Giving It All You Have

[Sclaffer]

I am over 60 and neither tired nor sore after a round of golf. I am tired after a session at the gym or after gardening. This tells me that I am not giving my golf 100%.

Generally, if I try harder the game gets harder. I definitely feel that I am making more effort or putting more in, but the ball does not go any further or straighter. I feel tight, my swing shortens and I hit from the top. There is lots on Google about hitting it further and harder but very little on exactly what that feels like.

So my question is how exactly do I put more into each shot, efficiently?

Please do not reply and say "let the club do the work". That answer results in easier, sweeter shots but does not address my question.

[Zippo]

I'd suggest you post a swing video. For me, getting more out of each shot meant improving my technique. But, I'll be 69 tomorrow, and the odds of me bulking up like Bryson or swinging as smoothly as Rory are somewhat the same as the odds that @Double Mocha Man will lose his sense of humor! However, I have found that a better swing gives better results.

[DaveP043]

2 hours ago, Sclaffer said:

I am over 60 and neither tired nor sore after a round of golf. I am tired after a session at the gym or after gardening. This tells me that I am not giving my golf 100%.

Generally, if I try harder the game gets harder. I definitely feel that I am making more effort or putting more in, but the ball does not go any further or straighter. I feel tight, my swing shortens and I hit from the top. There is lots on Google about hitting it further and harder but very little on exactly what that feels like.

So my question is how exactly do I put more into each shot, efficiently?

Please do not reply and say "let the club do the work". That answer results in easier, sweeter shots but does not address my question.

I find that when I'm playing my best, I feel like I'm putting in very little effort.  When I'm struggling, I feel like every swing takes a lot of effort.  This may be a chicken and egg thing, I don't know which one causes the other.  But I also know that when I'm swinging well, my lower body feels like it is the motor in the swing.  I've done some work to improve my turn, my hip rotation, and that has made golf seem like less effort.  

Now that doesn't mean the YOU need to improve your lower body action.  As @Zippo suggests, posting a video in the Member Swing area, or getting some good in-person instruction might identify sources of "power" or clubhead speed that you're not fully utilizing.

[ncates00]

29 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

I find that when I'm playing my best, I feel like I'm putting in very little effort.  When I'm struggling, I feel like every swing takes a lot of effort. 

I agree with this.  I think there a couple of things going on, at least for me:

1) When you're hitting it solidly, you're getting max efficiency, and in turn, ball speed.  The ball just springs off the face and flies long and straight, requiring less effort.  Conversely, when you're toeing it or heeling it, your efficiency is down, so you feel like you have to swing harder to get the results you desire.

2) Good shots breed confidence and make you "feel better."  When I play well, I can walk another 18 or 36 holes and play all day.  When I'm not striking it solidly, the round can't end soon enough in some cases because you feel battered, tired, and worn out from the lack of return on your efforts.

3 hours ago, Sclaffer said:

So my question is how exactly do I put more into each shot, efficiently?

A) I would start with hitting the ball out of the middle of the club first.  You'll be more efficient with what you currently possess.  As stated above, if you're not hitting the ball solidly in the face of the club, you're not playing golf efficiently and the ball is flying shorter, with less ball speed, and, generally speaking, more curvature.  Perhaps start with little chip shots, working your way up to pitch shots, then punch shots, 3/4 swings, and gradually up to a full swing.  Work on feeling the strike on the face--did you heel it?  Did you toe it?  A bit fat or thin?  Use some foot spray on the face or face tape and always strive for that centered strike. 

B) If you are striking the ball solidly and still like you aren't getting what you think you should get out of your striking, you may want to look into lessons with a good pro and dive into the body mechanics to improve your motion and speed.  You may want to do this anyway to help with A), above, anyway.

[klineka]

3 hours ago, Sclaffer said:

I am over 60 and neither tired nor sore after a round of golf. I am tired after a session at the gym or after gardening. This tells me that I am not giving my golf 100%.

I'm not sure I follow the logic. Why is tiredness/soreness an indicator of giving 100% effort at something? Both the gym and gardening are two completely different tasks and use different muscles than golf, so it makes perfect sense to me that they tax your body in different ways.

~30-40 full golf swings spread out over 4 hours is much less taxing on your body than 2 hours of constant shoveling, raking, and bending over pulling weeds.

3 hours ago, Sclaffer said:

So my question is how exactly do I put more into each shot, efficiently?

Why do you want to put more effort into each shot? Wouldn't it make more sense to try and get your swing to a point where you can put in as little effort as possible but still hit the ball out of the center of the clubface and a solid distance?

[Strandly]

I really think the grip and stance thing can't be mentioned enough.  Every training video seems to start out with that stuff but I think a lot of people tend to gloss over it a little bit; I know I probably did at first.  I've got these things to a point now where I can swing hard as hell and the thought of a brutal hook or slice never even enters my mind.  That doesn't mean I'm hitting fairways and greens like a champ (not even close actually), but when you swing hard you hit the ball further and obviously the room for error shrinks.  What I've found is that even with minor misses my overall efficiency shot up just from closing the gap to the hole quicker.  So long story short I think I'd re-visit the grip and stance thing if you haven't and try to get into a position where you can take a full cuts throughout the round without being distracted by where the ball might go.

Edited June 25, 2020 by Strandly

[DaveP043]

12 hours ago, Strandly said:

but when you swing hard you hit the ball further 

For an awful lot of people, "swinging hard" leads to much more erratic contact, and often a loss of distance.  I do agree with much of your post, that set-up and grip are important.  So are good mechanics, good meaning that you require the fewest possible "compensations" to get the club onto the ball properly.  

 

23 hours ago, Sclaffer said:

So my question is how exactly do I put more into each shot, efficiently?

I went back and re-read the original post.  I'd suggest that the more appropriate question is "How do I get more out of each shot?"  Remember the old adage, don't work harder, work smarter.  Well, improving your mechanics will make your golf swing "smarter".

[iacas]

To add to what @DaveP043 has said, a smoother swing with things that are better sequenced can result in faster swing speeds even if you're not working "harder."

[saevel25]

25 minutes ago, iacas said:

a smoother swing with things that are better sequenced can result in faster swing speeds even if you're not working "harder."

I have to agree here. I find that my best results come from proper sequencing (which feels like a smoother swing) than feeling like I need to swing hard. 

37 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

I'd suggest that the more appropriate question is "How do I get more out of each shot?"  Remember the old adage, don't work harder, work smarter.  Well, improving your mechanics will make your golf swing "smarter".

^This

Working on areas that cause power losses will help out a lot. 

[Sclaffer]

Thanks for the replies. 100% agree with getting the basics right, having an efficient swing, etc.

Some (not many) of my shots are almost perfect and they are always when I swing within my comfort zone. Only one of my several lessons involved a launch monitor which said my driver smash factor was around 1.45.

It is hard to put what I am grasping for into words. In most sports, the finalists are tired and sweating - they have used up as much energy as they can. It seems to me that most golfers walk off the last green with enough left in the tank for another round (at least physically, if not mentally).

So I ask myself, if I have a sound swing, is there some way to use up, or apply, more of whatever energy I have?

   

[DaveP043]

Golf rewards the application of the CORRECT amount of energy, when applied in the CORRECT way.  Application of extra effort without good mechanics is a complete waste, and is really likely to cause mishits of one kind or another.  Almost every player will hit some "perfect" shots when he (semi-accidentally) times up all of his various compensations.  If you practice even a flawed swing, you can learn to get those compensations timed up more consistently.  And as soon as you want to apply a little extra, your timing goes out the window.  

You say you hit some (not many) shots perfectly, and always when you're within your comfort zone.  Instead of putting out more effort, wouldn't you like to hit a larger percentage of them exactly that well?  

[Double Mocha Man]

17 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

Golf rewards the application of the CORRECT amount of energy, when applied in the CORRECT way.

I like this... so true.  I now have only 7 things I need to remember when I swing... just kidding.  That really is a key concept we don't read about in Golf Magazine.  We've got to know our personal swing pace, and repeat it every time.

[dennyjones]

4 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

And as soon as you want to apply a little extra, your timing goes out the window.  

this is me...

[Sclaffer]

Well said DaveP043 "wouldn't you like to hit a larger percentage of them exactly that well? ".

Perhaps I should have asked how to be more mature; how to stop obsessing about distance and think more about just scoring well. I think a lot of us tend to get over confident when we are hitting the ball well and start to think to ourselves "that was good, now if I hit it just a little bit harder ....."  and of course it gets worse.