Severe regression

** Preface:  I am not a great golfer, I am however working hard on getting better. I'm now at the range 4 days a week and playing at least 9 holes 3 days a week.

The last few years, I shot about 110-125 for a round.  I was a weekend warrior, golfing maybe 3x a month in the summer and never practicing.  I never really cared about my golf game, it was just something my friends and I did occasionally.

This year, I got some new Taylormade Burner irons and have been very focused on getting better.  The last 3 rounds (not counting what I have written below) I've been 102-104 for a round. My 2011 goal is to shoot 95-100 consistently .

Then comes July 3.... Threw up a 56 on the front 9, a 50 on the back..... okay... Lost my game on the front and earned it on the back.

Then July 4.  65 on the front, 63 on the back.  7 balls lost.  five 2 puts, seven 3 puts, three 4 puts, two 5 puts and one 1 put..

Extremely frustrated I went to the range this AM to hash things out.... I'm a mess.  7 of every 10 iron shots are pulling pretty hard left.  5 of every 10 iron shots are thin rockets about 1/2 the height they should be, and my woods... oh gosh, my woods.... Lets just say I'm hitting my 4i further than my driver or 3 wood.

/ I'm not here to complain (really).... What I'm curious about is the regression.  Is this regression just something that happens?  Should this be expected or am I in some real trouble? I can understand some higher scores but what I experienced this weekend scares me.

I just signed up for a country club membership for the rest of 2011 through all of 2012, but I must say I am embarrassed to be on the course with my game in shambles...  I'm going to try to work this out on the range nightly after work.  Have some lessons scheduled, hoping doing that fixes whatever it is I'm doing wrong.

Frustrated & embarrassed....

Sounds like you're playing a lot of golf and might be mentally and / or physically burned out.   I had a few similar experiences, where after weeks of range and course work my swing fell apart.  I found a few days off were very beneficial in that when I returned my swing was back to normal and I was striking the ball as I had been before the regression.

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/thread/46688/journal-my-quest-to-the-80-s-continued-from-the-wall-93-96-thread

Read through this thread a bit.

My friend and I have done exactly what you're doing. Except we play about 5 times a week 18 holes or more. I picked up the game two years ago started in 130's made my way down to the 80's.

I would strongly strongly suggest seeing a professional because just playing and practicing might not always be the best thing, you could be re-enforcing bad habits. Also make sure when you hit the range you have a purpose. Just hitting the balls is not enough, I'm a believer in practicing with a purpose.

With all that said I've hit plateau at about every 10 strokes. First settled around 120, then 110 and I would stay there. I probably went almost all of last summer hitting mostly above 100 still.

Chris

The lessons will help.. They'll give you something to do other than beat balls when you're on the range.. Practice doesn't do much good unless you practicing correctly. Good luck my friend and spend some time on the putting green!

Yeah man you need to work on the putting green...

My putting usually isnt that bad.  Lately I 2-put with maybe 5 3-puts in a round.  I chalk up the bad putting on the 4th from being pissed I was playing so badly.  Bu the time I got on the green to put, I was frustrated, frazzled and didnt take the time to line up correctly.

On a more positive note, I do have a lesson at noon today with my instructor.  So hopefully we can correct this issue.

I was at the range yesterday and again this am.  I've noticed my wrists are locked fairly often during my swing and I've been swing more with my arms than rotating.... practice practice practice I guess

Chip.  Chipping teaches you more quickly about proper hand action than full shots.  You can hit a lot of chips without tiring or getting blisters and the action for a 50 foot chip shot is identical to a 300 yard tee shot, merely a lot smaller.  You can learn in half an hour what might take many hours at the range before the penny falls about how to use your hands.  There are many components to the swing, but all of them end at how your hands are on the club and how the strike is delivered.  Face alignment at impact, proper leading of the hands into the shot, keeping the head still -- all of them flow naturally out of the chip shot into the full swing.  Good chipping quickly lowers your scores, too, especially if you also work on your putting to cash in on those short putts.

Well, its fixed... for now.

I was keeping my back elbow out like a chicken.... Once I tucked that back in my shots were good as gold.  I was hitting my 8i 150 consistently.

Now I just need to keep that through swing towards the target more often.. I'm sometimes pulling the ball left..  But its better.  I feel better.

It really amazes me how such a little glitch in a swing can eff you up so bad.

Reminds of something a friend said after I was low scorer on a group outing at 7 Oaks a while back.  I said, "Man, I felt like Hogan out there today!  Can't remember the last time I hit the ball that good."  To which he responded, "Don't worry, Jim, you'll get over it."  The horror of golf is that it works both ways.  The next "improvement" can leave you helpless.

Quote:

Historically, I have always taken a step back before I take steps forward.  I have had some horrendous regressions only to come back even better.  Hang in there and as always, see your PGA professional.  Always a good idea.

Yep.  The pro I am seeing is fantastic.  Has a way to explaining things to me so I understand him.  Too bad he doesn't fit in my pocket.  I seem to have the best shots of my life with him watching.

I'll be at the range again tonight (5th time this week) and we'l see if I can put it all back in action.  I forgot to mention in my previus post that I met with my Pro today at lunch time.  He had me fixed or should I say back to hitting straight in 10 swings.  That 150yard 8i was the longest I ever hit that club, and it was dead straight too.

Too bad he doesn't fit in a Priority Mailer box.  I'm in a slump!

How did that make you 5 putt?  Sounds like you need a few things:

1.  Time off.  Take a break for a week or more to decompress.  If you're shooting 100s already, I promise it can't possibly do any additional harm.

2.  Develop an improvement plan with a trusted pro.  You need smart practice, not just lots of practice.

I emphasize #1 because it's needed when you start redlining.  5 putting is redlining.  That's a mental/focus issue.  I know from experience because I recently made a few swing changes resulting from a couple of lessons and started getting my scores into the 70s pretty regularly.  I felt like I was on the verge of breaking par and just needed to get the changes solid.  A couple of weeks ago I went out to play a couple of rounds and started off both really strong with strong front-9s around par.  Then I hit 10 and it's like a switch got flipped in my mind.  I started duck-hooking all my tee shots, chunking all my chips and 4 putting everything in sight.  I ended up shooting 62 on the back in one round.  +1 on the front 9, +26 on the back 9.  It was literally like I completely regressed and wasn't going to possibly break 100, or even 110.  I would stand on the tee and think there was absolutely no way that I could possibly get the ball to the hole in less than 10 strokes.  It was the first time I ever wanted a golf round to end.  I have absolutely no idea what happened, but I guess expectations creating pressure and negative emotions that caused me to revert to old swing faults.  I took a week off and now it's like it never happened.  Golf is almost easy again.

That didnt make me 5 put.  What made me 5 put was getting to the green in 5 or 6 and being too pissed to take the time to line up correctly.

Losing 7 balls was due to my chicken arm.

I have a 5 day vacation out of town lined up this Friday so I wont be golfing again for a week.  You aren't the first person to suggest a break.. good timing I guess :)

I have very high expectations.  I'm an ex baseball player.  I was a good ball player.  I expect myself to be a good golfer as well.

I feel like im in a similar situation now, last 3 times playing ive simply struggled.  I wish i had another hobby but everything else id like to do is too expensive so golf is my primary leisure activity.   Ill try the take a few days off approach and see how that goes.  I go through these stretches every few months and im sure its a minor glitch in my already flawed swing but its a flawed swing that i can shoot in the high 80's with on a good day(and putting well) and im ok with that.   Going back to shooting 100 again is like going back in time to my first few months playing but im confident ill get it back.  Last year when a similar problem happened, i really contemplated quitting the game altogether but i know i would miss it and would come back and then would be playing catchup to get where i was when i quit.

Did I make this thread or what? lol man I am feeling the same thing as you. I am not a great golfer either (100-105), but I am new and practice a ton. So back in May I was starting to shoot high 40s and a "bad" round for me was becoming 50+. I just played 7 holes (lightning forced us off) and shot a 45, like am I serious? Honestly I think playing so much is hurting me and I need to practice more instead of playing a ton. The more I play, the more I adjust and change to try and come out with a decent score instead of trying to implement what is right and better long-term. Anyway, I think I'm going to take some time off to just practice and see what I come back as. Hopefully you and I are like (doctorfro) and come back stronger after a regression. Good luck to you man -- keep the thread posted I'll check back in a week or so.

Just for some encouragement:  two weeks ago I shot my highest round in two years (87).  Last week I shot my best round in six years (73).  Just a little range work and some positive mental work.