Anyone successful with MORAD influenced conversion

[oz dee cee]

Hey all,

 

I know MORAD can be argued to be present in many teachings or styles, but has anyone in here successfully transitioned into a MORAD (ish) swing and if so how long did that journey take. What was it like? 
 

I went down that rabbit hole and I’m hitting a wall and wondering if I should continue or not. I haven’t played in a comp for 5 months as I can’t take what I’ve got to the course it’s that bad. I was a 6 handicap with a bad short game when I changed but now I’d struggle to hit 90’s. 
 

(Yes I’m getting lessons from a reputable coach and putting in the hours)
 

Thanks 🙏 

[thed0n]

Yes, I have.  I started in January of this year.  It's still a work in progress but since you asked, I will share a little of my journey.  My ultimate hope was to some day start a massive thread here with pics and video of all my major milestones, etc., and heaps tons of praise from the Golfwrx community.  It will happen one day...JK!

 

So since January, I've been only been able to get to the point where by backswing is OK, and while I've worked a little on the transition, when I ignore the backswing, I revert to old patterns in the backswing.  My main problems are as follows (1) top of backswing is "across the line" because "arms get too deep too soon" causing the trail elbow to disconnect from trail seamline, and (2) turn is short, both trail hip and shoulders need to get deeper, hands need to feel like they are in front of the buttons of my shirt for almost the entirety of my backswing (until the very end where the hands follow the path of my body, and get deep).  If I combine these two things, the shaft stays shallow and doesn't cross the line.  For purposes of matchups, my swing is on the compact side.  So a shallow shaft works for me at the top because I don't really have a lot of time to get it shallow coming down.

 

So I take lessons every 3-4 weeks, and I've worked on both these issues (I practice 2x per week).  For the first month I shanked a lot in practice so I only hit lots of balls, lots of balls on the range and at home.  About 3 months into it, I really started to make it a point to MirrorVision every range session.  And before I left each lesson, I asked my coach to take pictures of the positions I needed to "hit" on the backswing so I can replicate them when using MV.  It was slow and painful, it went something like I could replicate the positions in 1-2 swings for every 10 balls I hit.  I got really good at hitting the ball with slow-mo swings and other swings of varying speeds (50% - 75% swings).  But things got better...seriously, I would just play the game of trying to just hit the ball while making a swing that "hit" my position. And then see how many times I could do it.  How I hit the ball became irrelevant as long I got into the position I wanted.  I wasn't playing golf, I was playing "golf swing."  

 

So 6 months into it, I started the most insane stretch of sustained ball striking up, and it's lasted up to this point.  Before then, it was up and down.  Basically it was 6 months into it, I felt like I can make a swing on the course that looks like the ones I could do on the range.  It's addicting in that sense...I have some really nice swings recorded (hitting the ball), and it feels good to see that I've re-wired by brain, in part, in order to make that swing.  When I know I can do it once, then watching that swing again is motivation to try to do it over and over again.  But things change day to day and week to week; it's still addicting though.

 

I'm going to keep up with the lessons, I think I can now move from the backswing a bit and work on the transition.  The first order of business is work on the "skier position" which is then the lead hip matches the depth of the trail hip on the downswing (feels like the chest is getting closer to the ball).  It looks like a cross-country skier after planting his poles into the ground and propelling forward.   I'm giving this another 6-9 months to get down.

 

Anyway, I have a bunch of pics and videos on my phone.  I'm trying to document everything for prosperity.  But that's pretty much all I have for now, it's a grind but enjoy the ride!

Edited September 22, 2021 by thed0n

[oz dee cee]

Woah, thanks for the response. That’s a great little write up. I take my hat off to you for persevering. It’s such a hard slog and I wonder if it’s all worth it? Great you’re still motivated though. You obviously have good resilience and attitude. Something I lack at times. And the skier thing is P6 yeah? Also struggling with that. 
 

You should start a thread and even if no one follows it, (I will) you have it documented there for future reference. 

Im still pondering if I should persist. I like practice and I get change takes time but I also like to play golf. To a decent standard. 
 

Good luck and thanks 

[thed0n]

40 minutes ago, oz dee cee said:

And the skier thing is P6 yeah? Also struggling with that. 
 

I think so, like P5, P5.5, P6 (in this general area).  It's when the lead hip in the downswing matches the depth that the trail hip was in the backswing (squat move, zipper away, etc.).  That's the way it was explained to me and visual of the skier with poles just stuck.  

 

Yeah, I'll post one day when I upload everything to YouTube or something.  But happy to send you some vids so you don't think I’m BSing you!  LOL!

Edited September 23, 2021 by thed0n

[Lefthook]

Modern teaching has become more science based and trustworthy imo. Provided you pick the right teacher.  Lots to learn from Morad, TGM, 5 Lessons etc, but they all have shortcomings. Which may hold you back if you go all in.