Golfers, Has this ever happened to you?

[EveryoneElse]

I'm 25, been golfing since I was 12, a couple times a year up until 2 years ago, I started golfing once or twice a week, at my best I was like a 12(handicap).

I broke my foot a while back, and was unable to do any golfing for like 6 weeks. For the last 3 weeks or so I've been hitting the driving range daily after work and/or playing 3 or 4 rounds a week.

I cannot break 100 anymore. Only club I can hit with any consistency is my driver, and that is pretty pathetic all things considered. My 3 iron and my 9 iron go the same distance, all I hit now is worm burners(the ball skips across the ground for like 130 yards).

I am not exagerating when I say I haven't hit a good golf shot since before I broke my foot.

I joined a golf club and played in the opening tournament this last weekend and posted a 118, ofcourse that was the worst score and I now have to wear a pink shirt, pink hat, and pink sunglasses to the next tourny, I doubt the pink "get up" will have any positive effect on me. Anyway, my last 5 scores have me at a 26 handicap.

Has this happened to any of you, and what did you do to fix it? I have become so desperate, I am buying all these POS swing correction devices and nothing is working.

Please help. :

 

[silverbear]

I'm 25, been golfing since I was 12, a couple times a year up until 2 years ago, I started golfing once or twice a week, at my best I was like a 12(handicap).

I broke my foot a while back, and was unable to do any golfing for like 6 weeks. For the last 3 weeks or so I've been hitting the driving range daily after work and/or playing 3 or 4 rounds a week.

I cannot break 100 anymore. Only club I can hit with any consistency is my driver, and that is pretty pathetic all things considered. My 3 iron and my 9 iron go the same distance, all I hit now is worm burners(the ball skips across the ground for like 130 yards).

Sounds like you're hitting a snap hook, the first thing to look at is your grip... it's probably gotten too strong, i.e., the "V's" formed by your thumb and forefinger are pointing more to your right shoulder at address, not just to the right of your chin...

Here's a trick for taking the proper grip-- put your left hand on the club with your thumb pointing directly down the center of the grip... if you do this, when you swing the club to the top of your backswing, you'll find that thumb is directly under the shaft, thus providing the proper lever action... you should be gripping the club almost entirely with the last 3 fingers of your left hand...

If you do that, then the V formed by your thumb and forefinger will be pointed at your chin, or just slightly to the right of it when you address the ball... now it's time to put your right hand on, and you want to do so in such a way that the palms of your two hands are directly facing each other (so that both hands can work together)...

What you want to do is take the fleshy pad of your right thumb, and use it to completely cover your left hand's V from view... this reinforces the critical position of the left thumb at the top of your backswing, as well as putting the two hands in optimal position to work in unison...

If you do that, again the V formed by your right thumb and forefinger should point to your chin, or slightly to the right of it...

Now, if I'm right that your grip has gotten too strong, when you take the proper grip it will feel REALLY weak to you... it will take some time and a few hundred swings for that grip to start to feel natural to you, but if you put in the time, it will... you might want to stick to the driving range for a few weeks while you're getting the hang of it, though-- grip changes are TOUGH...

If it's any consolation to you, I went through more or less the same thing when I was a young assistant pro... without even realizing it, I let my grip get too strong, and next thing you know, all I could do was hook the ball... so I had to make the exact same change I'm advocating you try, and you can believe I really struggled with it for about 2 months... after that, though, my game improved by leaps and bounds...

My last piece of advice to you would be that those swing devices you're buying are ripoffs... instead of spending money on them, invest in the services of a good, PGA certified teaching pro... do a little research, ask around and find out which club pros in the area have the best reputations as teachers of the game, and take your swing to one of them...

That's the quickest route to rapid improvement... well, that and beating a few thousand balls...

 

[Doomsday101]

I'm 25, been golfing since I was 12, a couple times a year up until 2 years ago, I started golfing once or twice a week, at my best I was like a 12(handicap).

I broke my foot a while back, and was unable to do any golfing for like 6 weeks. For the last 3 weeks or so I've been hitting the driving range daily after work and/or playing 3 or 4 rounds a week.

I cannot break 100 anymore. Only club I can hit with any consistency is my driver, and that is pretty pathetic all things considered. My 3 iron and my 9 iron go the same distance, all I hit now is worm burners(the ball skips across the ground for like 130 yards).

I am not exagerating when I say I haven't hit a good golf shot since before I broke my foot.

I joined a golf club and played in the opening tournament this last weekend and posted a 118, ofcourse that was the worst score and I now have to wear a pink shirt, pink hat, and pink sunglasses to the next tourny, I doubt the pink "get up" will have any positive effect on me. Anyway, my last 5 scores have me at a 26 handicap.

Has this happened to any of you, and what did you do to fix it? I have become so desperate, I am buying all these POS swing correction devices and nothing is working.

Please help. :

I play to a 6 handicap and can't say that has happened to me. I did missed time when I broke some ribs after a car accident that kept me off the course but it did not keep me from going out and working on my chipping and putting. If you want to lower your score do yourself a favor work on the game from 120 in. Short iron, chipping, sand play and putting get good in these areas and you will see your score drop.

 

[Bizwah]

Golf is very frustrating.

I've golfed for about 8 years now....and I still can't consistently break 100.

I slice terribly...with my driver especially.

My best club was my five wood. I used that almost exclusively for about 2 years.

Now, all of a sudden, I'm terrible with it. I can't hit off the tee...off the fairway. I duff it....slice it....

I'm running out of clubs to suck at.

 

[DallasCowpoke]

Has this happened to any of you, and what did you do to fix it?

"Nope, not me."

[youtube]s50K65PNeBU[/youtube]
​

 

[Doomsday101]

"Nope, not me."

[youtube]s50K65PNeBU[/youtube]
​

Sir Charles has the all time worse swing I have ever seen. Hank Haney will be working with Barkley on his swing airing on the golf channel it should be interesting

 

[DallasCowpoke]

Sir Charles has the all time worse swing I have ever seen. Hank Haney will be working with Barkley on his swing airing on the golf channel it should be interesting

Hank will never be the same!!!

 

[Doomsday101]

Hank will never be the same!!!

Or he goes down as the greatest golf instructor of all times. If he can fix Barkley swing he deserves that title :laugh2:

 

[EveryoneElse]

Sounds like you're hitting a snap hook, the first thing to look at is your grip... it's probably gotten too strong, i.e., the "V's" formed by your thumb and forefinger are pointing more to your right shoulder at address, not just to the right of your chin...

Here's a trick for taking the proper grip-- put your left hand on the club with your thumb pointing directly down the center of the grip... if you do this, when you swing the club to the top of your backswing, you'll find that thumb is directly under the shaft, thus providing the proper lever action... you should be gripping the club almost entirely with the last 3 fingers of your left hand...

If you do that, then the V formed by your thumb and forefinger will be pointed at your chin, or just slightly to the right of it when you address the ball... now it's time to put your right hand on, and you want to do so in such a way that the palms of your two hands are directly facing each other (so that both hands can work together)...

What you want to do is take the fleshy pad of your right thumb, and use it to completely cover your left hand's V from view... this reinforces the critical position of the left thumb at the top of your backswing, as well as putting the two hands in optimal position to work in unison...

If you do that, again the V formed by your right thumb and forefinger should point to your chin, or slightly to the right of it...

Now, if I'm right that your grip has gotten too strong, when you take the proper grip it will feel REALLY weak to you... it will take some time and a few hundred swings for that grip to start to feel natural to you, but if you put in the time, it will... you might want to stick to the driving range for a few weeks while you're getting the hang of it, though-- grip changes are TOUGH...

If it's any consolation to you, I went through more or less the same thing when I was a young assistant pro... without even realizing it, I let my grip get too strong, and next thing you know, all I could do was hook the ball... so I had to make the exact same change I'm advocating you try, and you can believe I really struggled with it for about 2 months... after that, though, my game improved by leaps and bounds...

My last piece of advice to you would be that those swing devices you're buying are ripoffs... instead of spending money on them, invest in the services of a good, PGA certified teaching pro... do a little research, ask around and find out which club pros in the area have the best reputations as teachers of the game, and take your swing to one of them...

That's the quickest route to rapid improvement... well, that and beating a few thousand balls...

Believe it or not, this bit of advice actually did me a lot of good. I went out yesterday and played 36 holes.

Shot a 91 the first time around, then an 82.

I thank you for the advice, I just have to remember to focus on my grip more. Still doesn't feel comfortable, per say, but it works and is well worth working on it.

lets see if I can keep this thing going.

 

[silverbear]

Believe it or not, this bit of advice actually did me a lot of good. I went out yesterday and played 36 holes.

I believe it... when you come back to the game after a long layoff, it's real easy to fall into bad grip habits... and you can't play the game a lick if you have a bad grip...

It's always best to start with the fundamentals; even when I'd give a lesson to a 2 handicapper, I'd start by checking his grip...

Shot a 91 the first time around, then an 82.

Well, that IS some improvement... I'm glad to hear it worked for you...

I thank you for the advice, I just have to remember to focus on my grip more. Still doesn't feel comfortable, per say, but it works and is well worth working on it.

It'll take a while, but you'll get there...

And you're welcome... it's a little tougher diagnosing swing flaws over the internet, LOL...

If in the future you have any other questions, gimme a holler... you can take it to PM if you prefer, though in here is OK by me...

 

[Vintage]

I went through major swing changes/grip changes last summer.

Took me a LONG time to get that adjusted. I think I've got a pretty decent feel on it. I've hit the indoor driving range several times.... need the snow to go away so I can try it out on an outdoor driving range.

 

[tomson75]

I can't help. Golf's a *****. I was the 2 seed on my high school team (when I felt like showing up) when I played my best round. I played my coach straight up and beat him by two strokes...71-73.

Two days later, after a bit of partying the night before, I played in a tournament and shot a 97.

Golf's a *****.

 

[lewpac]

The BEST advice and instruction I ever got goes as follows.............

After I started breaking 90 (which many say is the "watershed" number to break), I stalled out between 87 and 93. Just couldn't get out this groove for a couple years.

This "scratch" guy I go out with a few times a year told me "Remember when you were a kid?" "Remember how you used to use a stick to beat a can all the way home?" "Remember in little league, how you NEVER went through all this mental stuff before you swung? And, you hit the ball? AND, that BALL was MOVING????"

Golf is just hitting a ball with a crooked stick. We've been ASSAULTED and BESIEGED with EVERY little mental and physical thing, or you won't be good at golf.

What's the "CORRECT" golf swing? Is it Phil's? Sergios? Tigers? Davis Loves? Chi-Chi's? Jacks? Arnolds?

Point is, that there IS NO correct GOLF SWING. The CORRECT golf swing is YOUR golf swing. When I finally got all that "Golf Digest" and "The Golf Chanel" stuff out of my head, I FINALLY broke 80.

The same stuff that works in Baseball and Hockey and Pool and Ping Pong and Golf STILL WORKS..................You can't hit what you can't see. Relax. Don't swing HARD, swing FAST.

Hire a coach for three lessons, and work on YOUR SWING. Not on someone else's "nirvana swing" that works for them. You'll be back to a 12 handicap in no time.........................

 

[Vintage]

Huh. Don't think. Just hit.

I like that.


Of course, that might not work out so well when I pick up my 3 iron and am only 100 yards out.... but what the hell.

 

[Doomsday101]

The BEST advice and instruction I ever got goes as follows.............

After I started breaking 90 (which many say is the "watershed" number to break), I stalled out between 87 and 93. Just couldn't get out this groove for a couple years.

This "scratch" guy I go out with a few times a year told me "Remember when you were a kid?" "Remember how you used to use a stick to beat a can all the way home?" "Remember in little league, how you NEVER went through all this mental stuff before you swung? And, you hit the ball? AND, that BALL was MOVING????"

Golf is just hitting a ball with a crooked stick. We've been ASSAULTED and BESIEGED with EVERY little mental and physical thing, or you won't be good at golf.

What's the "CORRECT" golf swing? Is it Phil's? Sergios? Tigers? Davis Loves? Chi-Chi's? Jacks? Arnolds?

Point is, that there IS NO correct GOLF SWING. The CORRECT golf swing is YOUR golf swing. When I finally got all that "Golf Digest" and "The Golf Chanel" stuff out of my head, I FINALLY broke 80.

The same stuff that works in Baseball and Hockey and Pool and Ping Pong and Golf STILL WORKS..................You can't hit what you can't see. Relax. Don't swing HARD, swing FAST.

Hire a coach for three lessons, and work on YOUR SWING. Not on someone else's "nirvana swing" that works for them. You'll be back to a 12 handicap in no time.........................

There are still basic principals on all the swings, the take back can vary but the set points and the plane in which the swing is on pretty much stays the same. Jim Furyk for instance will have a lower take away but at the top of the swing his club is set in the proper position so that on the down swing the club now is on plane. For guys who like play a left to right shot your take away is going to be more outside but again the set points on a swing is the same for a good golf swing.