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I just dont know what to do anymore

You've got to do something that makes the game fun again. Shred the mental scorecard for a couple of rounds. Play a scramble. Do a round of best ball with a friend. Heck, do a round of Best Ball against yourself.

Lastly, I'm going to share a tip I got from my coach about hand tension. I don't know why it stuck in my head, or popped up just now, but I'm reminded of it, and why it's affected my game when I couldn't hit a ball before the turf with an iron. Ron said, "You've got an interlocking grip, so your right pinkie finger can affect everything. Focus on relaxing your right pinkie finger." It did a lot to help keep my hands relaxed, and it's silly, like a pea under a pile of mattresses. Such a tiny thing. But when you can let everything else flow, and just stay relaxed, it can all work out.

Somewhere in 20 years I'm sure you got the gross movements of a good swing pretty well grooved. It's a matter of relaxing your hands, checking your posture with every swing, and being able to smile a little bit again.

Good luck, Rollin. And even if you hang it up, stick around. I enjoy your golfing philosophy, honestly. You've got a very cerebral approach to the game, which I like...but sometimes you just gotta let it go, and have fun making a little white golf ball fly a long way.
 
**** Rollin, you are just in a slump buddy. It happens to everyone. You think you will do bad, so you do bad. The reason is that negative thoughts are distracting you. I think you are probably going out every time wondering why you aren't playing better. And the frustration just builds. Here is what I am doing, and maybe it will help you too. First, I am never going to be a pro at this. Or even really good. And that's okay! It's not about shooting 70 or 80. It's about being on the course, enjoying time with friends, and being thankful for the time you can spend doing what you enjoy. When you hit a bad shot, tell yourself "this game is hard, but I love the challenge". It's not about the score, Rollin. It's about enjoying this amazing game. If you want to get better, give yourself 5 years. And remember this...

Happiness is a journey, not a destination. And this absolutely applies to golf. Go out and play. Hit one in the water? Heck, get another ball and try again! Have a crappy bunker shot? Try it again. There is no pressure. It's just a game. Enjoy every minute. Don't turn it into a negative. Have a 5 year plan. That makes the next round insignificant in the big picture.

There's no hurry to get better buddy. Enjoy the ride. And when you hit a great shot, smile and move on. There are many more to come in the next 5 years! Who cares about the not so great ones?

If none of this helps you can always buy new equipment! Lol just kidding! Take care buddy! You got this!
 
fupresti said:
Dude. You need to step away from the game. Come back when its something fun to do.
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its not so much about stepping away till its fun again. It would be more about stepping away (if I do) to take a break and hopefully start striking the ball again. Lets face it. We do imo have to strike some balls to have some fun. We don't have to golf real well to have fun but we do have to play some sort of decent golf to some degree. I don't care what anyone might think they would say about having fun. Its just not going to be real fun not hitting barely but a few balls. It doesn't mean I didn't laugh today during the round because I did. But golfing that badly to that degree in itself was not really fun.
 
I say forget the range. We dont have one at my course and kind of glad we dont, i do better by playing, not trying to achieve the perfect swing. Play with what God gave you. To much emphasis on perfect swings these days as well as the need for a swing coach. We are not pros nor ever will. Get three good buddies play scramble, tell jokes and have a good time. Male bondage at its highest level. See the ball, watch the ball and hit the ball. My best friend has had two tumors removed from his brain in the last 3 weeks, he came to the course the other day and rode 9 holes with us, i played my normal game, bad, he was with us and that is what mattered. Enjoy your surroundings and dont put so much pressure on yourself, its a great game. Good luck.

Sent from my Motorola Electrify using Tapatalk 2
 
Paladin said:
You've got to do something that makes the game fun again. Shred the mental scorecard for a couple of rounds. Play a scramble. Do a round of best ball with a friend. Heck, do a round of Best Ball against yourself.

Lastly, I'm going to share a tip I got from my coach about hand tension. I don't know why it stuck in my head, or popped up just now, but I'm reminded of it, and why it's affected my game when I couldn't hit a ball before the turf with an iron. Ron said, "You've got an interlocking grip, so your right pinkie finger can affect everything. Focus on relaxing your right pinkie finger." It did a lot to help keep my hands relaxed, and it's silly, like a pea under a pile of mattresses. Such a tiny thing. But when you can let everything else flow, and just stay relaxed, it can all work out.

Somewhere in 20 years I'm sure you got the gross movements of a good swing pretty well grooved. It's a matter of relaxing your hands, checking your posture with every swing, and being able to smile a little bit again.

Good luck, Rollin. And even if you hang it up, stick around. I enjoy your golfing philosophy, honestly. You've got a very cerebral approach to the game, which I like...but sometimes you just gotta let it go, and have fun making a little white golf ball fly a long way.
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"Thanks Pally" (as the way Dean martin would have said it) LOL
Thanks for the whole post. The best ball with myself is funny because truthfully there were none. lol but that's how bad it was. But I am laughing. Thanks for the support and kind comment. Appreciated.
Thanks to you all for the great support thus far, I know its not just words and is meant with sincere thoughts to help. All are very much appreciated
 
rollin said:
This made me laugh and feel better.
laughter is a great thing. But really thanks for the thoughts. I am listening.
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I am glad you laughed, but I wasn't joking in the bolded part I posted 3 rounds over 100 and two were over 110. The golf was ugly but the range was beautiful before each round and even after the terrible round saturday in which I went through two buckets after the round to "fix"/"find" my swing again only to loose it on the course sunday again.

Last year I took 5 lessons and went from a 21hc(beginning) to a 28hc(end of season) thats right I went from a 90's shooter to a player who couldn't break 100 and struggled to keep it under 110. So yeah I have been where you are in your game, I haven't played as long as you but I had that terrible devastating yr last season. This year I will not allow that to happen and neither should you if you choose to stick with the game. My plan of attack is to work my tail off at the range to make a repeatable swing(dime size wear spot on irons), but when I set foot on the course to just trust my swing once I step up to the ball. I can have all the crazy thoughts I want until I step up to the ball then they must go away, also no more double checking or triple checking alignment and shuffling into position. I will now pick my line, set up and pull the darn trigger(swing) and if it doesn't feel right or I am unsure I will step away from the ball reassess the shot step up and swing.
 
archery68 said:
I say forget the range. We dont have one at my course and kind of glad we dont, i do better by playing, not trying to achieve the perfect swing. Play with what God gave you. To much emphasis on perfect swings these days as well as the need for a swing coach. We are not pros nor ever will. Get three good buddies play scramble, tell jokes and have a good time. Male bondage at its highest level. See the ball, watch the ball and hit the ball. My best friend has had two tumors removed from his brain in the last 3 weeks, he came to the course the other day and rode 9 holes with us, i played my normal game, bad, he was with us and that is what mattered. Enjoy your surroundings and dont put so much pressure on yourself, its a great game. Good luck.

Sent from my Motorola Electrify using Tapatalk 2
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I hear ya. and I wish your friend well.
I actually played my horrible round today with one of the guys (all strangers to me) but one had one arm. His right arm missing from the elbow down. This guy hit one arm/hand and he was unbelievable good. He was "long and straight". From driver and down thru chipping with great touch and also great putting. It was really unbelievable. It actually helped remind myself its only a game and he really was really that good.
 
rollin said:
"Thanks Pally" (as the way Dean martin would have said it) LOL
Thanks for the whole post. The best ball with myself is funny because truthfully there were none. lol but that's how bad it was. But I am laughing. Thanks for the support and kind comment. Appreciated.
Thanks to you all for the great support thus far, I know its not just words and is meant with sincere thoughts to help. All are very much appreciated
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Hey, don't sweat it. What I meant was just another way to shred the scorecard you keep in your brain. Hit two balls from everywhere. Always play the better ball.

Also, find some way to listen to music while you do it. Here's one for the playlist:

 
I have had struggles at time when i do for an extended period i take a lesson and try to refocus my practice
 
Paladin said:
Hey, don't sweat it. What I meant was just another way to shred the scorecard you keep in your brain. Hit two balls from everywhere. Always play the better ball.

Also, find some way to listen to music while you do it. Here's one for the playlist:

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Hey you stole that from my avatar.
Great classic song choice. And also very fitting :)
 
rollin, new hear on THP, but I work at a GG in St Louis, where are avg handicap we deal with is around 19. I see what you are going thru a lot in the store. you are a natural range player, most are, hell, you can't lose a ball and all the shots look pretty good. Taking it to the course is sometimes difficult...and alot of times the mentality is cruel and brutal. Expectations SUCK..don't have any...take it shot by shot and commit to each shot WITHOUT being concerned with the outcome, just make your best swing.
Next round, let someone else keep score, don't keep track of yours. NEVER worry about where you don't want to hit the ball, aim where you want to go and deal with the outcome. You are PRESSING yourself way to hard...you see the results from the lessons and you feel confident when you are there with the instructor, since he will FIX you if you mess up the swing. TRUST yourself...you have PROVEN you can hit the ball well in your range sessions.

Here is a great way for you to practice...next time out at the range, get a 70 ball bucket. Warm up with 20 balls, all clubs hit a couple of times. Preferably from a grass range, choose an area for the First Fairway and start playing 9 holes you know well in your range session. Hit a drive...was is good, avg, great, mediocre? Choose what club to hit next...aim SOMEWHERE ELSE that looks like the yardage...hit it there. Continue from there. Should have a few balls to work on some shots when you have finished your round.

Golf can be frustrating, hell, spelled backwards it is FLOG!! Abuse I tell you! LOL!.. Trust me...take it a shot at a time, find the positives, and really...DON'T care about the outcome of the shot...care about making the free and easy swing you do on the range.

Hope that helps...

dscvrr
 
many others have said it in different ways already, but I wholeheartedly agree with the concept of making it fun again. Whatever it takes to make it fun, do that. If it's time off, if it's new playing partners, if it's a different scotch before the round, whatever. Heck, you could always come play a round with me. I can almost *guarantee* that I will have at least one bad shot that beats all of your bad shots in the bad shot contest ;)
 
Make the game fun again. My rounds with my 8 year old daughter have taught me a lot about how fun golf can be - I have hit some of my best shots while being totally distracted by her antics. A little time spent with a couple of good golf books can't hurt either. I would start with Harvey's "Little Red Book", "Golf is Not a Game of Perfect" by Bob Rotella, and "The Inner Game of Golf; to name a few.
 
I've been there man, many times. I have given the game up in disgust more times than I care to remember. Long story short, I tried many times to play golf the conventional way, but I could never keep it together for more than a few shots. My usual shot was a slice, with every club, in the bag. I quit playing altogether for a few years. Then in 1995 I read the Golf Digest article about Moe Norman. Something in that article resonated with me. Now before this starts to sound like an infomercial, I don't agree with all the methodologies that have been based on Moe Norman's swing, but a couple things in that article completely changed the game for me. One was gripping the club in the palm of my right hand, and other was what they called "facing the ball at impact" (e.g. not spinning my hips). Doing these two things my hopeless slice was gone and I could hit the ball pretty straight, in the matter of a few minutes, literally. I could go on and on, but I have horrible keyboard skills, and it would take me forever to truly describe what these simple things have done for my game. I'm not saying this is the best thing for you, or anyone else, just throwing it out there for what its worth. If you want to know more let me know and I'll be happy to try and describe it as best I can.
 
Golf is one of the hardest games to play for sure. I understand where you are coming from, taken time off and now I am paying the price. Very inconsistent when I was striking them like no tomorrow and shooting in the 80's a few years back now it's 90's-100. Just stick with it, I have been reviewing my favourite holders swings and taking pointers. But taking slow steps in key I believe in order to achieve your goal. It will come back eventually. Just believe


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rollin, I have been where you are now, golf became more work for me than a fun exercise. You have to do what is best for you, if that means taking a break then do that, if it means less practice then do that. When on course results are not meeting your expectations the game is not fun, yes we all have periods playing this game that are frustrating when we shoot poor scores based on our abilities, that is part of the mystery of playing golf. I have been playing since the mid 70's and actually quit golf for 2 extended periods, the first was for 5 years, the second was for 3 years. Honestly I did not miss the game during those times, but eventually I came back. I play less these days, basically once a week, living in Canada I get forced to take a break during the winter so when I can play now I look forward to the opportunity. I wish you good luck in whatever you choose to do.
 
Lots of good advice on here especially the round-with-instructor, and the try to have fun and relax posts. That said, we _all_ know how hard it is to relax and have fun when you're not hitting the ball.

I'm a novice, but here is a suggestion that a PGA teaching pro friend of mine gave me to help get my mind clear, and it works really well. What he told me was if I'm not hitting the ball well, and I'm getting frustrated, to try different shots when they aren't needed. For example, hit your tee shot. You're in the open? Hit a low punch anyway, as if you were under some low branches. Have a full 9 iron in? Choke down on an 8 instead. Have a 5 wood left to the green and a good shot will get there? Pretend there's water, and lay up instead.

The idea here is that since you're purposely choosing a shot that isn't the best theoretical option for scoring, you're not going to sweat the result so much. Just swing. he was much more eloquent with this than I was here, but you get the idea. If this seems silly to you, hey, at least I tried :) But seriously, this really helped me to relax and just swing the club.
 
You may not be a world class golfer but you're a world class fighter Rollin, you just kicked your own ass all over the ring lol but you need to get up one more time!

Don't be so hard on yourself dude, anyone that devotes that much time to playing and improving truly has a passion that most would die for, but I can feel how tense you are playing just from reading your post, Relax a little, take it a shot at a time, but never give up. I have been there and wanted to just walk away many times but the love for the game kept calling me back. The best advice I ever received when going through it was to work on ball striking for a couple months with just wedges and the putter around the practice green, create games with yourself, try to hole them out, and most of all try to hit the center of the face very time. What it did was took a ton of pressure off me to be better for a while and surprisingly the short game work made me a lot better, I was able to hit the sweet spot much more often, the soft touch around the greens helped me on full swings to relax.

I don't have the answers for you buddy but I do know how frustrated this game can make you and I can only compare it to my own struggles which were terrible. Don't stop, never stop Rollin. I'll say one more thing than leave you alone lol, if you shot in the 80s you are in a low percentage of golfers in the world, very few of us ever see anything below the 90s buddy and you have achieved a goal most dream of.

take a week off and get back to it, those wedges are going to be waiting for you.
 
I went through all of this myself at some point, but I accepted the fact thirty years ago that Arnie & Jack I will never be. Way too many players set the bar too high for themselves. Millions of people could spend 70 hours a week on the range, 52 weeks a year and still only ever be a 15 handicap. Golf is hard in many ways. The Tiger's and Phil's are one in twenty million. 10 to 20 handicappers outnumber single digit players 20 to 1. Just the way it is. In accepting this fact, I set 80 to 85 as my happy rounds. Anything lower is great and anything higher is no big deal in the big picture that is life.
 
Sometimes we think too much, at least I do. Rollin, I see your posts on THP and it is evident how much you like the game. It would be a shame to give it up. I have no real advice, except maybe to try and clear your mind of thinking about scoring, or mechanics, and just swing. Play with guys whose company you enjoy, and let golf be an afterthought.

Good luck, and don't give up.
 
You go to the first tee with negativity in your mind your round is shot. You will spend the whole round saying to yourself "why can I do it on the range but not on the course" and then you fight to duplicate your range sessions during your round.

Been there done that. It takes the enjoyment out of the game when you are more worried about trying to golf the way you know you should be instead of just letting it fly.
After all your years of golf and practice it's not your swing its the mass between the ears.

Before your next round you should not practice. No range, no videos, magazines, nothing.
Get on first tee with a clear mind and let it rip.
 
TO me it sounds like it's in your head. My suggestion ... GET AWAY from your instructor (he's not with you when you're playing - you need to figure it out on your own). You need to spend a couple nice quiet soul searching range sessions by yourself. Start out with half swings - ramp it up only when you're hitting it consistently. If you're anything like me, nothing good happens when I try to swing like Dustin Johnson ... swing with a SMOOTH tempo - meaning just swing easy (most teacher won't ever say this, because most try to build players to have swings that look like Rory). If you make consistent contact, your distance will be just fine. I know it's frustrating to get in a funk, but everybody goes through this - I'm working my way out of a short iron/wedge funk - a couple range sessions, and I'm almost back. Golf is too much fun to even consider giving up ... just dig some dirt alone, and figure it out.

Last thing ... if I were going through what you are, I would book a tee time when my course was totally empty, and would play alone. I would dedicate myself to every shot, methodically ... NOT HURRIED which messes me up sometimes when Im playing on a busy day with a crowded course. If you mess up a shot, hit another one. And maybe another one - who cares, nobody should be behind you & you can work it out AT YOUR OWN PACE.
 
Sounds rough man, but it also sounds like its all mental. If thats the case I dont know if all the range sessions or lessons are going to do much, you just need to not let so much run through your head when you are playing.
 
rollin said:
I don't want to hate this game. I love this game. I always said on this forums many times that if golf is no longer enjoyable that it is not worth playing.
It is so very frustrating when you put in more than ever before to a highest degree you can and only to find it not paying off. It may sound strange but its much more about the efforts amounting to nothing that is what is so upsetting. I have been so dedicated and focused and even obsessed with this. Been patient as heck and really wanted more out of my game. May be I been putting in too much and trying too hard if there is such a thing. I don't really ant to hang it up. Deep inside I want to golf tomorrow mroning but I also want to see my efforts offer some reward. May be stepping away will do some good. I don't know
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Rollin, Two ideas, if you haven't already tried them.

Do you have one or two clubs that you hit more consistently than others? If so, use them. Use them when you normally wouldn't. Leave any clubs which are particularly difficult out of the bag so there is no temptation to use them. Play the clubs that you have the most confidence in, even if they may not always be the right club for a particular shot. Try and get some confidence back into your on course swing.

Practice short game. Get your chipping and pitching and putting in order. Knowing that you aren't dead when you miss some greens in regulation takes a lot of pressure off your long game. I have never had a great long game, but my real problem right now is a rusty short game, because I've played so little over the last 2 years. My first round this year I shot 103 on my home course, the same course where 3 years ago I shot 6 rounds in the 70's. I played 2 more rounds while I was back in the states in March, and both were on more difficult courses and both scores were better (88 and 93), because the short game started to wake up.

I also started playing shots with the clubs that seem to have the least rust, thus they inspired more confidence. I would play a half swing with my 25° hybrid rather than use the 5I or sometimes even the 6I. I just wasn't hitting the irons as solidly, in that first round in particular, so I was better off not using them if I didn't have to.

Just try and relax and swing the club, forget score and focus on each shot as an individual goal.
 
rollin said:
Well, all I know is that I hit like a friggin single digit capper with my instructor and also on most range sessions. But with the exception of a round here and there it has been a disaster for two friggin seasons now.
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Your post really resonates with me. I often joke with my instructor that I just need enough money to have him stand next to me forever because whenever he's in my presence I stripe the ball like nobody's business. He sees me accept coaching, improve literally within a couple of minutes of his instruction, proceed to hit shot after shot beautifully and thinks I've got enough talent to be in a particular handicap range. Any number of THPrs who have played with me would choke on their breakfasts at that thought, given the ugliness they saw when playing with me. I'm not saying that lightly - I can really hack it around. The two extremes I'm capable of is extremely frustrating.

I don't know the answer to this one. What I can say is my better rounds have some things in common, and nearly all of it is between the ears. When I play better I have virtually zero swing thoughts, I'm extremely focused on only the shot in front of me, I don't think about the overall score and I am seriously focused on course management - always thinking about where I want my miss to be (I think the course management leads to easier shots which minimizes the need to have swing thoughts). I suspect some of us put too much pressure on ourselves and clog our minds with too many thoughts; we need to simplify in order to perform.

I do not think you should quit. Understand that if you can stripe it on the range YOU CAN play the game. I suggest you work on mental game and learning a way to focus only on your next shot (not swing thoughts or the overall score). You can do it.
 
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