My Road to Improvement - swing video 3/15/24

[rondo01]

3 minutes ago, Myherobobhope said:

I’m pretty sure I’ve preached Adam way here 😂

 

I had the same thought though, bortass, I’m a little worried you are overly focused on body position and not just swinging away.

 

sometimes it helps to just take some rips at the ball!

Gotta love Adam way. I have found that when the swing completely disappears, going back to some foot spray on the ground or club helps recenter me. More often I need to spray the ground and get the low point in control 😕

[bortass]

43 minutes ago, Myherobobhope said:

I’m pretty sure I’ve preached Adam way here 😂

 

I had the same thought though, bortass, I’m a little worried you are overly focused on body position and not just swinging away.

 

sometimes it helps to just take some rips at the ball!

Not so much body position, more body movements. I’m not a right elbow to this spot or P3 needs to be 45.76543 degrees left of the moon 11/15ths of the way into the backswing 😜

 

I don’t take rips at the ball though🤔

[Myherobobhope]

1 hour ago, bortass said:

Not so much body position, more body movements. I’m not a right elbow to this spot or P3 needs to be 45.76543 degrees left of the moon 11/15ths of the way into the backswing 😜

 

I don’t take rips at the ball though🤔

Highly recommend occasionally just taking some hard cuts at the ball with driver especially... one of my favorite drills is to basically start with feet together with my back foot in its normal position and the ball where it usually is... backswing, step into my normal stance and swing ... basically a baseball swing.

 

hammering the nail (just focusing on hitting one specific part of the ball and not thinking about anything else) is also good.

 

your body will figure out how to get you where you want it.

[bortass]

11 hours ago, Myherobobhope said:

Highly recommend occasionally just taking some hard cuts at the ball with driver especially... one of my favorite drills is to basically start with feet together with my back foot in its normal position and the ball where it usually is... backswing, step into my normal stance and swing ... basically a baseball swing.

 

hammering the nail (just focusing on hitting one specific part of the ball and not thinking about anything else) is also good.

 

your body will figure out how to get you where you want it.

I'm worse at baseball than golf....

 

I posted from my phone last night which is why it was so brief. There are times where I just swing the club as in actually feeling the club swinging in rhythm. I wouldn't call that taking a rip at it though because it's not fast.

 

I have never been a swing for the fences kinda guy. Probably because I took the game up so late in life with no background in a stick sport like hockey or baseball. That could be partly why I don't hit it very far. I'm not a small guy, even if I wasn't overweight, so based on my build some people have thought I should be able to hit it far. Granted poor mechanics and not hitting the center of mass costs a fair amount of distance but so does being slow. It's kinda why I was wondering about Tour Tempo. Monte has made comments about how most amateurs are too slow. I wouldn't be surprised if i'm one of them, lol.

 

What should I look for online to get a better idea of what you are talking about?

[bortass]

18 hours ago, rondo01 said:

Haven’t read through much but am curious as to if you’ve tried any of the skill building drills that folks like Adam Young advocate, or you have been sticking more to “traditional” lessons?

It was traditional lessons from 2008-2012. I have had one lesson since coming back to the game after a 7 year layoff. I'm currently working on the stuff in Monte's No Turn Cast video. It has helped explain a couple things, which I was not doing before, better. My lesson last year had what is Cast A in it, so it was interesting to me to see the guy i got the lesson from wanted me to incorporate the same thing Monte advocates in NTC.

[Myherobobhope]

https://www.golfwrx.com/308896/practice-the-nail-drill-to-improve-your-swing-without-thinking-about-it/
 

im actually reading his book right now... the practice manual... well, I was... currently reading atomic habits instead... but I have the book! And it’s good!

 

have you ever tried to swing hard? I’m not a golf coach, but I think it has value. Just don’t hurt your back!

[bortass]

@Myherobobhope Is the book worth getting? I get the impression it is.

 

   I made it to the range again today. It was a mixed bag overall but... I took out my driver after hitting shots with my SW and 8i and let 'rip'. I was using a shorter wood tee, so the ball was partially above the crown of my driver. Mid height fade down my target line and struck very solid, hmmm.... Try again pretty and much similar results, hmmmm.... I kept at it maybe 10-12 shots and I had a nice push slice and a push fade that weren't so hot. I think everything was playable though and good distance with range balls near dusk on a 50* day. Of course I'm elevate because of the range design, so no idea on actual distance but they sure looked and felt good, except the two clunkers.

 

Went back to 8i for a bit with meh results and hit a few more 'rips' with driver and they were pretty good. I finished up with some half SW shots and changed my mind about packing up. Grabbed my 4w and 8 balls to see if I could hit it since I have been struggling with my woods. First one is a very solid fade... Of the 8, there were two mishits, the rest were either perfectly fine mishits or very solid.

 

Hmmm.....

 

Now riddle me this on a different topic. My 8i shots were a mess, fat thin etc. I do an old drill my instructor in Maine gave me. Both feet together and hit the ball with a partial swing. Sure enough, solid contact and the ball went left, as expected. Kept at it and started to hit some high draws, down my target line, and contact was very solid. So remove my ability to shift my body much and I make better contact... Wonder what this is telling me besides my swing needs work.

 

Regardless it was a good session and the driver/4w results were very interesting to me. I will have to keep at it and let 'rip' in my future range sessions because it didn't seem to hurt anything.

 

 

[rondo01]

 

5 hours ago, bortass said:

It was traditional lessons from 2008-2012. I have had one lesson since coming back to the game after a 7 year layoff. I'm currently working on the stuff in Monte's No Turn Cast video. It has helped explain a couple things, which I was not doing before, better. My lesson last year had what is Cast A in it, so it was interesting to me to see the guy i got the lesson from wanted me to incorporate the same thing Monte advocates in NTC.

monte is the best at what he does. I’d really give Adam Young’s Strike Plan a hard look though. It’s not a swing system, and you can get an idea of the whole concept in a few evenings of study. Basically, Adam advocates for the basis of golf instruction to be skill building drills based around differential practice philosophy, with mechanical analysis as a way to refine motor patterns. A lot of his methodology allows for the body to self-organize (ie, Swing under a noodle to create an inside out path, rather than asking students to match still image positions. His most well known drill is probably the “hammer the nail” drill, as demonstrated... 

 

 

I am not an expert, but I am your average 15 hdc overly-analytical-not-very-athletic hack, and Adams approach has helped me immensely in developing some hard golf skill. I’ve married his philosophy easily with traditional lessons. Some folks paint it as an either Adams Way or GolfTec way scenario, but I think that’s a ridiculous sentiment. I actually have both Montes efficient swing and NTC video and use his teaching as the basis of my “technique,” while I use adams feedback-rich drills as a way to see where I am with a particular move. When I can perform a swing with a particular move being visible on camera, while performing one of Adams drills, I know it’s getting close to being owned.
 

Just based on what I’ve read, you might see some major improvement in regards to controlling the face and path with the drills he advocates!

Edited January 7, 2021 by rondo01

[Myherobobhope]

It’s really dense, but I’ve enjoyed it thus far... he gets technical on things like swing path but I find that stuff fascinating.
 

Definitely worth looking up, at least. 

plenty of other good resources and you don’t want to get too far in the weeds on technical stuff... but it’s definitely a book I’m happy to own.

 

on the practice front, I don’t know why drills like that work! Sometimes changing your focus helps improve your swing, though.

[rondo01]

3 minutes ago, Myherobobhope said:

on the practice front, I don’t know why drills like that work! Sometimes changing your focus helps improve your swing, though.

Lots of literature on external vs internal focus! 

[bortass]

On 1/5/2021 at 8:36 PM, rondo01 said:

Gotta love Adam way. I have found that when the swing completely disappears, going back to some foot spray on the ground or club helps recenter me. More often I need to spray the ground and get the low point in control 😕

It's powdered foot spray right? I have seen it mentioned, about to search the forums for it, and have been meaning to get some.

[rondo01]

28 minutes ago, bortass said:

It's powdered foot spray right? I have seen it mentioned, about to search the forums for it, and have been meaning to get some.

 

yeah, like Dr. Scholls. Wipes right off the clubs, costs like $4 at a walmart. I always keep a spray bottle in the bag. 

 

 

[bortass]

@rondo01 Thanks for the video. I keep forgetting to buy it when I'm at the store.  How do you like Adam Y's Strike Plan?

 

My range session yesterday got rained out and weather is not cooperating today either. If/when I remember to get the foot spray, I plan to take some pictures to share regarding my contact. That should be amusing... 

 

I ordered Young's Practice Manual. I also downloaded his free e-book which had some info in it but also was heavy on the ads for his premium teaching services. Not a big surprise about the ebook and I'm curious what the Practice manual will have in it.

 

Have a good weekend!

[rondo01]

5 hours ago, bortass said:

@rondo01 Thanks for the video. I keep forgetting to buy it when I'm at the store.  How do you like Adam Y's Strike Plan?

I actually subscribed to his NLG program for all of last year instead of the strike plan. NLG contains all of the same info, but isn’t presented in a sequential order. It’s more like a compendium of information. All of his stuff is super well done though, and he’s extremely communicative on Twitter and Facebook if you have questions!

[bortass]

Saturday's 18 was interesting and I am excited by a couple of things. Conditions were not good but could have been worse. My truck said it was 36* out when I got to the course and 37* when I left. Arccos had the temps between 33-35. There was also some wind, 5-10 MPH is my guess. It was overcast, never saw the sun, and cart path only the entire course. Fairways were soggy as were some of the tee boxes, so every shot was from soft ground. The PCC was +1. So it was not a day for scoring.

 

We played the sister course with all of the water, 5452 yards, 67.1/120. I have probablems with these greens and my speed control. Range was mats only and I warmed up a bit with partial wedges and a few easy 8is. I followed that up with a handful of driver swings where i just tried to rip it. The warm up went well overall with solid shots.

 

1 - par 5 dogleg left, high push fae ewith driver, 203 yards, into the right rough at the corner.  The fairway gets narrow between two sets of trees for the approaches into the green. I leave the woods in the bag and mishit my 5i instead. It's a thin pull that goes 113 yards into the fairway on the left. I'm fine location wise but it's soft and about 150ish to center, arccos is saying it's playing over 160. I go with my 7w and hit a solid push, 151 yards, that goes well right of the green. The ball lands on the cart path and bounces under the trees. I find my ball and I need to pitch on. The flag is right and so am I. I take a practice swing with my SW and it feel right. I swing at the ball and it's too much. It's a low arching shot that carries past the flag, lands on the green and rolls off the left side....I have to go through a few yards of fringe and use my putter to chip. The chip goes about 21 yards and stops 9 feet from the cup. My speed is decent as I miss the bogey putt low and I have 1 foot remaining. I walk off with an opening double bogey 7.

 

2 - par 4 dogleg left, I tee off with driver, I think into the wind, it's a high draw into the middle of the fairway, 181 yards. I got no roll as this entire section of the fairway is casual water. I'm around 150 from center and hit my 7w again. I topped it 45 yards down the left side. Sweet. I grab my 7i and catch it a bit thin. The shot is a low, and I think a draw, that lands on the green and releases off the back right, 119 yards. I use my putter to chip again and leave it 12 feet short. I do make the bogey putt though, 5.

 

3 - fairly straight par 4, I use driver and it's a low draw down the left side, oh crap.... Holes 3 and 4 run parallel with each other and there's a spot where the cart paths converge where there is a drainage hole. It's probably 8 feet deep with water coming out of one pipe and going into another. The sides are mostly rocks. Sure enough my ball is down in it resting on rocks. No way i'm trying to hit it... So I grab my ball and back up along my line and drop it, 201 yards off the tee. So the drive probably was closer to 215ish. The flag is front left and I'm still 150ish out, so i hit my 7w from the soft fairway. Contact is perfect, it's a high shot that will drop like an iron, but I wasn't planning on a perfect shot..... I find my ball over the green on the left side and about 2 inches from it's pitch mark, 157 yards. I take a practice swing with my SW, it feels good, and then blade the ball through the green...Really? I use my putter to chip from the front right side, the ball rolls 21 yards and I'm 24 feet short, sigh. I look at the putt and it's down slope. I hit it and watch it break just short of the cup and slowly roll 9 feet past the hole. Seriously? It takes another 2 putts to hole out for a really awesome looking +4 snowman, 8.

 

4 - par 4, also fairly straight. I swing the driver and it's a low draw over the left fairway bunker. I find my ball, 195 yards off the tee, in the fairway in the muck... This entire section of the fairway is casual water as well. No point taking relief because there's no place good to go unless I want to try to drop under some trees, if it's even dry in there. The flag is front right and I'm just over 100 yards out. The green is slightly elevated as well. I decide on a 9i. I hit a high fade that lands behind the flag and releases to the right. I get to the green and I'm pin high, 6 feet right of the flag... I have plenty of time to look this putt over as my two playing partners chip on and start putting. I hit my putt and it's looking good, dropping in for birdie, 3!

 

I did not expect to have a hole where it felt like I was playing real golf and my driver has been on...

 

5 - par 3, and the flag is in the middle. I hem and haw over what club to hit and settle on my 7i. I make contact with the ball and it felt and sounded perfect. The ball takes off and it's a high draw heading at the flag,  that sails over the green and drops into the back bunker, 149 yards..... This was no blade/thin shot that went long. I actually hit the sweet spot for a change. I don't know which way the wind was blowing but my 7i was good to 140 with a full swing when temps were closer to 70, not mid 30s..... I'm surprised how far the ball went on a cold day. I get to the bunker and the sand is packed from being wet. I open my SW and swing and leave it in the bunker...Try again and i get it about 6 feet short of the hole and two putt for a double bogey, 5.

 

Lol, crap short game again but I am just enjoying that 7i tee shot...

 

6 - par 4, going uphill. I hit a draw with the driver up the right side into the fairway, 203 yards. 110ish to center and the flag is mid right roughly. I go with my 8i and I think it was a bit thin but I can't recall. The ball landed on the green and almost rolls into a back bunker, 119 yards. I use my putter to chip it to 6 feet and two putt for a bogey, 5.

 

7 - par 5, lake carry on the second shot unless you lay up. I have been teeing off with 7w here to avoid the lake in case I hit the 4w too good. It's a draw down the right side that clips some branches and I find my ball in the fairway, 153 yards off the tee. A 4w will carry the lake easily and get me to the fairway on the other side. I top the ball into the lake instead. I drop and hit an easy 5i and blade it into the lake. I just pick up at this point, put an X on my card and write in a 9 as likely score. I'd be laying 5 after the next drop, shot across the lake, shot into the green, and a two putt.

 

Blah.

 

8 - par 3, and I hit my 7i again. Contact is not perfect this time but it's still a high draw to the back left of the green, 131 yards. I'm a little past the flag and 39 feet left of it.My birdie putt get to 2 feet and I have a par, 3.

 

9 - par 4, lake carry off the tee to a fairway that runs perpendicular and to the right. There is no way to avoid going over the lake. I hit driver and my shot is a thin draw that carries the lake and actually runs some, 196 yards. I'm in the fairway on the left side and decide to hit a PW into the green. I don't know what went wrong, maybe ball position? The shot is a low push fade into the lake...I drop and my pitch/chip on with SW goes about 36 yards and is 27 feet short of the hole. I leave my putt 6 feet out... So end result is a three putt for a triple bogey, 7.

 

It's a helter skelter round so far. I'm not happy with some scores but I am very surprised with some of my shots so far. The two seem to balance out and I feel fairly good overall with how things are going. I mean my partners keep talking about how cold out it is and the wet course conditions...

 

10 - par 4, tee shot is down a fairway with water all down the right side. The green is across that water. I tee off with my 7w and hit a very solid pull into the left trees,  186 yards. These are large pines with no undergrowth. No shot at the green for me from here. I have gaps to hit through no problem but with keeping the ball low and trying to carry the lake, it's a no go. I punch out with my PW, 76 yards, just short of the lake. I figure a partial 9i to the green with a left pin. I hit it the turf behind the ball and being nice and soft it digs, sending the ball into the lake... I drop and try again, another mishit, not sure of the exact kind, and the ball makes it to the green, on the right side and rolls to the back. I chip with putter to 9 feet and two putt for a quad, 8....

 

I'm disappointed heading to 11 but that's it.

 

11 - Shorter par 4, I hit a mid height draw down the left side, awesome shot, guy with me says "you're just short of the green". I drive up and sure enough the ball is short of the green. One of the guys in the group in front says " I knew that was you. I told them Eric hit that drive". I pace it off after they putt out and I'm 21 steps from the left front edge of the green. That tee shot comes up after the round and I said "In summer, I would have been on." His reply was "You would have been over the green." Arccos says the shot went 205 yards, I think the tees may have been up some since it's 260 on the card. The flag is middle and I take some off my normal partial SW. It's a high shot that lands on the green and rolls towards the flag, 42 yard shot and I'm now 3 feet out. I sink the birdie putt, 3.

 

The guy commenting has played with me on this course when my driving is on and has said good things about my distance in the past. Granted I'm the pretty much the youngest guy in this group but it's nice to have a vote of confidence from someone else once in a while.

 

12 - par 5, fairly straight hole with a forced carry short of the green. I hit a mid height draw down the left side that catches some branches. I'm in the left rough, 186 yards off the tee, and it's over 200 to the forced carry. I decide to hit my 7w and top it 90 yards....I have to lay up, I'd need a solid 4w to reach the green and it's not worth it since anything just short of the green will be in the junk. I hit a PW, 93 yards, into the fairway to set up my approach.  I'm just past 100 yards out and hit my 9i. It's a high fade to the right side of the green, 102 yards. the flag is more front left and I have a 42 foot putt. I hit the ball and it wells good, breaks short of the hole and I'm 3 feet below it now. I make the bogey putt, 6.

 

That's the #1 HCP hole on the course, so i'm happy with the bogey even though i messed up that 7w shot.

 

13 - par 3, that's 150+. I hit 4i and it's fat. I get dirt in my eye and barely see the weak push to the right and short of the green, 122 yards. The green is above me now and it's a blind shot. i can see the top of the flag and that's it. i hit a partial SW, which goes 46 yards, and over the green.... I chip with my putter from well off the green and leave it short of the green.... Do it again and get it to 3 feet and make the double bogey putt, 5.

 

Sigh.

 

14 - fairly straight par 4, I hit my driver thin and it's a low fade down the left side, 182 yards. I'm 150+ out and hit my 7w. It's a bit heavy and a high draw, I think, into the front bunker, 134 yards. The sand is firm, so I use my normal square face SW sand shot. I get the ball out but leave it short of the green. I chip with my putter to 3 feet and miss the putt, two feet long. A two putt from 3 feet, for a double bogey 6...

 

Ouch.

 

15 - shorter par 4, down slope and it's always very soft short of the green. I rip a draw with my driver down the right side, 229 yards. I pace it off again and I'm 25 paces short of the right front of this green. I hit a partial SW, 44 yards, onto the green and 12 feet right the hole. My birdie putt misses and goes 3 feet long... I miss again and three put for a bogey, 5.

 

Yep, I still can't get these greens down.

 

16 - short par 3, flag is front left and it's inside 100 yards. I hit my PW and it's a high shot to the back right of the green. I'm 56 feet from the hole and have a tier to go down. I hit my putt and it's too firm, rolling 9 feet below the hole. So a three putt bogey, 4.

 

From where I was, a three putt isn't the end of the world, not great but not something to be mad about.

 

17 - par 5, that is a pain off the tee. There is a lake down the entire right side of this hole. The tee box is offset to the left of the fairway and you have a forced carry over some brush off the tee. Aiming for the fairway brings the lake in play if you hit it too far and right. I've hit my 4w into it before... So aim left with my 4w and hit a draw that catches a tree that's in the junk. I find my ball on the other side, 114 off the tee in the left rough. I hit a 5i punch, 152 yards, between two tall pine trees into the fairway. I'm 200 yards out and the lake is in play if I go for the green. I decide to layup to the left with my 5i and it's a mishit that goes 75 yards.  I then hit my 8i and it's a high fade, 118 yards, onto the green. I'm 27 feet to the right of the flag and my par putt gets to 2 feet and I secure my bogey, 6.

 

18 - par 4, pretty straight with water down the entire right side of this hole. I go with driver and it's a high fade over the right fairway bunker, crap... It gets narrow out there. I find my ball about 6 feet into some brambles that border the lake. I use my ball retriever to get my ball and drop further back, 188 off the tee.  I can't go for the green, well, I'm not comfortable with it. So i aim left with my 7w and top it 47 yards dead left. I hit it again and it's thin and low, about 123 yards. I hit a partial SW 61 yards to the left of green, from where I am standing, into the back fringe. I use the putter to chip it to 2 feet and make the double bogey putt, 6.

 

a 52/49 101. What a round... I shot a number that makes sense with a wet course in the 30s. How I did is not as expected. My driver was on and some of my full shots were pure and went distances that I would expect in summer. My putting was not good and I struggled with some shots from the fairway, which is normal for me. I came away feeling good about my game regardless of the actual score. Those two birdies felt so good... 

 

Here is what Arccos says about the round. I changed my settings to compare myself to a 12. So the numbers will be better than previously when I was comparing myself to a 0. Overall, compared to a 12, I lost 18.4 strokes.

 

Driving - -2.0 strokes lost. I lost a stroke to distance, I averaged 187 off the tee on all par 4 and 5s. I gained +0.1 to accuracy and lost -1.0 to penalties. So my driver was on. I was hitting draws, which was a surprise, and my contact was mostly solid with a couple mishits that didn't go as far. My swing thought was to hit the ball, nothing else. Pretty much setup and let rip. No thoughts about Cast A or B. The results were the fade turned to a draw and I came pretty close to driving two greens on a cold wet day....

 

Approaches - I lost 13.3 shots here. Shocking...The mishits from the fairway kill me in this stat but at least I can blame the conditions some. The 7i on #5 was the shot of the day. A pure iron and a beautiful high draw. I don't care that i sailed the green. That is what an iron should look and feel like IMO. Someday when I get things worked out and start hitting my irons like this more often, I'll be dangerous 🤔😜

 

Short game - -0.8 strokes compared to a 12. Not a great day for me but I had some real good shots, namely the wedge to 3 feet on #11. I lost the strokes with my sand game, -1.4 because I gained +0.6 strokes chipping/pitching inside 50 yards. I know I can do better than this with my sand game. While I don't expect to hit wedges close like Obee and company, I'm not surprised when I do any longer.

 

Putting - A mess at -2.4. I had 35 putts total but had misses from 3 feet and had 3 putts 6-9 feet short or long. Not good. I never putt well on this course it seems even though i have played it 7 - 8 times now in the last 9 months.

[bortass]

Time for the starting point for trend analysis for 2021. I'll use Arccos' strokes gained with the comparison being a 12 HCP and using the last 10 rounds. There is no real news here from what I can see. The holes in my game are the same regardless of if I compare to a 0 or a 12, approaches. It just looks better to compare against a 12. Sand game is the only area that I do better than the average 12 HCP, lol. I laugh because I couldn't get out of a bunker to save my life a year ago.

 

Rounds: 12/3/2020 - 1/10/2021 Scores: 50, 104, 48, 48, 45, 45, 99, 56, 50, and 101

 

Overall: -14.3 strokes gained. The trend over the last 10 rounds is +0.6 SG, so it's moving in the right direction.

 Driving -

Overall: -3.2

Distance : -1.0, average distance 195( a 12 averages 228)

Accuracy: -0.4

FW hit 60%

left 14%

right 26%

Penalties: -1.9

 

Approach –

Overall: -7.8

Par 3: -0.7

Fairway: -6.3

Rough: -0.9

GIR: Hit 21%

Long: 5%

short: 58%

left: 6%

Right: 10%

GIR Avg distance to pin: 33 ft

All approaches avg distance to pin: 123 ft

 

Short game -

Overall -1.3

Chips 0-25 yards: -0.2

Chips 25-50 yards: -1.4

Chip 0-25 average distance from pin: 14 ft

Chips 25-50 yards average distance from pin: 35 ft

Sand 0-25 yards: +0.2

Sand 25-50 yards: +0.1

Sand 0-25 average distance to pin: 24 ft

Sand 25 – 50 yards average distance to pin: 34 ft

 

Putting – I do not understand why these stats are not balancing out to 0

Overall : -2.0

First putt 0-10 feet: -2.1

First putt 10-25 feet: -1.1

First putt 25-50 feet -0.8

First putt 50+ feet: +0.1
 One putts: 15%

Two putts: 65%

Three+: 20%

Putts per hole: 2.0

Putts per GIR 2.3

[Myherobobhope]

16 hours ago, bortass said:

Putting – I do not understand why these stats are not balancing out to 0

If I had to guess, it would be because each one has a different number of shots attached to it.. Your going to have a ton more putts from 0-10 feet than you do from 50+ feet (hopefully)

[bortass]

2 hours ago, Myherobobhope said:

If I had to guess, it would be because each one has a different number of shots attached to it.. Your going to have a ton more putts from 0-10 feet than you do from 50+ feet (hopefully)

It could be that. Kind of a head scratcher for me since all of the other overall stats balance out unless there is a rounding error. So overall short game was -1.3, chipping was -1.6 and sand was +0.3. It balances but not putting. The total strokes gained across all of the first putt distances is -3.9 but overall it's giving me a -2.0. I will assume the developers and data scientists they have working on this stuff know what they are going.

 

Also thanks for the suggestion to let rip with the driver on the range. I think that will pay dividends. I'm not used to using driver on the range since my course up north had a real short range that was irons only. I always practiced with wedges and short irons, never got in the habit of hitting driver at the range. 

 

This is just my opinion but here is why I think it will help. Working on drills creates a mindset of 'do X'. I find that sometimes my swing thought later will be related to 'X'. 'X' goes out the window if I step into a driver shot with the goal of just swinging and trying to hit it hard. It's almost like a reset to get out of practice mode and stop thinking about it, let the body react.

 

My reasoning for this is my driver. I had been hitting my driver very well for me after working on the NTC drills and my shot shape was a fade. I'd have to go back through previous posts to see how long my driver was on with said fade. I didn't get to the range over the holidays and my driver swing started to go south with push fades into bad spots. My round on 1/2 was a disaster and deleted from Arccos. I couldn't get off the tee unless it was into the trees it seemed. I go to the range and start just letting rip with driver and it was a big change right away. Solid contact and mostly draws. The only other change I had made was teeing the ball a bit lower. My 1/9 round rolls around and temps are in the mid 30s but I was hitting my driver very well regardless, mostly draws. It could be one of those golf flashes in the pan but I don't think so.

 

My best 9 ever was when I started following MDLT. His approach boils down to just swing the club at the target, your body will figure it out. That day, I felt like I was just swinging the club and I end up with a 41.

 

So perhaps the road to improvement is a blend of approaches for me. Drills to work on learning segments of the swing and just swinging the club with the intent of just hitting it hard to the target to get the entire body working and letting what the drills are related to work themselves in over time. Maybe this is how to best leave swing thoughts on the range for me and to just play golf on the course.

 

Side note, I got some foot spray to check where I make contact. That will be a doozy....

 

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by bortass

[Myherobobhope]

I haven't done the foot spray tests yet... it's on my list for whenever I can swing a full club again (hopefully that and our simulators coming online are timed pretty well)...

 

But yes, the grip it and rip it mentality is sometimes a good way to get out of your own way. It's good to have swing thoughts, know what you are trying to achieve (and why your shots go where they go)... but I find it better when you are standing on the tee box to focus on hitting the ball. Usually hard 🙂 You've got the practice manual in route, and I think that will help you step back from your swing and see it more as a whole thing and not worry too much about the individual parts... Which isn't to say the individual parts aren't important, but having a good big picture view helps you get the smaller parts working. Or at least it does for me... 

 

When I practice, I'll look at my take away, my path into the ball, my follow through and make sure the pieces are working... but when I'm on the course, it's usually just a focus of "hit the ball on the inside" to make sure I stay in to out... I stopped playing a draw because it was one more thing to think about (getting my hands through). 

 

As Adam says, if you go to hammer a nail into the wall, you don't think about your elbow and wrist angles... You just hammer the nail... (full disclosure, I'm awful at hammering)... the same applies to golf. Sometimes it's best to just get out of your own way. 

[bortass]

Got to the range and attempted to use foot spray which will be further down with the pictures. Low 40s for temps, so not super warm but also not terrible. It was on mats which is meh... I warmed up with my GW doing cast B from NTC and that went very well. Probably hit over 20 balls that way. I then went to working on the cast A drill with my 8i. That was a load of laughs since it involves starting your downswing from a static position. I did have some nice shots during the drill though, which is nice. Monte mentions in the video to not worry about what the ball does with this drill, so I won't. I mixed in some regular swings with the 8i as well and those were all pretty straight with either a slight draw or fade to them. I then hit 5 balls with driver and 5 with the 7i with foot spray on the club face. This was followed up with some chipping with the GW and more half wedge shots with GW.

 

I'm not sure if I did this correct or not. I sprayed the face of the clubs and waited for it to dry. I have been using the 8i since 2004/5. So the wear pattern is all over the map. The driver has been in use since 2011 or 12 I think. Enjoy the idiot marks on it... Any thoughts?

 

 

Driver - The real bad toe shot was the first swing and a complete mishit that sent the ball low and left. I rarely hit it this way and knew what I had done once I made contact. The other 4 shots were pretty straight and solid. Shot #2 broke my plastic tee, so I used a short wooden one that was barely in the ground. 2/3 of the ball is above the crown at address, i think

 

 

8i - These are harder to see since it's an olde clubface with some decent wear. Toe shots off the mat, all were high fades and pretty straight.

[rondo01]

Love to see this. No need to wait for it to dry; it won’t effect the ball flight. Both clubs have a consistent pattern, which is great! What I’d do next is wipe off the spray, spray again, try to hit the middle. Repeat until the pattern moves to the desired location (centered). Adam and the practice plan will go into detail about differential practice vs blocked - he would advocate that you attempt to hit the extremes to find the middle. Ie- try to hit the heel a few times, then the toe, then split the difference and hit the middle. 
 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDMs1oVF-6m/?igshid=8v0g5imbyccj

Edited January 13, 2021 by rondo01

[bortass]

1 hour ago, rondo01 said:

Love to see this. No need to wait for it to dry; it won’t effect the ball flight. Both clubs have a consistent pattern, which is great! What I’d do next is wipe off the spray, spray again, try to hit the middle. Repeat until the pattern moves to the desired location (centered). Adam and the practice plan will go into detail about differential practice vs blocked - he would advocate that you attempt to hit the extremes to find the middle. Ie- try to hit the heel a few times, then the toe, then split the difference and hit the middle. 
 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDMs1oVF-6m/?igshid=8v0g5imbyccj

I tried doing it with the driver and not let it dry and I found I couldn't tell where the ball hit. All of the spray flew off during the swing. I may of had it too thick though. What I have used years past which works well is masking or painters tape. The impact is obvious but the tape can unravel some on the bottom of the club.

 

Where do I want to have the contact on driver? The 8i sweet spot is pretty much where that grass mark is, though I can tell based on sound and ball flight if I hit it pure with the irons.

[acekun]

3 hours ago, bortass said:

I tried doing it with the driver and not let it dry and I found I couldn't tell where the ball hit. All of the spray flew off during the swing. I may of had it too thick though. What I have used years past which works well is masking or painters tape. The impact is obvious but the tape can unravel some on the bottom of the club.

 

Where do I want to have the contact on driver? The 8i sweet spot is pretty much where that grass mark is, though I can tell based on sound and ball flight if I hit it pure with the irons.

Make sure that you have the correct foot spray. It looks like it's been sprayed with powder afterward. You don't want one that is dry clear. 

 

 

[berndgeurts]

Consistent toe hits, probably high handle through impact/ early extension. Matches the story of your ballflight. Got to get swinging instead of hitting. Try to move your hips into a sitting position and move the arms out. Just like the Olympic jammer throw (big heavy Cannonball on a rope). Get the hands down on impact. Work on this. It goes hand in hand with a proper cast B.

 

 

Low hands low hands low hands

Spoiler

I'm improving very quickly now. Hitting it consistent and shooting low 80s. 

Typing on phone, dont know how to remove the hidden box

Edited January 14, 2021 by berndgeurts

[berndgeurts]

Even practice this without ball at home

[bortass]

9 hours ago, berndgeurts said:

Consistent toe hits, probably high handle through impact/ early extension. Matches the story of your ballflight. Got to get swinging instead of hitting. Try to move your hips into a sitting position and move the arms out. Just like the Olympic jammer throw (big heavy Cannonball on a rope). Get the hands down on impact. Work on this. It goes hand in hand with a proper cast B.

 

 

Low hands low hands low hands

  Reveal hidden contents

I'm improving very quickly now. Hitting it consistent and shooting low 80s. 

Typing on phone, dont know how to remove the hidden box

I do suffer from early extension. It explains my blades and tops too. The hips and arms, is that at set up?

 

 

Great news on your progress, even if it is hidden 😉 lol.

 

12 hours ago, acekun said:

Make sure that you have the correct foot spray. It looks like it's been sprayed with powder afterward. You don't want one that is dry clear. 

 

 

That is probably why I had a hard time with it. It seemed like I had to lay it on very thick to see anything and it just sloughed off during a swing. I'll try to get a different version of spray to see if it's easier to see.

[berndgeurts]

I mean through impact. The big fault of early extension is a high handle through impact. There's a lot of vids on YouTube about it, bit dont het lost in them all.

This is an older video explaining it.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvgeb0Q8rsI

 

 

[Myherobobhope]

Impact isn't bad, just need to figure out how to move it towards the heel... Practice manual will be good for that...

 

2021 might be the year for new irons, though... If you want less expensive, I love Sub70. They have GI irons that should do well for you, and Jason will walk you through what shafts and lengths you need if you reach out to him (he's the CEO and his number is on the website)...

 

If you want more expensive, go PING...

 

Honestly, an iron upgrade could net you some more yards with your clubs, which will help lower your scores. I'm less concerned about a driver upgrade, as you might change what you need in shafts as you keep improving... It's not going to FIX your game to get new stuff, but it might make your quest a little more fun.

 

I'm headed to Nashville tomorrow for a Seemore fitting... pretty excited. I've never done a putter fitting before, and my big push this winter is to improve my putting while my back continues to heal... The new putter alone probably won't fix a TON, but I'm hoping it encourages me to practice more and helps me build better habits...

 

Also started a new diet (after roasting a 10 lbs pork shoulder on monday...) and am hoping weight loss and core work will help me stay healthy this season... Have a long road of weight loss ahead of me, but I'm excited about it... 

 

I'm excited to hear what you think of the Practice Manual. Adam was just on the Hack it Out Golf podcast. It's a good podcast!

[bortass]

Got in 9 walking and my score was not good at all but I'm not discouraged by it and never felt frustrated on the course. It was about 55* out, sunny with a 10 MPH wind that was in my face on every hole but 9. It was a good walk but I feel it now, lol.

 

As for my round, I had a two way miss going, had issues in every phase and carded a 55, lol.

 

1 - par 4, mid height fade with driver into the fairway on the right, 189 yards. Bladed my 4w and it was a worm burner that I kept under the wind, lol,  155 yards, and short of the green. My partial SW was heavy and didn't make the green either. I chip with my putter and leave it 9 feet short. two putts for a double bogey, 6.

 

2 - par 3, flag is front right behind a bunker. I decide to aim middle and hit 6i. It's a high pull draw that hits a tree on the edge of the left hazard, 110 yards. I find my ball, clean the mud off it since it plugged. Practice pitch feels good with the SW. I catch the ball thin and through the green. My next chip is short. Chip #3 gets on to 4 feet( it was a good chip at least) and I two putt for a triple bogey 6.

 

3 - par 5, dogleg right. I hit a big pull draw into a tree that is well left of my target line and only 130ish yards off the tee. never find the ball and drop in the rough. I hit 4w, into the wind, and it's a well struck high draw 186 yards, into the left rough. I'm 160ish out and with the wind I figure I'll hit 7w. Contact is very solid and it's a pull draw that flies into the left hazard. Great contact and height, very bad direction. Drop again and hit a pitch to about 15 feet and two putt for a triple, 8.

 

4 - shorter par 4, I aim more right because I am pulling my driver. I swing and it's a mid height fade a touch right of my target line, 205 yards into the right fairway bunker. I get the ball out with my 9i and advance it about 53 yards. I don't know how to hit this shot at all.  I chip with my SW to 3 feet and make the par putt, 4.

 

5 - par 5, dogleg right. I aim right with my 4w and skull it off the heel and sent it rolling into the left trees about 60 yards off the tee.. I drop in the deep rough and hack the ball, 91 yards, into the fairway with my 9i. I decide to lay up to the corner and i blade my 7i. I thought it went in the stream on the left, so i dropped a ball and nutted my 4w. A high draw that just went... Walk forward about 20 yards and there's my first ball. So I delete the 4w shot and hit my 7i. The ball is not a good lie and I can't see where it goes because the sun is in my eyes. I find it in the left rough, 111 yards shot, near the 150 yard marker. ( My 4w shot was in the middle of the fairway by the 100 yard marker, lol.) I lay up with a 9i and hit a partial Sw that goes 54 yards, lands on the green, hops, a foot and stops, 10 feet right of the hole. I two putt for a smooth , quad, 9.

 

6 - par 4, I hit driver and it's low and off the heel.  I look for my ball in the deep rough and don't see it. Drop a ball  in the shorter rough and hit my 4w, another very solid draw. Start walking and find my tee ball, 112 yards off the tee. So again, I delete the previous 4w shot, and this time hit 4w again. It's thin but goes 180 yards into the fairway short of the green. I hit a partial GW, 68 yards to 9 feet. My par putt goes 4 feet past the hole, and I three putt for a double bogey 6.

 

7 - elevate tee shot and it's a high fade, 225 yards into the fairway on the right. I decide to hit 8i and I never see the ball, it felt thin though. My ball is 118 yards from the previous spot and in the rough right of the green, close to pin high. I chip and hit it too hard. The ball lands near the hole and rolls off the back of the green. I bone the chip with my putter to 12 feet and two putt for a double bogey,6.

 

8 - par 3, elevated tee shot. I hit a high push with my 6i, 166 yards over the right bunker. Not sure if the wind was helping this hole or not because I couldn't feel it with the trees. I pitch over the bunker and 23 feet below the hole and three putt for a double bogey, 5.

 

9 - par 4 with the pond on the left. Wind is behind me for sure and i hit a mid height draw, 220 yards, into the middle of the fairway. Flag is front right and GPS says 120ish yards which is an 8i but I have to carry the pond. I hit 7i instead and it's a high draw, that lands on the slope of the back tier and rolls back to the front, 131 yards. I'm 41 feet left of the flag, going over a slight hump. I miss high and about 2 feet past the hole. I miss again and end up with a bogey, 5.

 

So one good hole, #4. #7 and #9 could have been good holes but my short game and putting were just bad. What kept me in a good place mentally was the fact I hit some good shots and I just accepted the fact that my swing was wonky. I've been getting some range time in to work on things, so I'm chalking it up to trying to make a swing change. It won't be smooth or easy. That said my swing thought was to just hit the ball, no mechanics. 

[bortass]

@MyherobobhopeYeah, impact was consistent and toe side has been my miss most of the last year. I'm to chapter 3 in the Practice Manual and it's a good read so far. It makes sense to me. Maybe someday I will look at new irons. I have a soft spot for these since they were my first 'real set' of clubs and they have served me well. I'd like to get to the point where I can game my MacGregor blades though. I would need to have the shafts looked at though and get my swing to a better spot. Pings would be nice though!

 

Let me know how the putter session goes. I'm curious about that. There are a couple SAM put labs within 90 minutes of me, they are just on the wrong side of Atlanta.

 

I also feel your pain about the weight. I'm just trying to slowly lose by eating a little better. I know I could do this faster with more rigor and working out but I don't feel like sacrificing other things for it right now, lol.