can you work too hard at golf?

as a 13 year old, 16 handicap golfer, i am working to be scratch as quick as possible - as you could understand. i play 54 holes a week - 18 of them in comps. i practice my putting quite a bit at least and hour or so a night. but recently i read that teen golfers undr 15 years old work themselves too hard and eventually quit. being quite a competitive person i cant see myself doing so but has anyone ever experienced this?

Liam, you've obviously got the motivation which is key and you're doing it because you want to. I was playing from aged 8 cak handed 'til my early teens. I loved (and still do) like to practice which is what you need to consider. By all means practice your putting but to be scratch you've got to be an all rounder which means putting your drives where you want them to go, being able to execute the type of shot needed time and time again ad nauseum for your second and approach shots to the green and having an impeccable short game. Doubtfull if you'll get this from simply playing 3 rounds a week. If you had a mentor that would be a great help but as long as you have the enthusiasm and committment  you're in with a chance. Good luck and do a few putts for me.

Practice will generally help alot with your game.

The short game requires a good feel/touch which is hard to teach, but better to learn by playing regularly.

It's good you can play so often, you will improve.  However I would strongly recommend you take some lessons, especially on things you may be struggling with or just need a bit of a second opinion.

The journey you are on may be short, but more than likely long as getting into single figures is a tough old task. Your at the right age, with a little dedication it's there for the taking.

Don't get too dis heartened if it doesn't always go your way, learn from your mistakes, on the range/practice ground experiment, low, high, flops, chips with different clubs.  This will help you visualize your shots when needed.

Remeber Seve could hit so many different kinds of shot with just one club. He learnt this just by playing & practising, just in case he may need it to get out of trouble.

Hope this helps

David

If you are enjoying it Liam, keep going. If not ease back. I'd say its that simple.

Hi Liam,  you are doing very well with your golf, playing of 16 at your age is fantastic.  3 rounds a week is average golf, you should keep that up as long as you have the interest.  Practicing does make perfect, and there is nothing wrong with that.  I myself played golf at your age, along with my brother, we were encouraged to play by my father, who was a avid golfer.  My brother got down to an 8 handicap at the age of 16, he practised constantly.  I played for fun, i enjoyed the game and I did very well at it, but nowhere near my brother's game.  unfortunately, he did give it up!  and so did I.  So in answer to your question, teenagers do give it up, this is when they discover better things in their lives, like socialising and eventually working.  At the moment, your school work should be important to you as much as your golf, because if you do get sick of your golf, or you dont make the professional grade, you need your education to fall back on.  

I have returned to my game now, and I am so regretful that I didnt keep it up.  I am doing very well and have won 5/6 competitions since coming back to the game in August 2011.  You will never lose your golfing skills now, as learning as a child is the best way to play.  Keep it up and good luck.

Play as much as you want to play. That way you won't ever be bored. Short game practice will really help your game, and length will come naturally as you grow.

At 15/16, during school holidays, I played 36/54 holes a day and practiced between each round and sometimes after the last round. The swing you develop now will determine how good you become but the practice you do has to be the right things or you'll only develop a bad swing.

Liam, what a great post, it shows you have a lot of intelligence to ask for advice wherever you can get it. I first hit golf balls when I was 14/15 and my school had some lessons, but I didn't start to play until I was 23. I would love to go back 55 years to your age and persevere to see how good I could have been - I eventually got good enough to play for my county (seniors) so it's a great game to play all your life.

Here are my thoughts about your question:

There will be times as you are going through your teens when you have other things that take precedence, which is normal. Just don't let the fact that you haven't played or practised for some time stop you from going out and starting again. It's tempting to quit when you have other things to do, particularly if you feel that your game isn't improving as a result. Just get out there again, hopefully with a regular partner or two, and hit those balls for the pleasure of it.

Continue to practise that short game! It's the one thing that separates the good players from the very good. I played with our club champion a few years ago and he and I missed the same number of greens but he beat me by 7 strokes thanks to his ability to get up and down. I practised hard and managed to beat him in a scratch singles match some time later (at the 22nd hole, in the dark!). So, your long game needs to be good enough but your short game needs to be outstanding.

Use those long holidays to their best advantage. Get into the habit of getting up early and going to your local golf club. Get to know the professionals, offer to do a few jobs for them, ask them for advice, tell them you'll organise some junior lessons for them if you can attend for free!

Most of all, never hit a practice stroke that doesn't mean anything. On the practice ground think your way round a course that you know and change to the right club after every shot, work out what you would have to do and try to do it. So, if your first hole needs a long fade up the left pick a target and visualise where the stroke you actually hit would have finished up, then take out the club you would have had to use and play your next shot. How many greens would you have hit and how far from the hole, where would the ones you missed have ended up? Finish the "round" then go to the short game practice area and play each of those strokes you would have left yourself, in order, chip then putt, hole out, next hole. One meaningful practice stroke is worth ten that are just repetitions.

Finally, when you are practising your putting use one ball only - and make it a new one of the type you use on the course. You only ever get one chance on the course so that's what you must practise - getting it right first time. If the green isn't busy find a triangle of holes giving you 10, 20 and 30-foot putts and keep going round them, then reverse direction. Test one grip and stance against another, play competitions against yourself, even left-handed versus right!

Most important, keep us all informed of your progress, and we'll keep you motivated!

Best of luck. 

thank you all for the replies and i greatly appreciate it! i hope to see you all on the course some time soon!