Okay, FINALLY played my first round in nearly three months yesterday. The good news is, I played the best front nine I‘ve ever played in my life at this particular course. I even pard and birdied the two hardest holes. The bad news is I shot one of my worst on the back nine. Here’s what I’ve ascertained from what happened. Using what I learned from the video “This 1 Move Gets You CRUSHING The Ball Right Now” and WOW!!! I was crushing and drawing the ball like crazy. On the tenth hole, I (think) I was keeping my trail arm too connected in the backswing (my brain trying to keep the elbow in front prematurely). Then it got to where I was all arms and no hips AND I started rolling the club on the backswing, and my weight started falling back on my trail foot. I tried to work it out on a post round range session but aside from a handful of decent shots I just couldn’t do anything with it. Any advice on this?
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But with the long break there's also more time to review the basics. I tend to have notes on my phone that are not "quick fixes" but more "fundamental" reminders of basic good swing mechanics. I have erased more "quick fix" notes than I can remember because they're never long-lasting "fixes".
Interesting how Tom asked about the possible break after the 9, before making the turn. I had this happen and we had a long break, I was playing great and my bro got talking to someone, messed me up bad. Moral of story, don't mess around too long, keep going.
Also agree 100 % with Golf lives, he makes it impossible to disagree, lol. The shoulders will start turning less from fatigue/laziness. Great point!
Yes indeed - even the pros do it. They have just conditioned themselves to be acutely aware of their tendencies so they can recognize and neutralize them before they take hold. There's absolutely no reason anyone else can't do the same...
A couple of thoughts:
1) Since it's been quite a while, you've probably lost touch with your "default mode" that you can call upon when the wheels gradually or suddenly come off on the course. This would have at least kept you in play while you sorted things out in your head during or after the round. Have a look at this recent post from @GolfLivesMatter and the ensuing thread.
2) Is there anything that happened mentally or physically at the turn? Did you go straight from 9 to 10, or was there a break for food/beverage in between? Did your ball position or alignment change? Did your great front 9 have you approaching the back with just a bit too much "now I've got this" confidence? Or perhaps - as you suggest - you started overemphasizing a particular feel that had been working for you, thereby throwing your swing out of sequence (i.e.: too much of a good thing)?
I prefer not to engage in any kind of guessing game on your swing mechanics with limited information. I really think you can sort this out with a quick trip back to the basics (2.8, Flying Wedge, 90% Weight Forward, etc. - whichever you prefer). If not, then a V1 might be in order. Also, a review of Gio Valiante's book may be helpful in terms of managing the mental game through on-course hiccups.