Is this normal, or do I need a shrink?

Is this normal, or do I need a shrink?
I have been playing golf consistently since about 2004 (2 - 3 times a week / March - October). I took a few lessons, never practiced, and gradually went from shooting in the 100's to the 90's & high 80's. This year, however, I started to have a few breakthroughs. I shot a 51 / 39 and a 38 / 48. I played the back nine at my local club 2 under after 5 holes. Little victories. Not great overall scores, but little improvements. Then, it finally happened... I broke 80! I was playing great golf. 79, 82, 78, 80. I decided, at this point, to kick it into high gear and really PERFECT my golf game. I started taking lessons one to two times a week. I hit balls EVERY day at lunch. I chipped and putted after work several nights a week. I had a plan. More practice, more lessons, more books and articles, more pressure!!! Then, it all came crashing down. I can go out on the range and have a great practice session, clean, fluid strikes, nice even divots, great distance, ball flight, etc. Then I go out to play... and UGH, I CHOKE!!!. It's as if I have never swung a club in my life. I get so geared up to play well that mentally I'm a wreck out there. I have so many swing thoughts in my head that I can't even get the ball off the ground. Proper ball position, don't slide forward, pull with my left arm, turn my left wrist over when I release the club, make a good shoulder turn, focus on the back side of the ball, swing from 6:30 to 12:00 to get an inside out swing path, blah, blah, blah. 103, 100, 106, 101, 104. These have been the last few scores I have posted. But here's the thing. I go to my lesson and I'm hitting the ball great. I go to the range and I'm hitting the ball great. I go to play, CHOKE!!! It's not like I'm playing in tournaments or leagues either, this is just a day out with some clients or a little outing with friends. It was so bad yesterday that I quit on 18 and swore I would never play another round of golf again. It was horrible!!! But, of course, we all know that's no one with a golf addiction really quits. So, today at lunch, I went out to the range again, and like clockwork, I was striking the ball smooth and clean. Wedge, 8, 6, 4 irons, over and over, smooth as silk. What the hell??? I have seen ups and downs in peoples game before, but how do you go from 78 to 106 in a matter of a few weeks? How do you go from striking it great on the range to topping, shanking, slicing, and duffing it on the course THE NEXT DAY??? I know it's all between my ears, but I was wondering if anyone else has ever experienced anything like this? And if so, what did you do to correct it? Any advice would be great. Thanks!!!

Play more practice less. A lot less.

What is practice?

That's not a trick question.

We practice so that we can be better at playing. If you want to be really good at practicing, practice more. In fact don't do anything but practice, but if you want to play well, then practice is merely a supplement to playing. Like taking a vitamin pill to stay healthy. The pill doesn't make you healthy, it's your life(style) that makes you healthy, but the pill helps by giving you the things you don't frequently see, so that in conjunction with the way you live, your life will be better. Time at the range is the same. Range time supplements your time on the course by allowing you to work on aspects of your game. Not the whole game, that happens on the course, but parts of your game that you can study and adjust to improve the time that matters. Your time on the course. Your focus is misdirected, that's all.

Well at least that's the way I see it...

Take two weeks off to chill out then go back to whatever you were doing when you were shooting those good rounds, in terms of practicing and the mental attitude you had while you were playing. That's your formula for playing good golf and you should stick to it.

slimeberry, you might want to separate your posts into paragraphs so that people can actually read them without getting a headache.

My practice post was great. Great Paragraph structures. Fluid, clean sentences. But when I finally took it to the forum to post... I CHOKED!!! Too much pressure I guess.

Erik, I agree with what your saying, and I plan to take your advice, because you are 100% right about pressure. However, I do have some follow up questions.

One... Besides aiming at a blue, white, or red flag at the range, which I already do to work on distance, accuracy, and alignment, can you give me some ideas, drills, etc that you feel would add pressure to my practice round? Something that will get me out of that calm, redundant, practice routine and allow me to experience and cope with pressure on the course. Because, even though I am hitting to a target when I'm at the range, I am not putting any pressure on myself at all.

Two.. And this is a harder one, because you can tell yourself "only one thought on the golf course", but thats easier said than done. What should that one thought be? Narrow down all the noise in my head to one swing thought that I may be struggling with that particular day and focus on that? Or, no swing thoughts at all, and just think of the target, ball flight, etc? Maybe I need to go back and read Bob Rotella again. It's been since I first started playing golf that I read his books.

And Three... When you do get to that stressful place on the track, you just hit a terrible tee shot or you plunked your ball into the water, what do you do to bring yourself down? To get to that "one shot at a time" place that I know I need to be at, but somehow can't calm down.

Any tips, advice, or just telling me what you all do would be helpful. Thanks!!!

Hi Slimberry,
I would have to agree with ChiefBoom, you should play more than practice. You may not have the time to get in 18, but at least try and get 9 in. You just need to relax on the course, like you are doing in practice. The more you play the better you can develop mentally and the more relaxed you the more fluent your technique is, which means less bad scores.

Lots of good advice here. But, two very different approaches.

One says to add an element of pressure to my practice routine to condition myself to react better to the "real" pressure on the course. I like that idea, because no matter how much you try to relax, that pressure will always sneak back into your game because there is that risk / reward element. Every shot "counts". It's how you deal with the pressure that controls the way you play.

The other approach says to practice less, play more, relax, and learn to enjoy "the game" again. I also like this idea, as I have really not enjoyed playing golf for the last month or so. It's been more like forcing myself to work out. I leave the course exhausted and actually looking forward to getting back to the range. An ass backward way of looking at golf for sure. What is the point of practicing if you can't enjoy the thing you are practicing for?

This is great advice- I often practice with intense "fake pressure". Like putting the ball down and getting my distance to a range flag and then pretending this is my final approach on 18 and I need to make par to break 70. Think about the shot and then execute! Same for drives putts chip etc... While chipping I often pretend I just need to get up and down to win the masters and really need it inside three feet. Sounds silly but I know many high end athletes practice this way. It works.

Also for your practice you should flip flop your routine- Sounds like you hit balls more than you chip and putt. Chip an putt on your lunch breaks and only hit balls several times a week. This will drop your scores the fastest.

Decided not to play this weekend. Sat on the deck yesterday and read a Rotella book instead. I needed that. I had no pre shot routine what so ever. My focus was all on swing mechanics when I addressed the ball. Hopefully this will help some. I plan on playing tomorrow. We'll see.

I still would like some input on some good drills to work on at the range though. All I really do is set up to a flag and fire. Can anyone share with me what they do to up the stakes on the range to add a little pressure to their session? Thanks?

Didn't see that last post from granitegolf. Sorry. Thanks for the advice. I'll give it a try. I've goofed around, doing it sometimes to be silly, quoting Bill Murray, etc., but never really tried it for real. Doesn't sound silly at all. And as for flipping my routine... Rotella said the same thing in the book I read yesterday, so your right on track with that advice. Thanks!

If you are looking for good practice drills/routine, there is a book by Lynn Marriot and Pia Nilsson (Vision 54) called "The Game Before the Game". I have only flipped through it, but the focus of the book is to practice better so that you can bring it out on the course.

I got the book recently and plan on reading it soon as I often have the same problem; good on the range, can't bring it to the course.

Here is a link to their website: http://www.vision54.com/vision54/pages/home/ It has some good stuff under the Resources and Online Learning tabs.

Their other book, "Every Shot Must Have a Purpose" is also good for pre-shot routine and trying to get rid of those swing thoughts over the ball.