My game is driving me crazy

[Doctorfro]

My game is so erratic I'm losing my mind. If I'm not making eagles and birdies I'm hooking balls OB or chili dipping. When I hit some of these horrendous shots I kind of feel like the movie "Space Jam" where the aliens suck the talent out of the basketball players. I officially dub myself King of Inconsistency. Anyone else have these dramatic performance swings?

[JGulkCG]

mental. mental. mental.

[ks8829]

3 words....................pre-shot routine

[ks8829]

3 words....................pre-shot routine

[Big_M]

Yes, Wednesday while I was out at Mooresville GC, I play a good front (39) with two birdies, then shot a (47) on the back. I fatted a few irons, topped a 3-wood, skulled one, and hit a few ugly chips. I think my tempo was off a bit, and we did start waiting on some seniors starting at the turn. That's the other thing for me, it's not always even day to day, but sometimes I play a great half round, then play like garbage. It is frustrating, but what can we do except try again next time.

I think my biggest issue is keeping my tempo from getting too fast. Also, I've noticed I'm not taking divots the way I do in the summer for fear of fatting shots since the ground is wet and bare in many instances.

For those that mentioned pre-shot routine... I always keep that the same.

[sonicblue]

Big M: one of the real revelations I feel like I came across was, not dividing your nines. I would always do that: make the turn, tally my score, say 'ok, that was a good/bad nine, the next nine I'll try to do (something)...' Nothing magical happens at the turn, other than (usually) our rhythm and tempo being upset by either waiting for someone, getting food, etc... When you can consider each HOLE a fresh start - nay, each SHOT - a new, singular opportunity, an independent chance to stay focused, make the right plan, make a within-your-skillset swing and execute, the good scores will follow...

[Big_M]

Big M: one of the real revelations I feel like I came across was, not dividing your nines. I would always do that: make the turn, tally my score, say 'ok, that was a good/bad nine, the next nine I'll try to do (something)...' Nothing magical happens at the turn, other than (usually) our rhythm and tempo being upset by either waiting for someone, getting food, etc... When you can consider each HOLE a fresh start - nay, each SHOT - a new, singular opportunity, an independent chance to stay focused, make the right plan, make a within-your-skillset swing and execute, the good scores will follow...

Dividing my nines isn't a problem... I always have a good idea where I stand. I don't change my game because I am playing good or bad. Each hole is NOT a fresh start either... it is EACH SHOT. I learned a long time ago that you can have a few crappy shots and make up for it with one real good one, so I stay focused on every single shot, and play each shot in and of itself. The other day I just started hitting some bad shots at inopportune times. It just happened that you could look at my two nines and think I was a different golfer. As I said, I think my tempo was getting a little quick and my swing a little short. I don't always have good/bad nines... sometimes both are good, sometimes both are fair, etc. It just so happened that the other day I had a good one and a terrible one.

[Doctorfro]

3 words....................pre-shot routine

Thanks. That is something I've noticed lately and I really think I need to set in stone. Sometimes my routine is good, sometimes I start thinking about things or take extra swings or.....whatever. Especially on the little delicate shots. I appreciate your input.

[CG031]

My game is so erratic I'm losing my mind. If I'm not making eagles and birdies I'm hooking balls OB or chili dipping. When I hit some of these horrendous shots I kind of feel like the movie "Space Jam" where the aliens suck the talent out of the basketball players. I officially dub myself King of Inconsistency. Anyone else have these dramatic performance swings?

Read my signature. It's helped me because I've been having bad rounds until I just realized that...

[PiKapp23]

My last 5 rounds: 81, 81, 99, 73, 92.

Sadly, the 99 was on the easiest of the 4 courses those rounds were played on. On that day I couldn't drive the ball and I couldn't putt and on that course if you can't hit good putts 3-jacks become pretty common. The 92 was on a day where I kept hitting drives into awkward places (had to punch out or hit out of deep rough), even though I was seldom offline by very much (I hit a lot of non-drawing draws).

[flopdarock]

this is the story of my game... ive been on the verge of breaking 80 one day at a "hard" course... then look like a hacker not breaking a hundred on an "easy" course the very next day... heck when my brothers were in town the first day we played after bragging about shooting an 82... they spanked me and i shot a 113... the very next day i played them again and shot an 88... beat one brother and gave the other a run for his money... i just wish i could have a true average instead of rollercoastering

[Doctorfro]

Upon reflection, although I have some frustration, there is much to build on from what I'm doing out there. Consistency is the goal now. Some have said that I'm still getting used to my new equipment. Eh, could be but I don't completely buy that. Some of my scoring has been my putting slump. I'm not putting horribly, I'm just burning edge after edge. I'm not confident of alignment anymore and it may have to do with my deteriorating eyesight. I'm considering changing putters but that's only part of what I've been plagued with. What is good is that some of my short finesse shots are better than usual (including greenside sand shots). Although my driver may not always be great, it's been better than in the recent past and my misses are good misses. So I can't let it get me down and frankly, I'm looking forward to getting back out there, playing with confidence, having a better preshot routine and kicking the course's butt like I know I can.

[saltman]

I am going through the EXACT same thing. I am coming back to the game after a significant layoff, and the inconsistency is a HUGE battle. I just cannot get the big numbers out of my game. i have to believe its just part of the process. Last year, when I started coming back, I was uncomfortable about every shot. Now, I am making really solid contact from 9-iron down for the most part, but still spraying the ball wildly off the tee and its very frustrating.

Saturday, I shot 37-47. My front 9 included 4 tops, but 5 up and downs and a near ace (hit the pin) and some very solid mid iron/hybrid shots. My back 9 included 1 birdie, 1 par, 4 bogeys, a double, a triple and a quadruple. On the day I made 3 15+ foot putts. I can't decide how to think about my round. Did my srambling and short game save an otherwise dreadful round OR did my ball striking and wayward tee shots prevent me from shooting 68!

The more balls you hit the more consistent you become. Try to figure out where you are giving most of your strokes away. Mine is easy identify, hard to fix, keeping the ball in play is a major hurdle. I have a bailout mentality right now, the fairway looks like it is 2 feet wide to me. Stick with it, this is the game. One great shot will keep us coming back, even if its sandwiched in between 100 bad shots.

[flopdarock]

boy i shot low 80's yesterday... and an even hundred today... talk about frustration

[Dub]

I've recently gotten to where I don't want to divide the nines.....I don't want to focus on the score.

I simply want to focus on the next shot: distance, wind, what's the shot to hit, club selection....etc.

I tally up scores later on and I don't fool with statistics during a round of golf...it's evident by the end of the round what my strengths and weaknesses were.

[Range King]

Great thread.

I went to the range yesterday after lunch for couple hours.
When I finished, i was honestly ready to sell my clubs on ebay and quit on the money- and time-burning machine.
I managed to hit maybe 1 out of 3 strokes through the whole bag, and some clubs like my hybrid, I did not get airborne once.

And that was only the driving range.

Later in the evening I got into the car again and played nine holes. I guess these were maybe the best 9 holes I have played so far, somewhere low 40s.
Couldn't miss. Putts, Long irons, hybrids, FW, you name it.

Crazy. 3 hours earlier I would have given away my golf bag, if somebody had asked for it.

I guess, this was an eye opener for me.
The thing in the evening was, that I did not have any expectations at all. I just wanted to be outside, and take a walk with some action in between.
So I just went up to the ball, did a short waggle, and hit it. No swing thoughts, no tension.

(Later that evening I ordered a Rotella book )

[Seven Iron]

mental. mental. mental.

Yep. That's the way it is. Your body is never gonna perform the same swing everyday but it's definitely a mental game.

[Doctorfro]

Well, today I spent a little range time and many times I start out well and get worse. Today was the opposite, which I find encouraging. I really finished strong and figured out a couple of things that had crept back into my full swing. I then spent some time on the practice green with my current putter and a two-ball that I had laying around. I really putted fairly well with both but my current stick was slightly better. I'm really not brimming with confidence with this putter in my hand so I'm thinking a change might be good. Alignment is the biggest issue so I'm leaning towards putters with more pronounced alignment aids. I just don't want to get crazy like a two ball or a monza spider. I'm really trying to keep positive and wholeheartedly believe my next round out will be pretty good.