arghh why am i so messed up!!?!?!?!?!
 

Im depressed haha, im annoyed, im asking for you to read a long post :)

Ive been playing for 3 years (im 16), got to a 9 handicap within 2 years. now im a 6 handicap. first 2 years of golf didnt think about the swing 1 bit, used my natural talent, natural swing improved so fast. Past year ive become so mechanical, its made me depressed, I change my swing every few days, i dont mean working on the same move, i mean actually changeing all positions in my swing! every normal pga teaching pro buggers me up everytime. This past year i dropped 3 shots off my handicap and didnt have 1 round where i felt i played as well as i can! I shot under par twice.

Im guessing ive done about 80-100 different golf swings! And that number is going up!

Im on this website, thinking what can i do, shall i stick with this swing theary but within 3 days there is 99% chance ill be doin a different swing, just because I have 1 bad round i change my swing.

Im desperate to be a pro when im older, its my dream and i know i have the talent to do it, but i feel ive buggerd my golf career up and im only 16. I cant just swing natural because my natural swing has ingrained so many habbits!!

I wish I could just start golf all over again and never of got into mechanics and kept on improving like i was!

What am I meant to do?? Im so fustrated!

Please help!

Ricky:sad2:

Any help, advice? needed desperatly ASAP!

I am of the opinion that the internet is a great place to share ideas, bounce ideas around.

It is a terrible place to learn Your Golf Stroke.

To me it is like walking along the range, overhearing the golf instructor give some advice to a golfer to correct a flaw and then trying to apply it yourself to Your Golf Stroke. It could be the last thing you really want to do.

You want to be a pro....

Get a plan together to
a. Develop your golf stroke under some supervision (even if it is one trip to pro every other month).
b. Stop reading golf magazines to get help for Your Golf Stroke
c. With Your Golf Stroke, learn it, Own it.
d. After that learn all you can about golf, just don't mix it up with Your Golf Stroke..:naughty:

JMO.

Too much information can cause an overload. Information applied correctly to an incorrect Golf Stroke spells High Handicap...:(

Im buggerd, im overloaded with crap! And when I do go to a golf pro they fill my head even more with crap. And then when I just try and swing with no swing thoughts i play like crap because this past year i have changed my swing so much my natural swing has ingrained god knows how many habbits and my golf brain hasent got a clue what its doing. haha!

Thanks for the advice!

I watch players like jeeve milkha singh, jim furyk, they all do it there own way, john daly as well. But i can never be like that now because i will always know to much about the golf swing. I cant make that disapear out of my head, its always going to be there!

Listen to what Martee has said, there is a lot of good advice there.
Another thing you could think of doing is this. Put the clubs away, don't think about golf. Go do other things that 16 year olds do. Hang out with friends, spend time with your family. Go out and have fun. Remember its only a game, so relax. Clear your head of the clutter that has been building up over the past few months.
Only when you start missing the game and the reason why you play it, then you come back.
When you do come back do the following:

1) Relax
2) When you get back to practicing. Work on Basic Motion, take it easy. 2 foot forward and 2 foot back, work on those alignments.
3) Find a pro that you like and get on with AND STICK WITH HIM (not for a week, not for a month..stick with him long term. I have been with my current Pro for over 4 years) Listen to what he says, ask questions, understand what they are trying to get you to do.
4) Separate you practice sessions and your playing rounds. Sounds as if you are treating your rounds as long practice sessions. Not a good idea. Go out and play.
5) Get rid of your golf mags or don't read them for the next new tip that comes along. That does more harm than good (see point 3)

Remember its only a game at the end of the day. Sure you want to be good, but you don't have to kill yourself doing it.
There is a classic Yoda post from about 2 years ago that might help you. Its out in Cyberspace somewhere, but I am sure someone will find it.
Alex

Ricky,

I agree with Martee. The internet really should be a supplement to your normal 1 on 1 golf instruction. My teaching pro is cool. One day he showed me how he wanted me to follow through and finish and I knew he was showing me perfect horizontal hinging. He was showing me a move from the top, and I knew it was drag loading. The ability to apply it rests on my shoulders now.

Maybe you should try to find an Authorized Instructor near you. TGM website has a list of instructors by state.

Regarding your swing:

How is your chipping ?
How is your pitching ?
Are you hitting or swinging ? I think that is a very important one to distinguish in your own mind. I was a confused swinger who was actually 'switting' for a while (while thinking I was swinging) until this website helped me work out the difference between the two procedures.

I assume you have seen all the videos here, which might be part of your information overload. The best advice I can give you about your golf swing is to follow the suggested curriculum outlined by Mr.K himself. Basic, acquired, and total motion...in that order. Do not ignore the signifigance of basic motion. I have really been trying to focus on stage 1 lately because I noticed how much the advanced members here (especially Yoda) stress the importance of it. It is the foundation of your swing. Trying to build a house without a solid foundation underneath it is just asking for trouble. The big bad wolf will have a field day with it. And I know the big bad wolf likes to show up when I am on the golf course, and everything just falls apart.

I know where you are coming from. I get frustrated with the game sometimes, and I do not hit the ball as well as I know I am capable of. Even though I get aggrivated sometimes with my poor performance there are those moments that keep me coming back....like when I hit that perfect tee shot, you know the ones where you know before the end of your backswing that this one is going long and straight. Or when I make those 10-15 foot puts, or when I hit my signature 15 foot chip shot just off the green right into the cup. Those shots keep me coming back.

Regardless of the bad times, I have complete faith that The Golfing Machine has the information which will allow me to reach my potential. So I grind it out, and hit my chip shots with the confidence that this is the best route....I think Yoda called it 'the shortcut.' So when people like Yoda say things like that....I listen

Ricky...(ur so fine u blow my mind...jk I'll stop)...

(who knows man)

...

Your setup....your pivot......

.....and especially the 3 Imperatives.....the 3 Functions (clubface, clubshaft, clubhead control...these are the only parts of the club you need to worry about).....

Seperate the swing into those things to ground you when you don't know what the hell to think about and where to start.

Always know that u just need to control the face, head, shaft (where it's pointing to throughout) and fulfill the 3 Imperatives and u'll be fine.

...

If you "lose it"....go back to whatever is most comfy....

Hit some full length but low SPEED 7 irons or something...

...and with the feet together.

...

Never stop trying to be better.....but work with your tendencies...i.e. what you do best.....and use this stuff to keep you grounded when u start to panic.

Helps me anyhow.

Good luck we've all been there.

my 0.000002 cents...
 

Ricky.

I am from the "other " site. tsk tsk.. 6 months of very little improvements.

I had improved tremendously with the new knowledge and my new friend and coach Justin Tang (Comdpa). I actually broke 40 for 9 holes 3 x so far, after less than 4 months of lessons. And to be frank. I know i am less than 1/3 way of learning a good swing.

I went through about 5 coaches this year. Justin is the only coach that told me my swing sucks totally, the others told me my casting is totally fine, One excellent coach say that i sucks too but I could not trust him for some reason. after few hours with him and some lessons , I actually found my driving distance gain by 50 yards. But not consistent because my knowledge is still fragmented and tons of stuffs in my incubator. I am getting alot better and better by the day with different incubator hatching and rehatching.

So, with my experiences. I think the best way is to find a qualified authorised instructor. Stop listening to what forum , golf digest, golf books try to sell you.

Stick to " the golfing machine" and your Authorised Instructor. And Less is best, Learning to be effective is hard. Once you get it , its yours. No matter how u do it. Pitch punch, push bat , hit swing. different combo.

If you had read Vilkram's post. A young gal spent 3 days with Lynn Blake and won by 12 strokes. ^_^ that might give you a clue .

Thats what justin wants me to do . spend 5 days straight with him or Lynn. I dont have the time and resources so I will glue to Justin till he decide to do a siamese separation surgury on me.

My crappy swing 2 months back.. and its even better now

http://www.zippyvideos.com/305724500.../merapi_swing/

first of all...
 

First of all, where are you located, and are you near one of our professional contributors?

Im in Britain and I live 5 hours drive from Ian Clarke (nearest TGM instructor) so that isnt an option!!!

What alex_ching said is good I think, about taking a break from the game for a while, because whenever i even take 3 days off golf and come back swinging naturally i play my best but then it goes downhill again.

My sister is flying back to her home in majorca on sunday and has asked if i would like to go with her, she is flying back here in 3 weeks for christmas and id come back then. Take no clubs with me, do other things, take time to clear my head, I left my A LEVELS 3 weeks ago because I found it wasent what I wanted to do so at the moment I am searching for placements in a college, so I have got time off to go to majorca. Do you think this would help me, would this be a good idea?

I know 100% golf is what I want to do deep down, and I know 100% i have the talent to do it, so no one is going to change my mind about that!

drive
 

I've driven 20+ hours to see Yoda and being a pro is not my ambition. Drive the five hours, spend the night, get two days in on the range with Ian. Invest or just dream. Drive or log on. Call Ian, and "Ricky- Don''t Lose that number."

sorry bucket, sorry rh- a joke.

And how am I going to drive at 16 years old, and where am I going to get the money from to pay for 2 days with Ian?

Don't know. You seem to play a lot of golf, save a few pounds from that. How does a 16 yr old get around on other days?. You said it was a 5 hour drive. You didn't say it was a 5 hour drive with no way to get there.
Try calling Ian, I didn't suggest two full days. He might have a answer. If you want something badly, and this dream of being a pro seems to rank high, you sometimes need to stop dreaming about it and "just do."

Well maybe it is a 5 hour drive with no way to get there, parents wont drive 5 hours they have work and 5 hour drive thats just stupid!! Im not going to go on a train because thats even more money added to getting accomodation in a b&b which would probbaly cost a bomb in Surrey! and then even more money to get home! Its just not going to happen!
And im not just dreaming, working on my game 3 hours a day isnt just DREAMING, its working to get where i want to be!

Just to be sure.....
 

Rick,

Have you seen that there are more AI`s in Britain? Just to make sure that you know who is nearest.

http://www.thegolfingmachine.com/ama...Instructor.php

believe it or not they are all outside 4 and a half hour drive!

I live in Mid Wales, right in the country with the sheep.

My guess is that you are mixing together hitting and swinging principals, messing up your natural swing.

Download the videos from this site. Your best bet is to practice basic and acquired motion till you are just about sick of it. The dividends from practicing that will pay off big time.

Take a train or bus and see the nearest instructor when you can. Perhaps the lesson could be your Xmas present.

I am in a similar boat to you - except I am not 16 - and I know what a major pain in the backside it is to get to a long distance lesson.

www.putfile.com/rickyharris

Here is a video of my swing, this was about 1 month ago i was swinging pretty well, not sure if it still looks like this thought. Can you tell if im a swinger or hitter?

My bad shot at the moment, is a hook with driver, big draw with irons, and catching it very clean! Cant get into the ball!

Ricky, good luck. I only made a few suggestions. You are welcome by the way.

Thanks for the suggestions, and sorry if i came across abit mardy!

So, can anyone tell if im a swinger or hitter?

Sounds to me you would benefit more from a sports pychiatrist than an instructor. Probably spelt that wrong.

You have received some top advice from the guys here. You obviously film your swing does it look different when you try these different swings. If you are so inconsistent then surely the only reason is throwaway in your swing. Maybe you can time it well somedays and others not so good. Find the proceedure that gets best results when viewed on tape and stick with it.

Swinging
 

Looks like swinging to me, although I can't slow the video down. It seems to have more of a "pulling/dragging" action to it versus a "pushing/driving" action. Slight "dragging of the handle" on the takeaway with a swivel going back, hands going past "top" to "end", and it looks like a sequenced release on the downswing.

Overall it looks like a lot of good things happening with your setup and your motion (swing seems to be nicely on-plane as well). But....it also looks like you're swinging "full-out". I don't know if you consider this to be your normal swing speed, but you might try gearing back to 80% or so. Maxing out on every swing tends to make things a bit inconsistent, which may be a reason you're good one day and not-so-good the next. Find the speed that lets you swing "under control" and then "jack it up" when needed from there.

My $.02 worth. I suspect you'll get some good advice from the experts here that you can put to use.

CG

Calm Down, Calm Down
 

Ricky,
Firstly, you might want to read what you have typed before you hit the send button, these guys are giving you some really good, sound advice, you might just want to say thanks esp to 6bmike. I have just got a pm from cometgolfer, who brought my attention to this thread, why dont you give me a call 020 8949 9200, before the end of this week, and lets see if we cant fix something up, I do get to Celtic Manor quite a bit, how close is that to you?? we could possibly fix something up there. I am off to the states on Saturday, and I would like to speak to you before then, please call. In the meantime dont panic, and thank these good people of LBG for taking the time out to help you, and Birdie man wasnt it Mickey???

Don't Lose That Number
 

Ricky, you can use one of the sheep for transportation:naughty: It would take you a lot longer, but you would save tons of pounds. Penny smart/pound foolish??:laughing9 :eyes:

Thanks for all the responses!

Hahaha ya I think you got it man.

I did the rhyme crime. (and ate a lime!)

Wow! Well done Ian. Shows what a great group of guys make up most of the TGM community.