Hi fellow golfer....can anybody help me

a couple of months ago i was i was shooting scores in the low 90's , so i decided to have a couple of lessons with my local pro to help me break 90. i went along for my first lesson and he tore my whole swing to pieces i.e. set up ( shoulders to open)
take away ( too inside )
halfway back ( too upright )
downswing ( over the top )
release ( blocking or chicken winged )
After working on all these points for about 6 weeks my game has totally fell apart . I never break 100 now and my confidence is shot to pieces. i practice almost everyday using the drills given to me by my pro but i see absolutely no improvement. It has got to a point where i don't want to play anymore but i absolutely love this game. I feel i am wasting my money continuing with lessons..... what can i do ???????

You stop your lessons. You get your swing back. Then incorporate 1 key element that this set of lessons helped you understand somthing about your old swing that you knew you needed to work on.

You changed WAY too many things at once. You had no chance to improve. A complete break down takes years. New players can handle this amount of info becase they had nothing to fix...it will be all new. Your situation is that you had a groved swing and that takes a lot more effort to break away from. Small changes, ones that take time and the ability to keep your old swing intact so you have something to cling to as you go out to the course.

Just hope you can get your old swing back. If you can't, you might have to go the rebuild route and if this is the case, be very very very patient. You will end up being a better player like you would if you were eased into this change, but it will just end up taking you a lot longer.

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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

Well the pro is right in that you had swing issues, but wrong in trying to get you to do all these things straightaway

Boring as it may sound, try and give yourself 6 months to relearn and be patient as Greg says. 6 months range time now could mean many years of playing well later

First setup. This is vital so do as your pro said. Take the video of a great golfer you are similar to in height and build to and try and copy their setup and swing. My reference model, when I went through this process, was Adam Scott

http://www.golfdigest.com/flash/swin...tt/scott2.html

Now start on each bit at a time. Each part will take weeks. Accept that. There is never instant success in this game. Ever. So for example, start off with the takeaway. Look how Adam has a wide takeway and note where his club shaft/head is and where his hands are. Your pro says yours was inside so print it out, refer to it. Ask questions on GTO. Video it and check it. When you feel comfortable just hit half swings this way until you make good contact. Then and only then move on to 3/4 back and so on and so on. Swing slowly and easily and realsie that feelings and mechanics come first before you can apply speed

As you do this try and find a pro who can help you. Try telling him what you are trying to do, that you want to do it piecemeal and see if he will help will you with advice, drills, video etc. IMHO the swing is a set of simple movements that morph into one simple motion. Get one of the first movements wrong though and everything that follows will be wrong. If a pro wont do this and he insists on teaching his own way I would steer clear but the teaching guys here may disagree.

I started this about a year ago and it took me about 6 months. I found a great assistant pro in the UK who agreed to help teach me the way I wanted to learn and I would go back every 3 weeks for assesment. I have since knocked 10 shots off my hcp from this time last year when like you I was a consistent low 90's guy

HTH

IMO , out of all the things your pro mentioned above, I would say shoulders open at address is probably the most critical. I am assuming your grip is ok. Shoulders open will affect all the other parts of the swing. Working on standing square to the ball may help you the most. You may need to have somebody stand behind you to see if your shoulders are square.

thanks for the reply.
i am seriously going to take on board all of the points that you and Greg have raised and if this means that i miss out on my weekly golf games with my work buddies then so be it. I know it will be worth it in the long run. thanks again . Terry

Thanks for the reply.

Hi tpg,
I can understand 100% where you are at. I posted some time ago a replica of the problems you are having. I was close to packing in. Having played this game for many years, I found it hard to accept why everything just fell assunder. I came to realise, through my good friends on this site, that I needed to adress different issues. Firstly, if you dont believe in your ability,, you are going nowhere. Try and remember the good things about your game when you were playing well.The days you hit long drives, the long putts that went in etc.

Having worked on a mental attitude for some weeks, I then progressed to the course, where I duly experienced nightmare rounds. I was not giving up and after hard work on the range and believing in myself, I put together a dream round this Sunday. Believe me, tell yourself the good things about your game, forget scores on the course for the time being. Swing a wedge at home and feel the tempo. I dont know if this helps but I am sur e there maybe some points to help.

Regards,
Robert

hi m8
luv the no bullsh*t reply you gave. i'm willing to try anything.
cheers . Terry

just to let you know...I phoned my coach and told him ( politely ) that i would no longer be taking lessons from him....

I know what my weaknesses are and with the help of this site and YOU GUYS i know i will soon be back on track..regards Terry

Yesterday i shot my best ever round , 84 , I went out there with a plan.
I only used my driver on the 1st and the 18th. for the rest i teed off with either my 18 degree rescue club or my 7 iron.

I played with absolutely no thoughts of swing mechanics or negative thoughts. I used the same pre shot routine on every shot and i played the course 1 shot at a time .

things are looking up .........Terry

[forget the lessons and go to the range,hit lots of balls and get going that way,how many pro's have perfect swings?tiger doesn't, and i wish mine were so bad.i took a couple of lessons,months ago and its taken me til now to recover from them,never again.work with what you got is my motto from now on.

thanx for the reply russ and welcome to CTO

regards........Terry

Hi: the thing you gotta remember about pros is that they are trying to make a living.Of course they are gonna start you out from scratch..its to their advantage to get you coming for multiple lessons.Now dude..with you being good enough to go out and shoot 84..i never would have went there in the first place..you obviously have an understanding of the golf swing well enough to correct any flaw you might have.Now this pro probably saw your main flaw and probably could have corrected you instantly.But thats not gonna feed the bulldog for very long.Once i was having a problem with a hook..i was on the range when the pro of this course came strolling by.He ask.."how ya hittin' 'em?"..i said.. "not good..im fighting a hook."He watched me a couple of swings and said to take the club back in slow motion..on my way down (still in slo mo) he grabbed my clubhead and said "there!!"..."if you can get the clubhead square right here(halfway down).."i guarantee you will not hook the ball"..well very next swing..i manipulated the club to where it felt square at this point and BAM!!!..straight as an arrow..the pro walked on down the range.David

hi spankit
thanx for the reply

nice to know ( in your case ) not every pro is after our cash.

i had a practice session this afternoon ....swing is still holding up .....

thanx again for the moral support
regards .Terry