Holding On To Good Form

[Acuna]

Loaded question and not necessarily any real answers that I know of, but here is my question:

When you get your swing where you want it, how are you able to keep it that way?

About a month ago I was swinging the club great, everything was clicking, and I was fine with all that was going on.

I practice 5 plus days a week and play a couple of times a week. Right now I feel like my swing is in shambles. Granted I have had some tweaks with my shoulder and back, but not anything that should have really hurt my form (in my opinion).

I am going to go see my pro, but thought I would just share/lament/whatever my musing, "How do you stay in the land of milk and honey, swing-wise?" It seems everyone I talk to says it comes and it goes.

Realized I have only been playing golf about 13 months (and I didn't swing a club for about three of those), so there is that, but still....

 

[Agent Jay]

That's the game Acuna, and that's part of the reason I love it. If it was all "milk and honey" all the time, then everyone would be doing it, right? Golf is a great equalizer in athletics, IMO. With that said, don't take it to hard. Just look at some of the average Tour stats, like GIR, FIR, and the such. Even the Pro's have troubles from time to time, that's why there isn't a whole bunch of guys with 59's running around.
Practice like you are, see your Pro, soak it in and watch yourself improve...but don't think for a second there isn't going to be some up's and downs from time to time, all part of the game.

 

[Acuna]

That's the game Acuna, and that's part of the reason I love it. If it was all "milk and honey" all the time, then everyone would be doing it, right? Golf is a great equalizer in athletics, IMO. With that said, don't take it to hard. Just look at some of the average Tour stats, like GIR, FIR, and the such. Even the Pro's have troubles from time to time, that's why there isn't a whole bunch of guys with 59's running around.
Practice like you are, see your Pro, soak it in and watch yourself improve...but don't think for a second there isn't going to be some up's and downs from time to time, all part of the game.

So true. Part of why I have fallen in love with the game is that it is hard and takes commitment. General forward progress is all that I need. I am just bound and determined to get "good" at this game. Will be walking nine holes before work tomorrow, hope my swing comes with me to the course!

 

[Hawk]

It's not possible I don't think. My theory is that good players just have better bad games, so it's hard to imagine they are suffering the same way. I'm sure they hate it too though.

 

[Trout Bum]

It's not possible I don't think. My theory is that good players just have better bad games, so it's hard to imagine they are suffering the same way. I'm sure they hate it too though.

Gotta agree with this 100% some peoples bad is better than most of our great. Consistency will come in time, a year is a very short period of time in golfing years. Be patient, it will come.

 

[TripleBogieTim]

That's the hardest thing for an amateur....consistency

I have days where I play and I think "damn, I finally figured it all out", I hit the ball perfectly....then I can go out the next day and can't hit anything.

 

[Acuna]

That's the hardest thing for an amateur....consistency

I have days where I play and I think "damn, I finally figured it all out", I hit the ball perfectly....then I can go out the next day and can't hit anything.

This is me. Last weekend, I played in the big spring tournament at my club. First day was best ball with my partner, the second day was a two man scramble. On Saturday it was almost like I never played before. Sunday was much better. I did do some serious bumping and running (realizing that the name of the game was lowest score and not coolest approach shot into the green), but hey we finished at +5 gross and used a lot of my shots throughout the round.

The part that really gets me going about golf are approach shots. Not long drives. Not putting. It is being 65-150 yards out and going after a flag. Now, I love the driving and the putting too. Love them a lot; but when I daydream about my game it is those second shots into the green.... Getting back to my tournament, it was fun on Sunday for me to run it up onto the green from 100 yards out and be sitting less than 20 feet from the hole (I have an innate ability to run it, I can put just the right amount of touch on it), but at the same time I sacrificed what I "wanted" to do in the name of the score. I know score is the name of the game, but it was like I was riding a moped and having fun. Sure I had fun, but I still road a moped. LOL.

 

[beeDoubleU]

This is me. Last weekend, I played in the big spring tournament at my club. First day was best ball with my partner, the second day was a two man scramble. On Saturday it was almost like I never played before. Sunday was much better. I did do some serious bumping and running (realizing that the name of the game was lowest score and not coolest approach shot into the green), but hey we finished at +5 gross and used a lot of my shots throughout the round.

The part that really gets me going about golf are approach shots. Not long drives. Not putting. It is being 65-150 yards out and going after a flag. Now, I love the driving and the putting too. Love them a lot; but when I daydream about my game it is those second shots into the green.... Getting back to my tournament, it was fun on Sunday for me to run it up onto the green from 100 yards out and be sitting less than 20 feet from the hole (I have an innate ability to run it, I can put just the right amount of touch on it), but at the same time I sacrificed what I "wanted" to do in the name of the score. I know score is the name of the game, but it was like I was riding a moped and having fun. Sure I had fun, but I still road a moped. LOL.

I wonder if there is a connection between smartcars, mopeds, links golf courses, and the European mindset.

Sent from my LG-MS770 using Tapatalk

 

[Tadashi70]

Gotta agree with this 100% some peoples bad is better than most of our great. Consistency will come in time, a year is a very short period of time in golfing years. Be patient, it will come.

Says the guy with one of the best repeatable swings I have seen. Your handicap is your mind. As good as you swing with $$$ behind you, you could play at another level. I believe that in my heart.

----------

To the OP, the best in the world can't keep their action going 20% of the time. But it's good enough to keep them relevant. It's also a case of having a repeatable positive swing.

Let's say the swing is made up of 10 parts. The top golfers can contend week in and week out with not all 10 working.

Amateurs might have 3 of the pieces needed to hit a good shot but those pieces show up even less than the pros. Plus they turn the other 7 into bad habits so when the 3 pieces they do have don't work, it all goes to sh!t.

 

[Acuna]

Says the guy with one of the best repeatable swings I have seen. Your handicap is your mind. As good as you swing with $$$ behind you, you could play at another level. I believe that in my heart.

----------

To the OP, the best in the world can't keep their action going 20% of the time. But it's good enough to keep them relevant. It's also a case of having a repeatable positive swing.

Let's say the swing is made up of 10 parts. The top golfers can contend week in and week out with not all 10 working.

Amateurs might have 3 of the pieces needed to hit a good shot but those pieces show up even less than the pros. Plus they turn the other 7 into bad habits so when the 3 pieces they do have don't work, it all goes to sh!t.

My pro and I are working on building a "simple" swing that should hopefully serve me well in this regard. Think Els, Zach Johnson, etc.

 

[Tadashi70]

My pro and I are working on building a "simple" swing that should hopefully serve me well in this regard. Think Els, Zach Johnson, etc.

Teo different swing to say the lease. Example of using the body and swing as one.

 

[Acuna]

Teo different swing to say the lease. Example of using the body and swing as one.

I guess I can't disagree. We are using the body to drive the swing, not a long backswing, really trying to get me to use the hips and not the arms to drive the swing, if that makes sense.

 

[robmypro]

That is the great challenge with golf. I was struggling with my grip for a few weeks, and like magic it completely disappeared. I cannot even figure out how to make it do what it was doing a month or so back. WTH?

 

[robmypro]

Let's say the swing is made up of 10 parts. The top golfers can contend week in and week out with not all 10 working.

Amateurs might have 3 of the pieces needed to hit a good shot but those pieces show up even less than the pros. Plus they turn the other 7 into bad habits so when the 3 pieces they do have don't work, it all goes to sh!t.

I always enjoy your motivational comments, Freddie. lol

 

[SkiBumGolfer]

Man am I familiar with this. Less than a month ago I was shooting high 80's and trending down lower, thinking I could maybe start dropping my handicap rapidly, and then it all (to use Freddie's eloquent turn of phrase) went to sh!t and now I'm flailing trying to figure out what in the bejesus happened to my long game - time to go back to the pro and get it squared away. Hell, last year I shot my career low round of 78 and the very next round was one of the worst I have ever played.

Stupid game hahahaha

 

[Acuna]

If I can get to shooting low 90s, high 80s by the end of this year I will be happy. Right now I am a upper 90s to low 100s player. A lot of that is game management (I have trouble taking my medicine), but it is also an inconsistent swing.

 

[Golf 'N Gator]

I've been playing since the early 70's and golf has always been day to day. This can even be said of the world class professionals. I'm a big fan of "swinging your swing". I have been lucky to have the same PGA Teaching Pro ever since I started and he has always taken what comes natural and making it better. I play without having to think about my swing, because it is mine and it is the same as it has always been. The tweaks along the way are just simple things like the right grip for the needed shot, posture etc. Golf is hard and for many, swinging a golf club with success is not something that comes naturally. It takes work and it takes time.

 

[Parshooter36]

One week last summer I really had my swing grooved. I was determined to keep it that way, and played every day that week to try and bottle this little bit of magic I had found.
I played really well the 1st 2 days, then I felt it slipping on the 3rd day. Each day thereafter it got progressively worse, and by the end of the week I was back to my normal swing.

 

[Tadashi70]

If I can get to shooting low 90s, high 80s by the end of this year I will be happy. Right now I am a upper 90s to low 100s player. A lot of that is game management (I have trouble taking my medicine), but it is also an inconsistent swing.

Work on your putting and short game.

 

[Acuna]

Work on your putting and short game.

Yep. And I am working on it every day. I live right on the course by the tee boxes. At least six days a week I am out back chipping and pitching working on sticking balls into the middle of the tee box. And I practice putting on a mat probably 4 days a week to work on alignment and go to the club's practice green two or three times a week to work on lag. Hope it pays off.

Actually, looking at my score cards it is my game outside of 150 yards that is giving me fits. Let's look at this morning's nine hole round for example:

Par is 35
My Score: 47

Where did the extra 12 shots come from:
I had SEVEN bad drives. That means that I missed the fairway and had to punch out or that I topped the ball and had to hit a 3H about 65-75 yards in front of the tee box.
I had FOUR missed approaches (meaning I missed the green).
I had TWO punch outs that didn't quite work out like I planned.
I found one sand trap and needed TWO shots to get out.
I had ONE three putt (I putt everything out).

Now you are probably wondering how I scored a 47 if I had the 16 extra shots I mentioned above (which would lead to a 50. Well, I had a nice chipping day and got close enough for me to make 4 one putts.

Most of my extra shots were due to bad driving, which led to longer approach shots and missed greens. If I can get withing 145 yards I get a lot more comfortable. If the lie is good I can make a smooth 7 iron or less swing and get close; if the lie is bad I can bump and run okay.

And I play from the white tees.

 

[Tadashi70]

Yep. And I am working on it every day. I live right on the course by the tee boxes. At least six days a week I am out back chipping and pitching working on sticking balls into the middle of the tee box. And I practice putting on a mat probably 4 days a week to work on alignment and go to the club's practice green two or three times a week to work on lag. Hope it pays off.

Actually, looking at my score cards it is my game outside of 150 yards that is giving me fits. Let's look at this morning's nine hole round for example:

Par is 35
My Score: 47

Where did the extra 12 shots come from:
I had SEVEN bad drives. That means that I missed the fairway and had to punch out or that I topped the ball and had to hit a 3H about 65-75 yards in front of the tee box.
I had FOUR missed approaches (meaning I missed the green).
I had TWO punch outs that didn't quite work out like I planned.
I found one sand trap and needed TWO shots to get out.
I had ONE three putt (I putt everything out).

Now you are probably wondering how I scored a 47 if I had the 16 extra shots I mentioned above (which would lead to a 50. Well, I had a nice chipping day and got close enough for me to make 4 one putts.

Most of my extra shots were due to bad driving, which led to longer approach shots and missed greens. If I can get withing 145 yards I get a lot more comfortable. If the lie is good I can make a smooth 7 iron or less swing and get close; if the lie is bad I can bump and run okay.

And I play from the white tees.

I look at this and say I need to work on tee and short game. 5 out of 9 green is good. What killed you was the extra shot back in play. Eliminate half of those or 3/4 and your score is lower. Take away a shot from trap and the three put an you sir are in the low 40s.

Key in on the tee game and wedge work around the greens

 

[Acuna]

I look at this and say I need to work on tee and short game. 5 out of 9 green is good. What killed you was the extra shot back in play. Eliminate half of those or 3/4 and your score is lower. Take away a shot from trap and the three put an you sir are in the low 40s.

Key in on the tee game and wedge work around the greens

Yup, looking over my last few score cards shows me that I am losing 4-6 shots per nine holes due to bad driving.

 

[ohio_striker]

how to hold on to your good form? hmm let me know the answer to this when you find out . haha

my advice is get some way to get your swing on video a little cam with a tripod. that way you can know what your doing when your swinging good and what your doing when swinging bad.

that and what your feel like your doing and what is actually going on is never the same.

 

[Tadashi70]

how to hold on to your good form? hmm let me know the answer to this when you find out . haha

my advice is get some way to get your swing on video a little cam with a tripod. that way you can know what your doing when your swinging good and what your doing when swinging bad.

that and what your feel like your doing and what is actually going on is never the same.

I would seek professional help before looking for what might be good or bad. Most can't pick out what is wrong or think they can and are usually way off

 

[Acuna]

I have also learned that a PW can be very effective on close chips on the green where I have a fair amount of green to work with. I don't have to try and stick a 60 deg wedge right up on the pin. I can be much more effective to use a PW from just off the green.