Did your swing ever suddenly desert you?

[JackLee]

REMINDER LIST!

Of course, to make an effective reminder list, you must be aware of everything you are doing when you are hitting balls well.

The Master Key instruction I use comes with a reminder list that I carry is my wallet. The few times that something has been off in my swing, that reminder list has come to the rescue. If I have not hit balls in awhile due to bad weather, I read the reminder list before starting a practice session.

[McGolf-Doggie]

C) If all fails, give up trying. No kidding. Accept the fact that you hit bad shots. Relax your arms, wrists, back.. everything. Try a smooth 3/4 swing at 10 yards less of your normal distance.. No swingthoughts! Just swing.

That approach did help today.

Although I have some neck arm strain, from an old cervical herniation that I think is part to blame on this. Probably going to have to rest it a bit.

[pachardos]

I hate it when I think that I have mastered my driver and all of a sudden you take a one week break and it totally disappears...LOL...Since it happened to me at least three times, I'm trying to practice driving at least twice a week. I usually stick to iron practice but man did bad driving ruin my rounds last week.

[jambalaya]

Maybe it's been said but I hope that occasionally my swing will find me.

[ZaPPPa]

REMINDER LIST!

Totally agree. I have one of those. Write down how it feels rather than wrist cock angles in degrees and that kind of stuff.

[fatgulfer]

Just last week I was hitting my record-low scores; each swing was better than i expected; I made almost every putt. I thought I had finally broken my bad habits, but then I take a few days off and my swing gets sloppy. It frustrates me sometimes.

[McGolf-Doggie]

It's way to soon to tell, but I just wanted to thank folk for chiming in on this weird thing that seems to happen in golf.

Went out there today with the same 6i and hit great. I did sha^k one: and that was the only one where I skipped the setup routine.

When I started this post, I thought my swing had deserted me. When I got deeper into the problem, I isolated it to a problem mostly with topping the ball, plus some other nasty things.

Yesterday the problem reached its lowest point -- topping the ball consistently to begin with...and then it got worse

Attempting to fix that by leaning in a bit more was followed by an awful case of the sh*nks. After that, no matter how much I tried the ball was leaving marks on the hosel and shooting off to the right after the geese in the right side of the range.

THE FIX?
Last night/first thing morning after doing some reasearch into tops and shanks, I settled on a focus on the following sequence:

SETUP
1a) slowed-down and very disciplined setup routine.
1) weight distribution less on the feet balls and a little more even fore-aft. I had been vacillating on this before, and neither was working, but I decided to go with the above approach based on this: http://www.somaxsports.com/HaneyTigersSwing.htm and
http://www.free-golf-swing-tips.com/...-fix-cure.html

2) focus on a straighter, lower back posture (but not to excess in the upper body)
3) being absolutely sure to bend from the hips and hang the arms down naturally, but not bent at address.

SWING
4) the only swing thought -- maintaining spine angle in the backswing and the downswing
http://www.golflink.com/tipsvideos/video.aspx?v=25034
And also like JetFan1983 said earlier in this thread.

5) OK, I also backed off a bit from my usual inside-out swing path that the instructor had me working on. Some of that decision was gotten from reading Joe Laurentino's "The Negotiable Golf Swing." and his discussion of adaptations he makes to his swing when ball flight is off. He also addresses spine angle. But that was an easy change to make, as I just dispensed with the usual swing path thought and came a bit less inside.

6) also swinging deliberately very much within myself, but that was not a change. I'd long ago made that adjustment. Shorter backswing (to about where the left arm is comfortable with being straight) has been a part of my game for the last few months.

One day does not a fix make, but I thought I'd write it down before I forgot, in case anyone else with a similar problem finds it useful.

[McGolf-Doggie]

REMINDER LIST!

I've got one started somewhere, but I'm telling you it's kinda long.

I can;t believe all the things that go into putting a golf swing together. Yet, if I choke one hand down on the shaft and hit it like a hockey slap shot, I can hit a rolling ball every time. But a stationary ball, with two hands up the top of the grip -- different ball game.

[McGolf-Doggie]

Oh dear god yes! I played baseball all the way up through 11th grade, so when I took up golf I had a REALLY bent knee stance when hitting my driver. I could seriously BEAT the ball though (260-280 yards on average) Well, about two months ago I wanted to get away from the bent knees, not because I wasnt hitting it well though... I wanted to change because I just felt like I looked ridiculous! I committed to making the change, and tried and tried and tried. I couldnt hit the ball for crap standing upright. About two weeks ago, I said screw it, im going back to the bent knees! Huge problem! Since I had been trying to stand upright for the last month and a half, now I didnt feel comfortable in my old bent knee stance.

One thing I did discover is that you can go from feeling comfortable to very uncomfortable by messing with things a bit much. That said, some of the best changes (draw ballflight) I've made involved doing something a little uncomfortable (inside-out swingpath), and eventually getting comfortable with it. Some instruction though, has gotten me into trouble (inside-out swingpath) when taken too far.

[Neco]

Oh man that sucks. It happens.

[soloredd]

Oh dear god yes! I played baseball all the way up through 11th grade, so when I took up golf I had a REALLY bent knee stance when hitting my driver. I could seriously BEAT the ball though (260-280 yards on average) Well, about two months ago I wanted to get away from the bent knees, not because I wasnt hitting it well though... I wanted to change because I just felt like I looked ridiculous! I committed to making the change, and tried and tried and tried. I couldnt hit the ball for crap standing upright. About two weeks ago, I said screw it, im going back to the bent knees! Huge problem! Since I had been trying to stand upright for the last month and a half, now I didnt feel comfortable in my old bent knee stance.

LOL! I had a similar issue in January. Went out of town with a buddy to play a round before a Warriors-Lakers game. I was all psyched to play, had hit decent on the range the day before. Right out of my first drive I pulled it left to the other fairway. Chunked it back over and on my 3rd (approach) pushed it right, into the water. That was my day. 122 on a somewhat easier course. I was so frustrated that before the NBA game, I dragged my buddy to a range right off the freeway and wouldn't you know it, I started hitting good again!

My swing doesn't desert me though. I think I desert my swing.

[garch]

I thought I would update this thread with a little story about my recent day in the very depths of golfing hell.

Mid-October and an invite to a golf society day at the Belfry, Brabazon course. I am an improving duffer, playing off 28 and would hope to score 30-35 points on a good day.

I made the mistake of having a golf lesson two days before the meet. A couple of swing changes, and initially the improvement was drastic. My ball striking was excellent, line decent etc.

I arrived at the golf course, one of the finest in the UK I might add, to hit a few balls at the range. Hmm. Duff, duff, top, thin, duck hook.. the most terrible warm up I could imagine. Then the anxiety hits in and the feeling that this is unlikely to improve on the course.

18 holes followed in a four ball made up of a 3, 6 and 15 handicapper - and me, Crappy Gilmore. My mental side was completely shot, and I quite literally could not hit a ball the entire day. On a course where I should have just been enjoying the privelige of being there, I did not get to the green in the points for pretty much every hole. My playing partners were very understanding, although comments such as 'is this your first time on a proper course' were not helping. The most gut wrenching, pride-killing element of the whole day was that I knew how much better I could be if I just relaxed and swung like I knew I could. The end result? 1 point. And that was for 8 shots on a par 5.

I was awarded the wooden spoon trophy, which of course I had to take in the jovial spirit it was offered, even though I was mentally shattered after the horrific day I had just had.

I couldn't face looking at my clubs for about two weeks, and then I eventually went back to the range. And exactly like someone previous in the thread had mentioned, I took my 7-iron, and made a 1/2 swing shot, just trying to perfect my contact. Just the snap of that very first shot brought it all back to me. That is now my drill every time I go to the range, and every time I make a bad contact. I still have the painful memories, not particularly helped by the fact that every time I play pretty well at the moment I think of what could have been.

I keep that trophy on my desk though, just to remind me that I could only improve from that moment! Bring on the spring, and the next event of this golf society.

[RIduffer]

I thought I would update this thread with a little story about my recent day in the very depths of golfing hell.

I feel for you. It is such a humiliating experience to be on a stellar golf course and have your game desert you. I have had similar experiences shortly after a lesson.

Two years into the game, I got to play Waverly Oaks in Plymouth, MA, which is a gorgeous track. My swing was off, and I was hitting balls dead sideways off the tee. Of course, my worst shots were when the Course Ranger was checking in on us, reminding us we were 2 holes behind schedule (mostly because of me). Eventually I just started picking up after 5 or 6 duffs and tending the flag for the other guys. As difficult as this game can be, I think the hardest thing is maintaining composure when you are playing poorly. It is a real test of character.

[garch]

As difficult as this game can be, I think the hardest thing is maintaining composure when you are playing poorly. It is a real test of character.

I couldn't agree with you more. In fact the hardest element to keep in check is your own temper. Noone wants to play with someone who is constantly angry or making excuses. On this occasion I did feel I had to offer the odd apology for playing so badly, but even then the 'honestly, don't worry about it' response just cranks that anxiety up a notch further.

[doof_dizzler]

As difficult as this game can be, I think the hardest thing is maintaining composure when you are playing poorly. It is a real test of character.

This is very important, golf or otherwise. If you can still act like a gbentleman when everything is going wrong, it shows a lot of character in my books.