Range time, sometimes practice, others just exercise

[treebound]

Went to the driving range today at lunch. Tired from little sleep, stressed out from non-golf things, didn't eat lunch first, and the time on the range showed it. Medium bucket and I was flailing, just called it a day of exercise and sunshine and didn't worry about where the balls were going (stubs, flubs, dribbles, offline, high, low, mostly right, some left, maybe four out of seventy were more or less okay, doesn't matter). Some days it might be best to just call it exercise and stress relief, as noted in the Forest Gump movie "sometimes there just aren't enough rocks".

I probably should have just moved over to the chip and putt practice area halfway through the bucket, maybe next time. Please forgive the rambling rant. I've got some data transfers to run this afternoon at work, might be a good time to read a few chapters in Rotella's Golf of your Dreams book sitting on the desk here.

Any tips on how you deal with days where nothing seems to work with the golf swing?

On a side note I saw a new golf retail store with an Opening Soon sign in the window down near the grass range. That made me smile a little. That will make two national chain stores and one regional golf store within reach for lunch runs/escapes from work.

(Whew, broke a sweat out there, good thing I don't share this cube with anyone)

[golfro]

I've learned to put the club down on days where your body is just not feeling it. I've foudn that if my body is sore or uncomfortable, it can often mess up my swing as I'm having to adjust it in some ways.

I've had a bad crick in my upper back and neck for the past couple days and I tried going to the range but found myself not turning my shoulders correctly because of the pain. after hitting half the bucket, I called it quits and put my clubs down.

[canes113]

I text my instructor what I'm doing wrong and tell him my swing sucks.. lol. Then I ask him if I can get a lesson on the weekend. Feel much better after all that.

[GaijinGolfer]

On days where I just dont have it, I remind myself that golf is just something I do for fun, not what I do to make a living, so I have nothing to really get mad about.
Id agree that golf when you're tired isnt a good idea. I usually get less than 8 hours of sleep a night (sometimes much less) and Ive found that since I started playing a couple rounds of golf during the week after work, that I need to get a good night's sleep if Im to perform well on the course after a long day's work.

[treebound]

At one point towards the end of the bucket of balls I did prop up my cell phone and took a video of several shots. Flying elbows, dancing knees, goofy hips, jazzy headbob, outside to in swing line randomly skewed, assorted other stuff. I think apart from being tired and stressed out I was also experimenting on my stroke transition and downswing hoping to find a magical 20+ yard gain. In the past with my old clubs (1980's Ram Lasers) my 5-iron was a solid 150 yards and the rest stepped up or down in 10 yard increments from the 9-iron all the way up to the 1-iron (I couldn't hit woods back then, but a 1 and 2-iron were no problem, go figure). My current used clubs (TourEdge Bazooka Ti, not sure of age, graphite shafts) I can't seem to get dialed in yet. 5-iron seems to waiver between 140-170 yards, 2-iron seems to float somewhere between 150-200ish yards. Yesterday just everything messed up. But bygones will be bygones so yesterday is history.

I know I should probably get a couple of refresher lessons, I just need to find a local instructor I can work with (and can afford). In the mean time I'm going to forget about the swing videos and swing mechanics I've been watching and reading and just relax and simply hit the balls next time I'm at the range. Then once I'm back under control I'll slowly start to work on one thing at a time.

The simple task of hitting a ball with a stick can seem so overly complex at times.

Thanks for the comments, they're appreciated.