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When do you start just playing for it?

tpluff

tpluff

I <3 GAWLF
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Last weekend at the Mi/Oh gathering, anyone that played with me can attest, I was a bit out of whack. Driver had a nasty case of the pulls/hooks and irons greeted the ground 2-3 inches behind the ball and also on the left side of target. It took about 50 holes into my 72 hole weekend to finally say, "Screw normal, I'm just going to account for what I've seen the last couple days." This meant aiming up the right side off the tee and clubbing up and aiming right with irons. And it worked until I figured out what I was doing during the last 9 hole stretch of the weekend.

So now I ask THP, when do you finally recognize a trend and just give in, causing you to go away from your normal play to salvage something else that might get you through a rough stretch?
 
Once I start seeing a pattern. Sometimes I can spot it on the pre round range session, other times it takes a few holes. I call something a pattern if it happens on three consecutive swings with the same type of club.
 
I usually use range balls to figure out what my ball flight will be like for that day, I never get to practice anymore. I just play with the game that shows up any given day.
 
My swing seems to change as I play each round so for me its a bit of an adjust on the fly type aiming system. I know I need to find a repeatable swing, just haven't yet.
 
to me it depends on the miss. But usually I'm too stubborn to make the change until the end of the round.
 
IN the round. I try to never attempt to "fix" something in the round because it usually snowballs for me. So, instead I try to just adapt and grind, knowing it is going to be a long day potentially.
 
Typically after the first hole when I realize my partner in a championship event wasnt the "A" player we all thought he was
 
SkiBumGolfer said:
Once I start seeing a pattern. Sometimes I can spot it on the pre round range session, other times it takes a few holes. I call something a pattern if it happens on three consecutive swings with the same type of club.
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About the same for me. If my last three tee shots went 40 yards right, you'd better believe I'm aiming at the left side of the fairway on the next tee box.
 
tpluff said:
Last weekend at the Mi/Oh gathering, anyone that played with me can attest, I was a bit out of whack. Driver had a nasty case of the pulls/hooks and irons greeted the ground 2-3 inches behind the ball and also on the left side of target. It took about 50 holes into my 72 hole weekend to finally say, "Screw normal, I'm just going to account for what I've seen the last couple days." This meant aiming up the right side off the tee and clubbing up and aiming right with irons. And it worked until I figured out what I was doing during the last 9 hole stretch of the weekend.

So now I ask THP, when do you finally recognize a trend and just give in, causing you to go away from your normal play to salvage something else that might get you through a rough stretch?
Click to expand...

I'll adapt, but I refuse to accept if it's bad contact. I've played a pull/draw for years, but got a lesson this year when it started to hinder my scores and turned into more of a pull/hook.
 
mikedean441 said:
Typically after the first hole when I realize my partner in a championship event wasnt the "A" player we all thought he was
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yeah that Spicoli really isn't the player he posts about being.
 
I don't adjust in the middle of a round. I try to have less thoughts and try to go on muscle memorization and let the swing be the swing.
 
If I'm trying to be competitive, as soon as I leave the range.
 
I try and take what my game is giving me, drive to find it on the range before I play, if not I try to understand what it is giving me by the 3rd hole
 
Thanks for the responses guys. Didn't know if I was being too stubborn or not proactive enough. Looks like the first might be the case. That, and I'm terrible at golf lol.
 
It is certainly hard to do, but I try to adapt if I see a pattern forming over the first 4 or 5 holes. Typically don't try to change anything with my swing in round but may change my aim point and / or club up or down to accommodate my ball striking, or lack thereof, that day. As a couple of others said, just go into grind mode and make the best of the round.
 
Two different instructors gave me the same advice years apart. Essentially, what both said was that on any given day you may find during warm up that you're seeing a slight fade or draw that isn't your normal ball flight. Don't try to fix it--just recognize it and allow for it. Your normal ball flight will return , and if not, work on it later in a range session, not during play.

What you were describing was a little more, but I think the advice is still valid.
 
tpluff said:
Thanks for the responses guys. Didn't know if I was being too stubborn or not proactive enough. Looks like the first might be the case. That, and I'm terrible at golf lol.
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Terrible golfers don't have HOF tags above their name! You just had some opportunities that needed to be sorted.
 
“Dance with the one you brung.” - Sam Snead
 
I start hitting clubs that I'm hitting well, and leave the others in the bag. If it means hitting 7 irons, that's what I have to do. I was in a tournament last year and ended up hitting my 5 iron off every tee except the par 3s. It was a tough match and I got no strokes in it either. The consolation was that I could out still out drive my opponent... barely. I won on 17.
 
To be honest it's when I pull my head out of my butt and realize I just don't have it so around the 15/16 hole
 
Usually pretty quick, if it's an off day I can figure out what area of the game I'm going to have to rely on, poor driver means I better focus a little more around the greens, poor putting? I'm screwed and just have fun.
 
I often here many say "play the game you brought with you today" and I agree but of course only to a point. A little left/right, a little shorter/longer, a little higher /lower, just play what ya got at the time. But anything more than a little or something like hitting 2 inches behind the ball would have to be fixed or its going to be a very bad day.
 
Adapt or be beaten. You can't really fix anything but your attitude out there.
 
You've got to dance with the girl you brought.
Play the hook and embrace it as soon as you see what's happening. Sometimes you can even pump out a decent round.
 
Never. They're going to drag me down kicking and screaming.

Seriously, I'm the guy who needs 3 holes to warm up, and I can find my "A" drive around the end of the first nine. Still, I've accepted that part of how I play is to figure out the correct swing while moving through 18.

I can't be expected to play great straightaway considering I only play once a week, but I do intend to find everything before the game ends.

I once had a game where I shot 50-42. So, no quarter. If I'm going down, there's always next time.
 
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