Horrible practice session - throw in the towel?

[Sandhills Golfer]

My first post on this forum was over two years ago, when I planned to really put in the effort to learn golf. Then my work got crazy, I got busy, and never really stuck with it. Now I'm dedicating myself to it, though. I'm taking lessons regularly, and practicing as much as I can (right now that's 3-4 days a week).

I'm still terrible, but I'm at least seeing steady progress. Most days. But what happened yesterday really got me down. I went to the range after work, started practicing, and I felt like I had never swung a club before. Really. I was shanking, missing the ball completely, and doing every other embarassing thing I did the first time I ever tried hitting a ball. I don't know what happened to me. I gave up half way through my bucket and went home, because I felt like I wasn't making any progress - if anything, I was reinforcing whatever bad stuff was causing these problems.

I'm curious how those of you who are more experienced deal with stuff like this. I'm sure most of you don't have days this bad, but everyone has an off day here and there. Do you keep going if it's bad and not getting better, or do you go home and come back another day?

It takes time to make changes. When I bought a new hybrid iron set, it took a year to get good with the clubs. Now, if I swing traditional irons, it feels weird. It took about the same time to learn how to swing from the ground up. There were many times, I thought of and did go back to my old band aid swing. But, I knew real improvement was to stick it out and that was true.

[rkim291968]

Welcome back to the forum @LimeTree .   Range practice is what it is, a practice.  I found that good or bad practice session result don't mean much as long as I am working on something specific to improve.

[Lihu]

My first post on this forum was over two years ago, when I planned to really put in the effort to learn golf. Then my work got crazy, I got busy, and never really stuck with it. Now I'm dedicating myself to it, though. I'm taking lessons regularly, and practicing as much as I can (right now that's 3-4 days a week).

I'm still terrible, but I'm at least seeing steady progress. Most days. But what happened yesterday really got me down. I went to the range after work, started practicing, and I felt like I had never swung a club before. Really. I was shanking, missing the ball completely, and doing every other embarassing thing I did the first time I ever tried hitting a ball. I don't know what happened to me. I gave up half way through my bucket and went home, because I felt like I wasn't making any progress - if anything, I was reinforcing whatever bad stuff was causing these problems.

I'm curious how those of you who are more experienced deal with stuff like this. I'm sure most of you don't have days this bad, but everyone has an off day here and there. Do you keep going if it's bad and not getting better, or do you go home and come back another day?

Don't give up and expect to hit crappy shots all the time. Get pleasantly surprised when the ball does the semblance of what you want.

[The Recreational Golfer]

No. Don't quit. This is going to happen to you when you're playing, and you have to learn how to get back on track again.

You're not hitting bad shots because of what you're doing wrong, but because you temporarily forgot how to do it right. This is the chance to learn how to get back, on the spot, to the principles that make your swing/short game/putting work.

[AvocadoWillie]

Hi I'm new to the forum here. Practice is something I've really been confused by. I seem to think I've got a rhythm going and get to hitting the ball fairly well and then out of nowhere these ugly low shots, I call slicers that fall left appear and I can't even get the ball airborne. I've asked my buddy who regularly shoots in the 80s to watch my swing and he just keeps telling me i'm swinging over the top and need to swing further right. I'm not really sure how to go about doing that? At the moment i'm just continuing to aim further and further right but the low slicers aren't going away?

[mvmac]

Hi I'm new to the forum here. Practice is something I've really been confused by. I seem to think I've got a rhythm going and get to hitting the ball fairly well and then out of nowhere these ugly low shots, I call slicers that fall left appear and I can't even get the ball airborne. I've asked my buddy who regularly shoots in the 80s to watch my swing and he just keeps telling me i'm swinging over the top and need to swing further right. I'm not really sure how to go about doing that? At the moment i'm just continuing to aim further and further right but the low slicers aren't going away?

Couple good threads for you to check out.

Also feel free to start a member swing thread, I'd be happy to help you out.

http://thesandtrap.com/f/4180/member-swings

[AvocadoWillie]

Thx:)  I think I may have

Couple good threads for you to check out.

Also feel free to start a member swing thread, I'd be happy to help you out.

http://thesandtrap.com/f/4180/member-swings

Thanks. I think I may be drawing the ball but just too low or something. It's definitely going low and to the left, not to the right. I call it my low left slicer. I'm not sure how to start a member swing thread, I've never filmed or had my swing filmed before so not sure how to do that!

[gregsandiego]

I can relate.

I just recently posted the same thread my friend. I completely understand your feelings on this matter. First, I do have sessions THAT bad. I leave the range thinking I'm just waiting my time with this game. Trust me, you are not alone by any stretch of the imagination. Some guys responded to my post and it certainly helped me see the light again.

1. Golf his hard. Bad days will happen. Tomorrow is a new day.

2. When you're frustrated you can do a couple things: start with the basics...grip, posture, and only do 1/4 swings. Build your way back up.

3. Leave the range and practice chipping and/or putting.

4. If you shank your first putt, go get a beer and refer to choice #1.

Agree completely, esp #2.  When you fell like you lost it take smaller swings focus on hitting solid.

But # 4 I like better.

[AvocadoWillie]

I can relate.

Agree completely, esp #2.  When you fell like you lost it take smaller swings focus on hitting solid.

But # 4 I like better.

A San Diegan! Hi Greg....I'm from Fallbrook. I've been duffing it up mostly at The Golf Club of California and Maderas. Small world.

[travisv]

Thx:)  I think I may have

Thanks. I think I may be drawing the ball but just too low or something. It's definitely going low and to the left, not to the right. I call it my low left slicer. I'm not sure how to start a member swing thread, I've never filmed or had my swing filmed before so not sure how to do that!

I'm not sure how to get those nice titles for the links, but here are a couple of threads and an article to help you out.  If you have a relatively new smart phone the camera should be sufficient for recording, and there a ton of apps that will help you do the job.

http://thesandtrap.com/t/38240/my-swing-video-threads-rules-please-read

http://thesandtrap.com/t/73197/so-you-joined-tst-and-posted-a-member-swing-thread

http://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/filming_your_swing

[gregsandiego]

A San Diegan! Hi Greg....I'm from Fallbrook. I've been duffing it up mostly at The Golf Club of California and Maderas. Small world.

Hi Willie. I'd bet there are a lot of San Diegans here. An ideal place for the sport (except yesterday with the lightning). I'm in the central area and play more at Mission Trails than anywhere else.

[Lihu]

So, as I was not hitting my usual 240 balls today (cut back to 120), I had a lot more time to look around than usual. I noticed that a lot of people are competing against each other. Didn't matter whether they are seniors, ladies, kids or whatever. They all kind of competed against each other. Most of them looked pretty miserable. I just couldn't stop thinking that if they hit their balls their comfortable distances that they might enjoy their range sessions more? Admittedly, that was probably me just 1-4 years ago, but many of these folks looked like they are long time golfers of years to decades of experience. I figured they had time to grow out of this comparison stage thing. . .

I enjoy my range time now, and just three weeks ago I was anguishing over giving up my course time for this "range practice" monster. I recounted all the times it turned into a "I hit farther" contest.

However, now that I know how far I hit on the course and somewhat adjusted to it, I really enjoy just hitting balls at the range. Even hitting off mats has forced me to make changes for the better (like less deep divots on the course). So, if someone hits some club farther or higher or both than my shot, it doesn't really bother me. I just continue to hit my balls with the same club the same way until I'm done with it. I continue with drill swing practice swings and slow motion swings. I also only play against my last shot. I just want them to land as close as possible to each other.

I don't think about what other people are doing on the range. I don't even care if I'm hitting farther than everyone else, or if I'm the shortest hitter there. Just doesn't matter.

It used to matter and it was pretty miserable. . .I wonder if bad range sessions can partly stem from this type of situation?

On the humorous side, watch when someone takes out his driver and watch what some of the other people next to him/her do with their drivers. Those that take theirs out are the ones you want to play against. . .

[AvocadoWillie]

I'm not sure how to get those nice titles for the links, but here are a couple of threads and an article to help you out.  If you have a relatively new smart phone the camera should be sufficient for recording, and there a ton of apps that will help you do the job.

http://thesandtrap.com/t/38240/my-swing-video-threads-rules-please-read

http://thesandtrap.com/t/73197/so-you-joined-tst-and-posted-a-member-swing-thread

http://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/filming_your_swing

Thanks! So I had a lesson today and it turns out the pro also diagnosed the same thing my 80's buddy saw. He said the reason my ball goes low and left sometimes is because I'm coming over the top going back down and hooding the face. He explained to me how pretty much every shot that goes left like that is from doing this unintentional move. He had me close my shoulders and hips when I step up to the ball and had me feel like i'm really trying to swing from the inside out. I'm still hitting these low left shots and it hadn't helped during the lesson or after but the pro said it would take several weeks and even months before I saw improvement. I really liked his explanations though.....it made perfect sense to me when he said if I swung further right it would stop the ball from going left and get it going more on a straighter direction. Looking forward to more lessons!

[WillM]

Our handicaps may be a little different but I had this happen yesterday to me. I am just having one of those streaks where I couldn't break 80 to save my life and my range sessions were horrible so I just packed up and left, swearing I was going to take a break from this stupid game...

Needless to say, I went to the range today :) If you truly love the game you will find yourself thinking about it and wanting to go hit more balls, even if it might not be the best results. If you wake up tomorrow and think to yourself that you want to go play golf then by all means DO NOT throw in the towel. But if you wake up and are still frustrated and are still legitimately angry about it, maybe you should take a break for a while.

Hope this helps.

[gregsandiego]

Our handicaps may be a little different but I had this happen yesterday to me. I am just having one of those streaks where I couldn't break 80 to save my life and my range sessions were horrible so I just packed up and left, swearing I was going to take a break from this stupid game...

Needless to say, I went to the range today :) If you truly love the game you will find yourself thinking about it and wanting to go hit more balls, even if it might not be the best results. If you wake up tomorrow and think to yourself that you want to go play golf then by all means DO NOT throw in the towel. But if you wake up and are still frustrated and are still legitimately angry about it, maybe you should take a break for a while.

Hope this helps.

I notice something else. You talk about "couldn't break 80" when there are probably many of us that would be very happy with a score in the 80's. So no matter how much you improve there is always another level that eludes (and possibly frustrates) you.. Maybe liking golf means learning to live with that.

[WillM]

That is also very true. Different way to look at it but yeah it makes sense. Reaching a great level of golf (breaking 70) and then not doing it again for a long time is definitely frustrating and we all have to be crazy enough to fall in love with the process of working our way back to that high level.

[LimeTree]

Thanks for all of the replies, perspective, and encouragement. Since I posted, my practice sessions have been great. Not meaning that I'm hitting the ball perfectly every time, but now that I'm taking my time and going in with a more specific goal, it helps me set my expectations and see progress better. I can definitely tell that I'm improving, even if it's a bit of a roller coaster.

Right now my main problem is that between my work schedule and my instructor's limited availability, I haven't been able to get a lesson for a few weeks. Even though video helps, I feel like I'm at a stage where I need immediate feedback and correction. So I think I might try to find another instructor who is easier to get sessions with (though I'm a little hesitant because I like my current instructor, and it might be hard to find someone else I click with so well)...

[Lihu]

Thanks for all of the replies, perspective, and encouragement. Since I posted, my practice sessions have been great. Not meaning that I'm hitting the ball perfectly every time, but now that I'm taking my time and going in with a more specific goal, it helps me set my expectations and see progress better. I can definitely tell that I'm improving, even if it's a bit of a roller coaster.

Right now my main problem is that between my work schedule and my instructor's limited availability, I haven't been able to get a lesson for a few weeks. Even though video helps, I feel like I'm at a stage where I need immediate feedback and correction. So I think I might try to find another instructor who is easier to get sessions with (though I'm a little hesitant because I like my current instructor, and it might be hard to find someone else I click with so well)...

That's pretty much golf. Even as you get better, you'll still have days you just feel really bad, possibly more bad days. . .

I wouldn't change instructors if the one you are seeing is working out. I haven't had a lesson for months due to scheduling issues, but am still working with him. . .

Keep up the spirits and enjoy!