When I hit a rough patch (literally and figuratively) I go "back to basics" For me that means delivery path of the clubhead, and the delivery line of my hands. Tracing the straight plane line and directing my thrust at a point on the same plane line seems to right the ship. My band aid is using an angled hinge instead of a horizontal hinge. I mention the band aid only to recommend that you discover your own tendencies. In my case the angled hinge with its hold-off feel makes my clubface "quieter" through impact. I tend to hit a lot of pulls when I am struggling. A slump is a golden opportunity! When you learn to scrape it around hitting it like a gibbering idiot you have become a player. The hallmark of a player is what he/she shoots when they are hitting it poorly. I have met only a handful of players that work on their short game and scoring shots...they are all world class players...coincidence? I tell my players it needs to be at least a 50/50 split between long game and short game IF their intent is to be good GOLFERS!
__________________ The student senses his teacher’s steadfast belief and quiet resolve: “This is doable. It is doable by you. The pathway is there. All you need is determination and time.” And together, they make it happen.
Its been a while since I started this thread but its never been far from my mind.
I seem to have made some good progress - so much so that I would say I am out of the slump. Its hard to isolate what the turning point was but what seems to have helped me the most is establishing alignments and grip at impact fix.
Today I played a tournament and had a few fearful iron swings (no wilted-feeling blocks, but a few pull hooks). Near the end of the round, I realized I had lost my awareness of impact fix. Once I went back to setting up at impact fix, solid impact again.
To some of you, this may be minor. But to me it was very satisfying to see that some of the learnings I have taken from TGM and this website have made a difference.
I don't like the term "Slump", it implies bad luck or an inability. From my own experience and the research I did in motor skill analysis I did in college, I can say that slumps can definetly be tied to poor alignments. Someone who is "slumping" has not fully acquired or "owned" the motion they desire. It takes repetition of the desired alignments, often thousands, for you take ownership of a motion. I outlined a case of someone going through something similar in my last blog http://errolgolf.wordpress.com/2009/...-make-pitiful/
I don't like the term "Slump", it implies bad luck or an inability. From my own experience and the research I did in motor skill analysis I did in college, I can say that slumps can definetly be tied to poor alignments. Someone who is "slumping" has not fully acquired or "owned" the motion they desire. It takes repetition of the desired alignments, often thousands, for you take ownership of a motion. I outlined a case of someone going through something similar in my last blog http://errolgolf.wordpress.com/2009/...-make-pitiful/
Errol,
Two posts here . . . two links to your own web site.
We welcome your stand-alone posts, but per our up-front rules, self-served linking ain't an option.
I remember during the heavy rains in the Atlanta area a couple of months back you declared that it was the first time in a year (I think you said year) that you hadn't hit balls.
I have made it my goal to get to scratch this year. I am no stranger to shooting sub par and am comfortable doing so. When I read your post and putting it alongside a book I read about a guy from right here in N Ireland going from not being able to break 100 to shooting a below par round in one calendar year (Its called Dream On and is an insprirational read), I realised that at best hitting a couple of hundred balls per week (on a week when I was practicing hard!) I was only scraping the surface of what I was capable of.
I wonder whether you would mind outlaying your normal practice session. For the other top players and pros on here, especially YODA if he doesn't mind, what do you and your players do if after ten minutes on the range, everything seems perfect? I have had it happen where after 10 or 20 balls I am 100% happy. Should I throw the balls out on the range - not likely, I bloody well paid for them! What should I do?
That turned into a longer post than I originally planned!
Look forward to hearing the responses.
__________________ The student senses his teacher’s steadfast belief and quiet resolve: “This is doable. It is doable by you. The pathway is there. All you need is determination and time.” And together, they make it happen.
thanks Kev, s'funny but this is what I have been doing lately!
As soon as everything feels under control I start trying to take the paint of the 50 yard marker!
__________________ The student senses his teacher’s steadfast belief and quiet resolve: “This is doable. It is doable by you. The pathway is there. All you need is determination and time.” And together, they make it happen.
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