Do you ever just get stuck?

[Bullitt5339]

Since my return to golf about 8 months ago, I've went from an average of 112 or so, to my current 96 average round at my home course. But for the last few months, I've been stuck right around 96. A couple 92's and 93's, but most are right at my average.

I go and take a lesson, fix a swing problem and it works for whatever I'm trying to fix. Example: My driver has been hit or miss. I'll go get a lesson and drive well for quite a while as long as I'm constantly working on it, but as soon as I start concentrating on my iron play, which will slack off if I don't practice, my driving goes away and vice versa. Then my wedges are horrible, so I practice them a lot, and something else goes away.

If I'm driving well, my irons aren't working. If my driver is horrible, my irons work fairly well for me. If my driver and irons are decent, I'm screwing up chips and putts horribly. No matter what I do, some part of my game keeps me at around 96. Yesterday, I couldn't hit my driver to save my life, but still came in at a 96 because my irons were average, but I was chipping well, and putting was average for me.

How do you guys with lower handicaps keep everything working together? I play and practice a lot, but can't seem to put everything together at the same time on the course. Is this just a part of growing my game, and things will get better over time with more practice and more lessons? Or am I destined to always be a mid 90's golfer? Because I've been stuck here for quite a while. Maybe I should get my golf instructor to play a few practice rounds with me to point out what I'm doing wrong on the course that I don't do during my lessons.

[mattttt25]

I think you're asking for too much, and in reality, what we all want to figure out. You say it's taken 8 months to drop 15 strokes or so. That's great, but don't expect the 15 next to come so quickly. You sound a lot like me- you can strike the ball well at times, but at any point, consistency strikes and you can lose a part of the game. Sorry to say, but that's what makes the game so frustrating and difficult.

IMO, improvement from this point requires practice, lots of rounds, and a bit of dedication to breaking down your swing. Best of luck-

[drglew]

I'd agree you've actually made faster progress than most of the readers of this forum in dropping 15 strokes in less than a year -- so be patient!

From your description, it sounds like your practice sessions or spot lessons may be too focused on quick fixes for your last specific predominant miss. Perhaps you just need consistent work on basic swing mechanics to get it more reliable -- no matter what club your using. A series of weekly lessons with the same teacher without a specific focus beyond "getting more consistent" might really help.

And you should definitely remember to keep up your short game practice no matter what else you're working on. As a mid-90's to low 100's player you should keep working on distance-control in putting so you average no more than 2 putts/hole, and making sure when near a green you always get on the green with your pitch/chip (i.e. don't get too cute, just get on). If you can accomplish this, you could spray your drives and approaches a fair amount and still shoot a 90! (but if you need two chips and then add 3 putts from greenside, you've just turned an up-and-down opportunity into a triple-bogey). As you get better, you'll get more and more chips & pitches to one-putt range...which is a big part in shooting 80's or lower.

Good luck!

[microcrayfish]

I agree with the suggestion that you might want to focus more on getting lessons on fundamentals and building a solid swing rather than "quick fixes", often when you take lessons you end up exaggerating things until you get the results you're after with your driver for instance, but you end up messing up your irons as a result.

Working on your course management might also help. I was in a similar spot to you not long ago stuck in the mid 90s for ages and found that once I learned better course management I could still score well when one part of my game was off. Being able to handle mistakes and get out of trouble - avoid the big numbers - helped a lot.

[J_Bone]

When practicing, I try to play a normal hole on my course. First hole is a par 5, 538yards. So I hit a driver, then depending on how I hit it, I will estimate the yardage and grab the next club like my 3 wood or 5 iron. Depending on distance and if I want a layup, then grab a wedge. Keep changing clubs like you do on the course. That way you don't leave any clubs out.

[Bullitt5339]

I have expressed my concerns to my instructor, and I have lessons scheduled for the rest of the week, plus he's going to play a round with me on Friday.

The "quick fixes" as you guys put it have really actually hurt my game in the last couple weeks. I'm to the point right now that I can't hit anything correctly in the past couple rounds. My instructor said that my swing was well ahead of my handicap up until last week, and now I'm overcompensating the swing changes we've made. I sent him a quick video of my swing, and he said just by the video that he knows exactly what we have to work on. It seems that while I used to "chicken wing", I've went the opposite way, and keep my elbow tucked against my side all the time now, and that's causing me a lot of problems.

We're going to work on my swing mechanics for the next 4 days, and I'll report back after some practice. I'm kind of a perfectionist, so not being great at something I want to be is actually driving me crazy, making me strive harder and practice more to achieve what I want to. I want to consistantly be in the 80's by the end of this season. If I can do that, I'll be happy until next year.

[Bullitt5339]

OK, had a lesson today, and got a lot of kinks worked out of my swing. My posture had gotten horrible, and was causing me all kinds of problems with every club. I had my lesson during lunch, and hit over 100 balls, and then after work while still tired, I went and walked 9 holes. While not a great 9, I could see immediate improvement just from concentrating on my posture and my follow through. Ended up shooting a 46, not too bad for me, especially being tired after work all day, and hitting so many balls already.

While I'm still hitting a bit inconsistant, especially with my driver and fairway woods, there's light at the end of the tunnel, and I can see it. I was striking the ball a lot better, my swing just needs to get more consistant so that I can actually play my shots. Right now, some will fade slightly, some will draw slightly. The good news is that I can feel the difference in my swing between the two, so as soon as I can master hitting exactly the same every time, I have a feeling my game will become a lot more consistant.

[saevel25]

Just keep working on it, it takes a while to fix faults that have been around for a long time. I switched my grip once, i was shanking the ball for a while, then i started hitting solid shots. But just remember, if you think someone can two putt each hole, thats 36 putts. even if you shoot a 96 thats over 1/3rd of the shots in the golf round. I would think you want to spend 1/3rd of your pratice time on golf.

Rough numbers, i assume you hit at least 1 iron per hole, 1 driver per hole, and two putts per hole. If you happen to make the green, then you have a par. if not, short game.

Really, if you want to make drastic improvements, look at working on short game and putting. If you spend two hours a day on golf, i would spend an hour on putting and short game, 30 minutes on each.

[Bullitt5339]

What a great day of golf today!!!!!!!!!!!! Temps in the low 80's, no wind, absolutely perfect weather, so I took a lesson today during lunch, again, concentrating on ball striking. Was off and on while I was on the range. After work, the boss asked me if I wanted to go play 9 holes, so I said OK, and head out to the course.

What a great day!!!!!!!!!! (for me, at least). I shot a 42 through 9 holes, my best round since my return to golf. Everything was improved, woods, irons, wedges, even my putting was great today. I had 4 pars, which is absolutely unbelievable for me, lately I've been averaging 1 per round. The largest change I noticed in the way I played today is how long I spend over the ball before I hit it. I lined up my shot, took a practice swing behind the ball, and then stepped forward and hit the ball, no standing over it, checking my alignment, my grip, thinking about swinging, I just stepped up and hit the ball.

I can't wait until Friday now!!!!!!!!

[CarlSpackler]

If I feel like I am in a scoring rut, I just go out and play for the heck of it. Enjoy it. It's the best game on the planet and it is meant to be enjoyed.