Are you feeling frustrated with golf lately? So tired of the game and your scores that you just want to quit? I know the feeling. I'm right there with you.
As I've mentioned before, I'm trying to get a more realistic handicap. Most of my best eight scores are from 2019, and my game just isn't there anymore. I'm nowhere near the 11.4 I started with, or even the 13.3 I've crept up to.
It's not really about the handicap, though, it's the inconsistency. I'm hitting shots that are coming out of nowhere, and the more I play (which at the moment is once a week, plus the occasional nine holes), the worse I seem to get. I was playing better earlier this year after not touching my clubs for a few weeks!
I know some of you are probably thinking, "Stop worrying, that's just the ups and downs of golf," and you're right, there are more important things to focus on, and I’m sure I’ll get through this slump. But for now, this is my leisure time, something I pay good money for, and I haven't been enjoying it at all lately.
Perhaps it’s fate, but this is a timely article that I commissioned Emma Booth to write for Golf Monthly. I’m definitely not alone. Emma has coached hundreds of golfers who are at the point of no return, so if you’re feeling like me, her 7 tips will help you to reset your game, I’m banking on them!
One of the biggest tips that I can relate to is how my expectations are killing my game. I’m not the player I was, I need to accept that, but if I want to improve, I need to do something about it! Emma explains how she often hears her pupils say ‘I should be able to… ,” and that’s me, because I used to be able to. Unfortunately, that’s a one-way path to golfing misery because golf is hard and you need to put the practice in if you want to improve.
Emma also explains how a common theme when you’re suffering with a particular issue such as the yips or shanks is the expectation of doing a bad shot. Take shanking for example, clients tell her that they don’t hit one until their third or fourth shot and then say, “Ah! There it is, I knew I was going to do it.” That’s exactly what I say! This means that I’m permanently in a state of bracing myself for a bad shot. The answer is to see a pro that can help you to fix the issue, as it might just be a simple swing tweak.
So, I’m going to chill out about my golf game, reset, and hopefully I’ll be boring you soon with a hole by hole account of my best round of the year!
