Golfing - Snatching addiction from the jaws of rehabilitation

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’m an awful golfer…plain and simple. I’m 25, and first picked up a club 2 years ago. Since then, I’ve played every couple of weeks during the season, and I’ve gotten noticeably better in that time. Better in that I can at least get the ball in the air more often than not, but I still only dream about shooting an honest 100. Hell, I can’t shoot 100 when I kick the ball back towards the fairway from behind trees and call anything less than a 6 foot putt a gimme. :wink: But in the end, I’ve always had fun despite sucking. And that’s all that matters, right?

However, this season has already gone from decent to awful. After having a couple really good (for me) rounds, I have found myself in the middle of a super-slump. At some point in the last couple weeks, I’ve literally forgotten how to swing a golf club. I shank and push and slice every shot. I top one stroke, and dig the next. I can’t consistenly hit any of my clubs longer than a 9-iron. And it’s a vicious circle…getting mentally “down” doesn’t help your game much.

All this has been a bit demoralizing. And two Saturdays ago was the last straw. I lost so many balls and shanked so many shots that I felt, for the first time, the price to play wasn’t worth it anymore. When the round was over, I wanted my time and my money back. As the culmination of a few terrible weeks, I decided that maybe I’m not cut out for this golf thing, and I could save a lot of time and money if I retired my clubs.

But, something happened that turned (almost) everything around. I was clicking around the internet and came across some message board chatter about hybrid/utility clubs. The distance of a wood, the control of an iron, the deep-rough-carving ability of…well…nothing else. I was skeptical at first, but kept seeing wondrous things written. I decided to see what this was all about.

I headed down to the local discount retailer, which always has a good selection of loose clubs for cheap. I found a cool looking hybrid club meant to replace a 3/4 iron, for only $30. I figured it couldn’t hurt, since I’ve got a 3-iron I don’t even bother to use because it’s useless in my hands. The sticker on the face even said “Easy to hit”…and I know that marketing never lies. I picked it up right before meeting a friend for 18 on Saturday, and so my chance to try it out came on the first tee. No practice, yo!

The first time I ever put the face of my new club to white dimpled plastic, it was on the tee box of a 335-yard par 4. I pulled out “Big Red”–which is actually red, but not big–in favor of my driver, since I can’t hit that club either. Took a swing, and felt the most solid, gratifying contact with a golf ball in ages. I sent my drive sailing 200 yards straight into the rough on the left of the fairway. I was ecstatic!!

Why so happy to be in the rough? Because that’s where I was aiming! Notice I said that it went straight into the rough. That NEVER happens. I’m so used to slicing half my shots–and pushing the other half–that I always aim left of the fairway so that I might not end up in the trees on the right. But this time, my over-compensation was a bad thing!

I continued to use the club all day, from tees, fairways and rough. Almost every shot went where I wanted it to, as long as I used that club. I’ve never hit long shots so consistently straight. It turned out to be a great day on the course. Still didn’t quite break 100, thanks to consistently three-putting my way to victory.

Today, I took it to the driving range to get it sorted out compared to my woods and long irons. It is now, officially, my driving club of choice for sure. I probably still get more overall distance out of my driver, but most of that travel is curled into a path that ends completely sideways from my aim. IOW, my driver shots travel 250+ yards to land 150 away…and in the wrong fairway. I slice my 3-wood almost as bad. And my 5 is more controllable, but lacks the disance. With my new club, however, I can consistently nail it 210-220 yards, which is (shamefully) as long as I’ve ever hit it. And it goes where I hit it…in a straight line!

I’m blown away. In no time at all, the joy is back in my game. For now, I’m not worried that I still can’t hit any other clubs…I’m just happy I can hit something. I still want to figure out my driver, because I know i’ve got many more yards to squeeze out of it. But for now, having something I can use to go out and not embarrass myself and others is all I can ask for.

Whew…that was long. If that’s not mundane and pointless, I don’t know what is.

2

Good for you and your new club.

It seems to me the one outstanding fault of beginners is that they swing a lot harder than their balance, timing and general athletic ability will support.

3

The hardest thing for a beginner to accept, often, that if all he does is play, and doesn’t spend most of his golf time practicing, he most likely won’t ever get much better. It’s a hard pill to swallow, because practicing is not near as much fun as playing.

4

A driver is not far behind the one-iron in the category of “difficult clubs to hit”. Oftentimes, one will make the discovery (as I peevishly observed at the range one day) that, in my case, my 4-wood when farther than my 2-wood. It comes down to spin aiding in flight, but not carry, which is what, say, a six-degree driver will have loads of if hit properly.

I’m not a teacher, but I have found that I’ve gotten the most success from keeping my left arm STRAIGHT throughout my swing, until the follow-through, and pretending that something is over the ball that I wish to swing under (a big savings from buying that stupid Inside Approach thing). Also, at the top of your swing, make sure the butt of the club is pointing backward. I’m missing a LOT of detail, mind; this is just what helped me, and pretty much cured my slice.

The Golf Channel, if you get it, has a lot of instructional information available on their programming.

All that said, take this opportunity to work on your short game. And, there are plenty of golf tips and lessons to be had online. I’ve always said this—if it’s anything the Interweb has in abundance, it’s Star Trek, porn, and golf tips. :slight_smile:

5

Ah menna say “went”. Sahr.

6

Damn, reading your post was like reading my own thoughts that I never knew I wrote down.
I bought a driving iron a year ago, and it’s still my most consistent club (though I have hit plenty of slices with it since). They tend to be very heavy down low, to help square-up the face when you come through. For those of us who aren’t realy focusing on “shaping” our shots, hitting fades and draws as a matter of strategy, these low-weighted irons are great. For more advanced players, I think they want irons without so much bulk on the back. Your pro shop probably has some demo irons. Check out the ones called blades. THey don’t have any extra weight on the back.

7

Aerodave , utility clubs are great for amateur golfers of all caliber. Even a lot of the pros are using them now. Its all about confidence and if you have a club you feel confident about, you’ll hit it better.

As for being in a slump, as with most things, its all relative. I’d love to be in one of Tigers slumps or Phils but with us high handicappers it just seems so much worse. The best piece of advice I was ever given regarding when your swing goes bad was given to me by a club pro at one of the private clubs in town. He was so well respected, players from other clubs in the area went to him for advice they couldn’t get elsewhere.

His advice was to slow down . Swing slower and easier, approx. half of your normal swing. His rational was that if, until that time, you had a reasonably decent swing and were playing not too bad, you needed to re-boot your muscle memory. Muscles do have memory and for periods of time and differing lengths of time, they forget.

Forget about yardage, concentrate on contact. Clubhead speed isn’t worth much if its all going sideways. Also, for the next couple of rounds, set a “personal par” for yourself. Pick a number for each hole which is a reasonable expectation for YOU. Play to that number and if you get it, great, if you don’t, well you’re one over, etc. Play that way and with any luck, your swing will find its way back.

Hang in there Dave , Its a great game even when you aren’t playing well. It comes and goes for everybody. It’ll come back! :wink:

8

As a matter of fact, I used to have a set of blades. My first set of clubs was a hand-me-down set from a friend. It was a set of clubs as old as I am, with blade irons. Still, I thought I was getting a good thing, because the shafts were about an inch longer than standard. I’m 6’3", and I was sure that the longer clubs would be helpful.

With those blades, I always had problems topping and digging. In general, I could never find the right swing to get under the ball properly. In the middle of last summer, i got a new set of clubs: standard off-the-shelf length shafts, and cavity-back irons. Almost instantly, I was able to consitently strike the ball correctly. At least in terms of getting it in the air. Still a lot of work to do on my pushing (irons) and slicing (woods).

I learned after visiting the local golf pro that my extra height is offset by long arms and a natural tendency to assume an address position slightly less upright than the average golfer. So, despite having the extra height, a standard-length club is the right fit for me. Never mind that fact that those damned blades were so unforgiving.

9

Aerodave , blades are very difficult to hit. Only pros and some very low handicappers play them. Stick with your cavity backs, you’ll hit them better and have more fun. :wink: