[Kennypor]

I am new to golf. I have been playing for 4 months and have been taking lessons. A bad habit of mine that I could not kick was rocking my hips back in the back swing and then pushing them forward through impact and not squaring them around. When the time changed, I was forced to lay off my daily golfing and for a week, I could not even really hit a ball. I went out last Saturday and played in a scramble and found that my rocking the hips problem was gone. I was striking the ball much better and I could concentrate on the shot much more than the mechanics of my swing.

Have you found that little layoffs like this helped you?

[Zhgpavye]

ANYTIME I start playing horrible. I take about a week or two off and usually bad habits will go away. I think we get so caught up in the technical part of golf that we forget to just relax and swing the club. I mean bottom line, I will never be a tour pro, I will never have the ability to hit the ball like a pro and the sooner people realize that and start working with the ability they have the better golf they will play. It took me a few years to come to grips that I wasn't supposed to hit a 7 iron 175 yards 3 feet from the cup 9 out of 10 times and some days I still have too high expectations for my golf game. I think that is what drives us to become better but I sure do HATE it when I can't hit the ball the way I want. It makes me feel like I'm wasting my time and that is something I have to continue to work on if I plan on ever becoming a single digit handicapper.

[Kennypor]

I agree about not being a tour pro. I just want to hit the ball consistently at the appropriate length.

[Zhgpavye]

I agree about not being a tour pro. I just want to hit the ball consistently at the appropriate length.

That is my main goal in golf. I feel the same way 100 percent of the time.

[hasasnn2345tv]

I played horrible yesterday. I stunk so bad playing, I am pretty sure one of the fairway home owners called animal control to come pick up a dead animal. Maybe even the homicide division of Metro. My playing partner, whom I had just met was privately laughing his back side off. I got a 10 on a par 5 for crying out loud. Fat shots, and pull hooks were my life for about 4.5 hours. Never lost my temper, and remained cool through out the 18 holes. Did not throw a club. Bottom line was I still had a nice walk out of doors.

I thought about taking a break from golf after yesterday, but I have some "family honor" matches coming up in Texas in a couple of weeks. I figure I better get rid of my current playing issues before I arrive there, so I am going back out to play today, tomorrow, and the next day to see what I can come up with. I know what I am doing wrong, so I just need to work through it.

I don't normally take breaks from golf, except during reseeding, but if not for the Texas trip, after yesterday's fiasco, I might have hung it up for a few days, as I know it does help when a poor swing issue creeps in to my swing.

[jeaccatty]

I developed that same "slide" late in the summer. I really think it came from trying to keep up with the Joneses. I still do it at times if playing with a big hitter and I have to stop myself and say "turn dummy, don't slide". For me it was just a matter of trying to flow through the ball quicker to hit it a long way.

I'm the last person who should be giving swing thoughts though. Try sending a post or pm to Andy on the "Ask the Professional", he really knows his stuff. Good luck.

edit: I should say "If the problem returns". Hope you keep it going good.

[Kennypor]

I developed that same "slide" late in the summer. I really think it came from trying to keep up with the Joneses. I still do it at times if playing with a big hitter and I have to stop myself and say "turn dummy, don't slide". For me it was just a matter of trying to flow through the ball quicker to hit it a long way.

I'm the last person who should be giving swing thoughts though. Try sending a post or pm to Andy on the "Ask the Professional", he really knows his stuff. Good luck.

edit: I should say "If the problem returns". Hope you keep it going good.

Thanks. I am working with a pro to build a proper swing while I am still in the early stages of golfing. My slide comes from baseball I think. I worked with a college coach while playing high school ball and it became natural to load my hips back to keep from getting too much of my weight forward. This became as natural as breathing to me. I have found that the only similarities to a golf swing and a baseball swing is that they are both called a swing.

[Chiquita]

I played horrible yesterday. I stunk so bad playing, I am pretty sure one of the fairway home owners called animal control to come pick up a dead animal. Maybe even the homicide division of Metro. My playing partner, whom I had just met was privately laughing his back side off. I got a 10 on a par 5 for crying out loud. Fat shots, and pull hooks were my life for about 4.5 hours. Never lost my temper, and remained cool through out the 18 holes. Did not throw a club. Bottom line was I still had a nice walk out of doors.

I thought about taking a break from golf after yesterday, but I have some "family honor" matches coming up in Texas in a couple of weeks. I figure I better get rid of my current playing issues before I arrive there, so I am going back out to play today, tomorrow, and the next day to see what I can come up with. I know what I am doing wrong, so I just need to work through it.

I don't normally take breaks from golf, except during reseeding, but if not for the Texas trip, after yesterday's fiasco, I might have hung it up for a few days, as I know it does help when a poor swing issue creeps in to my swing.

I had the same kind of round Sunday. Paired with two guys that shot in the 70's. Had me over swinging all day to try and keep up. I kept telling myself to just play my own game...I wouldn't listen. I looked worse than a punk. I need a rebound round quick.

[alicewong]

Have you found that little layoffs like this helped you?

Yes. The time-offs have helped me during some ruts. For example, when I play often, I get the typical soreness that occurs. This often happens when I play 2 rounds in a day and then get out on the course the next morning. Sometimes that is a bad decision because I am sore enough that I make unconscious decisions to swing differently to alleviate soreness pain. That could develop a bad habit if I am not careful. When I notice that happening, I try to take a few days off from swinging the clubs.

In regard to your baseball comments. I, like many of my golfing pals, did not have the pleasure of playing much golf as a child. We have noticed that those in our group who played baseball in their youth are typically more consistent with their swing than those who did not. I think this is due to the fact that both swings require an athletic position throughout the swing and, most importantly, at impact. So, while baseball could be the cause of certain bad habits, I think it helps more than hurts.

[piramirra]

I just want to hit the ball the appropriate length.

This is an intriguing quote. I am not sure what an appropriate distance is. How do you define it?

I think I would be happy hitting the ball 1 club less, not sure though.

[Kennypor]

This is an intriguing quote. I am not sure what an appropriate distance is. How do you define it?

I think I would be happy hitting the ball 1 club less, not sure though.

The appropriate length for me. I don't know what distances other people typically hit. Basically I want to strike the ball well and not slightly fat or thin.

(my distances are 115-200 using the GW-4I taking about an 80% swing using the R7 irons. I am 220 for my hybrid and 230+ using my 3W)