Frustrating Day At the Range...

[paddlefoot]

Last weekend I played 18 holes and shot in the 90's, which is extremely good for me. I had been working on curing my out-in swing path before my round of golf. Instead of trying the new swing during my round of golf, I stuck with the old swing cause I knew I wasn't ready to change swings. After the round, I went to the range and hit about 200 balls with my 4 iron. After about 50 of the 200, I felt like I had finally cured my slice and was swinging in-out/ in-in. I could control the ball pretty well (i.e. make it draw and fade when I wanted). I left with absolute confidence that I had finally found the key to my swing....

Today, I went to the range and hit about 100 balls with my 4 iron. I was hitting fat, thin, hooks, slices, tops...it was horrible. I couldn't find any grove whatsoever. After a bucket of pure horror, I just left. It's like I've taken a huge step back. Someone, please tell me this is normal when trying to learn a new swing... Should I just take a few lessons from the local pro?

[CMO]

Keep in mind that range balls are like hitting rocks. They aren't going to give you the same feel as regular balls. I am probably the opposite of you. I hit fairly well at the range but hit like crap on the course.

[titaniummd]

Last weekend I played 18 holes and shot in the 90's, which is extremely good for me. I had been working on curing my out-in swing path before my round of golf. Instead of trying the new swing during my round of golf, I stuck with the old swing cause I knew I wasn't ready to change swings. After the round, I went to the range and hit about 200 balls with my 4 iron. After about 50 of the 200, I felt like I had finally cured my slice and was swinging in-out/ in-in. I could control the ball pretty well (i.e. make it draw and fade when I wanted). I left with absolute confidence that I had finally found the key to my swing....

Hitting more than 80 balls seems counterproductive. Hitting 200 utilizing the same club is worse.

I guess you were trying a little harder based on the day before. I am sure there were enough subtle differences between your swing on day 1 and day 2 to make your shots inconsistent. When I find myself in a similar situation, I alternate with a wedge and even try partial swings. In my opinion, you are better off simulating playing a round then you are the range (driver, 5 wood, 7 iron, chip or pitch, for example). Another tip is to set up with your pre-shot routine every time you use a new ball. With those strategies, you will use no more than 80 balls each time.

[paddlefoot]

We'll...I agree that hitting 80+ is probably bad. However, It was one of those days when I felt like I had found something in my swing, and I did not want to lose it. So I kept on hitting...

As far as the 4 iron. It's one of the hardest clubs to hit. I've always told myself if I can control the 4 iron, the others will be easy. Maybe this thinking is wrong...

[Eore]

i think you just had a bad day. i've been trying to cure an outside in swing as well, but somedays its just not there.

i could be being tired, so if you can't hit it one day, work on putting or chipping


also a tip-when you work on swing changes, get your swing down with short clubs first. practicing a 4-iron for an hour is fine in regular circumstances, but not when trying to groove a swing. its easier to fix things with a shorter club

[paddlefoot]

That sounds like good advice. I'll try to work the shorter clubs next trip.

I think I'm just being impatient. My swing has always had a bad fade, and I've always gotten by by adjusting the club face and/or my stance (i.e. stand a little to the left). I finally decided to byte the bullet and fix my swing, but it's frustrating because it feels like I'm starting all over...

[jdub5582]

A couple of things i have learned from a golf-oriented sports psychologist:

When you are swinging well, all you should do when you are at the range is hit like 4 golf balls per club. Make sure that you have a target.

When you are working on your swing, use a 7-iron and put down an alignment club to a specific target. The alignment club should be lined up parallel left (or right if you are left handed) of your target. Take your time with each ball and make rehearsal swings with emphasis on what you are trying to work on.

As far as how many golf balls you should hit, practice for as long as you can stay focused on what you are working on. If you find yourself getting off task , either call it a day or take a little break.


I hope this helps with your practice

[m11]

frequently when you find that you cure something at the range, either 2 things have happened. First option is that you actually figured it out. eureka and congratulations. Im a believer of it is possible to figure something out at a random practice session.

Unfortunately, the 2nd option that exists seems to have occured. After hitting 50 shots with the same club, you probably began compensating so much that the shots starting to improve. You ingrained that feeling for that session, and hit nice shot after nice shot. However, all that manipulation is difficult to recreate, which explains why you werent hitting the same shots the next day.

Check over your fundamentals again...if you arent/havent taken lessons, i highly suggest you take some. After 1 lesson...i went from shooting in the 100's to the 80's. Good fundamentals are both good...and well...fundamental. They are easy to recreate and can be recreated day to day. Seems like you just found something that took 50 shots to create...and then you lost it the next day.

[odstore]

Try not to lose your head when you're making a swing change. When you change something major it takes a lot of practice to get it to stick. I also have to agree that a 4 iron probably isn't the club you want to hit 200 times to fix your swing. My advice is to realize that a good swing isn't born with one trip to the range so just relax and take it one step at a time. Just stick with it and you'll get it.

[m11]

one more thing..i noticed your handicap and i'm gonna guess that you are more or less starting out. I was stubborn and for 3 or 4 years i hacked away without getting a lesson. I read forums and magazines and watched the hell out of the golf channel... and I was even able to create a swing that really didnt look that bad...and got me some scores in the mid 80's...learned to bomb some drives and even stick my wedges sometimes..but really wasnt consistant at all..and its certainly unimpressive to be able to shot 85 one day and 115 the next. I highly suggest grabbing a few lessons. They can sometimes appear a little expensive, but if you are willing to pay for range balls and equipment and rounds...and are really interested in the game....getting lessons is a very worthy investment. its not worth wasting your time trying to create your swing on your own. Please dont take offense, i'm not judging your athletic ability or anything like that, however the game becomes much more enjoyable after you get a pro to point you in the right direction

[kurtbayne]

I agree that you are impatient.

You can't change from an out-in to an in-out or square swing with a few buckets and expect not to have a learning curve. Wouldn't you hit a 100 buckets to have a squarish swing that even remotely works over the out-in fade-slice that brands you as a hacker and not a golfer?

As far as doing a variety of errors on the range, I actually think that having a variety of different mistakes when learning a new swing is a good thing. My opinion is that a lot of different errors = more stuff wrong, but in the long term, you will have a better swing. I would not try to fix any of the errors that crop up, just concentrate on the new swing. I suggest that you take attention more off your hands and arms and concentrate more on learning how your body feels with a more square swing, and smile thru your mistakes. You want get your mistakes out in the open on the range, rather than pridefully papering over your weaknesses, only to have them surface on the course. Now if you are hitting fat fat fat fat fat, etc., then you probably want to address the fat issue more.

Also you don't need to do 100 buckets of full swings. Doing half swings can also teach you a lot, even 40 yard pitching wedges and maybe even some chips can be instructive in getting a feel for what is generally considered to be the superior swing path in golf.