Golfs learning curve - somebody explain this please...

[kafka01]

I started golf 1 1/2 years ago and played A LOT during that time. Mostly i played in blocks lets say 3 weeks golf and then 2 weeks doing something else. My guess would be that during the last 1 1/2 years i played about 60-70% of that time.
My current offical HCP is around 14 and the actual is somewhere around 8-9, so obv. i´m improving, but i found it quite strange how this improvement process took place over the time.

I read this article today http://www.thereporter.com/ci_874933...e=most_emailed and also talked with a pro a couple of days ago who said that things he practices now will start having long term effect in one or 2 seasons in the future.

My personal experience is that, that after i came back from a break something just clicks and instantly improves instead of improving gradually as more as you practice it which is quite odd IMO.

Let me give you an example - i never had much distance problems off the tee with drivers/fairways but when it came to irons/wedges, i just was always 1-2 clubs shorter than most people. So someone hits a 9 - i had to hit a 7 or 8, that bugged me all over last year. There was nothing i could do against it. I didnt played from January to Mid-March and as i started again, something felt different about my iron/wedge playing - in a positive sense. After i got back into swing it seems i "magically" picked up the distance i missed so far.

So did something actually improved while i was on this break? It is hard to imagine but since these kind of things happend to me before, esp. with my short game it seems that longer breaks actually do more good than harm?

Anybody can shed some insight what might go on here - oh and yes, my biggest drops in Hcp normally ever occured after coming from breaks and almost never after long stretches of play/practice (with obv. days off of course)...

[larlev]

This might sound stupid

....I have dreamed about my swing a couple days before I would play and noticed it was always in good tempo, and fluid. When I didn't dream about it, I usually can't find my swing no matter what I try, even when I go back to 1/2 swings.

[atltony]

I've experienced the same sort of "magical" improvement in the past, however I mainly contribute this to getting so fed up with prior results to the point where I just try things that feel completely new in my swing. Some for the better, most for the worst. However I will completely agree with what I have read on this forum quite often, being that as you lower your hdcp these instances of magical improvements will quickly fade. (I know mine have.) You will then have to be determined and focused enough to practice efficiently, conetrating on specific faults or things you want to improve.

[golf_junkie27]

Give yourself some credit. When I'm not playing or practicing, I'm usually watching the Golf Channel. There are so many segments to improve your swing that by watching you can pick things up: tempo, shoulder turn, increasing flexibility, hand placement, finish. Those things can add an easy 5-10 yards to your irons.

For me, watching the GC combined with tips from TST, have helped by game, a lot.

The key for me, like a lot of people, is gaining improvement with touch and control. IMO, the hardest part of the game to master.

[Wisco-Kid]

I have experienced this too.
Last year I worked hard on many facets of my game and towards the end of the season my goal was to break 90. I remember thinking that with all the practice I was putting in I should be getting better, but I didnt. I had a round where I just flat out sucked. I walked off the course in disgust and threatened to quit the game for good. I took two weeks off with no practice, no golf magazine, no golf channel etc. After 2 weeks I decided to give it another try. I ended up shooting an 87 pretty easily. I think you just get to the point where you practice so much and get so into your own head that it interfers with your game. Taking a break sometimes is the best thing for your game. IMO.

[kafka01]

However I will completely agree with what I have read on this forum quite often, being that as you lower your hdcp these instances of magical improvements will quickly fade. (I know mine have.)

TBH i´m not completly sure about that - it might be that the improvements arent so obvious/big anymore so that you cant clearly see them anymore, when they happen.

As your hcp gets lower your attention probably shifts from driving range towards practicing short game way more extensivly. And in this spot the progress is indeed more "invisibly" unless you keep track of your practice statistics and look behind the comma to see progress... larlev - i stopped dreaming about golf - i normally dream about anything i do extensively but it stops after a while. Nevertheless i try to imagine me as person and my swing in different perspectives and try to compare it to swings from other successful players. But i guess this only works if you have an idea how your own swing looks like...

[kafka01]

I have experienced this too.

Funny that you mention this - i had pretty much the same experience last year - was disgusted by the fact that my Hcp wouldnt drop - so i took a 3 week break and really thought about giving up. After starting again i dropped from 24 to 14.6 within 2 months - strange game....

[Avid Golfer]

I read this article today

I read the article you linked, and I thought it was an awful article. The conclusion that golfers don't improve after three years is preposterous. I've seen many people who've been playing longer than three years drastically improve just by getting a better understanding of the fundamentals.

I think misinformation and false beliefs are the biggest problems that hinder peoples improvements. I suspect during the time when you were practicing intensely you had false concepts and beliefs that you were trying to put into your game. You may have had a notion about posture or balance that someone else told you or that you concluded for yourself that was incorrect. For example there is the incorrect information that floats around that you should have your weight back on your heels and that you should sit down in a chair or on a bar stool. If you practice with that incorrect belief you will have a difficult time hitting soild shots and improving. After your break when you came back to golf you may have forgot the false information you may have been trying to force into your game. Going back to the balance and posture example now your thought process might have been: "Ok, since I haven't played in a long time I'll keep things simple. I want to be balanced and I want to give my arms and club room to swing without my body being in the way." As a result then you might have setup with your hips and legs in a better position that allowed you to maintain your angles and stay in balance during the swing. Better balance could then have allowed your clubhead speed to build up during the swing instead of decrease. By keeping things simple (like you are apt to do after a big break from the game) you are elimanating misconceptions that may have been holding you back. Of course that is just speculation since I've never met you or played golf with you.

[g-funk13]

I think misinformation and false beliefs are the biggest problems that hinder peoples improvements. I suspect during the time when you were practicing intensely you had false concepts and beliefs that you were trying to put into your game.

That is a good nutshell description of the first decade of my golf. I worked really hard at ballstriking. But I couldn't get my handicap below 15. Once I understood that parts of my game that needed help, my handicap started dropping.

I stopped dreaming of new drivers and started dreaming of wedges and putters.

[r7 425]

I would say you just have some really good hand-eye coordination

[Brooklyn]

yeah i will say that last year i had probably mid to high 20's hdc and now that i read through this forum and watch GC a lot and read a lot about tips and etc... I have brought my hdc down to the teens, and ive only played maybe 5 rounds this season so far. My goal for the year is to get a solid single digits by the end of the year... It seems a bit far but now that im in the situation where i can play almost 5 days a week i believe its an attainable goal.

[tm22721]

I was sick once for two weeks and when I came back I played better.

Unconsciously, we can engrain the feel of a swing flaw when practicing too hard. During an absence we can lose the feel and get a chance at a fresh start.