Training or No Training???

Question: Anybody lost the 'mojo' or desire to go range to train anymore???

I donno why, but 12 months back...wah....die die go and hit at least my std training....ie 50balls at Queen....but nowadays...no mood liao.....What is more surprising, score also no change..

Anybody with such situation ????


....DS

Bro, you are not alone......

Me try to go range but no improvement... Recently layoff range for 2 weeks, I think I did better not going to range. May be, when I go range, I was sight seeing instead of training... he he he...

When I decided to take golf seriously after 10 years of hacking & duffing my way across 18 holes with scores in the 120s or worse, I started by reading (and re-reading) "Ben Hogan's Five Lessons". In fact, I took it with me for reference whenever I visited Bishan driving range.

It has taken me 1.5 years and many balls (sometimes 300 balls per session for three times a week), many hours at home practicing swing drills with a weighted club in front of a mirror, and at least 30 minutes every day (if possible) of practice putting on a floor putting mat to finally break 100 over 18 holes on a regulation size course.

In between, I gleaned tips from Internet videos, golf books/mags, playing par 3 courses, reading online golf forums, and some instruction from local teaching pros. Looking back, I took about 25 - 30 strokes off my score (white tees) on a full 18-hole course since January 2008--no more par-4 hole scores of 8, 9, 10 or worse. (Knock wood!)

If I can shave another 15-20 within another two or three years, I will be happy. Rather pathetic when I consider I have at least been playing golf (badly) since 1994!

I really admire new golfers who can break 100 regularly after less than a year of practice and playing. Anyways, it took me 30 years to learn how to play the electric guitar, so 14 years of golf effort aint's so bad in comparison.

Just call me Mr Slow Learner.



CK

I think it all depends on what you want to achieve.

When you are playing golf with no target, it would be easy to lose your passion for the game after awhile.

I was in the "off" zone for awhile and when i started to set a target for myself to achieve, my passion for golf comes back again.

Try setting a target for yourself and hopefully your passion for golf comes back really soon! ^^

I've been going to the range a little too much, and not enough on the course. Hit 100 balls yesterday evening, 100 this morning and a further 200 in the afternoon. I'm succumbing to the "practice makes permanent" motto. I need to take a break and a breather.

But, to answer your question, I've not lost the urge to train. I'm fine-tuning my swing (thanks to useful feedback from Eric) and trying to get swings in using my ImpactStik. It's doing me wonders. I hope this keeps up

frosTEE wrote:

I think it all depends on what you want to achieve.

When you are playing golf with no target, it would be easy to lose your passion for the game after awhile.

I was in the "off" zone for awhile and when i started to set a target for myself to achieve, my passion for golf comes back again.

Try setting a target for yourself and hopefully your passion for golf comes back really soon! ^^

Exactly what coach tells me all the time. "Every golfer, at one point or another, wanted to quit the game." And this is so true for many pros.
You have to believe in yourself and dream big in order to keep your drive going. Small targets are essential for you to keep going on a day to day basis. However, the bigger goal is the one that will keep you going during the hard times.
If your ultimate desire is just to hit a drive 200m or hit a 7 iron 100m then your drive for the game will soon fade away. Conversely if your desire is to turn pro and try your luck on a tour, then hitting a 200m drive becomes a small milestone on your long journey.

You live life only once. Dream big. Only when you dare to dream will you be able to catch it.

Cheers.

i just had my second lousy round today and felt like i wanted to hang up my clubs for good.... but my kakis said i play too much golf already and ask me to take things easy.... "you think you're still young ah" they said.. i know i have too much expectations of myself and when cannot perform , it'll get only worse and worse... i'll get back to the basics and slowly work up from there... sigh.....

Sometimes, A break of a usual routine, eg pre-shot routine or driving range before game might help. For me, one thing for sure, I always hit better when I play mornings and its always proven, so now like what frostee said, I am trying to play a better game in the afternoon and I am setting that as a target.

Dun worry Mr Lam, its these down days that make golf an exciting game to play.

Thanks Bros for your inputs.......as for me, it is not that I want to give up golf....just that no more mood for going range to train.

BUT definitely I will be playing golf till golden age unless some part of my body give way first. Already taken the 1st step as I proceed to golden age......using graphite shaft......although felt quite pai seh when tee off with some of you bros.....all steel ones.....

Thanks again....

My motto: There is no golf course that is too short for me....only too long...hahahah

Mr Lam,

End of the day, just take a step back, enjoy the scenery and forget about all the tips and things to do in a golf swing when playing the game. If you have been hitting well at the range before your games, just try and replicate the feeling instead of remembering everything that u did.

Make the game as simple as u can. Overload of info can cause a system crash.

Thanks Bro... for your kind encouragement.. just have to persevere and be patient ba.. also the how the game turns out is secondary.. enjoying the company of friends during and after the game is more important..

Thanks R... i not as gifted as you... you heard the song by Daryl Hall & John Oates before right ? "You've have lost that lovely feeling" ... i lost the feeling already ... will lodge a report tomorrow and hopefully and get it back soon....

Duval_S wrote:

Thanks Bros for your inputs.......as for me, it is not that I want to give up golf....just that no more mood for going range to train.

BUT definitely I will be playing golf till golden age unless some part of my body give way first. Already taken the 1st step as I proceed to golden age......using graphite shaft......although felt quite pai seh when tee off with some of you bros.....all steel ones.....

Thanks again....

My motto: There is no golf course that is too short for me....only too long...hahahah

No need to pai seh, changing our equipment is to make our game easier not harder. I also gave up using steel shaft liao because just cannot hit it as well.

me aim for mini goals at the driving range

for driver
goal 1: drive 200m+ drives straight down the middle 5 times in a row (so far only achieve 2 1/2 in a row, 2 straight down the middle, one fade...the rest hooks. Previously all slices, now all hooks)
goal 2: drive 250m+ (not even close). may need some weights training, flexibility training and swing change
goal 3: drive 300m+ (ultimate dream)


also trying not to get to obsessed on the driver. must practice my 5 iron, 4 iron, 3 hybrid and 3 wood.

I agree with frosTee's suggestion to set a target for oneself. Mine is simply to enjoy the great outdoor with good company. Hitting the small white ball is just something that happen to come along with the walk and company.

Yup.. totally agree.. it depends what you want out of your golf game.

Why do you feel the need to go to the range to practise? Do you enjoy hitting balls the range? Do you feel that because you go to the range your golf scores should come down, but because they don't; you feel discouraged to go to the range?

If it's the latter, then just rethink your range sessions, try to work on something more specific like your takeaway, contact, etc. At the end of the range session, ask yourself what have you learned to improve? If at the end of hitting 100s of balls, you didn't really learn anything, then you cannot expect to improve that much??? It's not a quantity thing where the more balls you hit, the better you get automatically.

I don't go to the range much because I'm lazy. Then when I go, I like to experiment to try to swing differently, or try to hit farther, so my range sessions are not really good for my golf scores, but I have fun...

My take on golf is more like SamT's; of course it's a big added bonus if I play well

Incremental and long-range goals are good suggestions. Aquiring reliable short game skills is key to lowering scores, not necessarily 300+ metre drives off the tee, IMHO.

Many times, I have thought of less frustrating hobbies I could do, but I end up back on the range or on a golf courses anyways. (addictive masochistic behavior)

I know amatuer golfers who after many years of hard work attained near scratch handicaps, but were so bored by that time with playing golf, they took up other sports like kyaking or scuba diving.

The journy is the goal--at least that is what I tell myself constently.



CK

just a thought, if one is almost a scratch player/low handicapper, while their kakis are all high single/double digit handicappers.. and they themselves are not there yet for serious competition, it might get a bit boring. Golf is a social game, if you are the only guy among your kakis trying to be a scratch player, it will get boring.

Nothing bring the fire out then being beaten and knowing they are not nearly the top among their kakis.

For myself its fun to discuss techniques and our scores among my kakis whom are all similar to myself in our lack of skills.... and trying out swing tips/talking about how the latest equip may help us (its fun to talk even if deep down we know its our swing fault), even training together at driving range and marvel at each other when some how by luck we hit a perfect shot.

I guess many quit not because it boring (golf is never boring!!!), because they dont have similar skilled kakis.

BTW my aim in to outdrive my CEO in our next company golf challenge

Tronos, that could be a CLM..... Career Limiting Move to challenge yr boss

No more training for me, I love this game so much, but unable to train and play as much because of the injuries. I do play once or twice a mth and just try to keep the ball in play and enjoy the time I have on the course and the company of my good pals.

Been there, done that.

Mie swing needs lots of maintenance, to check plane, angles, tempo......cos the 'golf muscles' just don't remember to work properly

Nowadays, I'm just to busy to practise at the driving range so I just spent couple of minutes each day to practise indoor, mirror checks, drills, impact stick swing (yes it helps with my tempo & release)......Finally today I managed to squeeze in some time at the range to check which direction my ball flies (after 2 weeks) OK tha ball flies , now I need to get some 'feel'

Train or dun train Just spend some short productive time each day to work on your swing, hope it helps.

I am rather similar to Ultraman in the sense that my swing needs alot of maintenance... If i dun go driving range for awhile, my balls will start going left right but never center... I try to spend at least 2-3 days a week in the range typically... Anyway, i really envious people like SamT who doesn't need to go to the range and yet play so well... Whats the secret huh?

Was at Bishan driving range today. Whacking those almost dimpless range balls towards what I think is 150 metres (yellow flag)?

It was downpouring rain on and off and very wet around the hitting mats.

After watching a teaching pro and his students in the bay next to me, I felt like giving up trying to get better at all. The pro was hitting a five or six iron almost as far as my best driver distance at Bishan--about 160 -170 metres!

Only after calming down and looking around me at the dozens of beginners struggling with basic shots using seven or nine irons and flubbing almost every third shot did I realise that I too was once like that.

I will never attain pro-level golf skills, but am curious as to how far I can go in terms of a low handicap index.

Maybe even place on some mid-handicap division, amateur monthly medal competition some day?




CK

My training will depend on the game on the previous weekend. If i screw up on my drives, then it will be purely driver, and if irons, then irons. If the game was ok, then what i do is to train my stamina. Sometimes, I will go through the course distances but using the driving range. For example, lets say a par 4 is 360, i will hit with a driver follow by a iron, if i shank that iron, it will follow with another short chip of something. Its just about making the practise session more interesting.

That is an good idea for range route.