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My Consistency Evolution

robmypro

robmypro

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I usually have no trouble giving a thread a title, but in this case I probably changed it 4 times. I am not even sure I like it now. So let me just get to it. I am watching my game evolve. It isn't even that gradual, as I can notice major things working better. At the same time my consistency is so sporadic. So it is like my game is evolving in a good way, but inconstency strikes at the worst times. And because of that my scores are not dropping. I can have a really good 1st and 2nd shot, be on the green in regulation, and literally 3 or 4 putt. Next hole I hit a really nice drive off the tee, can't find my ball, take a penalty, then hit my next shot into a bunker. And then hit this really sweet shot out of the sand and 1 putt for a triple. Next hole is a bomb down the middle followed by a nice approach and 2 putt for par. Then follow that up with a 9.

My game looks better. I can see the evolution. I hit some really nice shots pretty often. But i blow holes up in the most inconsistent ways. I can hit a beauty right down the middle one hole, and have an ugly hook oob 2 holes later. One hole I look like a pro, the next I look like I have never played before. I literally had a 12 on a par 4, and then had par one hole later. My game is bipolar.

One hole I had a beauty right down the middle. Second shot was a really nice draw that just missed the green and then disappeared into oblivion. Next hole is a 200 yard par 3. Tee shot is on the green 50 feet away. I 4 putt. It is stuff like that I find mind-bogling. It is like my misses are so much closer, but the result is the same.

My drives are better. My approach shots are better. Sand, chipping and putting feel so much better. Except when i need any part of my game to score. These misses are still too great to string a few good holes together. My consistency is evolving, and i am hitting much better shots relative to a few months ago. But my scoring is not budging. I must be one of the best looking 55 for 9 hole players out there. Playing terrible never looked so good.

My hope is that all these elements will come together at some point, and that these inconsistencies are currently at some tipping point which is blowing up my game. Once I progress just a little further all of a sudden I am putting entire rounds together and playing to my potential. I hope so because right now I seem to make one mistake per hole, which turns a birdie or par into a double or triple.

Is my experience common at this stage? Is this all just part of the evolution of playing golf?
 
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Your experience is not uncommon.

I've been known to step up to a Par 5, hit a great drive, an awesome fairway wood, and then blade a wedge 30 yards over the green into the bushes. Then maybe two shots to get it on the green and 3-putt. Stuff like that.

Things you learn as you get better are:

1) Where you want to miss, if you miss. This is big. A miss on the correct side of the green may mean a bogey. A miss on the wrong side of the green may mean a triple.

2) Bogey is a good score. Even single-digit handicaps are going to hit bad shots. But what keeps them single digit handicaps is when they do so, they realize they've likely turned the hole into a bogey hole. So they play smart, play for bogey, but with a great shot might pull off a par. If they make bogey, they walk away content.

3) Good players rarely follow a bad shot with another bad shot. They do what it takes to get back on track and salvage what they can.

4) Similar to #1, good golfers miss well. They've gained enough consistency in their swing that a bad miss is usually a shot that fades instead of draws, or a plain mishit that runs 50 yards along the ground. However, it's (usually) not a wicked banana slice OB or a duck hook into the water. Not much you can do to improve that right now except keep taking lessons and trying to improve your swing.

5) Good golfers eliminate risk - this goes back to #1 as well. Remember that bladed wedge shot I referenced earlier? A good golfer might look at it and go, "Hmm...that's an awfully tight lie...almost bare. And look, there's BIG trouble over the back. I think rather than trying to put a perfect swing on a wedge, I'll try to run an 8-iron on, take my two putt and get out of here." Even if they chunk it and leave it short or give it too much and it goes long, chances are good it's going to be just short or just over the back and they're likely putting or making a simple chip rather than trying to hoist a wedge 30 yards in the air out of the trees behind the green. But chances are better they'll get it somewhere on the green, 2-putt and make par.

At your level, you should be playing for bogy on every hole. If you accomplish it, you'll shoot 90. Got 210 into a green with trouble around it and you're thinking of going for it so you can make a par? Don't. Layup to a yardage where you have an 80%+ chance of getting somewhere on the green, rather than a less than 20% chance on the hero shot.
 
I feel ur pain man. I am also going thru a swing evolution because I can't stand my inconsistencies and being so horrible. Best of luck to u. Sounds like u over got the fire to get better
 
Great advice on this thread. Learning to play scatch isn't just about our swing. It's more about our attitude and decisions.

Good choices reap rewards. Poor choices get punished. Golf is a just like life. :)

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
 
The evolution of consistency is a wonderfully frustrating journey lol. Everything you are going through sounds pretty normal from what I've been through and seen, and I think golf is one of the only sports that causes us to surrender on a regular basis and look for alternative options lol.

I love reading about the struggles and champion moments in the evolution of someones game, good things will come out of your hard work and I'll bet you'll be better on the greens in no time, that's where I'd spend a bunch of time.
 
Very common experience. This has been my second full year of playing golf and I can be wildly inconsistent hole to hole. I had a round where I started with a triple then a double, then went par birdie par par. The rest of the way was all triples and doubles. It happens.

Feels, for me, still aren't consistent either, which I think is just due to the length of time I've been playing and how often I practice. I'll hit some excellent iron shots with the same swing feels - load the back leg, then keep arms close and straight on the downswing. I'll hit 4-5 shots great that way, then keeping the same feels I'll thin a shot 2 feet off the ground, or toe one off to the right OOB. A lot of it is just repetition and having my body "remember" the steps that work for me and my swing.
 
One more thing:

Good players make their 4-footers to save par or keep their bogeys from turning into double-bogies.
 
Welcome to golf bro!
 
Golf is a game of how good your misses are. I only hit 2 or 3 shots a round exactly as I like, but my misses are normally playable. Course management is a huge part of scoring lower as well. I see so many guys that miss the wrong side of the green or attempt a hero shot when in trouble. A playing lesson with a pro or a golfer much better than yourself is a great way to improve your course management.
 
Thanks for the comments guys. I don't feel frustrated, for the most part. Just a bit perplexed. When I bowled growing up, practice led to higher scores. I know this isn't bowling, but I find it fascinating that I can improve in almost every facet of the game and still end up with a mid 50's 9. My mistakes were much more frequent in the beginning, and my good shots weren't that good. Now my mistakes are less frequent, I hit much better shots, but the mistakes I do make seem to be far more devastating on my score.

Yesterday I had 7 holes I could use my driver. On 4 of those holes I hit really good tee shots. Good distance. On the fairway. Totally setup to score. The other 3 were complete disasters. First was on hole #1. I seem to have a habit of going oob on my first shot. Next screwup was a shot pushed right I could not find. On the 9th I sliced it putting it on the adjacent driving range. I think this is a pretty good description of my game. I play like a good golfer more than half the time, which makes what happens the rest of the time that much more shocking.

My course management has improved. I don't go for hero shots, and rarely find myself in real trouble, or in high risk situations. So I am not blowing holes up by pushing bad situations. Literally I will hit a nice 8i on the green, see it roll off, and I cannot find it. Most of my penalties come from losing balls that I should be able to find. I am not hitting shots in water. When I first started playing I shanked my tee shot 30 yards straight ahead. I spent 5 minutes looking for it. Gone.

I am not taking 3 shots to get out of a bunker. I am not hitting multiple bad shots in a row. I feel my game is significantly better than when I started. Same score. I know I am going to sort this out. I really feel like I am near some tipping point. I can't hit this many good shots and not start seeing success. I don't have a handful of good shots to keep me coming back. I feel the majority of my shots are really good. But my bad shots are devastating. And they are timely. The guy I play with is always complimenting me. Rob, you nailed that one. Just amazing. Awsome chip shot. Nice save. Blah blah blah. It is like we both know my ability is significantly higher than his, but that doesn't stop him from beating me by 10 strokes on 9 holes. My game is just this spectacular, brilliant disaster.

It is something to behold.

I know I am going to put this together. No doubt about it.
 
I'm in the same boat. I can make a par on one hole and double par on the next.
 
Welcome to improving at this game.

So you've proven you can score and tame the course but can't do it on every hole or even every other.

The key to getting rid of those blowup holes is getting rid of the shots that are causing you the big numbers.

How do you do that? create/make a repeatable swing you can put on the ball 99% of the time and that other 1% the difference is slight, which means the miss is small.

There is nothing you can do about loosing a ball in tall rough besides not hitting it there, poor putting is fixable with a repeatable proper posture and stroke, eliminating the big misses through tons of drill work to make the swing more repeatable with smaller variances in the swing.

The other part is mental- increasing your focus over the ball and going through a set up process/checklist before every shot will improve your consistency.
 
golfinFF said:
The key to getting rid of those blowup holes is getting rid of the shots that are causing you the big numbers.
Click to expand...

Thanks for chiming in GolfinFF. I believe I sorted out some of that today. All my problems start off the tee. Sure my putting sucks but that can be fixed, and getting to the green in regulation is half the battle. Today I spent time at the range and worked on a few things. One was grip and ball position. Earlier this year I had a snap hook problem. My solution to this problem was to weaken my grip, which I believe caused the problems of inconsistency and slicing that I have now. I think my grip was okay early on. The problem was that I did not move the ball back far enough when this was happening. Once I weakened my grip the only thing I could do was move the ball more forward, which led to two outcomes. Dead left straight shots, or slices. And this came out especially when I juiced it. Today I strengthened my grip, moved the ball back a bit, and actually now see a nice draw. I saw more distance and much more consistency.

I will probably spend more time at the range tomorrow to make sure this sticks. Then I will focus more on the short game, and getting my irons down. So after almost one season I need to go back and revisit a few fundamentals, as things were slipping. What you say about the setup process is so true. I need to be more methodical.
 
Glad to see you are getting things straightened out.

Like you I have had to go back to earlier lessons to fix things that have crept back into the swing. I started creating a Maintenace program with my swing by going back to old drills regularly to keep things status quo and to prevent olde bad habits from coming back.

This has done wonders for my iron and wedge play, driver on the other hand comes and goes and is the crippling part of my game when it's off.
 
wadesworld said:
Your experience is not uncommon.

I've been known to step up to a Par 5, hit a great drive, an awesome fairway wood, and then blade a wedge 30 yards over the green into the bushes. Then maybe two shots to get it on the green and 3-putt. Stuff like that.

Things you learn as you get better are:

1) Where you want to miss, if you miss. This is big. A miss on the correct side of the green may mean a bogey. A miss on the wrong side of the green may mean a triple.

2) Bogey is a good score. Even single-digit handicaps are going to hit bad shots. But what keeps them single digit handicaps is when they do so, they realize they've likely turned the hole into a bogey hole. So they play smart, play for bogey, but with a great shot might pull off a par. If they make bogey, they walk away content.

3) Good players rarely follow a bad shot with another bad shot. They do what it takes to get back on track and salvage what they can.

4) Similar to #1, good golfers miss well. They've gained enough consistency in their swing that a bad miss is usually a shot that fades instead of draws, or a plain mishit that runs 50 yards along the ground. However, it's (usually) not a wicked banana slice OB or a duck hook into the water. Not much you can do to improve that right now except keep taking lessons and trying to improve your swing.

5) Good golfers eliminate risk - this goes back to #1 as well. Remember that bladed wedge shot I referenced earlier? A good golfer might look at it and go, "Hmm...that's an awfully tight lie...almost bare. And look, there's BIG trouble over the back. I think rather than trying to put a perfect swing on a wedge, I'll try to run an 8-iron on, take my two putt and get out of here." Even if they chunk it and leave it short or give it too much and it goes long, chances are good it's going to be just short or just over the back and they're likely putting or making a simple chip rather than trying to hoist a wedge 30 yards in the air out of the trees behind the green. But chances are better they'll get it somewhere on the green, 2-putt and make par.

At your level, you should be playing for bogy on every hole. If you accomplish it, you'll shoot 90. Got 210 into a green with trouble around it and you're thinking of going for it so you can make a par? Don't. Layup to a yardage where you have an 80%+ chance of getting somewhere on the green, rather than a less than 20% chance on the hero shot.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this advice. I'm definitely one of those high handicappers that would go for the 210 shot to the green. You definitely opened my eyes to a new thought of playing for bogey, as I would be ecstatic if I achieved 1 over par consistently.. I'm playing tomorrow morning, and will apply that to my club and shot choices...
 
robmypro said:
I usually have no trouble giving a thread a title, but in this case I probably changed it 4 times. I am not even sure I like it now. So let me just get to it. I am watching my game evolve. It isn't even that gradual, as I can notice major things working better. At the same time my consistency is so sporadic. So it is like my game is evolving in a good way, but inconstency strikes at the worst times. And because of that my scores are not dropping. I can have a really good 1st and 2nd shot, be on the green in regulation, and literally 3 or 4 putt. Next hole I hit a really nice drive off the tee, can't find my ball, take a penalty, then hit my next shot into a bunker. And then hit this really sweet shot out of the sand and 1 putt for a triple. Next hole is a bomb down the middle followed by a nice approach and 2 putt for par. Then follow that up with a 9.

My game looks better. I can see the evolution. I hit some really nice shots pretty often. But i blow holes up in the most inconsistent ways. I can hit a beauty right down the middle one hole, and have an ugly hook oob 2 holes later. One hole I look like a pro, the next I look like I have never played before. I literally had a 12 on a par 4, and then had par one hole later. My game is bipolar.

One hole I had a beauty right down the middle. Second shot was a really nice draw that just missed the green and then disappeared into oblivion. Next hole is a 200 yard par 3. Tee shot is on the green 50 feet away. I 4 putt. It is stuff like that I find mind-bogling. It is like my misses are so much closer, but the result is the same.

My drives are better. My approach shots are better. Sand, chipping and putting feel so much better. Except when i need any part of my game to score. These misses are still too great to string a few good holes together. My consistency is evolving, and i am hitting much better shots relative to a few months ago. But my scoring is not budging. I must be one of the best looking 55 for 9 hole players out there. Playing terrible never looked so good.

My hope is that all these elements will come together at some point, and that these inconsistencies are currently at some tipping point which is blowing up my game. Once I progress just a little further all of a sudden I am putting entire rounds together and playing to my potential. I hope so because right now I seem to make one mistake per hole, which turns a birdie or par into a double or triple.

Is my experience common at this stage? Is this all just part of the evolution of playing golf?
Click to expand...
DITTO Everything you just said !!
 
golfinFF said:
Glad to see you are getting things straightened out.

Like you I have had to go back to earlier lessons to fix things that have crept back into the swing. I started creating a Maintenace program with my swing by going back to old drills regularly to keep things status quo and to prevent olde bad habits from coming back.

This has done wonders for my iron and wedge play, driver on the other hand comes and goes and is the crippling part of my game when it's off.
Click to expand...
Yeah I was not paying close enough attention to finer points and mistakes were creeping back in. Part of the problem is I can have success with these flaws, but not consistency. So for a while I believe I have fixed an issue, when I haven't. My driver is case in point. I am going medieval on that part now. Enough is enough.
 
Patient. Time. Lessons. Practice.

The more you play the lower your score will get. :)

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
 
I can relate to all of this too!

Couple of big points for me are

1. Because you're playing well it's not a reason to attempt high risk low reward shots, sure you're swinging and scoring well it's tempting to believe shooting for a green 220 over water is a sensible move but one silly shot leads to a bad hole and a bad hole can lead to a bad run

2. Striking the ball well is not an excuse to get sloppy on your concentration, a bad shot will easily follow a good shot if you don't give it the concentration it deserves

3. Just because I'm swinging well at 80% doesn't mean I should try swinging harder. Keep the ball in play and don't always be tempted to use a higher lofted club, a 7 iron from 150 will stop plenty quick enough when you make good contact with it


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Great thread and I definitely relate to it all too...

For the past 3 years I've been trying real hard to get better and have noticed my consistency is finally starting to improve lately. Playing for bogey and not being tempted by hero shots has been huge. Same goes with sucker pins... My latest mantra: just get the ball on the green and aim away from trouble even if it means a 30ft putt. I'm also stashing the driver away more often when its not working well. But the biggest thing which has been a break-through for me the past couple months is my practice regiment. I guess it's called "random" practice but basically instead of beating balls or using a shag bag, I focus on one ball at a time, one shot, full routine, whether a full shot, pitch, chip or putt, I really try and slow down and focus focus focus. Never a shot that replicates the last one, everything at a different target, with different club, different lie, etc. When putting, only one ball at a time with the full read routine, or even better practice up and downs exclusively. It's mentally-exhausting practice but has done wonders for me, where before it seemed the more I practiced the worse (or more inconsistent) I got.
 
What I found really helpful today was to look at every shot as an opportunity to figure out what might be the easiest way to get to the hole.

I quickly eliminated the hero shot and any shot I lacked confidence in.

This way I was always totally committed. No doubts.

Nice easy smooth swings and shots. From full swings to lag putts.

Commitment lead to confidence and lower scores.

By planning ahead and focusing on course management I played my best and without a lot of stress.

My two cents.

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What I found really helpful today was to look at every shot as an opportunity to figure out what might be the easiest way to get to the hole.
Click to expand...

Absolutely correct. Said another way, the choice is often "What's the lowest-trajectory shot in which I have confidence that will get me to the hole?" Don't hit a 60-degree when a 9-iron will do the job - assuming you have confidence you can hit the 9-iron shot.

Which leads us to another key tenet: Never hit a shot in which you lack confidence. If you feel uneasy about your decision, you have all but guaranteed a poor result.
 
flydigital said:
Great thread and I definitely relate to it all too...

For the past 3 years I've been trying real hard to get better and have noticed my consistency is finally starting to improve lately. Playing for bogey and not being tempted by hero shots has been huge. Same goes with sucker pins... My latest mantra: just get the ball on the green and aim away from trouble even if it means a 30ft putt. I'm also stashing the driver away more often when its not working well. But the biggest thing which has been a break-through for me the past couple months is my practice regiment. I guess it's called "random" practice but basically instead of beating balls or using a shag bag, I focus on one ball at a time, one shot, full routine, whether a full shot, pitch, chip or putt, I really try and slow down and focus focus focus. Never a shot that replicates the last one, everything at a different target, with different club, different lie, etc. When putting, only one ball at a time with the full read routine, or even better practice up and downs exclusively. It's mentally-exhausting practice but has done wonders for me, where before it seemed the more I practiced the worse (or more inconsistent) I got.
Click to expand...

Your new practice routine is to be applauded. When I read "Mind Over Golf" the author talked about practice not making perfect, but PERFECT practice making perfect. He talked about taking your time and really focusing at the task at hand and to practice like you play. For this reason it always blows me away when I see someone marching to the range with two huge buckets of balls. It takes me 1-2 hours to hit 1/3 that many. I take my time, rotate clubs, play mini games to different targets and hit different shaped shots. It has truly made my practice about actually improving and keeping my brain engaged.

To the OP, this is very good advice. See if you can incorporate what flydigital has said, and if you can, pick up the book I mentioned.
 
My Consistency Evolution

One thing I do when struggling is play a stableford match. It changes your thinking, instead of " I must make par" to " how can I make a bogey and still get a point" . When the hole is over , how do I make more points on the next hole. You will learn that bogeys can be ur friend
 
Great thread and advice, playing today I saw a lot of what the OP is talking about. 2 birdies in a row then a double that wipes out the birdies.
The mistakes are the same for most of us even though the Handicaps are different, bad misses cost strokes and stupid shots (which I tried several of today) cost a lot more. If I had just played smarter could have broke 80, had a beautiful drive inside 150 then hit a PW in the lake, just a brain fart. It happens.
The Putter has been saving me a lot, making pars instead of bogies or is some cases bogies instead of doubles.
Had a lesson after after the round and he right away picked up on grip pressure, had me hit some balls left handed only and lighten the grip. Amazing results, I wanted to blame the shafts for my dispersion issues, he got me aligned properly (setting up to far right or closed to the target line) and bam hitting at the flag again. Nope it is not the shafts or the clubs....

I try to never give advice because I need it more than anyone, but find a good Instructor you can relate too and you will lower your scores. Best money I have ever spent
 
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