Grandpa K

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I have become a total mental basket case. I’ve taken so many lessons and have so much going through my mind when out on the golf course. As you might have guessed the results are disastrous. Fat shots, thin shots, slices, hooks and General bad results. I get up over he ball and th3 brain goes into overdrive - i.e. keep elbows in close, take the club straight back, swing at 70% with tempo, swing out to the target, full follow through. Oh yeah, and relax! The result is not a chance of relaxing and I am stiff, tense and it isn’t fun. I’m sure others have had this issue. My question is what do I do to get out of this tight wound tension and get back to enjoying the game with my buddies. Right now I’m not in a good place mentally and need to make drastic changes. Thanks in advance to anyone that can help.

~ Gramps
 
I've been watching Mike Malaska and Shawn Clement lately. They have helped me to clear my mind and concentrate on the essential: get the ball airborne to correct direction.
 
Stop keeping score, to start. Play a round with nothing but a 7-iron, and just concentrate on getting the ball to a target a bit down the fairway. Leave all expectations off the course.

The pressure you are putting on yourself from wanting to card a score could very well be the culprit. Play a two-club challenge with your friends.
 
I can commiserate with you. Restarting again this year, I never know how I will play. I get in a round in the 80's and follow up with 102. I do notice that the rounds I play with guys who are fun end up better. So I am trying to relax and enjoy the game rather than being perfect.
 
Relax as much as possible and hit the ball. All the other crap is for the driving range. And then, only deal with one issue at a time.
 
Just take a moment to feel the sun or the breeze, take a deep breath, visualize the shot, think of nothing other than what you feel around you.. if you start getting those thoughts step off and restart

Maybe not a great idea for the course right away (could take a while) but something to consider

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Just. Have. Fun. I tell my kids (and myself) that we are paying to play, not the other way around. There’s a reason for that. We just aren’t very good. Further if we’re not having fun, why are we doing it?

Golf is insanely hard. Some of my best rounds ever have been after a long layoff and my only swing thought was “please lord, don’t let me whiff”. Stop thinking and just swing.
 
I have become a total mental basket case. I’ve taken so many lessons and have so much going through my mind when out on the golf course. As you might have guessed the results are disastrous. Fat shots, thin shots, slices, hooks and General bad results. I get up over he ball and th3 brain goes into overdrive - i.e. keep elbows in close, take the club straight back, swing at 70% with tempo, swing out to the target, full follow through. Oh yeah, and relax! The result is not a chance of relaxing and I am stiff, tense and it isn’t fun. I’m sure others have had this issue. My question is what do I do to get out of this tight wound tension and get back to enjoying the game with my buddies. Right now I’m not in a good place mentally and need to make drastic changes. Thanks in advance to anyone that can help.

~ Gramps

For all golf shots I believe address technique fundamentals (grip-posture-alignment)are the only factors worth learning and practicing. If a player uses this method there is never anything to "think about" during the swing.
 
At the range.... put a target down 10-20 feet in front of where you are hitting from on your intended line....now relax and take small smooth fluid swings and hit it to or over that target. Start with a shorter club and work your way up to fuller swings. You might find that since the target is closer, your expectations aren't as tough to meet and you'll relax a little. When you get to the course, use the same kind of mindset. Pick an intermediate target and hit over that. The club you choose will determine how far the ball goes, just work on the direction you start the ball and swing smoothly.

I got this tip(more or less) from Adam Bazellgette(sp?) on youtube
 
I'd play 9 holes with a single club (5 or 6-iron for me). Hitting all of the different types of shots, and hitting to different distances, allows you to feel how to play again.
 
A case of near "Paralysis by Analysis".

Visualize the shot and shape, address the ball and go. No practice swings, no waggles. Visualize, Address, Breath, Swing.

As mentioned, thinking is for the range, doing is for the course. Let the muscle memory take over.
 
I have become a total mental basket case. I’ve taken so many lessons and have so much going through my mind when out on the golf course. As you might have guessed the results are disastrous. Fat shots, thin shots, slices, hooks and General bad results. I get up over he ball and th3 brain goes into overdrive - i.e. keep elbows in close, take the club straight back, swing at 70% with tempo, swing out to the target, full follow through. Oh yeah, and relax! The result is not a chance of relaxing and I am stiff, tense and it isn’t fun. I’m sure others have had this issue. My question is what do I do to get out of this tight wound tension and get back to enjoying the game with my buddies. Right now I’m not in a good place mentally and need to make drastic changes. Thanks in advance to anyone that can help.

~ Gramps

That's called Paralysis by Over-analysis.

Just relax, breathe, and be the ball.
 
Zen golf by Dr. Joseph Parent is a great book, or audiobook, to help with quieting the mind and other really helpful tools. Worth every penny, and then some.
 
This thread speaks to me - not that I have a lot of anxiety or being paralyzed by too many thoughts when golfing, but because there are times where I feel I have no idea what the hell to do with that long stick in my hand. I'll go through a stretch where my grip and swing feel perfectly natural, so much so that I don't even think about them. Then there will come an outing where my grip feels bizarre, my swing feels like it's being made with an alien's arms, and I am all over the place with contact. It can really be exasperating. I have taken about a month's break after the last such day, not so much out of frustration. I've been super busy, and I just decided taking a little mental break might be more helpful than hurtful.

Anyway, mostly I just wanted to say 'hang in there', keep at it, listen to some of the great advice in this thread (as will I) and recognize you are not alone out there :)
 
I agree with SunnyWalker's post .

Never think about body parts or positions in your course swing as it short-circuits your body's subconscious kinetic chain. Check out this podcast interview with Dr Gabrielle Wulf , whose research is used by Shawn Clement in his golf instruction.

https://soundcloud.com/golf-science...ght-to-know-about-focus-with-dr-gabriele-wulf

Note that Dr Wulf says that 'external focus' related to a task intent outside the body is far superior to 'internal focus' (ie. conscious about a body part). External focus tends to engage a greater range of muscles to make your movements more efficient to achieve the intended task (internal focus doesn't ,paralysis by analysis is actually correct).

The external focus for a golfer will depend on how proficient you are. For example , a PGA-pro focusing on the flag as a target to swing to might not work for the high-handicapper who may need a closer 'external focus' such as swinging the clubface over an intermediate target. The ball can also be an external focus but you have to build the 'intent image' on where you want it to go rather than just focus on hitting it .

I use 'cutting the dandelion' stem image under the ball and my intent is to cut through it with the leading edge of the clubface. But of course I need to first align myself properly with a few perpetual practice swings watching the blur of the clubhead/clubface. I then make a judgement where that clubface is brushing/cutting the grass and make a best estimate of where the ball needs to be 'in that blur path' so that clubface impact will move it where I intend it to go. Then I just have to trust myself and recreate that perpetual swing feeling in my actual swing keeping that task intent picture in my 'minds eye'.

Wild Bill Mehlhorn said "Accuracy , is just naturalness and judgement" .
 
Classic case of playing golf swing instead of golf. You can't play golf if you're entire mind is devoted to every single aspect of your swing. You can work on all that stuff on the range, that is where golf swing is played. How I stopped doing this was getting reps in on the range, but when I got to the course turning this off and focusing on the golf shot, not the golf swing. I have built a routine. Stand behind the ball, take in the shot, the wind, the lie and pick a target in the distance, then pick an intermediate target on the ground in front of the ball for alignment purposes. Step up to the ball and take one practice swing with no swing thoughts. The only note I take during the practice swing is where the club impacts the ground. This helps me put the ball in the right position in my stance (especially useful on weird lies like sidehill, ball above or below feet, etc.). Next set the club head behind the ball pointed at the intermediate target, set my feet, then set my hands, and do a last little shuffle with my feet to make sure I feel comfortable over the ball and then just take a nice hard swing at it. Generally the results are fine and from time to time I hit a bad shot, but that's golf. You must realize no matter how good you get you're not going to hit every shot perfectly so expecting bad shots should be part of your thought process. A bad shot does not mean you need to make swing changes it just means you hit a bad shot. The only swing adjustment I allow myself to make during a round is tempo. I can swing harder or slower to find the speed where I am making solid contact that day, but I am not going to make any adjustments to posture, arm position, new grip, attempting to hit a certain swing path, etc. The entire thought process during a round is on strategy, target, and alignment and that is it.
 
Classic case of playing golf swing instead of golf. You can't play golf if you're entire mind is devoted to every single aspect of your swing. You can work on all that stuff on the range, that is where golf swing is played. How I stopped doing this was getting reps in on the range, but when I got to the course turning this off and focusing on the golf shot, not the golf swing. I have built a routine. Stand behind the ball, take in the shot, the wind, the lie and pick a target in the distance, then pick an intermediate target on the ground in front of the ball for alignment purposes. Step up to the ball and take one practice swing with no swing thoughts. The only note I take during the practice swing is where the club impacts the ground. This helps me put the ball in the right position in my stance (especially useful on weird lies like sidehill, ball above or below feet, etc.). Next set the club head behind the ball pointed at the intermediate target, set my feet, then set my hands, and do a last little shuffle with my feet to make sure I feel comfortable over the ball and then just take a nice hard swing at it. Generally the results are fine and from time to time I hit a bad shot, but that's golf. You must realize no matter how good you get you're not going to hit every shot perfectly so expecting bad shots should be part of your thought process. A bad shot does not mean you need to make swing changes it just means you hit a bad shot. The only swing adjustment I allow myself to make during a round is tempo. I can swing harder or slower to find the speed where I am making solid contact that day, but I am not going to make any adjustments to posture, arm position, new grip, attempting to hit a certain swing path, etc. The entire thought process during a round is on strategy, target, and alignment and that is it.


Some great ideas. Thank you so much for your help. I don’t have a routine. I will take your suggestion and develop one to clear my mind. I just want to 3njoy the game again. Thanks again!

~Gramps
 
Zen golf by Dr. Joseph Parent is a great book, or audiobook, to help with quieting the mind and other really helpful tools. Worth every penny, and then some.

I just wanted to thank you for recommending this one. I'm about halfway through 'Zen Golf' and I'm loving it. Totally better way to look at golf than most of us embrace. Highly recommend this to anyone who struggles or is struggling.
 
I just wanted to thank you for recommending this one. I'm about halfway through 'Zen Golf' and I'm loving it. Totally better way to look at golf than most of us embrace. Highly recommend this to anyone who struggles or is struggling.
His book on putting is very good also.

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Go back to a drill that you can do well. For me it is the simple 9 to 3 Drill. Play simple golf with a club that you can control with that drill (whatever it is). Feet together drill also works for me with most clubs to keep balls in play at half distance. As does slow one piece takeaway drills where I half swing (a combo on the 9 to 3). But you need to have this stuff worked out at home or on the range so that you can always go back to it. If you are so stifled that you can't even stand over the ball - stop playing rounds untli you have worked out some simple fundamental drills because you are making it worse. And remember everyone's game falls apart at some time or another - but the ones who can get it back quick are the ones that have a few time tested drills that they can fall back on to keep it in play.
 
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