Ferrispgm Progress is a process thread

[ferrispgm]

1 hour ago, vandyfan said:

 

This is described really well. I am not the player you are but the move to "re-center" has always been me also starting my hips opening up which then makes it very hard to not pull on the handle in reaction. Having the hands feel like they are "beating" the hips in the downswing always seems like it is going to stall me out but when done correctly it feels POWERFUL. Anyway, I enjoy your thread and thanks for continuing to update!

Thank you.  It's funny how people interpret what generates speed.    I used to pitch but always struggled with speed.....Once I was shown proper form my freshman year in high school, it was amazing how much faster I threw the ball but also how much slower my whole body felt during the motion. 

[bortass]

2 hours ago, ferrispgm said:

[snip]  Crazy how people think they will improve in a couple buckets of range balls. 

 

Monte hammers this repeatedly. At the ATL clinic, he told the 9-10 of us that he expected one of us to actually go home, work on what he showed us and get better because amateurs always expect results fast which doesn't happen, so they quit. It's a painful truth and he doesn't sugar coat it.

 

He actually brought you up during the playing lesson portion as an example. You go to the clinic, work on what you learn 'til the following year's clinic , rinse and repeat, with great improvement over the years. I think he'd love teaching even more than he already does if more students followed your path. They may not get to +3, but they'd be a heck of a lot better at playing golf than they started.

 

Great thread too! Inspiration for what can be accomplished with work.

Edited June 26, 2023 by bortass

[ferrispgm]

1 hour ago, bortass said:

Monte hammers this repeatedly. At the ATL clinic, he told the 9-10 of us that he expected one of us to actually go home, work on what he showed us and get better because amateurs always expect results fast which doesn't happen, so they quit. It's a painful truth and he doesn't sugar coat it.

 

He actually brought you up during the playing lesson portion as an example. You go to the clinic, work on what you learn 'til the following year's clinic , rinse and repeat, with great improvement over the years. I think he'd love teaching even more than he already does if more students followed your path. They may not get to +3, but they'd be a heck of a lot better at playing golf than they started.

 

Great thread too! Inspiration for what can be accomplished with work.

Thanks, I appreciate it.  It took me a while to get it through my thick head as well but once I finally did I started actually improving.  Crazyness lol

[ferrispgm]

7/24 update:

Wow...didn't realize it's been so long.  Unfortunately I've been very busy and haven't done much.  The bad news is I have literally only hit balls 3 times in the last month and they were shorter sessions from being busy and the heat here in AZ.  However, each time I went to the range, I focused solely on the same things that I have been all along.

 

The good news....Played AZ CC Friday with some vendors and shot -2  when my ball-striking was very suspect the first 7 holes. Luckily I was able to rectify it just by staying the course and aiming at the center of each green.  Turned at +1 and shot -3 on the back.  Played again Saturday at Grand Canyon Univ. golf course and shot 71 from the college tees. Again, started off very poorly but turned it around. Made the turn at 3 over and shot -3 on the back.   

 

While the scores are far from my best, it's very encouraging that I was able to go out after not practicing or playing hardly at all in the last month and play decently.  In the past, if I were to take it this lightly for a month or so I would be struggling quite a bit.  

 

Sunday I went to the range and hit it really well pretty much the whole time.  Very few misses with any iron I hit.  Driver is still a work in progress however as I'm kind of missing it all over the face right now.  

[ferrispgm]

8/14 Update:  Played Saturday and started off well ball striking wise but started falling apart on the 9th and limped the rest of the way.  Best shot of the day was after a whiffed drive on a par 5 and hit 2 iron from 245 over trees which landed pin high on the fringe about 20 feet from the flag.  Most of the round though I was struggling bad with my biggest issue which is getting into right tilt too early. I could kind of keep it at bay when I wasn't so busy and could play more but since i've been so busy and haven't been able to, it's rearing it's ugly head again.

 

Sunday I hit balls and focused hard on it but struggled to be honest.  Just wasn't a good day.  The last few balls of the day I remembered an old-ish drill of Monte's where you play the ball super far forward and get the ball to start left and go straight or cut.  I think that's going to be the focus on my range sessions the next few weeks. 5 or 6 of those and then a couple normal.  The good news though is the wrist stuff have come along nicely.  I still have to feel it a bit but it's not nearly as exaggerated as when I first started.

 

Also...I recently purchased a Full Swing Kit and used it Sunday for the first time.  I bought it to use as a tool to confirm what I'm working on and to be able to see numbers when I hit a good shot so I know roughly where I want to be.  Any new feel usually produces bad results the first few swings and those bad results have often lead me to abandon things that I sometimes later find out where correct and months are wasted.  Now I can try some different feels with the same goal in mind and see what works in spite of contact.  For example, on Sunday I was around 5 degrees down and 4.5-5.5 degrees in to out swinging normal with a 7 iron.  Trying to feel over the top which worked in the past, produced no difference.  Feeling like I stay in left tilt and drag my left should left got me to around 1.5-2.5 in to out and 4 down.  Contact wasn't always great but there was less curve and the ball went farther with less effort when I hit it well. Important to note that I'M NOT LOOKING TO ZERO OUT NUMBERS OR GET TO A CERTAINT PLAYER'S NUMBERS.....this is solely to track improvement and get things in an acceptable window.   

 

 

[ferrispgm]

11/16 update:  Looking back it's been awhile since my last post.  We just bought a house at the end of August so unfortunately my practice has been limited to 1 day a week and only 4 rounds since August.  The good news is that I have been able to keep all 4 rounds at even par or -1 with limited practice and little effort on the course.  

 

Toward the beginning of September I decided to take a flyer and get an online lesson from Dan Carraher. I have never done it in the past but I felt like the wrists were coming along nicely yet contact was struggling a bit.  I was always curious on his opinion as well so i pulled the trigger.  He basically said that since I have a later wrist set I need to slow down the rotation of my arms in the backswing to match the wrist set.  Since the arms over rotate, my trail elbow gets below my lead elbow too much too soon  which causes a poor shoulder turn and that leads to my arms firing too much down in the downswing and my right arm straightening.  The fix is to minimize backswing arm/face rotation and get the arms working out a touch.  Basically it feels like I keep the face square in the takeaway while the club works inside and straight up and from there it feels like my arms/right shoulder work out.  Contact after the first couple range trips has been great and ball striking has improved quite a bit once I got over the fear of chunking it.  

 

My next plan this offseason is to try some speed training on my days off of the range.  When I first started, I used to be in the low 120s with driver....I have since regressed on most days to 105.  I still have some days/shots that I can hit out there in the 300-310 carry range but they are fewer and farther between.  I think a part of it is just due to wanting to hit it straight and subconsciously slowing down.  Another reason is I feel like over the years I have focused too much on small slower swings to make changes and haven't taken enough full speed swings when practicing.  If I can at least get to around the 115 range consistently I would be thrilled. 

[fore_life]

Dan is awesome!!!

[ferrispgm]

12/28 update:
 

Played last week Saturday and things are settling in nicely.  Had my first bogey free round ever....68 on a cold and water logged course.  That's purely due to tap in birdies....I missed two 3ft putts and 3 more from inside of 6 feet.  Started off driving it really well, missed a couple drives right so my next few I focused on adding a touch more left wrist flexion at the top and hit it straight again.  So roughly 10 months into a change and I'm just getting to the point where I can almost play a full round without worrying too much.

 

Also...I was a bit of a skeptic before but speed training works.  I decided on the Rypstick after looking at the 3 main options.  I expected a few mph gain, maybe 5-8 and I would have been fine.  I'm 9 sessions through and have gained between 14mph and 16mph.  As I said previously I was at 105 before.  My initial baseline with the app was 104.  Now up to 118-121.  The results have been transferrable to the course as well.  Saturday was tough as it was cold and wet but most drives that day were in the 285-295 range.  The week prior, nothing less than 300 with a couple in the 325 range. Last week I was up to 121 this week I regressed a little but the last couple sessions it's been colder and I just felt a little stiff and lethargic. I'm assuming I have pretty much peaked and will only see incremental gains every so many sessions but we shall see. 

[MonteScheinblum]

9 hours ago, ferrispgm said:

12/28 update:
 

Played last week Saturday and things are settling in nicely.  Had my first bogey free round ever....68 on a cold and water logged course.  That's purely due to tap in birdies....I missed two 3ft putts and 3 more from inside of 6 feet.  Started off driving it really well, missed a couple drives right so my next few I focused on adding a touch more left wrist flexion at the top and hit it straight again.  So roughly 10 months into a change and I'm just getting to the point where I can almost play a full round without worrying too much.

 

Also...I was a bit of a skeptic before but speed training works.  I decided on the Rypstick after looking at the 3 main options.  I expected a few mph gain, maybe 5-8 and I would have been fine.  I'm 9 sessions through and have gained between 14mph and 16mph.  As I said previously I was at 105 before.  My initial baseline with the app was 104.  Now up to 118-121.  The results have been transferrable to the course as well.  Saturday was tough as it was cold and wet but most drives that day were in the 285-295 range.  The week prior, nothing less than 300 with a couple in the 325 range. Last week I was up to 121 this week I regressed a little but the last couple sessions it's been colder and I just felt a little stiff and lethargic. I'm assuming I have pretty much peaked and will only see incremental gains every so many sessions but we shall see. 

Speed training works if you have face path control 

[st1800e]

You just need to play more.  Realize that may not be possible now, you’ve got a lot of talent, perfecting it on the range is one thing, putting it to the test on the course is another.  
Confidence comes from performing under pressure.  

[ferrispgm]

10 hours ago, MonteScheinblum said:

Speed training works if you have face path control 

For sure...I was worried about about getting back into old habits but I think because  I stayed diligent on progressing my mechanics with the irons it hasn't happened.

[ferrispgm]

9 hours ago, st1800e said:

You just need to play more.  Realize that may not be possible now, you’ve got a lot of talent, perfecting it on the range is one thing, putting it to the test on the course is another.  
Confidence comes from performing under pressure.  

I certainly do need to play more....Unfortunately/fortunately this year has been busy as we bought a house and that took up a good chunk of time with moving and some repair work. On the flip side, it's been nice to take some time off and still be able to play well and get my scoring down after a few rounds.  Previously it would have taken me a month to make up for 2 weeks off and most rounds in between would be pretty poor. 

[ferrispgm]

2/16 update:

 

I didn't realize it's been so long.  Been playing a little more inconsistent as of late due to lack of practice from weather and being busy.  But, I did shoot my first bogey free sub par round a few weeks ago (67) missing every single putt outside of 4 feet and no that's not an exaggeration.  All birdies were 2 putts or stuck to a foot.  Rounds since have been around par or a couple over.  

 

I have been continuing the speed training and have hit a 1 time personal best of 131 but averaging 124 now during training (actual with ball is around 120) so I'm up 15mph in a few months and I couldn't be happier.  The drawback is I'm still learning to control the face with driver at that speed and I'm leaving shots out to the right a bit but that's slowly coming around. I also think it's time for a new driver fitting. My current one was fit when I was around 105 and I can feel the shaft struggling a bit to keep up so that could be some of the right issues as well. 

 

Monte's clinic is the first weekend in March so I'm definitely looking forward to that and seeing how things have progressed swing wise.  I don't do a lot of video during the year and rely mostly on measurement devices such as HM or my launch monitor so it will be good to get his insight on what's going on.

 

 

[bortass]

Congrats on the bogeyless 67!

 

Sounds like good progress with the speed training as well.

 

Have fun at the clinic, I recall you have been attending these for a while, which # will this one be?

[Hawkeye77]

1 hour ago, ferrispgm said:

2/16 update:

 

I didn't realize it's been so long.  Been playing a little more inconsistent as of late due to lack of practice from weather and being busy.  But, I did shoot my first bogey free sub par round a few weeks ago (67) missing every single putt outside of 4 feet and no that's not an exaggeration.  All birdies were 2 putts or stuck to a foot.  Rounds since have been around par or a couple over.  

 

I have been continuing the speed training and have hit a 1 time personal best of 131 but averaging 124 now during training (actual with ball is around 120) so I'm up 15mph in a few months and I couldn't be happier.  The drawback is I'm still learning to control the face with driver at that speed and I'm leaving shots out to the right a bit but that's slowly coming around. I also think it's time for a new driver fitting. My current one was fit when I was around 105 and I can feel the shaft struggling a bit to keep up so that could be some of the right issues as well. 

 

Monte's clinic is the first weekend in March so I'm definitely looking forward to that and seeing how things have progressed swing wise.  I don't do a lot of video during the year and rely mostly on measurement devices such as HM or my launch monitor so it will be good to get his insight on what's going on.

 

 

 

Hopefully worn out 6 caps with dodgy transitions who haven't swung a club since October are welcome.  😉

[ferrispgm]

45 minutes ago, Hawkeye77 said:

 

Hopefully worn out 6 caps with dodgy transitions who haven't swung a club since October are welcome.  😉

Sweet...now I have someone to make fun of!  lol jk...looking forward to seeing you there.  FWIW it almost never fails....Monte gives me crap or talks me up in front of people and then I hit some horrible thin or scrapey shot in front of everyone.  The joys of the clinics lol.

[Sean124]

See you fellas there

[Hawkeye77]

52 minutes ago, ferrispgm said:

Sweet...now I have someone to make fun of!  lol jk...looking forward to seeing you there.  FWIW it almost never fails....Monte gives me crap or talks me up in front of people and then I hit some horrible thin or scrapey shot in front of everyone.  The joys of the clinics lol.

I was literally introduced by a hair product sporting impresario when it was my turn as, “the most stubborn swing in the history of golf!” My daughter almost cried with laughter. It did put everyone else at ease, haha. Have at it, nobody laughs more at me than me!

Edited February 16 by Hawkeye77

[bortass]

8 minutes ago, Hawkeye77 said:

I was literally introduced by a hair product sporting impresario when it was my turn as, “the most stubborn swing in the history of golf!” My daughter almost cried with laughter. It did put everyone else at ease, haha. Have at it, nobody laughs more at me than me!

He does have a way with words, lol. 

[ferrispgm]

3/6 Update:

 

Had the annual clinic over the weekend. Now that I have gotten to a better position at the top (measured the previous week at 0-3* extended down from 10+) I have a new task on hand which is essentially the same thing DC saw...my arms are getting too pinned in transition because my shoulders are rotating too soon and as a result I have to raise the handle and shove the hands forward at impact to hit a ball on line.  On day 1 Monte basically had me hit some shots feeling the arms working down without moving the shoulders....basically trying to dig a trench.....Hit a few that way and contact was very much improved and the sound of impact was probably better than I have ever had.  The issue wasn't a surprise, but what did surprise me was that this has started creeping into my pitches.

 

On day 2 I kept working on the feeling of no shoulder turn in transition and firing the arms but for whatever reason, it was more of a struggle...still hitting most balls thin and right.  Monte noticed a few and gave me another feel.  This time it was to feel my upper body move very slightly forward in transition...basically when my shoulders are turned, allow my upper body to shift forward an inch. Voila....instantly better.  So now I have a couple feels to work with when 1 isn't working I can go to the other.  

I'm super excited to begin working on this.  While I normally do hit the ball pretty well (better on the course than range) the way it felt when I get the arms sequenced was better than ever and I finally have that pure sound at impact.  Before it was always a tad clunky.  I normally hit the middle but it was always a touch steep or a touch shallow.  Also in the morning before the wind picked up, I was hitting everything about a 1/2 club  to a full club longer with less effort.  The downswing felt faster, especially at impact, but it was less work to get there.   On a side note, Saturday I'm going to get fit at PXG for the new driver after my morning range session.  Hopefully I can kick this Sim2 out of the bag 😉 

[Hawkeye77]

2 hours ago, ferrispgm said:

3/6 Update:

 

Had the annual clinic over the weekend. Now that I have gotten to a better position at the top (measured the previous week at 0-3* extended down from 10+) I have a new task on hand which is essentially the same thing DC saw...my arms are getting too pinned in transition because my shoulders are rotating too soon and as a result I have to raise the handle and shove the hands forward at impact to hit a ball on line.  On day 1 Monte basically had me hit some shots feeling the arms working down without moving the shoulders....basically trying to dig a trench.....Hit a few that way and contact was very much improved and the sound of impact was probably better than I have ever had.  The issue wasn't a surprise, but what did surprise me was that this has started creeping into my pitches.

 

On day 2 I kept working on the feeling of no shoulder turn in transition and firing the arms but for whatever reason, it was more of a struggle...still hitting most balls thin and right.  Monte noticed a few and gave me another feel.  This time it was to feel my upper body move very slightly forward in transition...basically when my shoulders are turned, allow my upper body to shift forward an inch. Voila....instantly better.  So now I have a couple feels to work with when 1 isn't working I can go to the other.  

I'm super excited to begin working on this.  While I normally do hit the ball pretty well (better on the course than range) the way it felt when I get the arms sequenced was better than ever and I finally have that pure sound at impact.  Before it was always a tad clunky.  I normally hit the middle but it was always a touch steep or a touch shallow.  Also in the morning before the wind picked up, I was hitting everything about a 1/2 club  to a full club longer with less effort.  The downswing felt faster, especially at impact, but it was less work to get there.   On a side note, Saturday I'm going to get fit at PXG for the new driver after my morning range session.  Hopefully I can kick this Sim2 out of the bag 😉 

 

Oh to be young again, lol (and I still wouldn't have a swing as well constructed as what you've worked hard to develop).  A great pleasure to meet you and what a super nice and interesting mix of folks Monte had for his clinic -- the nature of the beast is you just don't get time or opportunity to interact with everyone and wish there had been more time for that (of course, I say that having left a day early, lol, and being focused on Caitlin Clark before and during lunch Sunday).  Good luck with the swing! 

[ferrispgm]

4/8 Update:  Played Saturday and hit the ball quite well after struggling on the range the last 3-4 weeks.  The bad shots were annoying but part of the process.  Skulled wedge from 60 yards, thinned 9 iron from 150, and a flubbed 5 iron.  With the short wedges, I can feel myself letting the arms work down and then my body panics and I raise up and rotate my shoulders hard to not chunk it....when I trust it, it's super solid.  Everything else was very very solid contact wise.....Highlight of the day was a 5 iron from 208 up and over the trees to 10 feet for eagle.  Also, it seems like my speed it picking up again...thank god.  For a while I was struggling to get it out there 280-290....now pretty much everything is 300-330 depending on how quickly I get the arms to move. 

 

A video that really resonated with me was a post by DeChambeau where he was talking about feeling the hands move into the right pocket to start down...and similarly, Scott Cowx posted a recent video about the hands working down to waist high as well.  But the though of the hands working toward the right pocket makes it easier to feel them working down and faster.  It almost feels like I can work them down as fast as I want and not have to worry about anything else.  I think for whatever reason, after the clinic, I started feeling like they were working more down toward the target line and that was encouraging the shoulders to kick in.  Moving them more down/back (back being relative to how it felt before) seems to delay my shoulders a touch so the arms start and then the shoulder kick in to bring the club out.  

 

Another thing I didn't mention previously....putting.  Monte moved my hands so the wrists were more vertical and in line with my shoulders.  I have been hitting putts so much more solidly lately it's crazy.....over the last 3 rounds, I have made a few 10+ footers each round which never happens.  Even putts that miss, still hit the edge or just run over the edge.