Ferrispgm Progress is a process thread

[ferrispgm]

After some debate, I have decided that I'm going to start a thread here that will be updated weekly with progress notes. I know there are a lot of people who expect to get better shortly after a lesson or give up after a week of struggle.  My goal here is to document the process each week, good or bad, so anyone can see the path to improvement is full of peaks/valleys and real change takes longer than a month. This is weekend is the annual Monte clinic in Phoenix so it's a good time to start with a fresh lesson.  

 

A little background info on me.  Never picked up a club until mid summer of my junior year in high school and got hooked...practiced all fall/winter and was able to get down to an 8 handicap by the following year so I could get into the PGA program.  Held my Class A cert for a few years and then left the industry due to horrible hours, crappy pay, and never getting to teach.  Was stuck at about a 5 cap or so (a bad one) for years until 6 or 7 years ago when I attended the first Monte clinic here in Phoenix.  I'm 36 now and down to a +3.5.  I only get to practice on weekend mornings for about 3 hours each day with an occasional mid-week round for work. 

 

If you have any questions during the process feel free to let me know. 

[bilbry57]

3 minutes ago, ferrispgm said:

Congratulations on the improvement that very impressive.  I have 2 questions 

1. What did you learn at Monte’s clinic that started you down the road to

a +3.5?

2. What do you attribute being able to stay at this level despite not a playing a ton.

 

Thanks for starting thread should provide a lot of great dialogue 

[getitdaily]

Are you a 3.5 or a +3.5?

 

If you're a + (better than scratch) what exactly are you trying to improve? You're way past diminishing returns at this point...

 

Different story if you're a 3.5 (not better than scratch).

[MonteScheinblum]

Here’s a list of things to help you on your journey.

 

 

Hold lag

Keep your head down

Get the hands in front of the ball

Restrict hip turn for max coil

Shift weight

Hips open as fast and as much as possible

Low and slow

Hip speed creates club speed 

Hit up on driver

Hot down in irons 

Slow smooth tempo

Maintain your spine angle

Drop it in the slot

Swing to right field

Swing low and left

A draw goes farther than a fade

One piece take away

Lead with the lower body

Fire the hips 

Passive arms

Take the hands out of it

Wide to narrow

Longer backswing hits the ball farther

Stay balanced

You can’t stand too close to the ball

Drive for show putt for dough

Swing the club head at the target

Hold off the release 

Roll your wrists to stop a slice

Weaken the grip to stop a hook

Strengthen the grip to stop a slice 

More shaft lean is better

If you shank stand farther away

A hook is using the arms and hands too much

Over the top is using the arms and hands too much 

 

 

 

[TheDeanAbides]

9 hours ago, MonteScheinblum said:

Here’s a list of things to help you on your journey.

 

 

Hold lag

Keep your head down

Get the hands in front of the ball

Restrict hip turn for max coil

Shift weight

Hips open as fast and as much as possible

Low and slow

Hip speed creates club speed 

Hit up on driver

Hot down in irons 

Slow smooth tempo

Maintain your spine angle

Drop it in the slot

Swing to right field

Swing low and left

A draw goes farther than a fade

One piece take away

Lead with the lower body

Fire the hips 

Passive arms

Take the hands out of it

Wide to narrow

Longer backswing hits the ball farther

Stay balanced

You can’t stand too close to the ball

Drive for show putt for dough

Swing the club head at the target

Hold off the release 

Roll your wrists to stop a slice

Weaken the grip to stop a hook

Strengthen the grip to stop a slice 

More shaft lean is better

If you shank stand farther away

A hook is using the arms and hands too much

Over the top is using the arms and hands too much 

 

 

 

Please have at least 12 of these thoughts running in every swing. Switch them all around after every bad shot. 

[Hawkeye77]

From the clinic reports and bits and pieces here and there, this is one I'd been wishing you started 6-7 years ago! 

 

 

[Hawkeye77]

11 hours ago, MonteScheinblum said:

Here’s a list of things to help you on your journey.

 

 

Hold lag

Keep your head down

Get the hands in front of the ball

Restrict hip turn for max coil

Shift weight

Hips open as fast and as much as possible

Low and slow

Hip speed creates club speed 

Hit up on driver

Hot down in irons 

Slow smooth tempo

Maintain your spine angle

Drop it in the slot

Swing to right field

Swing low and left

A draw goes farther than a fade

One piece take away

Lead with the lower body

Fire the hips 

Passive arms

Take the hands out of it

Wide to narrow

Longer backswing hits the ball farther

Stay balanced

You can’t stand too close to the ball

Drive for show putt for dough

Swing the club head at the target

Hold off the release 

Roll your wrists to stop a slice

Weaken the grip to stop a hook

Strengthen the grip to stop a slice 

More shaft lean is better

If you shank stand farther away

A hook is using the arms and hands too much

Over the top is using the arms and hands too much 

 

 

 

 

Then there are things heard at the clinic:

 

"this is extremely important"

"it's been measured"

"this feels weird" . . . . followed immediately by the sound of a 7i to a student's underbelly

"but Monte" . . . . leading this student to believe Monte thought he was number one (sarcasm always appreciated)

"terrible"

 

In truth, folks will find Monte to be pretty calm, to the point and supportive - intuitive communicator - but I don't want to ruin his image!  

 

[swh0507]

13 hours ago, MonteScheinblum said:

Here’s a list of things to help you on your journey.

 

 

Hold lag

Keep your head down

Get the hands in front of the ball

Restrict hip turn for max coil

Shift weight

Hips open as fast and as much as possible

Low and slow

Hip speed creates club speed 

Hit up on driver

Hot down in irons 

Slow smooth tempo

Maintain your spine angle

Drop it in the slot

Swing to right field

Swing low and left

A draw goes farther than a fade

One piece take away

Lead with the lower body

Fire the hips 

Passive arms

Take the hands out of it

Wide to narrow

Longer backswing hits the ball farther

Stay balanced

You can’t stand too close to the ball

Drive for show putt for dough

Swing the club head at the target

Hold off the release 

Roll your wrists to stop a slice

Weaken the grip to stop a hook

Strengthen the grip to stop a slice 

More shaft lean is better

If you shank stand farther away

A hook is using the arms and hands too much

Over the top is using the arms and hands too much 

 

 

 

To quote CPG "Find the one swing thought to remind you of all your other swing thoughts"

[jonsnow]

29 minutes ago, swh0507 said:

To quote CPG "Find the one swing thought to remind you of all your other swing thoughts"

Is that like the "One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them. One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them." 🤣

[ferrispgm]

16 hours ago, bilbry57 said:

 

Thanks for starting thread should provide a lot of great dialogue 

Thanks!

 

1. It's been a process. I would say that the first few items were setting a good foundation from which to build upon.  Starting around D below is where I started noticing the a good difference in ballstriking.  E/F got me a lot straighter and good distance gains. I'll try to post a video of my initial swings from years ago but over the years here is what we worked on in order:  A:Improved posture getting my pelvis more tucked under and standing more upright and shortened my swing by limiting right arm flexion at the top.  B: Worked of feeling my right shoulder moving out to start the transition.  C Get pressure moving more toward right heel in backswing and lead heel in downswing as it was staying in my toes too much. D Add flex to my lead leg/knee in transition because my pressure was staying back a touch. E: Work on wrist flexion and ulnar deviation in transition. F (Last year): Work on maintaining more left side bend in transition as I tend to pop into right side bend very quickly.  Part of this involved getting more pressure in my lead toes what feels like immediately as I take the club away but is more around p3.5 in reality.

 

2. My swing is better than before so it's easier to shoot lower scores.  Even if I don't play for a couple months (which happened in October/November due to to vacations and surgery) I can hit it like total garbage and still shoot something respectable.  My first round back in December I probably hit the middle of the face only a few times and shot 75...The reason is misses are so much smaller.  Previously a miss for me was a 50 yard hook or block with a driver or chunked/hooked iron 30 yards left of the green.   Now, my bad drives are a 15 or 20yd push and my irons are a low push just right of the green.

 

Sorry for the  long winded response, I just want to be totally transparent.  A quick way to summarize would be that it's a process of minimizing misses.  Issue missing right turns into an issue missing left then you kinda go back to right misses but they are smaller then smaller left, etc.  Think of a long conical tube where you start at the wide end and try to end up in the narrow end.  Also, putting and short game has improved from clinics as well. 

[ferrispgm]

15 hours ago, getitdaily said:

Are you a 3.5 or a +3.5?

 

If you're a + (better than scratch) what exactly are you trying to improve? You're way past diminishing returns at this point...

 

Different story if you're a 3.5 (not better than scratch).

+3.5

 

I don't believe in diminishing returns when it comes to goals and I simply don't agree that making my swing better can do anything but help.  My ultimate goal is to go out to a course and know that I could drop a 64 or 65 and a bad round is still even.  May seem crazy but I have had numerous rounds where I hit 14-16 greens and have 8-10 putts inside of 15 feet for birdie and don't make anything.  Obviously i need to get better at green reading which I think i am slowly.  I also need to get more consistent with the ballstriking. I'm hitting the ball well but still get a bad miss here  and there like when going for a par 5 in 2 or hitting a crappy heeled drive that goes nowhere on a long tough par 4.   It's gotten a ton better over the years but the increments in improvement are smaller the lower your index gets. When I'm on, I'm on...when I'm off, it needs to be better. Simple as that.

[getitdaily]

2 minutes ago, ferrispgm said:

+3.5

 

I don't believe in diminishing returns when it comes to goals and I simply don't agree that making my swing better can do anything but help.  My ultimate goal is to go out to a course and know that I could drop a 64 or 65 and a bad round is still even.  May seem crazy but I have had numerous rounds where I hit 14-16 greens and have 8-10 putts inside of 15 feet for birdie and don't make anything.  Obviously i need to get better at green reading which I think i am slowly.  I also need to get more consistent with the ballstriking. I'm hitting the ball well but still get a bad miss here  and there like when going for a par 5 in 2 or hitting a crappy heeled drive that goes nowhere on a long tough par 4.   It's gotten a ton better over the years but the increments in improvement are smaller the lower your index gets. When I'm on, I'm on...when I'm off, it needs to be better. Simple as that.

Didn't mean to imply that you shouldn't try to improve. 

 

But I do wonder what value most folks on here will get from your progress. A +3 who only gets to practice 3 hours a week is an anomaly (I'm + and have similar time constraints...so I know the ordeal). 

 

Are you going to be able to put more time in?

[ferrispgm]

15 hours ago, MonteScheinblum said:

Here’s a list of things to help you on your journey.

 

 

Hold lag

Keep your head down

Get the hands in front of the ball

Restrict hip turn for max coil

Shift weight

Hips open as fast and as much as possible

Low and slow

Hip speed creates club speed 

Hit up on driver

Hot down in irons 

Slow smooth tempo

Maintain your spine angle

Drop it in the slot

Swing to right field

Swing low and left

A draw goes farther than a fade

One piece take away

Lead with the lower body

Fire the hips 

Passive arms

Take the hands out of it

Wide to narrow

Longer backswing hits the ball farther

Stay balanced

You can’t stand too close to the ball

Drive for show putt for dough

Swing the club head at the target

Hold off the release 

Roll your wrists to stop a slice

Weaken the grip to stop a hook

Strengthen the grip to stop a slice 

More shaft lean is better

If you shank stand farther away

A hook is using the arms and hands too much

Over the top is using the arms and hands too much 

 

 

 

Hahaha...a few of these from my first instructor ever ruined me....low and slow, keep your head down, and hit up on driver....he even had a binder of tour player photos to prove his case.....god how embarrassing lol. 

[ferrispgm]

1 minute ago, getitdaily said:

Didn't mean to imply that you shouldn't try to improve. 

 

But I do wonder what value most folks on here will get from your progress. A +3 who only gets to practice 3 hours a week is an anomaly (I'm + and have similar time constraints...so I know the ordeal). 

 

Are you going to be able to put more time in?

I understand and no offense taken.  My process has been the same and will remain the same.  My point is for people to see that improvement takes time and it's filled with ups/downs.  The thing you need to do is stick with it and eventually you will improve.  Most people, myself in the past included, give up after a few bad range sessions or rounds and move to the next tip.  That's how you spin your wheels.  And all credit to Monte as he has preached this and I finally listened.  I'm hoping this will help others listen as well.

 

For clarity, it's 3 hours Saturday and 3 hours Sunday.  Sometimes i can get an extra hour or so in here and there but 3 each day is normal. 

[ferrispgm]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl0X15AvHZg

 

Here is a video of my swing before the first clinic some years ago

[getitdaily]

9 minutes ago, ferrispgm said:

I understand and no offense taken.  My process has been the same and will remain the same.  My point is for people to see that improvement takes time and it's filled with ups/downs.  The thing you need to do is stick with it and eventually you will improve.  Most people, myself in the past included, give up after a few bad range sessions or rounds and move to the next tip.  That's how you spin your wheels.  And all credit to Monte as he has preached this and I finally listened.  I'm hoping this will help others listen as well.

 

For clarity, it's 3 hours Saturday and 3 hours Sunday.  Sometimes i can get an extra hour or so in here and there but 3 each day is normal. 

Gotcha. I look.forward to your updates. I evaluate my swing every year in October for what needs major change...well, what will feel like major change.  I tweak from march-october. 

 

Are you going to be heavily based in certain drills as the core of your change effort?

[ferrispgm]

8 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

Gotcha. I look.forward to your updates. I evaluate my swing every year in October for what needs major change...well, what will feel like major change.  I tweak from march-october. 

 

Are you going to be heavily based in certain drills as the core of your change effort?

Normally there is a drill or two but I would say it's more of an exaggerated (sometimes extreme) feel.  The better grasp you get on it, the less extreme it feels over time.

[getitdaily]

12 minutes ago, ferrispgm said:

Normally there is a drill or two but I would say it's more of an exaggerated (sometimes extreme) feel.  The better grasp you get on it, the less extreme it feels over time.

Yep. Fully understand that. My 2 exaggerations right now are 

 

1. Feel like chest moves about 3 feet down in the backswing and stays there in the downswing. 

2. Feel like I'm 90% into my lead foot by p2 and then fall away from the target as soon as the downswing starts.

 

I don't come close to achieving that...but the feel is becoming ingrained and my ballstriking is improving.

 

Now, about those 5-7 inside 20 feet that neither of us makes regularly...grr. pretty much the only reason I'm not a +3 is putting. 

[ferrispgm]

4 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

Yep. Fully understand that. My 2 exaggerations right now are 

 

1. Feel like chest moves about 3 feet down in the backswing and stays there in the downswing. 

2. Feel like I'm 90% into my lead foot by p2 and then fall away from the target as soon as the downswing starts.

 

I don't come close to achieving that...but the feel is becoming ingrained and my ballstriking is improving.

 

Now, about those 5-7 inside 20 feet that neither of us makes regularly...grr. pretty much the only reason I'm not a +3 is putting. 

Yeah, my green reading is just awful...I routinely see break that isn't there or play too much.  Luckily I tend to start the ball on line pretty well.  Big keys for me were: having a good rhythm to my stroke (need to get back to this a bit), letting the putter release instead of holding it off, minimizing hip movement, and gripping the putter firmly.  Using hackmotion really shows how much more stable the putter is when you grip it firmly.

[getitdaily]

1 minute ago, ferrispgm said:

Yeah, my green reading is just awful...I routinely see break that isn't there or play too much.  Luckily I tend to start the ball on line pretty well.  Big keys for me were: having a good rhythm to my stroke (need to get back to this a bit), letting the putter release instead of holding it off, minimizing hip movement, and gripping the putter firmly.  Using hackmotion really shows how much more stable the putter is when you grip it firmly.

Rhythm...huge. Get tour tempo and use it when putting. Interestingly, I found a big, big helper in rhythm yo be a drill where you try to putt a 7-10 foot putt and have it barely roll.over the front edge. REALLY helps with transition tempo.

 

As for green reading...try these. I started using them when I practice. Helps teach my eyes how much slope is really there and how much break to play.

[bilbry57]

7 hours ago, ferrispgm said:

Thanks!

 

1. It's been a process. I would say that the first few items were setting a good foundation from which to build upon.  Starting around D below is where I started noticing the a good difference in ballstriking.  E/F got me a lot straighter and good distance gains. I'll try to post a video of my initial swings from years ago but over the years here is what we worked on in order:  A:Improved posture getting my pelvis more tucked under and standing more upright and shortened my swing by limiting right arm flexion at the top.  B: Worked of feeling my right shoulder moving out to start the transition.  C Get pressure moving more toward right heel in backswing and lead heel in downswing as it was staying in my toes too much. D Add flex to my lead leg/knee in transition because my pressure was staying back a touch. E: Work on wrist flexion and ulnar deviation in transition. F (Last year): Work on maintaining more left side bend in transition as I tend to pop into right side bend very quickly.  Part of this involved getting more pressure in my lead toes what feels like immediately as I take the club away but is more around p3.5 in reality.

 

2. My swing is better than before so it's easier to shoot lower scores.  Even if I don't play for a couple months (which happened in October/November due to to vacations and surgery) I can hit it like total garbage and still shoot something respectable.  My first round back in December I probably hit the middle of the face only a few times and shot 75...The reason is misses are so much smaller.  Previously a miss for me was a 50 yard hook or block with a driver or chunked/hooked iron 30 yards left of the green.   Now, my bad drives are a 15 or 20yd push and my irons are a low push just right of the green.

 

Sorry for the  long winded response, I just want to be totally transparent.  A quick way to summarize would be that it's a process of minimizing misses.  Issue missing right turns into an issue missing left then you kinda go back to right misses but they are smaller then smaller left, etc.  Think of a long conical tube where you start at the wide end and try to end up in the narrow end.  Also, putting and short game has improved from clinics as well. 

Thanks for the detailed response great information to digest. I like the part about minimizing misses currently an issue for me.

Edited February 25, 2023 by bilbry57

[TheDeanAbides]

On 2/24/2023 at 5:55 PM, ferrispgm said:

Yeah, my green reading is just awful...I routinely see break that isn't there or play too much.  Luckily I tend to start the ball on line pretty well.  Big keys for me were: having a good rhythm to my stroke (need to get back to this a bit), letting the putter release instead of holding it off, minimizing hip movement, and gripping the putter firmly.  Using hackmotion really shows how much more stable the putter is when you grip it firmly.

Have you found voodoo putting helps or have you tried Aimpoint? Reading greens was always my Achilles heel. 

[ferrispgm]

On 2/26/2023 at 8:50 AM, TheDeanAbides said:

Have you found voodoo putting helps or have you tried Aimpoint? Reading greens was always my Achilles heel. 

I have tried voodoo putting and I like it for the 20ft or so putts that have a lot of break because you typically don't see as much the traditional way and it's hard to play enough and trust it.  I have had a lot of balls lip out and made a fair share though with the voodoo method.  

 

I don't like aimpoint at all to be honest.  I find it too precise and trying to judge the speed on a green that varies so much day to day is difficult.  If you are on tour greens that all run about the same then it makes sense but not when you play different public courses each week. 

 

My primary issue is constantly seeing break that isn't there.  Unlike most, I tend to over-read putts and when it's straight, I add break that isn't really there.  

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by ferrispgm

[ferrispgm]

Sadly, the clinic weekend is over.  This year the focus is getting back into the wrist action.  Initial assessment was that I was not releasing the club horizontally as I approached impact.  Essentially I was a tad steep and face was slightly open causing me to raise my handle/hold the face open at impact or sometimes (as was the case this weekend) I would feel that and shut the face at the last second and hit a pull.  After getting on the hackmotion, Monte determined that I had too much lead wrist extension at the top (28*) which was making it impossible to get the shaft slightly behind the hands at p6.  This is a bit of a throwback to my issue a few years ago.  Though I had it under control for a bit, I was focusing heavily on not getting into right tilt early over the last year and let the wrists get sloppy.

 

Afterwards I hit a bunch of 100yd 7 irons feeling like my lead wrist was very bowed.  Naturally I chunked a few and hit a bunch slightly toe-side but the misses left/right were all within a green width and didn't hit 1 low squirting cut or over draw...it was all straight and maybe fell a couple yards left in descent.  Also, when I do miss the center, it's typically been in the heel so toe strikes are a relief.  The few times I did take a full swing and hit it solid the ball flight was so much better...more of a penetrating mid/high flight and it felt like I could hit it as hard as I wanted and I wouldn't have to worry so much about missing it left/right.

 

Late in the day after the clinic I went to the chipping area to work on the feeling with my pitches and the difference here was immediate.  It was so much easier to control speed and trajectory with my wrist getting more flexed.  It also felt more natural to have everything pivot together.  I have always had a pretty good short game as I have good hands....I tend to do well with awkward or difficult shots but I felt uncomfortable over straightforward 20 yard pitches and I could always feel some sort of manipulation at the bottom. Getting my wrist in a better position eliminated that feeling immediately so I'm super excited on this.

 

 

[TheDeanAbides]

47 minutes ago, ferrispgm said:

I have tried voodoo putting and I like it for the 20ft or so putts that have a lot of break because you typically don't see as much the traditional way and it's hard to play enough and trust it.  I have had a lot of balls lip out and made a fair share though with the voodoo method.  

 

I don't like aimpoint at all to be honest.  I find it too precise and trying to judge the speed on a green that varies so much day to day is difficult.  If you are on tour greens that all run about the same then it makes sense but not when you play different public courses each week. 

 

My primary issue is constantly seeing break that isn't there.  Unlike most, I tend to over-read putts and when it's straight, I add break that isn't really there.  

 

Excellent insight, thank you. I never tried Aimpoint, but found the same with voodoo putting as you. My issue was always a lack of trust in my reads because of the weird visual effects of my neurological condition. It matters not now as I haven't picked up a club in 18 months. I'm a great putter in my mind now! 

[ferrispgm]

3/6 update:

 

I didn't hit many balls Saturday but I did play golf.  After a lesson I like to play a round with the new feel which gives me a sense of how hard it's going to be to incorporate.  Good news is most shots were straight with a very tiny draw which is perfect for me. The bad news is that I've gotten further out of whack than initially thought and there is a ton of tension in my lead wrist trying to get it flat.  Also, I was hitting the ball significantly shorter, about a club to 1.5 clubs with irons and 20-30 yards or with driver.  I think that is in part due to a few things.  The tension in my wrists trying to get it in position; not being aggressive in the swing as I'm trying to feel the whole motion out; and (I could be wrong here) I think the leverage in my hands is how I was creating speed in the past, and by getting more neutral, that leverage is gone so I'll have to create more speed with the arms which is foreign to me.

 

Sunday on the range was brutal contact-wise but that was to be expected.  Hit a lot of balls thin and a few super heavy.  Some of the more solid ones I hit were pretty high flight-wise, probably a result of stalling a bit before to give my hands time to rotate and shut the face.  I hit mostly 100-130 yard 7 irons and sprinkled in a few full swings (about 20 or so) and maybe 5 drivers.  I'll try to post a video below but for some I would take it back, pause, flex the lead wrist and then try to flip it.  I chunked the heck out of it in the video but the release looks sooo much better.  The club path on exit is a little exaggerated from the chunk but otherwise it looks great and shows i'm on the right track.  Further proof is my wrist chart (I have my own Hackmotion) which I will post as well.  There was 1 shot that I hit with my 7 though that was absolutely perfect.  Mid flight, baby draw that carried 180 and felt as smooth as can be.   

 

One thing I did notice is that I have a ton of radial deviation....upwards of around 45* on average which lends itself to more extension.  A feel I may play around with is trying to get a little less hinge at the top and see how that effects my flexion/extension of the lead wrist. On the flip side, I do get my radial/ulnar deviation at impact back to around what I had at address so it may not be necessary and I won't focus on it a ton.

[ferrispgm]

The top is from a few weeks ago before the clinic.  The bottom is from yesterday 3/5.

Edited March 6, 2023 by ferrispgm

[ferrispgm]

[ericg33]

Thanks for doing this @ferrispgm  A couple of questions for you:

 

- you mentioned playing a round after your lesson with a focus on implementing the new feel.  For future rounds, do you continue to apply the feel and somewhat play golf swing or do you just play knowing that things will get better as more time goes on?

 

- I agree that the process to improve takes time.  Besides Hackmotion how are you assessing whether you are implementing what you are working on correctly?  

 

- How often are you taking lessons?

 

- Seems like One of my biggest problems is when I focus on one change I often neglect some other aspects of my swing.  Do you focus on maintenance of other areas or just assume they will come back once the new change gets more ingrained

 

- how do you define success / are there particular milestones you are trying to track?

 

Thanks again

[ferrispgm]

1 hour ago, ericg33 said:

Thanks for doing this @ferrispgm  A couple of questions for you:

 

- you mentioned playing a round after your lesson with a focus on implementing the new feel.  For future rounds, do you continue to apply the feel and somewhat play golf swing or do you just play knowing that things will get better as more time goes on?

 

- I agree that the process to improve takes time.  Besides Hackmotion how are you assessing whether you are implementing what you are working on correctly?  

 

- How often are you taking lessons?

 

- Seems like One of my biggest problems is when I focus on one change I often neglect some other aspects of my swing.  Do you focus on maintenance of other areas or just assume they will come back once the new change gets more ingrained

 

- how do you define success / are there particular milestones you are trying to track?

 

Thanks again

 

For future rounds it depends. I try to play a decent amount of rounds that are purely practice and I don't care about score.  On those, yes, I will focus on the new movement.  In rounds where I have to score or want to play well, I can't think about it.  My best rounds are when I don't have a thought or 1 at most.  If I do, it has to be super simple and limited to 1 or 2 words based on a movement...ie left toes or flex knee, 8 o'clock, etc.  Having a flat wrist is a positional thing and trying to hit a position while making a good swing is tough for me.  I have to trust that the work I did on the range and maybe even the warm up will get me through. 

 

Besides hackmotion I use video and then just good 'ol fashioned ballflight/contact.  The latter are tougher at first but what I look for is the opposite miss.  For me the toe is the cleanest part of the club...Hitting a few on the toe is promising.  I was hitting a low shove right or a pull draw left....so hitting a little pull cut is progress. 

 

My only lesson is the annual clinic.

 

Great question...depends.  Some things stick pretty easily once I get them.  Others, such as staying in left tilt longer, i think will be something I have to constantly be conscious of and continue to work on it.  For now I'm focusing on the wrist and monitoring the tilt.  As the wrist gets more comfortable I'll try to incorporate the wrist into staying in left tilt and see if I can.  If not, then I'll have to go back and forth.

 

I don't have many specific goals. I'd like to break 65 at some point. My main goal though is to get my bad rounds closer to even and good rounds in the mid 60s.  Currently my bad rounds are 73-76 and good rounds are 67-69 with average rounds in the 70-72 range.  The courses I play are typically rated 72.5-74 though I tend to play better on tougher courses.