Quitting golf???

[Bowker]

I agree with everyone else. Everyone has thier ups and downs.

I have had times when I felt like "why can I not do this right!!!???" but you just have to stick with it and hopefully and most likely it will work itself out.

Just keep practicing, take some time off, maybe see a pro.

However, this is all valid only if you enjoy golf. This a game which is supposed to fun and relaxing. I know way to many people that are "just" recreational golfers that take the game way way to seriously for thier level of play, to the extent of it stressing out parts o f the rest of thier lives.

Like I said, most people have a time in thier golfing "careers" where they feel like quiting, even if they love the game. Just keep practicing and give it some time.

[denver_nuggs_15]

i have decided to stick with golf. i went back to the basics to see what was wrong. turns out that my shoulder was kinda sore and lost flexibility. so at address my shoulder was in and back as opposed to hanging. (hard to describe). so on my shots when i extended i became closer to the ball and hit everthing off the hosel.
thank you all for the advice.

[Shindig]

i have decided to stick with golf. i went back to the basics to see what was wrong. turns out that my shoulder was kinda sore and lost flexibility. so at address my shoulder was in and back as opposed to hanging. (hard to describe). so on my shots when i extended i became closer to the ball and hit everthing off the hosel.

There are a handful of folks on this board who are fitness junkies, something I'm aspiring to be. Perhaps one of them can suggest something you can do for a few minutes every few days to keep your shoulder in better shape to make a repeat of this less likely (whether soreness is on or off the course)?

[Roody]

To take a quote from a movie:

"Why do we fall?"
"So we can pick ourselves back up"

In golf, you're going to fall a lot before you get it right. This past season was a bit frustrating for me. You see, two seasons ago I started working out and doing a lot of flexibility training before it began. I also took some lessons before the season as well. I had a break out year. I gained a ton of distance on my drives, and lowered my handicap to 13 (from 20).

In early winter of 2007, I trained some, but probably not as hard as the season before. I went into spring with high expectations. I was ready to lower my handicap to 10 or better. I pretty much expected to.

As you can probably guess, I was in for a rude awakening. Not only did I not lower my handicap, I struggled to keep it at 13. And as you can see from my profile on the side, I ended the season at 15. Not terrible, but not what I was hoping would happen. And to add injury to insult, I broke my right index finger in October of this year, and had to hang up the clubs a couple weeks earlier than I probably would have liked.

So what am I doing about it now? I joined a gym three weeks ago. I'm dedicating myself to doing a LOT more cardio than I've ever done, and to working on exercises to strengthen my core. And once the season gets closer again, I'm going to call my pro and schedule some more lessons.

The final thing I'm going to do is change my attitude. This past summer I focused way too much on the results. And that only lead me to getting frustrated when I didn't achieve them. I'm going back to having fun on the golf course first, and the results will take care of themselves.

So, in other words, don't give up. Golf is the best game on the planet.

[pom]

i have decided to stick with golf. i went back to the basics to see what was wrong. turns out that my shoulder was kinda sore and lost flexibility. so at address my shoulder was in and back as opposed to hanging. (hard to describe). so on my shots when i extended i became closer to the ball and hit everthing off the hosel.

Next time your feeling down go watch some of the pro,s playing . don,t worry about the good shots watch for the bad ones They have some shockers too .gives you a whole new perspective on the game.

P.S. I was feeling the same way not long ago ,still playing,I,m HOOKED

[thumper07]

If you don't have any talent this game will drive you to insanity

not true, i actually believe I have no talent and i work toward my swing and groove it because i worked at it, not because i was born to swing a golf club. last year i got the shanks for about 2 months and thought of quitting but i kept telling myself that if i figured this out it would be one more thing about the golf swing i would know and it would make me a better golfer. jim thorpre said one of my favorite quotes, "you learn nothing from a perfect swing, only the bad ones you have to learn from." also if you ask tiger if he thinks he naturally talented he will tell you he is NOT, he works to be as good as he is, and one day i can say the same(hopefully ). -matt

[Shindig]

jim thorpre said one of my favorite quotes, "you learn nothing from a perfect swing, only the bad ones you have to learn from."

Jim Thorpe produces many great quotes. One of the first interviews with a pro I ever read was his "My Shot" article back in mid 06.

also if you ask tiger if he thinks he naturally talented he will tell you he is NOT, he works to be as good as he is, and one day i can say the same(hopefully

Someone had a quote in their profile, and I think I read it elsewhere too, about Tiger telling (I think it was) Daly something like "If I had your talent, I'd skip a practice round for a beer, too."

[thumper07]

Jim Thorpe produces many great quotes. One of the first interviews with a pro I ever read was his "My Shot" article back in mid 06.

yeah it was in john daly's book, he asked tiger why he worked so hard(about going to the gym) tiger said "if i had half the talent you have i wouldn't have too." but yeah i think it is a great mind set to have. i think it makes you appreciate good shots more and understand bad shots if you think like you work at golf as opposed to believing you are naturally talented. -matt

[jaragon126]

Hey denver,
Don't give up man ... golf is a very humbling sport!

My advice is take a lesson or two ... it's well worth it. I am about a 7 handicap and I still take a lesson every year or so ... there's ALWAYS something to work on.

Don't be discouraged if you take a lesson & things don't work out either ... there are many different instructors with many different teaching methods.

[BrandX-]

Heck, every couple of months or so I wonder what I'm doing playing this stupid game, only to keep plugging away and learning to love it all over again.

Even now, when I take my dog for a run at a local field I chip a few balls around with my sand wedge or pitching wedge, just to keep my swing grooved. Of course the dog goes nuts because she doesn't know which ball to retrieve; she picks one up, drops it and heads for another..

I quit playing tennis a awhile ago after playing NORCAL-B tournaments for many years, never winning one, always advancing a couple rounds, then getting beat. I realized then at my age (54) I was way past my peak for singles and didn't have the legs anymore. I won't make the same mistake with Golf... To much fun and let's face it, you're playing against yourself.. Enjoy the beauty of the golf course, the good shots you hit, and learn from the bad ones...

[wera44]

Glad I found this thread even if it is old. I had taken some time off of the game after getting to a 13.3 index once we had our 2nd child and man I'm struggling. Today was the first time I can ever remember quitting a round and going home. I'm scheduled to see an instructor this week that I have worked a few times within the last month he basically has me working on a stronger grip that has me hitting hooks if I don't get the lower body turned to square the face up and I'm a very handsy player anyway. I hope my mojo comes back soon! Its had for me to play and not play well. I'm not the type who can go out there and "just have fun if I'm playing poorly". One of my playing partners told me today "relax and just have fun". My response was have you ever felt like you had a good round? to which he said no and I told him I have and I think that's the difference. If you have played well in the past its hard to accept playing poorly.

[stealthhwk]

Good luck with any of you at quitting golf. Ive been trying to quit golf for about 15 years. Only thing I suck at more than golf...is quitting golf!!! Its an incredibly frustrating game but when you figure out what ails you, start puring the ball, and sinking putts, its TONS of fun! Until of course you start sucking again...which apparently is how this silly game works. I cant help but wonder if this is why the Scots gave us scotch. They probably needed a terribly stiff drink to cope with golf! Best of luck and hopefully, none of us quit!!

[BrofessionalGolfer]

I find myself going into a round loving golf and usually by hole 14 or 15, quitting is the only thing on my mind. It's led me to hitting the 19th hole rather early...

[stealthhwk]

1 hour ago, BrofessionalGolfer said:

I find myself going into a round loving golf and usually by hole 14 or 15, quitting is the only thing on my mind. It's led me to hitting the 19th hole rather early...

LOL!!! Spoken like a true golfer!!!!

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, BrofessionalGolfer said:

I find myself going into a round loving golf and usually by hole 14 or 15, quitting is the only thing on my mind. It's led me to hitting the 19th hole rather early...

That explains why you only need 13 holes to post a score to GHIN. . .

[Buckeyebowman]

On 1/7/2008 at 6:24 AM, pom said:

Next time your feeling down go watch some of the pro,s playing . don,t worry about the good shots watch for the bad ones They have some shockers too .gives you a whole new perspective on the game.

P.S. I was feeling the same way not long ago ,still playing,I,m HOOKED

Good point! At the U.S. Open at Merion some guy hit a dead shank on a par 3! I forget who it was, but when I saw the shot I said to myself, "Holy crap! He shanked it!" A few seconds later, the announcer said, "Wow! That was a shank!" So, even the pros do it now and then! No doubt, this game will keep you humble.

A reply on the first page said that golf is a hard game to learn, let alone master! I have news. NO ONE has ever mastered any sport that humans play! Superstar hitters in baseball, who are paid millions of dollars a year, fail 7 out of 10 times! Some NBA players might shoot a high percentage of free throws, but nobody gets anywhere near those numbers for field goals. NFL quarterbacks fall far short of hitting 100% completions on their passes. The best bowlers in the world don't roll 300 every game.

So, don't be so hard on yourself. Yes you need to find out what's causing the shanks, and it was probably a good thing that you terminated the practice session. If you keep doing the same wrong things, they could become permanent.

[hlan]

How long have you played golf in total?

[wera44]

I played on my high school team but that was almost 30 years ago. I would say I got the bug bad again 3 years ago, played for a year or so (112 rounds) mostly 9 holes after work then took a break from it when my second son was born. Been back at it a heavy for a few months now.