Anyone ever make a big leap forward after a long plateau?

[4thand11]

So I read something a while back that was interesting but a little disheartening. It said most golfers stop improving after 3 years. In other words, after 3 years of playing regularly, you're probably about as good as you're going to get.

 

I've been playing for 7 years and got myself down to the mid-high 80s pretty quickly. And I'm still there. Yet this off season I've been practicing a lot and really feel more confident about the upcoming golf season than I ever have. But I haven't played any actual golf, just indoor practice. My swing feels good to me, but I don't want to have unreasonable expectations.

 

So, has anyone played at a steady level for a long time, and then "found something" and made a sudden, big leap forward in their game from one year to the next?

[DroppingBombs]

I don’t know how much I believe that honestly. I think it all comes down to how much someone wants to work for it. I’ve been playing for I’d say 8 years 6 years in high school and college golf then injured back and took years off. Somewhere around three or 4 years I’d say. I started bodybuilding and competing and can back and with in a year went to a + handicap. And better then I have ever been. I think working hard to get better is what I found. Practice and practice

[GolfTurkey]

I hope to say me in a few months time!

[Jagpilotohio]

I made a giant leap backward. Starting wearing glasses for distance 2 years ago and my putting got noticeably worse....and it sucked to begin with. Very depressing.

[JDW3]

I was steady around a 12 handicap for 6 or 7 years and then moved somewhere where the golf season was a month or two longer and dropped down to between 5 and 7. I've been there for about 3 years now.

[b.mattay]

I hovered around a 10-14 handicap for about 3 years and then the next year I made the jump to a 1, and then the next year made the jump to a +2.

[4thand11]

I hovered around a 10-14 handicap for about 3 years and then the next year I made the jump to a 1, and then the next year made the jump to a +2.

Awesome so to what would you attribute the rapid improvement to? Did you start taking lessons, or change your swing? Or did something just click?

[Hawkeye77]

Thelma and Louise.

 

Sorry. ;-)

[Sean2]

I think there is something to this. I was in the same place as you, then last year my HI dropped 5 points, I started shooting in the 70s more than the 80s, and I broke 70 for the first time (twice). I had a similar experience when I went from shooting in the 90s to dropping to the 80s.

[Bubbtubbs]

Thelma and Louise.

 

Sorry. ;-)

Badum tssh

[b.mattay]

I hovered around a 10-14 handicap for about 3 years and then the next year I made the jump to a 1, and then the next year made the jump to a +2.

Awesome so to what would you attribute the rapid improvement to? Did you start taking lessons, or change your swing? Or did something just click?

 

No consistent lessons, a huge improvement to my mental game. Swing had to have got better as well, but I don't know how.

[RBImGuy]

So I read something a while back that was interesting but a little disheartening. It said most golfers stop improving after 3 years. In other words, after 3 years of playing regularly, you're probably about as good as you're going to get.

 

I've been playing for 7 years and got myself down to the mid-high 80s pretty quickly. And I'm still there. Yet this off season I've been practicing a lot and really feel more confident about the upcoming golf season than I ever have. But I haven't played any actual golf, just indoor practice. My swing feels good to me, but I don't want to have unreasonable expectations.

 

So, has anyone played at a steady level for a long time, and then "found something" and made a sudden, big leap forward in their game from one year to the next?

 

Its part due to a modern swing you will struggle with consistency which is a big part of scoring.

You will struggle with putting as currently how its taught there is no consistency there either.

When you have students that suddenly go and win after years of modern ideas and are becoming happy after years of depression with the modern swing.

If the foundation is crap you need excellent hand/eye cordination or you will still struggle albait less so as seen with Tiger.

 

Going to my happy place again where Gods reside

[phillyspecial]

I started really playing 11 years ago at age 30. I hacked around as a kid but never serious. I’m down to a 9 index but I’ve been here for the last 2-3 years. I work my butt off, constant instruction (I tell my pro I’m his 401k). I have a demanding job and 2 kids so I’m not full time but I play 40-60 18 hole rounds a year.

 

I’m waiting for that big jump every season. Golf is hard, especially overcoming the really bad habits. For me every part of my body wants to be steep no matter how much I obsess about shallowing the club properly.

[GMR]

Yes I improved very rapidly after a long plateau. However, it wasn't quite that simple, because the work I did in learning more about the swing and my tendencies during the time of my plateau was largely responsible in helping me break out the other side. I tinkered and toyed with all sorts of thoughts and feels, and while it didn't lead to any immediate improvement (except for sporadic play that was sometimes improved), having now been through that process and now having a much better understanding of what my tendencies are and the few things I can work on to fix those I feel like I'm in a position where I can stay focused on what really matters more easily and diagnose and fix issues more quickly. The result has been my range of scores going down from about 77-95 (with an "average" day likely in the mid-high 80s) to now being much more consistent in the 74-84 range, with anything north of 80 usually feeling like I've left a number of strokes out there.

 

I think most stop improving because they stop pushing themselves to improve. Maybe they don't do it consciously, and they feel like they are working harder and should be improving, but if you continue to practice the same things in the same ways then you will not continue to improve over time. Likewise tinkering helps your understanding of things over time, but it doesn't lead to lasting improvement in the short term. I'm not going to say not to do it, because like I said above I think that to a degree my tinkering has actually helped me now down the line, but I will say that tinkerers generally aren't going to start seeing the results until they stop tinkering and isolate their individual issue with a singular focus on fixing that one thing.

[Billy Baroo]

So I read something a while back that was interesting but a little disheartening. It said most golfers stop improving after 3 years. In other words, after 3 years of playing regularly, you're probably about as good as you're going to get.

 

I've been playing for 7 years and got myself down to the mid-high 80s pretty quickly. And I'm still there. Yet this off season I've been practicing a lot and really feel more confident about the upcoming golf season than I ever have. But I haven't played any actual golf, just indoor practice. My swing feels good to me, but I don't want to have unreasonable expectations.

 

So, has anyone played at a steady level for a long time, and then "found something" and made a sudden, big leap forward in their game from one year to the next?

 

Its part due to a modern swing you will struggle with consistency which is a big part of scoring.

You will struggle with putting as currently how its taught there is no consistency there either.

When you have students that suddenly go and win after years of modern ideas and are becoming happy after years of depression with the modern swing.

If the foundation is crap you need excellent hand/eye cordination or you will still struggle albait less so as seen with Tiger.

 

Going to my happy place again where Gods reside

 

 

So when do you gather this modern swing was developed I'm curious?

 

 

[andrue]

I don't think that's true about the three years and never improving however I might be prepared to accept that the way you're playing after three years is more or less the kind of golfer you're going to be. By that I mean after three years you can be categorised as 'Outstanding, Excellent, Good, Okay, Poor, Bad' and you will probably stay in the same category for the rest of your 'career'. Your chances of moving up a category greatly reduce the better your initial category. So if you're 'bad' after three years getting to 'poor' shouldn't be impossible. But moving from 'Good' to 'Excellent' is going to be a tall order.

 

However this is assuming no significant changes in how you play the sport. I think that there are some things you can do to break out of your category:

• Significantly increasing your investment in and commitment to training.
  
• Increasing the amount you play (I'm hoping retirement in a few years will give me a boost).
  
• Changing your approach to the game.
  

It's just that most people I know tend not to do any of that. I think the casual amateur develops a routine of sorts and tends to stick with that. Radical changes in how they approach the sport are infrequent.

 

I think what I'm suggesting here is that it's possible to significantly change after three years but it's not 'going to just happen'.

 

I've been playing for seven years now and my progress has been (roughly)

 

2011 - Scoring in the 120s.

2012 - Scoring in the 110s after golf instructor cured my reverse pivot.

2013 - Scoring in the 100s after my new golf buddy pointed out that I never bothered to aim.

2014 - Scoring in the 90s after I started laying up at 100 yards.

2015 - Scoring in the 90s even when choosing to go for the green after a new job meant I could play two evenings a week and club membership which meant I could play any time I want (three or four times a week during the summer).

2018 - We shall see. Had my swing rebuilt by club pro last summer and when it's good it's great. I seem to have eliminated the really bad shots. Kinda hoping I might be scoring in the 80s in a couple of months.

[andrue]

I think most stop improving because they stop pushing themselves to improve.

I agree. However I also think a lot of people just aren't that fussed. The only reason I went to the pro last year was because I suddenly lost the ability to hit my new long hybrids a month after I'd bought them. Even then all I really wanted to do was stop a slump. If I hadn't had that one month when I was sending balls over bushes and short trees with my 3 hybrid I'd have been content. But the pro showed me what I could achieve with a better swing so I decided to spend the time and money and see where it got me.

 

Truth is I just enjoy being on a golf course and I've always maintained that as long as I can partner up with any random stranger without fear of looking stupid or annoying them I'll be happy. Scoring in the 90s fits the bill there. If I can get it to the 80s then great - but frankly that's more because then if I choose to have a lazy day my scores will still be tolerable :)

[Hawkeye77]

So I read something a while back that was interesting but a little disheartening. It said most golfers stop improving after 3 years. In other words, after 3 years of playing regularly, you're probably about as good as you're going to get.

 

I've been playing for 7 years and got myself down to the mid-high 80s pretty quickly. And I'm still there. Yet this off season I've been practicing a lot and really feel more confident about the upcoming golf season than I ever have. But I haven't played any actual golf, just indoor practice. My swing feels good to me, but I don't want to have unreasonable expectations.

 

So, has anyone played at a steady level for a long time, and then "found something" and made a sudden, big leap forward in their game from one year to the next?

 

Its part due to a modern swing you will struggle with consistency which is a big part of scoring.

You will struggle with putting as currently how its taught there is no consistency there either.

When you have students that suddenly go and win after years of modern ideas and are becoming happy after years of depression with the modern swing.

If the foundation is crap you need excellent hand/eye cordination or you will still struggle albait less so as seen with Tiger.

 

Going to my happy place again where Gods reside

 

And the jackets are straight.

[Petethreeput]

This all anecdotal, but I think I did.

In college as a kid hitting the ball around I would hover around mid-70s, I never had a handicap. Then bc of my entry level jobs I didn’t pick up a club for about 5 years. Came back to golf and was a 7 when I got a HDCP and stayed there for 10 years.

Went back to school and had a lot of time to kill which I used at the course. At my lowest I was a 0.7.

I did three things: really dialed in my wedge distances with tons of practice, dramatically improved my greenside game, and truly believed from inside 100 yards I would get up and down.

During that period I was reading Rotella, Pelz, Penick, etc as well.

Did my improved short game make my confidence skyrocket or did my confidence change bc of the books? I don’t know,

The reason why I don’t know if I count is bc I was probably a 3 or 4 when I was playing in college.

I currently hover between 3 and 4 and have for 5 years since I don’t practice anymore.

[Sean2]

Yes I improved very rapidly after a long plateau. However, it wasn't quite that simple, because the work I did in learning more about the swing and my tendencies during the time of my plateau was largely responsible in helping me break out the other side. I tinkered and toyed with all sorts of thoughts and feels, and while it didn't lead to any immediate improvement (except for sporadic play that was sometimes improved), having now been through that process and now having a much better understanding of what my tendencies are and the few things I can work on to fix those I feel like I'm in a position where I can stay focused on what really matters more easily and diagnose and fix issues more quickly. The result has been my range of scores going down from about 77-95 (with an "average" day likely in the mid-high 80s) to now being much more consistent in the 74-84 range, with anything north of 80 usually feeling like I've left a number of strokes out there.

 

I think most stop improving because they stop pushing themselves to improve. Maybe they don't do it consciously, and they feel like they are working harder and should be improving, but if you continue to practice the same things in the same ways then you will not continue to improve over time. Likewise tinkering helps your understanding of things over time, but it doesn't lead to lasting improvement in the short term. I'm not going to say not to do it, because like I said above I think that to a degree my tinkering has actually helped me now down the line, but I will say that tinkerers generally aren't going to start seeing the results until they stop tinkering and isolate their individual issue with a singular focus on fixing that one thing.

 

That is an interesting observation. I was on a plateau for quite a while, until last season...as I mentioned above...I work very hard on my game, and constantly strive to improve. What was frustrating was that despite all that for the longest time I wasn't seeing any real gains in improvement than last year...boom.

 

I have learned two things with regards to me...I am not all that talented so I have to work harder, and this game requires a tremendous amount of patience. A lot of us have achieved success in other endeavors without working nearly as hard as we do to achieve success in golf.

[bazinky]

So I read something a while back that was interesting but a little disheartening. It said most golfers stop improving after 3 years. In other words, after 3 years of playing regularly, you're probably about as good as you're going to get.

 

I've been playing for 7 years and got myself down to the mid-high 80s pretty quickly. And I'm still there. Yet this off season I've been practicing a lot and really feel more confident about the upcoming golf season than I ever have. But I haven't played any actual golf, just indoor practice. My swing feels good to me, but I don't want to have unreasonable expectations.

 

So, has anyone played at a steady level for a long time, and then "found something" and made a sudden, big leap forward in their game from one year to the next?

 

That bolded statement only seems true because the majority of golfers pick up the sport late, play infrequently, and don't practice or have a plan from improvement. Look at any good golfer who has been playing for a sustained amount of time, do you really think they aren't showing significant improvement after three years?

 

There is no magic pill for for this game. You have to play and practice a lot to be good. The only people that I have seen make "sudden" improvements, are people who "suddenly" have a lot more time to play and practice.

[Gamble Gamble]

So I read something a while back that was interesting but a little disheartening. It said most golfers stop improving after 3 years. In other words, after 3 years of playing regularly, you're probably about as good as you're going to get.

 

I've been playing for 7 years and got myself down to the mid-high 80s pretty quickly. And I'm still there. Yet this off season I've been practicing a lot and really feel more confident about the upcoming golf season than I ever have. But I haven't played any actual golf, just indoor practice. My swing feels good to me, but I don't want to have unreasonable expectations.

 

So, has anyone played at a steady level for a long time, and then "found something" and made a sudden, big leap forward in their game from one year to the next?

 

That study's findings were due to bad statistical analysis. Let me give you a parallel to explain my point.

 

Imagine you wanted to do a study regarding weight loss. Then you polled ALL people on their weight loss, including:

1. people who had no intention to lose weight
   
2. people who want to lose weight and have no intention of making changes in their behaviors
   
3. people who are willing to change their behaviors but are NOT EDUCATED on how to reach their goals
   
4. people who are willing to change their behaviors but are EDUCATED INCORRECTLY on how to reach their goals
   
5. people with the drive, education and plan to reach their goals. This group may even have coaches to optimize the process.
   

The people in numbers 1-4 are going to drag down or harm the results. The people in number 5 are going to do well and make improvements, but if you look at the total data set the needle may not move much.

 

If you want to make improvements, be like the people in group 5. Since i switched to group 5 in a golf capacity my numbers have improved, although there have been minor setbacks. Progress is not always a perfect line but the trend line will emerge.

[Sean2]

So I read something a while back that was interesting but a little disheartening. It said most golfers stop improving after 3 years. In other words, after 3 years of playing regularly, you're probably about as good as you're going to get.

 

I've been playing for 7 years and got myself down to the mid-high 80s pretty quickly. And I'm still there. Yet this off season I've been practicing a lot and really feel more confident about the upcoming golf season than I ever have. But I haven't played any actual golf, just indoor practice. My swing feels good to me, but I don't want to have unreasonable expectations.

 

So, has anyone played at a steady level for a long time, and then "found something" and made a sudden, big leap forward in their game from one year to the next?

 

That bolded statement only seems true because the majority of golfers pick up the sport late, play infrequently, and don't practice or have a plan from improvement. Look at any good golfer who has been playing for a sustained amount of time, do you really think they aren't showing significant improvement after three years?

 

There is no magic pill for for this game. You have to play and practice a lot to be good. The only people that I have seen make "sudden" improvements, are people who "suddenly" have a lot more time to play and practice.

 

I didn't start playing until I turned 50. And for those first few years I struggled mightily. I gradually improved, but would get stuck on a "plateau" for a while. And I agree, to get better you have to put in the work. For example, I work on my short game incessantly and the beauty about developing a good short game is you don't need youth or athleticism. We have a lot of members at our facility, but on any given day hardly anyone is at the short game practice area compared to those hitting drivers on the range. :-)

 

If a golfer, for whatever reason, can't put the time into practice then he shouldn't get all that upset if he doesn't play the way he would like to. Unfortunately golf isn't like riding a bicycle, where you can not ride for two years but can still hop on the bike without missing a beat. Even if you put in the work the results aren't always what you would like. In addition to working on your game, there has to be a level of acceptance or you can drive yourself crazy. That isn't to say you "settle" and give up, but you also have to be able to walk off the course accepting the results. I find there is always something positive to take away in any round. Maybe you made a triple on the last hole, but you got up and down. Maybe you weren't driving the ball particularly well, but you putted well.

 

Again, this is a game that requires a lot of patience. But, IMHO, it's also the greatest game there is. :-)

[Warrick]

My parents built a house on a small course when we were about 10, played a lot, Jr. golf, shot in the 30's on 9 few times, but never practiced, just played. We were members for 10 years or so until they got divorced, was really just a mid-80's player. I did not play very much between 25 and 40, decided to party.

 

I got back in the game seriously about 5 years ago, and the first 2-3 were much of the same, then I started working at it. I had over 50 rounds in the 70's last year, and shot a 69.

 

For me, it was about learning to strike the ball properly, never use to compress it and really hit it.

[Petunia Sprinkle]

The first time I broke 100, I shot an 87. It was a combination of a super conservative game plan and only bringing the clubs I knew I could hit. From there, though, I inched down to a 7, then quit for nine years. Back at the game, it seems the sense I’d had back then has completely faded.

[larrybud]

Most stop improving because most don't take any kind of lessons, so their "natural" ability peaks after 3 years. They engrain all that bad crap that they've learned to do, and have learned to do it the best they can.

 

I'm 49, and playing the best golf of my life. I've improved in stages. Note that I've also plateaued because of the, um, knowledge or lack thereof, of instructors that I've gone to through the years. I mean one guy subscribed to the old (i.e. wrong) ball flights, and I didn't know any better back then (this is like 15 years ago). I stopped getting better at around an 8 handicap because of this. He had me swinging so far out to the right, and I remember one lesson where I was hitting smother/snap hooks that started left. After all, if you believe the "old" ball flight laws, those stated the ball starts in the direction of the swing path. I asked "so if I"m swinging to the right, why are they going left?"

 

"I don't know" was the answer.

 

I think that started my quest to understand what the heck is going on, dump that guy, and then I really started to improve after that. lol. I worked out a few things on my own, got down to a 6, then when I found a new instructor in 09, I quickly went from a 6 to a 2... in like 3 months!

 

Now I'm pretty darn close to the point where improving is fractions of strokes. Not saying my swing is perfect by any means, but the tolerance is much tighter. And while my handicap is pretty much the same as in 09, my bad scores are much better because of other swing improvements.

[juststeve]

I know a few guys who made a big leap when they were able to spend a lot more time on the game. However, as the guy on the golf channel says "if you keep doing what you're doing you will keep getting what you re getting". Real chage is required.

 

Steve

[Petunia Sprinkle]

I know a few guys who made a big leap when they were able to spend a lot more time on the game. However, as the guy on the golf channel says "if you keep doing what you're doing you will keep getting what you re getting". Real chage is required.

 

Steve

 

Whenever I go the range, the only change I see people make is an increase in effort. Wrong + effort = wrongerer.

[getitdaily]

In early 2000s was playing and practicing a bunch. Constantly in the 74-77 range (I'd been playing for 7 or 8 years at that point). I started taking lessons and fixed some flaws. In 4 months I started shooting between 70-75. About 5 months later I was breaking 70 consistently.

 

Get lessons if you're not already. And play as much as you can.

[Sean2]

Most stop improving because most don't take any kind of lessons, so their "natural" ability peaks after 3 years. They engrain all that bad crap that they've learned to do, and have learned to do it the best they can.

 

I'm 49, and playing the best golf of my life. I've improved in stages. Note that I've also plateaued because of the, um, knowledge or lack thereof, of instructors that I've gone to through the years. I mean one guy subscribed to the old (i.e. wrong) ball flights, and I didn't know any better back then (this is like 15 years ago). I stopped getting better at around an 8 handicap because of this. He had me swinging so far out to the right, and I remember one lesson where I was hitting smother/snap hooks that started left. After all, if you believe the "old" ball flight laws, those stated the ball starts in the direction of the swing path. I asked "so if I"m swinging to the right, why are they going left?"

 

"I don't know" was the answer.

 

I think that started my quest to understand what the heck is going on, dump that guy, and then I really started to improve after that. lol. I worked out a few things on my own, got down to a 6, then when I found a new instructor in 09, I quickly went from a 6 to a 2... in like 3 months!

 

Now I'm pretty darn close to the point where improving is fractions of strokes. Not saying my swing is perfect by any means, but the tolerance is much tighter. And while my handicap is pretty much the same as in 09, my bad scores are much better because of other swing improvements.

 

This is a generalization, but as to lessons, some people will take them but not stick with what it is the instructor teaches them. They may do it for a while, but if the results aren't quickly forthcoming they will go back to their old way of swinging and say that lessons didn't work for them.