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Just completely losing your swing

SirShives said:
End of last year I was flirting with breaking my PR 85 on several rounds. Feeling really good about my swing and game. My latest round 3 weeks ago, played like warm dog doo. Fat shot from the fairway, thinned shot over the green, horrible pitch, 3 putt, rinse repeat. Writing a 100 on the card was being *very* generous.
Anyway, took a couple of weeks off, range session yesterday was acceptable.

I am also in the middle of reading “Golf is not a game of perfect” by Dr Bob Rotella. The mental aspect of the game is not one I’ve focused on before but I can see how improving the mental side will translate to better rounds soon. I think I found that book for 5 bucks on eBay.
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When I see a golfer showing anger or irritation over a mis-hit shot, I know one thing immediately--the player is not staying in the present. The player's mind is in the past, focused on a shot that's already been played.

I view anger and frustration as impediments to playing the game as well as you can. For starters, if you're angry, you're not focused on the only shot that matters, your next one. On top of that, anger introduces tension into the body. Tension damages rhythm and grace. It hinders your effort to get your mind and body into the state where you play your best golf.

Dr. Bob Rotella
 
We have all been there and will be there numerous more times in our golfing lives. I normally grind it out until it comes back. I was sucking it up big time when this pandemic hit and my course closed 2 months ago (they finally said it was OK for people to start walking late in the afternoon after the grounds crew leaves) so went that amount of time without striking a golf ball. Time will tell if the layoff really helped but I highly doubt it hurt.
 
Whenever I get into a ball striking slump I focus on feel at address and how my setup looks (ball position, hands/arm position, feet/hip/shoulder alignment, swing COG etc). Because we play the game on unlevel ground, it is easy for inconsistencies in the address to creep into our game. Over time we can be several inches out in our set up without realising it.
It is a good idea to closely monitor your feel and setup positions when you are playing well, so you have something to compare with when your ball striking goes south.
 
Out of nowhere yesterday I started hitting weak fades and weak shots period with my irons and hybrids. Meanwhile driver working and putter working. Totally confused. I'm planning to take a week off and work on my fundamentals.

When this starts to set-in on the course, I try and make my backswing slow to get a good turn and transition. tried that yesterday and I was still weak:(

tough game for sure
 
Tenputt said:
So, only back at the end of March, I shot a 71. My swing could not have been any better really. Now, I am struggling to make any kind of solid contact. I am not exaggerating. I played 9 holes today and shot 45 and looked the part.

What do some of you do when this happens?
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Had this happen in April, played some super good golf and couldn't miss a fairway.
Ended up being ball position, I was creeping forward and not even noticing it. Took someone i was playing with to look at my swing and he noticed it right away. The other thing was follow thru, I would stop it instead of just letting it flow and finishing high.
Funny how simple little things can get so frustrating in our games.
 
There have been times when my gamer swing has gone south. I salvaged the round going to a different shot, which was usually 7W punch, or 6i flop shots.

I remember one round where I played the last 8 holes using only my 8i, and my putter. That 8i was the only club I could swing correctly for some reason.

Golf is a game of adjustments. When something isn't working, you find something else that does work.
 
Every player has different tendencies. Nowadays, I tend to get shorter and quick with my swing when I'm struggling. I also seem to let the ball creep too far forward in my stance.

So I try to check the fundamentals box.....take extra club withe the irons and swing smooth....finish my backswing with the driver and stay behind it
 
I think one of the unfortunate things that can happen when one greatly improves their golf game is a loss of perspective. Shooting 45 for 9 holes may be a terrible performance for some, but I am not sure it represents 'not making good contact' on shots? I have found that the better I am playing, the more intense I get about the game and in some ways, and start to view negative shots as failure.

I think it could simply be a matter of calming down, remembering that your body and mind clearly know how to swing a golf club, and try taking a more relaxed approach. I'm betting you're just pressing a little bit and relaxing more and dialing back the intensity level a little will have you right back where you usually are :)
 
I had a similar problem last week after playing too much and practicing too much I got paraspinous spasm in my back and I couldn't swing a thing. I took 5 days off from any full swings and practiced chipping and putting only and when I played again I was back to normal. Also started a yoga and stretching program to keep my back more flexible.
 
Tenputt said:
So, only back at the end of March, I shot a 71. My swing could not have been any better really. Now, I am struggling to make any kind of solid contact. I am not exaggerating. I played 9 holes today and shot 45 and looked the part.

What do some of you do when this happens?
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get your swing on video. dtl and face on. and get back to the fundamentals. put down alignment rods on the range and make sure you’re lined correctly. set up a station to get the ball position consistent again. someone who has the skill you do, it’s probably just a very minor thing that needs to be tweaked.

because i’m smitten, you could also engage a high quality instructor to conduct a video lesson. i know some of my thp buds have done this with my guy tyler and have found some success.
 
You need new irons! I would suggest you sell your current set to a person of similar age and swing speed.
 
WICHITAREJECT said:
You need new irons! I would suggest you sell your current set to a person of similar age and swing speed.
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The key word you used is “sell.” Everything is for sale. Always. :LOL:
 
Tenputt said:
So, only back at the end of March, I shot a 71. My swing could not have been any better really. Now, I am struggling to make any kind of solid contact. I am not exaggerating. I played 9 holes today and shot 45 and looked the part.

What do some of you do when this happens?
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Launch a club into orbit. lol

I had a miserable front nine yesterday. On the sixth hole, after hitting a 9i about 20 yds shorter than normal, my anger finally got the best of me and I tossed a club for the first time in years. Somehow, I got my swing back in time to shoot a decent score on the back nine. It happens.
 
Craig, this happens to me all to often but that's because I'm a headcase and get too much crap into my head. I've learned to spot my bad tendencies so I will record the swing and watch in slow motion to see if I can tell what's going on. If I can't I reach out to one of a few instructors I trust for help.
 
93civiccpe said:
Craig, this happens to me all to often but that's because I'm a headcase and get too much crap into my head....
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Oh, don't know what that's like at all! Nope nope nope. Nuh uh. Never.

 
WICHITAREJECT said:
You need new irons! I would suggest you sell your current set to a person of similar age and swing speed.
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What about someone younger with less swing speed! 🤣🤣
 
When this happens to me, it's almost always a problem with timing (rushing from the top is my timing killer). A good fix for me it to choke up on all my clubs, sometimes choke WAY up. I'll usually find that my timing improves quickly and then I can start working back toward normal.
 
Knot Right said:
I've been there many times back when I could still play a little. I was never better than a 6 hdcp, but I had a few pretty good runs.

As I got older, I learned to temper the humiliation and frustration with a few beers and some good company immediately after, and stop thinking about it so much.
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I have to agree with this advice. It's a game; it's supposed to be a form of recreation, an escape from the vicissitudes of daily life. I think, at least for me, when I find myself in a funk with my game, I try to focus less on score and more on just being out on the course.
 
Start drinking or go home.
 
I know for me I can't say I've ever lost my swing. It's never been there in the first place. I have a slice. Had. So there was a time when I stopped playing golf for about a year... and when I went back to it my slice was gone. But it came back. That was a few years ago... and I've taken another break from golf. As I come back to it I got a pointer from a fitter at my LGS... and it changed my slice to a draw/hook.

I'm going to try to work throught that and then play.

I hope your swing comes back!
 
I went through this to an extent yesterday. Last weekend I shot 77 at a pretty tough course and was pretty happy with my swing this early in the year and no ranges open. Yesterday I shot 88. The driver was working like a charm and the putter was as solid as ever, but.... everything else was gone. I couldn't get comfortable over any iron shot at all. I couldn't commit to any shot and it was mostly a hit and hope round other than the driver or putter.
Normally I would go to the range right after a round like that and work on the irons, but since I can't, I guess I'll just see what happens on the next round.....
 
There have been days when i could not miss the shot and everything ended up close to the hole. I could watch it dance on the green and it seemed no matter what i said, "sin Left", "Spin Right" it did as instructed.

Then there are days i stood over the ball and it did not look like anything looked right. Swing was rustier than a barn gate.
 
Sometimes when I get too anxious to play, my game hits the skids and I'm leaving tire tracks down the fairway. I usually try to play through it but I generally go to the range afterward and hit some to try and figure out what went wrong. We all know golf is a game of inches, the 6 inches between your ears.
 
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