Mama said there'd be days like this

[Shanks A Million]

Oh man, it was cold, I'm waiting on the arrival of my new clubs. I went to the range with my Adams that are 3° too flat, and proceeded to not be able to hit the broad side of a barn. Everything felt uncomfortable, the swing felt harsh, and I felt imbalanced.



Ironically, I hit my fairway woods well, driver too. I'm thinking the irons were just too flat for me to have good days all the time.

Do we still all have days like this? Was it just that it was cold, was it just a bad day? Days like that really shake your confidence, and make you feel like a 35 handicap. What do you do to recover, just get back on the horse?

[The Road Dog]

Interesting. I went to the range tonight and started with my PW and after 12 balls none of which went where I wanted, went up through the clubs in the bag. I hit them all well until I got to my 5 iron. Couldn't hit it worth crap. I put it aside and went to Hybrid and FW then driver. Hit them all great then picked up the PW again and could hit it fantastic. Same for the 5 iron then too. So did I not do a complete warm up before starting with the PW?? That's the only thing I can think of to cause me to hit it so poorly. But before I tried the 5 iron I used the 9 and 7 irons. I hit them fine.... This is a rhetorical question, no replies needed. I guess I got back on the horse.

[lcfd42]

I have a lot of those days. The cold does bother me, as I have arthritis in my spine and hips. I just take some pain meds and go anyway. I generally do not play nearly as well, and seem to fatigue much quicker leading to getting sloppy in my swing around 14-15. I don't have this problem when the weather stays in the 50's and up.
As for lie angles I have went from hitting a 4.5* upright a year ago to I can swing standard lie clubs with little troulbe now. That is a lot of flattening for someone over 6'4'", but I have found a tremndous amount of confidence and repeatablity in the flatter swing. One day I will learn to putt.
Accepting your limitations is key in overcoming confidence issues. I know I can bust a good ball, but when its really cold I can add about 10 strokes to my score. Thats just the way it is, I don't like it but have learned to accept it as something I can't change (a limitation). Limitations can come in many forms; enviromental, physical, and the big one - mental. The first two have limited means of address when trying to play but you are in total control of your mental game. Build yourself up in your mind to be the best player there is and beleive that you can make every shot. Play each hole as a separate game, and each shot as an individual move within the game.(Don't let one bad shot drag down the rest of the round) I recall as quote that said something like 99% of golf is played between your ears and 1% on the course. (or something like that) It's true.
Believe in yourself and have fun. Drink an extra beer on the bad days and just enjoy the fellowship. Keep golf fun.


Good luck dude!

[Shanks A Million]

I have a lot of those days. The cold does bother me, as I have arthritis in my spine and hips. I just take some pain meds and go anyway. I generally do not play nearly as well, and seem to fatigue much quicker leading to getting sloppy in my swing around 14-15. I don't have this problem when the weather stays in the 50's and up.

Ha, all sage advice, but I don't drink.

Actually, I did take several breaks to let my mind clear, but I think that damn cold does it to me. Last time I was too cold on the range it was the same issue, steep. For some reason, my swing is steep in the cold! It could be the sweaters don't allow me to turn as much, and I go up instead of around. Looking at some swings with and without the sweaters on, I can see that. I'll just write it off as a bad day, and let it go.