Shaking Off the Rust

[Leaguegolf]

I know that many of you are fortunate enough to play golf year round but there are those of us that don't have that luxury. This thread is for us.......and any of you lucky ones that feel the need to contribute.

It's the last day of April, Winter is behind us and all but the northernmost of us should have had the chance to get out and play by now.

How long of a layoff did you have?

Did you get the opportunity to travel to play during your lay-off?

Did you practice.......at all? This includes swinging in the basement/garage or putting indoors.

Regardless of your opportunity, or lack thereof, to practice, how many times have you played since your layoff and how's it going for you so far? I know you can't be at mid-season form already (or maybe you are ) so what's working according to plan and what isn't?

[Johneli]

Wish I could use rust as an excuse. Maybe you northern climate guys actually have the advantage....think of all the money you've saved over the winter by not playing, while I, on the other hand, have spent mucho deniro. When I lived up north I swear the layoff did me good and I was more excited to get back to the game. (Listen, not complaining about idyllic weather, but there ARE advantages to having an imposed layoff IMO.

[deronsizemore]

I've played 4 times since winter hit here in Kentucky. So far I'm 5 over for the year, total. The sad truth is that for some odd reason, I generally play better at the start of the year after a lay off than I do in the middle and end of the year when I've been playing frequently.

During the winter months I generally will just practice putting inside the house and I'll swing my weighted club: Swing Trainer Club

My plan is to not have any rounds above 79 this year. So far that's working.

[Diane]

I was lucky - the weather in CT was mild enough for me to play all winter - temp greens/tees. I also went to an indoor range, but to be honest, that didn't work well for me - I hate hitting off the mats. I practiced putting in my living room, but clearly not enough. So, I'm ahead in that I'm in fairly good shape and it's not a shock to my system to walk 18 holes, but my short game needs a bit, well a lot of work.

[Bigvivec]

Originally Posted by Johneli

Wish I could use rust as an excuse. Maybe you northern climate guys actually have the advantage....think of all the money you've saved over the winter by not playing, while I, on the other hand, have spent mucho deniro. When I lived up north I swear the layoff did me good and I was more excited to get back to the game. (Listen, not complaining about idyllic weather, but there ARE advantages to having an imposed layoff IMO.

I'm not buying it...

I love that I have to put sunblock on the grocery list...in JANUARY!

I am in the middle of taking a little break right now...no golf until next Thursday...tough to do when every day is literally a good day for golf, but with no offseason, the game can wear on you...

[Darth Fader]

We have only missed 3-4 saturdays due to the weather,outwith that i have been going to the range at least once a week,and hitting some pitch's out in the garden. This will probably be the last year i play as much so i intend going out with a bang.

[Wazmankg]

I was off from mid-October until early April. 5.5 months..no practice. I've been playing twice a week all month and my game is finally starting to come around as of today. I may come back and delete that last sentence after Friday's round, though.

[Dormie]

Before the winter started, my last round was on November 25th. During the winter I went to the range 3 times. I am 10 rounds into the season now. One round before my 5 rounds in Myrtle Beach, and 4 since then. I am not off to a great start this year. It's discouraging that I have yet to break 80 so far. Too many 83's and 84's and an 87 to boot.

I've been having a tough time putting 2 9's together. There have been at least 4 rounds so far that have been like this:

38-44
37-47
44-37

It's starting to really bug me. My ball striking has been decent so far this season. I've really been struggling around the green, throwing shots away. I'm encouraged by my 9-hole scores that have been in the 30's so I know I'm capable of getting it back to where it belongs...

[DIETER]

My last round in '07 was in the middle of October, and so far this year, I've played 9 rounds since the beginning of April..... but I did play 2 rounds in Florida in January.
So far this year I've played pretty well - not much rust. I've had 2 blow up rounds of 90 and a 93 - but mostly I've been in the low 80's and I've had 3 rounds in the 70's. So far this year I'm very happy with the way I've been playing.

[PA PLAYA]

Very tough winter for me. We had some unusual weather here in NE PA. Not a lot of snow, but a lot of frozen slush. Might as well been snow, because a lot of the courses here were closed a majority of the winter.

That said, I did travel and was able to get in about 6-8 rounds over the winter months. And I did hit the range a few times when the weather broke for the better. But the rust was there.

It's not so much a physical rust as a mental rust.... obviously there are a lot of loose parts in the swing after a layoff, but for me the biggest challenge is getting back into the habit of using my scoring eyes. Getting some feel back into my swing isn't that tough. I simply spend a few weeks early in the season working on the basics and my tempo and I'm almost there. But getting that confident scoring mojo going isn't so easy. That takes several weeks for me. That doesn't just happen, it's a process of once again building confidence in both the swing and the mind.

I shot 72 in my 10th round of the season two weeks ago. Tough course, played great. Shot 82 four days later. Consistency is obviously not there yet, but I can't help but think that this might be a great season coming up.

We'll see!

[stlcard_25]

I was off from mid-November til the end of March. I did some practice putting and managed to hit a few balls out in the snow over the winter, but not really a lot. I've played about 12 rounds since I got going again, and I'm having issues with the driver but otherwise going ok. Putting has been streaky with a high of 34 putts for the season and a low of 24.