I tend to forget (sometime) what works best for me...

Things I try to remember
(1) I stand tall with little knee flex
(2) Strong left grip and week right grips

Last 2 wks I played 3 rounds and had problems mainly "topping the ball"... In the end, I realize that I played neutral right grip, . Once I changed it I hit the ball quite nicely again (i hate it what that happens).
Do U guys/girls/AC-DC have the same problem or it's just me   ,,,, I guess that's what happens when i don't play often enough, hate it, hate it, hate it....

Make notes on what was wrong and what was right with your round. When you change something like your grip or setup and it works better or corrects a flaw, write it down. After a round with my club, I will often make an electronic copy of the gross scores and insert some text listing what was in my bag and what was good and bad. If a club was mis-performing for a round, it will be out of the bag and replaced by something else for the next round. For example, my last round was the second round of a two day stroke play tournament and it was my worst round in several years for ball striking. So all my irons except for gap and sand wedge are being replaced for this Saturday's round. The hybrid and 3 wood I had in last Sunday are gone and replaced by my new Mashie hybrid and an old Cobra Baffler hybrid that I reshafted with a more flexible stock Baffler shaft. The Titleist irons I've been playing for over a month are out and will be replaced with MX 20's from 5-PW that I put IROD stiff graphite shafts in last year.

I've got my grip where it needs to be. My ball position and stance are pretty much spot on. If the club changes don't work, maybe I'll get some pot and smoke it before the next round or something.

Mongrel wrote:Make notes on what was wrong and what was right with your round. When you change something like your grip or setup and it works better or corrects a flaw, write it down. After a round with my club, I will often make an electronic copy of the gross scores and insert some text listing what was in my bag and what was good and bad. If a club was mis-performing for a round, it will be out of the bag and replaced by something else for the next round. For example, my last round was the second round of a two day stroke play tournament and it was my worst round in several years for ball striking. So all my irons except for gap and sand wedge are being replaced for this Saturday's round. The hybrid and 3 wood I had in last Sunday are gone and replaced by my new Mashie hybrid and an old Cobra Baffler hybrid that I reshafted with a more flexible stock Baffler shaft. The Titleist irons I've been playing for over a month are out and will be replaced with MX 20's from 5-PW that I put IROD stiff graphite shafts in last year.

I've got my grip where it needs to be. My ball position and stance are pretty much spot on. If the club changes don't work, maybe I'll get some pot and smoke it before the next round or something.

I like the idea... but it's much cheaper in VN   ....

I did that, ONCE, and realized it's a big mistake.

I basically wandered around the fairway and then spent what seemed about an hour, watching the trees sway in the breeze.  

First hole took 30 minutes.

Then we got yelled at by the group behind us and my bud (sic) and I shot the worst rounds of our careers.

I do tend to make the same mistakes over and over again. It's like I can only keep track of 4 out of 5 things, and 1 is always forgotten.

I agree that it's from a lack of play and practice. I will have stretches of holes where I remember to do everything, then out of nowhere I'll forget something in my setup or tempo.

It's funny, but I'll have a couple consecutive rounds where I'll hit the ball beautifully and score fantastic, just effortlessly. I'll think I've found some breakthrough by focusing on one simple thought. Then a week will pass, I'll play again and I am hitting the ball like sh!t.

Pky6471 wrote:

Mongrel wrote:Make notes on what was wrong and what was right with your round. When you change something like your grip or setup and it works better or corrects a flaw, write it down. After a round with my club, I will often make an electronic copy of the gross scores and insert some text listing what was in my bag and what was good and bad. If a club was mis-performing for a round, it will be out of the bag and replaced by something else for the next round. For example, my last round was the second round of a two day stroke play tournament and it was my worst round in several years for ball striking. So all my irons except for gap and sand wedge are being replaced for this Saturday's round. The hybrid and 3 wood I had in last Sunday are gone and replaced by my new Mashie hybrid and an old Cobra Baffler hybrid that I reshafted with a more flexible stock Baffler shaft. The Titleist irons I've been playing for over a month are out and will be replaced with MX 20's from 5-PW that I put IROD stiff graphite shafts in last year.

I've got my grip where it needs to be. My ball position and stance are pretty much spot on. If the club changes don't work, maybe I'll get some pot and smoke it before the next round or something.

I like the idea... but it's much cheaper in VN   ....

In August of 1970, we made an unplanned landfall in the beautiful seaside village of Vung Tau due to a collision off coast. Vung Tau was the closest port with pier facilities that we could use to get patched up and back to the fight. The first of my crewmates to go ashore came back all excited because they found some local villagers who were selling packs of USA made Salems and Marlboros. Except that the tobacco was substituted for the indigenous ganja that was so strong that three tokes would keep you up and buzzing for eight hours. The beauty of the deal was that the packs were resealed to look like factory jobs. They had U.S. military tax stamps on them, AND (the best part), they cost one dollar Murican per pack. That's five cents a piece for hours of nirvanic stonedness.

Mongrel wrote:

Pky6471 wrote:

Mongrel wrote:Make notes on what was wrong and what was right with your round. When you change something like your grip or setup and it works better or corrects a flaw, write it down. After a round with my club, I will often make an electronic copy of the gross scores and insert some text listing what was in my bag and what was good and bad. If a club was mis-performing for a round, it will be out of the bag and replaced by something else for the next round. For example, my last round was the second round of a two day stroke play tournament and it was my worst round in several years for ball striking. So all my irons except for gap and sand wedge are being replaced for this Saturday's round. The hybrid and 3 wood I had in last Sunday are gone and replaced by my new Mashie hybrid and an old Cobra Baffler hybrid that I reshafted with a more flexible stock Baffler shaft. The Titleist irons I've been playing for over a month are out and will be replaced with MX 20's from 5-PW that I put IROD stiff graphite shafts in last year.

I've got my grip where it needs to be. My ball position and stance are pretty much spot on. If the club changes don't work, maybe I'll get some pot and smoke it before the next round or something.

I like the idea... but it's much cheaper in VN   ....

In August of 1970, we made an unplanned landfall in the beautiful seaside village of Vung Tau due to a collision off coast. Vung Tau was the closest port with pier facilities that we could use to get patched up and back to the fight. The first of my crewmates to go ashore came back all excited because they found some local villagers who were selling packs of USA made Salems and Marlboros. Except that the tobacco was substituted for the indigenous ganja that was so strong that three tokes would keep you up and buzzing for eight hours. The beauty of the deal was that the packs were resealed to look like factory jobs. They had U.S. military tax stamps on them, AND (the best part), they cost one dollar Murican per pack. That's five cents a piece for hours of nirvanic stonedness.

Oh Yeah!!! , how could I forget, I used to do a day-trip from Saigon to Vung Tau and back during my HS years, could not hide that from my Dad because my skin turned darker... Plenty of girls hanging out with the American GI in Vung Tau, I hope you got laid... Yes, August 1970 I was still in SG, did not leave until Dec.1970... miss that country but I hate the current government, that's why I have not been back since.. I am proud to be an American, I never forget what this country has offered me : CHANCES

Horseballs wrote:I do tend to make the same mistakes over and over again.  It's like I can only keep track of 4 out of 5 things, and 1 is always forgotten.  

I agree that it's from a lack of play and practice.  I will have stretches of holes where I remember to do everything, then out of nowhere I'll forget something in my setup or tempo.  

It's funny, but I'll have a couple consecutive rounds where I'll hit the ball beautifully and score fantastic, just effortlessly.  I'll think I've found some breakthrough by focusing on one simple thought.  Then a week will pass, I'll play again and I am hitting the ball like sh!t.  

I think the issue is the nature of your swing thoughts. You have to delve deeper into the psyche to retrieve the swing thoughts of value. For instance, my swing thought right now with my driver is "Rip it like a chili fart!", which hopefully means a long and thunderous boom, but could also mean a squeaky little left to righter that gets a bit wet at the end. Either way, I'd hardly blame the outcome of my shorts/shots on my swing thoughts. It's what you ate that you're shitting out all over the course. You need to figure out what's giving your swing the shits and stop eating it. Bad swing thoughts are worse than no swing thoughts.

Think about the shot, stop thinking about the swing. Let your subconscious make the swing that produces the shot you see. Get out of your own way.

The real cure to your problems is to stop playing with the mentality of a hacker. Players have confidence. Hackers have swing thoughts.

Golf food is important but I bet no one but a few amateurs and some of the pro's know it. It has taken me years but I am starting to figure it out. First of all, it is vitally important to me to take a thorough dump in the morning prior to playing a round. Whatever I ate the day before has to be gone or stilll working to convert food substances to golf swing and brain helpers. Two weeks ago I played in a club two-day stroke play event. Friday evening before the Saturday morning round, I made myself a bunch of steamed flounder filets and steamed rice. Saturday morning I ate a nice steamed salmon filet and the leftover rice. I finished that round in a tie for third. Saturday evening, my wife thought it would be nice to eat out so that I could get a good dinner under my belt for the Sunday round so we went to a local Mexican food chain restaurant where I had a generous helping of chili rellenos and tamales complimented by several helpings of refried beans. Sunday morning I ate a nice cheeseburger and some home-fried potatoes. Later on, I shot the worst ball-striking round I had in several years.

FreakOfNature wrote:

Horseballs wrote:I do tend to make the same mistakes over and over again.  It's like I can only keep track of 4 out of 5 things, and 1 is always forgotten.  

I agree that it's from a lack of play and practice.  I will have stretches of holes where I remember to do everything, then out of nowhere I'll forget something in my setup or tempo.  

It's funny, but I'll have a couple consecutive rounds where I'll hit the ball beautifully and score fantastic, just effortlessly.  I'll think I've found some breakthrough by focusing on one simple thought.  Then a week will pass, I'll play again and I am hitting the ball like sh!t.  

I think the issue is the nature of your swing thoughts. You have to delve deeper into the psyche to retrieve the swing thoughts of value. For instance, my swing thought right now with my driver is "Rip it like a chili fart!", which hopefully means a long and thunderous boom, but could also mean a squeaky little left to righter that gets a bit wet at the end. Either way, I'd hardly blame the outcome of my shorts/shots on my swing thoughts. It's what you ate that you're shitting out all over the course. You need to figure out what's giving your swing the shits and stop eating it. Bad swing thoughts are worse than no swing thoughts.

Think about the shot, stop thinking about the swing. Let your subconscious make the swing that produces the shot you see. Get out of your own way.

The real cure to your problems is to stop playing with the mentality of a hacker. Players have confidence. Hackers have swing thoughts.

Unfortunately, I agree with your assessment. I really don't play or practice enough to rely a totally thought free swing. When playing my best, I do think about the shot, and always have a shot in mind. When I'm not playing well, I think about what my stock shot looks like and try to get that to jive with whatever I've got left. Totally backwards. I had a killer 9 going in Florida last week where I was -1 through 6 or so holes. -1 was the worst score I could have had, with multiple really good looks at birds and stress-free pars. Totally engaged and playing shots. Then I get to a par 4 with absolutely nothing to frame the hole. I knew I was in trouble. Predictably, a bad shot ensued and it knocked me out of the zone.

Perfect definition of the phrase "suits my eye". I grew up playing golf on tradition tree-lined parklands style courses in the east. When I first played in Florida in the 1960's, it took some time to adjust to the lack of topography but the trees were still there. I still struggle on the modern "links" design courses that have proliferated in the Mid Atlantic. I need to see permanently-affixed sh*t to aim at off the tee or I can be toast despite the most rock solid Jack Niklaus spot alignment. And I don't mind blind tee shots and approaches so long as there is a tree or hillock or house or silo or power pole to aim at.

Mongrel wrote:Perfect definition of the phrase "suits my eye". I grew up playing golf on tradition tree-lined parklands style courses in the east. When I first played in Florida in the 1960's, it took some time to adjust to the lack of topography but the trees were still there. I still struggle on the modern "links" design courses that have proliferated in the Mid Atlantic. I need to see permanently-affixed sh*t to aim at off the tee or I can be toast despite the most rock solid Jack Niklaus spot alignment. And I don't mind blind tee shots and approaches so long as there is a tree or hillock or house or silo or power pole to aim at.

I prefer something in range to aim at or off of. Even if I'm trying to stay inside a tree line or something, I tend to have an idea what I want the shot to look like. I have a tough time aiming at things in the horizon for some reason.

Horseballs wrote:Unfortunately, I agree with your assessment.  I really don't play or practice enough to rely a totally thought free swing.  When playing my best, I do think about the shot, and always have a shot in mind.  When I'm not playing well, I think about what my stock shot looks like and try to get that to jive with whatever I've got left.  Totally backwards.  I had a killer 9 going in Florida last week where I was -1 through 6 or so holes.  -1 was the worst score I could have had, with multiple really good looks at birds and stress-free pars.  Totally engaged and playing shots.  Then I get to a par 4 with absolutely nothing to frame the hole.  I knew I was in trouble.  Predictably, a bad shot ensued and it knocked me out of the zone.  

I've found that if I have a shot in my mind that I can see the shape of, that if I just think about that shot while rehearsing a swing or two, I'll more often than not hit a shot really close to the shot I envisioned. It's like you said though, if you get to a shot where you just can't picture in your head the shot you'd like to hit, that's when it goes south in a hurry. In situations like that I think you just have to force yourself to make a choice, and pick a shot to play, hell play your stock shot. See it in your mind against the periphery of the hole, and just let your swing do the talking. Shot-making can be as organic as you allow it to be, you just need a little confidence and a healthy dose of imagination.

Once you revert to swing-making instead of shot-making, you won't be trying to play shots anymore, you'll be trying to play the same game Larry does, and chasing the ball all over the course.

Perfect shots do not require perfect swings. Quit playing golf swing and go score.

Horseballs wrote:I prefer something in range to aim at or off of.  Even if I'm trying to stay inside a tree line or something, I tend to have an idea what I want the shot to look like.  I have a tough time aiming at things in the horizon for some reason.  

Here's a sneaky little trick, but it might help you in the future.

Once you determine which way you want to hit, make a practice swing and drive a divot a good ways down your intended target line. OOPS. What a bad practice swing that was. I'm such a hacker today. Use that divot for alignment and to help give you a frame of reference when visualizing your shot.

Hit the shot before replacing the divot. Just make sure to replace the divot afterwards. Not many things I hate more than people not replacing their divots, and not fixing their ball marks on the green.

Also, keep this tactic in the bag until you absolutely need it, only bring it out on holes where you really don't have anything to aim off.

BTW, I'm not condoning such unsportsmanlike behavior, I'm just detailing the mechanics of such a process...  

I tried that trick once but my practice swing divot fell beside my ball and, since I was playing by strict USGA rules, could not remove it. Of course the shot went awry.

My acquaintance "PGA professional" who is a 2-cap (used to work at DuPont CC, now runs a golf shop at Dick's Sporting Goods) told me that decent/good iron players should have butt end of grip points 2-3 inches left of his/her zipper. That would help then to compress a ball and turn a 7-i club into a 5i loft . I know I don't properly shift wt so my 7i still yield 7i loft. He told me to play with butt end points to my left hip (8-10 in left of my zipper) with a square face... with that I hit at least 10 to 15 yds longer , and still plenty of height...

Well whatever works... different strokes for different folks

HIT THAT DAMN THING   

Good iron players will strike the ball with the shaft leaning forward a bit so that the clubface is de-lofted. So that 7 iron may very well have an effective 5 iron loft at impact. If your swing is not timed right, you could also get a very fat shot or a clunker out to the right just short of a shank. Of course there are a bunch of other important factors to consider such as iron sole design, shaft length, weight and flex, and how strong you are.

Recently, I have given up trying to hit my irons the distances I used to. Saturday, I had several approaches of about 150. The turf was sort of wet and the air was heavy with humidity and we were playing right next to the Chesapeak Bay. So instead of trying to whack a delofted 7 iron, I took my 5 iron and purposely hit a couple of those shots with little forward shaft lean and almost no divots. Both those shots turned out very well. Straight on the string to the flags leaving short birdie putt and chip. Which I missed, of course.

A guy who I used to play with had an even sneakier trick. He played 2 seasons of college golf for a mid-major D1 school, so he's no chopper, but I question the legality. He would drag the club on the turf and make a line to align his feet. He did it all over the place, and I used to do it as well. I have to think that is not legal.

I just finished our club championship qualifier this weekend. Kind of a train wreck. It was a 36 hole qualifier for 8 spots in matchplay. I pretty much shot myself out of it after the first 9 holes. I caught a couple of bad breaks early on, but it really wouldn't have mattered.

The second 18 was a really fun round. I needed around a 71 to qualify, and though I have done it before, it certainly wouldn't be likely. I decided to fire at pins all day long. Not necessarily play aggressively off every tee box, but go for every tucked pin. I made 5 birdies. I didn't come close to qualifying but it certainly was a fun way to play.

I also tried to commit to playing shot shapes on several holes. I primarily draw the ball or hit it straight, but I can cut the ball. Or at least I think I can cut the ball. I double-crossed a cut on our par 3 2nd hole and hit it OB, which I previously thought was impossible. I also did the same thing on the par 4 16th. Two other shots into greens were long and left from a failed cut. Guess I have something to work on.