Im Either great or crap!! Why?

[10cclo]

My practice is very centred around consistent ball striking at the moment. One thing to know that I recently changed my clubs from mizuno mp4 with project x 6.5 to mp5's with lbs c-taper life 110's. The difference is pretty incredible, a much more penetrating shot with a much tighter dispersion that anything I used to get. This leads me to believe that the technique was always there up to a point. Even last night I went up to the practice ground it was cold and it was windy but I was still hitting a reasonably good solid ball into the wind which I've always struggled with. The conclusions I'm drawing from this I need to just get out and play competitions and not worry too much about the results.

[the_coach]

structuring the focus of any practice time a tad differently would pay bigger dividends in scoring out in play for sure given the level of competency in striking technique having been reached

[ntommo]

My 2 penneth worth - If your off 6.6 your swing isn't the issue its your head mate. Have a read of Bob Rotella "Golf is not a game of Perfect". I was very sceptical but he talks a lot of sense and its helped me.

[10cclo]

Ok just returned from a midweek stableford comp. A reasonably solid game with 34 points including a blob on the 16th hole. The round included 3 birdies but too many 1 pointers on the front nine with silly missed putts.
Generally happy with the result and it's showing that the time on the practice ground is paying off. Ive also read the bob rotella books and am pretty confident with my mental game.
So I think just keep practising and plugging away at the comps

[HomerJSimpson]

Ok just returned from a midweek stableford comp. A reasonably solid game with 34 points including a blob on the 16th hole. The round included 3 birdies but too many 1 pointers on the front nine with silly missed putts.
Generally happy with the result and it's showing that the time on the practice ground is paying off. Ive also read the bob rotella books and am pretty confident with my mental game.
So I think just keep practising and plugging away at the comps

Decent enough performance and I think your last sentence is telling. Keep putting the work in, keep playing comps and hopefully the performances will get better

[10cclo]

Well another round on the Sunday Medal, long story short, 2 over gross on the front nine and that included a double and single bogie. Happy so far! Striking nicely, putting accurate, no problems!
Going into the back nine saw the wind getting up and swirly and I nearly lose my drive OOB on the 10th, but found it under a tree with no shot to the green, made a DB 6, then par, par, bogie, bogie, DB, then the clincher, a shank into the trees off the tee on the par 3 16th, I walked off with a 7, then DB and finished with a, you guessed it, a Bogie.
So from a sparkling 2 over par to a pathetic eye watering 13 over on the back.

I was really reticent standing on the 10th tee thinking "dont blow it, just keep it together" and the exact opposite happened. I really don't know how the better players hold it together for 18 holes

Back to the drawing board I guess, but If I could take anything away from the round it would be that I have the ability but tend to always have blow up destroyer holes , not just the odd bogie but complete card wrecking nightmares. Aggggh

[Three]

What are you doing to change the downswing plane?

[10cclo]

What are you doing to change the downswing plane?

Ive been working with the zepp golf analyser to try to get my plane more in to out but this is really not the issue now, my ball striking is pretty stable.
I dont think there really is anything more I can add to this thread now with the initial problem I posted.

[turkish]

You're obviously a decent player but from saying don't blow it etc it could be all mental.... if suggest trying golf psychology books to see if they help.

One I can think may help.... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Every-Shot-.../dp/1592401570

[the_coach]

Ive been working with the zepp golf analyser to try to get my plane more in to out but this is really not the issue now, my ball striking is pretty stable.
I dont think there really is anything more I can add to this thread now with the initial problem I posted.

if you look at post #1 & post #36 they highlight a couple of things I was trying to hint at previously concerning practice and then play & course management and general thinking out in play

once you reach a certain proficiency in ball striking which at 6.6 that must have happened then the issue to score out n play is not an overly technical one - whatever 'shape' the swing is in you must a percentage of the time be able to make any individualistic compensations needed to get a reasonable strike

comment in the OP around coming off the practice ground happy with ball striking and feeling generally good - while that's not a bad thing in general need to look exactly at what and how you practice if as I guess largely around technique block practice of x amount of balls with say a wedge then same with 7i 5i hybrid 3metal driver - practice is around strike but in large groups of 'block' practice - which is useful to a point and useful occasionally - but the main focus is around the ball and swing
that's a deal alien to what happens out on course
so what I was trying to highlight in the other posts that the focus of practice needs to switch to what we call 'random' practice - when the pattern is every ball hit with a different club to a different target - like say wedge 3metal 7i driver sand wedge to 40' 4i 9i gap wedge or wedge to 90 yards and if the range mat is square one shot is parallel to mat next diagonally left/right but to different targets different directions each time - each ball is approached from behind to get the line - place the bucket of balls at least 4 steps away from mat don't use auto-tee
so now the practice is beginning to mimic what goes down out in play

as the issue is generally a mental approach difficulty in play in dealing with pressure - this random practice also needs to be quantified so ball to 40' needs to be within 6ft of target - driver to target needs to be within say a 40ft strip
have a specific target and goal for each shot - which starts to introduce some pressure to practice - so not just 10 7i's ball drag and hit in the general direction of vague target

out in play great front nine then it went south
but - " I was really reticent standing on the 10th tee thinking "dont blow it, just keep it together" and the exact opposite happened. I really don't know how the better players hold it together for 18 holes "

here is a major reason the focus has shifted from the one shot next to emotionally involve thinking about the next 9 holes and the result all while on the 10th tee - for sure a real surefire ways to have the wheels come off
couple things that are real destructive in a round are allowing emotional judgements to the games current situation and thinking about the end result

focus is around the next shot goin to be played it's around the definitive target for that shot - is it a shot the current general game standard can reasonably achieve especially if a medal comp
looked at as a big cliche but one shot at a time - objectively take in the result of that shot to take in anything that can help with the next shot decision for around 15 secs max then it's history taking no emotional baggage from it at all

you have decent handle on technique - major improvement will come from a shift in focus of how practice is done
and a bunch different mental approach out in play