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

[TheDeanAbides]

35 minutes ago, bortass said:

@SNIPERBBB @TheDeanAbides

My high level thought process for chipping is roughly like this:

 

Can I putt? Default chip if reasonable.

 

If no, can I hit a running chip?  If so, what club makes the most sense with the easiest stroke, default is my SW. I have been using a putting stroke with 9i for some longer ones. I tried AW when I had to hit a low runner 30+ yards(bad results). I used the 60* when short sided(starting to miss over the green more) and I'm just trying to bump the ball over some crap that prevents me from using my putter with a green sloping away from me, so I don't want to send the ball rolling too far. Results so far have been decent with it but the sample size is tiny.

 

If no, use SW to loft one in best I can. I do tend to hit these better than my low chips as far as contact is concerned but I'm going into this shot with lower expectations of distance control.

 

I'm not defensive about what I did over the weekend, hope I'm not giving that vibe. Just trying to explain the thought process I'm using. I do not think any of the chipping decisions were horrible but execution left a lot to be desired. I am definitely not trying to lob my 60* at every chance. It was the club that gave me the best chance of a good result with a very simple and small swing IMO. My opinion can definitely be flawed though.

 

I will be devoting half my practice time this week to chipping, again just working on contact, and will use either my SW or AW. I'm leaning towards SW since that's my baseline when I can't putt.

Thanks for sharing your process - I never for a second took it as defensiveness. I know you’re committed to getting better, just as I’m trying to help with that goal. 
 

Are you using the UTB basic technique with your chipping? If so then that’s really great for the SW, but I’ve found it less effective for lower flighted chips with less lofted clubs. 
 

Regarding the 60* for being short sided, I’d humbly suggest that it’s unnecessary. Just having it in the bag encourages low percentage shots. We managed to use our SW for those before the 60 was popular. 
 

I definitely feel that a two club solution is the best way to improve without ego. I always look to use a PW and aim to hole every chip like a putt. If there’s an obstacle I’ll use the UTB with a SW. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

3 hours ago, TheDeanAbides said:

I think that there’s plenty of reason to practice with a 60*, but using one on the course? Every single mid to high handicapper that I’ve helped over the years has seen a drastic improvement in scoring by leaving their 60 at home until they had much better low point control. 
 

Monte’s short game teaching definitely helps with these issues, but I guarantee you’ll score better in the long term by keeping the ball closer to the ground. 
 

Those 60-70 yard shots are one of the areas that kill high handicappers. I know it’s not always possible because you don’t have great distance control, but I would always say that if you can plot your holes to avoid that distance you’ll be better for it. That is until you’re able to step up on the range and hit that shot with great confidence and consistency. 

 

Do you distinguish between the use of 60 around the greens vs partial wedge shots? I.e. I consider 10-40 yards to be chips/pitches, whereas when you're getting into that 50-80 range it's a partial wedge. 

 

I've started practicing the 10-40 yard range with my 60/6 wedge, as I can leave it a little open to expose the bounce and avoid the leading edge digging, but without so much bounce that it'll raise the leading edge. 

 

My workhorse for all shots <100 used to be my 56/12 wedge, and it's still my preferred club for those longer partial wedges, as I will play it square and have all that bounce to protect me if low point gets wonky. 

[TheDeanAbides]

3 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

Do you distinguish between the use of 60 around the greens vs partial wedge shots? I.e. I consider 10-40 yards to be chips/pitches, whereas when you're getting into that 50-80 range it's a partial wedge. 

 

I've started practicing the 10-40 yard range with my 60/6 wedge, as I can leave it a little open to expose the bounce and avoid the leading edge digging, but without so much bounce that it'll raise the leading edge. 

 

My workhorse for all shots <100 used to be my 56/12 wedge, and it's still my preferred club for those longer partial wedges, as I will play it square and have all that bounce to protect me if low point gets wonky. 

I don’t think anyone with low point issues, which is pretty much everyone over a ten at least, should carry a 60 for any shot until they have genuine control. Until you can create consistent flight with that club it’s just too low percentage to be helpful. 
 

 

[bortass]

Normally I wait 'til end of week to discuss practice. This morning I did a twenty minute block chipping range balls with my SW. I did the same thing I was doing last week with the 60*. Randomly hitting them different distances and heights into the range to work on contact. The results were the same as using the 60* on the range. Good contact and flight. I only bladed a single ball in the entire twenty minutes. Very different to my on course results the past weekend but course is not equal to the range. Conditions and state of mind are different. I plan to stick with practicing this quite a bit in the near term.

 

I do want to spend some time working on a couple of the other short game shots Monte showed us. I'll probably spend a twenty minute block working on the chip with a wood. It's something I could have used over the weekend instead of the 60*. I really need to get a feel for how it reacts and I don't think that would be a major time sink since the stroke itself is very simple.

[hammersia]

Have your club specs been discussed ITT?

 

The videos you post look like your clubs are too short and too light. I'd like to see how your swing looks with clubs considerably heavier. 

[bortass]

On 5/1/2024 at 10:55 AM, hammersia said:

Have your club specs been discussed ITT?

 

The videos you post look like your clubs are too short and too light. I'd like to see how your swing looks with clubs considerably heavier. 

They have not. I would have to see if I can find their specs.

 

What I can say is all are R flex, I have never been accused of having high swing speed.... My 7i swing speed at the clinic a few weeks ago was around 63 MPH. It went up to 74 MPH when I did what Monte was asking me to try doing within a few swings.

 

Driver was fit in 2021 by PXG on a LM. Shaft is Evenflow Riptide 5.0 A 40G. Fitter found I did better with the lighter shaft at that time.

 

Irons are TM Sim2 MAX, fit in 2021 during a fitting day on the range at my course. +1 inch, not sure about the lie angle, outside of being upright. Shafts are Dynamic Gold 105 R300 VSS pro.

 

My older irons. Macgregor M565s circa 2006, were refit 10+ years ago by an independent fitter and standard length, they had been +1 inch prior to this refitting. Shafts are Areotech SteelFiber i95s. The lie angles were flattened over time as well.

 

I also have a set of MacGregor Pro-Ms, Ebay purchase because I always wanted a set, that came with Dynamic Golf S300s, no other marking on those shafts with regard to possible weight. All I have done with those is regripped them and had them bent to match the M565s. I was playing them because I like them but too many people were telling me it was a mistake. I should take one to the range to see how I hit it for the fun of it, lol.

 

 

Edited May 2 by bortass

[hammersia]

I queried the club specs because in your swing videos you appear to have little feeling for the clubhead, the club seems very disconnected from your body movement. What does your broom swing look like? 

 

How tall are you?

 

Plus 1 inch is a lot.

[bortass]

23 minutes ago, hammersia said:

I queried the club specs because in your swing videos you appear to have little feeling for the clubhead, the club seems very disconnected from your body movement. What does your broom swing look like? 

 

How tall are you?

 

Plus 1 inch is a lot.

I'm roughly 6'2 and an idiot... I logged into TM to see my fitting stats and they are +0.5.... I seem to have confused it with the M565s which were +1 inch once upon a time. I assume it's whatever the stock swing weight for the SIM2 Maxs would be since it's not listed in the fitting info.

HEAD

• Hand:RH
• Loft Adj:Standard
• Lie Adj:Standard

SHAFT

 

• Vendor:True Temper
• Model:Dynamic Gold 105 VSS
• Flex:R300
• Tipping Adj:Standard
• Length Adj:0.50"

 

What do you mean by broom swing? 

 

 

Edited May 2 by bortass

[hammersia]

10 hours ago, bortass said:

I'm roughly 6'2 and an idiot... I logged into TM to see my fitting stats and they are +0.5.... I seem to have confused it with the M565s which were +1 inch once upon a time. I assume it's whatever the stock swing weight for the SIM2 Maxs would be since it's not listed in the fitting info.

HEAD

• Hand:RH
• Loft Adj:Standard
• Lie Adj:Standard

SHAFT

 

• Vendor:True Temper
• Model:Dynamic Gold 105 VSS
• Flex:R300
• Tipping Adj:Standard
• Length Adj:0.50"

 

What do you mean by broom swing? 

 

 

I thought Monte told you to practice swinging a broom? 

 

 

[bortass]

7 hours ago, hammersia said:

I thought Monte told you to practice swinging a broom? 

 

 

No, but maybe I should. He said Broomforce is the video that applies most to me. Two of the other guys were Powershift.

 

Would a video of me swinging my orange whip provide any insight? I can try to snag that next week.

 

I had three range sessions this week.

 

Tuesday block 1 was twenty minutes chipping with my sand wedge, went fairly well.

Tuesday block 2 was twenty minutes working on the countertop drill. Three sets 3/10, nothing much to say about it outside it went well.

 

Wednesday block 1 was twenty minutes practicing the chip Monte showed us using a wood. I wanted to do this to start getting some feel about how the shot behaves and how hard I may need to swing based on distances involved.

Wednesday block 2 was twenty minutes hitting partial pitching wedge shots. Fairly decent results but can still improve.

 

Thursday Block 1 and 2 were the same. I worked on chipping contact with my sand wedge. I set twenty minute timers for both block but I spent less than that in block 1 working on the shot. One of the guys I golf with showed up at the range and we started talking, lol. I figure I got in about thirty minutes of practice total. Results were pretty good and I think I may have found a key feel for it but will need to see if it pans out in the long run or not.

 

I expect to play Sunday and am looking forward to things. The start with the arms swing thought does seem to make a difference when I am playing.

[bortass]

Managed to play a round each of the last two weekends and both were bad. I thought I'd play semi-decent but nope.

 

My last round a few days ago was odd. I posted a 108 with a 110 carded( 7 penalties off the tee). I had a severe lack of focus and would have probably been just as happy to have stayed home. It wasn't because I was frustrated with the bad play or was not having fun, I just could not have cared less to be on the course. I was not "into it" at all, I was ambivalent to be golfing. I think the main driver is frustration with my club. Three guys in my Saturday group, all regulars, are resigning their memberships. Our Saturday group is roughly 15 people, including those that play every few weeks. So roughly 20-25% of the group is leaving. We, as in wife and I, decided a few weeks ago to look in to moving to a different city. Initial golf course research has been underway, so we've narrowed down potential areas. We're just waiting for a house we like to hit the market. This has led to most talk within the golf group to be about other courses, who's leaving and to where, etc. Not a good atmosphere for me to be focused on playing well. My mind is elsewhere...

 

I did get out to practice a few times last week and it went well. It's still not transferring to the course though. Short game is still a great example, I can chip decently on the practice green but blade them on the course. I'm not sure what I'll be able to do for practice this week with the weather and work. I will say that I'm still seeing positives even if the scores suck and I'm sure if I gave a crap on Saturday I would have saved a few strokes. 

[PNWGuy]

Just a random thought...  When you tee it up on the first hole, do you have any expectations about your round?  If so, what are they?

 

Once again, thanks for posting this much about your game.
 

[TheDeanAbides]

15 hours ago, bortass said:

Managed to play a round each of the last two weekends and both were bad. I thought I'd play semi-decent but nope.

 

My last round a few days ago was odd. I posted a 108 with a 110 carded( 7 penalties off the tee). I had a severe lack of focus and would have probably been just as happy to have stayed home. It wasn't because I was frustrated with the bad play or was not having fun, I just could not have cared less to be on the course. I was not "into it" at all, I was ambivalent to be golfing. I think the main driver is frustration with my club. Three guys in my Saturday group, all regulars, are resigning their memberships. Our Saturday group is roughly 15 people, including those that play every few weeks. So roughly 20-25% of the group is leaving. We, as in wife and I, decided a few weeks ago to look in to moving to a different city. Initial golf course research has been underway, so we've narrowed down potential areas. We're just waiting for a house we like to hit the market. This has led to most talk within the golf group to be about other courses, who's leaving and to where, etc. Not a good atmosphere for me to be focused on playing well. My mind is elsewhere...

 

I did get out to practice a few times last week and it went well. It's still not transferring to the course though. Short game is still a great example, I can chip decently on the practice green but blade them on the course. I'm not sure what I'll be able to do for practice this week with the weather and work. I will say that I'm still seeing positives even if the scores suck and I'm sure if I gave a crap on Saturday I would have saved a few strokes. 

Good luck with the new adventure. 

[bortass]

22 hours ago, PNWGuy said:

Just a random thought...  When you tee it up on the first hole, do you have any expectations about your round?  If so, what are they?

 

Once again, thanks for posting this much about your game.
 

 

You're welcome.

 

I really don't have much when it comes to expectations when I tee off on #1. I may go in feeling good about my game because of recent rounds or what I saw on the range. Sometimes, I'm more neutral because of issues/poor rounds. I rarely go in all excited with expectations of a real good score. I have found that lower expectations seems to help me not get frustrated when things go sideways. I try to not think about my score when I'm playing but I know roughly how well I'm doing, so I'm rarely surprised when I see the end result. 

 

My mindset is to try to play the best I can and still have fun. I am not trying to grind hard out there to try to squeeze blood from a rock. I'm trying to play within my game and doing the best I can without forcing anything. I am fine playing for bogey if I have a bad shot or even triple if I send my tee shot OOB, though I'm hoping to manage a double instead. I take my medicine and have adopted more of an 'it is what it is' attitude when I do have a bad shot instead of getting mad at myself or tinkering with my swing to try and 'fix' it on the course.

 

My last round is an major exception though. I was not focused at all. I had some chips with my putter that were 'what the heck are you looking at?" because the line was off by 4+ feet. I think that's what started to clue me in that I had mentally checked out of the round. I would have been fine to be doing anything else but golf that day. I went into screw it mode on #11, dog leg left) and tried to hit driver to carry trees on the left side to give me a pitch into the green instead of my normal 7w someplace into the fairway that would give me anything from a 9i-5i in depending on how far right the tee shot went. I pulled my first ball into the left trees and just reteed, instead of taking a hazard drop, and I pushed my second shot far enough right that I wasn't about to try to reach the green. It turned into a blowup and that was the likely result once I decided to try to hit a shot a scratch golfer could pull off( but would probably be smart enough to not even try).

 

8 hours ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Good luck with the new adventure. 

 

Thanks. It'll probably take a while. The good news is it'll be on our own timetable, we'll just be getting things ready while waiting for the right house to come on the market in one of the areas we're interested in. 

[bortass]

Sometimes stepping back and thinking can help. Weather and work kept me from practicing all of last week. I also was not focused on anything golf related in my spare time outside of checking on a couple threads like @betarhoalphadelta's. The exception was reflecting on something that was bothering me. Post clinic I went out and shot a ninety before I worked on anything, Frame of reference my average score for the last twenty rounds is in the ninety-seven to ninety-eight range, lol. Outside of that there was nothing great and my push fade miss started to show back up even though I was practicing. I felt like I was where I was pre-clinic.

 

I am well aware that improvement is not linear and takes time and effort. By no means did I think I was 'cured' of poor swings after I shot that ninety. I want to get that part out of the way because I get that us amateurs expect to improve faster than is realistic. It just didn't feel right with how things were going. A feel Monte gave me was pretty simple, feel like I'm trying to throw a head cover high over my left shoulder the corner of the room. He actually had me do it with a headcover and it really got my arms moving in a better way. My good round post clinic was the day after I got home from it. That feel was fresh in my mind and the ball striking was better than pre-clinic. 

 

I played two rounds over the weekend and did my best to replicate that feel. The results were great!

 

Saturday, I shot a forty-one/forty-six, eighty-seven. One birdie, seven pars, five bogeys, four doubles, and a triple. I was +9 on four of the last five holes. I started to have consistent swing issues after my tee shot on #14, though I did par #15. The late struggles were no surprise because I was trying to do something new but over all it worked well and I was getting putts to drop.

 

Sunday, wasn't as pretty, rained fairly good overnight and the course was soft and wet. I shot a forty-eight/forty-nine, ninety-seven but I need to add context because bad shots(one exception) didn't hurt me until #9.

 

I started off with a double bogey because I missed my approach shot and my ball was under trees and on soft mud. I wanted to punch out a strong chip with my seven iron and all i did was smash it into the mud. I tried again and got the ball on the green about nine feet from the hole. My bogey putt barely missed and I had a three inch tap in for double.

 

#2, I hit my eight iron, 130 club, near perfectly.  A high draw, 140 yards over the green. Bogey.

 

#3 miss a two foot par putt burning the lip.

#4 miss a four foot par putt the same was as #3. 

#5 "easy par" on the #5 HCP hole.

#6 block my approach shot right of the green and hit the chip I wanted but too hard, flag was on the left, and it just barely rolls off. Chip to a foot and get a bogey.

#7 two putt par from thirty feet after I hit my partial PW 114 yards instead of the normal 100...

#8, par three, and I card a double. My aim was off and I  nuked my seven iron, high draw, 163 yards, into a hazard. Great contact and ball flight. 

#9, take an X and card a seven. Got greedy with my approach after an okay tee shot left me in questionable position and hit it in the pond. I drop and have a partial SW into the green and I dig the club under the ball through a bunch of soft ground, into the pond it goes. Drop again and same thing.

 

I blow up on the back.

#10 Quad with no penalties. Pulled tee shot and forced to lay-up. My pitch to the green is shanked and it's just a mess overall.

#11 escape with a double after pulling my tee shot into the left trees and hitting my second shot into the stream fronting the green.

#12 Bogey after a bad tee shot left me out of range of the green

#13 par three, miss the green left and it's a front right pin. Two Chips to get to three feet. Three putt for a triple...

#14, par five. Solid tee shot and second shot. Six iron into the green and I hit it a bit fat with an open face into the pond, leads to a double.

#15 'easy' par after I miss a seven foot birdie putt.

#16 par three. Stick my eight iron to six feet and make the birdie putt.

#17  'easy' par.

#18 par five, block tee shot into right trees, drop, and layup okay. Top my seven iron twenty yards, but short of the stream. Top my four wood, somehow over the stream, sixty yards. Get one with a partial PW and two putt from thirty-three feet for a triple.

 

Realistically, I should have been closer to a ninety-four just because of the missed short putts and the ones that just didn't want to drop. I was a bit frustrated at times with the mishits but still managed to not mail in the entire round. I kept at trying to hit the next shot better with obviously mixed results, lol.

 

My index is still hard capped at 19.4. It should be 21.6 based on the eight differentials currently being used, so even that 87, which is a differential of 16.8 can't dent things. I know it'll take some real solid golf over multiple rounds to get it going down again.

 

The positive is I am back to feeling good about things. It's not perfect but it's what I expect. Some better golf with a fair dose of bad golf as I try to get my arms more involved. I need to stick with that feel from the clinic and ride it through the desert like a horse with no name.

 

I do expect to make it to the range this week and vacation next week(starting this Friday) which should lead to a lot of golf and less practice.

 

Edited 13 hours ago by bortass

[skim4]

12 minutes ago, bortass said:

#13 par three, miss the green left and it's a front right pin. Chip to three feet. Three putt for a triple...

Would this not be a double? 

 

14 minutes ago, bortass said:

#16 par three. Stick my eight iron to six feet and make the birdie putt.

Dope.

[bortass]

1 hour ago, skim4 said:

Would this not be a double? 

I forgot to add the first chip rolled into the fringe past the hole.