Had a moment of clarity this morning on the course...

[Fairway_CY]

... well, it was clarity for me, anyway.  

I've been going through a slump recently.  After finally achieving a single digit index, it's been all downhill for the last 3 weeks or so.  Off the tee, I developed a quick hook that I couldn't get rid of.  Everywhere else, I've struggled to strike the ball solidly.  

On the 5th hole this morning, I was in the rough up the left hand side.  I had 193 yards to the hole and the ball was kind of sunken down a bit, but the back of the ball was exposed.  I took a few practice swings, and then it hit me that I needed to play this like a fairway bunker shot.  I needed to make sure the contact to the back of the ball was clean and that I accelerated through the ball.  I hit a low 4 iron that ran up into the green side trap.  Other than the fact that I pulled it a bit (the rough closed the club face just enough), I played it exactly as I'd wanted to.  

2 holes later, I had 130 to a flag in the back corner of the green.  This specific green is hard and the ball always releases.  Again, I was in the rough... but this one was sitting cleaner.  I had that same swing thought, playing it like it was a fairway bunker shot, and I hit a great shot with a pitching wedge that landed just shy of the pin and released to about 20 feet.  

For the rest of the round, that was my thought standing over the ball with an iron.  I've been pretty good out of fairway traps for awhile now.  I don't know why it never clicked with me before today.  I hit crisper irons today than I have for the last month.  I scored like crap (a lot of shots were going further and I was left with tough up & down chances), but... striking the ball felt good again.  

Chances are that I'll forget this again in the near future, or some other 'masterful' swing thought will take over... but, for now... at least I feel like I'm headed in the right direction.

CY

[Keith White]

I think a swing thought can often eradicate a lot of bad things.  You become more focussed because you have a specific thought and your head is dialled in so clean striking increases.  That's my theory, the mind is cleaned and the swing is natural because your tuned in.

Same thing happened on a recent lesson.  Coach told me my hands were a little too far in front of the ball and he strengthened my grip a little.  With my mind focussed on those two changes I wasn't thinking about anything else and I was completely clear in the mind, so I swung without any inhibition.  If I could keep my striking like it was on that afternoon I would bi in single figures too.

Edited September 21, 2017 by Keith White

[The Hook Meister]

The hardest swing to figure out is yours.

[Club Rat]

11 minutes ago, The Hook Meister said:

The hardest swing to figure out is yours.

I've seen a Gazillion swings I wouldn't even want to take a stab at figuring out.   
Many were even too painful to even watch.