Mesmerized!

I have been putting a lot of effort into my game for some time and am really happy with my performance on the range. Long drives, good wedge to 7 iron, and taking lessons on 5 iron down to 3. Today I played in club competition and everything went west! Cant replicate my range practice even though I use the same routine setup etc. I went back to the range to try and sort things out but even there there was no strike rhythm or timing with all clubs. Is this a common problem or can anyone enlighten me further?

Help needed!
Robert

Golf is not played on the range. It's all about getting the ball in the hole. If you are having problems on the course, it is probably becase you are spending all your time on the range...hitting ball after ball quickly to "get in as much as you can" thinking this is better for you on the course.

Practicing before a round is one thing, you are hitting 10-15 shots to feel the flow of your swing to be ready for the day. Making 30 minutes out of 100 balls in your bucket is another. Whacking 2 balls a minute will only get you tired. It will not do much for your game.

So try this just once at the range next time out:

* Pick 14 of the best balls out of your bucket and put them in a pile.
* Pick 14 more of the next best and put them in another pile.
* Warm up with 14 of the worst hitting 7i only.

* Now, tee off (with the best ball pile) and play your course...what ever course you want to play...if the first tee is a par 5 and OB right, imagine that out in the practice field putting an imaginary OB line at some point and the fairway to the left of that and to a nother point. Go through your routine...get the feeling of the first tee, the pressure you put on yourself. And play this hole. If the ball goes OB, tee another one up. If you hit a snap hook, it's in play but you now play a 4i instead of a 7i. Knowing the holes and your course is essential here...but you get the idea.

* Play each hole to the green and evaluate the approach shot. Right next to the hole is a bird, on the green is a par, off the green is a bogey (I know you can get it up and down, but there is another game for the chipping range, you are evaluating and playing golf at the range here).

* Play all 18 holes. Use the best pile for tee shots, and the 2nd best pile for the second shots. Par 5's you will have to guess at how you did to play the layup or Go For It shot.

Ok, all this is meant to help you practice to play golf. Michanics are one thing, being in the moment and practicing in the moment is what will help you play better on the course.

__________________
I'm a golfaholic, no question about that. Counseling wouldn't help me. They'd have to put me in prison, and then I'd talk the warden into building a hole or two and teach him how to play. ~Lee Trevino

This is a really intersting debate and one which I constantly have with the guys at my club

I used to spend a lot of time at the range trying to improve and then hack round on the weekend. I then went the other way and am tried to learn my new swing on the course in bounce games and even medals. Took the view that 3 months of playing up and down was better than years of inconsistency

My game improved far far quicker by playing on the course than on the range. No question

I now use the range for simple things only. Setup and Alignment drills, half swings, swing position practice, pitching drills etc and then take my game to the course. Its a false prophecy being a range rat. Ive seen guys on the range who could take Tiger on but cant hit a straight ball for toffee on the course when they have real grass, real fairways, real traps etc

Thanks for the advice gregg. funnily enough, I went to the range tonight and fought with the clubs for half an hour. Thenn i stopped, acessed the situation and decided forget the mechanics and just swing. I told myself to free up my body from being tight and swing through the ball. Bingo! if I could only do ths at the club. But I have decided that this is the only way forward. How do pros keep this attitude and swing with the same rhythm and timing?

Regards,
Robert

By relaxing. Like you just did. When the micanical mind takes a back seat, the rest of the body is free to go about it's swing. You do however, have to have a foundation to stand on, so micanics do have a place in your game, and you use them at the range, or to key on 1 or 2 throughout a round. But the overall solution is to stop thinking about what you are doing.