My golf swing still sucks

Here I was thinking that I am improving my golf swing, and then I videoed my swing, and depression set in. My golf swing is still as bad as it was months or even years ago. I am able to hit the ball better, and on a good day I am able to shoot maybe 10-15 over, but after watching my swing, I know that it’s simply luck. My golf swing sucks!

What I find the most annoying is the fact that when I swing the club it actually feels good. I am swinging with the right feel. I am not placing the club, just let it swing with gravity. Unfortunately, it’s not enough.

At first, I could not place the blame on the part of my swing that sucked the most. I always suffered from lifting my head during the backswing, and this problem is still there. But why? After watching my swing in slow motion a few times, I realised that I am still making 2 really bad mistakes. One mistake is a really old one. I have known this for years. Instead of swinging the club on the right path to the target, I actually take it IN, behind me. I practiced my swing at home many times, but on the golf course, I still make that mistake.

The other problem I found with my swing is the fact that I am swinging way too far. I’m over-swinging my club. With the irons, it’s way past the parallel. And that alone is what lifts my head. I am not flexible enough to keep turning so far. In order to accommodate my swing, I lift my body. I get completely out of posture. Sure, I’m trying to get back to the ball in the downswing, but that is extremely difficult. I shank it, I top it, I do all sorts of crappy things, and only on rare occasions I am able to get back to my starting position and hit the ball squarely.

The problem is that I don’t feel it. That’s what frustrates me the most. I feel like I’m doing it right, then I watch a video of my swing and it’s still the same crap as always.

It’s very difficult to watch but on the other hand, it’s actually good to see how bad it was. I practice on the golf course and on the range, but unless I know that I’m doing it wrong, I am just wasting my time practicing the wrong things.

I have a mini goal now. To swing on plane, not behind me, and to not overswing. To swing on plane is hard, and I know that I’m making mistakes still. What I’m trying to do is to consciously moving the club way more forward than I feel is right, and that seems to be the right path. I’m still struggling with it when I forget to think about it as I take my club back. Or if I rush the club. But more often than not, I am doing it right and the results are so much better than before. Really happy with this.

With the over-swinging I found a good solution. I am making sure that when I take the club back, I can still see the heels of my shoes. Before, I lost visual contact with the ball half way through my backswing. I know that because I always thought, as I swung, that it’s so hard to get back to the ball if I can’t see the ball. It’s only difficult because I’m doing it wrong. Now, I make sure I don’t lift my head by making sure I can see my shoes as I swing. It’s VERY difficult at first, but I’m getting used to it.

And the results are really good. I don’t normally keep score when I play alone, but I usually make birdy or 2, 4-5 pars, and the rest bogies or worse. Making a few pars and birdies is what I enjoy, and I really don’t need more than that from a round of golf. I’m really happy with the golf I’m playing now and with my swing. I will do another video in a few weeks, when I’m used to the new way I swing the golf club. I am thinking it will look much better than the current video.