frustrated to wits end!! this may be long...

[yetanotherbogey]

Hi everyone!

Ive been reading a tad here and looks like a great forum. What actually prompted me to join was im looking for some friendly advice on what to do with my game. I guess i shoudl start with a brief background

My name is Jay and i live in Tampa Florida. I moved down here about 3 years ago and am loving the all year great weather and the salt life :) I started playing golf around the age of 25. Having played sports at highly competitive levels it only seemed natural to become a student of the game of golf. i watched the golf channel religously and hit the range for a good 6 months before i ever stepped foot on a golf course which i think really helped fuel my passion for the game. i picked up on it very quick and developed a very healthy short game and a natural ability to see the line on the greens. My third round i ever played i shot a 98 and only once thereafter shot over 100. By my third year I had broke 80 and in my fourth year i shot my first round under par.

I had developed this pipe dream that i could actually become a competitive golfer. At my high point I was almost a scratch golfer and I was playing great. Of course with all amateurs there is that achilles heel. Mine was the fact that i could not put two nines together, i may shoot 3 under on the front but go 5 over on the back or vica versa. after much deliberation with my regular foursome (3 pros) I came to the conclusion that I needed to have a good cut shot in my bag. heres where it gets ugly......

I was living in NY and i decided to work with the pro on my home track on my cut shot. She was a good teacher and also played on the lpga. I was a bit weary of taking lessons from a woman at first but she had a good knowledge of the golf swing. I spent the entire winter practicing the cut shot and it was almost impossible for me at first. My natural ball flight was a nice baby draw and i could throw darts with my wedges but back right pins for me were impossible to get close. after a few weeks i began hitting these great cut shots ! I felt like i could shape the ball however and whenever i want.  Springtime came around and it was time to put my swing to the test.

To my surprise and dismay i learned really quick that i had completely destroyed the swing that i used to hear compliments on all the time . I HAD NOTHING BUT SHANKS!!.. i couldnt hit a golf ball straight if my life depended on it..

I dont know how it happened or exactly when it happened but the only shot i had in my bag was a shank. That year was probably the most miserable year of my life.... so bad i took my clubs and threw them in the garage and piled a bunch of shit on top of them.

That was it for me i was done with the game...I QUIT

Fast forward to the present....

After not playing for about 4 years and being enveloped in my business i decided that maybe enought time had passed that i had completely forgotten everything i know. I have been playing shank free for about a year now and it feels great. With every round i get somewhat better and starting to shoot in the 70's again but im facing a whole new set of problems.

I am 39 now and in very good shape however on the golf course it seems I am lacking endurance. Sometimes i play great , sometimes i play like crap and sometimes its just ok.... im ok with that but it just so happens this is all in the same round. heres a recap of a recent round

I was playing a very easy course, tarpon springs golf club and i thought i was on my way to an awesome round. the first hole i stripe it down the middle and have 50 yards to a front pin. my approach comes up 5 feet short and my chip goes halfway in the hole and loops around.no problem, tap in and move on. The second hole again perfect tee shot with a 135 yard shot in. i hit a 9 iron and flagged it to about 6 feet, rolled it in center cup. Third hole a par 5 i hook my tee shot but still playable. hit a short iron to 100 yards and put it to about 5 feet. once again my putt goes in and loops back around back at me. On the par 3 4th its playing 190 in to the wind. I hot a four iron and pushed it to the right side of the green and the pin is front left. i wound up lagging then looping it around the cup again. On 5 i crush my drive , come up short chip up and tap in. on 6 i hit yet another great drive and my approach is to 10 feet. i burnt the edge of the cup on the right side and tap in. 7 which is a dog left and short i hook my drive a bit too far. I got very lucky and it miraculously found its way through every branch on two trees and winds up center cut 30 yards from the green. i chip up and loop it around the hole from about 20 feet. by now im getting extremely annoyed at the holes . 8 is a ridiculously short 135 yards. pin is back right with a trap on the right side. of course i put it in the trap. no problem i hit what i felt was a pretty decent sand shot but i missed the putt.

Enter 9.... heres where it goes bad. feeling pretty good about my game at that point i pull out my driver and hit a high hook ob. its lateral but i want to know why i did that so i decide to play 3 from the tee. this time i hooked it even harder..i think that one landed in texas. Long story short i take the penalty off my second and make an 8 on the hole. We make the turn and my next tee shot almost goes in the water on the left..fortunately i drop kicked it so bad that it was way short. for next 5 or so holes it jsut remained ugly.

Finally on the 16th hole it all came back again. One of the guys in the group said to me dont worry just par it out. and i actually did.

One thing I will say and it shouldnt be an excuse but i barely slept the night before. But what i dont understand is how i can have such wicked ups and downs. One minute i play aggressive and great and then the next minute that same aggressiveness is my downfall.. even if i step back and play the "safe shots" i cant even do that right.

I practice a lot and it is always quality practice. I dont just hit balls on the range , i will actually simulate a round by not making the same shot twice in a row. when i practice short game i do it intensively and when i practice putting i will look ,analyze and line up every practice putt as if it were in a round. I think i am doing everything the way i should be but why is it at some point in my round the wheels come off?  At this point Im pretty confident i need to start working with a pro again. I love the game so much and have a burning desire to get better.

Im sure there has to be a bunch of guys on here that feel my pain and hopefully someone can shine some light on how i can mentally become more consistent and learn how to recognize these mechanical flaws as they come up.

sorry for a very long first post but hopefully someone can identify with me and help me out

thanks for reading...

Best Regards

Jay

[saevel25]

aggressive nature is good, but it can be as you shown a double edge sword.

I think you need to analyse the hole more and know when to take your shots. It seems you like to be aggressive, but you got to put a collar on it sometimes. Of course this is from a guy who hasn't seen a whole yet were i wouldn't take out my driver, but i am know my game. It obviously looks like you got the game, but i think your mental game is getting in the way.

Don't beat your head over bad shots, don't put pressure on yourself. The best play loose. I know what your going through, i can go even to couple over on the front nine and then shoot 10 over on the back, so i get the same way. I became more consistant cone i realized that alot of my shots i hit were good. I would get pissed if i hit a shot that was on the green but further away then i wanted. I should be glad to be on the green, for my level.

[phillyk]

Aggressive nature is good to a point.  I am definitely an aggressive player and I know how it feels for stuff to go badly after starting the round great!  Every par 5 I will go for in two if I know my clubs can reach it.  If par 4's have no immediate danger around them and are drivable, I'll go for it.

BUT, this is the tricky part.  You sound like you practice a lot, which is great, but once you get in a groove on and off the course, don't let yourself expect the shot to be great.  Once, you start expecting that drive to be 300+ in the fairway is when it goes to the slices and hooks.  It took me a while to master my mind into working each hole, making sure I work for my good shots.  I'm still an aggressive player, but I've learned how to be aggressive.  When you have a tricky hole, take your most trusted wood and use it, doesn't need to be the driver, and be aggressive with the shot.  Tell your ball what you want it to do, don't expect it to know what you want it to do.  For me, before any round, I like to be loose, but also I don't want to be calm.  I want to be ready for action, get the blood pumping, and the mind working.  From there, tell your ball what to do through work, and you'll get those 70's again.

[golf4fun12]

golf is such a mental game. one day you are up and the next things are going downhill so fast, your head feels like it is about to burst. the worst thing to do is quit at golf. even if it takes a couple years to get better, so what, after those bad first years learning, it all pays off when you start to understand how a golf shot is supposed to feel like. be aggressive, but also know when to simplify and go with a shot to set up the next shot. and taking 4 years off of golf and coming back to shoot in the 70's is pretty impressive.

I find it funny when I take a week or so off of golf at the course or range and come back and play very well. don't know why, but it happens for me.

[yetanotherbogey]

Thanks for the replies guys..

I am definitely one of those guys that doesnt fear pulling the driver out on every tee .. but at this point of my game its for a reason.. my iron play is lacking to say the least , but that is in part of my swing is not all that sound. I figure the closer i get to the green the better chance i have to get it closer to the pin. I'm going to go over to the course in a little while and hit nothing but irons.ill try to get some video and report back.

i work out of my home office a lot and the golf channel is on the tv at all times and the stack and tilt commercial is on every 30 seconds... i cant help but wonder if it is hype or is it something i may want to consider.. has anyone here switched to the stack and tilt swing? pro's? cons?