I Can't Hit Tee Shots

[RickardSwe]

Hello everyone,

some sessions I just cant hit tee-shots with any club. 

I put in a lot of practice in my golf swing at the range over the last 6 months, and would say that 90% of my shots there are going straight with a slight draw and a reliable distance. Im also becoming a fairly long hitter for an amateur. When I hit it bad on the range, its usually a fade to the right but stil a playable ball. I do shank it just on occasion.

However, some rounds of golf, I just cant hit a single tee shot. I really dont understand why and its driving me crazy sometimes. 

Anybody else struggling to take swing improvements from range or studio to the golf course? For some reason, the more difficult shot is on the golf course, the more likely I am to hit it pretty good tho, I actually like to adjust for the lay of the ball etc. Maybe it takes the pressure off as Im no longer confident to hit those shots.

I dont know if my expectation of a round of golf should be that im gonna do well, or if its better to expect to do bad, to be more relaxed.

[Darkfrog]

6 hours ago, RickardSwe said:

Anybody else struggling to take swing improvements from range or studio to the golf course?

You probably have the same swing on course and on the range.

It could be that at a range/practice studio a lot of the variables you find on the course are removed. At a range, usually the surface is level, you have a stable ground to stand on (e.g., no mud, soft spots, gravel, etc. that might be found on a course), a perfect lie on the mat/grass, alignment can be pre-set due to the hitting surface (if hitting off a mat), there is no course out in front of you with obstacles like trees, bunkers, water, etc. that might affect how you set up and swing, there are generally no distractions or anxiety inducing elements (like hitting over a forced carry, or hearing someone yell "fore" in the middle of a backswing).

I practice in my yard on a level mat with a net, and take lessons indoors on a level mat. My home course barely has level lies on the teeing areas, let alone the rest of the course, so I make a point to work on hitting from weird lies when I am playing practice rounds.

[ChetlovesMer]

6 hours ago, RickardSwe said:

Hello everyone,

some sessions I just cant hit tee-shots with any club. 

I put in a lot of practice in my golf swing at the range over the last 6 months, and would say that 90% of my shots there are going straight with a slight draw and a reliable distance. Im also becoming a fairly long hitter for an amateur. When I hit it bad on the range, its usually a fade to the right but stil a playable ball. I do shank it just on occasion.

However, some rounds of golf, I just cant hit a single tee shot. I really dont understand why and its driving me crazy sometimes. 

Anybody else struggling to take swing improvements from range or studio to the golf course? For some reason, the more difficult shot is on the golf course, the more likely I am to hit it pretty good tho, I actually like to adjust for the lay of the ball etc. Maybe it takes the pressure off as Im no longer confident to hit those shots.

I dont know if my expectation of a round of golf should be that im gonna do well, or if its better to expect to do bad, to be more relaxed.

My question is simple.

Do you hit a whole bunch of the same shots at the range? Allowing yourself to get into a rhythm? On the course, you generally hit driver... then walk for 2 minutes then hit iron... then walk for 2 minutes... etc.. 

[dennyjones]

First, welcome to TST.   We're glad you've joined.   You've come to the right place to talk golf and get great instructional content.  

It's going to be very difficult for anyone to give you specific instruction w/o seeing your swing.   

Member Swings

So you joined tst and posted a member swing

 

[RickardSwe]

1 hour ago, ChetlovesMer said:

My question is simple.

Do you hit a whole bunch of the same shots at the range? Allowing yourself to get into a rhythm? On the course, you generally hit driver... then walk for 2 minutes then hit iron... then walk for 2 minutes... etc.. 

thank you for the reply.

On the range I start with short wedge shot and work my way through all the clubs, from short to long.

Sometimes I rotate between the clubs after I'm warmed up as well. 

Maybe I should try to hit some 3 woods before I'm warmed up on the range as well, to get used to it. 

I suspect it's something mental, I'm not sure. It's just such a big discrepancy between hitting shot after shot with all acceptable outcomes on the range and then not being able to hit a 3 wood more than 30 yards and taking a pivot that's way left or just duffing it so hard the ball hardly moves.

Thank you for the input, I'm sure it will be okay eventually, with more experience on the course and less on the range maybe.

 

 

 

 

[mchepp]

Hank Haney was the first I came across to openly talk about the driver yips, in a recent article with Butch Harmon Danielle Kang said she had something similar. I think this isn't a very good description because the putting yips are quite unique and not possible really in a full swing. Lets put aside the name for a second, but I think what they were trying to portray was the idea that a golfer loses the confidence, or really just the ability to hit the driver, often it seeps into other clubs off the tee.

I have definitely gone through big bouts with this. For long stretches over the past 10 years really I cannot hit a fairway. My typical miss is a push cut. Sometimes I will start over-correcting and hit some vicious hooks. I am fully aware this is a swing fault, but I haven't been able to fix it. I might go 2-3 rounds without hitting a big block, and then BAM, out of nowhere 60 yards right of where I was aiming. I have wanted to quit golf numerous times because it is SO frustrating. They are really unrecoverable events, because often they mean out of bounds or deep in the trees leading to doubles. If I have 2 of them early in a round the round is over before I get to the 10th tee sometimes.

My issue stems from getting sort of lost trying really hard to hit up on the driver. I start leaning back too much and the face is wide open. But we are not here to talk only about me.

I only relayed to story to let you know that you are not alone, and the only way to solve the problem is to seek professional help. Because it is most likely a swing fault it can be corrected. First the teacher will probably tell you what you are doing (so when you do it you know what happened) and then some keys to fix it. In my lessons I have been open with the teachers that I believe I have the driver yips so that the coach knows what they are dealing with.

Sorry for the long rant.

[iacas]

2 hours ago, RickardSwe said:

I suspect it's something mental

Almost surely not.

Mental stuff doesn't make you miss the golf ball, take a divot that's "way to the left," etc.