BigTerp's swing journey

[glk]

 

[TheDeanAbides]

7 minutes ago, BigTerp1524 said:

 

Deal. But when I beat my best score how about you just tell me "See, I told you so!!" LOL!!

 

So, no driver for all 18. Fair enough. How about my 4 Hybrid? Or is this an iron only exercise?

 

 

This is an exercise in seeing par as one more than it is on every hole and using that shot. 

 

Say you have a 350 yard par 4. That's now a par five so you have three shots to hit the green. That means you can hit two 7 irons and a pitch. 

 

It takes all the pressure off your game and means you only have to hit clubs you can hit decently. 

 

I have played entire nines with a 6 iron, wedge and putter and shot my cap. 

 

What's your 7 iron distance?

[BigTerp1524]

7 minutes ago, glk said:

 

Thanks!!

[BigTerp1524]

5 minutes ago, TheDeanAbides said:

This is an exercise in seeing par as one more than it is on every hole and using that shot. 

 

Say you have a 350 yard par 4. That's now a par five so you have three shots to hit the green. That means you can hit two 7 irons and a pitch. 

 

It takes all the pressure off your game and means you only have to hit clubs you can hit decently. 

 

I have played entire nines with a 6 iron, wedge and putter and shot my cap. 

 

What's your 7 iron distance?

 

Gotcha. So you're playing, a par 4 for instance, to be setup with your 3rd shot at a comfortable distance to be going for a GIR? Correct? For me, that's 100ish yards and in. 110ish is a half swing PW, 100ish is a half swing 50* and 80ish is a half swing 54*. I've gotten really comfortable with these approach shots recently. I hit my 7 iron around 160. So in your example I would hit 7i, 7i and that would leave me with a 50ish yard chip to be on in 3. 

 

So, even with driver out of play, I'm not trying to blast my 4i 200 yards off the tee to setup a 150 yard approach. I'm playing for that 3rd shot from a comfortable distance.

 

Really interesting way to look at playing golf. The more I think about it, the more I like it!!

[TheDeanAbides]

10 minutes ago, BigTerp1524 said:

 

Gotcha. So you're playing, a par 4 for instance, to be setup with your 3rd shot at a comfortable distance to be going for a GIR? Correct? For me, that's 100ish yards and in. 110ish is a half swing PW, 100ish is a half swing 50* and 80ish is a half swing 54*. I've gotten really comfortable with these approach shots recently. I hit my 7 iron around 160. So in your example I would hit 7i, 7i and that would leave me with a 50ish yard chip to be on in 3. 

 

So, even with driver out of play, I'm not trying to blast my 4i 200 yards off the tee to setup a 150 yard approach. I'm playing for that 3rd shot from a comfortable distance.

 

Really interesting way to look at playing golf. The more I think about it, the more I like it!!

Yes, exactly. The exercise is really designed to a) encourage you to use your shots, and b) encourage you to hit more solid shots. 

 

I would go as far as to say to remove all your longer clubs from your bag because I can guarantee that after a few holes of hitting it solid you'll feel like Tiger and want to hit driver. 😉

[BigTerp1524]

4 minutes ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Yes, exactly. The exercise is really designed to a) encourage you to use your shots, and b) encourage you to hit more solid shots. 

 

I would go as far as to say to remove all your longer clubs from your bag because I can guarantee that after a few holes of hitting it solid you'll feel like Tiger and want to hit driver. 😉

 

You've convinced me. I've got a round this coming Saturday at the course I broke 100 on. Going to give this a try. I'm already going over the scorecard and my GPS app to plan out what to play each hole. Should be fun!!

[TheDeanAbides]

Excellent! 

[BigTerp1524]

On 9/7/2021 at 9:43 AM, glk said:

 

 

So, I did this little test last night and my right hand hung perfectly beside the handle. I tried setting up further from the ball and literally swung to the inside of the ball several times completely missing it, LOL!! Since my arm hang is where it needs to be, I think I need to back my feet away from the ball more, get less flex in the knees and more bend at the waist. This will keep my hands hanging where they are, but give them more room coming through. There's no denying I'm rather tied up through impact. This just might be the fix.

[TheDeanAbides]

1 hour ago, BigTerp1524 said:

 

So, I did this little test last night and my right hand hung perfectly beside the handle. I tried setting up further from the ball and literally swung to the inside of the ball several times completely missing it, LOL!! Since my arm hang is where it needs to be, I think I need to back my feet away from the ball more, get less flex in the knees and more bend at the waist. This will keep my hands hanging where they are, but give them more room coming through. There's no denying I'm rather tied up through impact. This just might be the fix.

Don't forget the ankles. They're a big factor in setting up correctly and many people fail to have enough bend in them. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

53 minutes ago, BigTerp1524 said:

 

So, I did this little test last night and my right hand hung perfectly beside the handle. I tried setting up further from the ball and literally swung to the inside of the ball several times completely missing it, LOL!! Since my arm hang is where it needs to be, I think I need to back my feet away from the ball more, get less flex in the knees and more bend at the waist. This will keep my hands hanging where they are, but give them more room coming through. There's no denying I'm rather tied up through impact. This just might be the fix.

 

I'm not sure that's necessarily the takeaway from this drill. 

 

Impact position is different from address position. In your backswing, you should have created depth with your right hip, and through transition and the downswing, you should maintain that depth with your left hip as the left hip opens, replacing the right hip's depth. This naturally creates space for your hands. You and I both had issues with a stall/flip, which means that we had hips square at impact rather than creating space by pulling the left hip backwards, and a little bit of early extension, which means in order to make room for the hands we have to "stand up" through impact to keep from digging the club in 12" behind the ball. 

 

Now, think about what happens if you get less knee flex, move your feet away from the ball, and bend more at the waist. You center of gravity has now moved closer to the ball and you're going to make it MUCH harder to actually move the right hip back on the backswing and maintain that depth replacing it with the left hip on the downswing.

 

For example, look at this:

 

 

YouTube has a feature to allow you to move frame by frame through a video. I want you to do two things.

 

1. Start (and then IMMEDIATELY pause) the video. On YouTube, hitting the period key will advance the video by a frame. Put your mouse pointer, or something else, right behind your backside. Keep hitting period and watching how your hips move relative to the mouse pointer. You'll see that on the backswing, you maintain depth rather than gain it--the right hip at the top should be BEHIND the pointer. Then on the downswing, your hips start moving towards the ball and at impact you'll see you're several inches closer to the ball than you were at address. That is why you're getting tied up at impact.
2. Do the above and hold something very thin and straight (like a nail) up to the screen and hold it exactly at your spine angle. Advance through frame by frame again, and you'll see that at impact, your spine angle is much more vertical at impact than it was at address. That's early extension.

You're not getting tied up at impact due to your address position. If you try to stand farther from the ball and bend more at the waist, you're likely to make it even harder to have proper hip depth and avoid the early extension. 

 

 

[BigTerp1524]

5 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

I'm not sure that's necessarily the takeaway from this drill. 

 

Impact position is different from address position. In your backswing, you should have created depth with your right hip, and through transition and the downswing, you should maintain that depth with your left hip as the left hip opens, replacing the right hip's depth. This naturally creates space for your hands. You and I both had issues with a stall/flip, which means that we had hips square at impact rather than creating space by pulling the left hip backwards, and a little bit of early extension, which means in order to make room for the hands we have to "stand up" through impact to keep from digging the club in 12" behind the ball. 

 

Now, think about what happens if you get less knee flex, move your feet away from the ball, and bend more at the waist. You center of gravity has now moved closer to the ball and you're going to make it MUCH harder to actually move the right hip back on the backswing and maintain that depth replacing it with the left hip on the downswing.

 

For example, look at this:

 

 

YouTube has a feature to allow you to move frame by frame through a video. I want you to do two things.

 

1. Start (and then IMMEDIATELY pause) the video. On YouTube, hitting the period key will advance the video by a frame. Put your mouse pointer, or something else, right behind your backside. Keep hitting period and watching how your hips move relative to the mouse pointer. You'll see that on the backswing, you maintain depth rather than gain it--the right hip at the top should be BEHIND the pointer. Then on the downswing, your hips start moving towards the ball and at impact you'll see you're several inches closer to the ball than you were at address. That is why you're getting tied up at impact.
2. Do the above and hold something very thin and straight (like a nail) up to the screen and hold it exactly at your spine angle. Advance through frame by frame again, and you'll see that at impact, your spine angle is much more vertical at impact than it was at address. That's early extension.

You're not getting tied up at impact due to your address position. If you try to stand farther from the ball and bend more at the waist, you're likely to make it even harder to have proper hip depth and avoid the early extension. 

 

 

 

Thanks for the thorough breakdown. Makes sense. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

16 minutes ago, BigTerp1524 said:

 

Thanks for the thorough breakdown. Makes sense. 

 

Full caveat -- I'm still trying to break 90. Please confirm anything I've said with Monte 😉

 

[BigTerp1524]

10 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

Full caveat -- I'm still trying to break 90. Please confirm anything I've said with Monte 😉

 

 

Fair enough. I haven't addressed the issue myself precisely because Monte never mentioned it. Whether he thought it was a non-issue, or I had bigger fish to fry (hip rotation, pivot, shoulders, etc.) I'm not sure. But the way I come into impacted tied-up/crammed has always bothered me on video. Something I'll have to bring up with him when I get around to doing another lesson. I feel like it's something that can be addressed fairly simply and make a noticeable difference in my swing, but I don't want to get ahead of myself either.

[betarhoalphadelta]

4 minutes ago, BigTerp1524 said:

 

Fair enough. I haven't addressed the issue myself precisely because Monte never mentioned it. Whether he thought it was a non-issue, or I had bigger fish to fry (hip rotation, pivot, shoulders, etc.) I'm not sure. But the way I come into impacted tied-up/crammed has always bothered me on video. Something I'll have to bring up with him when I get around to doing another lesson. I feel like it's something that can be addressed fairly simply and make a noticeable difference in my swing, but I don't want to get ahead of myself either.

 

Famous last words lol...

 

I feel like the answer is actually hip rotation, pivot, etc. Get proper rotation, hip depth, and lose the early extension, and you'll have plenty of room to not be tied up. Which is exactly what Monte had me working on too...

 

It's a really simple idea of how to fix it. It's only taken me 6 months to get mostly there... 

 

[BigTerp1524]

10 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

Famous last words lol...

 

I feel like the answer is actually hip rotation, pivot, etc. Get proper rotation, hip depth, and lose the early extension, and you'll have plenty of room to not be tied up. Which is exactly what Monte had me working on too...

 

It's a really simple idea of how to fix it. It's only taken me 6 months to get mostly there... 

 

 

Looking back at DTL video from a few months ago it's actually gotten better. So I think you're right that the things Monte addressed in my lesson a month ago has helped out.

 

And I hear ya on how long these things take. I've been at it since January and feel like I've still got a LONG ways to go, which is OK.

[TheDeanAbides]

14 minutes ago, BigTerp1524 said:

 

Looking back at DTL video from a few months ago it's actually gotten better. So I think you're right that the things Monte addressed in my lesson a month ago has helped out.

 

And I hear ya on how long these things take. I've been at it since January and feel like I've still got a LONG ways to go, which is OK.

Don't worry. In two to three years you'll have a solid swing that'll easily break 80. Just stick with it. 🙂

[betarhoalphadelta]

1 hour ago, BigTerp1524 said:

 

Looking back at DTL video from a few months ago it's actually gotten better. So I think you're right that the things Monte addressed in my lesson a month ago has helped out.

 

And I hear ya on how long these things take. I've been at it since January and feel like I've still got a LONG ways to go, which is OK.

 

Well, you're doing things right. You're seeing the right guy to help you fix it, you're practicing and regularly using video to keep yourself honest about doing the moves you're supposed to do, and you're sticking through it in good times and bad. 

 

But that's why I piped up about the moving away from the ball thing. Trying to self-diagnose faults is more likely to hurt you than help you. I'm no swing instructor, but basic physics says that will make it harder for you to do what Monte wants you to do, not easier. It's too easy to get sucked into internet swing theory and have 15 different things you're trying to accomplish, most of them contradictory, and none of them helping achieve what an actual pro diagnosed and wants you to fix...

 

Right now I'm working on the rotation and ONLY the rotation. I've been noticing some face control issues that are showing up more predominantly as my path gets more neutral (they were somewhat hidden by the amount of curve on some shots). I think that my rolling/opening of the club on takeaway is contributing to that, because it makes squaring the face coming into impact much more inconsistent. Seems like modern swing theory wants us to keep the face more neutral so that the rotation of the swing squares it naturally. 

 

But I can't think about my takeaway right now. I am only working on the rotation. When I feel like I've ingrained the rotation, that's when I'll go back to Monte and start asking him about my face control issues--and he'll probably tell me something completely different from my self-diagnosis of the takeaway issue lol 😉 

 

[BigTerp1524]

38 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

But that's why I piped up about the moving away from the ball thing. Trying to self-diagnose faults is more likely to hurt you than help you. I'm no swing instructor, but basic physics says that will make it harder for you to do what Monte wants you to do, not easier. It's too easy to get sucked into internet swing theory and have 15 different things you're trying to accomplish, most of them contradictory, and none of them helping achieve what an actual pro diagnosed and wants you to fix...

 

Good post. But this stuck out to me. I feel like I've done really well in this regard throughout. But, like you said, it's easy to hear something here or see something there and start going down the rabbit hole. I certainly appreciate advice and know it's all well intended, but I pretty much stick with Monte and AMG for just about everything. I may look for different drills or feels from other instructors or videos as long as I fully understand what I'm trying to accomplish. Take cast A for example. I just couldn't get the feel for it, at all!! Found a wall drill from a you tube video and it instantly clicked. Turns out Monte has a very similar drill, but I was unaware. As long as your careful, more information isn't necessarily bad. But you do have to be careful.

[glk]

8 hours ago, BigTerp1524 said:

 

So, I did this little test last night and my right hand hung perfectly beside the handle. I tried setting up further from the ball and literally swung to the inside of the ball several times completely missing it, LOL!! Since my arm hang is where it needs to be, I think I need to back my feet away from the ball more, get less flex in the knees and more bend at the waist. This will keep my hands hanging where they are, but give them more room coming through. There's no denying I'm rather tied up through impact. This just might be the fix.

As monte said the test is not definitive.  Getting further away meant less knee bend more hip bend - guess I should have sad that.   You have arms ha going down but shoulder are not out enough so hangs don’t hang down outside toes.    So you aware. Ore to it is a different co bo of less knee bend and more hip bend - Prozak Instagram I posted as a simple way to do the set up.

[BigTerp1524]

12 hours ago, glk said:

As monte said the test is not definitive.  Getting further away meant less knee bend more hip bend - guess I should have sad that.   You have arms ha going down but shoulder are not out enough so hangs don’t hang down outside toes.    So you aware. Ore to it is a different co bo of less knee bend and more hip bend - Prozak Instagram I posted as a simple way to do the set up.

 

That's my fault. I watched the video without sound and took it as just the arm hang was the test. I'll have to re watch it.

[glk]

14 minutes ago, BigTerp1524 said:

 

That's my fault. I watched the video without sound and took it as just the arm hang was the test. I'll have to re watch it.

Yikes.  We’re traveling and I need to proof before post.  My iPad likes to not only autocorrect but auto incorrect.  
 

 

numerous checks other   I do a dtl video view.   I hold a ball in my hands and make sure it drops just dbeyond my toes.   Club or alignment stick behind right shoulder - hangs down just outside right knee.    
 

Lots of good dtl view on Dana’s page.

https://www.instagram.com/danadahlquist/?hl=en

Edited September 9, 2021 by glk

[BigTerp1524]

Continued working with the smart ball last night, primarily on half swings with my wedges. For me, this is to left arm parallel or 9 o'clock with the hands. This is getting to be a pretty consistent swing for me and has really helped with those shots from 125ish yards and in. The smart ball is really helping me solidify my takeaway to P3. It's forcing me to keep my left arm from pronating, helping to keep my arms from pulling inside and from there it's pretty easy to continue my turn and get to a good position at the top with my arms and club. I think it was @glk who recommended the use of the smart ball to me in another thread. I appreciate the suggestion. It's definitely been beneficial. 

 

My full swig work focused on my hip turn and cast A. Was browsing through some AMG stuff and came across an illustration of how most amateurs thrust their hips by rotating around the trail hip versus how pro's rotate around their pelvic center. Really focused on this and felt like there was some improvement. Hard to quantify this on video, but the feel for it was a combination of simply rotating around my center and keeping the left glute "against the wall", which is a point Monte made during my lesson and something I've been neglecting to focus on. Cast A is a simple move, but again something I've haven't been focusing much on and video confirms I've been slacking there. When I combine cast A with a properly centered hip rotation everything feels great through impact and is really consistent. Just need to continue working on this to get everything fine tuned and engrained. So the process continues.................  

[bortass]

On 9/9/2021 at 8:18 AM, glk said:

Yikes.  We’re traveling and I need to proof before post.  My iPad likes to not only autocorrect but auto incorrect.  
 

This is why I'm careful when I use my phone to post....LOL

[BigTerp1524]

Purchased Monte's new video "Broom Force" after checking with him to see which video he suggested would help expand upon his NTC video. I've only watched a little bit of it, but so far it's correlating really well with what I've been doing. A feel that Monte stresses is starting the downswing with the hands first from the top. He says a lot of issues come from firing the hips early or firing the shoulders early (my issue) causing "passive" hands. He stresses it's just a feel, but helps prevent the aforementioned issues. I need to get some video evidence, but this feel really seemed to work well for me last night. By getting the feel of starting my hands first from the top, it felt like my shoulders were staying closed better, I was able to easier bring my hands down versus out and everything synched up a bit better. Club felt like it had a surprising amount of increased speed as well. Excited to continue working on this.

 

I watched, but didn't work on, the second part of the video which is where it really ties into the NTC. Monte talks about the two hinges of the wrist in the swing. Vertical hinge (radial deviation) and horizontal hinge (left wrist flexion/right wrist extension). From the top you unload the vertical hinge (cast A) and then unload the horizontal hinge (cast B). Some different feels and drills that work on this that I think will really help expand and solidify the work I've been doing with the NTC.

 

Overall I think this is a great video series, especially for those that are fans of Monte's teachings and specifically the NTC. Well worth the price of admission!!

    

[TheDeanAbides]

Agreed!

[BigTerp1524]

18 minutes ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Agreed!

 

Just like everything else that I've done with Monte (lessons, videos, IG clips, etc.) it's simple, to the point and makes a ton of sense. He dumbs things down (I'm not saying that in a bad way) which is great for guys like me.  It's just a matter of engraining those moves and feels and you've got a simple and effective swing. The latter part is easier said than done, but Monte nails the instruction part of the equation!!

[BigTerp1524]

Took @TheDeanAbides advice and played a round on Saturday with out my driver, and longer clubs treating each hole as par+1. So par 4's were 5's and 5's were 6's. The idea here is to encourage/force myself to play for par (bogey) on each hole and how to accomplish that with accurate shots in the fairway with my shorter clubs.

 

Started off with two beautiful 6i's that put me 57 yards out on the par 4 #1. Hit my 58* on and was putting for par. 2 putted for bogey.

 

The #2 par 4 naturally takes driver out of my hands because of the abbreviated fairway. But instead of trying to rip a 4i or 4h to the end of said fairway, I hit my 7i off the tee nicely for a 150 yard shot. Lasered the hill at the end of the fairway and got 130. 3/4 swing 8i got me right to the end of the fairway and 115 out from the green. 1/2 swing 9i that I hit well, but just pushed it right. Chipped on and 2 putted again for a 6.

 

#3 par 3 that goes 173. Hit my 5i into the pond to the right of the green. Re-teed and hit it just short of the green. Should've kept the course here and laid up with something shorter than my 5i, but I just couldn't do it, LOL!! From there I proceeded to chip around the green like it was my first time ever playing golf and 3 putted to end up with an 8. OUCH!!

 

#4 par 4 - 317 yards. Went 8i off the tee, 7i to 55 yards then 58* on and a 2 putt for a bogey 5. 

 

The rest of the front was much of the same, but with some mishits with my irons that were costly. I went triple, bogey, triple, quad, double to finish the front with a 58. Part of the inflated score was my putting, which I had 22 of on the front. The other part was some mishits that were costly. This course is also pretty tough to play with just irons due to the numerous abbreviated fairways with water or junk that needs carried. This caused at least an additional shot on most holes where I had to lay up with a wedge or short iron on my second shot to avoid hitting my hybrid or 4i to get within what I would consider scoring distance (125ish yards and in).

 

The back started off rough with a double, double, +5, double. At this point I was getting pretty frustrated and finally pulled out my driver. Proceeded to rip a 285 yard drive right down the middle. Probably my straightest drive of the year. Go figure, LOL!!! Finished up par, bogey, birdie for the final three holes to come in with a 51 and put a little lipstick on the pig. Only had 16 putts on the back, so I tightened things up there.

 

Even though I didn't complete the entire round the way I started I certainly learned a few things. The first is the importance of putting yourself in a position to score. Say I'm 200 out. Instead of hitting a 4i or 4h and praying it lands on the green, I'm WAY better off hitting a 150 yard 7i leaving an easy 50 yard chip from the fairway. The 4i or 4h is more likely than not to be offline and I'm then chipping from the rough, or worse, and probably further out than 50 yards. For me, my 4i and 4h are simply "get it there" clubs. The second is the accuracy of half and 3/4 swing wedges and short irons. I've gotten a pretty good handle on my full swing distances. But I found myself hitting half and 3/4 swing shots from under 150 yards. These type of swings and shots have become so much more consistent and accurate. I can hit my PW 130, but at that distance a 3/4 9i, or even half 8i is much better. I really don't see myself taking full swings for anything 150 yards or so and under anymore.

 

Overall it was a good exercise and will for sure help my approach to how I play moving forward. But, for me, it's something I'm going to be able to do consistently. It was probably more the course I played versus the exercise of hitting only irons, but it got pretty frustrating pretty quickly. I'll probably give it a go again on a different course at some point. But, like I said, it was a good exercise in helping me start to understand how to truly score and to dial in a lot of my approach shots.         

[TheDeanAbides]

2 minutes ago, BigTerp1524 said:

Took @TheDeanAbides advice and played a round on Saturday with out my driver, and longer clubs treating each hole as par+1. So par 4's were 5's and 5's were 6's. The idea here is to encourage/force myself to play for par (bogey) on each hole and how to accomplish that with accurate shots in the fairway with my shorter clubs.

 

Started off with two beautiful 6i's that put me 57 yards out on the par 4 #1. Hit my 58* on and was putting for par. 2 putted for bogey.

 

The #2 par 4 naturally takes driver out of my hands because of the abbreviated fairway. But instead of trying to rip a 4i or 4h to the end of said fairway, I hit my 7i off the tee nicely for a 150 yard shot. Lasered the hill at the end of the fairway and got 130. 3/4 swing 8i got me right to the end of the fairway and 115 out from the green. 1/2 swing 9i that I hit well, but just pushed it right. Chipped on and 2 putted again for a 6.

 

#3 par 3 that goes 173. Hit my 5i into the pond to the right of the green. Re-teed and hit it just short of the green. Should've kept the course here and laid up with something shorter than my 5i, but I just couldn't do it, LOL!! From there I proceeded to chip around the green like it was my first time ever playing golf and 3 putted to end up with an 8. OUCH!!

 

#4 par 4 - 317 yards. Went 8i off the tee, 7i to 55 yards then 58* on and a 2 putt for a bogey 5. 

 

The rest of the front was much of the same, but with some mishits with my irons that were costly. I went triple, bogey, triple, quad, double to finish the front with a 58. Part of the inflated score was my putting, which I had 22 of on the front. The other part was some mishits that were costly. This course is also pretty tough to play with just irons due to the numerous abbreviated fairways with water or junk that needs carried. This caused at least an additional shot on most holes where I had to lay up with a wedge or short iron on my second shot to avoid hitting my hybrid or 4i to get within what I would consider scoring distance (125ish yards and in).

 

The back started off rough with a double, double, +5, double. At this point I was getting pretty frustrated and finally pulled out my driver. Proceeded to rip a 285 yard drive right down the middle. Probably my straightest drive of the year. Go figure, LOL!!! Finished up par, bogey, birdie for the final three holes to come in with a 51 and put a little lipstick on the pig. Only had 16 putts on the back, so I tightened things up there.

 

Even though I didn't complete the entire round the way I started I certainly learned a few things. The first is the importance of putting yourself in a position to score. Say I'm 200 out. Instead of hitting a 4i or 4h and praying it lands on the green, I'm WAY better off hitting a 150 yard 7i leaving an easy 50 yard chip from the fairway. The 4i or 4h is more likely than not to be offline and I'm then chipping from the rough, or worse, and probably further out than 50 yards. For me, my 4i and 4h are simply "get it there" clubs. The second is the accuracy of half and 3/4 swing wedges and short irons. I've gotten a pretty good handle on my full swing distances. But I found myself hitting half and 3/4 swing shots from under 150 yards. These type of swings and shots have become so much more consistent and accurate. I can hit my PW 130, but at that distance a 3/4 9i, or even half 8i is much better. I really don't see myself taking full swings for anything 150 yards or so and under anymore.

 

Overall it was a good exercise and will for sure help my approach to how I play moving forward. But, for me, it's something I'm going to be able to do consistently. It was probably more the course I played versus the exercise of hitting only irons, but it got pretty frustrating pretty quickly. I'll probably give it a go again on a different course at some point. But, like I said, it was a good exercise in helping me start to understand how to truly score and to dial in a lot of my approach shots.         

Okay, first thing, and this is totally my fault for not explaining properly, if you can comfortable reach a short par 4 with, say, 5 iron then 8 iron you should go for it. The 4th being an example. 

 

I would suggest that you stick with something a little longer from the tee that's not going to get you into trouble as often and then use your shots wisely. If you're 6 iron or less distance then go for the green, but if it's further away and there's a good chance you'll feck it up then lay up. 

 

There's no accounting for 22 putts and bad chipping with this method. 

 

Good lessons learned though. 

[BigTerp1524]

 

49 minutes ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Okay, first thing, and this is totally my fault for not explaining properly, if you can comfortable reach a short par 4 with, say, 5 iron then 8 iron you should go for it. The 4th being an example. 

 

I would suggest that you stick with something a little longer from the tee that's not going to get you into trouble as often and then use your shots wisely. If you're 6 iron or less distance then go for the green, but if it's further away and there's a good chance you'll feck it up then lay up. 

 

There's no accounting for 22 putts and bad chipping with this method. 

 

Good lessons learned though. 

 

Understood. Part of my frustration was feeling like I was never going to get to the green. But, it was well worth the effort. I learned quite a few things that I think will really help my game overall moving forward. It really makes you think more about what you're doing with each shot and why. Instead of just hitting to a distance, I'm more aware of why. "Am I better off hitting an 8i here leaving an easy pitch onto the green, or should I go for it with my 5i?". Example of a thought that I never previously had. I simply look at the distance to the green and grab the appropriate club. Now I'm trying to process what the best play for each situation is rather than "I need to hit it 175 yards". 

 

The experience of hitting into the green everywhere from 45 yards out to 165 yards was really beneficial. Just getting reps in there has really helped to dial these shots in. On the range I had my half swing wedges pretty well figured out. Expanding those out to my short irons and getting a feel for the in in between distances is going to be very beneficial for me moving forward.  

 

Yeah, the putting and chipping on the front were just atrocious. No excuses there.

Edited September 14, 2021 by BigTerp1524

[TheDeanAbides]

Maybe it's worth revisiting with a slightly different plan. Pick the hardest 9 holes and have a plan to play those more conservatively, but give yourself the option to go for the green in two with the shorter holes. 

 

It's all about building confidence and data. If your driver is getting you in loads of trouble then don't use it until you can hit it consistently. How does your 4H go? Personally, I prefer lofted woods to hybrids and find them easier to hit.