We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Groove a bad swing?

blugold

blugold

Autobots, ROLL OUT!
Albatross 2024 Club
Joined
Oct 20, 2010
Messages
63,192
Reaction score
16,359
Location
Appleton, WI
Handicap
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
As I am thinking about it. Would you as an amateur golfer rather have a swing with flaws that is almost second nature. Have that swing grooved where you can go out an shoot 80 every round and be happy with consistent scores.

Or would you rather have a more technically sound swing that may give a variance of scores but could potentially get you close to par every few rounds?

I would prefer the latter.
 
Arent there other choices? What about the grooved swing that has flaws that can still shoot par?
 
I'll take option 1. From there I can work on the short game stuff to get down low.
 
I play it safe and would take the consistant 80's swing. Seems like more fun to be had when you are consistantly in the low 80's as opposed to hitting triple digits every now and then
 
JB said:
Arent there other choices? What about the grooved swing that has flaws that can still shoot par?
Click to expand...

That is another hypothetical. But for the case of my thought process, I chose the two options on purpose.
 
I tend to think the first one is the only realistic option for me, though even that seems like a stretch. My flaws seem to introduce inconsistency by nature.
 
My swing has plenty of flaws and I still can't shoot 80 every time out. Would love to be able to do that. I think if Furyk can make it work with his swing, then I won't worry too much about mine.
 
I choose the first, I'd rather have a more comfortable swing.
 
JB said:
Arent there other choices? What about the grooved swing that has flaws that can still shoot par?
Click to expand...

This would be my choice
 
gr8dryv said:
I'll take option 1. From there I can work on the short game stuff to get down low.
Click to expand...

That's not the point though. The point is that low 80s is your max potential in this hypothetical. Even with however much short game work you put in, you will never go lower than 80
 
Good question. If the goal is to groove the technically sound swing so that I can get close to par on a consistent basis, then I choose option B.
 
I would take option 1. I would be very happy to shoot low 80's anywhere I played.
 
Let me groove MY swing, not somebody else's idea of what a swing should be. It doesn't have to be perfect, just consistent. From there you can set a baseline and play based on it, you'll know what to expect from your swing. There's no reason a technically imperfect swing can't shoot low scores.
 
blugold said:
That's not the point though. The point is that low 80s is your max potential in this hypothetical. Even with however much short game work you put in, you will never go lower than 80
Click to expand...

That is an unfair hypothetical. Why couldn't an imperfect swing shoot low numbers? As long as it's "grooved", that implies consistency. That's all any of us needs to shoot low, to know what to expect from our swing. So why would this swing be unable to go lower than the low 80's?
 
When I was only playing 1-2 times a year I was perfectly content shooting in the 90s. I had a bad swing and would have certainly been happy with low 80s. Option 1 would have worked great for me.

I'm happy enough shooting in the low 80s now, but I definitely want option 2. I want to keep improving, I want to have things to work towards. Sometimes I have blowup holes and blowup rounds and other times I play out of my mind. At a minimum option 2 is more interesting.
 
blugold said:
As I am thinking about it. Would you as an amateur golfer rather have a swing with flaws that is almost second nature. Have that swing grooved where you can go out an shoot 80 every round and be happy with consistent scores.

Or would you rather have a more technically sound swing that may give a variance of scores but could potentially get you close to par every few rounds?

I would prefer the latter.
Click to expand...

If it were a possibility, I'd go with the occasional brilliance. I just don't see how the technically sound swing could go off the rails that much.
Hell, I've got a grooved bad swing that lets me shoot between 75 and 90 this year, so I'm LIVING option 1.

If you're close to par every few rounds, how much variance can there be? Worst case, I'd take par every 10 rounds, sure. Even if the others were 90s. But I find that unlikely, and it would probably get me shot as a sandbagger if I trotted out 72 during a one-day event.
 
JB said:
Arent there other choices? What about the grooved swing that has flaws that can still shoot par?
Click to expand...

This is me. My swing is my swing and it is not the swing many teachers would teach, but after playing for 40 years now, it is mine and I make it work. Many may think I'm nuts, but I'm also playing my best right now in over two years with a mixed bag of old clubs. My index was on a up hill climb ever since I had to change my style to fit the new groove irons and wedges. I'm back to old grooves with old clubs and playing great. May sound crazy, but it is what it is. I still love Callaway and have plenty of there clubs sitting around, but the ball has no idea what brand or age the club is, nor does it care.
 
rbarthle17 said:
Let me groove MY swing, not somebody else's idea of what a swing should be. It doesn't have to be perfect, just consistent. From there you can set a baseline and play based on it, you'll know what to expect from your swing. There's no reason a technically imperfect swing can't shoot low scores.
Click to expand...

This^^^^have a look at some video of folks like Lee Trevino, Arnold Palmer and Jim Furyk. These guy's have done very well with their "unconventional" swing styles and have had many sub 80 rounds.
So I will have to choose option #1...............hypothetically speaking..........
 
I'd rather have a technically sound swing. You would know your flaws and how to fix vs hoping. But the other option is more realistic.
 
Harvey Penick wrote in his Little Read Book. Beware of the player with a bad grip and a bad swing. If he's reached your level he has grooved his faults and knows how to score.

I'll take a grooved swing over the perfect swing. You still have to putt the ball in the hole. A perfect swing can still be held back by spotty putting (Sergio, Bo VanPelt)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top