why do we lose our swing?

Hi All,
I have been playing this wonderful game for about 10 years and will never stop. In that period of time I have dropped many strokes but usually i dont have a problem putting them back up! What I can not get an answer to is why without explanation we can loose a great swing, not having changed anything from setup stance etc, through to routine. Of course when this happens we automatically loose confidence also. The solution for me is back to basics which usually corrects things, but why does this loss of swing happen? Do pros suffer this, and if so to what degree?

Cheers,
Robert

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"Play to your ability, not your expectation"

Hello Robert.
You only have to look at people like David duvall, thomas bjorn, lee westwood and even the great tiger woods, to know that nobody is immune to this loss of swing syndrome.
i for one haven't got a single clue why it happens. our only defence is to be sure to always go back to basics . maybe the answer is to get our swing filmed over regular intervals and then hopefully spot any changes in our set up and swing.
i myself have suffered this mysterious syndrome many times in my golfing life, but i always go back to basics and build upwards.

cheers my old mate

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the dog wags the tail....the tail dosn't wag the dog

Hi Aftford,
I was expecting your reply. I am dissapointed that you dont have the answer as I have so much respect for your comments! Seriously though, I agree with your theory on back to basics. It seems to be the only solution. Maybe someday you will post the answer.!! Keep playing well, I am waiting for your post on a + handicap.
Best Regards,
Robert

Robert .i'll run this theory by you.
as far as amatuers are concerned , our swing falls apart because A , we don't trust it. or B, we haven't spent enough time ingraining our swing.
now, since this loss of swing syndrome happens to pro players who have spent years ingraining their swing to a point where they trust it impecably and yet still suffer the loss of swing syndrome, then A and B hold no credance.
i'm sorry robert . i have no hope of solving this one.

The swing is a living, breathing, thing.

The classic example is when you've overdone a drill - and the drill becomes a flaw. For example, I tend to swing to flat (I get under plane). To combat this, I conciously swing more upright. Eventually, I start to swing too upright, then need to flatten out a bit. That's my best guess.

Aft. regarding your theory: A, it is ingrained, B, it is trusted, but yet when applying as one does in practice, it doesnt present itself on the course?? My answer?? Mental Block, which leads to tension, which kills confidence.

exactly my friend.
you have hit the nail on the head.
someone once wrote " golf is 90% mental. the other 10% is mental.
cheers robert. hope you are well
speak soon

One needs to take into consideration our body's ability on the day and external factors.

Internal, ie, mood, muscle soreness or sleep deprivation.
External, ie, weather and course conditions such as atmosphere and heavy conditions.

These too would impact on our swing.

Its true that the swing rely on confidence. If you are swinging, and you simply _hope_ the ball will go where you want to, you are not confidence, and the chances the ball will go where you want is slim to none.

And another factor is too much thinking, if you stand on the fairway and mentally go through your entire swing, you are simply thinking to much, and the fluent swing you know you can is gone.

When i started playing golf, i tended to play on Sundays, after a night on most saturdays which left me little sleep. Back then those hangover rounds was the best rounds i played considering my level at that time. The reason i believe is simply that thinking to much was exhausting on a tired head, so i just hit the ball with the swing i had, with a more often than not a satysfing result.

- Stian

If you are like most of us we are never totally satisfied with our swing. You get the Driver grooved, hitting it nice and straight, and decide you should be able to hit it 10 yards further. No one has the PERFECT swing. The mind tells us there has to be a better way, constantly.

The upside of losing your swing is that the game never gets boring. Would you want to play a game where you know the outcome of every shot ahead of time? What a boring game it would be.

Interesting points

I would add "lack of concentration" and all the various reasons that could be considered a cause of such loss. When we lose our swing, we revert back to our own swing basics, which will include concentrating on our own swing keys. If we concentrate properly on our own swing keys, we tend to remind our subconscious to swing the club properly. I have read, and believe that from the start of a swing, to follow through after impact, the swing happens too fast to be a conscious effort. If true, then the swing itself happens due to instruction by the subconscious part of our mind. Ever played a round, or a series of holes while being in the "zone" so to speak? While in that zone, many a player has described it as just happening with out any conscious thought on their part. It just happened.

Think about Mr. Woods missing the cut at the last major. He was physically ready, and consciously ready. He told us so during numerous interviews prior to starting his rounds. But, do you think his subconscious might have been a bit scrambled due to his personal loss? Mr. Mickleson on the other hand made a poor conscious decision, which probably did not react well with what his subconscious wanted to do. The perfect mind game(s) causing swing failures. IMHO......GJS

Excellent thread!!! I love all the answers the more I read themore I agree with everyone. Because we are human, nothing is ever perfect.
Bob. Aft. and Low I love reading your replies on this forum. Along with Ian
pnearn. There is alot of knowledge here, keep up the good work.

I had a decent swing and lost it for close to 2 years and could not get it back even though I watched videos, went to a few instructors, read MANY books, and read online. THen I found an instructor who had more knowledge then any instructor I had met before and he explained the physics of the swing. there are certain "laws" of swinging a club and understanding those changed my intention of what I wanted my body and hands to do. Now that I understand more about the golf swing it would be harder for me to loose my swing to the point that I had lost it before. there are laws, physics, geometry, etc involved in the golf swing, does not mean every swing should look the same but whoever is consistently closest in obeying those laws will have the more reliable swing. The hard part about the golf swing is if it is analyzed incorrectly it can paralyze, but if analyzed/understood correctly it can liberate.
my .02 on the subject
good luck in the search,
neil

It was spooky to see this post yesterday because I had just logged on to ask the same question. On Monday I went out and played better than I've played for ages (see below). Very encouraging round.

Yesterday I went for a practice and could hardly hit a ball. Today was not much better so I sat down, had a cold drink, took a deep breath and made myself go back to basics. Bingo.

So for me when I lose the swing perhaps its not what I'm doing wrong but what I'm not doing right.

However, I suspect that I'm not the only who when the wheels come off thinks "what did I do wrong" instead of "what do I do when its right" - a lesson I'm trying to learn.

Anyay, back to Monday's round. I played much better than usual but scored only slightly better, which leads to another question.

Why doesn't the score always reflect the way you play?


I've got some ideas why but would be interested to know other peoples thoughts and if you sometimes walk off thinking "I was playing better than that?".