Practice swing vs. real swing | USHandicap Classic

Sylla Legend
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I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem: my practice swing with my 7-iron looks great (rythmic, on plane, releasing my wrists just right, etc.), but as soon as there's a ball in the way, I start swinging slightly outside in and releasing my wrists too soon. My instructor and I have been trying many drills to try to overcome this "ball fright", but so far, with limited success. We both agree that my practice swing is technically great. I just need to transfer it to actually hitting a ball ;) We tried: * swinging very easy (not too bad, but not great either) * the inside approach (I get fearful, so it doesn't work too well) * placing a sponge behind the ball to force an inside path (I manage to avoid the sponge while still being outside in ;) * looking ahead of me when swinging instead of looking at the ball (this one is pretty good) * swinging with my eyes closed (can't keep my balance) * swinging super fast (doesn't really work) * stopping at the top of my backswing (doesn't help) Has any of you experienced the same issue? And if so, how did you overcome it?
Duckhunter Legend
# 1 9/12/2008 12:03:41 PM
How long have you been playing? I see a lot of golfer who have good practice swing and ball fever. Do you do this just with your irons or woods too? I do not have a drill to stop this. The only thing I would say is stop hitting the ball, you must swing the club and let the ball be in the way. One thing you may want to try is set up 10 or 15 balls on a line and hit each ball with out stoping. so you swing step swing.
Sylla Legend
# 2 9/12/2008 12:36:04 PM
I've been playing for 2 years now. This winter, I was with an instructor who built me an efficient but very mechanical swing. With this swing I control the ball flight a lot better, and I'm on plane, but I lack power and it feels robotic. I still use it with success on my hybrids, though. Now my new instructor has me 100% focused on rythm and feel, which is a complete departure from what I was doing before! When I get it right (I practiced it mainly with my irons, because I can't get it to work at all on my woods or hybrids), I definitely get more distance and it feels great. But it's like my brain doesn't want to accept that a free flowing swing can work when it comes to striking the ball :) I'm going to try your suggestion of setting up 10-15 balls on a line and hitting without stopping... I'll let you know how it goes! As for not taking a practice swing, well, I'd rather keep my practice swing and not take a real swing ;)
Sylla Legend
# 3 9/14/2008 8:50:18 AM
what is funny is it sounds like your instructor has tried all of these technical practice drills when it actually sounds like your mental game needs the practice. Yes, that's exactly what my instructor said. My practice swing is just right (and it doesn't put me into overthink mode. It's quite the opposite, actually. It's all about feeling and rythm). Then when it gets the time to strike the ball, that's when I start trying to control the club, or getting too quick at the top, instead of trusting my swing. The problem is in my head! Yesterday, I practiced waiting an extra bit at the top and feeling the gravity lower the club on plane and my shots were much straighter already... I'm going to think more about visualizing the shot, that's a good tip. My previous instructor was extremely focused on mechanics, and he got me worrying way too much about technique and perfect position. Now I'm with someone who's focusing me on rythm and feel, which I love, but it's hard to let go of old habits :)
dewsweeper Legend
# 4 9/14/2008 3:44:53 PM
Like they tell you, treat the practice swing as a real swing, find a spot on the ground then treat it as the golf ball. Take a real swing then observe the divot or brush mark, adjust until you're comfortable. You had changed your swing between the practice swing and the reall swing because, you're steering the golf club when you have the golf ball and a target. So, practice as if there is a golf ball and try to hit it towards your target line just like as if you're swing at the golf ball.
Sylla Legend
# 5 9/14/2008 4:31:58 PM
it was good that he focused on mechanics in the beginning since you want to develop good muscle memory. sounds like you have that now so embrace the fact that you do not need to think about the swing so much. Absolutely :) Played today and my ball striking was even better than yesterday. All I thought about was my target + not rushing the transition. Dewsweeper, great idea to find a spot on the ground and treat it as the ball. It's another way of making the practice swing closer to the real swing. I'm going to try that! Thanks guys for your help :)
dewsweeper Legend
# 6 9/15/2008 7:32:34 PM
Leave the thinking and analyzing on the driving range. Concentrate only of scoring on the golf course as Harvey Penick said "take dead aim ". To reinforce the idea of the mental game, I played 9 holes yesterday and on the first hole, thought too much and got a snowman (3 over on a par 5). On the second hole, worried too much about the first hole and got a 2 over on a par 4. Then I just calmed down (got some peanut M&M's too) and played the rest of the 7 holes at even par (a birdie, 5 pars, and a bogey). Ended the day with a 5 over on 9 holes. If I had just played the game without over-thinking/worrying, the results could've been so much better.
Sylla Legend
# 7 9/15/2008 7:53:05 PM
Leave the thinking and analyzing on the driving range. Concentrate only of scoring on the golf course as Harvey Penick said "take dead aim ". And that's another thing. Golf instruction (at least the one I'm familiar with) is focused on swing mechanics, that's it and that's all. Now maybe most people who take lessons are beginners (or golfers who have major technical flaws) and swing mechanics are obviously the basics. From my first to my second season, I lowered my score by 20 strokes "simply" by finding a great instructor who built me a great swing during the winter. But I soon discovered that there's so much more to the game than having a nice swing, even if it sure helps ;)
dewsweeper Legend
# 8 9/15/2008 8:30:24 PM
I had a fantastic instructor for my first couple of years of golf. Back then, in my parts of the woods no one had heard of Harvey Penick, but if you had read Penick's books and somewhat understand the way he like to teach this great game, my instructor had taught similar to Harvey Penick's method. Sometimes I got frustrated with this instructor because instead of having me hit ball after ball, he'd talk to me for a long time( while I was keeping an eye on my watch impatiently thinking please don't waste my lesson time, a dollar a minute was a lot of money back then for college grad only made $14K annually ). One of the things he said to me was, "concentrate on scoring on the golf course, leave your practice thoughts on the driving range". Another one was, "if you could swing your 7 iron well, there is no reason why you couldn't swing the 4 iron the same way". Years later, I still remember these words. Leave the thinking and analyzing on the driving range. Concentrate only of scoring on the golf course as Harvey Penick said "take dead aim ". And that's another thing. Golf instruction (at least the one I'm familiar with) is focused on swing mechanics, that's it and that's all. Now maybe most people who take lessons are beginners (or golfers who have major technical flaws) and swing mechanics are obviously the basics. From my first to my second season, I lowered my score by 20 strokes "simply" by finding a great instructor who built me a great swing during the winter. But I soon discovered that there's so much more to the game than having a nice swing, even if it sure helps ;)
HIGH_LANDER Legend
# 9 5/27/2010 11:19:10 AM
great reading,Sylla.I don't take a practice swing.I have never thought about taking a practice swing.i just get over the ball,and let it happen.
heartotexas Professional Champion
# 10 6/3/2010 7:51:58 AM
Sylla, I'm with a few others here, Dont take a practice swing. I would recommend that you develop a pre-shot routine to relax everything up, a bit of a waggle so to speak, then take your swing. You are probably tensing up when the ball is there to hit and the practice swing is becoming a mechanical rather than loosening up pre shot routine. On a side note, living on a golf course, I see all kinds of things out on the 8th hole here. I would say 75% or more of those people I see taking a practice swing, are just plain out terrible practice swings with all kinds of things wrong with it. Frequently though, a bad practice swing is followed by a pretty good swing and good shot (maybe 50% of them). So I think its a lot about what relaxes you up and lets muscle memory take over. Maybe you just have too many swing thoughts going through your head on the perfect practice swing, that you can translate them into a smooth, relaxed, mechanically accurate swing with the ball there.

Legend

97 Views 18 Replies 1 Like

I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem: my practice swing with my 7-iron looks great (rythmic, on plane, releasing my wrists just right, etc.), but as soon as there's a ball in the way, I start swinging slightly outside in and releasing my wrists too soon. My instructor and I have been trying many drills to try to overcome this "ball fright", but so far, with limited success. We both agree that my practice swing is technically great. I just need to transfer it to actually hitting a ball ;)

We tried:
* swinging very easy (not too bad, but not great either)
* the inside approach (I get fearful, so it doesn't work too well)
* placing a sponge behind the ball to force an inside path (I manage to avoid the sponge while still being outside in ;)
* looking ahead of me when swinging instead of looking at the ball (this one is pretty good)
* swinging with my eyes closed (can't keep my balance)
* swinging super fast (doesn't really work)
* stopping at the top of my backswing (doesn't help)

Has any of you experienced the same issue? And if so, how did you overcome it?

Duckhunter

Legend

# 1 9/12/2008 12:03:41 PM

How long have you been playing? I see a lot of golfer who have good practice swing and ball fever. Do you do this just with your irons or woods too? I do not have a drill to stop this. The only thing I would say is stop hitting the ball, you must swing the club and let the ball be in the way. One thing you may want to try is set up 10 or 15 balls on a line and hit each ball with out stoping. so you swing step swing.

Sylla

Legend

# 2 9/12/2008 12:36:04 PM

I've been playing for 2 years now. This winter, I was with an instructor who built me an efficient but very mechanical swing. With this swing I control the ball flight a lot better, and I'm on plane, but I lack power and it feels robotic. I still use it with success on my hybrids, though.

Now my new instructor has me 100% focused on rythm and feel, which is a complete departure from what I was doing before! When I get it right (I practiced it mainly with my irons, because I can't get it to work at all on my woods or hybrids), I definitely get more distance and it feels great. But it's like my brain doesn't want to accept that a free flowing swing can work when it comes to striking the ball :)

I'm going to try your suggestion of setting up 10-15 balls on a line and hitting without stopping... I'll let you know how it goes!

As for not taking a practice swing, well, I'd rather keep my practice swing and not take a real swing ;)

Sylla

Legend

# 3 9/14/2008 8:50:18 AM

what is funny is it sounds like your instructor has tried all of these technical practice drills when it actually sounds like your mental game needs the practice.

Yes, that's exactly what my instructor said. My practice swing is just right (and it doesn't put me into overthink mode. It's quite the opposite, actually. It's all about feeling and rythm). Then when it gets the time to strike the ball, that's when I start trying to control the club, or getting too quick at the top, instead of trusting my swing. The problem is in my head! Yesterday, I practiced waiting an extra bit at the top and feeling the gravity lower the club on plane and my shots were much straighter already... I'm going to think more about visualizing the shot, that's a good tip.

My previous instructor was extremely focused on mechanics, and he got me worrying way too much about technique and perfect position. Now I'm with someone who's focusing me on rythm and feel, which I love, but it's hard to let go of old habits :)

dewsweeper

Legend

# 4 9/14/2008 3:44:53 PM

Like they tell you, treat the practice swing as a real swing, find a spot on the ground then treat it as the golf ball.
Take a real swing then observe the divot or brush mark, adjust until you're comfortable.
You had changed your swing between the practice swing and the reall swing because, you're steering the golf club when you have the golf ball and a target. So, practice as if there is a golf ball and try to hit it towards your target line just like as if you're swing at the golf ball.

Sylla

Legend

# 5 9/14/2008 4:31:58 PM

it was good that he focused on mechanics in the beginning since you want to develop good muscle memory. sounds like you have that now so embrace the fact that you do not need to think about the swing so much.

Absolutely :) Played today and my ball striking was even better than yesterday. All I thought about was my target + not rushing the transition.

Dewsweeper, great idea to find a spot on the ground and treat it as the ball. It's another way of making the practice swing closer to the real swing. I'm going to try that!

Thanks guys for your help :)

dewsweeper

Legend

# 6 9/15/2008 7:32:34 PM

Leave the thinking and analyzing on the driving range.
Concentrate only of scoring on the golf course as Harvey Penick said "take dead aim ".

To reinforce the idea of the mental game, I played 9 holes yesterday and on the first hole, thought too much and got a snowman (3 over on a par 5). On the second hole, worried too much about the first hole and got a 2 over on a par 4.

Then I just calmed down (got some peanut M&M's too) and played the rest of the 7 holes at even par (a birdie, 5 pars, and a bogey). Ended the day with a 5 over on 9 holes.

If I had just played the game without over-thinking/worrying, the results could've been so much better.

Sylla

Legend

# 7 9/15/2008 7:53:05 PM

Leave the thinking and analyzing on the driving range.
Concentrate only of scoring on the golf course as Harvey Penick said "take dead aim ".

And that's another thing. Golf instruction (at least the one I'm familiar with) is focused on swing mechanics, that's it and that's all. Now maybe most people who take lessons are beginners (or golfers who have major technical flaws) and swing mechanics are obviously the basics. From my first to my second season, I lowered my score by 20 strokes "simply" by finding a great instructor who built me a great swing during the winter. But I soon discovered that there's so much more to the game than having a nice swing, even if it sure helps ;)

dewsweeper

Legend

# 8 9/15/2008 8:30:24 PM

I had a fantastic instructor for my first couple of years of golf.
Back then, in my parts of the woods no one had heard of Harvey Penick, but if you had read Penick's books and somewhat understand the way he like to teach this great game, my instructor had taught similar to Harvey Penick's method.
Sometimes I got frustrated with this instructor because instead of having me hit ball after ball, he'd talk to me for a long time( while I was keeping an eye on my watch impatiently thinking please don't waste my lesson time, a dollar a minute was a lot of money back then for college grad only made $14K annually ).
One of the things he said to me was, "concentrate on scoring on the golf course, leave your practice thoughts on the driving range". Another one was, "if you could swing your 7 iron well, there is no reason why you couldn't swing the 4 iron the same way".
Years later, I still remember these words.

Leave the thinking and analyzing on the driving range.
Concentrate only of scoring on the golf course as Harvey Penick said "take dead aim ".

And that's another thing. Golf instruction (at least the one I'm familiar with) is focused on swing mechanics, that's it and that's all. Now maybe most people who take lessons are beginners (or golfers who have major technical flaws) and swing mechanics are obviously the basics. From my first to my second season, I lowered my score by 20 strokes "simply" by finding a great instructor who built me a great swing during the winter. But I soon discovered that there's so much more to the game than having a nice swing, even if it sure helps ;)

HIGH_LANDER

Legend

# 9 5/27/2010 11:19:10 AM

great reading,Sylla.I don't take a practice swing.I have never thought about taking a practice swing.i just get over the ball,and let it happen.

heartotexas

Professional Champion

# 10 6/3/2010 7:51:58 AM

Sylla, I'm with a few others here, Dont take a practice swing. I would recommend that you develop a pre-shot routine to relax everything up, a bit of a waggle so to speak, then take your swing. You are probably tensing up when the ball is there to hit and the practice swing is becoming a mechanical rather than loosening up pre shot routine. On a side note, living on a golf course, I see all kinds of things out on the 8th hole here. I would say 75% or more of those people I see taking a practice swing, are just plain out terrible practice swings with all kinds of things wrong with it. Frequently though, a bad practice swing is followed by a pretty good swing and good shot (maybe 50% of them). So I think its a lot about what relaxes you up and lets muscle memory take over. Maybe you just have too many swing thoughts going through your head on the perfect practice swing, that you can translate them into a smooth, relaxed, mechanically accurate swing with the ball there.

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