My golf game is getting worse every time I play. It happens to the best of us. It comes on suddenly, without much warning. One day you’re knocking’em down the middle of the fairway and the next if feels like you’ve totally lost your swing. Even a skilled golfer can go through this from time to time. But for some, their golf swing seems to fall apart slowly, losing yards with every game.
If your golf swing has fallen apart and you don’t know what you’re doing wrong, this can be very frustrating, especially if you normally dedicate a lot of time towards perfecting your swing, hitting balls at the range after work. But fear not, your golf swing isn’t really lost. However, compensations and bad habits can attribute to a poor swing and a sloppy playing style, so major changes need to be made.
“My golf game is getting worse, what can I do?” Practice. When you lose your swing it’s often a result of sloppy habits and poor setup. Practicing golf drills in combination with hitting balls at the range is a great way to get back the power your swing is missing while also improving your aim, balance, weight shift, and timing. If you practice drills consistently, at least three times a week, you’ll quickly notice that your game has improved significantly.
If you feel like your golf swing is gone, it’s not. All you need to do is practice the right drills, brush up on proper mechanics, and focus on improving your aim, weight transfer, balance, and timing.
Keep on reading to learn how you can get your golf swing back ASAP.
When You’ve Lost Your Power
You can’t consistently play well all of the time, especially if you can’t make it down to the range or the course very often. Losing your swing happens to everyone and you should expect your game to be off from time to time. However, the more skilled you are, the more you practice, the less frequently this will happen to your game.
This is where practicing can really pay off. If you hit the range often to hit balls, you can still lose your swing. Instead of simply hitting off balls, you need to come up with a plan for your next practice, one that consists of drills designed to challenge you and improve your game. However, hitting balls at the range can also be helpful, but you shouldn’t depend on hitting balls alone to improve your game.
Instead, drills should take up most of your practice time.
Oftentimes, when a player says “my golf swing has fallen apart” this is merely due to a lack of consistency. When you put together an effective practice plan and stick to it, you’ll find that your swing is more consistent.
If you feel like your swing is falling apart, instead of panicking, try to pinpoint what you’re doing wrong.
When Your Game Falls Apart
The fastest way you can improve your swing and your game, in general, is to follow golf fundamentals. Typically, when a game falls apart, most players will realize that the issue lies in the setup. This can cause a domino effect, negatively impact clubface, path, pivot, and even your balance.
If you want to see an instant improvement in your swing, make sure you keep your fixes simple. If you begin by trying to fix too many things at once, you’ll be unable to clearly determine the root cause of your poor swing.
Below is a list of the main reasons a golf swing can fall apart:
- Lag in your downswing is important and necessary if you want to generate distance. To do, you must begin by bracing your left leg, followed by hip rotation, and all while keeping your upper body lagging behind in rotation with your lower body. This type of rotation lag will allow you to create a power base that starts with the lower body and slowly works upward. When your upper body lags in rotation your hands will have the opportunity to slot the club using the right downswing path, improving your chances of pivoting and hitting off a much cleaner swing. The result is power from the hands and both the lower and upper body.
- Another common problem players run into is turning too fast at the beginning of the downswing. This can result in the golfer’s upper body outrunning their lower body, thus destroying lag. Additionally, this can also create an outside in downswing path, costing you a lot of power.
- Your left wrist and hand are what control the face of the club. The right wrist, forearm, and hand control the path of the club. If you’ve lost your swing, then you’ve probably also lost control of the club. At setup, if done correctly, your hands should be lined up with the clubface. The right hand and wrist should be bent slightly with the right index knuckle facing the target. The left ring finger and pinky knuckles should be facing the grass, with the index finger knuckle facing the target.
- Did you know that most of the ball’s flight direction is based on the alignment of the clubface? Only a small portion of the ball’s flight direction is based on the club’s path. If your swing has fallen apart, it’s time to get back to the basics. Focus on squaring the clubface up at impact.
- In order to get your sequence and tempo working in tandem, begin with a few slow practice swings. As you start the downswing, you should feel your weight first transferring to your left foot. This will help the golf club to bottom out in from of the ball. The goal is to use a descending path so the swing ends up hitting down through the ball and into the tee.
Fast Fixes for Common Mistakes in Your Swing
Here we’ll discuss how to correct your form and set up in order to prevent your swing from falling apart.
Shanking
If you’re constantly shanking a ball, you’ll notice that you keep tensing up at setup. This tension in the body will cause you to swing the club back more using your upper body, causing the lower body to get off balance. This is often caused by moving the clubhead closer to the ball, bringing the hosel into play. In order to correct this, place your weight in your arches and make sure you’re not standing too close to the ball. Now, set up with no tension in your hips or hands. Make sure your right hip is able to freely turn in the backswing. This will keep you in balance and create space for the club to swing on the right downswing path.
If Struggle with Getting out of the Rough
When a golf ball is stuck in the rough and you take a sweeping swing in order to free it this can result in the club head getting stuck in the grass, causing the club to twist and decelerate, sending your shot wild.
To fix this issue use a descending strike instead of using a sweeping stroke. With your setup, place most of your weight on your left side. In your stance, your shoulders should be kept level and the ball should be slightly back. When you take a swing make sure you create a steeper angle while staying on your left side. As you swing you should have less tall grass to slice through.
Bunker Woes
Everyone has been stuck in a bunker longer than necessary at some point or other and it can be incredibly embarrassing. The next time you find yourself stuck in a bunker, avoid opening up your clubface and stance too much. This will usually create too much loft. Instead, use your regular stance and open the clubface slightly when you aim at the target. When you open up the clubface the scoring lines should be pointing at your front ankle. Next, make sure you set up a couple of inches behind the ball and use your usual pitch shot swing. Instead of trying to help the ball out, focus on hitting the sand first. This will allow the ball to go up and out onto the green.
Putter Failure
This most important component to making a short putt is aiming the putter’s face correctly. If you constantly miss short putts, try picking a specific target line and lining up the name on the ball with a target. Next, get set up about two feet behind the ball and take a few practice strokes. Never lose sight of the target line when you’re setting up the ball. Make sure that the putter matches the target line and then take a stroke. Once you work on your aim you’ll find that eventually, your stroke will change to match the target.
What’s the Best Drill to Use to Improve Your Swing?
Currently, the stomping drill is the go-to drill to use if your swing has recently fallen apart. This drill focuses on improving footwork, weight shift, balance, and timing. If you’re in the habit of allowing your body to rotate toward the target prematurely when you hit irons then this drill will be invaluable to your swing. When you delay rotation you can also finally shake a slice because the drill focuses on improving your swing path. And the result? You’ll no longer cut across the ball.
So how does this cure-all drill work exactly?
For this drill, you’ll begin by taking a sidestep away from the target using your back foot. Next, once you reach the top of the backswing you’ll lift the front foot, sidestepping toward the target while planting that foot again before you swing down into the ball. When you practice sidestepping with each foot you’ll learn how to correctly shift your weight. It can also help when it comes to completing the backswing before you begin the downswing, making this drill a great choice for syncing up your movements. It can also help you to generate more power by teaching you how to correctly push off the ground. In order to correctly do this drill, it’s going to take plenty of practice, however, it can really help you get your swing back in a matter of days.
Related Questions
What’s the Best Way to Practice Drills During the Offseason?
OptiShot Infrared Golf Simulator provides the avid golfer with a way to stay sharp during the offseason, and all from the comfort of their home. Practice drills, brush up on your short game or long game using top of the line golf simulator tech that will make you feel like you’re playing on a secluded private course, far from home.
To learn more, click here to read our golf simulator buyer’s guide.
Can A Golf Rangefinder Help Improve My Long Game?
The latest golf rangefinders are impressively accurate and can, in fact, help to improve your long game. Many of the latest models are also tournament approved, come with the latest distance measuring technology and plenty of cool extras that the golfer of every skill level will love.
To learn more, click here to read our article on how does a golf rangefinder work.
Why Does My Golf Game Fall Apart?
Usually, the reason a person loses their golf swing involves a lack of practice and poor setup. If you’ve become sloppy with body mechanics, don’t practice regularly, or you’re not able to make it out to the range often, then your swing is going to suffer. Fortunately, there are plenty of golf drills that you can use to quickly improve many aspects of your game from weight transfer and timing, to aiming accuracy and swing power.
Final Thoughts
My golf swing has fallen apart, how do I get it back? Practice golf drills a few times a week, hit balls at the range whenever you have the time, and work on your setup. Sloppy habits are often to blame when a golfer has suddenly lost their swing. But even the most skilled golfer can fall into bad habits and lose the killer swing they’ve taken for granted. With plenty of practice and by using golf drills, you should get your swing back quickly. You’ll also notice that your swing is not only back, but it’s better than ever.
