Making swing changes - how often are you mixing in full speed swings?

[mjedwards409]

I've decided to stop being "middle of the road" with the swing changes I've been trying to make for years, and really focus on overhauling a few things over the next 1-2 years before I get too deep into the wrong side of my 30's.  🙂 

 

Over the last month during my range sessions, I've been combining drills and slow motion (50% or slower) swings to try and hit the right positions.  I'm finally at the point where I'm willing to be uncomfortable and do what needs to be done to make these improvements.  My original thought was if going from 50% to 70% speed is enough to throw off the movements, then i should go back to 50%, 55%, etc and only go faster once i can do it while making the right movements.  Is that the right way to think about it, or should I be mixing in a few "real speed" swings between the drills and the slow motion swings?  

 

What are everyone's thoughts and philosophies on this?

[N0rs3man]

It sounds like ur putting in lots of work and really want to get better. Whats your goal here? Are you trying to drive 300+ into the fairway? Are you trying to hit pins @ 150yds? Do you just want crisp sounding irons and in the general direction of the green? What r ur expectations for improvement?

 

You should definitely be swinging at full speed alot. You can seing as hard as you can also, but really swinging hard is not quite the same as smooth and fast. Imo without some sort of subconscious intent, you will have a hard time syncing your body and swinging smooth and fast.  Intent such as skipping a rock or throwing sidearm, or throwing the club at the ball.

 

Actually intent can fix a number of swing flaws, for me if I let my right arm control my swing, I've got the feel and intent.

 

It really sound like your a patchwork of swing fixes and bandaids with tons of consciousness.

 

 

[mjedwards409]

21 minutes ago, N0rs3man said:

It sounds like ur putting in lots of work and really want to get better. Whats your goal here? Are you trying to drive 300+ into the fairway? Are you trying to hit pins @ 150yds? Do you just want crisp sounding irons and in the general direction of the green? What r ur expectations for improvement?

 

You should definitely be swinging at full speed alot. You can seing as hard as you can also, but really swinging hard is not quite the same as smooth and fast. Imo without some sort of subconscious intent, you will have a hard time syncing your body and swinging smooth and fast.  Intent such as skipping a rock or throwing sidearm, or throwing the club at the ball.

 

Actually intent can fix a number of swing flaws, for me if I let my right arm control my swing, I've got the feel and intent.

 

It really sound like your a patchwork of swing fixes and bandaids with tons of consciousness.

 

 

Thanks for the response.  Just some quick feedback and background.  I'm 35, currently a 9 hcp, and was scratch going into college and played college golf for a D2 program.  Was never coached as a kid or a highschooler.  Took some well intentioned coaching about my Junior year of college and implemented in the wrong way and developed some "death moves" in my swing.  

 

My goal from a swing perspective is to get rid of the death moves, and also adjust the other factors in my swing that could be causing it.  My goal from a play perspective is to get back to scratch in the next 2 years.  

 

Death moves in question:

 

- Yank handle first move down and get shaft completely vertical, making me need to adjust and flatten out halfway down to the ball

- Slightly cupped wrist in downswing - working on getting it bowed or at least flat

- EE in downswing which I know is being caused by other forces

 

Changes I'm working on to support goals above:

 

- Letting my right leg lose flex on the backswing to get more of a free hip turn on the way back 

- Get hands deeper at the top of backswing

- Getting more of a squat move as my first move on the downswing.  Right now my arms and club start the downswing on the way down

 

Edit:  Also when I was saying swinging "full speed", i dont mean swinging all out, i just mean a "regular speed" swing vs the slow motion swinging I'm doing to make some of these changes.

 

Edited July 28, 2021 by mjedwards409

[betarhoalphadelta]

I've spent now 4 months working on one change based on a lesson from Monte, and he told me to work on it based on the partial (50% effort) swings, mixing in full swings about every 4th or 5th swing. So 75-80% of the work is partial swings.

 

If you're changing a motion, as others have suggested the feedback is the motion, not the ball flight, and the only way to view that feedback is with video. So you should be taking video of both the partial effort swings and the full effort swings. 

 

It's worked for me. At the beginning I could see myself making the correct movement with the partial swings, but as soon as I went to full effort, I went RIGHT back to the old move. It's literally taken months to ingrain, but I'm finally making the move in the full swings. I'm still not 100% there (I had stall/flip and EE, and I've removed the stall/flip but still have some EE), but it's MUCH better than it was 4 months ago.

 

I honestly believe that if I had tried to change the move at full speed, I wouldn't have made much if any progress. 

[mjedwards409]

2 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

I've spent now 4 months working on one change based on a lesson from Monte, and he told me to work on it based on the partial (50% effort) swings, mixing in full swings about every 4th or 5th swing. So 75-80% of the work is partial swings.

 

If you're changing a motion, as others have suggested the feedback is the motion, not the ball flight, and the only way to view that feedback is with video. So you should be taking video of both the partial effort swings and the full effort swings. 

 

It's worked for me. At the beginning I could see myself making the correct movement with the partial swings, but as soon as I went to full effort, I went RIGHT back to the old move. It's literally taken months to ingrain, but I'm finally making the move in the full swings. I'm still not 100% there (I had stall/flip and EE, and I've removed the stall/flip but still have some EE), but it's MUCH better than it was 4 months ago.

 

I honestly believe that if I had tried to change the move at full speed, I wouldn't have made much if any progress. 

This is great feedback!  Also a lot of what I'm changing is based on a lesson from Monte too a few months back, but I forgot to ask him that question.  Once every 4-5 swings actually seems like a great cadence!  Thanks again!

[N0rs3man]

Honestly you already know how to swing. I would guess its 100% setup. You could be scratch in 2 weeks. Forget about all your swing changes.

 

I would play with ball postion, forward, back, closer, farther. Also play eith stance, open closed neutral. And just send the to the hole, not swing thr club, send the ball.

 

Just understand reverse pivot, sliding, swaying, ect. Dont think about them just understand them.

 

Don't hit driver for a while. Just irons. When u start hitting everything online and crisp, figure out the driver with your new set up

Edited July 28, 2021 by N0rs3man