Approach Shot Frustration!!!

[lisevolution]

This is more of a venting post than a help request but any insight or advice is definitely welcome.

I've been working hard, taking lessons at Golftec for about 2 months now working on swing mechanics and club head lag etc.  Haven't touched the driver in lessons yet but for whatever reason that area of my game is by far my most consistent to date.  While I'm not hitting the fairway on every hole I'd say at this point if I'm not in the fairway I'm just off in the second cut.  Of course there are still the shots that travel just barely past the woman's tee box or slice or hook their way to the trees but more often than not right now I'm in the fairway or just off with pretty good distance.

My biggest problem is the 2nd shot on a par 4 or 2nd and 3rd shot on a par 5 trying to get it to the green.  I know I waste at least 15 shots a round either duffing it 20 feet in front of me or flying it way left or right of the green ruining the good tee shot and killing any chance I have for birdie or par.  It's like an on-going nightmare for me and I can't seem to fix it.  To make it even more frustrating when I practice or get to my lessons I seem to hit the ball fine.  I understand that in those circumstances I'm hitting from a perfect lie where on the course that isn't the case but I feel like there has to be something I can do to give me better consistency and stop wasting strokes that kill my score.

I know my swing is progressing and is still far from perfect but this is really driving me out of my mind!!!

[rustyredcab]

Golftec is usually indoors. One of the great things about hitting indoors is that we don't worry as much about where the ball is going to end up. We can concentrate on making good swings and making great contact. Practice on a range is close to the same because there are no consequences for bad shots. And at my range, the balls are bad and inconsistent so I never much worry about distance and don't fool myself into thinking straight shots on the range will be straight shots on the course. A good swing is a good swing, but you can't always prove it by the resulting ball flight.

I know I'm reading a lot into your post, but you imply that when you have an approach shot you want to give yourself a chance at birdie or par. What I'm reading into your post is that when you are getting ready for the shot, you care about where the ball is going to end up.

Try this: When you have an approach shot, make your objective to make a good swing without worrying about the result. That's all you can do. Once the ball is on its way, lots of things can happen. It can get a good bounce or bad bounce. It can get blown by the wind. It can be longer or shorter than you wish. When you make a good swing, you may have a putt for birdie and you may have a fried egg in the bunker. Control what you can and leave the rest to golf. When you have an approach shot, all you can do is make a good swing and see what happens. You make good swings at Golftec, perhaps in part because you don't care if the ball lands near a hole. Make good swings on the course with the same attitude of alert indifference.

I find that some of my best swings come when I'm laying up on a par five with a 5 or 6-iron. I've chosen the club because it can not get me in trouble long or short. The landing area is usually wide. So, I don't care how far the ball goes and I have no fear of going left or right. It seems that very often these are the purest strikes I have in a round. I call them driving range swings because I don't care about distance and there is no fear of failure. Oh that I could do that on every swing...

[lisevolution]

I seriously think that is some of the best advice I've gotten when it comes to this game!  You're 100% right... when I don't really think about it and just swing, I keep my head down, make solid contact and the ball usually goes where I intend it to go.  On the flip when I am focussed on trying to hit a good shot or make a good score on a hole because I'm in a match play for money or something like that I end up wasting the shot and getting myself into trouble.

Like every other sport, the physical aspect of this game is only part of the equation and in reality a small part... the mental game is definitely more important to playing well.  Thank you for the input and I'm going to take that with me on the course this weekend and see what I come out with.

[Pablo68]

Another thing to consider is that when you're in the Golftec lessons, you're ALWAYS on a flat lie, right? When you get out on the course, you might have a lie that uneven, ball above/below your feet, downhill/uphill lies, etc.....Do you know how shots react when struck from those lies and how to compensate for it? Also, there's the mental side of it. On the course, you'r expecting results which might also be a problem. Have you put any practice in on your short game to combat hitting it around the green?

[lisevolution]

Of course I understand hitting from a mat is drastically different from hitting of a real lie of any type, even if it's a perfectly flat, well groomed fairway the shot is going to be different than off of a mat.  I played a course recently where even if you dropped your drive dead center of the fairway you were constantly facing either an uphill or downhill lie making the next shot a challenge regardless of the solid tee shot.  I'm working on adapting my stance and alignment to adjust for the different lie scenarios you can face but obviously I'm far from perfect in this area.

As far as my short game, that too is very hit or miss.  I can drop a beauty right where I wanted it on one shot and the next one come up short or skull it across the green.  I probably work on that part of my game as much as my full swing because of that.  I've definitely improved drastically in the last couple of months because of it but like my other approach shot issues my short game still definitely needs improvement.

[Jon Robert]

First of all you must convince yourself that the shot will be no big deal. Just line it up, set up, swing as if you are bored with such an easy shot and move on.

My playing partner had to go the other day and I was all alone to finish 27 more  holes. I just didn't much think about anything, just fired away and moved on.  I rattled off a string of pars until I realized what I was doing. Then I started thinking about every shot and the boggies came a runnin.

LEAVE YOUR PRACTICE MODE ON THE PRACTICE FIELD

[14ledo81]

I find that some of my best swings come when I'm laying up on a par five with a 5 or 6-iron. I've chosen the club because it can not get me in trouble long or short. The landing area is usually wide. So, I don't care how far the ball goes and I have no fear of going left or right. It seems that very often these are the purest strikes I have in a round. I call them driving range swings because I don't care about distance and there is no fear of failure. Oh that I could do that on every swing...

I find this true for me as well.

[bjwestner]

Originally Posted by Jon Robert

First of all you must convince yourself that the shot will be no big deal. Just line it up, set up, swing as if you are bored with such an easy shot and move on.

My playing partner had to go the other day and I was all alone to finish 27 more  holes. I just didn't much think about anything, just fired away and moved on.  I rattled off a string of pars until I realized what I was doing. Then I started thinking about every shot and the boggies came a runnin.

LEAVE YOUR PRACTICE MODE ON THE PRACTICE FIELD

I agree.  That happened to me.  I was kind of just playing, not talking, and the next thing I knew I had a string of pars.  When I noticed this (I wish I had not) then I started thinking about it and the bogeys came.....

[lumpuckeroo]

Sounds like you are on the right track to better golf, I know for me, I really try not to get caught up in hitting greens.  I know my short game is pretty good, so if I'm "close" to the green I know I can get up and down a lot.  I think having that to rely on helps my long game, I'm not concerned about hitting greens, so I relax and make a good swing and then go from there.  I've found getting the ball in play off the tee, getting the ball around the green, and chipping and putting for par will get you a lot of rounds in the 80's.

[lisevolution]

I'm on the same page with everyone who's chimed in thus far.  The bottom line is that I need to stop thinking about it and just make a solid swing and play the ball from wherever it goes.  If I can just eliminate the duffed shots that occur from me picking my head up to see where the ball went before I actually hit it then I know I'll drop at least 10 shots a round.

This game is so frustrating sometimes though... you see improvement in one area and then 3 others fall apart in the process!  All in all I'm out there playing because I enjoy the game and the challenge it brings with it.  If I can just relax a bit and not really think about the shots then I'm headed in the right direction.

[bjwestner]

Originally Posted by lisevolution

If I can just eliminate the duffed shots that occur from me picking my head up to see where the ball went before I actually hit it then I know I'll drop at least 10 shots a round.

I had the exact same thought about a month ago and still do.  Now I usually only have a couple of duffed shots per round.  Those shots are round killers because they are completely wasted shots so I absolutely know how you feel.  I just kept playing and focused on keeping my head down and making an easy yet controlled swing.  I think that everyone that plays golf went thorugh a stage where they were duffing a lot of shots but the more you play and work on eliminating them, the better it gets.  Best of luck!