The "Stop Conning Yourself" Thread

[Vinsk]

28 minutes ago, DuckDuckFoose said:

Then maybe I'll refocus, use the forum, and other tools to hopefully figure out somewhat how to get to greens more efficiently. 

Sorry if this was already asked but have you read the book, Lowest Score Wins? LSW is a very informative book written by Erik ( @iacas ) and Dave Wedzik. I and many others here highly recommend this book. You can post a video of your swing in the ‘Members Swings’ thread and get some excellent advice as well. Cheers.

[mcanadiens]

10 hours ago, GolfLug said:

I think I started conning myself less once I stopped marrying myself to a score and paying more attention to how many strokes with quality contact and good ball flight. 

See I think that type of self deprecating mind f#$k is no good. It's reverse con. Still a con. If you are taking the trouble to spend few hours on a a course, you can't abandon yourself and dive head first into misery like that. 

Man up and find a good instructor. Put your tail between your legs, eat humble pie and do what he tells you for two straight years. You will not only be a better golfer you will be a different person. Not because I think you need to be a different person but single minded pursuit of better contact will make you one. Chances are you will enjoy your time on the course more. 

Hey. I admitted it was a con.

Also, I did scrounge up the cash for some lessons last year and will probably take some more this year if this damn virus deal ever lets up. The pro at Troy's local course seems to know something about it and I like the way he used his video equipment. If I can get my driver replaced in a less-expensive fashion, that should leave some room in the budget for more lessons.

 

10 hours ago, billchao said:

I'm going to be the guy to ask the tough question here: what are you doing about it? What's your plan to make sure you make more bogeys and pars and eliminate the big numbers?

So, as mentioned above, the plan is to replace a driver I was having serious trouble with, take more lessons and attempt to do the things those lessons tell me to do. 

I've also been trying to do various balancing exercises on a daily basis since that seems to be my biggest single problem.

[JGus]

10 hours ago, billchao said:

I don't, and I'm not going to assume. At various points in the last couple of years, both short game and putting were glaring weaknesses in my game.

Yes, I did assume based on past posts like this, maybe it was wrong to do so, but the odds were in my favor.

[CarlSpackler]

9 hours ago, DuckDuckFoose said:

Then maybe I'll refocus, use the forum, and other tools to hopefully figure out somewhat how to get to greens more efficiently. 

I personally like to see players build a good short game foundation. It doesn't take much time or skill and can quickly improve your scores. Even with full swing improvements, you will need to rely on short game from time to time. Just don't con yourself like I did for years and tell yourself that your full swing is good enough and you can make up for it with a good short game. You should continue to work on your full swing. That is where the biggest improvements in score will come.

[bwdial]

10 hours ago, iacas said:

Short game will help, and often much faster, but also… with much less room. You can pretty quickly save a few shots by improving your putting and the short game, but the bigger gains all come from the full swing.

I've always felt that it was harmful for golf professionals to over-stress the importance of the short game to beginners who have major issues with the long game. 

Imagine a beginner standing on the tee of a 475 yard par five.

He tops his drive twenty yards down the fairway, whiffs a three wood, and then chunks the next one, before finally slicing his three wood into a fairway bunker that it takes him two shots to get out of.  He's lying six, and he's probably still 250 yards from the green.  I've seen this guy.  Hell, I've been this guy. 

A PGA Tour player turning a bogey into a par, or a par into a birdie with a great short game is significant.  A 36 handicapper lying nine before they take the putter out of the bag really isn't helping himself by turning three putts into two.  I've always felt that the short game becomes more important as a player's handicap goes down.  Likewise, I think that a better long game takes pressure off of the short game.

[CarlSpackler]

35 minutes ago, bwdial said:

I've always felt that it was harmful for golf professionals to over-stress the importance of the short game to beginners who have major issues with the long game.

I don't know of any pro that would suggest this player start with a short game. Someone who is lucky to make contact with a golf ball should not even be on the golf course yet. My son is a hacker. He doesn't want to work on drills to improve his swing. He just wants to hit the ball as hard as he can so it can go as far as possible despite my advice that he work on some fundamentals that will benefit him the rest of his life. I guess that makes him happy...

[bwdial]

43 minutes ago, CarlSpackler said:

I don't know of any pro that would suggest this player start with a short game. Someone who is lucky to make contact with a golf ball should not even be on the golf course yet. My son is a hacker. He doesn't want to work on drills to improve his swing. He just wants to hit the ball as hard as he can so it can go as far as possible despite my advice that he work on some fundamentals that will benefit him the rest of his life. I guess that makes him happy...

Let me clarify.  I was referring more to golf publications, broadcasts, etc.

[Double Mocha Man]

53 minutes ago, CarlSpackler said:

I don't know of any pro that would suggest this player start with a short game. Someone who is lucky to make contact with a golf ball should not even be on the golf course yet. My son is a hacker. He doesn't want to work on drills to improve his swing. He just wants to hit the ball as hard as he can so it can go as far as possible despite my advice that he work on some fundamentals that will benefit him the rest of his life. I guess that makes him happy...

Carl, I think we share the same son.

[GolfLug]

1 hour ago, CarlSpackler said:

He just wants to hit the ball as hard as he can so it can go as far as possible despite my advice that he work on some fundamentals that will benefit him the rest of his life. I guess that makes him happy...

"Dad, ya know some of us just wanna be 'Topgolf'-ers."😉

[CarlSpackler]

11 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

Carl, I think we share the same son.

Does yours ask to help and then not do anything you suggest? I need to learn reverse psychology. Gee son. Don't waste your money on lessons. What do they know. 🤦‍♂️

Just now, GolfLug said:

"Dad, ya know some of us just wanna be 'Topgolf'-ers."😉

I'm OK with that.

[Double Mocha Man]

Oh hell, our kids know more about reverse psychology than we do.  They use it on us...

14 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

"Dad, ya know some of us just wanna be 'Topgolf'-ers."😉

"Son, let me teach you how to drink a beer and not spill it.  And how not to fall off the front edge of the TopGolf range mat, after your second beer."

[Vinsk]

4 hours ago, JGus said:

Yes, I did assume based on past posts like this, maybe it was wrong to do so, but the odds were in my favor.

Well the odds are in favor of the assumption in general. It’s not just the opinion of people here. It’s just the stats.

[dennyjones]

2 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

Oh hell, our kids know more about reverse psychology than we do.  They use it on us...

Been a victim from the wife too!

[JGus]

4 hours ago, Vinsk said:

Well the odds are in favor of the assumption in general. It’s not just the opinion of people here. It’s just the stats.

Agree, that's why I made the 'sarcastic' comment.

[WillieT]

Have never tried to con myself....the first video I took of myself on the phone demonstrated a world of faults.  I read what were deemed "classics" such as Hogan's Five Lessons, only to be more confused than learned, watched and tried to mimic tons of YouTube videos only to see the same shots happen.  I would get the occasional GIR but not enough to say my long game was getting consistently better. I would make the occasional pitch to the green and land safely but not enough to say the short game was getting better.  The same with putting as most holes were 2 putts or more.  Only by daring to step up and bare my faults by taking the current COVID-19 30 Day Practice Plan that @iacas has graciously put on am I seeing where I really need to work on the game which is everywhere!  Next step is to purchase Lowest Score Wins.   

[djake]

I am taking a lesson tonight, scheduled it with the Teaching Pro at the Club my wife and i joined in June.  This lesson is going out on the course to work on course management.  i wanted to take this lesson to get my head screwed on straight while golfing and to see if i click correctly with this young man before taking more lessons.

Let me back up for a second, let me get myself and anyone on here who may care caught up - no negative intended with that statement, ok.

I am 57 1/2 years old.  Yump as you age the half years start to come back as in when you were 7 1/2 years old.  I have been playing golf for 50 years.  Let that sink in for a moment.  This is my 50th year of golf.  I still have the very first 7 iron and putter that my dad taught me to golf with.  In fact i have only owned 4 Putters my entire 50 years of golf and i still have all 4 Putters.

My dad was the very best Golf Instructor i have ever been around - flat out.  For some reason our entire life i never doubted him and always knew when it came to Golf, he was The Man.  Many people that knew him would agree with this.  i no longer have him to talk to, that's the hard part of life.  

In my 50 years of golf i have been a 7 year old just learning, to a nervous wreck in 7th Grade playing Varsity Golf (lot of older kids were ticked off that i beat them out) to taking the game way to serious in attempting to get to Scratch to well where i am today.  i have played under Par, would get upset for not breaking 80 - i just got out of control with the quest to scratch in my 20s.  I hated the game then.  So i quit for a couple years, not 100% i would play a couple times a year and just go thru a course and shot an 85.  This tore my dad apart, i regret that period of time and wish i was more mature then and handled it correctly.  i really miss not playing golf with my Dad when i could try and stay with him.  Those round were fun.

Fast forward to 2017; my index got into the 7s i leveled out at 8.2/8.4 - i was happy with that.  Golf was easy in 2017, see ball hit ball watch ball go the majority of the time where it was intended to go.  Not always or i would have had a lower index - but still, it was simple.

2018 i am excitted to play, continue dropping my index hoping to get to a 1.4 to play once in a US Open Regional, it was a goal.  i played 3 times in South Carolina in the early spring and came home and promptly fractured my heal. i was done golfing until the Fall.  i got 2 rounds in that Fall and played really solid, good golf.  i was happy and excited for 2019 that the skill had not eroded from the long injury.  Total 5 rounds for 2018.

2019 i am really excitted to play golf.  Head out to South Carolina and get 4 rounds in, some early rough moments some really awesome moments.  i get back home and my right knee gets infected, septic bursitis.  i was devastated.  No golf until it healed and it wouldn't heal.  Lost the entire summer and played 2 rounds in the Fall, even though i probably should not have.  Somehow i scored very well, like i should not have scored like i did.  Something was off with my Driver but the course i was playing was very forgiving for wayward Drives. 6 total rounds in 2019.

2020 rolls around - our company is blowing the doors off of sales, i am chomping at the bit to golf.  i played 1 round in South Carolina around February.  i did not break 100, i had 43 putts.  i had forgotten my Driver at home and hit my 5 wood until i borrowed my friends Driver.  i missed so many 2' and 3' putts it was ridiculous.  Yet, i was still and 8.4 index.  i was a good Golfer that had a little early rust in the game or so i thought and conned myself.

i am conning myself. 

i no longer can putt, i am averaging 40 putts per round.  i am mortified at a 2' putt.  i miss 80+% of 2 & 3' Putts, that is not an exaggeration.  When 18 rolls around and if my putt is 2 feet away everyone tells me to pick it up that i have had enough.  i get the mercy rule putting, it is heartbreaking.

i bought alignment sticks, they have really helped but still i wonder how to line up over a golf ball and aim.

i have never been that person that runs out and buys new gear to fix my game, yet i bought a Driver, a 5 Wood, a 2 Utility Iron, and now all new irons.  i went nuts over PXG.  By the way, these are amazing clubs and without a doubt Trackman showed issues in head to head comparisons with my old clubs - more on that later.

The PXG Driver: i have NEVER fit so many fairways in 1 round in my entire career as i have with this Driver. 12 of 13 Fairways and no crap distance lying of averaging 270.  My swing speed at multiple check points is running a solid 108 this year.  Yet hitting all those fairways, actually did it in 2 rounds resulted in an 86 with 4 water balls and a 95 with 40 putts.

I have never been happier playing golf as i was this season, i am playing golf.  My right shoulder is hurt but still i am playing golf.  

Yet, i am not even close to being the 13.4 index i have currently.  It is more like a 22.  I am not the 8.4 i thought i was.  i am a 22.  i have only broken 95 once this season.  

So - i need a plan.  i am at a loss.  i don't know what to do.  i am not even good enough to play against a hacker, i would get my clocked cleaned.  At the our new Country Club, they are all so nice.  Lot's of guys invite me to golf with them and ask me play again with their group.  Really nice people, they have seen the couple scores i posted from 2019 and they wondering what is real and what isn't.  i know what is.  i am a train wreck on the course.

So, that's my get it off the chest, full-fledged Golf Confession.  

To really put a dagger in my pride, i haven't had 1 Birdie yet this season.  Not one!  i  usually would get a least 1 to 2 per 18 holes.  Not even close to getting one as well.

Even though i am averaging 40 putts per round i am not getting a new Putter.  i found an issue, i had gone to a very strong grip with the putter.  Yesterday i "clapped" the putter and as my practice session went on i got more and more comfortable putting.  More on line, better lag putting, forearms tension free.  I finished the session by sinking a bunch of 2' & 3' putts.  i wouldn't leave until i had a strong continuous sequence of watching the ball fall into the cup.

i really like this game, i wish my Dad was here to fix my issues

[iacas]

Not to just take one piece of that and comment… but have you considered putting lefty?

[GolfLug]

I went through a spell where 2 fters were not gimmies and anything over 40 feet was an easy tap in 3 putt for last two years. There is always a bit of money involved so no mercy to be had.

Went to a counterbalanced 36 inch broomstick last summer and that instantly got rid of the yippy stroke. Haven't become a good putter but it ain't embarrassing at least. 

So yeah, as @iacas said go lefty or get you a putter that looks like a spaceship or putt with your 'whole body' or roll your ankles back and forth with your stroke... whatever.. just shake it up. I am sure you ain't that far off.