Does this every happen to anyone else?

[snackdaddy]

I don't want to belabor the point, but I feel that kind of misses what I was getting at… Most bad shots are caused by bad golfers. Bad setups play a small role in that, and often a role that's easily corrected… but there are far, far more important things than setup.

Again, to argue against myself a bit, good setups aren't hard to "do" - they take no skill or talent, just knowing what to do and remembering to do it - so we fix a lot of setups (virtually every lesson). But… they're still not high on the list of "causes" of bad golf shots.

Your dad may as well have said "bad golf shots are hit by bad golfers."

In a way, you're both right on your analogies.  With a bad setup MclRoy would still hit much better than an 18 handicapper.  But he wouldn't hit as good as the other tour golfers.  A bad golfer will hit bad shots.  There's many reasons why.  A good setup doesn't guarantee good ball striking.  I equate the golf swing to a baseball pitcher.  Some days the pitcher is on and pitches great.  Other days his ball doesn't move well, his velocity is down a bit and he struggles.  But nothing was changed from the last time out.  Same as the golf swing.  You can hit well one day and lousy the next.  Even though you tried to do everything the same.  What caused the differential?

[iacas]

What caused the differential?

The incredibly small tolerances that exist in golf. That's it.

[DrvFrShow]

I still can't stand cold weather. Cold weather (under 60F) really bothers me, especially if there is a slight breeze. For some reason it just makes me miserable out there practicing, and I can't seem to get loose enough to hit the ball. I'm working on my short game now since it's all I can do at the moment.

Yesterday I tried hitting some lob shots onto the chipping green. These were 30 yarders. I was sending hosel rockets and skull ***** all over the place. This is a money shot in 85 degree weather. I hate it when my ears get cold, and the cold goes through my jacket. I'm wearing my base layer too.

But I'm hitting off grass. Those mats at the driving range lie. They tell you you're hitting better than you are. That fat shot still goes 30 yds at the range yet it catches mud and goes 10 feet. 50% success on these shots isn't good enough. This is one shot I can practice since it doesn't take a full swing.

[Lihu]

I still can't stand cold weather. Cold weather (under 60F) really bothers me, especially if there is a slight breeze. For some reason it just makes me miserable out there practicing, and I can't seem to get loose enough to hit the ball. I'm working on my short game now since it's all I can do at the moment.

Yesterday I tried hitting some lob shots onto the chipping green. These were 30 yarders. I was sending hosel rockets and skull ***** all over the place. This is a money shot in 85 degree weather. I hate it when my ears get cold, and the cold goes through my jacket. I'm wearing my base layer too.

But I'm hitting off grass. Those mats at the driving range lie. They tell you you're hitting better than you are. That fat shot still goes 30 yds at the range yet it catches mud and goes 10 feet. 50% success on these shots isn't good enough. This is one shot I can practice since it doesn't take a full swing.

Try playing with a 20mph breeze and 45F baseline temperature in So. Cal.!

I moved out here to get away from cold weather, what gives with all this global climate change?

[Bechambo]

Try playing with a 20mph breeze and 45F baseline temperature in So. Cal.!

I moved out here to get away from cold weather, what gives with all this global climate change?

Well, lets not forget its SoCal, and that weather is fairly temporary. We have some storms coming through, and thats the reason for the colder weather. Give it a week and we'll be back to 80F.

[inthehole]

when this happens, it always comes back to tempo.     My problem is I develop snap hooks out of the blue.   Often times it happens when I play with buddies or teamed with guys longer than me & I overswing - things go bad 100% of the time for me when I swing too hard.    Its actually swinging too quick (not necessarily too hard) - I slow down the tempo, smooth it out and I can ususally fix it...

[Jameson]

I'm gonna disagree with this, just to have a little "academic" discussion, but here goes…

Do you agree or not: You could put Rory McIlroy in a pretty bad setup position and he'll still hit the ball better than the 18 handicapper you teach to set up perfectly?

Here's what this comes down to…good players do all things well, including setting up properly. They have good grips, they don't over-bend their knees, etc. Their swings are good.

Bad players do a lot of bad things poorly.

The setup, well, that plays a role, but it's often a very insignificant role in the actual cause of their bad shot or swing.

Another example: when you're playing golf and you hit a great 7-iron on one hole and a horrible on on the next, how much did your setup change? Probably not much.

Now, am I saying posture isn't semi important? No. Not at all:

Meh.

Good players aim left, right, and some do this too. I play better from a slightly open stance. So did Lee Trevino. There's no pure commonality in how the best players align themselves.

I disagree. Every great player that I´ve met, gives a lot of importance to the stance and aligment. Is the first step of your swing that you are able to control 100%, maybe the onlyone. I feel that when I am under pressure, I tend to skip this part or take it too fast, I don´t take enough time to align properly, and this is the begining of a poor shot. I get the point on your statement, but with a bad stance, you are not able to make a great strike. And, don´t take the example of McIllroy, since he is the number 1, try to take him as a reference it´s not real.

So for me, I am going to become a fanatical of aligment and stance. See if it works, a little.... Just my humble opinion... Don´t get mad at me!

[RussUK]

Like has been said before, those sort of days happen to most golfers at some point. I think a lot of it is mental. When it happens to me i start to over analyse what i "think! i did wrong and that puts me in a downward spiral.

What helps me is to just take a breather, stand back, maybe watch some of the other guys hit for a bit and just zone out. When i go back to hitting i feel mentally "fresher" and i can get back on track.

As a handicapper it often frustrates me to have a really good session one week and then start of bad then next but i think you need to be able to get through it. just my 2 pence (or 2 cents for you yanks )

[dave s]

I don't want to belabor the point, but I feel that kind of misses what I was getting at… Most bad shots are caused by bad golfers. Bad setups play a small role in that, and often a role that's easily corrected… but there are far, far more important things than setup.

Again, to argue against myself a bit, good setups aren't hard to "do" - they take no skill or talent, just knowing what to do and remembering to do it - so we fix a lot of setups (virtually every lesson). But… they're still not high on the list of "causes" of bad golf shots.

Your dad may as well have said "bad golf shots are hit by bad golfers."

Yeah, good points on setup.  I can almost hear you say to a customer, 'ok, we worked on this last week. Remember our ball position from last time?'

When my wife started playing, getting the ball nearly OUTSIDE her front foot lead to topping tee balls.  As soon as she'd move it back to inside her big left toe, she was back to hitting them solid.  These are the simple 'setup issues' that plague many people and why I believe getting into a good pre-shot routine that leads to a consistent setup is important to hacks and low-handicappers alike.

I've also read teaching pro articles that point out:  When working on driving, an amateur's setup is different on 10 straight setups.  They temper this with the fact that professionals setup exactly the same way EVERY time.

dave

[inthehole]

Try playing with a 20mph breeze and 45F baseline temperature in So. Cal.!

LOL - I play in those conditions 4 months of the year ... I'll trade ya (sorry - can't figure out how to correct the pic rotation, original is fine) ---->

[iacas]

I disagree.

But you don't, really… Not by what you said.

I could give you a perfect setup and… you'd still be a 17 or whatever. Other things are more important. Other things are why you are a 19 and not a +2.

I've also said that not much else is easier to get right than setup.

[Jameson]

But you don't, really… Not by what you said.

I could give you a perfect setup and… you'd still be a 17 or whatever. Other things are more important. Other things are why you are a 19 and not a +2.

I've also said that not much else is easier to get right than setup.

And what are those other things??!!?? I want so badly to be a +2. Seriously, to be a +2 you should have a special hability, not only know what those 'other things' are... However, I don´t need to reach there, I would be tremendously happy being a 10 handicapper (and playing like a 10 hp)...

[Lihu]

[QUOTE name="iacas" url="/t/80221/does-this-every-happen-to-anyone-else/18#post_1109211"]   But you don't, really… Not by what you said. I could give you a perfect setup and… you'd still be a 17 or whatever. Other things are more important. Other things are why you are a 19 and not a +2. I've also said that not much else is easier to get right than setup. [/QUOTE] And what are those other things??!!?? I want so badly to be a +2. Seriously, to be a +2 you should have a special hability, not only know what those 'other things' are... However, I don´t need to reach there, I would be tremendously happy being a 10 handicapper (and playing like a 10 hp)...:roll:

Ditto here regarding the 10HC statement! The main thing that seems to be helping me is finally figuring out which muscles to fire on the downswing. This is the main difference between me getting injured hitting short versus hitting longer with less effort.

[iacas]

And what are those other things??!!?? I want so badly to be a +2. Seriously, to be a +2 you should have a special hability, not only know what those 'other things' are... However, I don´t need to reach there, I would be tremendously happy being a 10 handicapper (and playing like a 10 hp)...

There are a million ways to achieve the 5 Simple Keys®.

Ability matters. I'll probably never meet a +2 who is 90 years old. But… anyway, we're diverging from whatever the point of this thread was, so…