If you play the game long enough, you are going to have some rounds that make you think maybe its time to get in a little practice time.
I had one of those rounds on Monday.
I had the day off, so I decided to play a little golf. The round started off smoothly until about the third hole, where I got a sign that shit was about to hit the fan. One of the things I struggle with in my game when I am off, is thin contact. My number one swing flaw, is that I have quite a bit of body movement throughout my motion. When my timing is good, my body movement is a non issue. However, if my timing is just slightly off, things can get ugly real fast.
That is exactly what happened on Monday. I got to the third hole and had a 130 yards left into the Par 5, and I proceeded to top my approach shot with a short iron. RUT OH!
I ended up making triple on that hole after two chips and a three putt, which set the wheels in motion for a long day.
Less than Ideal
Over the past couple of months, there have been signs that things were a little off in my game, but I have managed to keep it from unraveling. The hard part for me, is that I have not practiced at all in 2020. So, something far less than my best golf is definitely to be expected. But, man is it tough when the train comes off the tracks.
Monday reminded me that playing good golf requires a lot of time and effort. I have played golf for 10 years now and I cant play anywhere near my best golf unless I consistently practice. Golf is like a lot of other things in life. If your not moving forward, then you’re moving backwards. I am definitely moving backwards at the moment.
Practice or Play? When is it time to focus on practice?
There is a common debate in the world of golf whether it is better to spend the majority of your time practicing or playing. In most cases I would say it is always better to play then to practice. The reason I believe this, is because it can be very difficult to recreate the shots you face on a golf course on a driving range. However, at a bare minimum, you should always be setting aside a little time to practice your short game and putting.
As for the driving range, it is a great place to spend time when you have zero control over where the golf ball is going. If you cant stand up to a golf shot and have a pretty good idea of where the ball is going to go, then it is time to head over to the range to sort it out.
The other time when I feel like the range is important is when you are not making solid contact. This is the situation that most high handicap golfers find themselves in. If you are struggling to consistently hit the ball out of the center of the clubface, then the range is where you need to be spending the majority of your time.
For me, I am I could use some time on the range. I am really struggling to make consistent contact out of the center of the clubface. I need to spend some time on the range to figure out why I am not delivering the club in the right spot at impact.
Home on the Range
Beating balls on the range is not fun compared to actually playing the game of golf, but sometimes it is absolutely necessary. Right now, I am in a place with my game where playing is somewhat pointless. Until I can figure out why I am hitting the ball like a Muppet, playing golf is going to be frustrating. So, if you are looking for me over weekend, you know where you can find me.
“Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day”
(See what I did there…)
Until next time,
Enjoy the chase!
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