Why is my golf swing so inconsistent? Have you ever asked this question?
I think most golfers have at one time. We have all experienced the good round followed by the round where you have no idea where the ball is going.
This leads to frustration during the round and questioning your technique, golf clubs or why you even play the game.
Don’t worry, we are here to help. With each reason why your swing may be inconsistent, I provide a solution to your problem.
At the end of the day, we all want to play consistent. When we play in a competitive round, fun round or are just out for a relaxing round, we want to hit the ball solid, hit the ball on the green and make some putts.
Many golfers spend their entire golf journey seeking the solution to fix their issues. Below I will take you through the many reasons why your swing might be inconsistent!
Why Is My Golf Swing So Inconsistent?
There are 9 potential reasons:
- Too much hands, not enough rotation
- Your swing tempo is off
- Your golf clubs don’t fit you
- You don’t practice enough
- Too many swing thoughts
- You do not have a go to stock shot
- Not enough swing speed
- You don’t have a system or a coach
- You lack consistent contact
#1: Too much hands, not enough rotation
Recently, I have found this to be the number one reason for my inconsistent golf. I would shoot 71 one day and then come back and shoot 76. This was often caused by hitting my driver with too big of a draw or hooking the ball too much.
Through video analysis and joining the George Gankas membership site, I realized my swing was not rotational enough. I would often stall on the downswing and rely on my hands to save the shot.
On days where my hands were on, I would shoot 71. On days where my hands were a bit quick, I would fight the hook with the driver.
During this time, I could hit some phenomenal iron shots with a little trap draw that worked towards the hole, but sometimes I would over cook it and the ball would end up left.
As I made the change, I found my start lines to be much more consistent with much less curve of the ball. I can still work the ball in my dominant direction of right to left, but I don’t have to fear the overdraw.
Solution:
Move to a more rotational based swing. While it doesn’t remove your hands from the golf swing (which is a bad idea) it doesn’t force you to close your hands down in the swing and stall with your body.
Not only do you get better start lines and less curve of the ball, but you will also see an increase in distance with most of your clubs.
I had found that I often slid too much toward and didn’t get enough left. Check out some of the George Gankas match up videos and learn more about using the ground and rotation. Stick with some of his drills and check out his membership site!
#2: Your swing tempo is off
Did you ever hear the saying, low and slow on the way back? This might be the worst saying in all of golf. I discovered this learning through John Novusel Jr. This highly intelligent man and his father discovered through watching tapes of the games greats that there is often a 3:1 ratio found in the best golfers.
This 3:1 ratio can be measured by checking out the number of frames on the backswing and see the ratio on the number of frames on the downswing.
For example, the best golfers would have 21 frames going back and 7 frames on the downswing. Or 24 and 8 or 27 and 9, but there was always a 3:1 ration. Some of the best golfers today have an 18:6 ratio.
Many of the amateurs that struggle the most might ave a 37:11 ratio in their swing. Not only is this tough to be consistent with, but you are leaking some major power by taking that long on your backswing!
This might be mind blowing for most, but you have to check out the John at Tour Tempo golf!
Here is our complete review on Tour Tempo
Solution:
Check out this app and train for a 3:1. Start with the 27:9 or 24:8 tones and see if you can work your way down to 21:7.
This approach can take a great deal of the negative swing thoughts out of the mind as you simply focus on having the right tempo!
#3: Your golf clubs don’t fit you
This one is rather simple. If you have the wrong shaft in your driver, whether it is too lite or too whippy, you are going to struggle. Shafts will often come in different levels of stiffness.
These range from senior, regular, stiff and extra stiff. The higher the swing speed the closer you will be to extra stiff and the slower the swing speed the closer you will be to a senior shaft.
Too many golfers fall into one of two categories. Their ego keeps them in a stiff shaft when they should be in a regular or senior or they don’t have any idea about the stiffness of the shaft and the shaft whips too much through impact causing inconsistent contact through the hitting zone.
Solution:
Check out your different options on a golf launch monitor to measure swing speed, shot dispersion and spin rate. See what shaft is best or you. You could also visit your local golf store and have them test or fit you for the right driver and irons!
Playing with the right clubs and having the confidence that you have the right club will give you the right mindset and clubs to play to your potential.
#4: You don’t practice enough
The reality is that golf is a difficult game. It is one that must be practiced frequently to reach certain levels. Depending on what your goals are you may need to increase the amount of practice or your practice routine.
If you only play golf once a week and go to the range once a week and expect to shoot in the 70s, it more than likely won’t happen.
You need to find a way to hit ball at least several times a week and add one more round. The golf season for many is a short season. At a minimum, find ways to work on your short game or swing speed around your house. There are some great options out there.
Solution:
Simple chipping the ball in the backyard, finding some quality swing trainers or having a net or simulator at home can help.
I was fortunate enough to build a golf simulator several years ago and I saw my average score decrease from 74-78 to not between 70-74 with the occasional score on both sides of 70 and 74.
The opportunity to play golf 365 days a year has been a game changer and one that I have enjoyed greatly. I can work on the driving range or play a round of golf. The great thing is that it only takes me 40 minutes to play a round of golf on my simulator.
I can now play 2-3 times per week on the actual course and play another 5-7 times on my simulator in the evenings or on the weekends. Talk about a game changer!
#5: Too many swing thoughts
Have you ever stood over the ball with a thousand swing thoughts running through your head? Yes, we have all been there. This happens when we are trying to make swing changes or are starting to lose confidence in your swing.
The average golf swing only last around 1.3 seconds. If you are going to stand there and have 5 swing thoughts, you probably are not going to hit a quality shot.
Solution:
Find a target off in the distance, trace a line back to your immediate target. Become target focused when you approach the ball and tink about the target in your mind.
Prior to the shot, you can rehearse the feel you want, but as your step to the ball you should turn your focus to the target. Shawn Clement is wonderful at this and you should check out his video below:
#6: You do not have a go to stock shot
Here is another problem. You stand over the ball and you don’t know if the ball is going to start right or left. Is the ball going to draw or fade. The uncertainty leads to swinging without any confidence.
The problem compounds and next thing you know you have lost all confidence as your plot your way around the course! I prefer to have a go to stock shot that is a draw shot for me.
I can 7 out of 10 times be sure that my ball will start right of my target line and curve back towards the target. I can eliminate a part of the course and be confident in my start lines.
Solution:
Try this drill the next time you are at the driving range:
- Setup an alignment stick 6-8 yards in front of your ball down your target line.
- Setup another alignment stick 3-4 yards right of the first alignment stick.
- See how many times out of 10 you can hit the ball between those two sticks.
- Continue to try to hit your shots between these two sticks and assess your start line at least once a week.
- The net level is to control the curve of them all once you get started down the right target line.
Check out Kyle Morris explaining this drill:
#7: Not enough swing speed
If you have the feeling that you don’t hit the ball fall enough chances are you will overswing. As a result, you end up hitting shots off the toe and heel and having terrible balance and tempo.
This leads to disaster. Stay within yourself and play your game that day. This is a great short term solution.
Solution:
Here is a better long term solution. Train with SuperSpeed Golf and gain 4-6% in swing speed which could mean 20-30 yards extra with the driver.
This overspeed training system will have you follow protocols to increase your swing speed. You can gain an initial 4-7% in the first month and then an additional percent every month or two.
- Check out SuperSpeed Overspeed Training Protocols
- Train every other day for 10-15 minutes.
- See a 4-6% increase in swing speed as early as the first training protocol.
#8: You don’t have a system or a coach
You jump around from coach to coach and try to find the tip of the day to help you out. This is a good way to learn more and more about the golf swing, but you ultimately need to commit to one instructor for a period of time.
Their information can contradict each other as there is no one perfect way to swing a golf club. There are certain elements that are universal, but overall there are successful golfers that make different moves.
Solution:
Check out our different reviews and follow one of these instructors long term:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
#9: You lack consistent contact
I saved this one for number 9, although maybe it should have been number one. The greatest measurement of a golfer’s ability and scoring average is the ability to strike the ground in the same spot a high percentage of the time.
If you do not have consistent contact, the game is rather difficult to play. The best golfers both pros and scratch golfers can strike the ground int he same spot 99 times out of 100 or higher.
The higher the handicap the more dispersion in where they strike the ground.
Solution:
Implement this drill as an assessment and a way to improve:
- Take some yard paint and paint a 1-2 yards line.
- See how many times out of 20 you can strike just on the target side of the line.
- Repeat this drill frequently if you struggle to strike the ground consistently.
- You can use a foam ball if your space is limited.
Final Thoughts
What area do you think keeps you from playing consistent golf? Is one or all or maybe somewhere in between!
The goal is to work as often as possible on your game, but work smart and take the 9 items listed above into consideration.
Don’t forget to have fun and enjoy the process!