PLEASE HELP!!! Game Meltdown

[albatross]

Hello,
I'm been playing the game for 5 years. Got really hooked and played a ton the first couple of years. Got to be a mid-eighties shooter. So last year I decided to take lessons for the first time ever.

I took three lessons and for the rest of the season last year, I couldn't even hit the ball in the air with my irons. Shanks, topping, blading, you name it. It completely destroyed my game.

So I struggled through the end of last year and figured that after the winter, things would be back to normal. Well this year I've picked up right where I left off last season.

Irons feel completely weird in my hands and I'm shanking all over the place. My chipping and putting is still very solid and I can hit the driver ok. But I can't hit an iron to save my life. The club feels like it twists in my hand when I hit the ball and even when I do make ok contact, the ball is always sailing to the right.

Has anyone else on here had a complete game meltdown after taking lessons??? How do you suggest I start over and try to get my game back?
I've been reading all the shank forums, and swing plane stuff and I've been working at the range.

Does anyone have a good plan on how to start over when you used to be a decent player??? I haven't broke 100 yet this year!!!!!!

[klaymon]

I can relate completely. I had my first lesson back in January. The instructor pointed out some basic flaws I had and got them corrected. It took 10-12 strokes off my game consistently. So, I figured more lessons would be even better.

They changed pros at the place I was taking lessons, but I gave it a shot. The new instructor was having me exaggerate movements to get a feel for what I needed to be doing. This led to me doing the exaggerated moves when I played. My game went into crapper. I was back to playing like I had before any lessons. She also had trouble seeing major problems I was having and I ended up diagnosing and fixing them myself.

Only recently, have I started to get my swing back.

[Big_M]

You guys should go back there and break your 7-iron over the pro's head. (disclaimer... this is only a joke and any actions taken are solely the responsibility of the person taking such action.)

I have never had any lessons except a 10 min video lesson... and it helped tremendously, so I can't relate. That does suck though... I would just go back to whatever got you to shooting mid 80's if it's possible. Or you could give it a go with another instructor. Or maybe read a book... Hogan's 5 lessons or some such thing.

[Mats++]

I have never had any lessons except a 10 min video lesson... and it helped tremendously, so I can't relate.

Impressive I must say.

However I'm a true believer in taking lessons regularly, and my basic idea is to stick to one pro since every pro has a different approach to teaching/playing. Nonetheless every time I take a lesson I usually have a weak week when I tend to think of what I need to improve and focusing on minor details usually screw up the game, when I finally get the detail to stick the game improves. Another "dangerous" aspects of taking one lesson per season is that it usually ends up in a quick-fix. My experience with quick-fixes is that they often reveals a new weakness. What I did? I went to a pro and started all over, new grip, new swing, everything new, and now when I get a problem I see him and he directly sees what I'm doing wrong. So has this improved my game - hell yeah. Last year when I started taking lessons if I was playing my best I was hitting around 90, today a bad day I shoot 90. I think you should find a pro that you work well with and stick with it, trying to fix a swing yourself is probably just doing more harm then good. Hope you find your old game and good luck!

[Matt10]

I think there are times for quick fixes and there are times to do an overhaul on your swing. From there it is up to you to decide. My problem was whenever I was in a rut - I would just drop my swing cold turkey and move onto a different method. It's funny that after a couple of months that you end up finding the way you were swinging before was working out - but with the addition of some different moves: setup, hand path, eyes closed, one eye closed - etc; that one of those might be the key.

Recently the thing that has helped me out when I feel my bad shots coming - is that I focus on keep my hands well ahead of the ball on the downswing - so much that it is a punch shot. It's a hard shot to control - but I found that I have started to hit the ball more crisp than before - even if it's a 3/4 swing.

There are a lot of different ways to swing the club - if you are okay with it, go ahead and explore - if you need any advice on the ones out there, let me know - I think I've tried just about all of them - but have yet to commit to any yet, which is why my handicap has escalated these past two years.

[tm22721]

Compile a list of your flaws and fixes from lessons, books, videos and use it to troubleshoot your swing when you get frustrated it's just a process of elimination. Once you have instinctive feel, hold a party and publicly burn the list as if it were a mortgage.

[Avid Golfer]

Has anyone else on here had a complete game meltdown after taking lessons??? How do you suggest I start over and try to get my game back?

My recommendation is to focus strongly on your setup basics, and after those are sound and consistent then make your focus on alway picking a target and being as precise as possible when going about aiming and aligning to that target.

(For example when aiming pick a target in the distance, and - if possible - pick something that is the same height as you want your ball to reach at its apex, then look between your distant target and the ball and find an intermediate target. Then as you aim the clubface continuely glance at your intermediate target, your distant target, and your apex as you setup).

The new instructor was having me exaggerate movements to get a feel for what I needed to be doing. This led to me doing the exaggerated moves when I played. My game went into crapper. I was back to playing like I had before any lessons. She also had trouble seeing major problems I was having and I ended up diagnosing and fixing them myself.

I've never been fond of the school of thought that says you should exaggerate positions as they often don't address what caused the positions in the first place. If you setup good then your chances of moving into other good positions later are increased, and the better each previous stage of your swing is the more likely you are to swing into a good position at the next stage.

Swinging up to the top of the swing and then moving where your arms and hands are for example ins't doing anything that would fix the earlier actions that caused that top of swing positon in the first place, and so there is nothing to stop the same swing from repeating next time.

[Dent]

I had the exact same thing, although I didn't take lessons. I remember trying to fix something with my wedge and I altered my swing a little bit. It started off with the Lob wedge, I started shanking it all over the place and could not get under it.

Then it branched out club by club until I couldn't hit any of my clubs. I gave it a rest for about a week, hoping it was just some kind of bad luck. I came back, and continued with the same thing. I realized this:

The whole time, I was throwing my hip out (some weird thought in my mind about generating power) and While I was doing this my club face would open a huge ammount, to further increase the trouble, I'd stop swinging as soon as I made contact with the ball (a loss of confidence) I was so freaked out by my wedge I started to do this with all the clubs.

So now I knew what the problem was, I had no idea how to fix it, most of you might say "well just stop throwing out your hip" easier said then done.

Take a look at your swing next time you go out, as soon as you finish your swing, or possibly in the middle of it. STOP, and take a look at your hip.

[Left Is Right]

I started golfing when i was 14 and i was fortunate enough to start out taking lessons and continue still today with the same pro

IT HELPS

I would recomend to keep doing it because if they are a pga professional or class-a pro they know what they are talking about, also a perfect golf swing will never come instantly in one lesson, it takes time but it is worth it

Proof: I started golfing when I was 14 now 15 I consistently shoot in the low to mid 80's

[Three Putt]

I would suggest laying a club down on your swing path (about 3 inches right of the ball) and hit it....until you can hit it on the target line.

might be a 70% 8 iron, build it around a higher lofted club.

Play a round with a 6, 8, pw, and putter....you will be suprised how well you will shoot.

It's all about feel.....

[x-forged]

i can relate to this somewhat. when i took lessons i would go to the course and become all technical. many swing thoughts. i wanted to remember everything my pro said and i would think about it all during the swing. obviously, this caused a train wreck.

to fix it i worked on one think at a time that i was taught, working them all in to the point where i did it without thinking.

[JaY_B]

Just get a video of your swing posted on here and let The Sand Trap take care of you.

It sounds like from what you said the the problem is set up related, and I would assume grip related.

[Leek]

It's very hard to diagnose what's happened from your description. What often helps in a situation like this is to start out just hitting punch shots. Hit a number of these and the feel of solid impact and a late release will become familiar. Try about 30-40 before making "full" swings. Then as you work towards a full swing, try to keep the feel the punches gave you.

When I'm on the course and my swing decides to go on "vacation", I'll actually play punches all the way in until I can get to the range and work it out. They go a bit shorter than a full swing, 1-2 clubs less, but they go very straight and you can control them.

[lynchjo]

Hello,

Hi Mangine77, Without seeing your golf swing it is hard to make a diagnosis. Since you say the ball sails right and it feels like the club twists in your hands tells me your hitting the ball close to the hosel (I'm assuming you're a right handed golfer). This will also cause the dreaded "S" word. This could be a caused by a variety of swing faults. I totally agree with Avid Golfer, go back to the basics! I'm talking grip, stance, and alignment...90% of all golf swing flaws are caused by setup problems. Stay with it, you'll figure it out! John Lynch

[trebmalenad]

Irons feel completely weird in my hands and I'm shanking all over the place. My chipping and putting is still very solid and I can hit the driver ok. But I can't hit an iron to save my life. The club feels like it twists in my hand when I hit the ball and even when I do make ok contact, the ball is always sailing to the right.

I know exactly what you mean!! I've been struggling lately also. I quit playing consistently for about 6 months about a year ago. I used to consistently shoot in the mid 80's. Now I'm struggling to break 100!

Irons are my biggest weakness. One think I've noticed is that I'll start to pick up really bad habits not even realizing it. For one thing, I stand to far away from the ball and that causes me to blade it off to the right. It's pretty embarassing. So for one thing, I would get someone to watch your swing or video yourself hitting to make sure you're not slipping back to day 1 on the golf course.

[littlefish]

Not being able to hit well after a lesson seems to be fairly common (taking three lessons in short order you may be pushing your luck). It's no big deal though. Take what the pro said and work it into your swing a little bit at a time (on the range). Changing too many things at once can cause more problems than it solves, but over time you'll want to implement the suggested improvements/corrections. It's amazing how a very slight change can cause a great change in result (good or bad). People with engineering backgrounds seem to like this challenge.

[Guest]

Mangine77,

I have had the same problems. Drives OK, chips and putts OK, but the irons wouldn't work.

I found that my initial take away was too long and this caused me to come off the ball and, when I did swing, my shots would flare off to the right because my club face was open.

I relaxed and shortened my initial takeaway (not the full swing), making sure that I stayed over the ball and started hitting my irons again. It seems to be a matter of balance.

When I practice at the range, I make sure the ball logo is located at about 4-5 o'clock, and try to make sure that I see the logo throughout the swing.

good luck
k97

[trebmalenad]

What I've started doing lately is only taking my irons back about 3/4 of a full swing but then putting a little power behind them on the downswing. It's helping me hit more solid and keeping my same distance.