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How I Broke Par


greenmount

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Shot a 70 on a par 71 6050 yards. Nothing groundbreaking but long in the making for a former 20-odd hcap.

 

Note this is just what works for me, YMMV. This is for the 4-5 handicap crowd looking to get over the line.

 

1) Swing lessons - was shooting mid 80s a couple years ago) . Fixed my big two way miss with driver (getting stuck and flipping) so lost balls are rare. Probably the most important part, can’t underestimate standing on a tear not fearing OB any more.

 

2) Learned how to hit a punch shot with very little wrist rotation. It’s an anti pressure shot for guaranteed ball then turf contact when shot doesn’t suit my eye. Hard to miss big with this.

 

3) When practising tee shots all I care about is not missing a particular side. For me this is far more important than trying to hit straight, rarely is there OB or water down both sides. Eg. tee it down to avoid the big left miss.

 

4) Started pacing out putts when walking the line. Why not know the footage of each putt to give your brain more data. Seems to be frowned upon but works for me.

 

I putt from the rough too if it’s near the green, eliminate the big miss with the chip. There’s a theme here.

 

5) Find a ball that suits YOUR game including where you play. Settled on Pro V1 which has less spin so works well in England’s soft conditions for spinny players. I ripped the ball off the green for years thinking spin was cool.

 

Keen to break 70 now so interested to hear other’s methods for low scoring.

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Good thread. I love 2) - that's something I'm working on right now over the Winter.

 

My punch has been less than accurate this year, and what I realized from playing around with Skytrak is that when I move from a regular swing to a punch right now my swing becomes more in-to-out and there's distinctly more of a draw than my stock shot. Now that I know that I can work to straighten it up a little so that my curve is similar to my stock.

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Get your ball starting on a reasonable line, with reasonably low side spin. You soon find that trouble only exists left or right.

 

Combined with the above dial in distance control from 150 inwards.

 

Putt and chip reasonably well.

 

Low single figures right there, breaking 70 and or par occasionally.

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Get your ball starting on a reasonable line, with reasonably low side spin. You soon find that trouble only exists left or right.

 

Combined with the above dial in distance control from 150 inwards.

 

Putt and chip reasonably well.

 

Low single figures right there, breaking 70 and or par occasionally.

 

Hard to argue with this - now if you could just get it to penetrate my hard head . . . . .

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great stuff.......... i'm a 12 handicap and if i could hit my drives straight, i think i could get that way down. and you mention not even hitting drives straight, but consistent miss.

 

i have a one question:

 

do you hit alot of short game shots with very highly lofted club? or do you mix in much less lofted clubs? like a pw or even a 7i or 8i?.. i have caddied in golf's top minor leagues and i find every player i've seen up close uses 58 or 60 degree wedge almost exclusively anywhere remotely near the green (that works ok - only ok - if it's dry and i have practiced alot and/or watched these players from up close recently

 

how many yards are you hitting that stiff-wristed punch shot?

 

the "pacing your putts off" is interesting......... my one pet peeve at golf course is 4some where each player deals with everything to do with their putts in order. i think golf needs to relax a bunch of its etiquette i.e. walking across someone's line 20 feet from the hole. everyone being allowed to move around until X player is only seconds away from hitting putt... as it's a pet peeve i am cognizant of how long i take lining up my own putts. if i take too long, i feel self-conscious.

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I have a question for this group. I'm a 9 and the main reason I'm not a 4 or 5 and ready to take the next step to par is that I shank usually 2 balls a round which costs me a lot of strokes. My question is have any of you dealt with this?

 

It's very strange because nearly all of my shots are solidly hit with a professional ball flight and then a shank comes out of nowhere. I think I'm pulling the handle too fast and leaving the face open or simply hitting it off the hose but I'm not 100% sure because it's hard for me to replicate it on the range. It only happens on the course.

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Shot a 70 on a par 71 6050 yards. Nothing groundbreaking but long in the making for a former 20-odd hcap.

 

Note this is just what works for me, YMMV. This is for the 4-5 handicap crowd looking to get over the line.

 

1) Swing lessons - was shooting mid 80s a couple years ago) . Fixed my big two way miss with driver (getting stuck and flipping) so lost balls are rare. Probably the most important part, can’t underestimate standing on a tear not fearing OB any more.

 

2) Learned how to hit a punch shot with very little wrist rotation. It’s an anti pressure shot for guaranteed ball then turf contact when shot doesn’t suit my eye. Hard to miss big with this.

 

3) When practising tee shots all I care about is not missing a particular side. For me this is far more important than trying to hit straight, rarely is there OB or water down both sides. Eg. tee it down to avoid the big left miss.

 

4) Started pacing out putts when walking the line. Why not know the footage of each putt to give your brain more data. Seems to be frowned upon but works for me.

 

I putt from the rough too if it’s near the green, eliminate the big miss with the chip. There’s a theme here.

 

5) Find a ball that suits YOUR game including where you play. Settled on Pro V1 which has less spin so works well in England’s soft conditions for spinny players. I ripped the ball off the green for years thinking spin was cool.

 

Keen to break 70 now so interested to hear other’s methods for low scoring.

 

Great stuff. Congrats! Seriously, that's nice, regardless of the course.

 

Which is a little disingenuous on my part, as my goal is to break par on a little 4400 yrd par 64 course....

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great stuff.......... i'm a 12 handicap and if i could hit my drives straight, i think i could get that way down. and you mention not even hitting drives straight, but consistent miss.

 

i have a one question:

 

do you hit alot of short game shots with very highly lofted club? or do you mix in much less lofted clubs? like a pw or even a 7i or 8i?.. i have caddied in golf's top minor leagues and i find every player i've seen up close uses 58 or 60 degree wedge almost exclusively anywhere remotely near the green (that works ok - only ok - if it's dry and i have practiced alot and/or watched these players from up close recently

 

how many yards are you hitting that stiff-wristed punch shot?

 

the "pacing your putts off" is interesting......... my one pet peeve at golf course is 4some where each player deals with everything to do with their putts in order. i think golf needs to relax a bunch of its etiquette i.e. walking across someone's line 20 feet from the hole. everyone being allowed to move around until X player is only seconds away from hitting putt... as it's a pet peeve i am cognizant of how long i take lining up my own putts. if i take too long, i feel self-conscious.

 

If you are taking penalties with driver every round yes I’d advise fixing this first. Has cross over benefits such as shorter clubs in and enjoyment factor.

 

My punch goes 10-12 yards less than stock with each iron.

 

Short game I usually use AW (51°) for bump and runs or chipping off upslopes, 54° high bounce for fluffy sand, 58° for everything else

 

Pacing putts - often play in a fourball so when there’s balls in the way I walk to the side out of everyone’s way. Doesn’t waste any time as I have to mark my ball then walk to the other side of the hole for a quick read anyway. Like you I’m extremely self conscious of holding anyone up, often to my detriment.

 

Question, on #2. How many times a round do you think you is your punch shot? Are you using it into greens or just for getting out of trouble? It might be a shot I need to spend more range time on.

 

It’s very windy where I play so I use this a lot, maybe 8-10 times a round on approaches, the odd tee shot with 3 iron. When I play in the US I don’t use it as frequently.

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This was the first year I got under par a couple times. Long story short, you need to eliminate bogeys. Birdies come and go. Some days putts fall. Some days they don't. But, keeping the ball in play and hitting the green is forever. I don't care how well you chip and putt, you're not going to go low 70's consistently if you're not hitting 10+ greens per round (you CAN. I've shot par hitting 6 greens. I've shot 77 hitting 14 greens, but those are the exceptions). It starts with a straight, reasonably long, tee ball and an on-target iron with good contact. Easy to say. Takes a lot of work.

 

My putting and chipping even feel like they've regressed a little as I've gone from a 5-ish cap to a 2-ish cap.

 

Question, on #2. How many times a round do you think you is your punch shot? Are you using it into greens or just for getting out of trouble? It might be a shot I need to spend more range time on.

If you're a 15, working on specialty shots is not where you want to focus your energies.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Bumping this thread for 2 reasons:

 

1. I joined the “finally broke par” club today. Shot 71 at my home course, 45 stableford points, won the day by 5.

 

2. Thanks to the OP. Your point about developing a less wristy punch shot got me thinking. I have always had that shot in my bag but never thought to use it in those circumstances. I’ve used it a handful of times now - one more club, minimal hinge, mid-low right to left draw that spins and stops quickly. Can use it with wedges down to 6 iron.

 

Anyway, I’ve been playing seriously for 15 years. Have shot Par 3 times, but never broken it. It’s probably been 5 years since I last shot par - it was at my previous home course which was 73 Par. So that’s my best score by 2 shots.

 

I’ve struggled this year. From an index of 4 in January I went all the way out to 9. But the last 10 weeks or so have been really good for me - nothing higher than 82 with lots of mid 70s in there. Back down to 6 now and feel like there is more to come.

 

If I had to pinpoint one reason for the change in form it would be this - I overhauled most of my bag: everything except the 3 wood, hybrid and driving iron.

 

Interestingly while I went more forgiving with the driver, I went the other way with blades from 7 - PW. And I have been a long time advocate of playing the most forgiving irons that you can stand to look down at.

 

The 58 degree Hi Toe has given me massive confidence around the greens and I’m stressing out much less if I don’t hit the green in reg. I went to a putter with a slant neck that I’ve never considered before.

 

The blades have made me think more about trajectory and shape. So much so that I now look to play a fade when the situation calls for it, and that includes the driver too. So where I would previously try to hit the perfect draw into a Par 4 hole that veered slightly right, I now aim for a fade and have much more margin for error. I eagled the 11th today with a fade driver and a fade 6 iron. They hardly faded at all but they certainly didn’t go hard left (which has been the miss that gets me in the most trouble).

 

So I guess my advice would be to be prepared to question how you think about the game, and don’t be averse to trying different methods and equipment to help you take the next step.

 

Hopefully this form continues. But golf being golf...

 

 

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Question, on #2. How many times a round do you think you is your punch shot? Are you using it into greens or just for getting out of trouble? It might be a shot I need to spend more range time on.

I once hit every iron and wedge over the span of 18 holes with a punchy fade and shot 63. It was the only shot I could hit that day and it probably worked out better than if I had every shot in the bag. It encourages proper impact and the abbreviated finish really helps control spin and distance control.

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Nice thread. Good stuff in here.

 

I’m a 9 but was a 30+ 10 years ago. But I’m struggling with my swing right now so I’d have a hard time breaking 85 right now if I could play much.

 

Several years ago I started playing in a way that you describe (don’t miss over there no matter what), but I find I still do just that about twice a round which usually leads to at least a couple doubles or triples. I guess my point is I try to eliminate one side, but somehow I’m not making it happen as often as I need to. Plus, the rough at my course (which is very tight already) is very penal. If you are lucky enough to find your ball, you will likely have little shot of finding the green. So it’s either OB left which leads to double or worse, or rough right which can do just about the same. And as I type this, I guess it means that I just need to lay back a lot more often.

 

Second, on pacing putts, I used to be religious about that, and it worked great at my home course where I knew the speeds. But I found that it didn’t travel well. Ie when I played another course, I would go to the practice green and pace off the putts and get a feel for speeds that way, but my speed control on “foreign “ greens was terrible. So I switched to “feel” about 3 years ago, and find it works a lot better at all courses, except that about once or twice a round I will totally misjudge the speed of a putt. It is still worth the tradeoff because now I don’t look like a complete moron at other courses, but I need to figure out how to avoid the 1 or 2 big misses where I just don’t get a good sense for the speed of the putt.

 

Lastly, my scores are most highly correlated with my iron play. I have a brutal case of “under the plane” and so my bad can be really bad. But when it is good, and I’m making center-face contact, I can pick a course apart reasonably well. On those days when I’m confident with my irons, I can’t wait to get to the first tee. On days when I’m not? Oh boy...I’m just trying to hold on...

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Congrats on the achievement!!!

 

Be very careful about taking advice from the gallery my Friend?

 

While all are well intentioned, they don’t know you, your swing or your game!!

 

You broke par without em and I have no doubt that you can and will be in the 60’s based on your mental game.

 

It’s mental??

 

When you believe that you’re worthy, your Play will mirror this belief and you’ll be there~

 

Continued success Brother?

 

Merry Christmas to You & Yours and a great season to come?

RP

In the end, only three things matter~ <br /><br />How much that you loved...<br /><br />How mightily that you lived...<br /><br />How gracefully that you accepted both victory & defeat...<br /><br /><br /><br />GHIN: Beefeater 24

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I like this thread too, keep it going.

 

I went from a 20 HC to about a 14 with lessons. Intensive for about a year but then it felt like I had to find my own way from there. I’m not a club ho but I did find that finding those clubs that really instill confidence in a big key. Found a driver that I really liked (hit it out of boredom while testing irons for about 6 months) was key and finding the right weights. I have a Cobra F7 with 12 grams in the back and 8 in the front. Always pull hooked the ball and the swing change was to less under plane really helped. Now I have one way miss, push right when I don’t execute well. That’s the key for me, knowing when I hit a miss what I did wrong. For a long time wasn’t sure. If you stand on the tee not sure or not knowing why you missed is a hard way to play.

 

I have got down to a mid 9 HC by being better and longer off the tee and finding a consistent chipping and pitching method. I always use a 56 wedge. That won’t work for everyone but finding what works for YOU and not what works for others is critical. My putting has improved too with trying to always 2 putt and not make the first one. If the first putt goes in, then that’s gravy. Takes pressure off and many more actually go in the first time.

 

My big nemesis is my iron play, I don’t hit it consistently enough don’t hit enough greens. Scrambling with chips is my strength but I know go lower, I need to hit more greens. My next focus is finding the same knowledge of my driver swing with my irons.

 

Most of all, playing your game, your clubs and understand why you miss is critical (to me).

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Congrats on the achievement!!!

 

Be very careful about taking advice from the gallery my Friend?

 

While all are well intentioned, they don’t know you, your swing or your game!!

 

You broke par without em and I have no doubt that you can and will be in the 60’s based on your mental game.

 

It’s mental??

 

When you believe that you’re worthy, your Play will mirror this belief and you’ll be there~

 

Continued success Brother?

 

Merry Christmas to You & Yours and a great season to come?

RP

 

^^. Listen to this.

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Question, on #2. How many times a round do you think you is your punch shot? Are you using it into greens or just for getting out of trouble? It might be a shot I need to spend more range time on.

I once hit every iron and wedge over the span of 18 holes with a punchy fade and shot 63. It was the only shot I could hit that day and it probably worked out better than if I had every shot in the bag. It encourages proper impact and the abbreviated finish really helps control spin and distance control.

 

The three best players i play alll mainly little punch irons into all 4s and 5s. These guys all are club pros who play in state opens and shoot in the 60s.

 

Player A- his stock driver goes 270-280, mid to high flight. Normal 7 iron is going 165, 8i 153, 9i 130. No joke has only hit one ball ob in his 7 years of competitive golf. Putting can be squirly, will darts all day

 

Player B- stock driver goes 290, low ball. Hits duper low spinner in his irons. Keeps in play well, great chess player on the course, and can really take it deep

 

Player c- stock driver 265- 285 (can hit 295 on occasiom), high ball w/ driver. Hits his irons low and normally takes one club more and saws it off. Great distance wedge player and great at keeping a level head. Putting is not as good as he wants it to be.

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This was the first year I got under par a couple times. Long story short, you need to eliminate bogeys. Birdies come and go. Some days putts fall. Some days they don't. But, keeping the ball in play and hitting the green is forever. I don't care how well you chip and putt, you're not going to go low 70's consistently if you're not hitting 10+ greens per round (you CAN. I've shot par hitting 6 greens. I've shot 77 hitting 14 greens, but those are the exceptions). It starts with a straight, reasonably long, tee ball and an on-target iron with good contact. Easy to say. Takes a lot of work.

 

My putting and chipping even feel like they've regressed a little as I've gone from a 5-ish cap to a 2-ish cap.

 

Question, on #2. How many times a round do you think you is your punch shot? Are you using it into greens or just for getting out of trouble? It might be a shot I need to spend more range time on.

If you're a 15, working on specialty shots is not where you want to focus your energies.

 

If you are any golfer, you can take any iron and control your length of swing, hit ball first, and hit your iron 30 yards less, on line. THIS WILL HELP UR GAME!!!

Pro Caddie & I teach golf

Driver: PXG 9* ; HZDRUS Handcrafted 63 6.0

Long Game: PXG 13*, PXG 16*; HZDRUS Handcrafted 83 6.5 (flip between the two)

Driving Iron: PXG 0311 4 iron bent 17.5*; ProForce VTS 100HX 

Hybrid: PXG Gen 1 19*; HZDRUS Handcrafted 100 6.5

Irons: NIKE CB 4-PW Raw finish ; Aldila RIP Tour SLT 115 Tour Stiff (.25 inch gapping)

Wedges: Titleist SM9 50*, 54*; True Temper DG S300 (36 inches)

L-Wedge: Custom 60*; KBS Tour Stiff (36 inches)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Design #5 35 inches: Super Stroke GP Tour

Ball: ProV1x

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This was the first year I got under par a couple times. Long story short, you need to eliminate bogeys. Birdies come and go. Some days putts fall. Some days they don't. But, keeping the ball in play and hitting the green is forever. I don't care how well you chip and putt, you're not going to go low 70's consistently if you're not hitting 10+ greens per round (you CAN. I've shot par hitting 6 greens. I've shot 77 hitting 14 greens, but those are the exceptions). It starts with a straight, reasonably long, tee ball and an on-target iron with good contact. Easy to say. Takes a lot of work.

 

My putting and chipping even feel like they've regressed a little as I've gone from a 5-ish cap to a 2-ish cap.

 

Question, on #2. How many times a round do you think you is your punch shot? Are you using it into greens or just for getting out of trouble? It might be a shot I need to spend more range time on.

If you're a 15, working on specialty shots is not where you want to focus your energies.

 

If you are any golfer, you can take any iron and control your length of swing, hit ball first, and hit your iron 30 yards less, on line. THIS WILL HELP UR GAME!!!

 

Most of us have a certain amount of time to spend on working on our games.

 

I believe he's suggesting working on things other than specialty shots first.

 

But forgetting that, would you recommend learning "trick" shots first and then trying to learn how to make normal, full swings ? Or learn how to make proper swings first and then learn the trick shots ?

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This was the first year I got under par a couple times. Long story short, you need to eliminate bogeys. Birdies come and go. Some days putts fall. Some days they don't. But, keeping the ball in play and hitting the green is forever. I don't care how well you chip and putt, you're not going to go low 70's consistently if you're not hitting 10+ greens per round (you CAN. I've shot par hitting 6 greens. I've shot 77 hitting 14 greens, but those are the exceptions). It starts with a straight, reasonably long, tee ball and an on-target iron with good contact. Easy to say. Takes a lot of work.

 

My putting and chipping even feel like they've regressed a little as I've gone from a 5-ish cap to a 2-ish cap.

 

Question, on #2. How many times a round do you think you is your punch shot? Are you using it into greens or just for getting out of trouble? It might be a shot I need to spend more range time on.

If you're a 15, working on specialty shots is not where you want to focus your energies.

 

If you are any golfer, you can take any iron and control your length of swing, hit ball first, and hit your iron 30 yards less, on line. THIS WILL HELP UR GAME!!!

 

Most of us have a certain amount of time to spend on working on our games.

 

I believe he's suggesting working on things other than specialty shots first.

 

But forgetting that, would you recommend learning "trick" shots first and then trying to learn how to make normal, full swings ? Or learn how to make proper swings first and then learn the trick shots ?

 

I teach one swing for all shots. Trick shots are for the guys and gals on tv.

Pro Caddie & I teach golf

Driver: PXG 9* ; HZDRUS Handcrafted 63 6.0

Long Game: PXG 13*, PXG 16*; HZDRUS Handcrafted 83 6.5 (flip between the two)

Driving Iron: PXG 0311 4 iron bent 17.5*; ProForce VTS 100HX 

Hybrid: PXG Gen 1 19*; HZDRUS Handcrafted 100 6.5

Irons: NIKE CB 4-PW Raw finish ; Aldila RIP Tour SLT 115 Tour Stiff (.25 inch gapping)

Wedges: Titleist SM9 50*, 54*; True Temper DG S300 (36 inches)

L-Wedge: Custom 60*; KBS Tour Stiff (36 inches)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Design #5 35 inches: Super Stroke GP Tour

Ball: ProV1x

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This is a great topic and one that I'm keen to add to. I'm a self-taught 13 handicap down from 28 when I started playing about 18 months ago. I have a couple of points I have learned the past 6 months that are paying huge dividends for my game.

 

I spent this past summer absolutely unable to hit my driver, so much so, that my tee shots were all 3 hybrid or 3 wood. I'd miss left, I'd miss right. I had no clue where it was going because I couldn't consistently hit the middle of the club face. When I would hit straight, I was lucky to get 240 yards. I should mention, I watch a LOT of golf, and this is where I not only fixed my driving issues but made it possibly the strongest part of my game.

 

I was watching Bryson DeChambeau on his tee shots and noticed that he straightens his arms out as far as possible at address so that the club and his arms make a straight line to his shoulders instead of letting the arms hang low. Doing this allowed me to strike the center of the clubface much more consistently.

 

As for distance, on one of the golf instruction shows where they interview players from the Champions Tour for tips, the pro pointed out that the key to his consistency and distance was that he never let his lead elbow break down (bend) at the top of the backswing and that if he needed more yardage, he didn't swing harder, he turned more. How did he turn more? He either lifted his right heel a little or dropped his trail foot back a tad at address, or both. I do both with great success as I am now averaging drives around 270 and increasingly catching 300+ yard drives on occasion and doing so without fear of OB penalty. In fact, I am finally getting to the point where a ball is lasting an entire round more frequently whereas I had been losing 4-5 per round.

 

TLDR; watch golf with the intent of learning

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This is a great topic and one that I'm keen to add to. I'm a self-taught 13 handicap down from 28 when I started playing about 18 months ago. I have a couple of points I have learned the past 6 months that are paying huge dividends for my game.

 

I spent this past summer absolutely unable to hit my driver, so much so, that my tee shots were all 3 hybrid or 3 wood. I'd miss left, I'd miss right. I had no clue where it was going because I couldn't consistently hit the middle of the club face. When I would hit straight, I was lucky to get 240 yards. I should mention, I watch a LOT of golf, and this is where I not only fixed my driving issues but made it possibly the strongest part of my game.

 

I was watching Bryson DeChambeau on his tee shots and noticed that he straightens his arms out as far as possible at address so that the club and his arms make a straight line to his shoulders instead of letting the arms hang low. Doing this allowed me to strike the center of the clubface much more consistently.

 

As for distance, on one of the golf instruction shows where they interview players from the Champions Tour for tips, the pro pointed out that the key to his consistency and distance was that he never let his lead elbow break down (bend) at the top of the backswing and that if he needed more yardage, he didn't swing harder, he turned more. How did he turn more? He either lifted his right heel a little or dropped his trail foot back a tad at address, or both. I do both with great success as I am now averaging drives around 270 and increasingly catching 300+ yard drives on occasion and doing so without fear of OB penalty. In fact, I am finally getting to the point where a ball is lasting an entire round more frequently whereas I had been losing 4-5 per round.

 

TLDR; watch golf with the intent of learning

 

Bryson has a single plane swing. So, his arms are extended for that reason. It would be interesting to see if you have success with this with a two plane (traditional) swing.

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Fantastic!

 

What do your last 20 scores look like? Have you become consistent yet?

PING G400 Max - Atmos Tour Spec Red - 65s
Titleist TSi2 16.5* 4w - Tensei Blue - 65s

Titleist TSi2 3H (18*), 4H (21*) - Tensei Blue 65s
Adams Idea Tech V4 5H, 6H, 7H ProLaunch Blue 75 HY x-stiff
Titleist AP2 716 8i 37* KBS Tour S; Titleist AP2 716 9i 42* KBS Tour S
Cleveland RTX-4 mid-bounce 46* DG s400
Cleveland RTX-4 mid-bounce 50* DG s400
Cleveland RTX-4 full-sole 56* DG s400
Cleveland RTX-4 low-bounce 60* DG s400
PING Sigma 2 Valor 400 Counter-Balanced, 38"

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