What are you focused on OTHER than speed?

[Ty_Webb]

For me at the moment, I am prone to getting the club across the line at the top with my left wrist a little cupped. Then when I pull down, because the clubhead is not in line with where I'm pulling, it stands up and open, so I have to EE a little bit and flip it to square it up at impact. I've been doing that a long time, so I've got reasonably good at it, but it's still a fair few compensations. So I'm working on getting my left wrist flat, my right forearm more supinated and both wrists more ulnar deviated. The flat left wrist goes hand in hand with the ulnar deviation. I can do it slowly, but when I swing full speed, the last thing I do before transition is give it all back again, so I'm working on getting that ingrained. 

[Lefthook]

My main focus on the range is to be engaged through the ball …. literally everything turning together through impact. I hit a bunch of 9-3s, and hit 95% of the balls with 8 iron to LW.

[Golfinfloridaafter40]

On 4/18/2024 at 12:41 PM, me05501 said:

We see a ton of speed-oriented threads on this forum. I'm curious if anyone else here is focused on some other aspect of swing improvement that isn't directly related to increasing speed.

 

I'm just coming back to the course after minor hand surgery late last year. I've been re-reading the swing notes file I keep on my phone and one of the bolded lines stuck out to me:

 

"You may not be capable of elite speed, but anyone can have elite CONNECTION. Focus on connection, tempo and sequencing and let everything else just happen." 

 

This has been my emphasis on the practice tee and the course and it seems to be a pretty effective so far. I have to think increased speed would be one of the eventual outcomes from a more connected, better sequenced swing but I'm not pursuing this for any other reason than to feel more in control of my ball flight and mindset on the course. 

 

What are you focused on other than speed? 

 

 

 

Speed is the last thing I would think about when trying to improve. 

 

Biggest thing for me is working on tempo, slowing my backswing down to give my body time to get set, then a tiny pause before I begin the downswing.  If I do this, my path stays slightly in to out, distance control is more consistent, misses are much tighter, and scores are lower. If you go to a tour event and sit at the range for a couple of hours, just paying attention to how slow and smooth these guys swing back it makes you really wonder why everyone else is trying to swing back faster. 

[golfing_penguin]

I'm trying to focus on my mental game.

 

I got lucky enough to play with Lucas Herbert recently and he (perhaps nicely) told me that physical strokes I was probably only 2-5 a round behind him, but mentally he'd smoke me every time.

 

So yeah - how to not be a doughnut on the course

[naval2006]

For the last month I’ve been seriously working on my pitching and chipping after many years of denial. Quite a challenge for me: I’d been accepting 4/6 more shots on a round out of resignation for way too long. 
 

I always focus my practice on sequencing and I push myself to a high full finish with club, arms and body. I’m an acceptable ball striker so I don’t mind I’m not a long hitter. 
 

Other aspects I always check or have checked:

club path during swing (this is a tricky one: sometimes you hit pure but path not ok)

rhythm (often with the right sequence my rhythm issues get fixed)

putting routine and striking quality

 

And as we spend year round playing tournaments and championships I pay a lot of attention to the mental side of competition.  Especially because my temper can be a bit treacherous at times and I absolutely hate giving away shots because of anger. 
 

I’m sure by now distance is a WRX issue. I play with a lot of good players IRL who are not long off the tee and they all know pure striking produces most of your distance and good scores. Long hitters are long hitters; at club level you know long vs short hitter same golf skills will have the same chances of winning a Saturday competition or the Club Championship. 

[TheDeanAbides]

I'm focusing on getting healthy enough to pick up a club again. It's a long-term plan - probably a minimum of 18 months. Then it will be the pure joy of doing something I love that I was certain I'd have to give up forever. 

[bladehunter]

Two things for me. ****Speed is never one that makes sense chasing.  It can only lead to nonsense swings , with no balance and no face control.  *** the two things for me is 1. Rest.  I work a physical job.  Demanding job.  And I tend to be so exhausted I can’t play about 70 % feel most rounds.  I don’t know what it feels like to play this game rested.  I have literally no clue what that’s like.  I try to have my recovery days ( per whoop ) be over 85 % on golf days.  But it’s rare and hard to be that high.  2.  Mental game.  Course management.  Not hitting the F it button.  And hitting driver sparingly.  I’ll score better from my 3 wood.  Stats don’t lie.  Lately I’ve been playing a teed down driver and little bunt draws and fades that roll.  Equals 5-10 yards  more than 3 wood . Depending on the hole sometimes that makes the difference for second shot club selection.  Driver on my home course is similar to Hilton head.  It’s detrimental to miss at all.  And death to miss on the wrong side.   
 

 

[North Butte]

I have quite a few priorities other than speed, chief among them

 

1) Trying to hit it more or less toward where I'm aiming.

2) Trying to hit the ball before the ground.

3) Trying to square up the clubface so it doesn't hook or slice.

 

If I ever get those things figured out, maybe I'll worry about speed...which in my opinion is created more in the gym or by stretching than on the driving range.

[vman]

Quieting my right foot, keeping my downswing wide and hitting the ball at 5 o’clock.

Clarity of intention when I play and my commitment to it.

 

[unclefreizo]

Quieting my mind before the shot.

 

Years of consuming content and instruction has me getting wound up trying to adjust for things that, ultimately, I do not control.

 

Which to me means I need a better separation between practice and round.

[brick101]

Divot control  aka Brian Harmon 

[RacineBoxer]

#1 is hitting the green from <170 (7i). Not overly focused on technique, focused mostly results. Get my yardages dialed in (new irons). Understand my pattern and misses (chart them). 

 

#2 is driver shot shape consistency. Gotta keep it in play. Can't have low pully ones left and then hit a big high block right next shot. That's unplayable. 

 

Brady Riggs published a "how to break 80" story in Golf magazine back in 2011 and I still find his approach/ideas/tools useful today. break_80_planner.pdf (wordpress.com)

 

[SurfDuffer]

I never focus on speed.  Ever!  I focus on being smooth and and being in sequence through impact.  Speed is the result of being smooth and having good mechanics.

[jmcm87]

Getting hands closer to my body and rotation through impact so I'm not over plane (flippy). 

 

[596]

Lots of minor changes to focus on solid center of face contact.  Speed doesn't do much of you can't hit the center of the face.  Even putting. Solid center face contact on every putt.