Constistent ball striking

[8.5_Drive]

I dont really have a major fault. But im pretty inconsistent with my faults. Ive got a pretty decent swing..

Sometimes i will slice i drive, sometimes hook it. 60% of the time its straight.

Then with irons, sometimes i will hit it real thin, then the next shot horribly fat. Or a push, Or a pull. ~But again im capable of hitting them flush.

Its frustrating because its hard to pick up on what im doing wrong.. anyone else find this?

[Zeph]

Tell me about it... I can hit one shot perfect, right at the hole or the center of the fairway. Next shot I can slice into a hazard or pull into a greenside bunker.

The percentage of bad shots are lower than they used to be, but my swing is always a work in progress, so my bad stuff crawls into the swing now and then. It can range from a shot where I don't touch the ground until after the ball to hitting the ground 3 inches bheind the ball. It's really frustrating to play like that.

[dzdncfsd]

I feel your pain!! I started playing this frustrating yet amazing game this year. Around march I was starting to make consistent contact and actually playing to an 18. Then out of the blue I created a major hook. Couldn't get away from it no matter what I did. Decided to take a few lessons and got rid of the hook but then spent 3 months with a major slice. Along with the slice I'd say 1 out of 3 shots were either fat or bladed. Almost gave the game up. Now it's all coming around though. I'm at a 15 now but consistently playing to a 10-12. Still occasionally have a slice or snap hook show up out of the blue but I've learned it happens when I hurry my swing. Next shot I just slow myself down. Tempo is key for me.

[8.5_Drive]

Tempo is key for me.

Its funny you should say that. Sometimes i feel when i take a nice slow swing, it works great, then others it will slice. So then ill be frustrated and smash the driver on the next tee and it will go straight as an arrow

[$2 Nassau]

I dont really have a major fault. But im pretty inconsistent with my faults. Ive got a pretty decent swing..

you've pretty much described everyone's game who's in the 10-15 handicap range. cable of hitting it very well, but we don't always.

[ks8829]

I think it all in the backswing and take away IMO.

It helps me to practice with my wedges to get into a groove of making solid contact, finding my distance and finally my direction. I find when I lose my swing or just before I play a round if I need to tune up my swing, I go practice with my wedges and hit 30, 40 and 50 yard shots and look for solid contact, the click sound and judge my distance and direction.

My pre-shot routine is focused on my take away direction and position of my club at hip high. I hit solid shots when the shaft is parallal and down the target line and the toe pointing up at my hip level.

[sean_miller]

I dont really have a major fault. But im pretty inconsistent with my faults. Ive got a pretty decent swing..

Focus on making clean contact with an ~ 85% swing (not a little pitch shot - imagine hitting a layup on a par 5) using a mid iron (5, 6, 7). Vertical enough club face to see the effects of spin but not so vertical (like a 2 or 3 iron) that getting the ball airborne is an issue.

Hitting wedges is okay for warming up and it generally a good idea to practice with the scoring clubs, but short irons can mask a swing flaw since a poor swing is still likely on line.

[Open-Faced Club Sandwedge]

I dont really have a major fault. But im pretty inconsistent with my faults. Ive got a pretty decent swing..

Careful, telling people you don't hit the ball well but it's not because of major swing flaws seems to ruffle feathers around here. I think spending time talking about the swing in such detail on the web leads to the impression that every mishit ball is a swing flaw. But sometimes it's not the swing technique, it's just the coordination of that particular swing. The best golf swing is the one that requires the least coordination, but they all require a LOT of coordination to hit that ball with the sweet spot.

Anyway, there's just not that much difference between a flush shot and a badly mishit shot. The bottom of the arc 1/2" low? You're hitting 2 inches before the ball and it barely goes anywhere. Bottom of the arc 1/2" high? You're hitting a shot so thin it barely gets 2 feet off the ground. Bottom of the arc 1/2" outside? Shank! The key to never (or almost never) missing that spot by that 1/2"? If you find out, tell me. I'm pretty sure hitting 1,000,000 balls will do it, but it'd be nice to know a faster way. -Andrew

[russtyputter]

I played two rounds this morning at my local 9-hole (The Lakes in El Segundo, CA - Par 29) - The first one I played a 35 and the second one I played a 39. I think my main problem is ball position and setup. I sometimes have a slight feeling that my ball position is a little off but, due to the pressure of groups waiting behind us, I usually just take my swing and that's when I slice it or hit it thin and send it shooting over the green. I believe once I can figure out a method of consistent setup (distance from the ball, ball position, etc) I will play more consistantly and avoid a lot of mishits. I still have other flaws in my swing mechanics but, I don't feel it's too terrible.

[Shorty]

I dont really have a major fault. But im pretty inconsistent with my faults. Ive got a pretty decent swing..

Your problem is that you DO have swing flaws. Quite possibly major ones.

Your good, or "flush" shots are as random as your thin, fat, pushed and pulled, hooked and sliced ones. You need to see a professional and have lessons. Too many golfers have expectations way beyond what they should be. Why would you expect to be hitting the ball consistently when you aren't? As for the question "anyone else find this?", of course we do. Every amateur golfer shares your situation to varying degrees. What is hard for a lot of players to accept is that their good shots aren't the norm from which poor shots deviate. The good ones are as much an accident as the bad ones. You will not improve if you admit to essentially having no idea where the ball is going to go , but claiming at the same time to have sound mechanics.

[sean_miller]

Careful, telling people you don't hit the ball well but it's not because of major swing flaws seems to ruffle feathers around here.

I didn't use the word "major" but we all have swing flaws. Any individual swing that didn't produce the desired club / ball interaction was flawed. An overall swing that randomly produces good and bad results, especially when there's more than one type of bad result, is inherently flawed. Does it require more practice? Maybe. How would he know without a proper evaluation. Does he want to sort it out on his own? Not likely, since he posted his plight on the internet and asked for help.

[iacas]

Careful, telling people you don't hit the ball well but it's not because of major swing flaws seems to ruffle feathers around here.

I agree with everything you said about how precise things need to be. And I agree that players with a good swing can make the occasional poor swing with bad contact, ball flight, etc.

That said, I've seen good golfers with bad swings. I've seen good golfers with good swings. I've seen bad golfers with bad swings. I've never seen a bad golfer with a good swing. Everyone has swing flaws, and if you're not striking the ball consistently, you have a swing flaw or two or three. The average amateur will hit one or two good shots per round and say "If only I could swing more like those..." when those are the OUTLIERS, those are the ANOMALIES, and if they'd just realize that they might actually be able to put their minds to work on the task they actually face. Does coordination come into play a bit? Can you make a good swing but still mis-hit the ball a bit? Yeah, of course. But on average, those are going to be the anomalies, not the ones you hit well.

[lionking]

The average amateur will hit one or two good shots per round and say "If only I could swing more like those..." when those are the OUTLIERS, those are the ANOMALIES, and if they'd just realize that they might actually be able to put their minds to work on the task they actually face.

I think at our level (knocking on the single digits), we actually start remembering the 5 bad swings/shots and forget the 20 good swings and the 15 decent swings (assuming 40 full shots/round), and then wonder why we're hitting it so bad. the lessons are the same though- even though most of our shots are decent/good, we're supposed to thin/chunk/snap/slice a handful per round.

aligning expectations with reality is a hard, hard thing to do.

[saevel25]

Kinda like the story of this guy who played in a college tourniment, he looked at his opponents grip, it was horrible, very awkward. He thought that no one could play well with a grip like that, he goes out and gets whipped pretty good by an awkward grip. Just to show you, people can play golf and make things work from different ways. Each person has there own swing, but there are a few things that are consistantly done by good players.

[sean_miller]

Kinda like the story of this guy who played in a college tourniment, he looked at his opponents grip, it was horrible, very awkward. He thought that no one could play well with a grip like that, he goes out and gets whipped pretty good by an awkward grip. Just to show you, people can play golf and make things work from different ways. Each person has there own swing, but there are a few things that are consistantly done by good players.

He's a good ball striker with a funny grip or a bad ball striker with a good swing?

[newtogolf]

I'm don't disagree with what's been said, but some of it can also be mental. Maybe this is a novice issue, so it doesn't apply to you mid - low handlicappers, but I've noticed when I have too much going through my head during my swing bad things usually happen. If I address the ball and swing normally, I hit the ball pretty clean and straight. I find if I'm indecisive about the club I selected, have an awkward lie, or hazards in play and I'm thinking about them when I start my address I'll end up with some type of mishit.