In a slump?

[jaragon126]

Have been in a slump all season
Started the year at a 9 handicap & now I'm up a couple of points from there.

A couple of years ago I was down to about a 6 handicap ... but unfortunately here in Colorado, the golfing season stops abruptly for the winter months and I don't touch my clubs until the next spring. I'm sure that's one of the big reasons it's hard to stay consistent from year to year ... but realistically I have reduced my handicap each year until I hit the wall recently.

It's getting pretty frustrating ... at times I feel like just walking off the course after very unnecessary triple bogeys on multiple holes.

I did get new clubs a couple of seasons ago, and my yardages changed a bit ... but for the most part I loved them. I had only been playing with really cheap almost no-name clubs before. What's funny is that I think when I was down to a 6 handicap I was still playing with the no-name irons I had been playing with forever.

I figure the clubs aren't what's causing me to play poorly. I had some old gangly Tour Edge irons before, and I bought the Calloway X-18 after being fitted for them at Golfsmith.

I live & work close to several golf courses ... so I'm either playing or practicing almost every day. I even go to the course on my lunch hour from work to hit balls or practice short game.

According to the GolfDigest website Make Me Better program, my weakness is short game (chipping & putting), so I do spend 90% of my time practicing those areas.

It's frustrating ... sometimes I don't even feel like I'm having fun on the course ... I'm just scrambling to shoot an 85 when I used to be able to shoot in the mid to high 70s regularly.

I don't use a distance measuring device, although they do look like very cool gadgets to have. I wouldn't think that one of those would help me play better golf. I figure they just help me find yardages quicker than walking off distances with yardage markers.

One of the things that I did change this year is in my golf lessons. Previously, I took lessons from a golf pro at a course here in town on many occasions. I would usually take 2-3 lessons from him per season. One lesson at the beginning of the season to get rid of any bad habits I picked up over the winter season. And a couple more lessons throughout the season whenever I couldn't fix something that was going wrong.

I stopped taking lessons from him probably around the time I was down to my lowest handicap because he told me there wasn't much more he could do for me at that point. He said that for me to become a scratch golfer, I would need to take lessons from someone that could go into more detail with my swing. Perhaps video analysis & the like.

One of the big instruction programs here in Colorado is the Mike McGetrick academy. But that isn't cheap. So, I got turned on to GolfTec which is another big academy-like instruction system here in town. They do video & keep track of your lessons & compare you to pros & all that stuff. Which is nice ... but it doesn't seem like that's working for me.

When I first went in for a consultation lesson with GolfTec, the guy had me change several things in my swing because I couldn't get my draw back ... I was hitting cuts & slices alot. Well, the cuts & slices went away, but now I was sometimes shanking or hitting bad hooks. I really spent alot of time trying to use what they told me to fix my slices ... but I eventually went back to them to ask for more help.

This time, it almost seemed like the guy did the complete opposite of what they originally told me. He was having me go back to my original swing positions & paths ... and I was thinking to myself "what is going on here". Long story short, I got roped into buy a series of 10 lessons for several hundred bucks. Since the golf season is quickly coming to an end, they have me going in for my lessons about every week. And it really seems like it's the same thing over & over again.

Is that worth the $600 I paid?
Are the lessons the problem?
Should I try going back to my regular guy even though it seems like he's expressed to me that there's not much more he can do?
Should I stop practicing with my iPod?
Should I play less & practice more?

ARGH! ... frustrated.

[MeanDeen]

I'm in a pretty bad slump. I started playing again this year after about a 5 year layoff though. When I started back up I was hitting the ball great but had absolutely no feel whatsoever with my short game. As I continued to play since I came back, I've let too many swing thoughts creep into my on the course play and tried too much new stuff, too fast that now I'm hitting the ball like crap. Ironically enough my short game is back though now.

[FortAsel]

I bet I beat you all... I've been in this slump for about 4 months... I have a few great rounds in the middle of it, but it's like "Oh, oh! I've got it!!! Ooops, My bad, I don't have it!"

It's like there is something in me that "prevents" myself from going to the next level

[andyh]

Yep, I know that feeling too. Going through it now. Got my handicap index down from total beginner to 4.5 or so in 2 years through being self taught. Took lessons 4/5 months ago because I felt I had gone as far as I could on my own.

Was regularly shooting mid 70s at that point. Lessons taught me a proper swing, eliminating the over the top move.

Now I feel my swing is where it should be after 5 months of working on it, but my scoring just does not reflect it. Been hovering around high 70s to mid 80s the last 2 months. I know I can get low. Have shot 2 under on short 9 hole course and 1 over par on normal size course several times in high winds. But I was hoping the lessons would have given me the ability to regularly go low now. Frustrating feeling, when you know you are a better player than before but you score worse.

Anyway I will keep persevering. Gotta relax and stop stressing about the scores.