What Changed In Your Game, That Made The Difference?

I was playing with a16 handicap when I stopped playing and took after the other birdies. I started playing again around 10-years ago and wobbled between 16.5 and 18.3 right up until 18-months ago. I made the decision to see the pro and take a full course of lessons, hoping that he wasn't going to break me and make me up again from scratch. Lessons went really well, and although the weather was garbage through that winter and even the summer, my confidence was high. This season I started playing consistently well and by the summer got chopped from 18 to 13.9. Even though I've not been able to play much recently, and the conditions are totally different from that good summer, I'm still playing to handicap.

I played with a supplier of mine on Tuesday, who plays off 8 and i beat him in matchplay. We chatted all the way around about something that just clicks and your numbers tumble. Thinking about this I have deduced that it's because I now hit the ball slightly further. Yes the lessons gave me consistency, but feel that the added distance off the tee is the biggy. On many courses of around 6.8k yards and over I was usually playing 3 or 5 wood for my approach, and obviously greens in regulation % wasn't fantastic with woods. Many of those shots (Even in these conditions) is now a 5-iron or higher, and GIR % vastly improved. So think that distance does matter for me.

Maybe distance makes a difference Doc but what was the change in your swing that gave you increased distance?

If I think back, the biggest realisation for me was that you must start the downswing with a weight-shift and initial movement by the upper legs and hips. Combined with that was that under no circumstances should you hit at the ball with hands/arms/shoulders.
I suppose another sort of lightbulb moment was keeping hands significantly ahead of the ball from bunkers combined with following through, no matter what.

I don't know with me. I have always just gone out there and played. Had a decent improvement in consistency last year by straightening the spine a bit (rather than hunching over it) and swinging round. Early 2012 I put a fair amount into putting (45 mins every other night) and improved holing out significantly from 5/6 ft and in.

Never been for a lesson and am thinking seriously about a series of them springtime for shortgame, but knowing me won't get round to it!

Found that playing more than once a week helped too even if it was just a loosener with a few clubs midweek to keep the tempo/rhythm going.

Navy, the swing change was rotational. The pro got me into a postion that made it easy for me to rotate almost fully. So the difference was going from a seniors straight back and punch to a fuller swing on the lines of big Ernie   He wishes

Keeping it in play off the tee has helped me enormously which i guess is down to the driver i'm 'borrowing'. Most holes are now a punt with a driver and a flick with something less than a 7 iron, which makes life a lot easier than chipping out the shoite all the time. As a consequence I'm a lot more confident from 100yds and in and would hope to get up and down from there at least half the time (although chipping and bunkers are hopeless!)

Doc wrote:Navy, the swing change was rotational. The pro got me into a postion that made it easy for me to rotate almost fully. So the difference was going from a seniors straight back and punch to a fuller swing on the lines of big Ernie   He wishes

Cool   

Why were you playing from tees at the 6800 yard mark? Pick the proper set of tee's and you will see your scores tumble again.

What's changed in my game?....In a word...belief!!

I've been through swing changes, I understand much more than i ever did about my swing. Yes I still hit bad shots, everybody does but because I now have belief in what I'm doing and trust my swing and my course management much much more, I'm much more confident of recovering, getting up and down and not continually repeating Poopie shots. Granted I haven't converted fully and got to where I think I can get to but...I do believe now I WILL get there.

What's changed in my game....The ability to putt and chip ( to a point on last one)

Went for one lesson to see a pro who slightly changed my grip for putting, and my whole technique for chipping but more importantly gave me a routine for putting. Now I still hit it all over the place but can generally scramble for a par/bogey so have managed to drop to about a 14-15 handicapper.

Just need to learn how to hit the ball of the fairway properly then sorted

I'm not quite sure that this is exactly what is being asked but personally I think that it is something between your ears that clicks and makes a difference.

There are loads of different swing thoughts and ones that click for a while before another kicks in (or out) but these come and go. I remember when I first started to play the idea of cracking 100 was massive then I did it and suddenly it was pretty easy. The same for 90 and less so for 80 but I am getting there.

What I mean is that once you realise that you can do it you change your mindset a bit. There are plenty of players out there who hit it short, have bad looking swings, etc. but score well. I know that as a player off 11 that I could probably not touch my clubs for months and within a couple of rounds I would expect to be able to play within 4-5 of that but a few years ago just achieving that was the goal.

I guess that it is a combination of many lessons and so on but the biggest part is accumulated belief and knowledge that it is a level that I can play at.

Course management and a more positive putting stroke. Driving and long game can still be pretty hit and miss but even on bad days with the driver and longer clubs, decent course management and putting have saved me more often than not

I wish something WOULD change - still looking for it

Putting - I now look at the spot I'm taking the putter-head back to and not the ball. I now no longer decelerate and holing loads more.

So I'm hitting the crispest iron shots of my life at the mo. But it's all an intentional push, aiming well left of target (20-30 yards?), little half swing but ball flight excellent. Bit shorter than my old swing, but the divots are of an equal depth across (no toe or heel diff) and the strike feels great. Stay with it? Or try and get everything squarer again?

That's an interesting one spiff. How did that come about? Looking at the ball is standard and the other one I'd heard of regularly was look at the target but I haven't even thought of look at the point the head goes back to.

How does it fit in your pre shot routine (ie how do you come to the conclusion of how far back to look/swing)

Roller_Coaster wrote:That's an interesting one spiff. How did that come about? Looking at the ball is standard and the other one I'd heard of regularly was look at the target but I haven't even thought of look at the point the head goes back to.

How does it fit in your pre shot routine (ie how do you come to the conclusion of how far back to look/swing)

I was mucking about on the putting green really. I have a tendency to look to the hole as I strike putts and also tended to decelerate if I thought I'd taken the putter too far back. Neither are good! So after a few practice strokes I have a clear picture of how far the putter should go back, I then watch this space and just return the putter to the ball once reached. I always use the logo of ball or line to line up the putt, so its just a case of trusting your initial read and keeping a smooth tempo. Works really well on short putts, as you tend to hit it a little harder.
 

Added some weight to my putter. Had lightened it over the Summer, & was missing them right & left. Now all my putts are running a lot truer and reaching the hole a lot more consistently.