Dave D's swing thread - Pg 39 new putter & swing update 9th April

[MMB1500]

Had a phone call from a friend of mine yesterday, offering me a space on a paid for golf trip to Le Touquet in northern france this weekend, who's going to say no to that!

 

Look like linksy type courses so that'll be fun. Hopefully some nice coastal views i'll take pictures of.

 

I've played there. Really good course and very enjoyable to play. Definitely take the camera and stay out of the gorse.

You thought of caddying in tournaments with tips like that? :lol: :D

 

thanks, always nice to hear that your going to play a course which is good!

 

Lol. Yeah I'm known for my advanced course management skills. Other tips include "don't fu*k this one up" and "just hit it in the hole".

 

Enjoy these continental golf trips while you can. It's going to be a lot more difficult post Brexit!

 

tips for all levels those! :)

 

haha yeah may well become harder, although to be honest i'll be happy to have a country left in a couple of years, this general election is awful, feel like its a choice between which way you'd like your nuts removed :lol:

 

Agreed. Very depressing really. The country deserves better and, frankly, a better choice. I won't go too far into the politics route given it's banned on here but I fail to believe there isn't a better way. It hurts to see what's happening there at the moment.

[BeTheBall_]

Good thread Dave, some great info and nice to see the progress ? As a fellow Brit I share your disillusion at the current state if affairs over here!

[1t2golf]

Topic cleaned.

 

Forum rules prohibit politics.

[Golfjack]

Also a note on current ball flight, my stock shot is a tiny draw, but I've been driving the ball really solid & consistently the last 6 weeks by setting a little open and hitting a small cut. I can hit this shot with irons but I don't trust it the same and don't have as much control over it.

 

Hitting the cut driver I feel like I can turn as hard as I want along my feet line, and it is 99% straight or slight cut, near enough eliminating 1 miss (left) and no noticeable loss of distance. Unusual in that I feel more comfortable shaping driver than I do 3 wood.

 

Probably due to me getting too underneath again with my swing, whereas with the cut shot with a slight out to in path I was getting into a better position through the ball. This will probably change as i hopefully improve the technique of my swing, but it's good to know and have a go to shot.

 

Though I'm not nearly as good as you, I have the same shot shapes at least. I hit tight draws (a lot tighter than before) with my irons, and straighter (mostly) to slight fade drivers now. I think it's strange too that my open setup with open clubface (I feel) actually yields a straight drive lol. It just feels more in control and consistent. Although when I get tired I will unconsciously default back to my draw swing though that tends to work out OK. I do get confused sometimes when I have a draw swing path and fade club face, although it's completely different feel but hindsight it's always so obvious! Split second hard to realize.

 

Do you ever fall into that trap?

[Dave D]

Also a note on current ball flight, my stock shot is a tiny draw, but I've been driving the ball really solid & consistently the last 6 weeks by setting a little open and hitting a small cut. I can hit this shot with irons but I don't trust it the same and don't have as much control over it.

 

Hitting the cut driver I feel like I can turn as hard as I want along my feet line, and it is 99% straight or slight cut, near enough eliminating 1 miss (left) and no noticeable loss of distance. Unusual in that I feel more comfortable shaping driver than I do 3 wood.

 

Probably due to me getting too underneath again with my swing, whereas with the cut shot with a slight out to in path I was getting into a better position through the ball. This will probably change as i hopefully improve the technique of my swing, but it's good to know and have a go to shot.

 

Though I'm not nearly as good as you, I have the same shot shapes at least. I hit tight draws (a lot tighter than before) with my irons, and straighter (mostly) to slight fade drivers now. I think it's strange too that my open setup with open clubface (I feel) actually yields a straight drive lol. It just feels more in control and consistent. Although when I get tired I will unconsciously default back to my draw swing though that tends to work out OK. I do get confused sometimes when I have a draw swing path and fade club face, although it's completely different feel but hindsight it's always so obvious! Split second hard to realize.

 

Do you ever fall into that trap?

Hindsight is indeed a wonderful thing, lost count of the amount of times I set up over a ball and don't quite feel comfy and just go ahead and hit anyway and hit a bad shot. and think afterwards "you **** why on earth did you not back off that"

 

can't say I have fallen into that trap, its quite a conscious set up change for me still with driver so that focuses my mind on the fade shot shape.

[Golfjack]

That's true I think I just need to concentrate on the shot at hand executing the shot I want. Thanks.

[Dave D]

Had a great time golfing in france over the weekend, Le touquet is a wonderful place and some lovely golf courses around the area too. Was told the town wasn't particularly lively.... I didn't get to bed before 4.30am each night, needless to say that had a slight effect on the quality of golf :lol:

 

Had a very good round on the first day at Le touquet forest course, the wind was really blowing, shot a -3 68, had my only bogey off the day when a ball plugged in a bunker on a par 3.

 

The next 2 rounds we played at Hardelot and at Wimereux. Hardelot was extremely tight for the first 12 holes, wimereux was by the sea and a very odd course in that it was very links style off the tee, but very parkland around the greens, still nice though.

 

Here is one of the holes on the front 9 at hardelot, as you can see the weather we had was perfect:

 

 

 

 

Here is my scorecard from my first round:

 

 

Certainly can't argue with the progress I'm making scorewise, before last july I had had very few tournament rounds under par. Since then I have had numerous rounds under par and broken 70 a couple of times. EDIT: and had a couple of bogey free rounds. Now to continue the hard work and keep pushing on :)

[Hawkeye77]

Oui!!!!!!!!!!

[Dave D]

In france I started using a Ghost Spider S which I bought off ebay a couple of weeks ago, thought I'd give the spider bandwagon a try, but needed one with a line on it. I fitted it with a Superstroke Pistol GTR 1.0. Which I very much like the feel of. My pace control was very good and it feels so stable on shorter putts. Have a scratch match this afternoon so will see how it performs on the greens im used to playing.

 

Now I don't like the ghost paint so am going to copy member tburnsspecial's idea and get it sandblasted to remove the paint and leave it with this nice grey colour, will then black paintfill the alignment line.

 

[url=

 

[flog2]

spider is a great putter, any model does well.

[Dave D]

spider is a great putter, any model does well.

Indeed it seems to be, rushed to the golf club after running late at work and went straight to the first tee, hit the ball miles left all night but my chipping and putting were awesome, 4 & 2 win.

 

I even pitched in on one hole from about 30 yards, can't remember the last time I did that. Certainly seeing a massive improvement in my short game consistency in lessening the wrist set to match my wide arc.

[Dave D]

Played yesterday with friends in scorching heat, shot +1, 1 double 1 bogey 2 birdies, didn't hit the ball well but short game and putting once again were very good. Feel really good with the spider putter.

 

Have Captains Day competition this sunday then club champs 2 weeks after that. Feel good about my game in that my weakness has tended to be short game and currently that is very strong. Just need to put some time in my net doing drills to get my long game back up to scratch.

 

I was up early and got an hours work on drills in in my net to sort swing issues out. I've gotten a bit lazy and arms are getting too active/wrong intent again, am hitting huge draws. Lots of basket drills keeping the right knee external and lots of stick drills working on rotation were the order for the day. I haven't been practicing as much as I was a couple of months ago and its showing in my ball striking, back then I was even just doing 20 mins or so most days and its amazing how much it helped. Hopefully some hard work these next few weeks will get me sorted out.

[Dave D]

Played a foursomes match last night and won on the 1st extra hole. There was a huge improvement in my ball striking, much much less curvature on my shots. So it's good to know I am on the right track and just need to put the time in in my net to ingrain the movements. Will take and post some videos after my competition sunday.

 

Never ceases to amaze me how old habits so easily find their way back into your game.

 

On a side note the Spider S is here to stay, I've even updated my signature that's how good its been!

[Dave D]

Took a couple of videos after yesterdays round, generally hitting the ball very solid and my leg work has improved in transition, lacking a bit of rotation through impact still, sent the videos to Zane and he says I need to again work on backswing pivot, head is moving too far right (too much forward bend not enough side bend), a more centered pivot will allow me to rotate better. Funnily enough GG posted a video about 3 days ago working with his student Megan where she had the same fault.

 

Improved leg work in transition:

 

Still too much forward bend & the fix:

 

 

Videos:

 

[media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2LBEAiOQB8[/media]

 

[media=]

[/media]

[duffyduck]

Took a couple of videos after yesterdays round, generally hitting the ball very solid and my leg work has improved in transition, lacking a bit of rotation through impact still, sent the videos to Zane and he says I need to again work on backswing pivot, head is moving too far right (too much forward bend not enough side bend), a more centered pivot will allow me to rotate better. Funnily enough GG posted a video about 3 days ago working with his student Megan where she had the same fault.

 

Improved leg work in transition:

 

Still too much forward bend:

 

The fix:

 

Videos:

 

[media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2LBEAiOQB8[/media]

 

[media=]

[/media]

 

Have you consider to flare your front foot a little more to help rotate better through impact?

[Dave D]

Have you consider to flare your front foot a little more to help rotate better through impact?

I have tried it in the past but it generally restricts my backswing turn and also leads to set up issues as I end up with too much weight going towards the front of my left foot.

[Dave D]

Before & after:

 

 

Very happy with the changes in 24 hours, hit a lot of balls in the net as I find it easier to make pure mechanical changes that way (don't react to ball flight) and was really compressing the ball. Towards the end of the session I did find it easier to rotate on the downswing. When I hit some on the range the flight was a touch more penetrating than normal and a very tight draw.

[kwin]

 

 

 

Very happy with the changes in 24 hours, hit a lot of balls in the net as I find it easier to make pure mechanical changes that way (don't react to ball flight) and was really compressing the ball. Towards the end of the session I did find it easier to rotate on the downswing. When I hit some on the range the flight was a touch more penetrating than normal and a very tight draw.

 

Dan gave me the sternum thought in a lesson about a year ago. This post reminds me I need to keep at it.

[Dave D]

I want to repost this here as I think this is absolute gold and a bit of a revelation for me, I had never thought of this before but it makes so much sense! Thanks Monte!

 

Ball position changes forward and back change your path and swing bottom.

 

If you're hooking the ball or pushing it, move it forward.

 

If you're pulling it it, move it back.

 

If you have contact issues move it back.

 

If you're divot is way in front of the ball from too much lateral head movement, move it forward.

 

Etc.

 

Tour players don't start mucking their swings up on the range Thursday morning if the ball flight isn't right. They make slight adjustments in ball position to get desired flight and will sometimes make a fairly drastic change to get to the club house before too much damage happens...

[royourboat]

Had a semi-light bulb moment last night when doing some swings and analysing video of my swing in relation to the left shoulder. what I feel is left shoulder opening and working around is actually it moving slightly around and up but also staying in the same place in relation to my head. As you can see below my head moves forward as my left shoulder moves, it doesn't clear away from my chin. it only starts to separate as my head also has to back out to where it was at the top of my backswing.

 

 

Whereas if I feel the left shoulder stay a lot lower and away from my chin it gets me into a much better position. I found a very good Dan Whittaker lesson video which speaks about this same thing (the bloke is quite annoying in it but the info is good):

 

[media=]

[/media]

 

Although GG never mentions the left shoulder much, you can clearly see here how much it seperates from his chin and how low it stays:

 

 

Great thread dave.

 

WRT above point, I have plenty of confusion how it works. I can see the benefits, but I can't see how it works without steepening the club shaft. Could you possibly explain to me how the arms/hands are working so to not steepen the shaft?

[royourboat]

A bit more experimentation in the mirror and I can see it now.

 

I think "left shoulder low" is kinda screwy wording. The thing I could see in my own swing that matches the above stuff, head moves forward with L shoulder trying to get behind you (because my perception is that is what should happen, L shoulder disappears behind you in FO view). However I think when you try to pull L shoulder behind you, it really goes up. And when it goes up, R shoulder goes down and you didn't turn you, tilted. So "left shoulder low" is more like "rotate properly dumbo".

 

Does this match with your thinking?

[Dave D]

A bit more experimentation in the mirror and I can see it now.

 

I think "left shoulder low" is kinda screwy wording. The thing I could see in my own swing that matches the above stuff, head moves forward with L shoulder trying to get behind you (because my perception is that is what should happen, L shoulder disappears behind you in FO view). However I think when you try to pull L shoulder behind you, it really goes up. And when it goes up, R shoulder goes down and you didn't turn you, tilted. So "left shoulder low" is more like "rotate properly dumbo".

 

Does this match with your thinking?

 

Yeah basically, in my original post I said what I feel is left shoulder opening and working around is actually it moving slightly around and up. But for me I need to feel like the left shoulder works down and stays low and then it actually rotates properly. The feel I have for left shoulder opening is actually it tilting too much up.

[royourboat]

A bit more experimentation in the mirror and I can see it now.

 

I think "left shoulder low" is kinda screwy wording. The thing I could see in my own swing that matches the above stuff, head moves forward with L shoulder trying to get behind you (because my perception is that is what should happen, L shoulder disappears behind you in FO view). However I think when you try to pull L shoulder behind you, it really goes up. And when it goes up, R shoulder goes down and you didn't turn you, tilted. So "left shoulder low" is more like "rotate properly dumbo".

 

Does this match with your thinking?

 

Yeah basically, in my original post I said what I feel is left shoulder opening and working around is actually it moving slightly around and up. But for me I need to feel like the left shoulder works down and stays low and then it actually rotates properly. The feel I have for left shoulder opening is actually it tilting too much up.

 

Yeeeeahhhh budddy! (in ronnie coleman voice)

[Dave D]

New golf wardrobe time, have had the same old clobber for quite a while so decided it was time for a freshen up. I rarely wore any of them and I don't have the need to have that many clothes as I don't get to play or practice as much these days. I got rid of 21 tops and 3 pairs of trousers!

 

A couple of our club tops are nike dri-fit and they are super comfy and breathable so thought I'd get lots of colours of the same shirt.

 

Gone full nike staffer :lol:

 

[Golfjack]

That TM putter is sticking out like an eye sore in your signature LOL.

[flog2]

A bit more experimentation in the mirror and I can see it now.

 

I think "left shoulder low" is kinda screwy wording. The thing I could see in my own swing that matches the above stuff, head moves forward with L shoulder trying to get behind you (because my perception is that is what should happen, L shoulder disappears behind you in FO view). However I think when you try to pull L shoulder behind you, it really goes up. And when it goes up, R shoulder goes down and you didn't turn you, tilted. So "left shoulder low" is more like "rotate properly dumbo".

 

Does this match with your thinking?

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1505290-all-my-major-faults-explained-in-this-video-lead-shoulder/

[Dave D]

That TM putter is sticking out like an eye sore in your signature LOL.

haha it does doesn't it!

 

The ghost paint is an eye sore to look at too but the thing is just performing so well!

[Dave D]

A bit more experimentation in the mirror and I can see it now.

 

I think "left shoulder low" is kinda screwy wording. The thing I could see in my own swing that matches the above stuff, head moves forward with L shoulder trying to get behind you (because my perception is that is what should happen, L shoulder disappears behind you in FO view). However I think when you try to pull L shoulder behind you, it really goes up. And when it goes up, R shoulder goes down and you didn't turn you, tilted. So "left shoulder low" is more like "rotate properly dumbo".

 

Does this match with your thinking?

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...-lead-shoulder/

 

great video, thanks for sharing

[Dave D]

Looks like photobucket have changed their sharing settings and you now have to pay $399 a year for 3rd party sharing of photos! that's f***ing ridiculous!

 

will have to find another image hosting site to use. any suggestions? tried imgur but it wouldn't let me upload from my phone to the app

[flog2]

what about Flickr