"good" swing yesterday, HORRIBLE swing today

[TANK]

Hello all,

Im wondering if anyone else has experienced the same thing I'm going through right now. I have been practicing a lot lately, taking lessons etc...my swing has progressed and was becomming more consistent but it has fallen apart! A couple days ago I went to the driving range to hit some irons and I kid you not when I say that i was pushing, or push-slicing EVERY SINGLE ball.

The frustrating part is I dont FEEL like i'm swinging any differently but i know that i must be coming way inside on my downswing, or something to that effect. Has anyone else had their swing just collapse randomly?? Also, any tips from those of you who used to push the ball but cured it??

[Eore]

its why we are high handicaps. consistency is why all those good players are so good. i have the swing and ability to shoot in the low 80s. but i don't. i'll shoot a 96 one day and a 110 the next.

if i could make the same swing every single time, i'd be great. at golf galaxy i was hitting some cleveland cg reds, and the first three ball i hit horribly. of course those are player irons, but still! the last one i almost missed. then i hit 3 in a row that the sim said went 165 (not sure if thats accurate, i don't hit a 7 that far)

lots of people have the same problem as you. we should set up and organization, IGA-inconsistent golfers anonymous

[Cizzle]

When I first started lessons, my ball striking regressed. My swing looked much prettier, but believe me, shanks shanks and more shanks. You need to be patient, I have been there when I swore getting lessons was the worst thing. At one point, I left after the 14th hole because of how awful I was playing. I took a month off from playing rounds, and just practiced what I learned in lessons, and eventually not only got to the point where I started, have continued to improve non stop. Have faith in your instructor, it is a learning process. Stick with the lessons, and keep practicing what you learn, no matter what happens on the course/range. The worst thing you could do right now would be to go back to your old swing. It is much worse off for you, along with you wasted a bunch of time and money for lessons you're not even using.

Good luck, he practicing, it'll come to you.

P.S. Do not read swing advice or tips here, golf mags, or on the internet. Just practice what your instructor tells you. Most of the time, it counter acts what you're learning, and screws up your swing even more. Learned that the hard way

[Dent]

Posted this is another thread, i think this might be the answer

Ive had the same problem before too and still sometimes have it, Its the exact same situation too im chipping good then all a sudden, do they go directly right like a huge shank?

I realized my problem was that Im afriad and losing confidence in my chip and i stop Accelerating through the ball as soon as I hit it and the club stops dead. Another thing Is because I stop and my body is still moving, my hips fly out towards the target and that opens the clubface to create the huge shank.

Just remember and try and keep accelerating through the ball if this is the problem and have confidence in the shot. Part of this problem is mental.

[TANK]

Posted this is another thread, i think this might be the answer

actually you know whats interesting....i do feel the same two things, im a little hesitant in hitting the ball now so i barely have a follow-through AND i feel like im throwing my hips out toward the target because of some stupid thing i got in my head about generating power lol. I need to get an emergency lesson lol.

[Dent]

Ahaha, thats mostly the case with this kind of problem. Try to keep your hip with your upper body, Just when your swing, keep that mentality to not throw your hip out. Its more about uncoiling then throwing out the hip, and have confidence going into the shot no matter what type of shot it is. Good luck.

[dkglf98]

I think you just had your timing off and were rushing the downswing a little.

[JaY_B]

actually you know whats interesting....i do feel the same two things, im a little hesitant in hitting the ball now so i barely have a follow-through AND i feel like im throwing my hips out toward the target because of some stupid thing i got in my head about generating power lol. I need to get

This could turn out to be your main problem as you progress as a golfer, you have to make sure that every time you have a bad day you do not associate it with needing another lesson, if you take the attitude of needing emergency lessons you will end up relying on lessons, you will not be able to work out problems in your game yourself and your improvement as a golfer (not as a swinger of the club) will not improve.

JaY_B

[tm22721]

Consistency comes with dedication and commitment not to be expected from a society lulled by entitlement and instant gratification.

[alcyone]

“Golf's a hard game to figure. One day you'll go out and slice it and shank
it, hit into all the traps and miss every green. The next day you go out
and, for no reason at all, you really stink.”
-Bob Hope

[JonnyGolf]

This could turn out to be your main problem as you progress as a golfer, you have to make sure that every time you have a bad day you do not associate it with needing another lesson, if you take the attitude of needing emergency lessons you will end up relying on lessons, you will not be able to work out problems in your game yourself and your improvement as a golfer (not as a swinger of the club) will not improve.

I think that lessons are invaluable. The best players in the world have coaches and other feedback mechanisms (other players, video, etc.)

I agree that the focus shouldn't be on a quick fix, rather building an understanding of your swing so you can have a greater understanding of what its going right and not-so-right in your swing.

[JonnyGolf]

Hello all,

I have days like that exactly. In fact, it happened to me yesterday! Often times, it happens when I've hit a bunch of balls on the previous day, so perhaps my body is a little tired and I don't get into the same positions. I usually like to take those opportunities to see if I can hit balls in "get around the course" mode and just see if I could take a bad day and make do with what I have that day.

[blackxpress]

Even the pros have this problem, just not to the same degree as us high handicappers. The trick is, when something goes wrong with your swing you need to get it figured out and corrected ASAP before the flaw becomes ingrained in muscle memory. Sometimes you can figure it out for yourself. Sometimes you have no clue. If you can't get it worked out on your own you need to go back to your instructor and take a lesson. That's not a crutch. That's dedication to improving your game. A golf swing has a lot of moving parts. It's hard to keep them all working together all the time.

[benhd1]

I find one of two things to be my problem when this happens:
1) standing too far from the ball
2) swing plane is too flat

for me these both result in toe &/or hosel hits...

once I realize my fault, I correct it!

tempo can kill me at times also...I sometimes am too quick in the back swing and this causes me to hit the ball fat because my back swing has pulled my head off the ball. realizing whats wrong is half the battle....good luck!

[sonicblue]

If I knew then what (I think) I know now.... I spent much of my early years in golf learning "the swing." I think you may be overemphasizing mechanics and "the swing." Take a step back, just think about what you're trying to accomplish and why. All you need to do is contact the ball with the clubface. Everything else is just a little more distance.

I've found that some of my best revelations come from chipping a sand wedge in my living room. Go get an old mattress and stand it up on a wall against your garage/basement/spare room, and chip wedges into it. See how little effort it actually takes to hit it just a little bit harder. See how different clubs aren't really that different when all you're trying to do is just contact the ball.

Get a mental approach to "the game," not "the swing." Your body will figure out how to do what your mind tells it to accomplish.

[Wisco-Kid]

T E M P O and tempo was its name-o

[benhd1]

could not agree more....tempo.tempo.....

been telling my son for last two years to shorten his back swing and swing slower. Let the club do the work...

we played with a friend yesterday who is a single digit hcp, he taught my son a couple things but mainly told him to shorten his back swing and slow his back swing down (tempo) he got better distance control and accuracy immediately....now if he could teach me how to have a better short game!!!

practice.practice.practice.

[blackxpress]

could not agree more....tempo.tempo.....

Uh, isn't it the same principle? Tempo's really critical with the short clubs. I hit my wedges very well when I can remember to take a nice easy back swing and a smooth, easy downswing. When I don't remember that the ball's subject to go most anywhere.