My game has gone to hell

[rossvanwyk]

Hey guys

So this is going to be a cross between a plea for advice and a depressed rant.

So a few months ago my golf was in a really good place. I broke 80 for the first time and followed it up the next week with a 77 to win a local competition and my HC came down to 9 and everything felt amazing.

Then I went away on holiday for a few weeks, played a bit when I came back but work got really busy and my golf game suffered.

Now, somehow, I have literally lost my entire swing. I've got the shanks and I have no idea what's going on.

To be completely honest, I never used to think about my swing at all. All I thought about at address was keeping my head still. Ball striking was never ever a problem. It was always accuracy or chipping or putting that would hinder me from shooting great scores.

Now all of a sudden its all gone to hell. I'm at the range trying anything and everything. Stronger grips, different takeaways. And truthfully its making me not even want to play. I guess its my ego talking but its not even fun to go onto the course and hack my way to a horrible score. I play this game for the love of it and I need to get my game back.

Can anyone give me advice on what they did when they lost their game? I'm sure its happened plenty of times to plenty of people. And I'm pretty sure its largely mental but I tell you it breaks my heart the way I'm hitting the ball at the moment. I just cannot figure out how it could go so wrong when I had such an easy, homegrown swing for so many years.

I'm begging for advice or even someone to say don't worry, it'll come back :)

[awmgolfer]

When things start going downhill for me, went through a major one last year, I go back to basics. Focus on a good grip, proper aim, position, and stance. I will also spend a lot of time doing chips or half shots just to get the feel back. I will easily spend the entire time on the range with a 7 or 8 iron. I also have a tendency to over think things when things go south so I try to take the mind out of it as much as possible. I pick my target and that is all I focus on when swinging.

Also, it will come back. In the middle of our golf season our school goes on an almost 4 week break so kids can work the fields for the potato harvest (welcome to Northern Maine..lol) this is common that they lose the swing a bit. We just focus on the fundamentals and usually they are back to where they were in the same day or a couple of days.

[rossvanwyk]

Awesome, thanks. I think I might try just grind it out with a wedge or 8i to get the groove back.

Something that I've often gotten a little confused about is my takeaway. I've toyed with it many times as sometimes I'll try something and it feels amazing and I'll stick with it.

It's a little hard to explain but : Is having a straight left arm (right handed) vitally important? In my backswing, I get caught between taking the club back shallow (along the ground if you will) or steep ( not necessarily picking it up with my hands but just steeper). If that makes sense?

Taking it back a little steeper helps me feel a lot more relaxed in my hands but lately its just not working and I'm going back to a shallower takeaway and taking the club back a lot closer to the ground.

If that didn't make any sense I can try articulate it a little better. Was just wondering.

[rossvanwyk]

Went to the range last night and things have dramatically improved.

I slogged it out with my PW for a while to get the feeling back. Also, something Iacas mentioned in another thread seems to have helped wonders for me. A guy was having trouble with his takeaway and Iacas said he needs to keep his right palm (or back of the left hand) facing the ball as much as possible. And he showed pictures of this guys takeaway and I think Ricky Fowlers and you could see the remarkable difference.

I thought about that and applied it and cannot believe the instant results I was getting. I got so confused with my backswing after things went wrong that I was in a wilderness of confusion but that has put me right back on track.

Thank you Iacas!

[ditter]

I feel your pain. Went through the same thing this summer. Was playing my best golf ever and was striking the ball really well. Then slowly it went away. Bad shot here and there turned into bad shots on the same hole. Bad holes turned to bad sides. Bad sides into bad rounds, even on courses I scored well on. It was ugly. Turned into a major case of the shanks. It was so demoralizing. When I went to the range, I would take the far right bay so no one would see how bad I was shanking. After trying to fix it on my own, I called a PGA pro who I had taken lessons with in the past few years and responsible for shaving 20 strokes off my game. He knows my game and swing. I setup a lesson and he had me back on track in about a half hour. The funny thing about it was that he treated me like I was a beginning golfer. He recorded my swing on his iphone and then showed me how bad it was. I couldnt believe it. (poor alignment, severe inside takeaway and clubpath, weight on toes, and lots of other things that most beginners have issues with)

So basically I was ordered back to "golf kindergarten" and made to golf with training wheels on. I had to setup an alignment station, was only allowed to hit a seven iron, hit it no more than 100 yards and only off a tee out for about 300+ balls over the course of a week or two. He even told me to play a practice round by playing only with the seven iron off the tee and teeing up my second shot in the fairway with the same seven iron. I couldnt use any other club unless I was within 100 yards. This was not what I wanted to hear, but I did it. Slowly but surely it came back and I'm back to my normal game and even hitting it better now. In short, having the shanks was a horrible experience, but it did help my game later on. I'm convinced that when your game suffers a severe decline, you (or your buddies) shouldnt try to figure it out. Go to a PGA pro and listen to everything they tell you, even if it is sending you back to "golf kindergarten." And by all means, never go too long without seeing your swing on video.

Anyway, good luck with your game and you'll get it going again.

[senorchipotle]

if your backswing feels funky, i've found that working on posture is one of the best things one can do. if you feel like you're pushing everything and can't hit a draw, try bending slightly at the waist, it allows your hands to come in quicker with a lot more ease, so you don't feel like you're wrapping your arms around your body, but more of a turn back, turn through feel. make sure you're not stiff and your arms are being controlled by your upper half and not steering themselves too much. there are many things, so just take your time and relax, think back to your swing feelings that have been ingrained and it'll come back soon.

[Leftygolfer]

I can't say it will come back because I've got the same problem now.

It wasn't as quick as your decline but a slow death of my golf abilities.  I used to be a 10 playing the ball down, shooting good scores.  It was easy, 81-82 not feeling like I was doing anything special.  That was 4 years ago.  I shot my career low of 75.  Fast foward to now, I'm not even confident I can make good contact, I am pretty sure I will not make it in the 80s.  I've tried to improve and I can on the range.  But on the course, my swing is terrible now.

But I'm told it can get better.  My plan is to have some extensive golf therapy in Feb, then play once a week, hit into my net, and see what happens.

I personally know I can't have fun without at least making solid contact.  90s and 100s aren't fun.

Good luck to you.  I have to believe if you could once play and your still physically similar you can play to that level again.

[pjkgolfer]

I am suffering from the same golf disease.  I was a 12 about 2 years ago, now I'm around 21. I'm losing the fun I use to have. I wouldnt care but at one time I was striking the ball well. I get off rythum when the ball is elevated. I cant even hit off a tee. It throws off my tempo. I can even totally miss the ball. Once that starts I'm done. My friends call me a mental case.