Confidence Killer : Do you get these too?

[JYB]

So, i've been playing rather well as of late. I've been really good around the greens and even though my long game hasn't been on, my mid and short games have made up for it.

Today, after teaching the kids at the junior academy i work at, i went out with two of the club pros and played 9 holes at Doral. I bogeyed 1 and then parred 2. On 3 however, my tee shot hooked out of bounds to the left and that's when one of the pros, who has been teaching me said,

"you're swinging severely over the top again."

WOW. After that, my game went RIGHT DOWN THE DRAIN.

I couldn't believe it. I've been working my ASS off at golf and bang, right in the face, i get a bullet from my coach that my swing went right back to where it started. This SUCKS!

I really just felt like quitting, there and then, on the spot. Giving away my clubs and quitting. Instead, i played an awful round of golf and felt miserable for myself for the rest of the day, including right now.

I guess everyone gets these confidence killers once in a while but, how do you deal with them?

[CG031]

Yes, I was 1 over thru 7 holes, and proceeded to hit two balls O.B. and make a 9 on a par five.

Confidence Killer?

I'd say so.

[banditbrown]

i got a case of 'the shanks' on 10-18 during my last round...

talk about depressing.... i was killing drives long and straight, but couldn't hit an iron to save my life!

i'm trying to put it behind me, but i'll be nervous the next time i'm standing over an iron shot.

[Dent]

I shanked all my chip shots for several rounds, just fixed it a couple days ago.

During that time I hated golf, and was thinking about quiting for the year.

[CG031]

I shanked all my chip shots for several rounds, just fixed it a couple days ago.

lol. you shank more shots than i ever heard...how do you do it? lol.

[Dent]

lol. you shank more shots than i ever heard...how do you do it? lol.

Its something I cant explain, and noone has ever seen it before. I think somehow I would open the club face so much it was unreal. Dont know how I did it, because it felt as I was shooting normal.

[ks8829]

I hook my drive and lost the ball. I hit another drive off the tee and end up with an 8 on a par 4.

I ended up shooting 11 over with an 83. 5 over on the front and 6 over on the back nine. I just came off shooting 1 under the previous day and wanted to have another consistent day. I would have settle for 5 over on the round but lost it. I was most disappointed with lack of focus, concentration and commitment to my shots and putts.

[kc8kir]

That was not the thing for the pro to say imho. He forced a though into your mind that you wrestled with for the rest of the round. That's the last thing you need when playing. He should have recognized it and had you do some sort of quick drill (without telling you the bad thought) just to help adjust your swing programming. If you were over the top, the pump drill, or the connection drill. Just something to get a good confident feel before the next swing.

I have come to expect one or two of these "confidence killers" every game. When it happens, I just try to laugh and think "well, there it is, glad it's over". Then you move on.

[ZaPPPa]

He should have waited until after the round was over. It is good for him to tell you, but not in the middle of a round.

Next time you go out for a round with him, you should tell him to make mental notes of your game, but not tell them until the round is over.

[iacas]

He should have waited until after the round was over. It is good for him to tell you, but not in the middle of a round.

Ditto.

But on the topic of how you move forward (you can't shove the words back in his mouth), take that as inspiration and motivation to work even more. Your flaws will likely ALWAYS be your flaws. You must work constantly and diligently to stay away from them. It seems you forgot that, marked it off as "corrected," and moved on. So treat it as a learning experience and resolve to check in on your golf swing every week or two. I video my swing every month, and I should do it even more frequently. It lets me catch something that's drifting off into a place I don't want it to be before it becomes a problem and before I ingrain a bad habit. Plus, I also keep a physical list (well, a file on my computer) of my standard flaws and their fixes.

[$2 Nassau]

He should have waited until after the round was over. It is good for him to tell you, but not in the middle of a round.

Bingo. Unless you asked for the critique he shouldn't have offered it, although he is your caoch so I guess your relationship is a little different.

But if a friend told me I was over the top during a round I'd tell him to go f- himself. lol Then keep plugging away and worry about it later.

[$2 Nassau]

Ditto.

Great stuff right here. Glad I saw this. I've started the video library of my swing, but the text file of my typical flaws/fixes is something I should start keeping as well.

[ZaPPPa]

but the text file of my typical flaws/fixes is something I should start keeping as well.

Is there a thread about this yet? Kind of a moderated list of faults & fixes (banter moderated out). I'd love to see one.

[iacas]

Is there a thread about this yet? Kind of a moderated list of faults & fixes (banter moderated out). I'd love to see one.

No, they're my flaws and fixes, not yours, and I think further discussion of it is unwarranted (particularly in this thread).

[kc8kir]

Gotta agree with Iacas about the faults and fixes. That's totally personal.

Would be cool to make a sticky thread though and fill it with golf drills. Full swing, short game, etc. Make it a requirement to state the purpose behind the drill, and if possible, the source.

At least that might give people a starting point to find ways to work on fixing their faults!

[jambalaya]

Ya'll weren't playing for money were you?

[GaijinGolfer]

We all have our good days and our bad days. On Monday I was shanking iron shots like crazy, now today my iron shots are dead straight.
IMO, the key is to not get frustrated. Sometimes you just gotta put the clubs away for the day and give it another shot tomorrow.

[camwow]

yeh. HATE THAT! feel like your taking steps backwards from where you have been?
i have days where i just lose my swing too, alright the next day though =)