When Am I Done with Major Swing Changes (and move on to short game/putting...or enjoy the game)?

[PabloMoorzio]

So you've started learning to play the beautiful game. You have become obsessed with golf swings and angles and planes and rotation etc.. at what point do you say to yourself "right, that's my swing, now let's keep it just like that every time I got to whack a ball" and move onto other areas to dedicate practice to? I feel I am hung up on swing so much that am missing out other enjoyable aspects of game I could be learning, chipping/putting etc....

any experience/thoughts around this?

ta. 

Edited January 17, 2017 by PabloMoorzio

[Hatchman]

Very good points sir.  Depends on what the overall objective is...play, play well, etc.  the swing or stroke is involved in just about everything.  A miss hit caused by it isn't real fun though.   I might shift to another piece if needed.

[alleztom]

My argument would be when your short game is costing you more shots than missing greens. To give you an idea I have had about 14 full swing lessons and 1 short game and 1 putting lesson.

[nevets88]

IMHO you're always working on the full swing but when you're starting out and your short game is in its formulative stages you'll probably spend more time on it than normal than after you've settled into the game. 

[CarlSpackler]

First and foremost, you need to enjoy the game no matter how well you might be hitting the ball. You need to have a solid short game because you will always miss a green here or there. You will be working on your full swing forever. 

[Patch]

My guess would be when your scoring becomes stagnant, but you know you can save a few  more strokes around the green. 

I have had my present swing for the last few years. One I had to reinvent after a forced lay off from the game. Before that, I had basically the same swing for 30 years. 

Once I reached a driver swing I was happy with, I went into what I called maintenance mode with that swing. Same with my other longer, full swing clubs. In my case I have a pretty good swing, but I sometimes suffer from poor alignment issues.

These days, I just go out and play. I have fun with the game. I don't let a bad round, or a few suspect ball flights send me into panic mode, that might cause me to want to make changes to a swing I already know works for me.

When I practice, I have fun with that part of my game too.  I actually have fun hitting from poor lies, and seeing what I do with other goofy recovery shots. 

[RandallT]

Sorry, dude. You've checked in. You can never leave.

[boogielicious]

4 minutes ago, RandallT said:

Sorry, dude. You've checked in. You can never leave.

Now I've got the Hotel California guitar lead stuck in my head! 

To echo everyone else's comment @PabloMoorzio, you will always be working on both full swing and short game. You need to learn to separate playing golf from practice. It is hard to do to start, but eventually you will focus on the shot and not the mechanics.

[RandallT]

5 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Now I've got the Hotel California guitar lead stuck in my head! 

Funny how those words "you can never leave" lead right into the solo, right after a little pause. Works every time!

Added: But I agree that in some fashion we're always working on our full swing. Now that I've finally gotten a taste of instruction, I think it'll help even after I get over some of the major flaws. It's a great way to stay tuned up, and it's not hard to find good instruction that is fairly reasonable. Far lower than the price of one round, so well worth it.

[Groucho Valentine]

Good points.  Theres more to the game than ballstriking. Chipping and putting is the "fun" part of golf to me. I don't really get as much pleasure out of full shots. If you're frustrated with that part of the game, moving on to the shorter stuff could be a welcome relief. 

[MRR]

2 hours ago, CarlSpackler said:

First and foremost, you need to enjoy the game no matter how well you might be hitting the ball. 

Now I'm picturing the elderly couple from Caddyshack.  That's a peach, hon.

[Piz]

Regular practice will alter both your swing, and how you think about the swing, in unanticipated ways.  Over the months, and years, you will adopt and set aside a myriad of "secrets."  That is the way of it.  Elevating one's game is a mental journey - combined with a physical exercise.  Bon chance.

[RH31]

You need to work on all parts of the game, especially when you're first starting out. 

Golf is enjoyable(to me) when I can strike it well enough to be near any green in regulation.

Giving myself a reasonable chance at up and downs really helps ease the pain of some poor strikes. Putting can save a lot of lousy play.

I'm sure others have had better success, but in 30 years of playing, I've only had what I would call good ball striking seasons 3-4 times. I'm not saying you can't learn and work your way to good ball striking, it just doesn't come together for everybody.

I'll say it again, if I had learned how to properly use my wedge around the greens the first few years, the game would've been much more enjoyable to me.

[Golfingdad]

On 1/17/2017 at 2:49 AM, PabloMoorzio said:

at what point do you say to yourself "right, that's my swing, now let's keep it just like that every time I got to whack a ball"

I have no idea because I haven't reached that point yet.  I suspect I never will.  But as far as practicing/learning other aspects of the game - yeah, you should be doing that too!

 

[Kalnoky]

On 1/17/2017 at 6:22 AM, Patch said:

Once I reached a driver swing I was happy with, I went into what I called maintenance mode with that swing.

I'm hoping for something like this ^^^ i.e., once I can hit my driver consistently, the learning curve will flatten somewhat.

What a great question, I often wonder the exact same thing. 

Edited January 18, 2017 by Kalnoky

[Marty2019]

On 1/17/2017 at 5:49 AM, PabloMoorzio said:

So you've started learning to play the beautiful game. You have become obsessed with golf swings and angles and planes and rotation etc.. at what point do you say to yourself "right, that's my swing, now let's keep it just like that every time I got to whack a ball" and move onto other areas to dedicate practice to? I feel I am hung up on swing so much that am missing out other enjoyable aspects of game I could be learning, chipping/putting etc....

any experience/thoughts around this?

ta. 

I don't think I'll ever reach the point where I am not working on my swing.  Partly because I'm just not that good, and secondly, because working on my swing is so interesting and fun. 

[PabloMoorzio]

45 minutes ago, Marty2019 said:

I don't think I'll ever reach the point where I am not working on my swing.  Partly because I'm just not that good, and secondly, because working on my swing is so interesting and fun. 

Don't get me wrong squire, I am thoroughly enjoying refining a swing technique but just don't want to become obsessed with one single aspect of the game. I've been reading Mr Penicks' little red book and he seemed to say that, given the choice with a starter, he'd start at the green with putting then work back to chipping onto the green then onto the swing. Which for young kids I must say sounds ideal.

 

Still smiling(more often than not!) when practising the swing with a #7 iron

 

Cheers

[Marty2019]

1 hour ago, PabloMoorzio said:

Don't get me wrong squire, I am thoroughly enjoying refining a swing technique but just don't want to become obsessed with one single aspect of the game. I've been reading Mr Penicks' little red book and he seemed to say that, given the choice with a starter, he'd start at the green with putting then work back to chipping onto the green then onto the swing. Which for young kids I must say sounds ideal.

 

Still smiling(more often than not!) when practising the swing with a #7 iron

 

Cheers

I actually think Mr. Penick is wrong.   I'd always start with the full swing, because it is so much more important than the stuff around the green.   You can't lose a golf ball on the green.   Missing a putt or a bad chip is a minor annoyance compared to hitting the ball into the woods or into a lake.   I don't think a young person would have any fun at all playing golf if they can't hit a full shot decently.