Be Better, Brad! (Update 4-11-2024 with new swing videos)

[bortass]

On 3/20/2024 at 9:24 PM, betarhoalphadelta said:

My son had a team match at San Juan Hills today...

 

 

As they say...

 

 

Awesome!

 

 

[TheDeanAbides]

On 3/18/2024 at 7:29 PM, betarhoalphadelta said:

Hit the range this morning and got some video. Basically only worked on sway with 8i, and some intermittent pitching just to get reps.

 

It FELT like I wasn't swaying, but the video doesn't look like I've done much to tame it. 

 

 

 

Still gotta work on that first move, buddy. It's a little bit arms pushing away and rolling. Need a bit more up and set. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Made it back out to the range today. One thing I haven't yet done is take any video of my chipping/pitching motion. 

As I said, Monte had diagnosed IIRC a couple of key problems. Too much lateral movement, too much hip activity, head dropping in the downswing, and an active stabbing movement trying to accelerate the hands too aggressively forcing me to then try to stop them to not hit the ball a mile. Err... That's a LOT. 

 

We largely worked on two things:

1. Weight pre-set and trying to take the hips out of it. So you can see my setup here with the trail leg offset, and all my weight on that lead foot. Monte said that this activity with where the trail foot is placed is something I can use as a drill and then move to a conventional stance, or that if it worked for me, might just play that way. I've been playing that way on the course so far. 
2. A better "feel" to somewhat take the overactive hands out of it. What we eventually settled on was feeling that the downswing starts by pressuring / pushing the lead foot. I think that helps me avoid dropping the head/torso, and also gives me literally ANYTHING to think about other than accelerating the hands, and it's helped. 

I'm getting much more consistent contact on that chipping/pitching motion. I'm still trying to figure out distance control, but the more I do it, the better it is. I've taken to instead of playing my 56*/12* wedge square, playing my 60*/6* wedge slightly open. I've always been a little scared of digging in a low bounce 60 if square, and scared of blading a high bounce 56 if open, but opening the 60 exposes the bounce without appreciably raising the leading edge. And I can take a LITTLE more swing at it while getting less carry distance. So it's been more consistent so far, at least on the range. 

 

Below are a short and then longer pitch, both DTL and FO:

 

 

The next thing I've been continuing to work on is sway. Today it felt far more natural than it has at my previous range session. 

 

My "feel" is to pressure the right foot into the ground early in the takeaway. Not to "push off" per se, but to "push down". Essentially the  idea is that I'll be resisting the sway off the ball. To an extent I think my previous attempt I was almost going too far, but this looks pretty good to me so far. 

 

 

It's going to take some practice, though. I need a lot more reps to get the timing right. But I think it feels more "right" and looks better. 

Edited April 11 by betarhoalphadelta

[betarhoalphadelta]

Just checked off an accomplishment. Peloton workout #1000!

 

Since June 2022, I've now amassed 380 rides, 337 strength, 241 stretches, and a smattering of other modalities to round it out. And since I basically don't do warmup/cooldown rides, and do a lot of PZ work, I checked my average for the last 100 rides and I averaged 44.9 minutes per ride. So that's a lot of minutes and a lot of miles--even if I haven't gone anywhere lol. 

 

As it relates to golf, since the start of 2024 I've been doing core every single day, which should help with a lot in a golf swing for rotational stability and strength. I've also recently started adding in lower body strength workouts, which includes quite a bit of squats and deadlifts, which I understand are some of the key moves needed to make better use of the ground and improve distance. And dumbbell work in general helps with grip strength, which I also know is important. 

 

Gonna have to be getting time in on the range and the pitch & putt course, because I'm running out of excuses for why my scores are so bad lol 😂

[bortass]

Great job on your fitness journey!

 

When are you planning on playing next?

[betarhoalphadelta]

On 4/15/2024 at 6:20 AM, bortass said:

Great job on your fitness journey!

 

When are you planning on playing next?

 Next round should be the 28th. Gotta get out to the range several times between now and then, but it keeps getting closed due to rain/muddy conditions. I should be able to get there this week at least though. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Hit the range today. It was so-so. Ended up leaving a little past halfway through the bucket because overall I just wasn't "feeling it". 

 

There were bright spots. I did a lot of my work with the 60* wedge practicing short/longer pitches and I'm feeling comfortable and confident over the ball that I'm not just going to chunk or blade everything. I also worked the 7i to work on the sway and it's feeling a little less like I'm falling over and doing a reverse pivot, and I'm hitting it well. I definitely feel like my body is trying to learn that it doesn't need to slide so much on the downswing (bc it didn't sway in the backswing), which in itself is a little weird. But for the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm on the right track with this. 

 

I think I got in my own head trying to get reps in with my reshafted 3 utility iron, which I kept hitting low on the face... It wasn't until my last swing with it that I actually got one out of the center, and I used that as my excuse to call it a victory and put the club back in the bag. But then there was driver. I'm trying to keep that "anti-sway" move from 7i and it was snap hook city. 

 

Didn't take any video today, so you're all spared from that 😉