Need help with mental game-quick!

My golf game is at an all time low. Every time I hit a poor shot I feel lost. The crux of the problem is that I have read Stack and Tilt, The One Plane Swing, Golf My Way, Ben Hogan's Five Lessons, etc. as well as a million magazine articles. Has anyone delt with something like this? I just need some help in getting out of my own way. I love this game and the scores I have been putting up lately are beyond atrocious (mid 50's for 9 holes-have been a solid low to mid 40's player in the past). Help!!!

It's just a funk you're in right now and you'll come out of it... I've had the same thing happen when it just seems like nothing goes right and you can't figure it out.  The best thing is maybe step away from it for a week or two and give yourself a chance to forget all the crap and then go back to it.  That seemed to help me out.

Thanks for the reply...supposed to rain in Boston for the next week so I may get a weather imposed break as it is. Hopefully I can come back refreshed.

I'm no golf pro, but I think you should start by identifying your biggest weaknesses. What shot is hurting your game the most? Once you can determine your number one priority, spend some time (read: hours, not minutes) on the range working on that one problematic shot. Do your research on that one shot: What are the most common causes for your problem? Identify at least one technique-focused (as opposed to outcome/score-focused) drill that is intended to cure this problem area. Master those drills, paying attention to performing the techniques required rather than on seeing immediate performance results (perfect shots). If you have identified the correct causes to the problem, identified effective drills to fixing the problem, and successfully mastered the drills, then logic says your problem will be solved. Easier said than done, of course, but its just a matter of how bad you want it. Once that top-priority weakness is fixed, pick weakness #2, then embark on that adventure.

Do you notice a big dropoff from range to course?

I'm going to ask you to read one more: Golf is not a game of perfect, by Bob Rotella.  Changed my game.

"Wheres my target" ?

Read especially the chapter on framing.  For example, re-read your original post.  You don't say "I can't stop hooking" or "I can't stop slicing" or "I can't make a putt to save my life".  You say "I am shooting mid-50s".  You do not control your score, so letting it dictate your confidence is a negative spiral you will never recover from.  Instead, ask questions like:

did i follow my preshot routine for every shot?"

did i not hit the ball until i knew exactly what i wanted to do on each shot (regardless of the ultimate outcome)?

how many times this round did I try a shot I had never hit before (on the range or course) - flops, high draws, low runners, etc... - ?  More than 5? 10?

How many times did I play a hole without a plan (3 wood short of bunker, 7 iron to green only miss short, etc...) ?  How many times did I just think "driver as far as I can, iron at the flag regardless of trouble/lie/distance" ?

Give that book a read.  I would rather have it than almost any technical book (Except short game bible probably).

I would say take a week off forget about it hit the range.  I do think you may be over thinking it however with all the reading you do, try not to change a heck of a lot don't go rebuilding your swing over something like this.  When I'm really hacking it up I do the following things:

1. Slow my swing down a lot probably to about 70-75% (sometimes even lower)

2. Don't worry about where you aim how hard you hit ect. focus only on making solid club contact don't worry about where it goes or how close to the pin it is just focus on solid club contact.

3. Don't change anything to dramatic keep things simple especially during the middle of a round.

I know I'm not a pro or anything near a scratch but sometimes I feel players tend to over analyze the game. The only time I have ever changed something was a grip (neutral to a strong).  Keep it simple don't fret too much it's golf if you don't want to quit at least once a year you're not playing it right.

Sounds like you have paralysis by analysis. Just take a step back from all the info and really just play the game. Were in an age of technological revolution in golf with regards to swing analysis. I think it can get over whelming. Before each shot, visualize the shot you want, and try to remember an old swing that hit that shot. Try to remember the feel of the swing, the feel of impact, how the shot landed, try to remember everything of that shot. Then go and hit that shot. If it doesn't turn out, try to figure out what felt different and try to work towards what works.

Well, for starters; feel isn't real, so what you think you're doing may not be what you're actually doing.  My suggestion is to post a video to determine what you're actually doing and go from there.  Also, while you may know what to do and how to do it--and are able to do it properly, it takes time to be able to do it consistently.

Where did this 'feel isn't real' saying come from? I never heard that before but I see it all the time here on TST. I have been playing for 25 yrs and for me feel is pretty real. I know when I come over the top. I know when my weight isn't forward. I know when my swingpath was too steep. I know when I'm dropping it in the slot and developing a lag and crushing the ball.

Anyway OP, I would eschew too much instructional crap. Many years ago I subscribed to Golf Digest and my game fell apart. After a couple years of bad golf, one day I fixed things with my own homemade S&T;, cancelled my subscription, and never looked back. Now I only turn to instruction if I am working on something in particular or maybe for some fine tuning. I definitely would not retool my swing being enticed by some 'Drive it Like a Pro' article anymore. All that instruction starts to get conflicting - 'release the hands'...no, 'keep the wrists firm' - 'swing down the line'...no, 'swing in-out-in' - 'swing in a barrel'....no, 'slide the hips forward'. Bah. Find your own swing, and claim it as truly your own.

I've got a buddy who bless his heart his mind is full of so much stuff he sometimes stands over the ball for what seems like hours before he finally tries to hit it.  And the sad fact is the times he stands over it so long he always hits it bad.  One time he told me I almost hit him with my club because he didn't think I was going to swing at it so soon (I guess he was moving out of the way or something and I wasn't even aware of his presence).  His problem isn't a set routine (maybe that is part of his problem?) rather he'll freeze up over the ball.  We have a mutual golf buddy who occasionally plays with us and he always gets on this guy about taking too long over the ball and it just makes the guy even more self-conscience so I never mention it to him in the hope that he can let it go.

Ah the classic case of paralysis over the golf ball. Thats going to be tough to change, basically to me that someone who can't get comfortable. If i spend to much time over the ball, i rather walk away from it and go back to a point in my preshot routine were i visualize the shot, then move to the ball again for my set up. This keeps me flowing pretty well through the whole process. If i was him, i would seriously consider just setting up a timer, once your over the ball, you get 5 seconds to hit the ball, if not take a step back. Just keep at it till he gets better. All you do when you stand over the ball is get tense..

Thanks for all the advice gentlemen. I think I may just take a week or so then go to the range and see what the deal is. I like the idea of just giving myself limited time to hit the ball. Eliminates the time to go through a crazy checklist in my head of things I should be doing.

Great vid. I think Tom felt like he was coming over the top with his new swing relative to his old in-out swing. I would bet he didn't feel that way after using it for a while.  Likewise, I have been playing long enough that my body/brain has been trained to feel things accurately, as over the years I have correlated certain swing moves and positions with ball flight, with swinging in a mirror, with shadow swinging, and with video. I am a pretty natural athelete (I am a good self taught tennis player in 4 years), and it has taken a long time, but I think relatively accurate real feel is attainable.

And yes, I didn't really mean throw ALL instruction away, but don't try to implement everything you hear or read. Find the stuf that fits you, and then only listen to stuff that goes with your swing. I love when someone tells me I have a beautiful swing, because it is really mine.

Dr. Bob Rotella is great. I have two of his audio books. He reads them which works best for me because I can "hear" his advise later. He is a psychiatrist not a swing doctor. He works on the mind. I'm guessing that is where your (and many of our) problems live. If you've lost that lovin' feeling for the game, you know it is in between your ears.

"Your 15th Club" would be my quick fix suggestion. No swing suggestions. Thinking suggestions. Have not heard "Golf is Not A Game Of Perfect" but that is the one that put Dr. Bob on the map.

"Putting Out Of Your Mind" improved my putting dramatically instantly. I listened in the car. When I got out of the car, I putted better. Listen again the next day. Got out of the car and putted even better.

Need quick help? Download a Dr. Bob book from iTunes and listen now.