SchneeWRX- A Tradition Unlike Any Other

[gwlee7]

I wasn't the pants. It was the flat brim.

[TheBigGun]

[quote name='MonteScheinblum' timestamp='1393886008' post='8790115']
Look at this sick sand shot over a 6 foot lip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4Q6_eodw7c&sns=em
[/quote]

That is a silky bunker shot......shame about the 2 stroke penalty for grounding the club

[absoludicrous]

[quote name='tembolo1284' timestamp='1394053711' post='8805435']
soloman...I would say the power line is intact and ready to explode into the sauce.
[/quote]

This must be from all of the years of research you've done.

[Schnee]

I'm sitting here waiting for my flight back to JFK, and my trip is almost officially over.

I made the greatest strides the first day, but I think today was most important of all. My session today with Monte solidified all the changes we worked on the previous two days. Today was about refining the feels we had established on days 1 and 2 so that I'll be able to identify with them when I don't have Monte watching me hit balls. We worked on me being able to self diagnose swing issues based on ball flight and divot direction.

When I say we, it really was an interactive effort. The first day, Monte watched just a few swings and identified my issues. From there, we basically had a conversation about feels in the golf swing. Monte would suggest something and I would give it a go. Sometimes after one swing he would tell me to throw that thought out because it pushed me in the wrong direction. Here's where the interaction comes in: Monte would suggest a feel and them would ask me how I interpreted said feel following a good shot. Oftentimes I would use different words to explain a common goal. What was great was that it wasn't just "Show up and have Monte magically fix my swing." In all honesty I came in with 0 knowledge of my swing and 0 ability to conceptualize things like shallowing the shaft. Now as I head home, I know what my goals are and the road map to achieve them.

I think it's also important to note that at no time did our discussions ever get technical. We didn't talk about lag, pulling the handle, flexion, or launch numbers. My improvements came solely from piecing together the feels necessary to create a well-sequenced golf swing that is unique to me. The only technology we used was a swing speed radar for reference on the first day, and the occasional video. The video was more for my benefit so that I can look back and match the different feels to results on screen. Monte knew right after impact whether the swing was good or not; he didn't need the video.

I guess what I'm getting at is that my work with Monte these past three days was much simpler than I imagined it would be. I started to see results immediately. If I followed what Monte said and trusted the changes he and I were making, the rest fell into place.

Today was great at reinforcing everything and setting me up for success in the future. I hit balls for about an hour, working on nailing down the changes and doing some self-diagnosis with Monte testing me. I think that if I start missing things either way, I'll know what went wrong. After hitting 7 iron for about an hour, we headed over to the putting green. Yesterday my putting was atrocious until Monte addressed some issues. My head and left shoulder pulled out of the putt almost immediately which led to shoves and terrible distance control. We worked on keeping my arms out in front of me more and not looking at the putt immediately. My problem is that I suck the putter behind me, and then pull it across on the through stroke. Basically monte said I have way too much face rotation and way too much of an arc. Now I'm putting on less of an arc and the face is much more stable. We also worked on speed control vs. line and which one is more important. It was eye-opening to say the least. Now I have to just trust my line once I aim, and focus 100% on speed. Even if I get the line completely wrong I'll be within a few feet with the correct speed.

We went back and hit some more balls working on the same things. Again, better results each time. I'm getting so close to keeping that right foot and hip down. A few weeks and it'll be gone I think. Right now my feels are to fan the club open and deep on the backswing, drop the clubhead all the way to the ground, increase forward bend toward the ball and then extend around to the finish. What the main goal is, is to get deep enough, shallow the club (by feeling that I drop the clubhead to the ground behind me NOT the hands) and get low and extend to avoid raising my head and double chicken winging. I can do it absolutely perfectly on a 3/4 swing and probably a 7.5/10 on a full swing. It's definitely getting there.

After about an hour of that we went to the chipping green for some final practice and a quick tuneup. I practiced some soft pitches with a 60 and some bump and runs with a 9 iron. 90% were within 4 feet and a few came within a foot. No hole outs... YET! Monte gave me the worst lies imaginable: on sand, bare lies, muddy lies, even ones that he stepped on to embed them. I just kept the right arm moving, didn't let it stall, and the bounce did all the work. It's so easy it's silly. I hit 2 shots going back to my old "ball-back shaft lean" chipping style for comparison. It was horrible! I'm so done with that method. With the bounce I can get up and down from a garbage can now.

I hit some sand shots and refined my technique. Again they were good. We worked on plugged lies as well. Just like in the video, it only takes a few setup adjustments but it's mostly the same technique.

After dazzling the crowd with my short game abilities :P we headed back to get a good driver DTL on video. I grabbed the watermelon driver, and teed one up. Monte videoed it on his iPad. First one, crushed it down the pipe. Little tiny push draw. That was it, the one to end on.

And so, my trip to CA comes to a close. I showed up with the swing of an 18 handicapper and left with the game of a single digit. I also learned how to play the game smarter and better. I'll definitely look at a golf course a different way from now on. (If you come out to irvine make sure you fit in a playing lesson.)

My old swing was steep, full of EE, ballerina right foot, karate chip arm action and had deep divots pointing well left of the target. Now, my divots point at the target and are nice and shallow. They're like those dollar size PGA tour divots. My contact feels great, and my ball flight is stellar. My average shot now is a nice high push draw that takes off slightly right of target and falls back to it at the apex, maybe 5 yards of movement total . To be honest it's scary straight. I've never hit shots so straight (except with a putter). My miss, like Monte said, is a little overdraw when my right hip comes out too high. It'll be nice when I'm on the course because when I do it correctly there's no way the ball goes right.

So now when I go home my plan is as follows: try and practice a few times a week until my club opens. At that point I'll be out there multiple times a week and grinding away. I'm going to stick to hybrid, 4 wood and driver because I can only hit off of mats. If I can hit those, shorter clubs will be no issue at all. The short game is literally point and shoot so once the snow melts I'll be in my backyard nailing down distances.

In short, this trip was eye opening and extremely productive. 3 days was the perfect amount of time to introduce major changes and begin to feel comfortable with them. The experience with Monte is second to none. He's a great guy and makes you feel extremely comfortable with the environment and learning new techniques. Within no time I felt like I was hanging out with a buddy. The guy is hysterical. Don't be worried about any awkward silences. Between the jokes he cracks and banter back and forth you'd think you were at a comedy show.

I don't think I've smiled so much playing golf since the first time I pured a shot. The combination of good company and great shots will keep me satisfied for a long time. If I lived closer I'd be back for weekly lessons. Until then, I can say that this is the best money I've spent on golf since I took up the game. If you want to get better and just have more fun, talk to Monte. He'll get you on the right track.

-Chris

[midweston]

Great review Looking forward to seeing your progress moving forward, if the snow and ice and muck would get out of here!

[33 Handicap]

This thread was good.

[MonteScheinblum]

Driver DTL. Will post full videos as well.

[Hstead]

Decent thread, could have been better with the appropriate food photos. In fact, I would be willing to bet that your right foot would be staying down if you had ordered a full rack.

But, other than that criticism, nice work and thanks for sharing. Good write up and look forward to more updates as you are just starting to make the change, now the fun starts.

Edit: After seeing the before and afters, the right foot is HALF way down now, coincidence? I think not.

[GeoffDickson]

Great thread....I don't think I have ever eaten only half a rack of ribs.

[ruddermayhem]

...

[sethdavidsdad]

[quote name='MonteScheinblum' timestamp='1394082933' post='8809331']
Driver DTL. Will post full videos as well.
[/quote]

Wow those are great changes. Amazing differences wish I could get the club that shallow.

[jra1945]

Great thread OP, would like to know if any time was given to bag makeup and driver length and loft . Looking at the earlier pic of Monte dlt, that looks like an awfully short club. Was this his regular driver? Again, cost?

[Sean2]

Well done Chris! Though I don't understand the "shallow out" thing. Your swing looks really good. Keep it up!

I like Monte giving you "feel" cues until you find one that resonates with you. :-)

[pinhigh27]

Wow those driver pics look insanely better, great work both.

[dcstroker]

Chris, thanks for the detailed write-up and congrats on a very productive trip. Excellent work Monte and I look forward to the video. Its postings like these that are extremely valuable to a number of us on this forum.

[Schnee]

[quote name='jra1945' timestamp='1394112907' post='8810263']
Great thread OP, would like to know if any time was given to bag makeup and driver length and loft . Looking at the earlier pic of Monte dlt, that looks like an awfully short club. Was this his regular driver? Again, cost?
[/quote]

Tbh very little consideration was given to bag makeup. Monte put it to me this way: will an optimally fitted driver/club get you a few more yards? Yes. But if you put a good swing on the ball with any equipment the ball is going to go well. An older guy probably in his 70s hit Monte's XX driver on the range. He still pured it, it just went a little low because he didn't have the SS.

You'd have to ask Monte the length on that one. It's a 6* geek.

Let me add everything up and I'll provide a cost breakdown.

[Schnee]

[quote name='Sean2' timestamp='1394113253' post='8810295']
Well done Chris! Though I don't understand the "shallow out" thing. Your swing looks really good. Keep it up!

I like Monte giving you "feel" cues until you find one that resonates with you. :-)
[/quote]

Sean, I didn't get it until I saw in person what it is. It's strange, it was completely the opposite of what I had pictured previously. Now it feels like I'm laying the shaft down in transition whereas in the past I was pull the club so far left and across my body.

[gr8blueheronbird]

Chris, Appreciate you write up on this. Makes me want to go out west to visit Monte.

[Schnee]

 

 

[Schnee]

[quote name='gr8blueheronbird' timestamp='1394120240' post='8811081']
Chris, Appreciate you write up on this. Makes me want to go out west to visit Monte.
[/quote]

I really hope more people do go out and see Monte. I never would have gotten my swing to the point it is without a push in the right direction from Monte. To steal a quote from him, I can see now why it took the greats years to figure out their swings through trial and error without trained eyes guiding them.

[Schnee]

 

 

 

[Paul E]

[quote name='CSchnee' timestamp='1394120094' post='8811051']
[quote name='Sean2' timestamp='1394113253' post='8810295']
Well done Chris! Though I don't understand the "shallow out" thing. Your swing looks really good. Keep it up!

I like Monte giving you "feel" cues until you find one that resonates with you. :-)
[/quote]

Sean, I didn't get it until I saw in person what it is. It's strange, it was completely the opposite of what I had pictured previously. Now it feels like I'm laying the shaft down in transition whereas in the past I was pull the club so far left and across my body.
[/quote]

Nice work, Chris. When you learned to shallow the shaft coming down, did you notice an increase in downward pressure in your right leg/foot? Also I'm assuming your dispersion tightened up? How about distance gains? Might make sense to follow up with Monte via phone and swingfix down the line. All the best and keep us posted.

[vjswing]

I'll echo many of the previous posters with the thought that threads like this one are the kind of thing that makes GolfWRX.com such a great place to visit!

[pinhigh27]

 

 

 

 

That 3rd pic is the one I was looking for !!! That's 9 right ? That tree on the left is the one I was talking about

[Schnee]

[quote name='Paul E' timestamp='1394121163' post='8811197']
[quote name='CSchnee' timestamp='1394120094' post='8811051']
[quote name='Sean2' timestamp='1394113253' post='8810295']
Well done Chris! Though I don't understand the "shallow out" thing. Your swing looks really good. Keep it up!

I like Monte giving you "feel" cues until you find one that resonates with you. :-)
[/quote]

Sean, I didn't get it until I saw in person what it is. It's strange, it was completely the opposite of what I had pictured previously. Now it feels like I'm laying the shaft down in transition whereas in the past I was pull the club so far left and across my body.
[/quote]

Nice work, Chris. When you learned to shallow the shaft coming down, did you notice an increase in downward pressure in your right leg/foot? Also I'm assuming your dispersion tightened up? How about distance gains? Might make sense to follow up with Monte via phone and swingfix down the line. All the best and keep us posted.
[/quote]

Yes, yes, and yes =)

One of the feels we worked with was to feel like I drop the clubhead way behind me, then roll onto my right instep hard. I definitely feel more pressure in my right leg/foot now. Compared to the right toe move and chopping across the ball (Monte dubbed that the "Ninja Ballerina") I feel like I have way more pressure on the right foot now. Dispersion is WAY tighter. Right now my miss is predominantly an overdraw. When I'm hitting them right they're all in a nice tight group. Distances are up considerably as well. As Monte noted on the swing speed differences, there was a big change. Now I feel like I can swing so much harder at it and not worry about foul balls off the planet. Let me put it this way, my 6 iron used to be about a 175-180 club. I hit three 6 irons on Tuesday that went ~190. So about 10-15 yard gain on each club. Driver is the most significant increase in distance because I'm not so steep anymore.

I'll be following up with Monte for sure via email, swing fix, etc. I'm expecting some good range sessions and a few not so good ones in the near future. With enough practice I'll get it all sorted out. An email to Monte after the bad sessions should keep me on track.

I'll keep everyone posted for sure. Thanks for the encouragement!

[PJ72]

Great stuff. Amazing changes in your swing in just 3 days. The shaft is probably about 20-25 degrees flatter than it was before you arrived.

It looks like a great place to play and practice too.

Would be interested in some follow up impressions in a week or three.

[Ranchobob]

Thanks again for posting the thread. I'm avoiding looking at the videos and pictures of swings--I don't need any more swing thoughts in my head than I had before.

Question: What was your index going in?

Good luck on making progress. Ya never stop learning in this game. Or at least ya never run out of things you should learn.

[Schnee]

Official handicap was a 12 last season

[Schnee]

[quote name='PJ72' timestamp='1394128064' post='8812105']
Great stuff. Amazing changes in your swing in just 3 days. The shaft is probably about 20-25 degrees flatter than it was before you arrived.

It looks like a great place to play and practice too.

Would be interested in some follow up impressions in a week or three.
[/quote]

I'll definitely post an update!

[Schnee]

Alright so two things.

1) It's currently 27 degrees, and it was 77 yesterday in Irvine. I really was spoiled by the weather on the west coast.
2) I've got such an itch to practice it's unbelievable. I might be headed to the PGA SS to get in some swings later on today. Until then it's putting practice.