Why the slow slow start?

[King Cobra II]

Today I could barely hit the ball in the air the first 4 holes. I was toping, toeing, and catching balls fat. Then all of a sudden I get in a grove on the 5th whole, and play 1 over from 5-9. Any reasons as to why? Warm ups? Nervous ( I was playing with a group of my dads friends whom I'd never met) ?

[DGart09]

I'd like to think it was nervousness. Also, did you stretch properly and take a few practice swings? I used to have that problem as well, even when I was by myself. Once I started to stretch more and warm up a little more efficiently, that problem was a thing of the past.

[jrode]

I have the same issue, even when I go with my friend who I always play with.

I tell him that I've been on the range and feel like I've fixed things and got better and when I tee it up on the first hole he probably thinks I'm on crack or something because I either top it or slice it or something else.

Then after a few holes, I finally get into a groove, especially with the irons. Not sure why that is, I think I might need to hit the range before hitting the course, but money doesn't allow for that always.

[MRW]

Every round this year I've done this. I usually shoot around 10 strokes lower on the back nine than the front and that's after hitting a bucket of balls first. It's almost that I have to use the first 9 to figure out what is wrong with my swing that day and then the back 9 I can play like I know I should.

[Aetsh]

Same issues for me, always takes a few to get going

[ITgolfHack]

You were probably all tensed up and didn’t even realize it; I did the exact same thing last night subbing on a league where I didn't know most of the people I was playing with. It didn’t help that the guy I was paired up with was a 3 handicap and I’m happy to shoot high 40’s to low 50’s.

The First 3 holes were a total disaster. As soon as I recognized how tense I was, I was able to completely relax and started hitting some good shots.

[MPS67]

  DGart09 said:

I'd like to think it was nervousness. Also, did you stretch properly and take a few practice swings? I used to have that problem as well, even when I was by myself. Once I started to stretch more and warm up a little more efficiently, that problem was a thing of the past.

That's a good idea. I never thought about stretching other than rotating a bit beyond the top back swing and forward swing pose positions. Would you care to share your stretching routine?

Thanks, Mark

[m11]

  King Cobra II said:

Today I could barely hit the ball in the air the first 4 holes. I was toping, toeing, and catching balls fat. Then all of a sudden I get in a grove on the 5th whole, and play 1 over from 5-9. Any reasons as to why? Warm ups? Nervous ( I was playing with a group of my dads friends whom I'd never met) ?

Does this happen often when you go out? Does this happen on the driving range as well?

Theres one thing to be tight...but normally its simply because you havent developed your swing yet to the point where you are entirely consistent. However, your athletic tendencies are able to take over and you can learn to make compensations. It happens with all mid handicap golfers and its part of the reason why one day you'll be hitting everything clean on the range and the next day you cant take it to the course. You give a scratch player a golf club and they'll be able to at least make solid contact regardless of how tight they are. Keep at it, your swing will come around, and you wont have to worry about that anymore assuming you warm up properly

[JMReynolds]

Small bag of range balls normally cures this problem, with adequate stretching as well.

[DGart09]

  MPS67 said:

That's a good idea. I never thought about stretching other than rotating a bit beyond the top back swing and forward swing pose positions. Would you care to share your stretching routine?

I start out by stretching my core. How I do this is just by rotating my upper body as far left as I can while keeping my legs still. I then do this to the right, holding each position about 15 seconds. I then stretch out my lower back and hamstrings by touching my toes. Finally, I bend backwards looking at the sky for a few seconds to stretch my abs a bit more. I finish by taking about 5-6 practice swings, starting at a slow tempo then speeding up to the last one. This normally helps.

[clemsontiger]

It has to be nerves or you did no thit some ball to warm up.

I cannot play without hitting some balls to warm up. I have something wrong with my left hand and for the first 10 shots or so there is a pain in the back of my hand. After that, I am just fine and I do not have any problems and start hitting the ball like I am supposed to.