Do you ever think "I'm always going to suck?"

[redddog]

Just venting I guess.

I've been hacking for 20 years. Every year, I make a new committment to getting better. I hit the range 2-3 times a week, scour the internet for tips, usually dump cash on videos/clubs/aids and it never changes anything.

I'll shoot a 92-98 no matter how hard I try to get better.

The problem with me is that there are so many guys out there, teaching so many different things to think about that I'm in my address and there are so many things running through my mind to remember, it becomes white noise and I have no idea what I'm doing.

I usually just leave the range saying, "Damn, I'm just always going to suck."

Like I said, just a rant I guess. I just play with my 10 year old boy whenever I need a pick-me-up. I'll shank it into the woods 250 yds and he'll say "Man, you crushed that!"

[bplewis24]

To be honest, I'm starting to feel that way.

I've had a couple lessons now and been hitting the range 3-4 times a week for practice, and I feel like I've only gotten worse over the past few weeks.

Brandon

[WilsonWedgeMan]

Bro..if I ever break a hunnert,I may get to be where yer at....  I, too, spent, and sought out, and searched, and practiced til my hands bled..literally. had 2 instructors who taught DIFFERENT styles, which made things actually WORSE for me, because it's hard to un-learn something. finally, a new co-worker is a good golfer( 6 handicap), and he took the time to show me several small 'things,for a lack of better word..and they've done more than anyone/anything else. I haven't played a scoring round in a month(played couple scrambles) but i'm believing that your scores may not be too far ahead for me. the BIGGEST "tip" he gave me, other than forward shaft tilt at impact, was something no other teacher ANYWHERE has yet to disclose...and that's WHERE your eyes are focused upon for the swing. I USED to look BEHIND the ball(actually at the back of the ball), now I look in FRONT of the ball and hit THAT spot, which means "ball first" always. no more chunks, no more FAT shots, altho I still top the ball w/ my 5 wood...now why couldn't/didn't those guys tell me that??? "look at the ball" was all they ever said....that, and the shaft tilt/lean at impact made balls go farther and straighter..I don't lose but 1 'r 2 balls per round now.... after years of frustration, un-needidly, now I'm excited about hitting the course tomorrow with that new "coach". but I will say the one thing I can control is attitude about my "talent"(or lack thereof) and I won't quit, nor allow a score of 105 to discourage me...unlike Tiger, all I can do is get BETTER( when yer at the bottom, the only direction is UP!!!!!! ) if I don't quit. it oughtta mean SOMETHING, that you score better than a LOT of golfers..be proud of that.

[bunkerputt]

Originally Posted by redddog

Just venting I guess.

I've been hacking for 20 years. Every year, I make a new committment to getting better. I hit the range 2-3 times a week, scour the internet for tips, usually dump cash on videos/clubs/aids and it never changes anything.

I'll shoot a 92-98 no matter how hard I try to get better.

The problem with me is that there are so many guys out there, teaching so many different things to think about that I'm in my address and there are so many things running through my mind to remember, it becomes white noise and I have no idea what I'm doing.

I usually just leave the range saying, "Damn, I'm just always going to suck."

Like I said, just a rant I guess. I just play with my 10 year old boy whenever I need a pick-me-up. I'll shank it into the woods 250 yds and he'll say "Man, you crushed that!"

I used to think that, but I don't any more.  Now I realize we all suck on some level.  I mean, if one round David Toms can shoot a 62 and the next he's struggling on 3-footers, how do we think we will ever get it?

Having said that, going from 20 handicap to 10 is relatively straightforward if you are smart about your time.  That means actual work on your swing, not just banging out balls on the range.  To make positive swing changes, you have to give your mind a clear picture of what you are trying to achieve, know why you are trying to achieve it, and make between 25-30,000 correct repetitions for the neurons to fire appropriately.  That's around 100 proper reps per day for about 10 months for anything to become automatic.  That very fact of human motor skill development is why people never improve.  Who's going to actually do that except people who are truly dedicated day-in and day-out?  In my experience, it takes between 3 and 5 years of solid, daily work to develop a championship quality golf swing.

Solve the problem of how and why you are trying to swing a certain way first.  You have to have instructors for this, otherwise you'll come up with some nonsensical reasoning.  Then just do the reps and check with camera and video.  With enough work, you'll find out how to make it work.

You need these kinds of slow reps for your body to improve as well as your mind and your concentration.  All 3 are required to play golf at a high level.

[Harmonious]

Originally Posted by redddog

The problem with me is that there are so many guys out there, teaching so many different things to think about that I'm in my address and there are so many things running through my mind to remember, it becomes white noise and I have no idea what I'm doing.

It's been said before, that if you have two swing thoughts at any time, that's one too many.

Sounds like paralysis by analysis.  Start with the basics of grip, alignment, ball position, contact. Then find an teacher that makes sense to you, and don't listen to anything else. If you begin to hit better, stick with that "philosophy".  You don't need to absorb everybody's swing ideas, just those that make you better.

[shades9323]

Originally Posted by redddog

Just venting I guess.

I've been hacking for 20 years. Every year, I make a new committment to getting better. I hit the range 2-3 times a week, scour the internet for tips, usually dump cash on videos/clubs/aids and it never changes anything.

I'll shoot a 92-98 no matter how hard I try to get better.

The problem with me is that there are so many guys out there, teaching so many different things to think about that I'm in my address and there are so many things running through my mind to remember, it becomes white noise and I have no idea what I'm doing.

I usually just leave the range saying, "Damn, I'm just always going to suck."

Like I said, just a rant I guess. I just play with my 10 year old boy whenever I need a pick-me-up. I'll shank it into the woods 250 yds and he'll say "Man, you crushed that!"

My advice would be less practice and more playing.  Get out there and have fun.  Shoot what you shoot and enjoy the outdoors.

[Gerald]

You actually don't have to hit 250+ off the tee, I can imagine after 20 yrs you have developed some parts of your game you are good at ...... play to your strengths and maybe leave the driver in your bag more and just hit 200 yds with your hybrid, keep balls in play and avoid the doubles and worse,

Maybe make a game plan for your course and stick to it !

Play to and from safe area's ....... any hacker can play hc 15ish with a little bit of common sense !

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Harmonious

Sounds like paralysis by analysis. Start with the basics of ... contact. Then find an teacher that makes sense to you, and don't listen to anything else. If you begin to hit better, stick with that "philosophy". You don't need to absorb everybody's swing ideas, just those that make you better.

That deserves being read again (even if it is slightly edited :D)...

If you think "I'm always going to suck" then get help from a GOOD instructor.

[walk18]

Take some swing vids, sign up for the evolvr online lessons mentioned on this site, and I can promise you will improve. I know from first hand experience, and I have absolutely no connection to them. I'm just a golfer like you, wanting to improve, who found this site. The rest is up to you.

[GaijinGolfer]

I used to think like that but not anymore.  Ive realized that par isnt a realistic expectation for most people and Ive instead started focusing on the good shots I make in a round instead of my score.

[Paradox]

If you're thinking about sucking, you've already gone 50% of the way to losing.

If you are going through lessons and "ideas" with a defeated attitude that "i'm still not gonna get better" you won't.   Positve Mental Outlook.

I know a lot of amateurs that get so caught in what they 'should be" doing that they have no idea how to hit a ball.  They lose all feel, get so afraid of their instincts, they just don't have a swing because they think of so many different things and try to put so many different "ideas" into one swing.

[B-Con]

I used to, but that was before I knew what I was doing wrong. I still don't know everything that I'm doing wrong, but I have a lot of good starting points. When I mess-up now, I almost always know at least one thing that I did wrong. The desperation and despair sets in when I'm consistently making mistakes -- probably the same one over and over -- and I don't know what part of my swing needs to be corrected. Learning about weight, wrist cock, swing planes, the right elbow, the hips, holding lag, etc, gave me a lot of information to work with. When I get into a rut, it's because I'm stubbornly doing something wrong. A few minutes of thought and a few easy swings will usually show me what that is, and then I can work on fixing it. I recently made good progress toward eliminating my tendency to hit fat. I also made improvement on my pitching. A few months ago it was my chipping that I improved. Right now I need to work on consistency for my short irons and I need to eliminate the hook in my driver. I had a couple years of ignorant hacking and I wanted to quit, but my stubbornness didn't let me. Now I'm getting better every time I play and I knocked 7 or so strokes off my average score from last year. I still suck, but I have tools to be consistent with. When I didn't have those, I sucked [i]and[/i] hated life. :-D

[TidePride50]

Just venting I guess.

I've been hacking for 20 years. Every year, I make a new committment to getting better. I hit the range 2-3 times a week, scour the internet for tips, usually dump cash on videos/clubs/aids and it never changes anything.

I'll shoot a 92-98 no matter how hard I try to get better.

The problem with me is that there are so many guys out there, teaching so many different things to think about that I'm in my address and there are so many things running through my mind to remember, it becomes white noise and I have no idea what I'm doing.

I usually just leave the range saying, "Damn, I'm just always going to suck."

Like I said, just a rant I guess. I just play with my 10 year old boy whenever I need a pick-me-up. I'll shank it into the woods 250 yds and he'll say "Man, you crushed that!"

Replace the 20 years with 5 and this could be me making this post.

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by shades9323

My advice would be less practice and more playing.  Get out there and have fun.  Shoot what you shoot and enjoy the outdoors.

I guess mine would be the exact opposite. If you want to stop sucking (as opposed to stop worrying about sucking -- which is fine too), you will need to build yourself a swing that allows you to (generally) hit the golf ball (roughly) where you want it to go. To do that, after 20 years of hacking, you'll probably need a clean break. One way would be to stop playing altogether and do nothing but practice (properly) for a season or two. As others have said, find a pro and/or a method you trust and start working in whatever pattern they prescribe. Purge every other bit of throwaway golf tip BS from your mind and stick to it. Go to the range every day (or as often as you can swing it -- but it'll need to be just about every day) and hit balls (mindfully) until your hands are sore. Get a video camera and start recording your swing so you can tie real, visible changes there to changes in what you feel you are doing and what you see in the flight of the golf ball. Get obsessed. If time and facilities allow, spend 20 minutes pitching and chipping on the way out after your range sessions, while you decompress and sort of integrate the feedback of the day.

Do that for six months at least and I think you'll find you will be playing a different game. Didn't necessarily say it would be fun.

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by Harmonious

It's been said before, that if you have two swing thoughts at any time, that's one too many.

Sounds like paralysis by analysis.  Start with the basics of grip, alignment, ball position, contact. Then find an teacher that makes sense to you, and don't listen to anything else. If you begin to hit better, stick with that "philosophy".  You don't need to absorb everybody's swing ideas, just those that make you better.

Ditto...You can either get some lessons and commit to one person's ideas or just go out and have fun. Either way, you will get more enjoyment out of the game. If I ever get down on myself, instead of thinking that I suck, I think that golf is a hard game, but it beats a day spent working every time.

[redddog]

Originally Posted by Stretch

I guess mine would be the exact opposite. If you want to stop sucking (as opposed to stop worrying about sucking -- which is fine too), you will need to build yourself a swing that allows you to (generally) hit the golf ball (roughly) where you want it to go. To do that, after 20 years of hacking, you'll probably need a clean break. One way would be to stop playing altogether and do nothing but practice (properly) for a season or two. As others have said, find a pro and/or a method you trust and start working in whatever pattern they prescribe. Purge every other bit of throwaway golf tip BS from your mind and stick to it. Go to the range every day (or as often as you can swing it -- but it'll need to be just about every day) and hit balls (mindfully) until your hands are sore. Get a video camera and start recording your swing so you can tie real, visible changes there to changes in what you feel you are doing and what you see in the flight of the golf ball. Get obsessed. If time and facilities allow, spend 20 minutes pitching and chipping on the way out after your range sessions, while you decompress and sort of integrate the feedback of the day.

Do that for six months at least and I think you'll find you will be playing a different game. Didn't necessarily say it would be fun.

This sounds horrible. lol.

[bplewis24]

Practicing without ever playing does sound painful to me.  Sometimes it's all I can do to stay on the driving range and not run over to the first tee box in the afternoon when I see it COMPLETELY EMPTY!  Goodness, why does the first fairway tempt me so?!?

Brandon

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by redddog

This sounds horrible. lol.

So does sucking for 20 more years.