What Now?
You just topped your approach shot, chili-dipped your chip, dragged the putter on your sixty footer, or sliced your drive into a neighboring town. What do you do now?
For most golfers, the answer is rage out, hang their head, or try to laugh it off. But if you’re smart, you’ll employ The Mishit Checklist.
This Lesson Is For You If:
You don’t hit every shot 100% perfectly
You want to bounce back after mishits
You want to get rid of blow up holes
The Mishit Checklist
As the name implies, The Mishit Checklist is a list of things to consider when you’ve badly mishit a shot. It’s a way to keep yourself from spiraling into a blow up hole (or throwing away the round) and instead get yourself back on track. And it’s as easy as one, two, three.
Step 1: What Happened?
Start by giving an objective assessment of what happened. Here are some possible answers:
“My pitching wedge hit the ground before it hit the ball, and my chip shot only went two yards.”
“I felt the ball strike the toe instead of the center of the face, and the ball landed in the water hazard instead of on the green.”
“The drive started in the middle of the fairway but sliced into the trees on the right.”
We are not engaging in causes or swing diagnoses. We are – in a calm, rational, emotion-free way – stating what just happened. That’s all we need for Step 1.
Step 2: What Was the Problem?
Now, let’s slowly think about what the issue was, starting with some of the most common, universal causes.
Were you focused on the shot or was your mind racing or elsewhere?
Did you go through your pre-shot routine or were you rushing to hit the ball?
Did you have a clear target in mind and an idea of what you were trying to do with the ball, or were you just swinging to get it over with?
If you were on the wrong side of one of those questions, go to Step 3.
If you can honestly say that you were on the right side of each of those questions – which puts you in the very small minority of golfers – then you can move to the swing stuff.
If you hit the ball well and it was simply off target, was it your alignment? If your alignment was good, use the Ball Flight Laws [fully explained HERE] to assess what happened at impact.
If you had a poor strike – toe, heel, fat, or thin – was your ball position correct?
If you were completely focused, well aligned, had good ball position, and you still had a mishit…shake it off. Skip Step 3. Your next shot is going to be great.
Step 3: What’s the Fix?
If my twenty years of experience playing and teaching is worth anything, most problems come from something mental – lack of focus, not having a clear purpose, being rushed. The nice thing about those being the most common problems is that they’re the easiest to fix. Remind yourself to slow down, go through your process, decide on your target, and focus on the ball. You’ll be back to hitting your normal shots in no time.
The second most common batch of errors are in the set up – alignment/aim and ball position. Pay more attention to those on your next swing, and you’ll put yourself back on track.
If your problem was something in your swing – a poor strike or an open club face – let it go. You’re on the course to play golf, not golf swing. This is not the place to dissect and rebuild your putting stroke. To lean on a cliche, you need to dance with the one that brought you. Focus on the goal – hitting a particular shot to a specific target – and leave the swing surgery for the range.
Go Slow & Move On
If you don’t want to employ my three step plan, then I implore you to simply slow down and move on after a bad swing. Most of the damage of a poor shot occurs after it’s happened. Players lose their minds, racing through potential futures where they never hit another quality shot [read more on catastrophic thinking HERE]. Every round of golf has bad swings and bad results. What separates high and low handicappers is the ability to get back to hitting quality shots as quickly as possible.
Find more on the Post-Shot Routine HERE
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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