beginner golfer here. let's start with the takeaway.....

bigtuna007 · May 5, 2017

Hello all:

I'm a beginner golfer and starting watching way too many youtube videos in efforts to gain a consistent swing. I went to the range several times last year, maybe 25, maybe 20 the year before that, and every time I'd watch a video before and think I found the magic cure for my poor contact, OTT and inconsistency,,,,but nope!!! I literally have not improved one bit. It's just one hook, slice, or high fade after another. Of I occasionally get a hold of a ball or two. I don't go to the course because I make a fool out of myself plus I get ultra frustrated. I need to see some improvement on the mats first, just a little!

Grip and posture I am confident are acceptable, but everything else in regards to swinging a club just sucks. My latest video kick was "ground up" golf, lower body stability, and posting up on the lead side because again you see the videos outline this as being the most important part of golf. But I think I'm still getting flat and stuck probably, coming OTT, having poor contact, blah blah blah you get the picture....

So I'm tearing thru a bucket of balls yesterday all pissed off because I can't hit a damn ball, which is another a stupid thing to do out of frustration, and then I decided to just say screw all of these videos I've watched over the last 2 years before going to the range, "lower body stability" this - "post up off the left side" that, I'll just try to hit this damn ball the way I think it will fly. So all I focused on was keeping the club face square because that's what hits the friggin ball. Then all of a sudden boom I compressed the golf ball with good contact. Oooo that felt good. The next couple of balls hooked quite a bit, but then I just focused on keeping my head back and swinging out towards right field on the downswing. Now I'm getting good contact, compressing golf balls, and even hitting some draws with about 15 balls left in the bucket. But most importantly, I'm getting consistency.

So my routine towards the end of that last bucket to hit those shots was as follows:

takeaway: square club face by wrist set

downswing: head level/behind ball and swing out to right field

My question to all you folks is,,,am I on the right path here? Is this a sustainable foundation to build off of? or did I just get a lucky streak in that bucket of balls and chances are I'm always going to still suck at golf because I can't apply basic instruction to a bucket of golf balls? Shoot me straight I won't get butthurt. I'd like to be a 15-20 handicap at some point in my life so I can at least play with my buddies or customers. I understand its not easy and will be a frustrating path to get there, but right now I have no confidence to go out and play simply because I've seen no improvement at the range after thousands of golf balls..

Thanks,

Mike

jaymayor · May 5, 2017

I don't mean this as disrespect, but obviously you're not aiming to be a professional golfer - so swing the club how it works for you. If you want to improve on that, get lessons. The multiple youtube videos won't work unless you already have some sort of foundation, you are just gonna confuse yourself.

bigtuna007 · May 5, 2017

I don't mean this as disrespect, but obviously you're not aiming to be a professional golfer - so swing the club how it works for you. If you want to improve on that, get lessons. The multiple youtube videos won't work unless you already have some sort of foundation, you are just gonna confuse yourself.

No disrespect at all. Thanks Jay!

SmiterOfPv1x · May 5, 2017

Back when I taught golf (those poor souls), the first thing I would always tell someone to work towards was consistent contact. If you're not hitting the consistently then there is no point trying to fix ANYTHING other than this. Once 8-9 out of ten are contacted fully then learn to work on other things. I don't care if you're hitting a 50 yard slice or hook, if you're not consistently contacting the ball you can't begin to fix anything before this.

I'm not a qualified teacher anymore but my advice would be to lose all of the video knowledge that you took with you to the range the past few years and the next three trips just work on consistently hitting the ball. Don't give one lick of concern over where it's going, just work on solid contact. Once you're there, find a qualified instructor and have them give you a couple lessons. IMO there's no reason you shouldn't be playing golf on a course THIS year. Just forget all those videos you've watched and go hit the ball. If it's solid contact for 80+ out of 100 balls, get a lesson or three. Don't worry about direction until then. I think you're overthinking things.

As an example, lots of times my best ball striking rounds of the year happen in in my first 5 rounds or so. I'm not worried about anything other than contacting the ball. As such lots of times it goes straighter than when I start thinking "if I just turn this a little more" or "open this a smidge". Even someone like me that's golfed for over 20 years overthinks things at times. It's really as simple as "see ball, hit ball" for me. Now if I could just convince myself of that in August.

MMB1500 · May 5, 2017

^ Agree with the above. I'd start with proper grip and set up, then learn how to make proper contact. Impact is everything after all. Lots of half shots at slow speed. Learn the feeling of what your wrists and forearms need to be doing through impact to get a proper strike with some forward shaft lean. Repeat ad nauseam until you have it down. If you struggle, seek professional help, preferably in person.

I'd also caution against too many YT videos. YT is a great resource but there are big dangers with trying to build a swing from YT tips. It can lead down a long, dark rabbit hole.

Qwiklap · May 5, 2017

I'd also caution against too many YT videos. YT is a great resource but there are big dangers with trying to build a swing from YT tips. It can lead down a long, dark rabbit hole.

100% agree -- there is no substitute for for in-person instruction. And I am also someone that love hisself some YT instruction ... but there is no substitute for the real thing - golf lessons (and range time to groove it in).

Hawkeye77 · May 6, 2017

Back when I taught golf (those poor souls), the first thing I would always tell someone to work towards was consistent contact. If you're not hitting the consistently then there is no point trying to fix ANYTHING other than this. Once 8-9 out of ten are contacted fully then learn to work on other things. I don't care if you're hitting a 50 yard slice or hook, if you're not consistently contacting the ball you can't begin to fix anything before this.

I'm not a qualified teacher anymore but my advice would be to lose all of the video knowledge that you took with you to the range the past few years and the next three trips just work on consistently hitting the ball. Don't give one lick of concern over where it's going, just work on solid contact. Once you're there, find a qualified instructor and have them give you a couple lessons. IMO there's no reason you shouldn't be playing golf on a course THIS year. Just forget all those videos you've watched and go hit the ball. If it's solid contact for 80+ out of 100 balls, get a lesson or three. Don't worry about direction until then. I think you're overthinking things.

As an example, lots of times my best ball striking rounds of the year happen in in my first 5 rounds or so. I'm not worried about anything other than contacting the ball. As such lots of times it goes straighter than when I start thinking "if I just turn this a little more" or "open this a smidge". Even someone like me that's golfed for over 20 years overthinks things at times. It's really as simple as "see ball, hit ball" for me. Now if I could just convince myself of that in August.

When and how were you ever a "qualified teacher"?

Hawkeye77 · May 6, 2017

You are on the wrong path.

It's endless videos and tips that honestly you don't really know are what you need, nor even understand what you are really implementing or how to analyze. And you are throwing about all sorts of terms that may or may not have any application to you at all.

Shouldn't have too much trouble finding a good teacher in the Chicago area, heck, go to Monte's clinic in a couple weeks, but a relationship there for this season would easily get you to a 20 handicap if you put in some productive work and have some direction on what to work on. Easily.

PJ72 · May 7, 2017

I think perhaps you should try and treat hitting a golf shot in much the same way that you hit a tennis ball or baseball - let it naturally happen. Allow your body to hit the ball as athletically as possible, don't be scared to turn your back to the ball, or transfer weight to back foot. Anything half assed in golf, tennis, baseball etc won't lead to a good athletic, powerful motion. Don't worry about club positions, steep/shallow, across the line etc, just allow your body to move athletically - full shoulder turn, full hip turn, and reverse on the downswing. Start from there and then get a lesson or two to fine tune.

bizzy522 · May 7, 2017

Hello all:

I'm a beginner golfer and starting watching way too many youtube videos in efforts to gain a consistent swing. I went to the range several times last year, maybe 25, maybe 20 the year before that, and every time I'd watch a video before and think I found the magic cure for my poor contact, OTT and inconsistency,,,,but nope!!! I literally have not improved one bit. It's just one hook, slice, or high fade after another. Of I occasionally get a hold of a ball or two. I don't go to the course because I make a fool out of myself plus I get ultra frustrated. I need to see some improvement on the mats first, just a little!

Grip and posture I am confident are acceptable, but everything else in regards to swinging a club just sucks. My latest video kick was "ground up" golf, lower body stability, and posting up on the lead side because again you see the videos outline this as being the most important part of golf. But I think I'm still getting flat and stuck probably, coming OTT, having poor contact, blah blah blah you get the picture....

So I'm tearing thru a bucket of balls yesterday all pissed off because I can't hit a damn ball, which is another a stupid thing to do out of frustration, and then I decided to just say screw all of these videos I've watched over the last 2 years before going to the range, "lower body stability" this - "post up off the left side" that, I'll just try to hit this damn ball the way I think it will fly. So all I focused on was keeping the club face square because that's what hits the friggin ball. Then all of a sudden boom I compressed the golf ball with good contact. Oooo that felt good. The next couple of balls hooked quite a bit, but then I just focused on keeping my head back and swinging out towards right field on the downswing. Now I'm getting good contact, compressing golf balls, and even hitting some draws with about 15 balls left in the bucket. But most importantly, I'm getting consistency.

So my routine towards the end of that last bucket to hit those shots was as follows:

takeaway: square club face by wrist set
downswing: head level/behind ball and swing out to right field

My question to all you folks is,,,am I on the right path here? Is this a sustainable foundation to build off of? or did I just get a lucky streak in that bucket of balls and chances are I'm always going to still suck at golf because I can't apply basic instruction to a bucket of golf balls? Shoot me straight I won't get butthurt. I'd like to be a 15-20 handicap at some point in my life so I can at least play with my buddies or customers. I understand its not easy and will be a frustrating path to get there, but right now I have no confidence to go out and play simply because I've seen no improvement at the range after thousands of golf balls..

Thanks,

Mike

I am in the same boat! I think you tube has hurt me more then helped me.

SimonDetroit · May 7, 2017

Early on...(and to this day)...I've found that shortening my backswing by50% leads to much better consistently when it comes to compression. Most people don't lose as much Distance as they would like to think. Give it a try.

leojax · May 8, 2017

Piling on here. A good instructor will help you understand how to hit your swing and get the consistency you are craving. With time, you might be able to self-correct when you get out of sorts, but the external feedback from a professional on an ongoing basis is critical to fast improvement for the vast majority of us hackers.

I live in SoCal, so I get to work with the aforementioned Monte from time to time in person. He has dozens of videos on YouTube, which all cover the same few concepts many different ways, because different fixes/feels will work better for some than others.

If you try and absorb all of it, the effects are detrimental to the goal.