Muscle back struggle

I replaced my trusty old Wilson fat shafts a couple of months ago and have replaced them with a set of Mizuno MP60 muscle backs.  The strongest part of my game always was my irons, I consistantly hit them well but now struggle.  I feel like I have lost faith in my swing because the club head looks so small when looing down on it at address. 

Probably a daft question, but has anybody else noticed this problem as well and if so, did you get past it?  and how?

This is my concern as well.

Ive been playing for over 10 years now (the last 2 years ive taken it seriously where as before its was a few times a year effort) , and have never had lessons, this ofcourse was a mistake at the time but im now happy with my swing and my mid to short iron play is by far the strongest part of my game.

I recently have been given lessons as a gift, but im concerned that over the course of the lessons that my golf will suffer and my swing/game will change for the worse (as i have heard this from many players) . However im aware that by taking lessons will in the long run get rid of all the "faults" in my game, but as im just a leasure player (and i have no illusions of being a scratch player) i dont want this to spoil my enjoyment  of this great game. 

Has anyone else been in the situation?

Danny, there is nothing more satisfying than hitting a golf ball exactly the way you intended to play it. This only happens maybe three/flur times a round, but it is this that keeps us coming back for more.

David, pleased that you have now got over your hangover from Donnington, I wrote it off as I walked off the eighteenth as history.

I was better off the tee yesterday and hit some great irons and that is what it is all about.

"Trust your swing", how many times have we heard this expression. I have even used it myself at times, but only to people who have the correct swing in the first place. It is a waste of time putting ones trust in something that is fundamentaly flawed.

So this Bob Rotella is a sports psychologist, I had never heard of him. Funny how this modern game seems to depend on people outside the game providing solutions for poor performances, especially when under pressure.

My own view in respect of being able to react strongly when under pressure is that I really do believe that the winning mentality is born and cannot be transferred by an outsider.

We constantly hear about stress and its related syndromes, yet I believe that stress is another self induced 21st century addition to the answers for being unable or unwilling to cope.

Of course this kind of help does have its supporters, but they are all new school, looking for something that might give them an edge, when in actual fact they are attempting to circumvent the limited ability they have.

I can understand the positive thought process but that alone will not guide the ball to the target.

Mr Pink, Interesting last sentence which I can personally refute in my case. The two planks you refer to were in actual fact two pieces of scaffolding 30 feet high and about 25 feet in length and 2 feet part which was part of the confidence test which had to be passed before parachute training was even offered during my National Service.

Halfway across these two narrow beams of scaffolding was a chain wrapped around the circumference, so that one had to lift one foot and maintain balance with the other in order to get over it. This would show that I have a completely different mindset to you, as you seem to set great store in this mental thing you are pushing as the reason why good golf is not attainable.

The rest of your post is not worth commenting on, as it totally differs to my way of thinking in respect of this game.

Going with what you have is pointless, if what you have is an inferior method of hitting the ball.

If a winning mentality could be learned then we would not have the same players winning all the time, would we?

Hi Keith, Lessons, now that is a minefield, because as well know, we assume that because the person is a Pro, that he has an in depth knowledge of the many different methods of hitting a golf ball where one wants it.

One has to find a Pro that is going to be able to pick out the flaws in your swing and introduce the corrections. If these corrections are not compatible to the way you swing the club then once the lesson is over you will find that you are back to square one minus £25. They are teaching to make money, they are not interested whether you improve or not.

Golf is played by different types of people who all have different aims in respect of golf, some treat it as exercise, some as a social thing and the more serious try to improve their standard as quickly as possible.

I don't go to the range that often but when I do I notice that the majority are just standing there hoping to hit the ball out of the end of the range and do not work on altering anything that would improve the flight and direction of each individual shot. £4 wasted on a bucket of balls IMO.

So what you are saying, Martin, is that your Pro has not altered your swing at all yet you seem to be satisfied with that.

Everyone seems to blame three putting for their bad scores, when in actual reality it is because of poor play through the green.

Keith, Tiger is the best placed of all the pros to do the impossible, as he has the best stats for GIR and he is 9th in the putting stats. If he outts well then he has every chance of doing it but there really are too many variables to want to bet money on it.

I disagree entirely, JP (Same initials as me)and the method you are advocating does not seem to have helped you, as you are still languishing at a handicap which tells me that you have not yet achieved a standard that would be recognised as an achievement.

All the pros and amateurs have their own unique swing, but what separates the Pros from the amateurs is that they are all the same at impact. If they were not, then the ball would not go down the fairway or onto the green.

Tiger is the man to beat in all competition at the moment.

That is where you are wrong JP I am not stuck on 14.4 as you put it, I am now 71 and have drifted out to this rather high handicap from Scratch, which I held for four years, 1 handicap for 8 years and category 1 for most of my life, represented the county of Somerset for a few years and played in all of the major Amateur tournaments at least once, which, I doubt you know, rtequires a minimum qualification of 1 handicap, just to get into the ballot.

My method, based on  the facts I have just given you, are the basis for anything I may contribute to this forum. I might add that mine is coming down again as I work on trying to get round my body problems. It is not a psychologist I need but a new body.

As for Tiger, I am of the same opinion as you and perhaps he might be worth a wager as the oddds would be pretty good.

Hi JP, I will never know whether the help or hindrance from a modern day mind coach would have helped me to get lower than scratch, but what I do know is that had I the opportunity to play more often at that time, then I would have been even more competitive, but like everyone else who is an amateur, I had to go to work.

My work as an International Trucker meant that I could not play that regularly as trips to the Middle East meant I was away from home for a month at a time. The mere fact that I was able to maintain my scratch and 1 handicaps is because I felt that I had a solid method, which I found easy to repeat.

Of course the mind has a part in all of this, but it is how one deals with himself that is important. When I first started playing in scratch competition I quickly realised that everyone is not equal, even though they might have the same handicap and it did not take me long to pinpoint who were the  class players and who I would have to beat if I were to ever win anything.

I finished in front of Gordan Brand (Gordon Brand Jnrs father) at the Long Ashton Vase and you cannot believe what that did for my confidence and, many would say, arrogance.

After that I always felt that if I played well then I was the man to beat and that is how Tiger thinks today. Tiger hits more greens in regulation than anyone else and he is a sound putter, more so when he is pressured to hole it.

I hope your game goes from strength to strength as it is obvious you have a feeling for this game.

I will look at the Bob Rotella ebook and I may even learn something to my advantage, but bottom line, one has to have a sound method in the first place, learning how to win is a completely different ball game that only a few ever achieve.

JP, you have just said something in your post that shows you understand how difficult it is to get from five to four, then four to three an so on and on.

Also once in category 1 your handicap is controlled by County and not your club and you will find a requirement to play in strong competition to move any lower.

Perhaps the answer, for you, does lie in the teachings of Dr Bob Rotella, who knows, but my thoughts suggest that your current method, although probably very good still needs some work on it.

Keith, Oh to be 31 again, that was the age that I felt that I peaked, even though I was up to 1 by then. I had two years where it was almost impossible to go over 70.

I stopped playing competitive open golf at the age of 42 when I finally won The Grand Atlantic Trophy at Weston-Super-Mare in 1979. This was the only handicap competition I used to play in and only because it had the largest trophy I have ever seen and there was also a Scratch prize. I tied for first place in the handicap on two occasions but lost it on countback but I won the scratch three times.

I like to see everyone play good golf and am always willing to help when asked.

The short game is what makes the difference, but very few golfers today spend enough time on it.

I will now give you a tip that I have kept to myself for many years and that is to practice with a wedge with your left hand behind your back using your right hand and arm only. You will soon realise that to get the ball to fly correctly that the club can only be set in one position - The correct one - this puts the club on the perfect plane and one that must be used for all shots. Hope that helps.

Would that tip help me John?

Your plane is fine, Danny, you just have to learn to play within yourself, after all is said and done, the game is not all about hitting flat out, finesse plays a large part and that is where your game needs help. Listen to Daddy and I will put you right.

Golf is a game where one start from point 'A' and has to get the ball in a hole at point 'B' negotiating along the way various hazards that are put there to make us think a little.

It is the way that we plot our course along each hole that will determine whether we score well or poorly.

This is called percentage golf and everyone, yes, even the great Tiger, will play percentage golf, in fact he probably plays it more than anyone else.

We have all seen pin positions that are virtually impossible to get at and it is then that the knowledgable ones amongst us will be looking for the bale out area that will give the best chance of securing a par.

From what you say it appears that your ball striking is excellent, so where are you dropping the shots, I refuse to believe that it is because of poor putting.

To move forward one has to be honest about where the problem is, my own problem is that I just cannot drive a ball anymore or use a fairway wood, so I have to have to think more about how to make a par when I am struggling from the tee. 

Winning 6/4 is not always telling the right story, as I can remember playing against Cornwall at Burnham and Berrow Golf club and in the singles I drew this guy who had his girlfriend as caddy, she was a stunner, of the model type, and everyones eyes were out on beanstalks when we first saw her in the clubhouse. 

I felt rather sorry for him when I beat him 6/4, as it was obvious he was just trying too hard to impress the girl and although the score looked as if I had played well, in actual fact I was a couple over par, which would normally mean a defeat. 

Everyone immediately jumps to the wrong conclusions because of the margin of victory. The opposite to this was my very first county match for Somerset against Monmouth (Now non existent). The Captain of our team came out of the clubhouse and called out to me how the match went and I turned my thumb down and he immediately turned on his heels and went back into the clubhouse.  I had just lost on the last 1 down having shot 69 to my opponents 68 and would probably have beaten anyone else on the team that day, but to them it was a defeat.

This is the way it is at that level, only the result counts. 

I have rambled on too much I feel, so I apologise for boring you all to death. 

So now you are into bullsh**ting, Steven, Your stats do not back up what you have just posted in your response to Martin and if they did then we could say that you are playing well below your current handicap, which I feel is not the done thing.

Seeing as Liverpool are playing tonight it must be fair to say "Eh, Calm Down, Calm Down!!!"

Surely everyone is entitled to their opinions - the fact is that John was just going by what had been stated versus the displayed handicap on the site.  There is no denying that Johns experience and knowledge of this game are superior to the vast majority of us on this site so should be respected.  Also read it for what it is, just a comment - this is a forum after all where all opinions should be allowed (and without people so quickly taking the hump!)  Sounds like you're playing in ALL sorts of weather Steven - good effor, no doubt your handicap will drop even further if you keep up such good commitment.

It's all about the banter surely?  At the end of the day let's all just enjoy the game, try to play to the best of our abilities and most importantly.......

"Stay Calmmmmmmmm"  :-) 

You certainly look alright in your picture Wayne, glad the op went well!! :-)

Hang on!!!  Just refreshed my page and you've changed again!!! Typical woman!!

Oh crikey, best you log onto that other site youve subscribed to then!!!!!!

I have been a Spurs supporter since long before they did the double, but then I was born very near to White Hart Lane.

I second that notion!! Barca for the cup!!

Just as, Mr Bond, im not bitter either!! I cant believe there are so many spurs fans on here, I will never look at you all the same again!

So, Mr Watmore, you are 12 handicap golfer based on the hardest courses, yet still cannot change your handicap on this site manually, so that everyone will know your true abilities other than the crap that you have been espousing since you decided to take an interest in the forums and especially me.

Those members of Golfshake with whom I have played, will, I am sure, testify that I am a very quiet person, do not offer advice unless asked for and do not converse that much whilst I am playing the game, as I like to concentrate. I applaud all good shots made by my opponents and am a very good loser. Yes, I lose quite frequently these days.

You may call me an old T**t but that is like water off a ducks back.

I notice that you never had a response to my earlier post correcting you on my previous golfing ability.

So now you are better than me, according to you, but how good are you when under a bit of pressure, perhaps you would care to put your skills against mine playing level for a wager. Perhaps £100 could tempt you.

I have clubs, will travel, is my motto. I refuse to be browbeaten and have put up, he has to make the choice of whether to take me up on it or shut up.

You are welcome anytime J P, would rather we played a game though.

I suggest John and Stephen square up at the Northern cup

J P, I have to plot my way round as I can't hit the ball very far these days, which means that there are very few holes that I can reach in regulation.

Even the top pros play the percentages, always looking for the safe shot. Only matchplay gives them the freedom to take shots on that they would normally fight shy of.

Medal rounds are the most difficult as every shot counts, stablefords the most one loses is the possible points for that hole, usually only 2 points. Matchplay shotmaking is always dependant on what ones opponent is doing.

The lower handicappers like the Medals as this favours them more than the higher handicappers, who, on occasion, have blow-outs.

May I remind you that I only responded to a post of yours based on your current handicap as shown, but yourself then admitting that you in actual fact play much lower.