[EnglishRose]

I went to the driving range last night, and it was bad. You'd think I'd never picked up a golf club before in my life
I couldn't hit one single ball. :dunno: I either missed the ball completely, or it went rolling along the ground.. highly embarrasing.

This was on long and shorter distance.

What am I doing wrong? I felt like such a tit and got very frustrated too.

 

[dot.wong]

The golf swing can be simple but is often complicated by too much thinking. A good golf swing starts with good rhythm. You can't make a good forward swing unless you take your time going back to set up proper rhythm and motion. A swing that is too fast back, usually has the club and body working against each other and helps create poor shots. The object of the golf swing is to create speed on the downswing - not the back swing. A fast backswing will create bad motion and a hands dominated swing that will be hard to repeat. Take the club away slow for better motion and rhythm. Because the backswing sets up the downswing, we will discuss it first. more...

 

[Johhny80]

Sounds like you may have had alot on your mind . Golf is all about focus. I find when I play if my thinking about other things and not focusing totally on my game then I get similar results to the ones you had a the range. It sounds really simple, but focus is very important.

 

[EnglishRose]

Hi dot and Johhny, Thanks for your replies.

I know my back swing isn't great for sure.... and I don't do the same action every time - not on purpose you understand!

I don't think I particularly had stuff on my mind - just that I wanted to get it right really - trying too hard perhaps...

My new clubs came in the post today all the way from the USA and I didn't get charged Import tax woohoo.
i just been practising in the garden (oh that's probably more liike 'yard' ) with little practise balls.
well I managed to lose one of them, think it's in a gutter somewhere..

Again, some shots went ok, some were terrible. I don't seem to be getting underneath the ball enough.
I was practising with a P wedge in the garden.( There are a lot of obstacles to get over such as a railing, and lots of pot plants)

 

[Warbird]

When I go to the driving range, I'm terrible, because I miss one shot and since there are so many balls to hit I just start going crazy with them trying to fix every little thing rather than just letting my swing work it self out, it's too much thinking. enough said.

 

[fitz-uk]

Hi

Next time you are at the range or practising, keep it simple.

Get your position and posture right.

Make sure you are happy you are pointing in the right direction.

Keep your eyes on the ball all the way through impact, your follow through should naturally drag your head up so you can follow the ball.

Then forget everything else apart from swinging the club.

When you have a mare like you had at the range, best to go back to basics before you start changing things. Then work back up to full blooded swings.

 

[92hatchattack]

I'm a beginner as well and practice at the range 1-2 times a week (starting last month)

I think the biggest thing that has helped me was watching this guy hitting next to me. He had great form, and i noticed he wasn't trying to kill the ball. He had a very smooth and mild downstroke, but still sent the ball flying and with accuracy. I guess just striking the ball well?

From then Ive tried to really concentrate on slowing myself down, being smooth, and making contact with that little spot at the bottom back side of the ball and its really helped. After all, i would rather hit the ball 150 yards straight, then 175 yards sliced into the trees....

Now of course i missed the ball 2-3 times, and not all of my shots were good, but i can see a huge improvement. Time a practice will improve all. Going to get another lesson in 2 weeks, and I'm counting down the days....

 

[white_tiger_137]

There aren't any solid ways to fix whiffs except practice, which you seem to be doing just fine at. Don't worry about any swing tips until you can hit the ball every time.

 

[silkshocker]

I had the same experience today also. Just got a new Aldila stiff shaft installed to replace my stock regular shaft. The result was rather dissappointing. My driver has not been the same since I changed to the new shaft. I paid $30 bucks to get it installed too. I want to go back to the old shaft but don't want to pay another $30 for the install.

 

[titaniummd]

I went to the driving range last night, and it was bad. You'd think I'd never picked up a golf club before in my life
I couldn't hit one single ball. :dunno: I either missed the ball completely, or it went rolling along the ground.. highly embarrasing.

This was on long and shorter distance.

What am I doing wrong? I felt like such a tit and got very frustrated too.

The fundamentals of grip, alignment, stance and tempo have to be followed.

I personally had that same issue when I went to a different driving range from the usual=different mats. The setup of the swing has to be followed every single time.

http://gzi.mine.nu:65433/golf/troubleshoot.htm