Developing Consistency

[johnclayton1982]

I'm not sure what to do about this problem.

I'm a decent player and sometimes a really, really good player.  However I am inconsistent as heck.  I shot 80 even at the hardest course in my area last weekend, shot 79 at my home course last night, and just shot 106 at a fairly easy goat track this afternoon.

It is driving me crazy.

I'm not sure what drills I can do to practice consistency.  When it goes, it all goes - today, I had three popups off the driver tee that went about 50 yards, hit a 3 wood out of bounds, and somehow even managed to hit a pitching wedge out of bounds (sliced it about 70 yards).  The thing that started all of it was on hole 3 after two decent bogies I dead-shanked a chip into the bunker, the bladed it out of the bunker into a road.

It happens on the range too, so I don't think its a pressure thing.  Sometimes I show up to the range and I just can't hit the ball at all.  Its about 15% of the time I just can't do anything - the rest of the time I'm a 78-83 golfer.  When I start missing, it comes as huge slices with all clubs except the driver, which hits either line drive snap hooks or pop ups.

Once I start playing like this, I usually take 3-4 days off and when I come back I'm hitting good shots again.

Has anyone ever experienced this?  It is driving me crazy.  I know its something I'm doing wrong, but I don't know how to practice/drill being more consistent....

All help/stories appreciated.  I'm at my wits end with these swings in my play.  My handicap is low b/c these rounds usually don't end up in my "top 10" handicap rounds or whatever but I always get looks during these horrible rounds like "you're REALLY an 8?"

Its maddening.

EDIT:  I looked up my rounds in our club's online thing and its pretty insane - I haven't shot between an 86 and a 99 in about a year.  Its either over 99 (10% of the time) or under 86.  What can I do to fix this!!!!

[MS256]

Pretty much the story of my golfing life. One week I shoot a 68 and the next week I shoot a 79. Always has been exactly the same for me. Only difference is that swing in scores from week to week has gradually shifted to better scores on the high end. My lowest scores (when I'm on) are the same as they've been since about the second year I played golf.

In our choose up games I'm the hardest person at the course to know where to fit. One week I play even with the "A" players and another week I should be a "C" or "D".

Even though it's totally unintentional it works out great for me. I rarely have to be an "A" player and about every other week when I've got it going it's almost a sure win. Basically whatever team I'm on has two "A" players. When my son plays he's always a captain and he picks me first. When I'm on there's no way we will lose that game. When I'm not he can usually tie a side pretty much by himself with very little help from the rest of us.

[iacas]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: your swing is consistent. You might have some good days and some bad days, but you need to find the priority flaw in your swing and fix it.

It's that simple.

The average golfer looks at the two good shots he hits and thinks "if only I could do those more often…" but what they don't realize is that the other shots are what they're capable of, and the two good shots are the aberrations.

Fix your swing.

[Motley01]

Don't worry, I do the same exact thing! I have a love/hate relationship with golf. I went through some swing changes last year. I started hitting a nice draw. But I'm way too inconsistant.

My inconsistancies are usually hole by hole. I'll birdie one hole, then I'll double the next.

Golf is a crazy game.

[mp33 man]

I do a lot of this too, a guy that I play with says that he can tell when I'm going to play poorly because he says that my tempo will get screwed up.

[johnclayton1982]

Quote:

The average golfer looks at the two good shots he hits and thinks "if only I could do those more often…" but what they don't realize is that the other shots are what they're capable of, and the two good shots are the aberrations.

Fix your swing.

Point taken.  Its just so frustrating cause it isn't "once in a while" its good... its 78-81 90% of the time.  Its just that small little times I just lose it completely.  Its never in the middle.

There is probably something that happens to my swing but I don't know what would cause huge slices in irons and a snap hook / popups with driver.  Even the chip/pitches when its bad have a slice to them - a very small one, but definate left-right movement even hitting it 10 feet.  I'm doing something to get the club outside but I have no idea what it is - and even then, if i'm going outside, why is the driver a hook not a slice?

Ugh.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by johnclayton1982

Point taken.  Its just so frustrating cause it isn't "once in a while" its good... its 78-81 90% of the time.  Its just that small little times I just lose it completely.  Its never in the middle.

No, it's always bad, and you always have the same flaws. Some days you're just better at compensating than most. It doesn't matter that it's 90% of the time.

Your average score should drop over time, but because you seemingly have some bizarre compensations or something it may rise temporarily while you incorporate changes.

It's tough to say since you don't have a My Swing thread.

But scratch golfers don't fail to break 80 10% of the time, and there's no way you should fail to break 100 10% of the time when you shoot 82 or whatever the other 90%.

Originally Posted by johnclayton1982

There is probably something that happens to my swing but I don't know what would cause huge slices in irons and a snap hook / popups with driver.  Even the chip/pitches when its bad have a slice to them - a very small one, but definate left-right movement even hitting it 10 feet.  I'm doing something to get the club outside but I have no idea what it is - and even then, if i'm going outside, why is the driver a hook not a slice?

You're likely steep and swing left. Ball position could account for the weird differences between 82 and 99, or you could just be timing the roll really well so that you at least start the ball left enough, etc.

The driver isn't the same swing. The ball is teed up. People will often do a different thing with the driver (tilt back, still rolling the face quite a bit) and you can easily get snap hooks from that while still being steep (when you don't tip back enough, especially).

And chips don't curve in ten feet, c'mon. :P They may spin a little when they hit the green but they're not curving in the air perceptibly.

Post a video in a My Swing thread. I mean this with all the love in the world, but your swing probably needs some fairly significant work, and you've simply learned how to time it most of the time (90%). Mind your camera angles, ESPECIALLY if it's not high-speed. If it's an iPhone or something, get multiple swings with each. Edit them so there's not a ton of dead space in the middle.

[johnclayton1982]

Quote:

and there's no way you should fail to break 100 10% of the time when you shoot 82 or whatever the other 90%.

Yeah, thats probably true.

I will read those threads and post a video in the next couple days.

You may be right.   I have good hand-eye co-ordination and I'm fairly athletic (played D1 tennis in college) so I might just be good at fixing/compensating.  Also I'm a good putter and that makes up for alot of swing problems.

Quote:

And chips don't curve in ten feet, c'mon. :P They may spin a little when they hit the green but they're not curving in the air perceptibly.

They do when you hit 'em off the hosel...