Every golfer has bad days. You know the kind we mean—days when nothing goes right. Even your “go-to” shots don’t work. Too many bad days like this can dent your confidence and boost your golf handicap. While practicing regularly keeps you in sync, you can’t stop bad days completely.
Savvy golfers limit the damage on bad days. Do you? Often, it’s not your swing that’s off. It’s other things, like your game management tactics, pre-shot routines, or setup adjustments. Whatever the cause, it jeopardizes the round. You need to do something to reclaim your game and save the round.
Let’s look at some on-courses fixes we cover in golf lessons. These are small changes that can help you out in a pinch.
Wild Drives
One remedy to hitting wild drives is to tee the ball lower. This does two things: It forces you to stay down and over the ball at impact and it puts more backspin on the ball. Staying down prevents you from lifting—a common swing problem. Adding backspin negates sidespin and straightens out shots. You’ll lose yards by adding backspin. But it beats hitting out of the trees.
Out Of Sync Swing
Overswinging throws off your rhythm. Poor rhythm can cause bad shots. Waggling the club before starting to recover your rhythm. Waggling is personal. There’s no way wrong way to do it. Some golfers like to waggle their wrists. Others like to waggle their arms. It doesn’t matter. Just make sure it matches the rhythm, tempo, and feel of your overall swing.
Stalled At Address
When golfers are going bad, they often stay over shots too long. If this happens to you, try using a swing trigger. It kick-starts your swing and eases the transition from a static position to a dynamic one. Kick in your knee toward the ball. Turn your head slightly to the right. Make a forward press movement. All are good swing triggers.
If you’re hitting shots wildly, your grip could be the culprit. It could be that your grip is slipping, you’re readjusting your grip during the swing, or your grip pressure is off. Make sure your grip is out of the palm of the left hand and laying more toward the base of the fingers. This promotes proper face rotation on the takeaway. It’s what we call a “one-piece takeaway in our golf instruction sessions.
Hitting Chips Short
When playing badly you often start trying to lift the ball on chips, especially those just off the greenside. Poor weight shift can also cause short chips. Try chipping a few times with your back foot raised on its toe. That keeps your weight on your front side. And trust the loft of the club to get the ball in the air. Aim for first ball contact.
Missing Short Putts
Missed short putts can have both mental and physical causes. Mentally, try to stay positive when putting. Trust your stroke. That’s not easy when things are going sour, but you need to try. Also, try going through your pre-shot putting routine slowly. This helps keep everything on track.
Physically, you may be jabbing at the ball. Try firming up your top hand as you putt. This incorporates your arms and shoulders in the stroke and limits hand and wrist action. Ideally, you want to putt with your arms and shoulders, not your wrists and hands.
Keep these on-course fixes in mind. Knowing what to do when you’re going bad helps minimize the damage. With a little luck, you’ll salvage both the round and your golf handicap. Work on more permanent solutions to swing flaws between rounds.
Great post! I just wrote about my goals for the new season, this will help my achieving them!