Over swinging = The Swing Killer

[deronsizemore]

Seems every year my swing goes through the same cycle and I'm just not smart enough to avoid it.

Here's the cycle:

1. Return to golf from a four month winter layoff. Take smooth swings simply trying to make contact and get "it" back. Hit the ball pretty solid in doing so but have to take an extra club on every shot.

2. My swing comes back over the next month or so and I'm back to my normal distances and feel like I cannot mishit the ball. Confidence raises and my swing gets a little faster. I play like this for about two months which puts me into the beginning of July.

3. Mid July my swing falls apart. I feel like I cannot make a solid pass at the ball. Everything is going right and usually fading further right. I'm coming over the top, etc. Whole swing is out of sequence. This goes on for a month or two.

4. Now I'm into early September. Start from scratch taking smooth swings concentrating on solid contact, not distance. Swing starts to come around and now it's time for winter again.

It all comes down to over swinging. When I start swinging really good, I start swinging even faster because I've go so much confidence in my swing. Over time, my timing gets slightly off and then it happens. I'm over swinging and my timing is off and now I'm hitting it everywhere. Went to the range and gave myself the mental image of Steve Stricker's swing and how far he brings the club back. I tried to make swings with the feeling like I was a half backswing and everything seemed to start clicking again and my normal 5 yard draw was back. If only I had the discipline...

It's amazing how quickly something ever so slightly can be off and then you're hitting it everywhere (David Duval anyone?)

So... to everyone reading, STOP OVER SWINGING!

[Chris Stack]

I play every once in a while with a friend of mine who reminds me of Spiccoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Everything this guy does is done with the casual air of someone who doesn't give a shit. He swings his club like it's effortless, and he doesn't even care. And he hits it really well. So I constantly am telling myself "Swing it like Mike" to slow myself down.

[NormH3]

So the question is, does the extra 10 yards really allow you to play better? As long as you have a club in your bag to make the shot, maybe the easy swing is the way to go...and stay.

[O.B. Right]

I'm just learning to swing consistently and am amazed at how I can start hitting really well - for a week even - and just have it fall apart. It's wierd because I think I'm making progress and then have a major set-back where I can't hit anything all day.

And for me that really means "can't hit anything all day" not like you guys who stripe em down the fairway but still complain about some imperceptible aspect of your game being off . .ha ha.

[FHopper]

Nick Price says swing hard to hit it long.

[shankapotamus]

Nick Price says swing hard to hit it long.

...and raise scores.

[Zeph]

Perhaps hitting shots or even playing rounds where you take more club than needed and make a shorter swing. If you're 150 from the green and you have a club you normally carry 160, use it on the approach shot. I know the feeling of confidence and how you start picking less club than you really need, trying to muscle it out there.

[mdl]

This is a big one for me. I'm more up and down from round to round though rather than through the season like you.

For instance, I played a dawn round last Friday. Walked on, marshall said we could go out before the first group if we didn't mind teeing off in the dark. I keep things very very easy cause I literally can't see the ball off the tee, have to just walk straight and hope that's where I hit it. Keeping it super easy am hitting the ball very very well, one over through 5, with a bad chip on 1. Get too excited and over-confident, start trying to smoke it, two doubles and two bogies on the next 5 holes.

Then I realize what I'm doing, chill out, start swinging smooth again, and put up a 41 on the back, after a double on 10, even though I was crap around the greens. This is my eternal golf struggle.

To make it worse, I only sacrifice a tiny bit of distance off the tee and maybe with the 4i, 5i, and hybrid, and don't really sacrifice any distance with 7i down by swinging smooth.

[deronsizemore]

So the question is, does the extra 10 yards really allow you to play better? As long as you have a club in your bag to make the shot, maybe the easy swing is the way to go...and stay.

No definitely not. My goal is to try to keep this swing thought/feeling going forward and my main goal is to be to not over power anything. I still play OK when I'm swinging bad (bad for me) but I leave the course with a an empty feeling as I've just played golf for five hours and scrambled the whole way because nothing felt right.

Interesting to see some PGA Tour averages from the Trackman: http://www.mytrackman.com/TrackMan.O...GANumbers.html My numbers are pretty consistent with that PGA Tour average when I'm swinging within myself. Just shows why those guys are so accurate all the time. Most guys on this forum claim to hit the ball 40 yards past the PGA Tour average. lol

[lefty.drew]

My best round all summer came when I had a pretty viscous hangover.

And I can remember being on the first tee box (par 5) where I'd normally try to add yardage to reach in two. I felt so rough I just swung smooth and put it right down the fairway. That basically set the tone for the entire round. There are a lot of times where I opt to put a little "extra" on the ball and generally get myself in trouble. This day, I clubbed down, swung smoother and played great. If only I were mentally mature enough to play that every round.

[Leftygolfer]

It is the kiss of death. There is such a fine line. I think you have to be reasonable agressive and feel like you are playing a sport and hitting it hard. But there is a point not too far off where you get to swinging too hard. That is the difference between a highly skilled player. They know that line and don't cross it. When a tour pro needs an extra 10 or 20, he's got it, but he still will not hit a hook (when he's playing well).

Look at the pros. They don't swing easy but they are smooth.

[deronsizemore]

It is the kiss of death. There is such a fine line. I think you have to be reasonable agressive and feel like you are playing a sport and hitting it hard. But there is a point not too far off where you get to swinging too hard. That is the difference between a highly skilled player. They know that line and don't cross it. When a tour pro needs an extra 10 or 20, he's got it, but he still will not hit a hook (when he's playing well).

Yeah exactly. I mean, my "easy" swing is probably faster that majority of your average amateurs swings, but there's a line and when I cross it I get way to quick/fast and just lose control. Once you cross that line, it's really hard to undo it and slow your body back down. Takes a lot of work.

[Leftygolfer]

Your not going to hit a 170 yard 7 iron not hitting it hard. It just looks like you aren't. Tempo gives you the effortless look we all desire and the distance we crave.

[deronsizemore]

Your not going to hit a 170 yard 7 iron not hitting it hard. It just looks like you aren't. Tempo gives you the effortless look we all desire and the distance we crave.

I'd have to swing much harder to hit a 7, 170. Pretty much play my 7 iron right at 160. :)

[mapa94]

This is a big one for me. I'm more up and down from round to round though rather than through the season like you.

Same is true for me. I go through the same cycle but it is round to round. I'm a short hitting (225 off tee) 10 handicap who is always trying to eek out a few extra yards. Swinging hard might work for a few holes or even an entire round but when I overswing my ballstriking will sooner or later (usually sooner) turns to crap. Once I figure out what went wrong I start swinging smoothly with good tempo and the scores start dropping.

I don't like when my buddies consistently outdrive me but I usually end up with the low score and the most money so I need to get over it.

[Parker0065]

Seems every year my swing goes through the same cycle and I'm just not smart enough to avoid it.

Yes, I think all golfers go through something similar to what you described. I agree it's a tempo and timing issue that is made much worse by overswinging. I've had people ask me how do I hit it 280-300 and it looks so effortless. Well to me it doesn't feel effortless but it's about applying the stored energy correctly to the ball. My 12 year old son usually starts off the year swinging very well but somewhere in mid summer his tempo will increase and he will start mishitting shots. I'll work with him on slowing it down and by August he's hitting the ball well again. For myself it's not usually a tempo issue but more a matter of my swing getting ever so slightly out of sinc for a week or two then I'll get it back in tune with some drills and work on the range. It's just a never ending proccess,,,lol!

[seattlemudder]

So... to everyone reading, STOP OVER SWINGING!

Totally agree - I go through the same cycle...

[2bGood]

It is a never ending process and it makes sense as you (I) always tend to overcorrect my swing - at first the adjustment works, but at some point if you are still making the same adjustment and you can still feel it you have gone too far. Any swing thought going to extreme is bad - I have focused on slowing down my until I am slow I am not even swinging, had a light grip so loose my fingers were coming off the club in my backswing, and yes swung so hard I couldn't control my club and lost all tempo. Even the pro's find and lose their swings.