From range to the course

[Snipehook16]

Alright guys, I'm sure this question has been asked before and I apologize if it has. The famous saying "best range player in the club" is the name of my game. On the range I'm a +3 handicap. In reality I'm an 8.4 and trending higher  bc of this big problem. I can't bring my range swing to the course. Im going through a swing change to get rid of the over the top pull and I can exicute it perfect on the range (this has been going on for about 3 months). As soon as I get to the course I go back to that over the top swing that I'm oh so terribly comfortable with. I'm not looking for tips on my swing but some mental tips so I can transfer that swing to the course. I usually have about 2 swing thoughts when I play, usually a backswing and a downswing thought. It seems like the harder I try the worse it gets (I shot 93 today) and I'm on the verge of taking a hiatus from the game for a while. I appreciate any advice or wisdom that can be shared. Thanks 

Tommy

[StefanUrkel]

Everyone says that.  Do you aim for flags on the range?  In a large sample size, your shots at the range will be the same as your shots on the course.  Also, take into account that you use 80-90 percent balls on the range

[Snipehook16]

6 minutes ago, StefanUrkel said:

Everyone says that.  Do you aim for flags on the range?  In a large sample size, your shots at the range will be the same as your shots on the course.  Also, take into account that you use 80-90 percent balls on the range

Yes I aim for flags on the range. I practice full shots, flighted shots, high shots, 3/4 shots and I do well. Im just not able to trust that swing on the course. I'll play great the first 2-3 holes and it just slowly creeps away and my old over the top/pull comes back.

[Piz]

I can sympathize.  The different outcomes must relate to the difference in circumstances.  Shots on the range don't count.  You can "make a game of it" and all that carp but the shots don't count.  There is no penalty for landing short, long, left, or right.  The range is flat.  Except for tee shots (and there are exceptions, even, to those) golf is played, for the most part, at a tilt.  Take away the score, the hole, the uneven lies, and it is no wonder that a good range game does not translate directly to the course.  A mistake I make, all to often, is using range averages to select a club and playing the entire course through the air...as if the ground was immaterial to the outcome.  The point being: the range swing transfers only partially to the course because the range and the course are different in a number of significant ways.  Range skills are good.  Range rats have no problem with an audience; but it's a separate stage.

[Patch]

Maybe change you two swing thoughts, since they don't seem to be working well. Maybe go with just one swing thought, or better yet, none at all when on the course. 

Instead of swing thoughts, go with tempo/timing thoughts. I have always thought that swinging the clubs at the same tempo, made it easier to have a more consistent swing. You want your on course swing to be consistent with range swing. 

[Yukari]

Ah the proverbial range rat. Even Tiger can't take his range swing to the course. 

Until the swing gets grooved and becomes a second nature, it will always be a problem taking it out to the course.

i don't think there is a "short cut."  At least not that I know of.

 

[Snipehook16]

2 hours ago, Patch said:

Instead of swing thoughts, go with tempo/timing thoughts. I have always thought that swinging the clubs at the same tempo, made it easier to have a more consistent swing. You want your on course swing to be consistent with range swing. 

This is something I've never tried! And yes now that I think about it my range swing is much smoother than my course swing. My transition gets a little quick on the course

[DaveP043]

15 hours ago, Snipehook16 said:

This is something I've never tried! And yes now that I think about it my range swing is much smoother than my course swing. My transition gets a little quick on the course

On the range, its easy to be "process oriented", to think about the set up, the swing, the little details.  When you get on the course, you can become "target oriented", your thinking can follow a completely different sequence. Its good to be process oriented on the range, but it also helps to spend some time being target oriented.  Pick a target, pick the right club, and try to forget about the swing details.  Switch approaches back and forth, process and target, until they kind of fuse together.  On the course, it can help to make a practice swing, thinking about the process, the swing keys.  The step to the shot, and focus on the target.

[gregsandiego]

On 8/20/2016 at 5:37 PM, Snipehook16 said:

Alright guys, I'm sure this question has been asked before and I apologize if it has. The famous saying "best range player in the club" is the name of my game. On the range I'm a +3 handicap. In reality I'm an 8.4 and trending higher  bc of this big problem. I can't bring my range swing to the course. Im going through a swing change to get rid of the over the top pull and I can exicute it perfect on the range (this has been going on for about 3 months). As soon as I get to the course I go back to that over the top swing that I'm oh so terribly comfortable with. I'm not looking for tips on my swing but some mental tips so I can transfer that swing to the course. I usually have about 2 swing thoughts when I play, usually a backswing and a downswing thought. It seems like the harder I try the worse it gets (I shot 93 today) and I'm on the verge of taking a hiatus from the game for a while. I appreciate any advice or wisdom that can be shared. Thanks 

Tommy

Welcome to the "club" ha ha.

I don't have any advice other than to say keep fighting it. I'm taking lessons right now and those take place on the range. During my class I can hit the ball much cleaner and farther (it's a back-swing issue). In my head I know every move that is necessary to replicate this on the tee box. But damned if I can do that.

I try to pretend I'm back in class. It works sometimes.

 

 

[Buckeyebowman]

23 hours ago, Patch said:

Maybe change you two swing thoughts, since they don't seem to be working well. Maybe go with just one swing thought, or better yet, none at all when on the course. 

Instead of swing thoughts, go with tempo/timing thoughts. I have always thought that swinging the clubs at the same tempo, made it easier to have a more consistent swing. You want your on course swing to be consistent with range swing. 

Making the transition from "Ricky Ranger" to "Course Conqueror" is always tough. But, if you can hit it on the range, you at least know that you possess the capability.

The transition comes from a difference in thinking. When you're on the course, you're playing golf, not "golf swing"! The object is to score.

I believe it was none other than Nicklaus who said, "If you have just one 'swing thought' on the course, that's one too many!" When he was on the course, his only thoughts were about scoring, and the shots he needed to do that.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. When you are on the course in a match you don't need "swing" thoughts, you need "shot" thoughts. You are trying to play a particular shot that will enable you to score.

This requires a shift in attitude. You are no longer practicing, you are now playing! If it takes more time to trust the range swing and bring it to the course, so be it. Take the time!

That doesn't mean you need to become a hermit until your swing is perfected. That's because no one's swing is "perfected". There are some really good ones out there, but they're not perfect all the time. The pros miss shots all the time, but that doesn't stop them from trying to score.

Just keep working at it. Don't know how long you've been practicing, but it will happen eventually, when all the work becomes organic and IS your swing!

[Snipehook16]

On August 21, 2016 at 7:49 PM, Buckeyebowman said:

Making the transition from "Ricky Ranger" to "Course Conqueror" is always tough. But, if you can hit it on the range, you at least know that you possess the capability.

I know it's there that's why it's so frustrating....I went out for a round one time by myself and hit some balls before to warm up. Two guys hitting balls next to me on the range happen to be the guys they paired me up with. When we get to the first tee we do our introductions blah blah blah and one of the guys says be patient with us we aren't that good, I saw how you hit the ball on the range. Of course after the round those guys must have been thinking I switched clothes with someone because that was 2 different golfers they saw from range to course....it gets embarrassing. I'm just going to have to keep working on it, maybe don't practice as much and just go play. Golf was a lot more fun when I didn't take it so seriously.

[Hacker James]

On 8/20/2016 at 9:01 PM, Yukari said:

Ah the proverbial range rat. Even Tiger can't take his range swing to the course. 

Until the swing gets grooved and becomes a second nature, it will always be a problem taking it out to the course.

i don't think there is a "short cut."  At least not that I know of.

 

Lots to be said for this. I think my swing is getting there. I practice daily and methodically hitting hundreds of balls and have noticed improvements in consistency. Neighbors have not complained, but I imagine that steady sound of "Click,thump" as the ball hits a vinyl target can be annoying. Reminds me of the movie "The Great Escape" and how during his (Steve Macqueen's) captivity  would spend hours throwing a baseball into the wall, bouncing back into his glove. Anyway, I really don't have to think about it much as the swing is more or less automatic but I can pay attention and work on "finer" points.