Golf Funk

[CarlSpackler]

We've all been there I'm sure. The dreaded golf funk. It happens when you just can't seem to make good contact, or worse, every other shot rotates from brilliant to "WTH was that". How do you break out of the the golf funk?

[Groucho Valentine]

Working on my alignment, posture and tempo usually breaks me out of bad ball striking funks. When I'm going bad, the root cause is usually one of those things. 

[Dannyhansen88]

I grab the 2 Iron till I figure out how to hit it pure off the deck. Once I can hit that club good everything else seems easy.

[phillyk]

3 minutes ago, CarlSpackler said:

We've all been there I'm sure. The dreaded golf funk. It happens when you just can't seem to make good contact, or worse, every other shot rotates from brilliant to "WTH was that". How do you break out of the the golf funk?

I go back to the basics.  I usually start with a stance and alignment, then go into a balanced swing drill, then into a release drill.  Or what usually seems to happen is an apple will drop from sky and smack me in the head, and I suddenly remember what I did last time to get out of the funk.

[Let it Fly]

I put the clubs down and take some time off.  No set amount of time...just enough until I get to the point where my thoughts are:  "Can't wait to get out there again" rather than "I hope it goes well this time."  Past instances have ranged from a few days to a few weeks...maybe a month.

Even if the next time out isn't great, I'm still happy to be playing/practicing from the feeling of missing it for a little while.  Usually does the trick for me.

[lastings]

21 minutes ago, Dannyhansen88 said:

I grab the 2 Iron till I figure out how to hit it pure off the deck. Once I can hit that club good everything else seems easy.

I'm similar to this.  not a 2 iron.  but, a long iron (4 or 5).  I intentionally swing slowly and deliberately with an exaggerated outside to in swing path (because when I'm swinging poorly, it's usually a result of the opposite).  once I start hitting it crisp, I pick up the pace.   If I can 4 or 5 crisp draws in a row with a 4 iron, every other club just falls in line. 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2017 by lastings

[TN94z]

Basics. I go through the check list to see where the problem lies. 9 times out of 10 (for me anyway), it ends up being tempo. I guess when I'm on the range warming up, I have good tempo and hit the ball pretty descent. That triggers something in my head on the course that says "If you swing faster, you will hit it that much further." It then spirals out of control. And it also seems that it is the last thing I think when trying to figure out what is wrong.

It's very frustrating when you play a round one day and have good ball contact, score well, and overall have a great day but, then 2 days later, you have the same swing feelings and cannot make anywhere near the contact you were making a couple of days prior.

[lastings]

Just now, lastings said:

I'm similar to this.  not a 2 iron.  but, a long iron (4 or 5).  I intentionally swing slowly and deliberately with an exaggerated outside to in swing path (because when I'm swinging poorly, it's usually a result of the opposite).  once I start hitting it crisp, I pick up the pace.   If I can 4 or 5 crisp draws in a row with a 4 iron, every other club just falls in line. 

 

 

that said, whats really funny is the bad swings.   If an inside out swing is the root of my issue and I'm taking slow, deliberate, outside-in swings, there are bound to be a couple hosel shanks until I get the path corrected.  There aren't many more embarrassing feelings than when the 2nd hosel shank in 5 swings skips down the range about 10 feet in front of a whole line of range users.   you wanna tell everyone, "I swear that wouldn't happen if I wasn't trying to correct something!"...   but, all you can really do is put your head down and keep swinging,,  

[shanksalot]

I usually also go back to the basics. But this time as I was practicing my swing on the patio I noticed I was not keeping my left arm straight. I was letting it bend  and I had no extention  in my backswing. Went to the course yesterday and voila I was hitting it 25 yards further and right down the middle once again. It is funny how these little things pop up from time to time. Ain't golf fun.

[MacDutch]

Mostly it is because:

1. I play too much, no focus

2. To fast backswing

3. No turning, all arms (pull)

All three are easy to fix

[CarlSpackler]

2 hours ago, MacDutch said:

Mostly it is because:

1. I play too much, no focus

2. To fast backswing

3. No turning, all arms (pull)

All three are easy to fix

It's definitely not #1 for me. This past weekend was the first time I played in 3 weeks. 

[chilepepper]

I'll take a couple days off then hit the range and go slowly. Easy swings, each shot spaced out more than normal and really work on staying relaxed.

[MrGolfguy67]

Golf Funk? I'd love to play like Fred.

[DrvFrShow]

Have a Mike's Hard Lemonade.

[Hategolf]

Sometimes, I take the PW and hit very loose pitch shots, 20, 30, 50yrds..until I'm fully relax and work on fundamental.

More times than not however I am screwed..I just can't get it back for a few days..the worse part is I might be planing on playing in a day or two. I either have to cancel my plans or I struggle the entire round and hate my life. 

[jetsknicks1]

9 hours ago, CarlSpackler said:

We've all been there I'm sure. The dreaded golf funk. It happens when you just can't seem to make good contact, or worse, every other shot rotates from brilliant to "WTH was that". How do you break out of the the golf funk?

Focusing on the 19th hole helps.

[CarlSpackler]

2 hours ago, DrvFrShow said:

Have a Mike's Hard Lemonade.

Mike's isn't quite hard enough for me. 

42 minutes ago, jetsknicks1 said:

Focusing on the 19th hole helps.

When I got done Sunday, I literally had the thought, "I am down here in FL where I can suck all year. Great."

You guys may be on to something here. I was completely sober...

[Buckeyebowman]

6 hours ago, chilepepper said:

I'll take a couple days off then hit the range and go slowly. Easy swings, each shot spaced out more than normal and really work on staying relaxed.

Good tip! It can take me well over an hour to work through a small bucket. Why hurry?!

3 hours ago, MrGolfguy67 said:

Golf Funk? I'd love to play like Fred.

I'd kill to have his game!

2 hours ago, DrvFrShow said:

Have a Mike's Hard Lemonade.

If that's not hard enough for you, maybe stick a flask of your favorite libation in your bag.

Seriously though, going back to basics is a good suggestion. Grip, stance, alignment, and ball position. Bad stuff can slowly creep in here over time, and suddenly you're left wondering what happened to your game?