Started playing again after 10yr layoff. Bought some used TM Irons, a 3W and 3H. Took some lessons starting in April. Was shooting over 100 back in April and after several lessons, my scores, ball striking, and consistency started improving. Scores kept coming down and I broke 90 for the first time in my life in June. Over a 3-week period I shot a 94, 88, 92, 87! I was thrilled and a a lot of confidence in all my clubs. When I shot the 88, I was literally a missed birdie (+2-putt coming back) and two terrible drives (all on the last 4 holes) from shooting 82 and breaking 40 on the back nine.

I followed that string with a 96....and I haven't been below 100 since then. Can't find any rhythm at all and it seems it is something different week to week. One week I cannot drive to save my life, the next I hit 12 of 14 fairways, but can't hit the green inside of 150yd. Two weeks ago, I could not chip AT ALL...had 3-holes in a row with a chance at an up/down par but took 2-3 chips to get on...then two putt!

My instructor suggested I stop keeping score and just focus shot to shot. While it seemed to help for a few holes last Saturday, my game completely fell apart after about 4-holes. Could not drive one hole, could not hit my Irons the next, could not chip the next...or a combination of all 3.....so frustrating.

TLDNR - Scores improving all spring/summer, now can't break 100.

Been in one of those for almost 6 months. I went from breaking 80 almost every other round to hitting duck hooks and shanks over the course. It finally seems like I starting to get back to where I was. All I can say is stay positive and get in the reps and it'll come back. It happens to everyone, even the pros.

I think a problem most people newer to golf run into is getting overly excited when you see improvement. Most don't realize that when you start having a success and gaining confidence in your swing you start swinging harder without realizing it. This causes your swing to get out of control and eventually you may lose your swing. I have found that spending time just grooving your swing, hitting the ball solid with a good tempo out at a practice are, keeps my confidence and mindset right. I find by doing this you never really lose your swing you can always just remember to slow down and go back to focusing on contact not so much shot shaping. Just my opinion. Hope it is helpful.

^^ Agreed!

Listen to Great Scott. That is damn good advice that took me years to figure out on my own. Whenever I'd start hitting the driver well I would get cocky and without realizing start trying to "kill it" instead of just doing what I had done that brought me success. The result was snap hooks or blocked shots and a ton of frustration. Focusing on contact instead of swing thoughts/mechanics has helped me lately. I played 3 rounds from last Friday - Sunday, focusing almost completely on just making contact with the middle of the club face and shot mid 70's everyday. I'm a 6 HC so it was really good to play that many rounds in a row so consistently.

Related to GreatScott's comments, when my game goes south it almost always has to do with swaying/head movement. And I never thought about it, but it usually follows a stretch of good golf. So there must be something to the confidence leading to over aggression.

I'm not good enough to give swing advice. But I will say that every casual golfer should know what their natural ball flight is. Mine is a baby cut. If I have a bad warm-up going, I'll take a 7iron, hit 3 little fades and go to the first tee and try to do the same with my driver. I don't practice or play enough to fight my swing so I just go with the one I brought that day or fall back on the ball flight that comes easy/natural to me.

Oh, and take an 8 iron and think putting stroke around the green(when you can). Get on, 2 putt, write down your bogey and be pleased. Eliminate flubbed shots around the green & 3 putts, and make 3 footers and you shoot in the 80's pretty regularly.

TheGreatScott describes exactly what happens to me. I will all of the sudden realize that I have been swinging out of my shoes on every shot. In addition, I get real quick at the top of my back swing. Slow down and find your tempo.

Try something new!

Thanks for the replies....I do have a bad habit of swaying back in my back swing and also of leaning towards the target at the top. Either of those leads to fat/thin shots or simply pushing the ball straight right. My instructor and I have spend several lessons working on this and the last few times at the range or course I've really focused on keeping my lower body quite and not swaying my hips back.

I actually hit the ball solid last week at the range but it just fell apart at the course. I was constantly right or left, behind trees and having to recover, could not chip, could not putt...just one thing after another. I think I par'd 2-holes, had a few bogey's but otherwise just terrible scoring and poor shooting.

Around the green, I do use my 8I occasionally but the course I played the last few times has a lot of greens where I have to get the ball up to get it on the green or the pin is so close I have no room to land and roll and 8I. If I have a good lie and angle to the hole, I do use the 8I.

After I play, I go back and look at my scores and a few time's it's just been 4-holes that are adding 15-strokes to my score! Just disaster holes (OB, Lost ball, 3-putts, etc.) that completely ruin an otherwise promising round. My instructor has repeatedly told me to focus on the good...if I'm hitting off the tee well-focus on that, chipping well-focus on that, putting well - focus on that. By focusing on the positive parts of my game, it can help me improve the rest of it.

Just so frustrating to be improving and at the point where on most holes I had a par putt. Now things have completely fallen apart over 10+ weeks now and I just cant' find my swing on a consistent basis.

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Been in one of those for almost 6 months. I went from breaking 80 almost every other round to hitting duck hooks and shanks over the course.

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This is my life. I played in New Mexico back in April for a friend's bachelor party. Before the round I was hitting balls on the range, 10-15 iron shots and everything was normal. Then out of nowhere, a hosel rocket. Then another. Then another. Shanked about 10 in a row before I walked off the range. I've been fighting it now for about 6 months. Been killing my driver/long irons recently, and everything inside about 75 yards is still good, but I am just physically incapable of hitting anything between a full wedge and a 7i.

Lots of good advice in here so hopefully I don't ruin the run of it.

For me when I'm in a funk I try to get back to the basics. I find a shot that I know I can hit even if it isn't the right shot. If I'm spraying my driver, I choke down and hit it 3/4 swing. Same thing with my irons. You won't lose nearly as much distance as you think you will.

If I'm having a hard time chipping/pitching, I go back to hitting chips like a putting stroke (taking the wrist out of it) because that seems to be harder for me to screw up.

The biggest thing about consistently shooting in the 80s isn't that you need to be making birdies, its avoiding anything worse than a bogey. 17 bogeys and a par is still an 89. It's hard to take your ego out of your golf game but scoring well is ultimately about grinding and not letting a hole get away from you. My golf buddies will rib me about playing ugly golf but I'd rather play ugly golf and score well than play "pretty" golf and shoot 100.

tldr: find shots you know you can hit, don't let your ego get in the way, grind grind grind.

Beer

My fix is almost always mental focusing on simple, yet forgettable things. Instead of thinking things like, "I've been struggling with my driver, I need to hit good drives today." I need to think, hit a good drive on this hole. After you do that, it is one less drive you have to worry about. Then its one approach shot. Every good shot you focus on and pull off is another one you don't have to worry about. The easiest way to shoot low scores is to simplify it to the point where you get 6-7-8 holes in where you focused and achieved one shot at a time and did not stress out over what is ahead. It sounds simple, but focus on just hitting that shot well and if you pull it off you don't have to do it again. Thinking about it that way has always helped me play well.

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Beer

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My go to for playing poorly or not calming down in a round. If I am playing well, I stay away from it til after the round. If it's a social round then IDGAF too much and generally don't get as down.

This is all regardless of how much of a rut I am in.

A couple tips that have helped me in the past:

- Cut yourself some slack. When you're struggling is not the time to hit off of tree roots, play mud balls from the fairway, drive back to the tee box when your ball gets taken by a fairway goblin, etc. If things start heading south during your round, give yourself a break and eliminate some bad bounces. Improve your lie a little bit, carry an extra ball in your pocket and let your B-player hit a few shots (if you can do so without holding up play). You won't have a score to post after you do this, but you'll probably have more fun and gain some confidence from hitting more good shots.

- Be realistic about what you are capable of. Sometimes I get it in my head that I can hit shots that I have no chance of pulling off. Then whenever I hit a crappy shot, I get mad. For example, if I had a shot where I needed to hit a low punch-slice to run it up onto the green from under a tree, I am setting myself up for failure. I can't hit that shot. So then whenever I try it, I fail and I get frustrated. If I would've decided to chip out into the middle of the fairway and give myself a chance to get up and down, I have a high chance of successfully chipping out. Now walking up to my next shot I have some confidence because I'm coming off of a successfully executed shot instead of walking up frustrated after not doing what I intended.

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For example, if I had a shot where I needed to hit a low punch-slice to run it up onto the green from under a tree, I am setting myself up for failure. I can't hit that shot.

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Speak for yourself.

Haha I would actually normally chip out too... But one instance from Pecan Hollow I hit a 4i approach on a par 4 like this. Cut it to the green on a low burner out of some thick thick rough off the right hand side of the fairway. Trees in between me and the green, with one huge branch extended out into the fairway.

^^^

I'm guessing #7 or #15

Was not hole 7. Let me think for a sec whether it was 15 or not...

Actually I think it was hole 11. Didn't take driver off the tee. Can't remember what kind of shot I hit out to the rough on the right. I opened the 4i up big time and chopped across the ball. Was a great knuckle ball cut.

Stop playing for awhile. A lot of my best golf has come after extended layoffs, either by choice or necessity (just couldn't find the time to play for a month or so). Also, a lot of my worst golf has come during periods of playing a lot.

I've been playing inside my abilities for a long time. I know there are shots I cannot make and I don't try them.

A few rounds ago, I was playing a hole with a creek that runs across the fairway takes up 210-240 range or right where I land my drive (drive with my 3W). So rather than trying to smash it over with a borrowed driver onto a very small landing area, or into the creek or off into the trees that hug the fairway, I just hit a nice safe 5i to one side of the fair way to give myself a good approach to the green (hole plays about 340 and has a kink at the creek). Well I pulled it a bit left into some rough and had trees between me and the hole. There was a narrow gap I could get through to the green, but I knew the chances of pulling that off were about 1%, so I chipped back to the fairway to give myself a good lie and clean shot at the green. 165 outtake out my 6I and promptly top it into the creeknext shot misses green, chip on, 2-putsdouble par.

That's the kind of stuff that's been happening. Just can't seem to string together more than2 decent shots, find myself in trouble, then taking penalties and end up with triple's or worse 3-4 holes in a row.

You want to get out of a rut ? I've got the answer. Play three rounds only using 5 clubs . You'll relax , you'll learn to hit different shots again. You will have a lot more success than you thinkyou will , hence the confidence comes back.

I'm serious , three rounds. even if it's just 9 holes each time. You will be amazed !

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Try something new!

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That's what I did

I head to the range and practice putting green.

It's crazy what you will remember about your golf swing at the end of a bucket of balls.

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You want to get out of a rut ? I've got the answer. Play three rounds only using 5 clubs . You'll relax , you'll learn to hit different shots again. You will have a lot more success than you thinkyou will , hence the confidence comes back.

I'm serious , three rounds. even if it's just 9 holes each time. You will be amazed !

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That is actually not a bad idea.

Club selection, know your capabilities, tempo tempo tempo.

And the range. If I'm not consistently practicing once a week at least, it can get bad real quick. I try not to go more than two weeks without touching my clubs. I strained my knee two and a half months ago and played my first round without any practice. Shot a true 99. In May/June I was consistently in the mid 80s. But my knee feels good finally and I'm excited to get back on the range. With the way Aggie football is going, I'm full steam ahead into golf season now.

Played with my son on Saturday. I was 4 over after 4...and THREE PUTTED ALL FOUR OF THEM!!!

Arggg......Finished with a 91. Had a NINE on #14, and three putted six times for the round. Really hit the ball well (except for #14) .

I went to the range last week and hit a ton of balls off the grass (hate the mats). Really focused on keeping my lower body quite on the back swing and getting a good hip turn on the down swing. I also carefully lined up my shots from behind instead of just hitting ball after ball, after ball as if each iron shot was at the green. It seems to have helped.

After the terrible #14, I hit a weak drive off #15. I realized I was not turning my hips at all on the downswing and probably had not been the last two holes. So on my next shot I nailed my 3H, flipped a 9I onto the green (par 5)...then three putted !!!!....

TLDNR - Shot a 91 with a +5 on one hole and 41 total putts. Hit the ball well. Didn't putt for crap! Still pretty pleased.