When you "lose" your swing, how do you get it back?

[gregsandiego]

I don't know if I really know the answer but I do know what not to do. Don't panic like @Patch  warned,  and keep trying to fix something. It gets worse.

If I'm practicing irons and suddenly start hitting crap shots, it's actually better to switch to a wedge, or a driver for a while, then come back to it.

 

[Piz]

I'm still struggling with that very question.  Spatial Awareness Disharmony (SAD) is endemic to the game of golf.  Science offers hope for a cure.  In the mean time: self-medication is indicated...loser buys.

[Marty2019]

When you lose your swing, how do you get it back?   I've actually "lost" my swing so many times, I've gotten to where I can do this.  I just think about why that shot went the way it did, and I fix it.   I think about all the things I've learned about myself and my own swing, and I can usually make a better swing the next time.  I think if you "lose" your swing a couple of hundred times, you get pretty adept at getting it back. 

Now, that doesn't mean my normal swing is all that great, but at least I can get back to my normal swing.  I guess it depends on what your standard is for "getting it back."   My standard is, don't hit it fat, don't hit a big slice, don't top it.   Make solid contact and avoid disaster.   I guess that's a pretty low standard, but I can usually get back to some sort of satisfactory swing.   I just have to remain calm and be analytical.  Getting agitated and frustrated does not help.  

I take a few extra practice swings, think about my fundamentals, and then try to execute the same swing as my practice swings.  

Edited February 5, 2017 by Marty2019

[Lihu]

4 hours ago, Marty2019 said:

When you lose your swing, how do you get it back?   I've actually "lost" my swing so many times, I've gotten to where I can do this.  I just think about why that shot went the way it did, and I fix it.   I think about all the things I've learned about myself and my own swing, and I can usually make a better swing the next time.  I think if you "lose" your swing a couple of hundred times, you get pretty adept at getting it back. 

Now, that doesn't mean my normal swing is all that great, but at least I can get back to my normal swing.  I guess it depends on what your standard is for "getting it back."   My standard is, don't hit it fat, don't hit a big slice, don't top it.   Make solid contact and avoid disaster.   I guess that's a pretty low standard, but I can usually get back to some sort of satisfactory swing.   I just have to remain calm and be analytical.  Getting agitated and frustrated does not help.  

I take a few extra practice swings, think about my fundamentals, and then try to execute the same swing as my practice swings.  

Many of more experienced golfers with whom I play rounds do this as well. They hit a crappy shot, think about it for a few minutes or so while waiting for the next shot, make a few practice swings, and suddenly hit a great shot.

What I wonder is why they just don't do what they did after hitting a crappy shot before every shot to avoid the crappy shots?

[iacas]

3 hours ago, Lihu said:

What I wonder is why they just don't do what they did after hitting a crappy shot before every shot to avoid the crappy shots?

Because that would lose the meaning, and you'd be bored, and you wouldn't be interacting or enjoying the weather or your buddies and your pace of play would be slower.

You can do those things once in awhile because they're once in awhile. They'd lose meaning and relevance if you did it as your pre-shot routine.

[sirhacksalot]

I am absolutely  terrible at fixing my swing.  Though several pros I've been to have been as well.  My playing partners are worse.  I get things like , picking your head up, you didn't  go after that one, you really went after that one, timing was a lil off , etc. Then go on to play good shot / bad shot for the rest of the round  I then get on youtube and search for fixes for my pulled irons and sliced or push driver, even my topped hybrids. 

I working on swing path, club face control, change my swinf , buy books, I'd probably  buy clubs if I could afford them but books, youtube, and swing changes are cheaper.  

The sad thing is, none of thesetting things fix my problem.  Or I stop doing the root cause and I think this new found thing is working and when I start doing the root cause again , the new thing isn't working anymore.   

Lately and probably since I started playing golf, my problem or a big one anyway, is not getting to my leftside.  I'd I reread the thread of the secret move or etc, started 8 years ago everyday it wouldn't  be enough.   No amount of stack and tilty, A-swingy, one plane , two plane , or golf machiney , youtubey swing will fix.

[JonMA1]

On 1/31/2017 at 0:34 PM, Kalnoky said:

What is your process for self-diagnosing a swing flaw that has crept in during a round, or range session? Let’s say you are making  a series of good golf shots, and then a series of bad ones happens – do you shrug it off as an anomaly and trust it will recover on its own

I feel like I'm constantly waking a fine line between a usable swing and a horrific one. So it doesn't take much. At the same time, there have been sustained periods when the swing has been mostly dependable. I don't worry much about a bad practice or a single bad round. I often recover from those. But I'll sometimes get to a point of no return when my swing doesn't just come back without some serious work.

• I like @bm85 suggestion of modifying or simplifying your swing when things go bad. I'm going to try that more this year, maybe shorten it up until I start making improved contact again. 
• Taking video may show a serious flaw that you can't otherwise feel.
• Having a partner watch your swing to see if there's anything that stands out as being wrong.

I'm probably fixated too much on key #2, but I believe a failure to achieve it leads to so many other issues. To make matters worse, it seems to be the easiest poor habit for me to fall back on. Sadly, knowing the issue is no guarantee it can be easily fixed.

The main point is I'm not an instructor, so how can I properly diagnose a cause or come up with a fix? Within the last year, it has become painfully obvious that it's hard enough to improve with a good instructor and even more obvious there's almost no chance of getting very good on my own.

[CarlSpackler]

I usually check to see where I'm tensing up. That is usually the culprit. Usually it's in my shoulders. 

[BirdieLife3]

Me personally I go to a shot shape I'm usually really comfortable with. On the range before the round I hit multiple shot shapes just to feel out what is working that day. On the course most likely i'm trying to hit straight shots, but sometimes something is just a little off. If this happens I go to my comfortable shot shape, for me this is usually a draw with irons and a cut with woods. Sometimes if I can just hit a couple of solid draws and get the confidence back up the rest of the game starts to come back with it.