golferbabu

An update: I battled the hitch with futility for about a week or so with worse and worse results. I finally gave up hitting any thing longer than a four iron for a full 18 hole round for the better part of about a week and a half (about 4-5 rounds for me). I slowly started introducing the longer clubs (starting with driver) back into my game with limited and sporadic success. Somehow in this go around as of about a week ago I have managed to shake off the hitch completely and am now hitting it as well as I expect again and am thrilled to do so. (My drives average about 240 yds, with longer ones anywhere from 255-295 if I really go after it and hit a big draw like I am trying to do). My advice to anyone else battling this is to try to get over it mentally without swinging a club, which is what I did and it seems to have helped!

Update, I have been golfing regularly for several years now, my handicap is back down to around 12 (immediate goal is to be single digit). As of the last several weeks this malady has reared its ugly head again! I just went on google to see if I could find something and guess where the first hit lead me?! The problem with this issue is that the harder I fight it the worse it is. Went to the range yesterday and barely paused with any club even the driver. Was hitting everything well and the driver way long. Played nine this morning and I got away with the lack of a driver tee game for a bit, even managed to string together four par's thanks to decent second shots and up & downs. Last two holes I became unhinged one of those with a driver on the tee. Have a tournament this weekend and playing a casual round at a lovely track tomorrow morning - dreading the thought of having to deal with this again... :(

80 - So close to breaking the barrier!!! Front nine 42: One chip in birdie on starting hole par 5 10th hole (played back nine first), one triple. Back nine 38: Chip in birdie, one double. Three putted once as well as missed several other short putts for par. Not bad for a 14-15 handicap (current handicap 15.8), too bad my best round of the year came 10 days into the off-season. Previous best this season was 84. Tees played: White - 6342 (70.2/126)

95 on Friday, 90 on Saturday and 92 today in a tournament. Same course same tees. Timberlin GC, Berlin CT. Each round is the same, lots of good holes with a bad hole or two or three each side. I can feel myself very slowly turning into a consistent 80's shooter. My best round this season is an 83 even that featured a triple and least a couple of doubles!!

Best advice I agree is there is no strict rule, a beginner can play with any level of people as long as they know basic etiquette and know when to pick up so they don't hold other players up on the golf course.

Had a break through round of sorts today: 42-44, 86. Just one really bad hole a triple. But also had three birdies and I don't think I had made more than one birdie in a round in a very long time. Weird thing is it didn't feel like I even did anything spectacular. Even the GHIN app was a bit confused, got a message saying this round is outside the golfers normal range...lol. Hope this wasn't an anomaly, playing in a men's club tournament tomorrow. Can't wait to see what I shoot a day after the best round of the season. Not expecting another three birdie round but I would like to at least break ninety again... P.S.: my GHIN has updated to a 19.9 this month so my goal of being a sub 18 handicap seems to be on track and within reach.

Thanks folks some good advice, most of my meltdowns are actually after the tee shot. My biggest weakness right now is my 100-40 yd game. I have issues getting consistent contact and distance with my sand wedge. Either I hit it fat and block it right 20-40% short or I will skull it over the green into trouble. I did it again yesterday, played 18 holes for a 94. If you can believe it that included 2 quads, a triple and a double. So I went 13 over thru just 4 holes and 9 over through the remaining 14. Missed two makable birdie putts in there as well. I just need to be more consistent and cut down on the blow ups...

So close that I can smell it! Okay so my index is 21.3. My last ten or so rounds are consistently in the 90's. The problem is that I know my game is that of a 12-15 handicapper. I keep having 1-2 meltdowns per nine that are keeping me from my goal. Case in point, played a quick nine after work yesterday, went 3 over through 6 holes and 5 over on two (a double and triple). The pattern repeats its self over 18 as well. I shot a 92 the other day with two 8's on the scorecard! So frustrating yet at the same time I am happy knowing that my game overall has improved leaps and bounds this season. At my previous best I got my number down to a 12 so I know I have the potential. Also I don't obsess over my score when playing, in fact I don't even like to know what I shot at the turn. Any tips on how to help get over the occasional bad hole or rather avoid it so I can shoot the score that my game exhibits which I have been told is that of a solid mid-eighties shooter?

Not sure how you mean legal, I am a legit 22 handicap because I count every single stroke I take and assess any penalty(s) where applicable. I have played with golfers who are allegedly much better handicaps than me, but I can consistently beat them week over week. One thing I love about golf is you can fool yourself if you want to and "claim" to be a 15, but you might never putt out and take a couple of mulligans per round. I think if I was as lenient with myself my index would be about a 12 right now!

In the week prior I played 90 holes in a 7 day stretch with varying results. This past long weekend + Friday off I played every day early in the morning followed by a busy day with the family. My scores were 92,93,94 and 105! Being a 22 handicap I was convinced that after my 2nd round I would break 90 but as everyone said I think I just ran out of steam. Specially the last back nine of the last round. One day I hope to regain my former glory and shoot consistently in the 80's again! (Ironically this was with recently aerated greens, which made putting nearly impossible. The three nineties rounds could have easily been in the eighties!!).

Wow, time flies! I haven't logged into this site in what seemed a few years but it is actually 6! My hitch disappeared after life's other priorities such as kids coupled with the lack of steady employment took over. I probably didn't play for about a year or two. I started playing again around 2009 and I am at a point in my life now where I can play a bit more. My game is again a work in progress. My immediate goal is to break 100 consistently at this point. Baby steps back to being a decent 12 handicap golfer...

[QUOTE=powerfade;87129]What's the pause doing to your swing? Maybe your overall issue is tempo, not the pause? Checkout the book and CD called Tour Tempo and compare it with your swing. If your pause is overexagerated, this book/CD may help. QUOTE] Well the pause as basically ruined my swing. I lose everthing coming down, seeing your suggestions has me thinking, may be I am getting locked when I try to start my downswing hence not able to make a smooth transition. I will post a video of my swing soon for you to see...

", but... does this pause occur with shorter swings?" No actually the problem is with a full swing and more accentuated when I am on the tee..

I always seem to play better when I am playing with people that are better than me. It used not be that way, better players would intimidate me and I would try to hit the same club they used, but once I learn't how far I can hit each club and played my own game I tend not to let other people bother me whether they are superior to me or inferior in golfing ability.

From the video, your swing seems quite impressive. It is hard to see your grip, which is usually the main reason for a slice as well as not following through. But your follow through seems fine.

Long story short, I always had a slight tendency to break up my back swing and downswing, which I was able to work out of my swing over time. I was a 13 handicap very well on the way to becoming a single digit handicap with a solid all around game but losing strokes where many people of my ability do by having a bad hole here and there and three putting when I shouldn't. About 3-4 months ago I started getting stuck when I swing the club, right at the top of my back. Call it a hitch or a pause, but my swing is not one smooth motion the way it use to be and it should be. Over time the more I try to fight the urge not to do this the more pronounced it becomes. There is one exception; about two months ago I went out and played like I never had this malady, on a very windy day (the kind of wind in which you are happy to score 8-10 strokes above your norm) and I shot a 79. I started thinking that this was the end of my plight, but alas it was a mean anomaly. Until about a month ago if I could slow down my back swing and take away to a certain point and than manage to get myself into a rhythm this problem was manageable. Recently as of the last couple of rounds it has become an absolute pain. The more I fight the urge to pause the worse it gets. I have tried going to the range and doing mental exercises without a ball, without a club. Amazingly if you ask me to take a practice swing, it is perfect (relatively speaking). Lo and behold I address the golf ball and my tempo, rhythm and smoothness vanish. I am getting to the point where the game is starting to become mentally exhausting and I am about to go insane.

I have an all of sudden problem as well: an annoying swing killing hitch at the top of back swing. I cannot make a smooth transition down from the top position into the down swing. I was a solid 13 handicap before this problem developed but am now struggling to even break 90. The one day that my hitch disappeared I posted a tidy 79 on a very windy day. ANY TIPS ANYONE? Please help me.

Even if Tiger stopped playing competitively today, I would have to say that Tiger has been a more dominant golfer than Jack, Don't get me wrong Jack Nicklaus is a legend in his own right.

My home course is Chester Ditto Golf course in Arlington, TX. I don't play there very often due to bad course conditions.

I work for a consulting company in New Jersey with a major Hospitality Company.