Mike, I don't want to speak for Jeremy but I think the lost golf balls are sorta/kinda a product of not having played much over the past few years and suddenly getting back into the habit of playing, finding and feeling his way back into his old golf routine.
I think he's in that realm currently where the good shots are really good, but the bad shots really suck. And not having played very regularly the past few months - I personally can certainly relate.
And that segues to a thought that I've always maintained regarding golf: Our potential isn't measured by how good our "good" shots are, but how manageable our "bad" shots are. We're only going to be as good as our bad shots allow us to be. From what I've gathered over the years, the more one practices and plays - the more "manageable" those bad shots become. It's not always the case, there are rare exceptions, but that's the way it works for most golfers.
The late tour pro, Jerry Barber, authored one of the most accurate truisms in the game, which has been uttered more than once by numerous touring professionals since: "The more I practice, the luckier I get."
That really sums it up. It's not that through increased play/practice that our good swings become great, but that our bad swings become not nearly as bad.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 😉
