MD/DC/VA Golfers - Twelve Monkeys Mental Divergence

[FAbb]

I'm about 230 pages into the Practice Manual.

 

I think it's very interesting so far. It turns the conventional model of how to improve on it's head, which maybe is exactly what needs to happen. Even with the advances in equipment, and agronomy making course conditions more pristine than ever, golfers as a population essentially haven't gotten any better. The best way I can describe the gist of the book from what I've read so far is that golfers in general dedicate way too much time and energy trying to raise their ceiling, and not enough trying to reach their ceiling.

 

I'm enjoying the read, and looking forward to seeing what I can pull from it and implement to improve my game. I still plan on taking lessons, hopefully regularly this winter, to maximize the potential of my swing. But I'll be looking to really put a lot of emphasis on skill work, especially as we get close to and into the season next year.

[gregh729]

Most golfers, even the fanatics I play with, do little to improve themselves. Me included. We don't have the time or inclination to practice. Most of the guys I play with use the same equipment company over and over. One of the guys went to 2nd Swing for new/used irons. He said the guy asked what he was looking for and instead of saying something like more forgiveness, said he wanted the newer Titleists because he always uses Titleist. So, he bought a set of the latest AP1

[siegel159]

I've read a couple improvement books (Hogan's five lessons, golf is not a game of perfect, how to play your best golf all the time), and they all have some useful information. I sort of pick and choose what I want to take from it, and then inevitably forget what I read a few months down the line. It's a vicious cycle.

[FAbb]

I'll also say that the title is partially misleading. It's not solely about practice. I think even a golfer unwilling to practice could benefit from reading the early sections.

[dcmidnight]

> @siegel159 said:

> I've read a couple improvement books (Hogan's five lessons, golf is not a game of perfect, how to play your best golf all the time), and they all have some useful information. I sort of pick and choose what I want to take from it, and then inevitably forget what I read a few months down the line. It's a vicious cycle.

 

This.

 

I tried to read the Practice Manual. I mistakely thought it would be a manual about practice with drills, goals, different levels to work through. I think the first section(s) came off more as a textbook? I didnt think it was a bad book, it just wasnt for me. I could see how a certain kind of player/learner would like it but it wasn't for me.

 

I still have Hogans 5 and flip through it occasionally. Its a good reminder/check for me but - lots of pictures. I think practice is always going to be a combination of reaching your ceiling and raising your ceiling no matter what you do or how you get there - books, range grinding, lessons etc.

 

I realized I still have a lesson out at Creighton Farms that I bought on Black Friday last year and never used. I've really gotten away from practice grinding like I used to do.

[2moreTerps]

> @siegel159 said:

> I've read a couple improvement books (Hogan's five lessons, golf is not a game of perfect, how to play your best golf all the time), and they all have some useful information. I sort of pick and choose what I want to take from it, and then inevitably forget what I read a few months down the line. It's a vicious cycle.

 

we're all different. i'm the opposite of that. the best book on golf i've ever read is "how to play consistent golf" by tom kite. I pretty much have the whole book memorized. I read and re-read and re-read the dave pelz short game bible and the dave pelz putting bible. i didn't just read them. i LEARNED them. I think it was actually really really good for my development. I really hated school so i didn't work at it. and frankly i didn't really have to work at it. but to be good at ANYTHING that matters (and yes 2019 america for 99.8% of us school doesn't matter) you have to really work at it. The work i put into baseball, golf, and poker taught me how to learn and improve. My natural talent for the three is different and the level i reached for all three was different. but all three taught me how to learn, work, think, fail, succeed, try, etc. etc.

 

for me improving and striving are what i'm looking to get out of golf. i love the process. next friday i'm playing a pure beer drinking round with buddies. i can do it. we'll have a great time. BUT. it's not what i enjoy most.

[siegel159]

Has anyone read Secrets of the Short Game by Philly Mick? Was it good?

[SullGolf]

The overwhelming majority of golfers don't practice in a way that helps them get better. Myself included. That much I totally agree with Adam Young on. For most of us, going to the range is an activity in itself, not practice for a future activity. We prioritize fun over work. Which I think is a false dichotomy overall. Practicing well is fun because getting better is fun and playing well is fun.

 

Outside of that mental piece, it's also reallllly hard to know what you are doing wrong and what you should work on. The overwhelming majority of golfers have no chance of figuring it out on their own (even with a book).

[FAbb]

> @SullGolf said:

> Outside of that mental piece, it's also reallllly hard to know what you are doing wrong and what you should work on. The overwhelming majority of golfers have no chance of figuring it out on their own (even with a book).

 

I think that's exactly what the book is trying to disprove.

 

Anybody can figure out if they're hitting the ground in the right place. Anybody can figure out if they're hitting the club face in the correct place. With the proliferation of radar, it's easier than ever to figure out your face and path. And even if you can't get on radar, understanding ball flight laws allows you to figure out face and path with some trial and error. These are all things that are easy enough to figure out on your own, and practice getting better at.

 

The major motor pattern stuff is what we as golfers generally aren't versed in well enough to diagnose and improve. But that's only a part of the picture, whereas we've long been lead to believe it was everything.

[TheCityGame]

> @SullGolf said:

> Outside of that mental piece, it's also reallllly hard to know what you are doing wrong and what you should work on. The overwhelming majority of golfers have no chance of figuring it out on their own (even with a book).

 

Well that's what I think the strength of the Young book is... If nothing else work on skills at the ball... I basically spent a year at the range a couple years ago doing nothing but contact drills... Paying attention to where my divot starts, primarily. But also working on where on the face to hit the ball.

 

I don't feel like I ever wasted a second of range time working on contact.

 

But I'm sure I've wasted plenty of time trying to get my hips to turn more, or get my hands in the right position at the top, etc etc. Again, not that Stat stuff isn't important, but that's all the stuff that you end up losing. Like you'll work on it and then realize a month later that you've lost it. But working on better contact just builds on itself. You don't regress to hitting 2 inches behind the ball again. You just get better and better at good contact.

[baddomes]

Do you start by taking pitching/half swings until you can control where you're hitting the ball on the face of the club?

[2moreTerps]

nats talk: the next week is going to be rough on my sleep schedule. mrs 2more says that i'm on "toddler time" because of how early i go to bed. i don't feel particulary tired but i have NO ability to concentrate. I've just been making a lot of phone calls.

 

nats talk not about me: beating the astros 3 more times is going to be hard. They just made all the pitchers sooo hard. I hope strasburg trusts his stuff and goes after them a bit more.

[SullGolf]

I'm a wuss when it comes to watching late sports. I might stay up to watch any clinching games, but otherwise have no qualms about going to sleep early. I was watching through the 5th at about 10:30 and realize the game was going past midnight. No thanks. There will be another few games.

 

This has to be the best starting pitching lineup I've seen in a world series in my life. I expected the game last night to be relatively quick because of that, but it turned out to not be the case. Back in 2004 or 2005 I went to a game at the old Busch stadium, Chris Carpenter (Cards) vs Roger Clemens (Astros when they were in the NL), and both were having cy young caliber years. Game lasted a hair over 2 hours. As a person attending I felt a bit cheated by such a short game, but I'd love to see more of them on TV.

[2moreTerps]

> @SullGolf said:

> I'm a wuss when it comes to watching late sports. I might stay up to watch any clinching games, but otherwise have no qualms about going to sleep early. I was watching through the 5th at about 10:30 and realize the game was going past midnight. No thanks. There will be another few games.

>

> This has to be the best starting pitching lineup I've seen in a world series in my life. I expected the game last night to be relatively quick because of that, but it turned out to not be the case. Back in 2004 or 2005 I went to a game at the old Busch stadium, Chris Carpenter (Cards) vs Roger Clemens (Astros when they were in the NL), and both were having cy young caliber years. Game lasted a hair over 2 hours. As a person attending I felt a bit cheated by such a short game, but I'd love to see more of them on TV.

 

https://www.theringer.com/2019/10/22/20926157/gerrit-cole-justin-verlander-max-scherzer-stephen-strasburg-world-series-pitching

 

For the teams that i care about I've seen the Redskins win in 1992 when i was in 5th grade and md basketball win when i was a sophmore in college. That's TWO titles in 37 years. So sure I like the Caps, but it's nothing like the MD basketball or football (LOLZ). I enjoyed their run but couldn't really claim it. The Nats are like an in between. I watched pieces of a ton of the games. I followed the team daily. I still don't have nearly the same emotional attachment that i have to MD. BUT. Two titles in 37 years. I'll stay up a little late to enjoy it. It doesn't happen often. If history is a guide there won't be a lot of games like this in my life.

[aiyyer]

In sports it’s all about momentum.

Hopefully the Nats can ride it out based on the win from yesterday.

It’s also cyclical and with the caps winning and mystics winning the WNBA. It’s a DC sports Renaissance - Redskins also won for the first time this season against the Dolphins.

 

 

[TheCityGame]

> @baddomes said:

> Do you start by taking pitching/half swings until you can control where you're hitting the ball on the face of the club?

 

no. I take full rips and if I'm hitting it fat, I try to hit it thinner and vice versa.

 

people pick up a golf club and they forget how to be athletic. you can swing a golf club and make it contact the ground in different spots. you just can. you can make it hit the ground steeper or shallower too.

 

putting a ball down shouldn't change that.

 

I've found ways to alter my swing to make "good contact" more reliable but it comes from changing my swing in service of getting better contact.

[FAbb]

> @baddomes said:

> Do you start by taking pitching/half swings until you can control where you're hitting the ball on the face of the club?

 

I don't think so for face contact, or low point stuff, but maybe for other things.

 

Like I'm trying to get my path more to the right. If I just try to swing at full speed straight away, I can't really feel that swing to the right very well. So I'm working my way up from slower, shorter swings, where I'm trying to hit big push hooks. I can feel the swing to the right better at that speed to start. Then I'll make my way up to full speed.

 

 

[davechen]

> @aiyyer said:

> In sports it’s all about momentum.

> Hopefully the Nats can ride it out based on the win from yesterday.

> It’s also cyclical and with the caps winning and mystics winning the WNBA. It’s a DC sports Renaissance - Redskins also won for the first time this season against the Dolphins.

>

>

 

[XHoop24]

> @SullGolf said:

> The overwhelming majority of golfers don't practice in a way that helps them get better. Myself included. That much I totally agree with Adam Young on. For most of us, going to the range is an activity in itself, not practice for a future activity. We prioritize fun over work. Which I think is a false dichotomy overall. Practicing well is fun because getting better is fun and playing well is fun.

>

> Outside of that mental piece, it's also reallllly hard to know what you are doing wrong and what you should work on. The overwhelming majority of golfers have no chance of figuring it out on their own (even with a book).

 

This is spot on and I found it quite insightful. For me, I get to golf twice a week. Once when I play 18 holes on a weekend morning and once when I hit the range after work. The activity of going to the range is fun for me and that is why I go. I try to change stuff during this time, but realistically I just enjoy being outside and swinging the club.

[thechief16]

> @SullGolf said:

> The overwhelming majority of golfers don't practice in a way that helps them get better. Myself included. That much I totally agree with Adam Young on. For most of us, going to the range is an activity in itself, not practice for a future activity. We prioritize fun over work. Which I think is a false dichotomy overall. Practicing well is fun because getting better is fun and playing well is fun.

>

> Outside of that mental piece, it's also reallllly hard to know what you are doing wrong and what you should work on. The overwhelming majority of golfers have no chance of figuring it out on their own (even with a book).

 

The vast majority of golfers don't practice, period. I can't think of a single non-WRX/hive member of my golf circle who goes to the range to practice ever. Some go for 15 minutes, if the balls are free, to warm to up.

[siegel159]

I dunno. Practice might be overrated. I did like an hour of wedge practice a couple months ago, and I don't think I saw any benefit to my round last weekend.

[thechief16]

I feel pretty lucky. I LOVE practicing, even if I am not always in 100% grind mode when I'm at the range, I'm always working on something and never mindlessly banging. If I find my mind start to wander, I stop, sit down refocus myself. Honestly, it's all I have time for on a regular basis, but I make a commitment to do it at least once a week, often twice. Even with 2 kids playing various sports, I can almost always find 90 minutes on a weekend day to get to a range and hit balls for 45 minutes and get wherever I need to go. And I have been working on the same 2 or 3 things since a lesson in May.

[Ocgolfrick]

"Hey Bruce what do you think about the Talls losing for the third year in a row even though a lot of the Small team members were having to play in knee deep water?

 

[gsrjc]

> @thechief16 said:

> I feel pretty lucky. I LOVE practicing, even if I am not always in 100% grind mode when I'm at the range, I'm always working on something and never mindlessly banging. If I find my mind start to wander, I stop, sit down refocus myself. Honestly, it's all I have time for on a regular basis, but I make a commitment to do it at least once a week, often twice. Even with 2 kids playing various sports, I can almost always find 90 minutes on a weekend day to get to a range and hit balls for 45 minutes and get wherever I need to go. And I have been working on the same 2 or 3 things since a lesson in May.

 

Me too. Generally in the spring and summer I’m at the driving range at least twice a week. I have limited time so I’m keep my practice focused. Practice falls off as the weather gets colder and now I probably won’t even go the rest of the year unless it’s a nice warm day out. I’ll just go play and whatever swing I have that day is it. No tinkering on the course.

 

[eagle1997]

Another sick WS game. Putting on my "rally night cap" right now!

 

 

[eagle1997]

...and it works! Suzuki with a moonshot HR!!!

[eagle1997]

3 more score!!!

 

Nightcap Rally Cap Baby!!!!!!!!

[eagle1997]

+2

[gsrjc]

Houston falling apart.

[gsrjc]

Tiger tied for the lead at Zozo after bogeying the first three holes.