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Rusty’s goal to not play golf swing

Rusty Dave said:
I’m 47. Started golfing seriously at 40. Early on I tried to teach myself how to swing. Bought a lot of DVDs. My basement storage room looks like a place where training aids go to die. A few years ago I started taking lessons. A journey that had teachers that just weren’t as committed to helping me improve as I would have liked. Recently I spent a couple of off seasons at Golftec. I enjoyed it but when my instructor left I decided not to go back. In those 2 years I have acquired a great understanding of what I need to do to improve my swing. I even put in a GC2 sim late last summer to help improve.

I realize now that I’ll never have what I consider the perfect swing. I still sway a bit in the backswing, my left arm folds a bit, my hips aren’t open enough at impact, my hands are not forward enough at impact, my miss is to leave the face open and sometimes my weight shift is non existent. If I don’t focus I’ll have slight OTT move. I get it. I’ll continue to work at it hard to try and improve that stuff. It’s part of me. I’m not sure if it’s my personality or what but I seem to be driven to nail this stuff down. I like order and procedures. Probably why I became an airline pilot. Fits me perfectly.

Here’s where this years focus has changed. Or I need it to change. I’ve always played golf swing on the course. I think my drive for the perfect swing has carried over to my game. Last year I said I wasn’t going to play golf swing but I ended up with the same patterns. Hit a shot, evaluate what went wrong or right and think about the swing to correct it.

Well I think it took away from the enjoyment of the game for me. There were many moments of frustration and inner anger. My playing partners could always tell. Probably took away from there enjoyment also. I really don’t want to play that anymore.

I have lots of time to read and I’m currently reading (and rereading) all the Rotella books. I’m on my 4th. He emphasizes solid pre shot routines and acceptance. Golf is a game and it is a game that must be played. It is about not being perfect. Have no expectations. Have fun.

I’ve read many of his books in the past and never really applied what he’s written. This year I’m committed to this. I spend a lot of money on this game. I have a great job and a great family. This is supposed to be fun.

I took this mentality into my first round yesterday. Focused on a solid pre shot routine and zero expectations. Take the good with the bad. I did my new pre shot routine on every shot. I accepted the bad shots. Oh well. I really enjoyed the good ones. I kept myself to one swing thought throughout. Was my swing good? Not really but I still shot a good score. Did I care about my swing. Nope. The difference was that I had an amazing and fun time. Even my wife and regular playing partner couldn’t believe how easy going and fun I was. My wife doesn’t believe that it will last but I really want it to. My buddy texted me last night to say that was the funnest round of golf he’s had.

I started this thread to keep me on track. To keep myself from getting too serious about the game. I only get in around 25-30 rounds a year. Enjoy it. Accept it. Feel free to follow along this season or add your comments if you’re like me.

Here’s a to a great and fun season of golf.
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What did you score?? That's the only thing you left out. This is a good philosophy to have. One I struggle with as well.
 
Bullfrog said:
What did you score?? That's the only thing you left out. This is a good philosophy to have. One I struggle with as well.
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80 on a par 65. 40 putts.
Tough shorter track but enjoyed it.
More importantly I followed my routine and accepted whatever the result was. It was a blast.
 
Rusty Dave said:
80 on a par 65. 40 putts.
Tough shorter track but enjoyed it.
More importantly I followed my routine and accepted whatever the result was. It was a blast.
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Sweet. Next time you fly into Cleveland we should play a round.
 
Rusty Dave said:
80 on a par 65. 40 putts.
Tough shorter track but enjoyed it.
More importantly I followed my routine and accepted whatever the result was. It was a blast.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you need a :seemore:
 
Another method Rotella recommends is a short memory of poor shots and remembering good ones. He recommends keeping a “journal” of good shots to improve your self image by reviewing these shots. I’m not one to keep a journal but then I thought about my Arccos app and how it would be easy to review my good shots. I’ve decided to screenshot them and add an album to my iPhone called good shots. I’ll review them frequently as I have several hours of sitting at cruise altitude.

Here’s a sample from my first round of the season:

252 yard drive into the wind
d21c6cb4d0ce90737c4d24d84922ff6d.jpg


210 yard 3H to the middle of the green
afaae5d0e3096daa7b1a196056f73d74.jpg


Paring the hardest hole and my nemesis hole where the only play off the tee is a fade. I don’t like fades.
d78e0dcc15330f30570185744866fd3b.jpg


Chip to a tap in
2160b085648342758b46a6bc4e1d6c7d.jpg


Great up and down with a 10’ downhill putt to tie my buddy on the back. He thought he’d won.
70f5149228b509d1e45f256789666fb5.jpg
 
Rusty Dave said:
Another method Rotella recommends is a short memory of poor shots and remembering good ones. He recommends keeping a “journal” of good shots to improve your self image by reviewing these shots. I’m not one to keep a journal but then I thought about my Arccos app and how it would be easy to review my good shots. I’ve decided to screenshot them and add an album to my iPhone called good shots. I’ll review them frequently as I have several hours of sitting at cruise altitude.

Here’s a sample from my first round of the season:

252 yard drive into the wind
d21c6cb4d0ce90737c4d24d84922ff6d.jpg


210 yard 3H to the middle of the green
afaae5d0e3096daa7b1a196056f73d74.jpg


Paring the hardest hole and my nemesis hole where the only play off the tee is a fade. I don’t like fades.
d78e0dcc15330f30570185744866fd3b.jpg


Chip to a tap in
2160b085648342758b46a6bc4e1d6c7d.jpg


Great up and down with a 10’ downhill putt to tie my buddy on the back. He thought he’d won.
70f5149228b509d1e45f256789666fb5.jpg
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Damn you, tree!!

Well, there's no denying you can crush the ball.
 
Hamfist said:
Damn you, tree!!

Well, there's no denying you can crush the ball.
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It’s the F9. Makes me feel like a power hitter.

That tree is a pain in the ass. I like to set up for a draw and it plays right in the middle of my starting line. If you look at the black line it goes right through that stupid tree. Every year I hope they cut it down. I usually try to fade it and it ends up on the range about 3 fairways over or I draw it OB. Set up for a fade this time and swing down my stance line and it actually worked.
 
Over time you will find your scores dropping too, which will only add to the fun.

ps: I also try to get other things out of the round: good conversation, enjoying the surroundings, other accomplishments. For example, I walked 36 holes yesterday. Not bad for a guy in his 60s.
 
Re: (Damn) Tree

I’m pretty sure it’s legal in Canada to have a chainsaw in your bag. You’ll just have to take a wedge out for the round so you don’t go over the 14 club limit.
 
Sean said:
Over time you will find your scores dropping too, which will only add to the fun.

ps: I also try to get other things out of the round: good conversation, enjoying the surroundings, other accomplishments. For example, I walked 36 holes yesterday. Not bad for a guy in his 60s.
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I’m not impressed sir. You’re a Marine. 60’s or not, I suspect you could crawl 54 if you wanted to. :)
 
So 5 rounds in and I’m happy to say it’s still going well. Focusing on the process and not the results has made golf much more enjoyable. My wife says it’s nice to see me enjoy the game so much.
Today she was impressed. Played poorly for the first 8 holes. Shot a 46 on the front nine. Kept positive. Made a minor backswing adjustment and found my swing on the back. Shot a 39 on the back. I rarely break 40 on nine.
I still need to focus on my routine and avoid over analyzing my swing. It was a fade all day although I prefer a draw but I played with that fade on the back nine and had a blast.
 
I am new to the forums, but on a similar journey as yours. I am 46 and used to be pretty good when I was 25-30 years old. I had shoulder problems in my 40’s and was out of the game for years. When I did come back, I thought I should have the same swing and same game and no matter how hard I tried, it wasn’t going to happen and I wasn’t having fun. My self expectations were getting in the way of playing the game and having fun.

I then read some of the same books late last year that you mentioned and just decided to do my best and have fun in 2019. I just finished a book that has helped me quite a bit this month that I recommend: “Be a Player” by Pia Nilsson. The tag line sucked me in and the book was really good.

Right now, I have a lower handicap than I ever had when my swing was at its best. I have to do it in other ways than I did back then because my shoulders don’t work as well, I gained weight, my hips are stiff, etc.

Anyway, not trying to hijack your thread. Just keep having fun! By the way, the tag line that I mentioned regarding the book:

“Be A Player is not about your swing, it's about YOU and YOUR game.”
 
oumagic said:
I am new to the forums, but on a similar journey as yours. I am 46 and used to be pretty good when I was 25-30 years old. I had shoulder problems in my 40’s and was out of the game for years. When I did come back, I thought I should have the same swing and same game and no matter how hard I tried, it wasn’t going to happen and I wasn’t having fun. My self expectations were getting in the way of playing the game and having fun.

I then read some of the same books late last year that you mentioned and just decided to do my best and have fun in 2019. I just finished a book that has helped me quite a bit this month that I recommend: “Be a Player” by Pia Nilsson. The tag line sucked me in and the book was really good.

Right now, I have a lower handicap than I ever had when my swing was at its best. I have to do it in other ways than I did back then because my shoulders don’t work as well, I gained weight, my hips are stiff, etc.

Anyway, not trying to hijack your thread. Just keep having fun! By the way, the tag line that I mentioned regarding the book:

“Be A Player is not about your swing, it's about YOU and YOUR game.”
Click to expand...

Cool. I’ll check it out. Thx!
 
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