problem is that I'm swinging outside to inside. I just don't know anymore.

I'm just frustrated and I just wanted to vent. The game is still fun. :)

What you could try is to slow down your backswing in order to make sure you are on plane. Having an off-plane backswing is a major reason that people slice it.

Just fyi this is my 100th post, so I am a legit forum member now, and my advice is valid!

I would say just go back to your old swing and see if it is a lot better than your new one. If it feels better and produces more consistent results, just stick with the old.
If not, take another lesson and keep practicing.

A couple of things to consider as follows:

1) What are you trying to achieve with your game? Meaning you took a lesson so I assume you want to get better…this could take a lot of time depending on what needs fixing…shoot it took Tiger a year to implement a swing change.

2) When you took a lesson what did you and your Pro discuss …it seems to me that keeping your left wrist flat was a band aid and that either you did not discuss your goals (if you have them figured out) or he is not the Pro for you…regardless of his reputation.

The reason I wrote the two points above is because I am going through this since the end of last fall when I decided to find a Pro and make a goal of playing competitive golf (FSGA – Florida State Golf Association and USGA events)…this is what I told Megan (LPGA Pro) that I decide to go with and we started with a swing overhaul…She videod my swing and checked my clubs at our first lesson and started with some elementary moves to get me started with the process…She has what she calls a 4 step process to build a repeatable & reliable swing. I have been working with her since last November and we are only on step two but my swing has changed…for the better. I am hitting the ball with a half swing as far as I use to hit it with a full swing…the other day I was playing a round at my club and I hit an 8 iron exactly the way I want to (impact position) and no lie I hit it 171 (SkyCaddie yardage)…damn I cannot wait for this swing to be full time…unfortunately I only find it about 20% of the time on the course right now and maybe about 40% on the range…our goal is at each step to get it to 60% on the range and 40-50% on the course…eventually the goal is at step 4 to find it 60-70% on the course…well I don’t know if I helped you but be careful of band aids because as you know they only cover the issue, they do not solve anything and eventually fall off…Ha! Ha! Just my 2 cents!!!

Here is how I cured my slice from a simple tip. I forget where I got it.

In your downswing make the hole in the butt end of the club point at the ball for as long as possible, until centrifugal force whips it around through release.

Man, I am in a similar situation right now. I think i am only hitting like 4 fairways a round with my driver if Im lucky. I started off this season with the driver being one of the most consistant clubs in the bag and after the third round it just went to hell and back came the slice or the push whenever I hit it. Still shooting in the 80's because of my good recovery golf and good shortgame but geezz it's pissing me off that everytime I step up on the tee bo and I just have no confidence. Finished a round yesterday and then hit the range and tried to figure it out. think i may have figures a little something out so guess we will see.....

Ah, the perils of trying to continuously improve. It's why I love golf. I am in a bit of the same type of slump (hopefully seeing the light at the end of the tunnel). I made some swing changes early this season to try to become more consistent with my ball striking. I worked at the range a few times and the first weekend out with the changes I shot 81 on Saturday and broke 80 for the first time on Sunday with a 78. I was flying high.

I spent the next 6 or so rounds struggling just to break 90...frustrated to hell as to why it wasn't working all of a sudden. I was forcing it, and it wasn't happening anymore. I went to the range several times, I played a couple of 9-hole practice rounds, all in an attempt to try to get back what I had for that one weekend, but it wasn't working.

Through no special process, and sticking with my swing changes, I went out this past Monday by myself in the middle of the afternoon (after going 90, 87 over the weekend) . I teed off at 2 pm as a single and, surprisingly, it felt like I had the course to myself. There was a twosome in front of me, but I never waited for them until late in the round. It was a beautiful day and I just relaxed and took my time. There were no distractions. While I still struggled at times with my approach shots, I hit the ball very well again and my chipping and putting was spot on. I ended up shooting an 81 and I hit 10 out of 14 fairways with my driver (a club that had haunted me since shooting the 78). I really only hit one bad drive all day long. It was strange. Nothing changed except I was out there all by myself enjoying the day and not over thinking everything I was doing.

Count me in on the same boat too! I have recently gone to a more one plane swing and now I am hitting a draw/hook with my irons. My irons used to the strongest part of my game but now I have no idea where the ball is going. My tempo is off, accuracy is at zero, and I am frustrated as all get up. My short game however is as good as its ever been. (strange how that works) I think with some more time I will work these issues out but it is so hard in the meantime.

"The slice of death"...hahahaha..i lol'd... But i know what you're going through, i made a major swing change about a about a year and a half ago and it took me months for my body to adjust to the different squencing, and i awoke the slice of death like you did.

Ironically, i also went through your wrist issue and made an adjusment, but it wasnt a swing change, so to speak. It was farily easy for me to incorperate what i did into my swing as a whole. This may not be for you, but the quick fix I found was this. I took my normal address and rocked my weight around a little to releve the tension. once im comfortable i do one last little sway towards the target with my body and then on my way back to the address position I bow my left wrist away from target to start my takeaway and to set it for the backswing. Its like a rhythm thing. From there i completley forget about the mechanics of my swing and focus my mind on the target. The method has worked extremeley well for me because with the early wrist bow, it seems almost impossible for the clubhead to pass my hands on the downswing.

My old swing did work, but it did not incorporate the proper mechanics of golf. I knew this, this is why I'm changing it. I slid my hips, bent my wrist, and on my driver, sat way way too far from the ball. I'm not going to go back to it. I couldn't if I wanted to anyway. Hahaha..

Breaking 80's is my ultimate goal - and compete in some amateur tournaments that are organized through my work.

We discussed a lot, not only just the wrist. Shoulder rotation, hip rotation, wrist position, head position, the fundamentals of the one-plane swing. He also had me get Ben Hogan's Lessons. Next time I go to the range, I'm going to try Vijay's glove under the left arm drill. Basically, it was a lot to take on, but I want to kick this problem in the ass and get back down to my 80's pace before summer starts.

I feel for you. Been there too. Given that it takes thousands of swings to fully-bake a swing change, I shouldn't have been surprised or upset, but I was.

The post quoted here makes so much sense to me - what are you trying to achieve and are you and your pro on the same page about doing this, and what the program is to achieve it?

Let me add to the chorus of "been there done that." Went through a swing change last year and by the end of the year was making really solid, consistent contact. Went to the pro this year and got a couple of "tweaks" really small changes that nearly killed me. I was literally between two swings and boy splitting the difference really didn't work.

Let me also add something. Perhaps you should go back to the pro for a brief follow up lesson. It's possible that you may be doing something wrong by accident, or that you aren't really doing what you think you're doing.

I really question the quality of the lesson if all the pro told you was that your "wrist was too flat."

I actually question the quality of any lesson where you don't start to improve right away. There's the old saying that with golf lessons "it's going to get worse before it gets better", but I've found that if the pro knows what he's talking about it should actually just get better right away. Doesn't mean that you'll be shooting a better score, but there should be some noticeably better ballstriking.

I suggest getting a video recorder so you can tape the golf swing. Think of it as your 15th club in the bag, as important as your driver. If at the very least you can record your swing when you are playing well, at least you can see what you are doing when your are playing bad.

If anything, your slice is almost definitely caused by the dreaded over the top move. And I'm willing to bet that your address position and takeaway are flawed that help that over the top move come into fruition.




3JACK

You should probably work on no more than 2 things at the same time. I doubt the Vijay drill will prevent the slice. Chances are you probably roll the hands inward on the takeaway and get your hands way below the swing plane and then make the looping over the top move. It's the most common move I see from amateurs.

3JACK

Definitely quite possible. I need to take a video of myself if I'm going to make any progress. I need to see the problems myself, not have a pro look at them for $100 and then tell me what's wrong - it won't register in my head.