Tips to improve consistency

[In the woods]

Ok...  So I have been playing golf forever and there was a period of time when I was consistent and shooting low 80's.  With my current job I am not really able to play all that often and when I do I usually shoot in the low to mid 90's.  When I do play, I am very inconsistent, 300 yard drive, topped to the ladies tee box type inconsistent.  Anyone out there have any tips/drills for help to regain my consistency from tee to green?n  Thanks in advance for any replies.

[senorchipotle]

umm... practice?

[In the woods]

Ha, thanks. Let me add to this. With my limited amount of time to play, my time to practice is cut down as well. So I guess my question really is, does anyone have suggestions/tips/drills to maximize the benefit I get from my practice time?

[senorchipotle]

i take about 10 slow swings at night in my bathroom from different positions looking in my mirror to keep my movements ingrained in muscle memory. this really helps with balance and posture. i can also take swings in my living room, but unless you have room this is not advised.

[EverythingGolf]

Originally Posted by senorchipotle

i take about 10 slow swings at night in my bathroom from different positions looking in my mirror to keep my movements ingrained in muscle memory. this really helps with balance and posture. i can also take swings in my living room, but unless you have room this is not advised.

lol....I love hitting balls in my living room!

[chrisutpg]

Originally Posted by In the woods

Ha, thanks. Let me add to this. With my limited amount of time to play, my time to practice is cut down as well. So I guess my question really is, does anyone have suggestions/tips/drills to maximize the benefit I get from my practice time?

Well first lets start with this;

If you are going from hitting it 300ish, to topping it 60 yards. There is some kind of swing flaw going on. IMO at least. You need to figure out what you are doing that is incorrect. It is easy to be consistent when you make a correct golf swing. When you do things that compensate for a flaw somewhere, you run into consistency problems, more so if you do not get a lot of time to practice.

Perhaps if you could get a video of the swing when you do go out and practice that might help us figure out what is going on. I just find it hard to believe that you could go from hitting it 300, to barely nowhere unless there was some kind of flaw going on.

As for making the most out of your practice time; If you are very limited to when you can practice, you need to make sure you practice the correct things. So for example, if you are standing up when you hit your bad shots, that is what you need to work on when you do have time to practice. Or whatever else you may doing in the swing. It will take longer to fix it this way, but you will no doubt improve.

P.S. Please don't take this post the wrong way. By saying there is a flaw somewhere in the swing, I am not trying to be mean, or be little your swing. I am only trying to get to the bottom of it to help!

[In the woods]

I completely agree! There is a flaw to my swing and I think it starts with being left handed. In all seriousness, I actually do this with my driver. I was on the driving range yesterday and I believe the flaw is in my initial setup over the ball. For some reason in the last couple of years I have had a hard time getting comfortable over the ball. On the first hole I'll bomb it and on the second I'll top it and hit a screamer that runs for days or buries in the grass just past the ladies tee. It's annoying. I don't top any other club often or at all hardly unless it's a bunker shot. I'll admit I'm scared of the sand shot!! I'll work on a video.

[chrisutpg]

Originally Posted by In the woods

I completely agree! There is a flaw to my swing and I think it starts with being left handed. In all seriousness, I actually do this with my driver. I was on the driving range yesterday and I believe the flaw is in my initial setup over the ball. For some reason in the last couple of years I have had a hard time getting comfortable over the ball. On the first hole I'll bomb it and on the second I'll top it and hit a screamer that runs for days or buries in the grass just past the ladies tee. It's annoying. I don't top any other club often or at all hardly unless it's a bunker shot. I'll admit I'm scared of the sand shot!! I'll work on a video.

Haha, well yes it would help to play from the correct side of the golf ball! But a video will be of a big help. Its tough to even guess otherwise.

[Sean Dainty]

Originally Posted by In the woods

I completely agree! There is a flaw to my swing and I think it starts with being left handed. In all seriousness, I actually do this with my driver. I was on the driving range yesterday and I believe the flaw is in my initial setup over the ball. For some reason in the last couple of years I have had a hard time getting comfortable over the ball. On the first hole I'll bomb it and on the second I'll top it and hit a screamer that runs for days or buries in the grass just past the ladies tee. It's annoying. I don't top any other club often or at all hardly unless it's a bunker shot. I'll admit I'm scared of the sand shot!! I'll work on a video.

I hear your pain....for me the biggest key to feeling good over the ball is an athletic stance (back angle is flat and knees bent so that your weight is over the front centre of your feet). You may have a swing flaw, but you also may be lifting your head up through impact, which would cause you to top the ball no matter how good your swing is. Try fake spitting (after impact) on the ground where your golf ball was. This will definitely keep your head down!

[In the woods]

Thanks for the tips and for the guy that mentioned hitting balls in the bathroom(sarcasm I know) funny you say that because I actually chip from my kitchen to living room. Have a nice narrow path between the two. A fluffy lie on a rug in the kitchen and a bowl on it's side in the living room for aiming purposes. As far as everything else, you all bring good points starting with playing from the other side. How far back do you guys go on driver backswing as this could also play a role in my head coming up due to the fact I can see my club head from time to time on the backswing, even when I focus on shortening it. It's crazy.

[In the woods]

I completely agree! There is a flaw to my swing and I think it starts with being left handed. In all seriousness, I actually do this with my driver. I was on the driving range yesterday and I believe the flaw is in my initial setup over the ball. For some reason in the last couple of years I have had a hard time getting comfortable over the ball. On the first hole I'll bomb it and on the second I'll top it and hit a screamer that runs for days or buries in the grass just past the ladies tee. It's annoying. I don't top any other club often or at all hardly unless it's a bunker shot. I'll admit I'm scared of the sand shot!! I'll work on a video.

[EverythingGolf]

The first 3 years I played golf consistenly I went to the driving range 3 times a week and would practice every part of the game. I also got lessons. The 4th year I only went to the range once a week and I started chipping balls in my back yard into a small bucket and got an indoor putting mat and practiced my putting everyday. I have been doing this ever since. When I started playing I was an 18 handicap after the 3rd year I got down to a 9. It was a little harder to get it down after that because it gets into more of the short game when you get into the single digit handicaps. So practice is the best way to get better, but keep in mind you have to practice the right things. It is easier when you hit a bad shot and know why it happened so you can correct it.

[senorchipotle]

actually, the swings i do in my bathroom are not with a club. it's really to capture my swing sequence in a manner that i can see. it's done really slowly.

[saevel25]

If your going to practice, make every shot have a purpose. It was said that Jack Nicholaus never wasted a shot, in round or on the practice range.

Go through your pre-shot routine on each shot you hit at the range. Imagine the shot, and execute the shot. This will  help you create feeling, because you imagine what you wanted, and your body will get the response of it being right or wrong. If your just hitting away, you wont gain any feeling for a swing.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Slo-mo swings as suggested above. It's the easiest way to make sure you're doing the same thing over and over again.

That builds consistency, but take lessons to learn how to make your swing consistently right.

[rossvanwyk]

I find what helps me to hit the ball consistently is to try and have one thing that you focus most of your attention on during the swing. Let's talk irons first.

The only thing going through my brain when standing over an iron shot is keeping my head still. That's it. Everything else to do with my swing has already been ironed out on the range and practiced many times before. So I guess you can't do this unless your swing is already pretty decent and working for you. In my opinion, swaying off the ball is one of the major reasons for inconsistency.

Talking drivers, I know what you mean about not being able to get comfortable over the ball. I used to have a major problem with ball position with my driver. I used to have to put it outside my front foot to even feel like I could make contact, and I would see some guys hitting it from middle stance.

But now I put it inside the front foot and I keep my head a bit behind centre, if that makes sense. I just tilt my head a bit behind centre of gravity and keep the head still.

You asked about backswing. backswing can also lead to major inconsistency. I used to overswing on my irons which would lead to very inaccurate shots. I have sorted that problem out and I'm hitting twice as many greens as before. I think with the driver I do go a little more. As long as you keep the head still and don't sway off the ball.

One last thing regarding consistent ball striking. And this sounds stupid, but I make sure the ball isn't my target. I vision the shot I'm going to hit, and where I'm going to hit it. And that is my target. This helps me swing through the ball and not AT the ball.

That's me. I hope something out of all that helps you and you start getting your consistency back. Good luck bud.

[Zeph]

Find an instructor and book some lessons or film your swing, preferably in high speed, and post it here.

[EverythingGolf]

Yes, post a video of your swing.....That way we can see what you need to work on when you do get to practice.