Conference 7.286::golf

Mark,
	Taking some time off, is not always such a bad idea.  Sometimes it can 
help.  Obviously, all that time at the driving range, before you went and saw 
a Pro, just helped you to perfect the flaws in your swing, so to say.  You 
mention that you at best, fade the ball and when your not fading it, you're 
slicing it.  Sounds like my game a lot.  I don't put nearly as much time into 
my game though as you do, and instead of spending a great deal of time trying 
to draw or hook the ball, I learned how to control my slice and play the fade.
Their are quite a few touring Pros who play a fade most of the time.  Once you
can do that, the short game is where you'll score.
	You mentioned that you were hitting over 50% of greens in regulation 
and were scoring around 90.  This is not a knock on you, but that probably 
means you need a lot of work on your short game.  Because I'm only averaging 
34.9% of greens in regulation, yet my average score is 43.6 for 9 holes.  And
I'm not the worlds best putter, averaging 17.9 putts a 9 hole round.  I am
averaging 54.7% fairways hit off the tee though, and that's an improvement 
over my last 2 seasons.  That came from playing a fade and not trying to hit 
it straight or drawing the ball and ending up in the rough or worse on the 
right side of the fairway.
	This by no means, means to give up on learing how to hit it straight 
or drawing the ball, but is just a suggestion on how you can score a little 
better and get more enjoyment out of the game.  Some people just have a 
natural swing tendancy to fade the ball, and all the practice in the world 
doesn't change the fact, that their natural swing will cause a left to right 
motion on the ball.

Beak

    Mark, thjis happens to me three or four times a year !
    
    When I get into bad habits, I take a week off. Don't even
    think about golf.
    
    Then when my mind is straight, I try to relax an swing with a full
    easy tempo. I don't try to crush the ball or set a goal for myself.
    Play for the pleasure of being out doors.
    
    I'll have a good round, have some fun, then things will be back in
    check. This lasts for a few weeks, then POW, it happens again.
    
    To me it seems to happen when I start to consistantly hit 45 or one or
    two less. I feel that "great, it's coming together." I believe it is
    because I put more pressure on myself to improve, feeling like I can
    hit sub 45 EVERYTIME.
    
    The WORST thing for me to do is go to a driving range to "work out
    a probelm." I only go when I'm playing and swinging well. Then it is
    to practice with a purpose. Like only short irons, or only long irons.
    This seems to build up my confidence with those clubs.
    
    Right now, my short game and putting is going great. Last night in
    DEC league play, I shot a 48. With only 13 putts. Several nice chips 
    to the green...Tonight I have Club Twilight. I'm going to practice
    chipping for about 30 minutes before. My philosphy right now is to get 
    on and close in 3 (for par 4's, 4 four par 5's) and putt for a par. If
    I get on in 2, great.........Bird Time !
    
    Hope this helps. Plesae realize, I'm no Jack what's his face....
    
    Jim

    Or if you can't or don't want to stay away from the game, here is a tip
   that might help out.   Try playing a couple of rounds with just a 7 iron
   (or whatever club you feel comfortable with now).  Play the par 3's like
    par 4's , 4's like par 5's etc.  You should be able to hit most of the
    fairways, you will be taking the pressure off and you can gain more
    confidence which afterall, is 99% of this game anyway.  When you have
    the confidence back, then try introducing the other clubs to your game
    again.

-rick

There are three things I try to concentrate on when my
swing gets off track:

    (1) Concentrate on an easy, loose swing where I swing
        my arms instead of the clubhead.  I have to convice
        myself over and over that the club will make solid
        contact with the ball as long as I don't get in its
        way!  Don't swing hard, swing loose.

    (2) Watch the ball until it disappears.

    (3) Concentrate on a good forward weight transfer by
        stepping down on my left foot to initiate the
        downswing (instead of jerking the club down with
        my hands).

    (4) Always have a target and a "shape" for your shot.
        It's easy to go to the range and hit an entire
        bucket of balls without once picking a target.

I have been practicing (2) and (3) for a long time.  (1) and 
(4) are things I've just started doing.  It's amazing how much
more solid my shots become when I "think loose" -- the slices
and duck-hooks go away.

Also, I try to be more aware of the quality of my shots.  If
I see that a little slice is coming into my long irons or
fairway woods, or if I don't get the distance I should (say,
185-190 yards for a 5-iron), I go right back to concentrating
on these basics.

Good luck!

Anthony

     Get another pro.
    
    --Jack

Mark,

	Your note sounded so familiar, especially "losing" the swing and 
fighting the outside-in swing path.  I got some good advice from a pro this 
past winter.  He said when you lose the swing to go to the range and work 
only one club, the 7 iron.  Check the basics -- grip, set-up, etc.  Feel
the correct position on the backswing, i.e. where should your hands be, and
groove a new swing from that position.  Do not go to another iron until you
can master the 7.  

	For the first time this season I hit 2 buckets, 80% with the 7 iron 
first, and it seemed to payoff on Sunday (12 GIRs, 11 FIRs).  Unfortunately, 
the short game yielded 7 three putts, a sculled sand shot into the woods,
etc.  Even though I shot an 88 I was happy with my ball striking...

Jeff

When you think you have really lost it I recommend the following:

1. Take at least a week off.  To help purge those bad thoughts/habits from your
   memory.

2. Go back to the pro who knows your game.  Listen to what he says & do whatever
   he says.  ("After all you have a long term relationship with him, so you
   trust what he wants you to do, even if the results aren't great in the
   short term.")

3. Practice, practice, practice.  Don't even think of going back on the
   course until you have built a level of confidence in your "new" swing.
   On the course you have additional pressures that you don't encounter on
   the range like shots that are all carry, woods, bunkers, the results of
   a previous bad shot.

4. When practicing remember.  Hit more good shots than bad.  Check & recheck
   your fundamentals & swing keys.

Larry

    Mark,
    
    I can really sympathise with you here. 
    
    At the start of the year, I decided to have A lesson with the pro
    at the local range. I'd been playing to about 16-18 but decided
    I wanted to get better and it wasn't going to happen on its own.
    So a FEW lessons later I couldn't even hit a 7 iron 30yds without
    shanking it!! I went round my usual 9 holer in a horrible 64!!!
    
    I think I was telling myself I couldn't hit the ball anymore. But
    it's a question of accepting changes and being patient. Now I'm
    back to my old level and looking good to improve. 
    
    Just don't let it get you down too much...it WILL come back. Don't
    try too hard, but get a few shots going with a short swing, feet
    together and build it up gradually. Getting a smooth tempo is so
    important in all this. 
    
    
    Good luck...you CAN do it.
    
    
    Phil.
    
    

    of all the advice the tempo suggestion is what has helped me.  I had a
    lot of problems with my long irons and hit a 3 as easy as possible and
    yesterday had periods where I was hitting as well as I ever had - one
    truly memorable 4 iron.  I did see the need to take this concept to the
    practice area.
    On practice - I have an idea now that I need to move from practice to
    the course when I feel I am hitting correctly on the range.  I don't
    see that idea mentioned usually.
    
    Finally this is important to me and that is EVERYTHING ELSE but the
    club in your hand and I mean head to toes, such as
    hat or no hat (sun or no sun)
    croakky for glasses - 
    comfortable shirt
    "   	pants - don't where dungarees
    foot joy socks only
    are spikes okay - right shoes for you
    are you carrying water...
    
    perhaps all this MISCELLANIA should comprise a seperate note - these
    are all things that I have adapted to get me from 50s to 40s.
    
    bb

    Mark,
    I'm going through the same thing..and after a pro lesson I was 79
    on North from the whites and it's been down hill ever since!
    
    It's slump city, and driving ranges don't help other than a quick
    warm up for an ESTABLISHED swing.
    
    Back to basics and the Ben Hogan book and using Stowaway as a
    practise course!
    
    I say pick a "beginners course" and experiment until it feels good.
    Then see if it happens on a driving range , especially the driver.
    There's nothing like hitting long irons of real grass to let you
    know how bad your swing is!
    
    Divots tell a lot,about everything.
    MY two cents,Ang
    

Mark,

Well, we know you're normal.  We all go thru periods of doubt.  You're getting
lots of ideas here.  I'll throw in how I handle frustration in the game.

Some say "get away from the game" for a couple of weeks.  I don't feel that's
the answer.  I agree with Nicklaus.... if you're hitting that poorly, pack up
your sticks and go home...

BUT, don't forget it.  THINK about ALL the things you're doing in your swing. 
Draw mental pictures of it.  Keep on reviewing the fundamentals.  The big plus
to golf is understanding CAUSE and EFFECT!  I keep doing my homework on my
problem until I or my pro, or both of us, have found the "causes."  I study my
golf videos and read.  Then I GO BACK to the range and work on it.

I don't agree with going to courses to work on a problem.  I feel that only
compounds frustration.  I get to caught up in each shot in the game, which
leaves me with not working to find the answers of "cause & effect."

I recently had trouble with my driver.... hooking and pulling the ball rather
badly.  I usually play 9 holes.  If I go to a course and play 9, I'll hit the
driver 7 times, (two holes being par 3's).  That ain't much practice with the
driver, now is it?  

I go to the range and start hitting my short irons and working back.  I'll
often hit 1 large bucket with irons, then hit a second bucket with my 5 wood,
as I like that club and build confidence with it, of all the long clubs.  I'll
hit about 2/3's of the last bucket with the driver.  Here's where I'll solve my
problems.  I constantly remind myself of the fundmentals of the swing.... what
I've read from Nicklaus, what I've seen from his videos, and what my pro has
told me.  And I've been getting good results, BECAUSE I STICK WITH THAT PLAN. 
I MUST KNOW why.  I MUST UNDERSTAND CAUSE AND EFFECT!

I have found that hitting EASY shots with the driver has helped my tempo.  I
will shorten my swing also.  I do this expecting to hit the kind of shot I
picture in my mind.  When I start hitting straight, or even fading the ball, I
start increasing my club speed and arc. Recently, I have started hitting about
3 balls... smooth and easy this way, and then taking a FULL swing at the fourth
ball and load up on it.  Then I start the loop again, 3 easy/smooth, and then
load the 4th.  I have found this helpful, indeed.

Mark, I started off this year, hitting low 40's and a 39.  I went into a bad
slump, hooking badly.  My scores jumped to mid 40's, then high 40's, and once
shot a 50!  I was sick over it!  I was trying lots of things and listening to
everyone.  My pro and Nicklaus got me going, with my pro finding some things
that I may have never thought of.  Now I'm back to shooting low 40's and
recently shot a 37.  I expect to hit good, straight shots, but if I muff one...
I don't get excited.  I simply concentrate on what makes the ball react the way
it does.

Mark, don't give up the ship, and don't forget about golf for a while.  Be
patient and know that it's just a matter of time until you get a handle on it. 
You'll finally say, "Wow!  It was so simple!"  

If you lose confidence in your pro, then find another one, but I'd really
recommend that you DO SEE one!  If possible, have a video taken of your swing
from various angles.  If you've not read "Golf My Way" by Jack Nicklaus, then
I'd like to suggest that you pick up a copy today.  Rent the video as well.  To
me, Jack Nicklaus sets the standard.  I prefer his swing to anyone and he is
so good at letting us get into his head in this book!  He's a great role
model.  Am I a fan??  Yes.  But I'll take his advice over another fellow on the
course that's full of "ideas" but shooting no better than I am.

It's like going to Vegas and listening to a fellow tell you how to play Black
Jack at the table, how to bet, when to double-down.... and then you realise...
hey, this guy is wearing a torn sweater and pants!!!  He's telling me how to
bet and I'm listening!!!  That's why I put "free advice is worth every cent" at
the top of this note.... you'll have to decide how/what to do about your
problem, yourself.

Hang in there, Mark.

-dwight

                "Tough times don't last.... Tough people do."

    It happens to everybody trying to learn the swing. Relax and go see a
    PGA pro and listen to him and and follow his advice. Don't despair your 
    learning a skill which will last a lifetime and it does not come easy
    and it takes a long time - Three to six years - with constant ups and
    downs.

    re: everyone

    Thanks for the help and advice.  As I mentioned in my title "Misery
    loves company", it is evident to me that most of us have been there.
    Thanks for the company.  :-)

    The ideas given have helped, if nothing else to my confidence that
    there is something I can do.  I've taken to heart almost all of it
    (from taking some time off, to getting back on the range and working on
    fundamentals).  What is weird is that although it *feels* like I'm
    going inside out, my divots (and fade) indicate that my club-head is
    still a little bit outside in.  Oh well...

    My confidence is coming back.  I played nine holes the other night and
    hit 6 of 7 fairways (not counting the par 3s) with my driver.  They
    weren't *monster* drives, (I'm not a big hitter anyway), but they were
    straight and solid.  I'm a plodder, not a smasher.  (I like Mike Reid's
    style). :-)

    My scores aren't where I want to be, but man, it's starting to at least
    be fun again.

    Now to work on the short game, (sigh) it's gone down the tubes...  :-{

    Thanks again,
    
        +- Mark

    I know what you're going through, but don't have any quick-fix advice
    to offer. A couple of years back, I developed an almost psychopathic
    aversion to the pitching wedge, reaching the point where I was
    literally afraid to swing it, for fear the ball would come straight up
    into my face and knock me cold (it sure did a lot of weird things with
    the kind of swings I was making with the wedge). Two years later,
    there's still some residual anxiety about using the P club, but I've
    learned that the secret is (as many have already said) to relax and
    trust your swing (assuming you've got one that deserves to be trusted,
    for which a lesson or two with a qualified pro is recommended). Good
    luck...as you say, you've got lots of company!
    
    	Frank