lost...... my swing has been destroyed...

[Holyslice21]

Rundown: I'm 25 yrs old been playing golf since I was about 7 love being out on the links. Once high school started my playing decreased a lot but I was still a pretty solid player (low 80's a 79 on a great day). Of course being a young man I thought the game was all about 300 yd drives and just crushing the ball which I can admit I did pretty well. I had a 130mph head speed at 16 yrs old. I was playing with Wilson fat shafts that whole time and liked how solid contact felt. Fast forward: once college started my golfing basically went to zero.:~( about 3 yrs ago my dad surprised me with some new clubs (Ben Hogan Apex Edge) he said he basically stole them he got them for so cheap I guess callaway bought out Hogan? Anyways I've started playing a lot the last couple months 20+ rounds over that time. Problem: now being a mature man I understand (at least to me) golf is a risk management smart shot game. I have no worry about swinging hard I try to use a nice comfortable swing. But good lord I just can't put a solid swing on anything but a pitching wedge and a putter lol. My drive goes hard right, I have to aim at the other hole to get it in the Fairway and since I have to do that it only goes like 195ish. I rarely strike the ball solid with my irons. I'm starting to get discouraged, I shot a 97 yesterday. I haven't done that bad since pre-teens...... when I do get a solid hit with my iron it goes really high and not very long. 110yds with an 8 iron, 160 with a 5 iron, and I just don't even attempt to hit a 4 or a 6. Sorry this is so long. I've tried just about everything except a swing coach which I really don't want to do because it's so expensive. Help me please lol!

[WUTiger]

You can't hit  your irons, and miss your drives to the right.

Not sure where you play and what you pay for green's fees but let's estimate: (20 rounds x $30 = $600)

So, if you spent $600 on misery, could you spend $150 for a set of three lessons to get your groove back? And, make your misery go away? Evidently, your efforts to self-rebuild are not working.

[Holyslice21]

That's a good point. The problem is coming up with that all at once. I'm a grad student and get to play at a discounted rate $20.00. But I see your point, just sucks to not play while saving up lol.

[onephenom]

I would like to see a video of your 16 y.o. 130 mph club head speed, would love to see how to achieve bubba like numbers.

[Holyslice21]

Be young and swing as hard as you can. I don't know how accurate the little sensor thing you put behind the mat is? Looked something like this http://www.swingmangolf.com/golf-swing-speed-radar.asp I probably swing in the low 100's/90's now.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

I would like to see a video of your 16 y.o. 130 mph club head speed, would love to see how to achieve bubba like numbers.

I swear either people confuse club head speed with ball speed, or just over estimate their club head speed because they obtained an inaccurate reading from a cheap simulator 15 years ago or something. The PGA tour average club head speed with a Driver is 112mph. To see a 16 year old who has a club speed of 130mph with enough control to hit 300+ yard drives seems unlikely. There's a guy in another thread claiming a 150+ mph club head speed. /smh

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

I swear either people confuse club head speed with ball speed, or just over estimate their club head speed because they obtained an inaccurate reading from a cheap simulator 15 years ago or something. The PGA tour average club head speed with a Driver is 112mph. To see a 16 year old who has a club speed of 130mph with enough control to hit 300+ yard drives seems unlikely. There's a guy in another thread claiming a 150+ mph club head speed. /smh

The fastest recorded swing on the PGA Tour in '09 was Bubba Watson at 128mph. The average male golfer has a Driver swing speed of 82-90mph. Sorry, but I just can't buy a 16 year old swinging 130mph and hitting consistent 300 yard drives.

[Holyslice21]

Holy shit why are y'all so tied up on club head speed? I hit on a mat at golfsmith in 2004, they put a sensor on the ground behind the mat I was hitting off of and it said 128.8 mph. I knew I shouldn't have added that in there. Here's a youngin swinging 130 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slOwFMzsWdc

[Holyslice21]

The fastest recorded swing on the PGA Tour in '09 was Bubba Watson at 128mph. The average male golfer has a Driver swing speed of 82-90mph. Sorry, but I just can't buy a 16 year old swinging 130mph and hitting consistent 300 yard drives.

Never said I was hitting 300 yd drives either I said I thought that's what the game was about perhaps I should rephrase I consistently hit it around 260 with aspirations of 300. Also I'm not sure where you're getting your info about the fastest club speed tiger woods average 125mph http://web.tigerwoods.com/aboutTiger/didYouKnow.

[onephenom]

Tiger woods does not average 125. I don't even have to look it up. And just because you didn't say 300 doesn't mean we wouldn't assume it. Bubbas 128 mph club head swing easily goes over three hundred, so saying you have 130 mph club head speed seems pretty ridiculous. Let's get back to topic.

[tshapiro]

Regardless of your past, history, it just sounds to me like you need to learn the fundamentals. There will not be any single pointer you'll find on the forums. You'll need to work with a good coach and bang about 10,000 ball's trying to put in place what you've been taught.

[boogielicious]

Evolvr and a camera to film your swing.

http://evolvr.thegolfevolution.com

You want to get better, as do most of us.  This is an economical way to get instruction from qualified teachers at your own pace.

I also recommend looking at this thread.

http://thesandtrap.com/t/61376/5sk-video-thread

If you can't afford lessons, film your swing and put it in the My Swing thread.  You can get an inexpensive camera on e-bay too.

[inthehole]

3 words:  Slow it down.

Just focus on consistent contact.    Shorten the backswing until you get everything straightenend out.     To get rid of the slice, come back a bit more from the inside & keep head centered throughout swing (leaning back to some degree is natural, but manufactures a slice).    Its all about slow easy tempo - watch the LPGA players sometime - they hit about as far as I do with such easy fluid swings.    Once you re-establish that, work on swinging harder if you need to.    Golf is more fun from the fairways with an easy swing ...

[Holyslice21]

Thanks guys I'll definitely look into that. I guess my best bet is to find a swing coach. Is there anything specific I should look for when selecting one? Things to avoid?

[onephenom]

Thanks guys I'll definitely look into that. I guess my best bet is to find a swing coach. Is there anything specific I should look for when selecting one? Things to avoid?

Make sure he understands the real ball flight laws for sure. I wouldn't sign up for more than a lesson or two... a lot of teachers are just good players. They aren't necessarily good at teaching. Also, consider lessons thru evolvr. These guys know what they're talking about here.

[erraticshot]

I,ve barely broken 90 myself for awhile because my arms were not working together. I can't afford lessons but I found a pro online that I've been working on his stuff this last week or two and he makes a lot of sense. I can't afford lessons right now so his online stuff fits my budget, free. I broke 85 today because I didn't lose it much right at all all day today and I hit it a lot harder. Hit a ball in the water long and left for the first time in ages. Check out this if you like, i know the price is right. video's and he writes some stuff.

http://markegly.com/news/23

and here's another that got me started, slow motion of a guy with no volume

http://markegly.com/news/20

Good luck with it!

Jake

[stoverny]

Without video hard to say but it certainly sounds like you are swinging across the ball with a lot of slice spin... swing path out-to-in, and club face open to that path.   result is added loft, slice, and no distance.

The fact that you used to hit the ball well in high school is completely irrelevant to the current state of your game so you might as well let that go completely.  You are currently a slicer who shoots near 100 which means you need to restart from the beginning with solid fundamentals.  Your grip could be screwed up, your stance could be out of balance, you could be jerking the club up with your arms... a million things could be wrong.

Also, "swinging easy" as you mention can be a problem in itself.  Often "trying" to swing easy is a recipe for failure in golf, as it wrongly translates to "swinging slow" which is usually a very bad idea.  It should be a controlled aggressive motion.  You want to hit the ball hard.

True, lessons can be expensive but you can probably get a used copy of Hogan's Five Lessons for like 4 bucks online.  His chapters on the grip and stance are worth the price of the book all by themselves.  Start with the fundamentals and you'll have a foundation for improvement.  It sounds like you are just flailing around on the course wondering why you are hitting it so bad.  You need a plan of action.

[inthehole]

Originally Posted by stoverny

Often "trying" to swing easy is a recipe for failure in golf, as it wrongly translates to "swinging slow" which is usually a very bad idea.  It should be a controlled aggressive motion.  You want to hit the ball hard.

Slow maybe wasn't best word for me to use ... how about in control.     There's a time and a place for swinging hard.    That place is once the swing has been established.   Before that, consistent contact is far more important, and I'm a firm believer in swinging in control with an easy tempo, with the resulting ball flight you want ...  until you get that down, then and only then ramp it up if you even have to.     It's all about what you want to get out of the game - I'm all about consistently hitting fairways with  my ho-hum easy tempo 250 yd drive.     If the average non-competitive golfer wants more than that, fire away ... but be sure to bring alot of balls.