Gotcha - yeah I wasn't blaming the instruction. I was just wondering.

tandy miller said:

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Have been playing for 5 years. Typically shoot 90-100. Take lessons. Lately it doesn't matter what I do, I can't make solid contact. My practice swings are great, but as soon as I step over the ball it all goes to hell. It's almost like target panic in archery. Last time I played I shot a 68 on the front and got so frustrated I broke a wedge over the back of my neck and had to get stitches. I don't know what to do... I love golf, but the game is no longer fun

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The difference between 72 and 92 is 1/16th of an inch...

Tiger misses cuts, tiger had the shanks, tiger couldnt chip the ball 25 feet. It happens to every single golfer who has ever picked up a club.

This time of year is the absolute worst. You have zero muscle memory, you want to play like the guys on tv and you have not put in any time to be remotely ready to play yet.

Relax, quit keeping score for a while. Practice while you play, try a different shot than you normally would. Take a risk, if it goes in the water hit them till you get one on the green.

Golf just like anything in life takes practice, but everyone is afraid to practice while playing because it will affect your score. SPOILER ALERT!!!!

Nobody cares, so quit worrying about your score!!!!!!! Your not turning it in to a scorekeeper at the end of the round. So go practice on the course the next 4 rounds and don't keep score. Focus on hitting a good shot, even if it takes several tries.

Then keep score.

Tandy my friend.....don't you dare give up. We've all.been through it in one way or the other. Stop playimg for score for a while. Play shot by shot and just HAVE fun!! Enjoy being outside with friends and just enjoy the game for what it is.

I'll be back soon and we'll tee it and have a few cold ones!!

What clubs have you got in the bag? I mean since your quitting I might take them off your hands so you won't be tempted to play.

I've quite - taken long breaks - multiple times.
It's good to get some perspective.

Turn up the music and drink more beer, golf is better that way. Serious golf is for the <1% and I've seen both sides. Enjoy your company and the un-interrupted time with friends/family.

Keep at it dude! A lot of good advice on this thread, but JJ said it best. Make it fun again. Trying too hard ruins the sport.

I know because I've been there haha. I have been grinding like hell recently trying to get my cap down before number two shows up, and my scores have gotten worse. The last couple weeks, I've just been trying to get out there and enjoy it. Scores have gone down significantly. Play a weekly 2v2 scramble with buds.

Good luck man, and if you ever want to play a round in Dallas hit me up!

tandy miller said:

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Have been playing for 5 years. Typically shoot 90-100. Take lessons. Lately it doesn't matter what I do, I can't make solid contact. My practice swings are great, but as soon as I step over the ball it all goes to hell. It's almost like target panic in archery. Last time I played I shot a 68 on the front and got so frustrated I broke a wedge over the back of my neck and had to get stitches. I don't know what to do... I love golf, but the game is no longer fun

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I wouldn't quit, I'd change your approach.

In my case, I took lessons for years with instructors that told me to "feel" like I was doing this or that without much improvement. The best set of lessons that I've ever taken was back in 2003-2004 with an instructor that is now the teacher for several high-level pros on the PGA tour. We seldom hit a golf ball, but we talked extensively about what makes a good, proper golf swing. I learned a ton about the fundamentals of the golf swing from that guy!

Since then, I have continued to educate myself about the golf swing. I take a pretty analytical approach to about everything in life and that includes my golf game. What I found out is that the instructors that are trying to teach me how to feel something don't really connect to "my feel!" My feel is my own. If I can see something on a video, I can connect what I am doing to my feel.

Have an approach and a plan in mind to improve. This means understanding what your faults are and what direction you need to go. Not just blindly pounding golf balls on the practice range. Your goal for your practice should be to ingrain good habits so that you able to get over that ball with one swing thought and the target in mind. You always have to practice with a purpose.

The key for me to identify faults was to have an understanding of the fundamentals. Most amateurs do not understand what condition produces what kind of ball flight. Trackman (the radar ball tracker that you see on TV broadcasts) has provided a bunch of data on what determines how the ball flies and where it goes. They say its 85% clubhead angle.

You have to extend that knowledge to the swing fundamentals. When I was younger, I could drive the ball well, but at times I'd lose it. My big miss became a big, horrible snap hook with the driver. What produces this shot is a closed clubhead supported by an outside-in club patch. The fundamental element that I was screwing up was I was overpowering my left wrist and causing it to break down by trying to push my right hand through the shot for more distance which closes the clubface.

I'm not a physically talented golfer. I'm also getting older and find that I cannot take the practice anymore. My short game really is what is holding me back. I have been able to get may handicap to 5 which means that I have a lot of rounds in the 70s. At one time, I was lost and didn't know what to do. Taking lessons from a bunch of different pros over the years didn't help and my handicap went up to a 11 to 12. As I said, the key for me was understanding the fundamentals and drilling that into my feel not the teaching pro's feel.

As for your solid contact issue, you might want to get some impact tape and make sure that you know where on the club you are hitting the ball. You can even use it on the course if you think that you are not getting your practice swing to the course.

Best o' luck!

tandy miller said:

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Absolutely cant get any worse. Ill admit that my alignment tends to get lax as i shank ball after ball. I got my sand wedge that I broke reshafted but probably wont play again for awhile. Maybe thatll help

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QQ: do you know what causes a shank? The answer will surprise you.

GolfTec helped me a lot. The video doesn't lie

Rustys-Beef-o-Reeno said:

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When you have that bad of a stretch there are only two things that will help.
Take an extended break away and start fresh. Don't pick a club for 2 months

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Agree with this. Just had a kid a couple months ago, didn't take a single swing for 2+ months. Played for the first time last weekend. I was flat out awful for the first 2 - 3 holes. But after I loosened up, my ball striking was way better than when I stopped a couple months earlier.

I string together 7 straight holes of par/bogey after taking a few puffs....+5 on the last 7, which for me is amazing.

I like that idea. My best golf I have played was during a stretch when I would do stuff like this with a great golf buddy of mine during some more fun and relaxed rounds.

Went and hit at memorial today. First time picking up a club in over a month. Very low expectations. I tried to focus on seeing my shot, stepping up, and executing. No practice swings, no 10 seconds over the ball, etc. there's a ways to go but I can get the ball in the air again!

Stop being a lefty

It's a head game. If you go into it thinking you're not gonna make contact, you won't. Start having more fun with it and it will come back.

tandy miller said:

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Went and hit at memorial today. First time picking up a club in over a month. Very low expectations. I tried to focus on seeing my shot, stepping up, and executing. No practice swings, no 10 seconds over the ball, etc. there's a ways to go but I can get the ball in the air again!

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I'd get down to scratch in no time with that swing.

Swing is WAY better than mine. When people play with me for the first time I get crazy looks.

You see what happened with Speith and what he said, its a mental grind. Try to get out of your head, and build confidence. Its hard being positive after bad shots, but there is always a good one in a round to remember and build off of.

Good luck!

Thank goodness I'm not a lefty; I don't think I could deal with all the stupid comments.

68 on the front 9? I don't think ball striking is the issue.

Did I miss the answer?

CCred92 said:

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Did I miss the answer?

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No, I was hoping that the OP would answer that. The answer is that a shank is caused by a closed clubface. I know, that doesn't make intuitive sense.

If you look at the face of the club face-on and close the clubface 20 to 30 degrees, you see that the relative distance from the center of the face to the hosel decreases. If you happen to hit it just slightly inside of the center of the club when the clubface is closed, you have a good chance of catching the hosel and shanking the ball. People who's left wrist breaks down badly at impact will see a lot of shots that are low hooks and then the occasional shank to the right, which can be baffling. But both shots are actually caused by the same thing.

WP69 said:

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Good tip an instructor gave me years ago is if you're standing over the ball for more than 3 seconds, step away. Anything longer and your brain floods itself with the zillion things you think you're supposed to do.

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i got reminded of this several times yesterday when i would hit a really sh*tty shot...then angrily throw another ball down and take a thoughtless swing at it...and hit it really well.

dcrewint said:

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A shank can be influenced by a closed club face, but it is not the only cause.

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This. If the face is wide open, the hosel leads

Ragoo said:

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68 on the front 9? I don't think ball striking is the issue.

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I don't think it's the only issue. A piece of the puzzle. I'm hitting everything heavy

Rustys-Beef-o-Reeno said:

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You sure you're a natural lefty?

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Pretty sure. I can't even make contact righty. I've shot a ball down 85 lefty