Inconsistent from shot to shot

[ask2794]

Hey guys. I'm a senior in high school at the moment and play for my golf team. I've been the number one since my freshman year and average a 0.9 handicap index. My sophmore year I played the most consistent golf of my whole career. I placed top 5 in the state tournament and won the county tournament. I really improved my game over my freshman year summer to bring me into sophmore year. So junior year came and for about the first month of golf I shot lights out. My first 3 matches I shot 1 over, even and 1 under. But it was hitting he ball so consistent. But then...... I don't know what must have happened, or where my game went but I started missing greens from 150 yards in. I wasn't hitting the ball crisp and I started missing all over the place. It wasn't from day to day, it was from shot to shot. I never felt comfortable standing over the ball anymore and I noticed that I lost all confidence on my swing. I thought it was just a little slump but it lasted me all of the golf season. I wasn't hitting greens and my drives were all over the place. It was hard for me to get in the zone. I worked a little over the summer but nothing seemed to click. It got a little better but still was not where I used to be. I've never had lessons from a teaching pro just tought myself how to play the game. I started when I was 11 and just tried to mimic Tigers swing. Now my swing is at a point where my accuracy is terrible and all over the place. I never feel comfortable over the ball anymore and am wondering why my swing has become so inconsistent. Just give me your input and maybe some tips or stuff that I can try to get my game back. Could it be that I grew but didn't keep up with my workouts or is it mental or could it be my swing getting to detached. Thanks guys, would appreciate it if anybody can help. Thanks! Austin

[MacDutch]

Originally Posted by ask2794

Could it be that I grew but didn't keep up with my workouts or is it mental or could it be my swing getting to detached. Thanks guys, would appreciate it if anybody can help. Thanks! Austin

Could be all of the above, Sometimes the real world gets into your golfswing. Problems at school, home, kids, girlfriend, work...

Or a golf-mental problem. Maybe try to read something like 'golf is not a game of perfect' by Bob Rotella.

Or post your swing here : http://thesandtrap.com/f/6/instruction-and-playing-tips

[dfreuter415]

Austin,

A number of sports figures have gone through similar situations, where they just seem to lose it suddenly. The one I am most familiar with is Steve Blass, winning pitcher in game 7 of the 1971 World Series for the Pittsburgh Pirates. (I am a life long Pirate fan and Pittsburgh resident.) The next year he went 19-8 with a 2.49 ERA.  In '73, however, instead of pitching ahead in the count, he often threw behind batters and ended up 3-9 with a 9.81 ERA. The next season he pitched one game for the Pirates, walked seven in five innings and his career was over. After that, athletes that inexplicably lost their skills were said to have "Steve Blass Disease."  Here is an interesting article from USA Today from 2001 that chronicles several professional baseball players who seemed to have lost their skills overnight...

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/bbw/2001-02-07/2001-02-07-head.htm

Last year I golfed with a man who was a "good bogey golfer," and our discussion that day centered on how good we could be if we had the time to develop our skills. Dave, my friend, shared his story of when as a youth he was a low single digit handicap, but it all changed on one hole. He came to a par 3 over water that he normally played with a nine iron, but this day his shot came up woefully short into the lake. He tried a second, again into the water. He changed clubs, again into the lake. This continued until he the green with a 5 iron! This inconsistency continued into his next round and the next after that, until he resigned the fact that he no longer had the skills to challenge par.

There is nothing I can tell you except, that since you never took lessons, I would go to a local pro for assistance. Before selecting a teacher, make sure that you talk to a few people about their teaching philosophy until you find one that you like. When my daughter was in high school, I had her take lesson from an assistant pro at a local club. Assistant pros do not charge as much as head pros, and often times relate to younger students better because of the age difference. My daughter now works in New York City, but when she comes home in the summer for  a visit, she can pick up a driver and still hit it 250+ yards, after not having played all year. (Not bad for a girl!)

Take care and good luck in recovering your game.