Most of what you need to do to turn a bad round in the right direction comes from a mental perspective. That is still true, but there are some physical adjustments you can make in order to give yourself a better chance to succeed. It should be noted that these should be considered short-term adjustments to be used when you are having a bad round. After the round, you should move your technique back to its usual place and work on making any long-term changes that might be necessary to improve your play.
The subtle physical adjustments you may be able to use to save a bad round are as follows.
Slow down your tempo. It is usually the case that your tempo is off track when you are struggling through a bad round. And, when it comes to bad tempo, it is almost always true that the tempo has gotten too quick. To improve your play, try slowing down your swing from start to finish – you should feel like you are trying to hit the ball with something less than 100% effort. After hitting a few shots this way, you should find that you are able to settle back into your natural rhythm.
Choke down on the grip. This is a great tip, and one which is overlooked by nearly every golfer. If you are playing poorly and you just can’t seem to hit your targets, try choking down on the grip of your clubs slightly. This is going to take some of the speed out of your swing, which means you won’t hit the ball quite as far. That’s okay, however, as you shouldn’t be focused on distance right now. Instead, you should be thinking about controlling your golf ball and making a couple pars. Adjust your club selection as necessary so you can reach the target even while playing with a choked-down grip.
Move the ball back in your stance. This tip is meant to work in tandem with the previous tip on choking down on the grip. When you do choke down, it is a good idea to move the ball back in your stance slightly so you can hit down through it properly. Were you to choke down while still keeping your normal ball position, you might not be able to reach the ball easily at impact.
Play from a wider stance. Your bad round may be the result of poor balance, which is why it can be helpful to widen your stance slightly. This is another tip that may take a bit of speed out of your swing. However, that lost speed is going to be made up for by the fact that you should be balanced nicely over the ball. Use this tip to bring your ball striking back into form and then lean on your short game to do the rest of the work.
As has been mentioned previously, you don’t want to make big changes to your swing technique during the middle of a round. However, if you just can’t seem to get your game on track, it would be acceptable to use the tips above to adjust your swing on a temporary basis. These adjustments are all about trying to make your way through the round without your score getting out of control. When the round is over, you can think about what you would like to do moving forward in order to avoid having these same kinds of struggles in future rounds.
