The end of the road.

Break80

Hi Guys.
I am playing weekly for the last 5 years winter and summer. I am stuck on 18 all that time out to 19 down to 17 back to 18, I never minded before but when I see guys who took up the game after me droping down monthly it,s starting to get frustrating. I love getting out most Sundays start steady enough then the blanks come along and i am struggling to bring in 30 points.
I know you will say to get lessons but I had some starting out and he put so many thoughts in my head I am still trying to get them out on my backswing after all this time. I need to start from scratch and get some sort of dependable swing. Over the years I have scored 46pts[Best] 19pts[Worst].
Can anyone recommend a pro in the Cork City area who can teach me a simple swing I can depend on without being too technical as I am inclined to zone out with too much information. I am going to give it one more shot over the winter and let ye know how it goes.

PARlance

Can't help I'm afraid but at least you didn't put too much pressure on yourself with the username
Hope it works out for ya

GreeBo

not to pimp myself, but before you give up, try play every hole for a 2 putt bogey (unless you are within 100m in 1) and see what sort of score you bring in.
Then check your stats for that round and you will know exactly what you need to work on in your game to get lower. (and the bonus is that you probably wont put 0.1 back on!)

Gin77

Look up online the sean foley videos. He explains the golf swing in terms I can understand anyway. If its a swing issue.
If your like me you get bored on the golf course and like to take on shots, and this is effecting your scoring your fecked.
Try matchplay or V par comps. to get your hcp down.
Life is to short to be disciplined for 4 hrs on the golf course.
Maybe your issue with your high hcp is affecting how you preform during competitions. You could be conscious of yourself on the first few tee boxes if playing with other low hcps players.
Check your scoring trends, where abouts in your round do you score best or worst. It could be a mental thing.

denishurley

Break80, I'd recommend Wayne O'Callaghan in Fernhill GC. I've been going to him since May and in the past month I've gone from 22.4 to 17.7, with hopefully more to come. €35 per half-hour but definitely worth it

Break80

My confidence is rock bottom at the moment. I have no idea where the ball is going to finish. I had a +1 in v par 2weeks ago but 2 low 20s since. I seem to make a mess of 1 shot in every hole thus putting me under pressure to score. I feel every swing is different. I can leave the range happy with my ball striking but the minute I am on the course everything changes.
Any pros out there good with basket cases.
Thanks.

slave1

Hi mate, today's groupon has a lesson deal which is quite cheap, could be worth the punt?

ssbob

slave1 wrote: »

Hi mate, today's groupon has a lesson deal which is quite cheap, could be worth the punt?

I have used Brian quite a bit and out of "all" the pro's I have been to around Cork, what he has worked on with me has brought about the best results in the simplest of terms.

BTW, your handicap allows you to mess up 1 shot a hole.

Seve OB

Gin77 wrote: »

Try matchplay or V par comps. to get your hcp down.

How can matchplay competitions get your handicap down??

GreeBo wrote: »

try play every hole for a 2 putt bogey (unless you are within 100m in 1) and see what sort of score you bring in.

couldn't agree more. find a club you are comfortable with, eg a 6 iron, you might hit that 160-180 ish and reasonably straight. So for a 400yrd par 4, 2 whacks of a 6 should leave you a chip shot left of about 50 yards and 2 putts for bogey, but if you get your chip anyway close, gives you the chance for par.


I know this sounds boring and like a pain in the arse, but take a look around your club and the really good guys who go out on their own to play a few holes midweek evenings. I bet you will see a lot of them with a pencil bag and maybe 4 clubs in it. They still get their pars without all the fancy drivers etc...

Gin77

stevieob wrote: »

How can matchplay competitions get your hcp down?..

Well for one thing he might start enjoying golf again. Nothing worse than carrying a bad score. I'm not sure if you can get cut in match play but certainly in V par which is similar.
It sounds like a swing issue if your missing a shot on every hole.

GreeBo

Break80 wrote: »

My confidence is rock bottom at the moment. I have no idea where the ball is going to finish. I had a +1 in v par 2weeks ago but 2 low 20s since. I seem to make a mess of 1 shot in every hole thus putting me under pressure to score. I feel every swing is different. I can leave the range happy with my ball striking but the minute I am on the course everything changes.
Any pros out there good with basket cases.
Thanks.

Define "make a mess"?
Are we talking dribble along the ground/shank into the trees or an ok strike but hooking/slicing off somewhere bad?

If its the former then there it some basic fault that a pro etc should be able to discover, or you even might discover it yourself at the range. Just dont go into robot mode as that will hide these flaws very easily. Play a round of golf at the range.

If its the latter then off 18 its expected. Either the rest of your game (short game!) needs to improve drastically or you are putting yourself into un-recoverable positions due to poor course management.

Break80

Thanks Lads.
Everything ye said makes sense to me. I am playing twice in kilkenny next weekend. Sunday might be a non event due to the night before but I am going to play with a plan. Trusty 5 wood off the tee.no bigger than 7 iron from the fairway and hopefully a few up and downs along the way.I am going to stick to this for the 2 rounds and see how I fair out.I need to shoot in the 30s just to give my confidence a boost.
I will let ye know how it goes.

John Divney

If you have no idea where the ball is going to finsih, you have no control over your clubface.

You should learn where your club face is at all times from backswing to downswing, to get used to the feelings.

Use a mirror and practice a lot without the ball.

GreeBo

John Divney wrote: »

If you have no idea where the ball is going to finsih, you have no control over your clubface.

You should learn where your club face is at all times from backswing to downswing, to get used to the feelings.

Use a mirror and practice a lot without the ball.

personally I've never been able to learn much from swinging without the ball.
the ball will tell you what's wrong with your swing.

once you know, by all means practice some positions to resolve the known problem, but I've always found that my swing is perfect on slow motion because I am actively controlling it. the clubface control is passive during a real swing imo.
you can try to correct if you feel it's wrong, but I wouldn't promote actively trying to control the clubface during the swing.

John Divney

I think it is very important.because clubface control starts at takeaway. You don't practice your takeaway by pounding balls at a range, it's a waste of time. It's ingrained through repetition. Once it's done without having to think about it, you move on. Same as club plane, you ahve to work on it, by matching the feeling, to the actual position, then doing it until you no longer have to think about it, it's become your natural position.

He should know if his clubface is open closed, or neutral at takeawy, top, and halfway down. Otherwise you get differing results out on the course, because it's basically a hail Mary.

Only takes only a few minutes mirror work each day. When you have the position you want say halfway in the downswing, you know what it takes to square it from start to finish in release. You've basilcally narrowed down the area needed to work on, and then as you say ball flight will tell you.

This is passive if you use the body pivot release, but it's an active roll to control it using the 'roll' release.

Irishnige

the joys of partime golfing... i am going to work on my game over the winter months look online here http://golf-info-guide.com/golf-tips/ for good golf tips etc that will help all parts of your game, enjoy it even when your not playing well dont put too much pressure on yourself thats when its very frustrating....