Recommendations for a good range routine

[Roejye]

Hi everybody, my offseason is officially here and I'm going to be going to a golf dome to work on my game. I don't practice a lot, last year when I went to the range it was more just to hit balls again rather than working on anything in particular. A little about my game, decent off the tee golfpad has my fairways hit at 50%, with 25% left miss and 25% right miss. Average 1.9 putts, GIR is at 26%. I feel my biggest weaknesses are 1) consistency and 2) ball striking with irons, and if I had to pick a 3rd lag putting consistency, hit some very well, some decent, and some woefully short. 

 

The foundation of my off-season plans are 1) ingraining my pre shot routine, my coach and I came up with one and I plan on doing this on every, single, shot on the range so it gets to the point of if I don't do it I feel weird. 2) work on ball striking, this is where I could use some input from you all, what are some good drills for this? I also plan to work on punch shots as the trouble I'm often in is when I do miss a fairway there's often trees to deal with. I also would like to be a little more accurate with my irons as well, quite often in my later in the year rounds I found myself pin high but in the greenside rough. Should I work on chipping with range balls?

 

Unfortunately, if I remember correctly, the golf dome I will be using the most has some smaller putting greens so it might be hard to practice lag putting. I appreciate any help you have to offer.

 

The dome I'm going to use most often doesn't have trackman, but I do have a swing caddy sc200 for a launch monitor. I was also thinking of constructing some imaginary holes and trying to play them, but it might be a little difficult.

Edited November 20, 2020 by Roejye

[phizzy30]

I have issues with ball striking and it's the biggest weakness in my game, so I guess I shouldn't be commenting, lol.  In a seriousness, I still struggle with ball striking but it has dramatically improved the last couple years.  I found that doing more core work in the gym and balance exercises on the bosu ball helped significantly.  Having strong abs, obliques and lower back allows the golfer to not sway or get out of position during the back swing a long with a stable base(legs).  Doing work on the bosu ball engages the stabilizers in your core, knees, ankles and achilles which allow you to get into the proper positions on the down swing and hold your finish without falling over.  I don't really have any drills you can do but rather, a suggestion of standing on a bosu ball on one leg and holding that position for 10 seconds at first and working your way to a minute if you're able to.  If you don't have access to a bosu ball, you can just stand on one leg on a flat surface.  Do this for 3 sets at first but work your way up to 8 sets, 2-3x a week.  Eventually you will want to move onto doing the super man yoga pose and one legged romanian dead lifts with very light dumbells when your body becomes more comfortable.  Doing crunches on a medicine ball also helps stabilize as well.  I could get into more detail but I will leave it at that for now.        

Edited November 20, 2020 by phizzy30

[Roejye]

5 minutes ago, phizzy30 said:

I have issues with ball striking and it's the biggest weakness in my game, so I guess I shouldn't be commenting, lol.  In a seriousness, I still struggle with ball striking but it has dramatically improved the last couple years.  I found that doing more core work in the gym and balance exercises on the bosu ball helped significantly.  Having strong abs, obliques and lower back allows the golfer to not sway or get out of position during the back swing a long with a stable base(legs).  Doing work on the bosu ball engages the stabilizers in your core, knees, ankles and achilles which allow you to get into the proper positions on the down swing and hold your finish without falling over.  I don't really have any drills you can do but rather, a suggestion of standing on a bosu ball on one leg and holding that position for 10 seconds at first and working your way to a minute if you're able to.  If you don't have access to a bosu ball, you can just stand on one leg on a flat surface.  Do this for 3 sets at first but work your way up to 8 sets, 2-3x a week.  Eventually you will want to move onto doing the super man yoga pose and one legged romanian dead lifts with very light dumbells when your body becomes more comfortable.  Doing crunches on a medicine ball also helps stabilize as well.  I could get into more detail but I will leave it at that for now.        

That's a great idea and it would probably be quite helpful in my off season fitness goal of general fitness and strengthening my core and leg muscles to help with my back. I like to say I don't have a bad back, but I also don't have a good back lol.

[phizzy30]

Just now, Roejye said:

That's a great idea and it would probably be quite helpful in my off season fitness goal of general fitness and strengthening my core and leg muscles to help with my back. I like to say I don't have a bad back, but I also don't have a good back lol.

I hear ya.  I have herniated discs in my back but I do a lot of dead lifts and back extensions which keep the muscles back there strong and stable.  This has helped my posture and lessened my back pain significantly.  Anything you can do in the gym will only help your golf game. 

[RichieHunt]

I feel it depends on what I'm working on.

Dr. Fran Pirozzolo talks about 'massing' and 'interleaving' depending upon what you're working on.  If you're working on something new, Dr. Pirozzolo talks about 'massing' (hitting ball after ball) being good at first.  But after a while as you start to ingrain what you're working on Dr. Pirozzolo talks about interleaving (more randomization, more practicing shots on the golf course, etc) as being far more beneficial than massing.

 

Slow motion practice is usually extremely helpful if you know how to do it correctly and are diligent enough to stick with it.  That is more interleaving than massing, but the key is to start out slow and then as you get better at executing the motion at say 10% speed, move to 30% speed and work on that.  Then build your way up to 100% speed.  I think the biggest benefit to slow motion practice is helping the golfer with sequencing.  But I think the biggest detriment to slow motion practice is that it doesn't create the force you need to apply to the golf swing.  So if you're struggling with sequencing,then slow motion practice is a good idea.  But you will need to go full speed at some point.

 

Other randomization can be switching clubs after every shot, switching targets after every shot, trying to hit a draw on one shot then a fade on the next (although I would not recommend working the ball on the golf course).  Try playing the ball back in your stance but hitting it high and vice versa.  It's a bit counterintuitive, but if you figure it out it means you're really in tune with your swing.

 

Drills aren't bad, but I would stay away from swing drills that do not have some sort of full swing component to them.  Howeer, drills are really good with putting practice.

 

I do think that in the end if you want to translate your practice sessions to scores on the course you need to set time limits for the range vs. short game around the green vs. putting.  Don't get too bogged down on working on your swing and neglecting your putting.  And I do believe if you can get yourself more into practice sessions where you are able to go thru your full pre-shot routine for every shot it will improve your scores dramatically in the end.  

 

Sometimes you can't do your pre-shot routine on every shot because you may be learning something new that requires more massing, then moving into slow motion practice, etc.  But I think when you feel comfortable with your game you should consider emulating every  shot as if you were actually playing golf.

 

 

 

 

 

RH

[juststeve]

Don't go to the range (except for pre-round warmup) without something to work on.  If you don't know what needs work consult an instructor like Monte who is quick to diagnose faults. 

 

When you get to the range work on the one thing you went there to work on until you have corrected the fault and then get off the range and play, putt, or have some beers, or just rest but don't mess up the work you have just done by staying on the range trying random things. 

 

When you get too tired to concentrate on what you are doing its time to quit hitting balls.  

 

Understand that most faults won't  be resolved with a small bucket of balls, or even two or three.  A significant change will likely take several range sessions. 

 

If you sought help from a teacher follow up to see if the fault is corrected, and if it is ask teacher what to work on next.

 

Steve

[golfsticks]

My best recommendation is pay attention and be honest with your strike quality, if you fatted it, that's what you did, that's your effort in need of attention, for example. 

 

Pay attention to flight shape too.    If your mid to long irons are not hitting the back wall of the dome as the ball is screaming on an ascending parabolic flight your impact interval was sloppy. 

 

The better you get the more your misses become trajectory instead of direction. 

 

Punch shots are a good idea. 

[milesgiles]

No expert on stats but your g.i.r seems far too low if you’re 50% fairways hit. I certainly wouldn’t be working on punch shots as any sort of priority.

for what it’s worth, I’ll say what’s worked for me this year.. I swallowed my pride, admitted that despite playing to a decent handicap for 30 years I actually knew very little of value about the golf swing, posted my swing up here dtl and face on, and listened to what I was being told.

You can’t escape technique, and yet you haven’t even mentioned it

[hoselpalooza]

10 hours ago, milesgiles said:

I certainly wouldn’t be working on punch shots as any sort of priority.

 

disagree with this comment. pitch shots are great to work on. very quick way to ascertain and work on/improve quality of impact. after a long layoff i like to spend entire sessions doing nothing but 1/2 and pitch shots. this tends to promote forward shaft lean and crisp ball-striking, and it's very difficult to hit crispy pitch shots with crappy tempo. pitch shots and 1/2 shots are super underrated for improving ball-striking imho.

 

separately, it's great to see you want to make a plan. and i'd go further and suggest having a back-up plan. sometimes things don't go according to plan (e.g. failing at drills, just having an off-day) but i still want to enjoy hitting balls and hanging with friends. so instead of packing up and calling it quits i'll work on fun and imaginative shots, like big banana slices or huge hooks. i'll still go through PSR and give it my best effort, but with "circus shots" there's such little expectation of pulling them off (at first) that it's not deflating to hit a few or more bad ones in a row. and i still get feedback/learn something from hitting crazy shots, just like with normal shots. just lower pressure and more fun sometimes, if that makes sense.

 

bring a notepad with you or take notes on your phone. i prefer a paper notepad because fewer distractions, but to each their own. you can review your notes from previous sessions before each new session to ensure you're not re-learning things more than necessary. it can also be good for staying on track during each session. e.g. jot down some to-dos and don't stray from them unless you have a really good reason. additionally, if you keep notes for a long time it can be very rewarding to review your progress, but perhaps more importantly, you can feel confident knowing you're not going to forget any revelations if you jot them down and hang onto them. keeping track and using little notes/observations can have a huge impact on your learning curve and ball-striking. 

 

good luck!

[milesgiles]

3 hours ago, hoselpalooza said:

 

disagree with this comment. pitch shots are great to work on. very quick way to ascertain and work on/improve quality of impact. after a long layoff i like to spend entire sessions doing nothing but 1/2 and pitch shots. this tends to promote forward shaft lean and crisp ball-striking, and it's very difficult to hit crispy pitch shots with crappy tempo. pitch shots and 1/2 shots are super underrated for improving ball-striking imho.

 

separately, it's great to see you want to make a plan. and i'd go further and suggest having a back-up plan. sometimes things don't go according to plan (e.g. failing at drills, just having an off-day) but i still want to enjoy hitting balls and hanging with friends. so instead of packing up and calling it quits i'll work on fun and imaginative shots, like big banana slices or huge hooks. i'll still go through PSR and give it my best effort, but with "circus shots" there's such little expectation of pulling them off (at first) that it's not deflating to hit a few or more bad ones in a row. and i still get feedback/learn something from hitting crazy shots, just like with normal shots. just lower pressure and more fun sometimes, if that makes sense.

 

bring a notepad with you or take notes on your phone. i prefer a paper notepad because fewer distractions, but to each their own. you can review your notes from previous sessions before each new session to ensure you're not re-learning things more than necessary. it can also be good for staying on track during each session. e.g. jot down some to-dos and don't stray from them unless you have a really good reason. additionally, if you keep notes for a long time it can be very rewarding to review your progress, but perhaps more importantly, you can feel confident knowing you're not going to forget any revelations if you jot them down and hang onto them. keeping track and using little notes/observations can have a huge impact on your learning curve and ball-striking. 

 

good luck!

 

Pitch shots aren’t the same as punch shots. I too do a lot of 9-3 and slow motion swings, but if he’s already a back foot chopper, for example, he needs to be building better fundamentals.

I don’t think his stats are good enough to be working on special shots high/low cut/draw whatever. 

[phizzy30]

6 hours ago, hoselpalooza said:

 

disagree with this comment. pitch shots are great to work on. very quick way to ascertain and work on/improve quality of impact. after a long layoff i like to spend entire sessions doing nothing but 1/2 and pitch shots. this tends to promote forward shaft lean and crisp ball-striking, and it's very difficult to hit crispy pitch shots with crappy tempo. pitch shots and 1/2 shots are super underrated for improving ball-striking imho.

 

separately, it's great to see you want to make a plan. and i'd go further and suggest having a back-up plan. sometimes things don't go according to plan (e.g. failing at drills, just having an off-day) but i still want to enjoy hitting balls and hanging with friends. so instead of packing up and calling it quits i'll work on fun and imaginative shots, like big banana slices or huge hooks. i'll still go through PSR and give it my best effort, but with "circus shots" there's such little expectation of pulling them off (at first) that it's not deflating to hit a few or more bad ones in a row. and i still get feedback/learn something from hitting crazy shots, just like with normal shots. just lower pressure and more fun sometimes, if that makes sense.

 

bring a notepad with you or take notes on your phone. i prefer a paper notepad because fewer distractions, but to each their own. you can review your notes from previous sessions before each new session to ensure you're not re-learning things more than necessary. it can also be good for staying on track during each session. e.g. jot down some to-dos and don't stray from them unless you have a really good reason. additionally, if you keep notes for a long time it can be very rewarding to review your progress, but perhaps more importantly, you can feel confident knowing you're not going to forget any revelations if you jot them down and hang onto them. keeping track and using little notes/observations can have a huge impact on your learning curve and ball-striking. 

 

good luck!

Definitely agree with taking notes while practicing.  That is what I do when I go to the range.  I feel as though my memory isn't good enough to recall all the things I need to work on and having a note pad with you or even typing reminders on the cell phone is a great way of storing good points of reference.  I usually try to keep it pretty simple in terms of how many things to work on as I find that jotting down many things can actually hurt my game then help.  Perhaps I'm just a simpleton, but focusing on 2 to 3 things at a time seems to work best for me. 

[golfsticks]

18 hours ago, milesgiles said:

 I certainly wouldn’t be working on punch shots as any sort of priority.

 

He didn't say he was making it a priority.  Sounds like he doesn't have command of a simple punch stroke, which is pretty easy, and probably takes the least amount of time to properly learn, so carving out a few moments during his practice session will cause no harm while possibly assisting him in more ways than one. 

 

3 hours ago, milesgiles said:

I don’t think his stats are good enough to be working on special shots high/low cut/draw whatever. 

 

Yeah, those "whatevers" can sure mess up a scorecard. 

[golfsticks]

On 11/19/2020 at 10:23 PM, Roejye said:

I was also thinking of constructing some imaginary holes and trying to play them, but it might be a little difficult.

 

If you're talking about visualization why would it be difficult using imagination to play a hole in your head?

Edited November 21, 2020 by golfsticks

[milesgiles]

1 hour ago, phizzy30 said:

Definitely agree with taking notes while practicing.  That is what I do when I go to the range.  I feel as though my memory isn't good enough to recall all the things I need to work on and having a note pad with you or even typing reminders on the cell phone is a great way of storing good points of reference.  I usually try to keep it pretty simple in terms of how many things to work on as I find that jotting down many things can actually hurt my game then help.  Perhaps I'm just a simpleton, but focusing on 2 to 3 things at a time seems to work best for me. 

 

I take a lot of notes and videos fully agree. The number of times I’ve filmed a swing and discovered I’m not remotely doing what I thought I was..

[milesgiles]

28 minutes ago, golfsticks said:

He didn't say he was making it a priority.  Sounds like he doesn't have command of a simple punch stroke, which is pretty easy, and probably takes the least amount of time to properly learn, so carving out a few moments during his practice session will cause no harm while possibly assisting him in more ways than one. 

 

 

Yeah, those "whatevers" can sure mess up a scorecard. 

 

He doesn’t need a punch shot at all. Or a high draw, or anything else. He needs to keep it as simple as possible with no distractions or diversions. 

 

[golfsticks]

You don't know what he needs, but I'm confident, or at least hopeful,  he and his coach will determine how best to utilize his practice time.   

 

I must be daft, or someone does not know their craft.  

 

[milesgiles]

If he’s hitting 4-5 greens a round, he needs nothing more or less than good fundamentals. Simplicity in all things. Fewer variables, not more.

[Petethreeput]

Assuming you don’t have access to a pro to oversee your practice (ideal solution) and you are in a dome bc you have snow...

 

@RichieHunt mentions it, and I agree about starting slow and building up, and truthfully he knows so much more about this, so focus on his advice not mine.

 

When I was trying to improve my iron game I would set up aiming sticks about an inch wider than my club head both pointed at my target. It is a mind effer at first. Thin, fat, I had all the misses, some I don’t even know existed.

 

Start slow and short and hit the ball without hitting the sticks. In my eyes, it helped me groove my swing and deliver the clubhead through the ball. Lots of trial and error, on the plus side, you 5 months. It definitely helped me and may be worth a try.

[golfsticks]

 

On 11/19/2020 at 10:23 PM, Roejye said:

Hi everybody, my offseason is officially here and I'm going to be going to a golf dome to work on work on ball striking, this is where I could use some input from you all, what are some good drills for this?  Should I work on chipping with range balls?

 

Chipping with range balls is fine. 

 

If you're on a mat similar to the one above hit your down strikes off the harder, tighter,  surface like this guy is doing.  Don't put ball on the green fluffy crap stuff with the tee in it.      The same troll that bugged up the Master's thread seems to be on the prowl again, so that's it.   If you have questions send a PM. 

[Roejye]

2 hours ago, golfsticks said:

 

If you're talking about visualization why would it be difficult using imagination to play a hole in your head?

As I was typing up what I think would be the biggest hurdle (kind of difficult to see how far off-line the shot was), I realized I was probably overthinking it and it shouldn't be that hard. I should be able to see the trajectory of the ball flight and make a decent hypothesis as to how good/bad the shots were.

[ChipNRun]

Let's talk about both improvement plan and individual range sessions.

 

Improvement Plan

 

The 50% fairways hit and 25% GIR may be related to each other. One problem with missing fairways is it cuts down on the rollout of your drives. Even if you trickle into the first cut of rough, this can mean you're hitting a 5i rather than a 7i on your approach.

 

For driver you appear to be spraying the ball. Do you have a standard shot shape you play for? I play for a slight draw.

 

And, there's the issue of GIR. You need to work on the ball-striking with your irons. The Lowest Score Wins guys have data which suggests iron play/increasing GIR is the fastest way to lower  your score.

 

Short-game is important, but has limits. Short-game problems will prevent you from scoring well, but increasing GIR will put less pressure on you for making up-and-downs. Plus, better iron play means  more 20-foot putts vs. 40-foot chip shots, and fewer 40-yard wedge shots.

 

Also, range balls OK for basic short-game form. But, range balls tend to be hard, lower spin balls. You want to practice with your gamer balls so you can see how much backspin and rollout they yield on both chip shots and partial wedges.  Whether your 20-yard pitch shot has any bite depends a lot on your golf ball's cover.

---------------------------

Side issue on course management: IF your drive lands in the rough, do you go for green or lay up in front for possible up-and-down chip? Deciding factors: rough depth, distance of shot, how much trouble is around the green, how confident you feel on that day.

--------------------------

 

Individual Range Sessions

 

First, coordinate lessons and range sessions. Don't schedule a lesson for March 1 if it will be March 8 before you can practice what you have learned. If instructor gives you a summary video clip, play that and work a little on the specific issue of the lesson.

On 11/19/2020 at 9:23 PM, Roejye said:

I don't practice a lot, last year when I went to the range it was more just to hit balls again rather than working on anything in particular.

Second, yes have realistic session plans. Work on a couple of specific things. A small bucket used up with well-planned shots delivers more than a large bucket mindlessly hit down range. Two focuses 20-minute practice drills is plenty for most golfers.

 

Third, two-week Spring Training. Once weather gets nice, plan to move outdoors during a two-week period. Most people have neither the time nor energy to play each day. But, the idea is to pick up a club at least every other day and do something. It might be a "go through the bag session," it might be nine hole practice round. But, this is your spring training to get "into the golf zone" for the season. In seasons when I couldn't do this, I struggled to break 90 all year.

[MrHateCoffee]

On 11/20/2020 at 10:10 AM, RichieHunt said:

That is more interleaving than massing, but the key is to start out slow and then as you get better at executing the motion at say 10% speed, move to 30% speed and work on that.  Then build your way up to 100% speed.  I think the biggest benefit to slow motion practice is helping the golfer with sequencing.  But I think the biggest detriment to slow motion practice is that it doesn't create the force you need to apply to the golf swing.  So if you're struggling with sequencing,then slow motion practice is a good idea.  But you will need to go full speed at some point.

 

Personally, I find little value in slow motion practice.  The golf swing is such a dynamic motion that happens so quickly that slow motion feels don't transfer (for me).  It's probably better to do 1/4 swings and work your way to a full swing (imo).

 

I liken it to shooting a jumpshot, there's very little benefit to shooting a jumpshot at 20% speed but you can definitely start out with closer shots before working your way back to 3 point range.

 

Again, all of this is my opinion.  I recently bought into the NTC stuff and for the life of me I couldn't get it to click until I started going closer to full speed and checking every swing with video.

[Roejye]

9 minutes ago, ChipNRun said:

Let's talk about both improvement plan and individual range sessions.

 

Improvement Plan

 

The 50% fairways hit and 25% GIR may be related to each other. One problem with missing fairways is it cuts down on the rollout of your drives. Even if you trickle into the first cut of rough, this can mean you're hitting a 5i rather than a 7i on your approach.

 

For driver you appear to be spraying the ball. Do you have a standard shot shape you play for? I play for a slight draw.

 

And, there's the issue of GIR. You need to work on the ball-striking with your irons. The Lowest Score Wins guys have data which suggests iron play/increasing GIR is the fastest way to lower  your score.

 

Short-game is important, but has limits. Short-game problems will prevent you from scoring well, but increasing GIR will put less pressure on you for making up-and-downs. Plus, better iron play means  more 20-foot putts vs. 40-foot chip shots, and fewer 40-yard wedge shots.

 

Also, range balls OK for basic short-game form. But, range balls tend to be hard, lower spin balls. You want to practice with your gamer balls so you can see how much backspin and rollout they yield on both chip shots and partial wedges.  Whether your 20-yard pitch shot has any bite depends a lot on your golf ball's cover.

---------------------------

Side issue on course management: IF your drive lands in the rough, do you go for green or lay up in front for possible up-and-down chip? Deciding factors: rough depth, distance of shot, how much trouble is around the green, how confident you feel on that day.

--------------------------

 

Individual Range Sessions

 

First, coordinate lessons and range sessions. Don't schedule a lesson for March 1 if it will be March 8 before you can practice what you have learned. If instructor gives you a summary video clip, play that and work a little on the specific issue of the lesson.

Second, yes have realistic session plans. Work on a couple of specific things. A small bucket used up with well-planned shots delivers more than a large bucket mindlessly hit down range. Two focuses 20-minute practice drills is plenty for most golfers.

 

Third, two-week Spring Training. Once weather gets nice, plan to move outdoors during a two-week period. Most people have neither the time nor energy to play each day. But, the idea is to pick up a club at least every other day and do something. It might be a "go through the bag session," it might be nine hole practice round. But, this is your spring training to get "into the golf zone" for the season. In seasons when I couldn't do this, I struggled to break 90 all year.

I do tend to spray the ball with the driver. It took me far too long to play to a shot shape, I used to try to hit it straight, I now try to hit a slight fade. It has helped. 

[milesgiles]

1 hour ago, golfsticks said:

 

 

Chipping with range balls is fine. 

 

If you're on a mat similar to the one above hit your down strikes off the harder, tighter,  surface like this guy is doing.  Don't put ball on the green fluffy crap stuff with the tee in it.      The same troll that bugged up the Master's thread seems to be on the prowl again, so that's it.   If you have questions send a PM. 

 

You do realise you’re about the only person in the instruction section who never feels the need to post any credentials?

 

most of the advice I see you post is terrible. This may not be a coincidence 

[golfsticks]

The purpose of the forum is to:  Exchange swing & fitness advice or tips w/ members, professionals. Beginners welcome!  

 

You've been welcomed.   Credential posting is optional, and your opinion is just that, your opinion.   Next.

 

 

[hoselpalooza]

7 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

Definitely agree with taking notes while practicing.  That is what I do when I go to the range.  I feel as though my memory isn't good enough to recall all the things I need to work on and having a note pad with you or even typing reminders on the cell phone is a great way of storing good points of reference.  I usually try to keep it pretty simple in terms of how many things to work on as I find that jotting down many things can actually hurt my game then help.  Perhaps I'm just a simpleton, but focusing on 2 to 3 things at a time seems to work best for me. 

 

focusing on 2-3 things at a time 👌

 

i still jot everything down when i can so i never have to worry about forgetting. as long as i stick to focusing on 2-3 things at a time, voluminous note pads aren't a bother. sometimes i'll review them on a rainy day and catch something i missed, or some old notes/observations will take on new meaning and turn into something new to work on. 

 

10 hours ago, milesgiles said:

 

Pitch shots aren’t the same as punch shots. I too do a lot of 9-3 and slow motion swings, but if he’s already a back foot chopper, for example, he needs to be building better fundamentals.

I don’t think his stats are good enough to be working on special shots high/low cut/draw whatever. 

 

you are correct, i made a typo -- they are not the same! 😅 i still stand by what i said. 

 

as for special shots, i don't think people should wait until they've "leveled up" before working on fun shots. maybe it's just me, but trying new shots has improved my overall feel and taught me things about my golf swing i wouldn't have learned by trying to always be "fundamentally correct". just my opinion, but i think this is one of the reasons kids tend to improve more quickly than adults: they know how to have fun and don't mind trying and failing at new things, or looking like doofuses in the process. for most serious adults, on the other hand... 

 

sounds like we just come from different schools of thought. i like to rely on athleticism first and supplement with fundamentals/technique second. different strokes for different folks. 🤷‍♂️

[milesgiles]

28 minutes ago, hoselpalooza said:

 

focusing on 2-3 things at a time 👌

 

i still jot everything down when i can so i never have to worry about forgetting. as long as i stick to focusing on 2-3 things at a time, voluminous note pads aren't a bother. sometimes i'll review them on a rainy day and catch something i missed, or some old notes/observations will take on new meaning and turn into something new to work on. 

 

 

you are correct, i made a typo -- they are not the same! 😅 i still stand by what i said. 

 

as for special shots, i don't think people should wait until they've "leveled up" before working on fun shots. maybe it's just me, but trying new shots has improved my overall feel and taught me things about my golf swing i wouldn't have learned by trying to always be "fundamentally correct". just my opinion, but i think this is one of the reasons kids tend to improve more quickly than adults: they know how to have fun and don't mind trying and failing at new things, or looking like doofuses in the process. for most serious adults, on the other hand... 

 

sounds like we just come from different schools of thought. i like to rely on athleticism first and supplement with fundamentals/technique second. different strokes for different folks. 🤷‍♂️

 

I am reading between the lines a lot with our man here, but it sounds like he’s around a 15 cap, with a coach, and with the means and motivation to practice, which suggests he is either not particularly talented or has not so far taken the fundamentals very seriously. Possibly a little of both.

I think his immediate priority is to get a better understanding of grip and setup, and only when he’s made some substantial improvement should he really consider trying different shots out. I could be wrong!

[milesgiles]

1 hour ago, golfsticks said:

The purpose of the forum is to:  Exchange swing & fitness advice or tips w/ members, professionals. Beginners welcome!  

 

You've been welcomed.   Credential posting is optional, and your opinion is just that, your opinion.   Next.

 

 

 

Monte and the other pro’s here can back up their opinions though. We just have to take your word for it that you know what you’re talking about, however much evidence there is to the contrary. I don’t know how seriously you expect people to take you 

[hoselpalooza]

1 hour ago, milesgiles said:

 

I am reading between the lines a lot with our man here, but it sounds like he’s around a 15 cap, with a coach, and with the means and motivation to practice, which suggests he is either not particularly talented or has not so far taken the fundamentals very seriously. Possibly a little of both.

I think his immediate priority is to get a better understanding of grip and setup, and only when he’s made some substantial improvement should he really consider trying different shots out. I could be wrong!

 

i think you're wrong. who says trying different shots and making substantial improvement have to be mutually exclusive? 😂

[golfsticks]

2 hours ago, milesgiles said:

 

Monte and the other pro’s here can back up their opinions though. We just have to take your word for it that you know what you’re talking about, however much evidence there is to the contrary. I don’t know how seriously you expect people to take you 

 

Mommy, if you don't tell me who Santa is I won't ever believe you again, ever!

Mickey Schmitdale ( pun intended )  should post his credentials- he's a sponsor and using WRX as a lesson source, good for him and others pros using WRX as a referral-income source.  I'm not soliciting lessons, don't need the income, just offering opinions and insights as they come to me, which may or may not be what other professionals believe but that's golf, that's golf instruction.    Again, just my opinion, agree or disagree is totally on your dime, not mine, seriously.   

Now, stop trolling and learn to be still.