Stepping Away

Recapping the incident yesterday in my golf league. 18th hole, setting up for a tee shot, i wanted to take over the bunker. I took my stance, and before starting the swing i new right away that i would hit a bad shot. Everything just felt off. The alignment felt wrong, the club felt wrong, it just felt bad. But instead of stepping away, i took the shot, and hit a nice slice that left me 200 yards to the green, nearly stuck behind a tree, in some nice thick rough (thank you rainy spring in Ohio).

So, lesson for those out there. Its ok to step away from a shot. Don't become gun shy, but if your guy feels wrong, then don't swing.

Luckily i made a heroic 2nd shot, hitting a low punch cut around the tree, hit the front part of the green and rolled back to 15 feet from the pin. Oh yea, i was stoked :) The fun part about the 2nd shot, there's water left (were i had to aim at), and a big bunker right, and i threaded the needle.

Agreed. It makes so much sense to come off of the ball when you don't feel comfortable, but I almost never do and it usually ends in a bad shot. Need to remember that it's okay to do.

Been doing this a lot lately. It started with the hypnosis mp3s I was using. The process is a simple 3 step routine meant to avoid over-thinking it and being convinced it's time to pull the trigger. I used it in conjunction with what my instructor had me working on to develop a preshot routine. If I don't feel ready, which usually means I've skipped a step or rushed the routine, I back off and start over. It's not crazy Kevin Na or Keegan stuff just picking a target and mentally saying ready, relax, swing. It's quick and it works better than what I was doing, which was winging it, grip and rip. Typically if there's a breakdown down I've lost the mental target or I've failed to relax my arms and I feel tense. Both lead to bad shots for me. It's really just a way to be convinced it's go time instead of randomly hitting shots and hoping for the best outcome.

I

This happens to me far to often.  Either I realize I didn't do something right, my grip slips a little bit, or I realize I am worrying so much that I am losing focus.

More often than not I realize I moved my head big time and then hit it fat as all hell.

So.....did you make the putt?! :-)

Or when some idiot asks you about a different type of shot right before you're about to pull the trigger??? ;)

I would have to say this is usually the culprit when I hit a bad shot.  If I feel awkward at address or during the start of my swing, I NEVER stop.  You would think after screwing up about 5-10 shots per round, which usually leads to more bad shots, that I would figure it out and learn to back off.

This +10E9. Never happens when I'm playing well, happens all the time when I'm playing like a jacka$$...right at the top...

Of course not. I really didn't read that putt well at all. Oh well, par's a par

Great thread. I'm guilty in all instances.

I am guilty of this all the time.  I will take one practice swing and in my head I say, "no".  I take another one and I'm like "no".  But then like a fool, I'll step up to the ball while saying in my head,
"no, no, no, no, don't swing, it's not right, no no".  Of course though I will swing anyway and usually end up hitting a real stinker.  I need to step back and hit the reset button more often.

I need to do this more often... nearly every time I hit a real bad shot now, I "know" it right before I swing but I don't back off it and start again.

I had a shot this weekend where an ant was crawling on my ball.  I knew it was a bad idea to go ahead and hit but, of course, did it anyway.  I could at least look at the bright side ... it had to be a lot worse for the ant than for me. :)

I don't honestly remember the exact shot anymore, but I don't think the result was bad.  Still a dumb idea. :)

Really depends on the type of insect. Last weekend I had a bee on the ball and I figured easier to whack the bee than have it buzzing around me after waving it away. Kind of transfixed me and it was one of the better chip shots of the day. I don't think I hit it but I didn't stay in the area to find out.

This is my biggest problem. I mentally even tell myself, in words... in my own head.., "wtf was that... that didn't feel right" as I am completing my swing. Stupidest thing ever but it's like my body flips off my brain and keeps going. I can never bring myself to stop lol.

I second the rainy spring in Ohio part. The rough is thick as hell up here and is a major pain at the courses I play right now. I also need to learn to step away and start my routine over.