Consistency - where'd you buy it?!

Arddon

I have reasonable ability levels, but really lack in consistency both during a round, and from round to round, what's the best way to sort it out?

Practice I guess?
But what kind of practice? Cos the same thing can happen in practice I find, hit 25 great balls and 10 s***e ones...

SaveOurLyric

Arddon wrote: »

what's the best way to sort it out?

There isnt one unfortunately.
Golf is a contest of consistency, and thinking you are OK but inconsistent is the wrong way to look at it. An 'inconsistent' swing is just a bad swing. Not a swing that is sometimes good sometimes bad. Its the same swing, just with a very big accuracy band, and so the good ones are in fact just luck.

Arddon

I don't believe a good shot is luck
A good shot is generally the result of a good swing, which is in there somewhere & made every 5/10 times, I wanna know how best to up that to 7-8/10

dan_ep82

I've recently started hitting (which doesn't mean scoring) more consistently after a lesson that focused mainly in basics

Posture, grip and a good pre shot routine. Any thing I change from now on is only added to those, they are always a part of my swing done the same way.

It gives me confidence ( or removes the nerves alot) aswell which I think is a massive part of it

PARlance

I've made a promise to myself not to use inconsistency or poor concentration as excuses anymore.
Everyone is inconsistent (to varying degrees) and I've never seen anybody play unconscious

After that it's just down to a little focus and my swing/contact and that's what I've been working on this year....primarily by changing my swing to make my bad shots better.
(I'm getting far more consistent and am better at concentration as a result )

To me, those two terms are bail outs and tbh blaming either/both held me back.

Russman

Nobody will ever have a swing that doesn't produce bad shots, that's just golf and the fact that humans are imperfect creatures.
Best thing to do Op, is get a lesson to check your fundamentals and basics.
After that its a matter of practicing to make your bad shots better, ie a 50yd slice becomes a 10yd fade. If you can't fix your slice/hook, play with it, don't aim down the middle if you know you're going to curve it miles one way or the other.
Your good shots will always be good shots, its the quality of your misses that's key in this game IMHO.

Your mental approach is also important, eg if you slightly miss a shot and you're still on the green, don't worry about it, that shot's gone, you can't have it back, move on and take advantage of the break you got. There's a time for analysis and self criticism, but its not on the course.

Have a read of Bob Rotella's "Golf is not a game of Perfect" - worth its weight in gold IMO.

GreeBo

For me scoring consistently comes from my course management and approach to the game.

No one is ever going to hit the ball consistently over time, but you can score consistently by minimizing the impact bad shots have on your score.

It may minimize how low you can go on an individual round, but it means you will always be there or there abouts.

Montgolfier

Guys put it in perspective. Everybody at our level is consistent.
Consistently poor, erratic and consistently expecting ourselves to have an inconsistent low round.