Losing a swing....

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Losing a swing is an interesting process. Since getting the new MP-59's -- have had some pretty decent rounds. best was an 82 (with a 39 on the back nine, personal best on this course), but the scores started creeping up -- 84, 86, 88. Culminated with a 96 last week. Ughhhhh... Range sessions weren't helping - swing was deteriorating before my eyes. Hitting the target? Iffy at best. Consistent distance? Haha! Acceptable distance? Hahaha! Consistent ball striking? Don't ask.

 

Took several days off - returned to the range yesterday and eventually got back into a groove...just hitting wedges till I started feeling comfortable again. Then it was simply a return to fundamentals...swing isn't all the way back yet, but it's within shouting distance.

 

Long way to a simple question -- this must happen to everyone who plays the game - what are your strategies for working through a swing slump? Get some professional help? Take a break? Dig it out of the dirt ? Read Golf Digest?

[Moecat]

I think getting lessons would be the best bet.

[Flv02]

Do you have a consistent playing partner that was there for your good rounds? If the answer is yes, I would say to ask him for a favor and have him go to the range with you. If he was there for the good rounds, he should be able to see what the differences in your swing are between then and now. If the answer was no to the previous question or your buddy did not help, I would say to record your swing and then look at it. See if you can tell the difference. And then when you do eventually get back to your low scores, record yourself again so you have a swing to base your analysis off of if you lose your swing again.

[RoverRick]

Focus on the fundamentals. Nail your set up and your tempo and the rest comes easy. I tend to loose my swing because I start thinking about the results. I will be on the first tee thinking I want to shoot a certain score. Well, that is the wrong time to do that. I should only be thinking about where I want that ball to go and how I want to get it there. ie, I want to start out towards the inside of that tree on the left and fade it to the middle, or I want to hit a draw that follows this line right here. Then I decide what club to hit to get there. Once that is done, you cross the line, set up to do it. Once you are properly set up, you make a smooth swing. After that shot, you think about what you did right or wrong and can take some more practice swings to ingrain the right swing thought for next time.

 

If you hit it well, it is especially important to engrain this swing, maybe try to swing three or four times to really commit it to memory.

 

I always seem to get in trouble and not swing as well because I am trying too hard to score low instead of making each shot as good as I can. When I do this, I end up with some birdie opportunities and usually have several pars along the way.

[Matt Saternus]

When I took my first series of 5 lessons, I got a little written note after each lesson telling me what we worked on. It was basic stuff: how to know if your grip is correct, how to address the ball, etc. When I've "lost" the swing, I go back to those notes and ask, "Am I gripping the club correctly? How about address?" until I find the problem.

[HighFade]

If you swung it well before, don't change anything!!!

 

The mantra that I use, especially during a bad round is "Just keep swinging"

 

The quickest way to go downhill is to change a bunch of stuff. You should have one main swing thought, just stuck with it! We are all human and have bad days. Unless you're hitting it OB off the tee, or getting in to trouble all the time, your score generally reflects how well you did from inside 100 yards. And especially putting.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Excellent stuff!

 

Think my swing started going south not from Golf Digest (that was a joke, son!) but from The Golf Fix -- same thing only with moving pictures! Tried one of Breed's tips and started pounding the hell out of the ball, but the tip started getting exaggerated and the next thing you know, the swing has taken a holiday.

 

Started the road to recovery with a bunch of half-wedges, then full wedges, and started working on the fundamentals -- grip pressure and address posture were key, as well as making sure to take the club back as straight as possible and avoid the dreaded over-the-tops. Keep the backswing from getting to crazy also helped. We're definitely on the road to recovery!

 

Experience suggests that focusing on the process, rather than the outcome, leads to a more lasting repair job.

 

Man, this game takes some work, doesn't it?

[Tony Covey MGS]

Happens to me from time to time. Usually it's not the swing itself, but as others have suggested, something in the fundamentals.

 

Before I started worrying about the swing itself I'd look at things like my grip, my posture, knee flex, and ball position. If I'm consistently hitting the ball poorly, it's almost always one of those.

[RoverRick]

The purpose of Golf Magazines are to sell more magazines. And the goal of the Golf Fix it to get you to watch next week. If you try all of their tips, and I get Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, tape the the Golf Academy and On the Range. Micheal Breed drives me nuts, he acts like he is trying to squeeze 45 minutes of show into a half an hour, but if you do everything they say it will really screw you up.

 

One day they show some pro with a huge lag and say that is the secret to their success and the next week they show someone who has no lag and say that is the secret of their success. The truth is they are successful because everytime they swing it is exactly the same.

 

I watch Jason Dufner's win today, recorded it and played golf yesterday, and was struck by what they said about him, He had nearly created a path this week around the course. He hit the same shots to the same place starting Tuesday in the practice round. He played 18 three times Sunday, hit his drive to the same spot, his approach to the same spot, his first putt to about the same spot and was so steady.

 

He took the same stance, grip, waggles, etc... to accomplish that. It was a huge deal to me. to watch this. I went out this evening with that in mind. I am going to start walking a path around the course. I have been focusing on distance and power lately, but now I am going to focus on consistancy. Hopefully, my new irons and stronger shafts will lead to more consistancy.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

yeah -- thinking The Golf Fix is about to get deep-sized from the Tivo list.

 

What a great visual about Dufner - we get wrapped up on the distance and power thing, but consistently putting the ball where you want it - or close enough, anyway - and having "good" misses - then it's kinda fun.

 

Maybe a little OCD is a good thing!

[Tyk]

Whenever I have a problem in my swing I go to the range and get "Back to Basics". Start with the grip, posture, ball position, then the take away, good at the top, start with the body and fire through the ball.

 

I start with really slow swings, maybe at 1/2 pace just to get a sense of tempo back.

 

It used to be really hard for me to fix myself, sometimes going weeks before I found my swing again. Now, my swing might get away from me for several holes, maybe even a round sometimes, but I seem to be able to correct myself on the range and keep from going into a slump.

[Shambles]

 

 

Experience suggests that focusing on the process, rather than the outcome, leads to a more lasting repair job.

 

 

 

This is advice I would go with anytime. More often the wheels come off for lack of understanding of what made it work in the first place. Focus on the process and examining the steps involved has helped me much over the years.

 

 

Shambles

[JBones]

When I took my first series of 5 lessons, I got a little written note after each lesson telling me what we worked on. It was basic stuff: how to know if your grip is correct, how to address the ball, etc. When I've "lost" the swing, I go back to those notes and ask, "Am I gripping the club correctly? How about address?" until I find the problem.

I do the same thing. I keep a note book that I have made with the things that I'm doing when I'm playing well. If it starts to slip away, I'll go back to that book and make the according adjustments.

[JMiller]

Happens to me from time to time. Usually it's not the swing itself, but as others have suggested, something in the fundamentals. Before I started worrying about the swing itself I'd look at things like my grip, my posture, knee flex, and ball position. If I'm consistently hitting the ball poorly, it's almost always one of those.

 

I do the same thing. I keep a note book that I have made with the things that I'm doing when I'm playing well. If it starts to slip away, I'll go back to that book and make the according adjustments.

 

I want to point out a movie and book that actually had a lot of good information, I was pretty shocked on the truth of what was said in the movie in terms of mental perception of the game. http://www.sevendaysinutopia.com/ (Movie) based on the this book http://www.amazon.com/Golfs-Sacred-Journey-Seven-Utopia/dp/0974265039

 

I always find that when I start swinging bad it is normally something that is trivial to e swing that you really don't try to isolate and work on... Posture, alignment, grip, ball placement all will effect the swing plane, impact, shot shape, trajectory... I just go back to these and through the check list to make sure they are not the cause of the issue.

 

If checking my basic setup positions and such doesn't get the job done then get on the video and start to look at swing check points... That is where you might need a second pair of trained eyes on your swing or in video analysis.

[Stuart81]

I always find the harder I look for a problem with my swing it gets worse, like most on here back to basics is first rule but for me the most important thing is I have to clear my mind on the range and course and trust my swing after all it wouldn't have changed that much.

 

Stuart

[SeeRed]

I'll echo Stuart. I've been fighting the s***ks lately, and it is likely due to trying too hard and making the swing too complicated. I find that clearing my mind and just letting the swing happen works very well. When I am successful, I have a much better swing (and better results) than my handicap would suggest.

[JMiller]

I guess I need to make a point clear, 'swing thoughts' and/ or 'practice' on the swing should never happen while standing over the ball on the golf course. Keep the swing thoughts and corrections for problems to the practice tee 'range' or behind the ball on the course. Please don't stand their thinking about 20 things over the ball on the course and look like you are going to 'fall asleep' or are a statue 'frozen'. Both are bad situations to make a free athletic golf swing.

 

You can think about whatever you want behind the ball, in a pre-shot routine and practice swings, once over the ball I suggest the last thought be TEMPO related.

 

Some of my best shots I either think about FLOW or SMOOTH, The flow one is working best right now as I like to feel the club head Flow through the swing naturally from my movements and sequence of the swing. Smooth works if I am getting fast at the top (over swinging) and want to remind myself to slow down a little.