Sometimes we just need to step back and acknowledge that something is broken.

I’ve been working on getting my game back this year and trying to take it to a much higher level. But the last few weeks have been simply brutal. I’ve been having so much trouble with ball striking, that I eventually modified my golf practice plan to make all the rounds optional, with the option being a range session instead.

I’ve been at the range regularly (minus a couple of minor injury rest periods) but haven’t been on the course in almost two weeks.

It started when I was working on getting my lower body to stop lagging. I’m a big guy, but I have the strength and speed to make a good swing. As I started to improve in that regard, I noticed something that I haven’t seen in years: my misses were going right.

In addition, I perceived that my grip was a little too strong (as in hand position, not in how tightly I grip the club), so I worked on weakening it. I eventually started to think that since my misses were going right, maybe I weakened it too much so I went back to making it a little stronger. That didn’t help.

Then, I convinced myself that for a long time I must have been “holding on” through impact (not allowing the club face to return to square) to fight the snap hooking I’d been doing early this year. I figured I fixed something and was just left with a poor release. So I worked on that and started to spray the ball all over the place.

Meanwhile, it all went downhill. Well, I guess further downhill is more accurate. Now my drives go so far right that they actually cross the fairway twice (you might need to think about that one for a minute).

I’m left with the tatters of a golf game, ready to concede defeat. Time for me to suck it up and get to my pro. I mean, if Tiger Woods needs a teacher, then who am I to think I can solve all these problems myself?

Conceding defeat doesn’t mean quitting. It’s just time to regroup.

Well, soon anyway. As I was riding home from work mentally working on this post (don’t worry, the freeways in New Jersey don’t require your complete attention while driving), I started to think about what my problems could be. I’m really starting to think I’m standing too close to the ball.

It all makes sense. If I would read my own posts (or at least pay closer attention to the research I do prior to some of my posts) I’d have recalled that standing too close to the ball can promote an over the top move. Being 6′3″, it’s easy for me to get a little upright and swing in a more vertical plane, so standing too close would just magnify that problem.

Could I really be coming over the top?! No! Not me!

With this thought in mind, I broke out my driver tonight for some practice swings, paying careful attention to my setup. It did seem that I was a little close, but it was hard to tell without hitting some actual shots (my apartment manager would not approve). When I put myself into what I felt was a proper setup, it felt like I was reaching for the ball a little. That tells me that I was previously standing a little too close. That, or my perception of proper setup is wrong. The thing that I’m sure of is that my practice swings felt good, like I was on plane and with a much more free movement through impact.

Before I concede defeat, I’m going to call an emergency range session after work to test my theory, in place of a workout. If I don’t have success, then I’m really conceding defeat and scheduling a lesson.

If you’ve reached the point of giving up, you should schedule a lesson too. If you’re like me, then you agree that it’s sort of fun trying to experiment and figure it out for yourself. But when it stops being fun, then it’s time to get a second pair of eyes on the problem. It will be better in the long run. If I was 20 years old, then maybe there would be value in figuring it out for myself, much the same that Ben Hogan did with his own swing. But at this age, if I want to succeed, then I need quicker answers.

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