Can a weekend hacker ever strike consistently pure?

Luchnia · Feb 4, 2020

I was wondering if a weekend hacker such as myself will ever strike pure or at least find a "groove" on my swing? I know there is no definite answer here, yet there should be some averages to discuss - especially from those that have gotten to some reasonable consistency. This has been discussed some, but I was wondering if the guys that feel they have a grooved or consistent strike, or we can say, minimized bad strikes (if that works better) can chime in and share about this.

I really feel like after playing all of last year that my ball striking should be notably more consistent and not so much of a question of will it ever get better. Yes, it has improved, but seems at an extremely slow rate. I read posts about weekend hacks that have played for years and still cannot find consistency in ball striking and constantly working on swings and so forth. Even carpenters get better at hammering nails if they use a hammer enough. Maybe it is because we use more parts of our body to hit the golf ball and it takes so much longer to achieve consistency in striking pure.

GolfTravelDude · Feb 4, 2020

We were all weekend hackers at one point...Like anything practice improves performance...……….Proper practice.

Snickerdog · Feb 4, 2020

Yes, just a matter of time and effort you want to put into it.

DataDude · Feb 4, 2020

I doubt any golfer feels like they strike it consistently pure all the time. I think the best thing for my score finally starting to improve has been embracing my inconsistency. Instead of constantly trying to change things up to get rid of my slice and then developing a pull hook and changing things up to get rid of that, I have just said, I am sticking with this swing because it is the most consistent distance wise and ball flight wise for me. That swing hits a strait short iron and a high fade to slice with my longer clubs. Now I setup for that slice and adjust clubs to avoid trouble whenever a right miss will really hurt. This of course increases the consistency of distance off the tee which makes for better scoring. Basically quit trying to find a new swing and start using one of the ones you already have to your advantage.

Stryker · Feb 4, 2020

It helps to have lessons with a good pro. Finding a pro who will work with your swing to make improvements instead of trying to change your entire swing to replicate a random PGA player would be good. There is also a lot to be said about different teaching styles and finding one that has a style that also works with you. I have used 2 different pros and both work with your swing. One is an older guy I absolutely love to be around and we laugh and have a really good time while we work on things but he is old school. He mainly has me do some different drills until things start to get better but I never really understand why it got better and often find I have a reoccurring issue a few weeks later.

The other is a young pro who takes video of my swing at the start of the lesson and then shows it to me in slow motion while explaining what the issue is. I can see it and he explains why it is an issue so I understand it. He will then have me stand over a ball and slowly go through my swing and manipulate my hands, arms, body, wherever the issue is so I can feel what I should be doing to correct the problem. He videos more while I hit balls working on the correction and then he can show me side by side video of the difference and I could see the difference in ball flight. That is a huge deal for me because I am the type of person that needs to see, feel, and understand why it works. It stays with me that way.

When I take lessons from the first pro I tend to strike the ball well for a week or two then need to see him again. When I take lessons from the second pro, I see huge improvements that last and my lessons are much less frequent. Working with the second pro has allowed me to stop working on the same problems all the time and start moving on to other aspects of my game. To me that is the best overall as I basically feel like I am solid in one aspect and then I can see where my next biggest area for improvement is and work on that. The second one for example really got me in a good place with my irons about 2 months ago and it just keeps getting better. I called him yesterday for another lesson but this time we are going to work on short game around the greens as I feel like that is the next place I can really improve and shave some strokes.

RetiredBoomer · Feb 4, 2020

A good athlete will find occasional golf easier than a genetically normal person.

But they're in the minority, and plenty of people still enjoy golf on an occasional basis,
even knowing that they're not going to play as well as they would if they played more often.

etakmit · Feb 4, 2020

Practice Practice Practice. And not just digging it out of the dirt. As mentioned find a pro that you click with and is willing to work with what you have. That doesn't mean you might not have to make some hefty changes - but wholesale swing changes shouldn't really be on the menu.

CBaker · Feb 4, 2020

If skilled enough, sure. Also depends on your definition of consistently pure. If you're talking consistent pure center strikes, I don't think everyone can get there, no. that's a very high level of skill needed, and a harsh reality. It's also the reason they make more forgiving clubs, because people rarely do that. If you're talking about just grooving a consistent swing, sure, a decent amount of people could. Depends on how much time you have to devote to practice and hone that skill.

tequila4kapp · Feb 4, 2020

Maybe not. But remember the goal of the game is to get the ball in the hole in the fewest strokes possible, not have a perfect swing.

bigapplehacker · Feb 4, 2020

I would suggest trying to play, or better yet, practice, at least once during the week.

I find my ball striking (and general game) to improve dramatically on the weekend if I can swing a club during the week.

Unless you are a really good athlete, I don’t thing most of us are going to strike the ball as well as we could playing 3 or 4 times a month.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

OGputtnfool · Feb 4, 2020

Luchnia said:
I was wondering if a weekend hacker such as myself will ever strike pure or at least find a "groove" on my swing? I know there is no definite answer here, yet there should be some averages to discuss - especially from those that have gotten to some reasonable consistency. This has been discussed some, but I was wondering if the guys that feel they have a grooved or consistent strike, or we can say, minimized bad strikes (if that works better) can chime in and share about this.

I really feel like after playing all of last year that my ball striking should be notably more consistent and not so much of a question of will it ever get better. Yes, it has improved, but seems at an extremely slow rate. I read posts about weekend hacks that have played for years and still cannot find consistency in ball striking and constantly working on swings and so forth. Even carpenters get better at hammering nails if they use a hammer enough. Maybe it is because we use more parts of our body to hit the golf ball and it takes so much longer to achieve consistency in striking pure.

Depends on how you define "weekend hacker". If you're referring to someone who plays once or twice on the weekends and never touches a club between, then I'd say the chances are slim that they'll ever strike the ball really well. Now, if you're talking about someone playing 2-3 rounds each day every weekend and hitting the range for a couple hundred balls after work on the weekdays, then I'd say it's highly likely.

tehuti · Feb 4, 2020

OGputtnfool said:
Depends on how you define "weekend hacker". If you're referring to someone who plays once or twice on the weekends and never touches a club between, then I'd say the chances are slim that they'll ever strike the ball really well. Now, if you're talking about someone playing 2-3 rounds each day every weekend and hitting the range for a couple hundred balls after work on the weekdays, then I'd say it's highly likely.

I would have to agree. I have played more golf in the last year than I ever have. And though I am still nowhere close to consistent I am a lot more consistent than I used to be. It would take at least twice as much time as I have available for practice and playing to get significantly better. That said I will do the best I can with the time I have available and still try to enjoy the game.

Gus R · Feb 4, 2020

I think it was Ben Hogan who said he only hits it pure a couple of times a round. Of course his definition of pure is probably much different that most of us. As the saying goes even the blind squirrel finds the occasional nut. We all hit it pure at times, but rarely do we hit it pure for even a few holes.

chile · Feb 4, 2020

tequila4kapp said:
Maybe not. But remember the goal of the game is to get the ball in the hole in the fewest strokes possible, not have a perfect swing.

NoShanks · Feb 4, 2020

I generally play 1-3 times a month during season and I play blades. Do I pure every shot? No. I’m just consistent enough to make consistent contact.

jvbart · Feb 4, 2020

Luchnia said:
I was wondering if a weekend hacker such as myself will ever strike pure or at least find a "groove" on my swing? I know there is no definite answer here, yet there should be some averages to discuss - especially from those that have gotten to some reasonable consistency. This has been discussed some, but I was wondering if the guys that feel they have a grooved or consistent strike, or we can say, minimized bad strikes (if that works better) can chime in and share about this.

I really feel like after playing all of last year that my ball striking should be notably more consistent and not so much of a question of will it ever get better. Yes, it has improved, but seems at an extremely slow rate. I read posts about weekend hacks that have played for years and still cannot find consistency in ball striking and constantly working on swings and so forth. Even carpenters get better at hammering nails if they use a hammer enough. Maybe it is because we use more parts of our body to hit the golf ball and it takes so much longer to achieve consistency in striking pure.

I'm in the exact same boat. 1 year of weekend golf in and may striking has plateaued. Don't have the cash to spend on lessons right now so hoping I can keep improving from videos and practice.

tahoebum · Feb 4, 2020

It's all about how good your misses are. I hit two or three shots each round "pure" or just as I had planned, the rest of them are misses.

millsan1 · Feb 4, 2020

Luchnia said:
I was wondering if a weekend hacker such as myself will ever strike pure or at least find a "groove" on my swing? I know there is no definite answer here, yet there should be some averages to discuss - especially from those that have gotten to some reasonable consistency. This has been discussed some, but I was wondering if the guys that feel they have a grooved or consistent strike, or we can say, minimized bad strikes (if that works better) can chime in and share about this.

I really feel like after playing all of last year that my ball striking should be notably more consistent and not so much of a question of will it ever get better. Yes, it has improved, but seems at an extremely slow rate. I read posts about weekend hacks that have played for years and still cannot find consistency in ball striking and constantly working on swings and so forth. Even carpenters get better at hammering nails if they use a hammer enough. Maybe it is because we use more parts of our body to hit the golf ball and it takes so much longer to achieve consistency in striking pure.

Good practice makes for improvement. Just practicing makes one better at doing it wrong. It's a much shorter path to success if you get lessons,practice those lessons, follow up with reviews of lessons, practice. My opinion.