My swing and the rebuilding process

[Mr_Theoo]

At the beginning of the month I had went to GolfTEC to have a swing evaluation. They were running the 99$ special and I figured it was worth a shot since I had decided I would be taking lessons this summer but didn't know where. So even if i hated it or it was too expensive for me I would at least have some video to take to whoever I ended up taking lessons from as a starting point.

 

On the day of I met with the pro. He was really nice but not too over bearing and didn't make me feel subconscious about my golf ability. At first we just talked about my game and how long I have been playing. I told him this was my second season and he asked what my goals if any were. I told him my ultimate goal is to break 80 but to also play much more consistent. He asked what I meant by "more consistent" which was a fair question because I'm sure he hears that all the time. I said I want to eliminate the random good score and days where my swing is better than other.

 

Next we moved to me warming up a bit then I put on some motion sensors that tracked my hip and shoulder movements. Then he had me hit about 5 balls and we took a look at my swing. Now i knew going into this I didnt have a great swing, it prolly was actually pretty bad but it worked for my first year so I wasn't complaining too much, but if I wanted to get better I knew i had to improve it.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh9xOR0iHmE

 

There is where we started at.

 

First thing we started changing was getting my body more square to the target as I tend to be a little open.

 

Then we worked on the takeway and getting more shoulder turn in my swing.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W7OaCS5NYg

 

Here is the after effect.

 

After the lesson we talked about the rate plans for the lessons. They had a couple different options. One was just lessons and the other was an improvement plan. The improvement plan seemed like the best route for me but i was reluctant because it was a little pricey.

 

I think he could tell this because instead of trying to push me to decide that day we just scheduled another lesson for next week so I could have some time to crunch the numbers and ask the wife. For me this was a huge plus because I hate high pressure sales people that make you feel rushed in your decision process. So that right there made me feel that I had made a good choice in coming there.

 

So long story short the wife said it was ok so I am now on a 12 month improvement plan where I hope to get much much better.

 

Stay tuned for updates

[JBones]

Good luck. It takes lots of time and $$ to get really good at golf, but it's well worth it, IMO.

[Mr_Theoo]

Thanks I know it's gonna take a long time but one good thing about being in school still is I have loads of free time

[The Dansome]

good luck man! Keep this thread updated with progress.

[Blade]

Yea, definitely keep this updated. That will be a cool way to track your progress.

[SPY ZINGER]

This is going to be fun to watch the progress, thanks for sharing this. GolfTec has some nice professionals on staff.

[Mr_Theoo]

Thanks for the support guys! It's been fun so far even though its frustrating at times.

[Mr_Theoo]

Swings from lesson 1-3.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXzKi8QoXI8

1st full lesson before

 

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

1st full lesson after

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUV6oX8mxaA

2nd full lesson before

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqQvaS-JMmE

2nd full lesson after

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWHCz7fSwkc

3rd full lesson before

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU3kEH5RJec

3rd full lesson after

 

So far after my first three lessons I've noticed that its a lot easier to do what the pro is telling me to do. At first it was very foreign and frustrating because i wasn't able to hit the ball well at all. but the more i practiced the better it has gotten. The big plus has been how far I'm able to hit the ball now. Can't wait until we start working on the downswing

[Blade]

Dude, your back swing is starting to look much better!

[Mr_Theoo]

Dude, your back swing is starting to look much better!

 

Thanks man! It's getting more natural so it doesn't feel as forced

[GolfSpy WD]

Is that your face I see in these videos?

 

Keep it coming, can't wait to see you break 90 and then 80 Theoo!

[Mr_Theoo]

Is that your face I see in these videos?

 

Keep it coming, can't wait to see you break 90 and then 80 Theoo!

 

Thanks WD, and yes that might be my face lol

[RoverRick]

The decision to go where they have video will make this so much better. To this day I video my swing and am shocked to find what I feel like I am doing is not anywhere close to what I am doing. The combination him telling you and showing you coupled with the fact you can see that you did or did not do it, will make this a much easier change.

 

Since I live 100 miles from a big city and a decent instructor and my club did not have one at the time, I struggled trying it on my own. Then I decided to record it on my iPhone with various apps, and immediately saw the problems.

 

Of all things, the hardest to change was the grip. It felt so foreign to me, so I found a broken shaft with a grip on it on the driving range. And cut the jagged end off of it and used that while watching TV at night to practice my grip. That made taking the proper grip so much easier. I will say that I had a bad grip for 30 years before trying to change it.

 

30 year old bad habits are much harder to change than one year old bad habits.

[Mr_Theoo]

30 year old bad habits are much harder to change than one year old bad habits.

 

Very true, that is one thing that i believe will work to my advantage

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Looks like you're coming along nicely Theoo -- I'm no expert but your first set of swings looked pretty athletic to me. You'll be in the 80's in no time! Best of luck....

[Rickles]

I liked the end of the third lesson swing. The downswing stayed on plane much better than in the earlier videos. You seem like a good athlete and you have some weight to throw around. (I'm a big guy too! You said you have already gained distance, but soon I think you will really be pounding it.

[BK in TEXAS]

Great improvement Dude!

 

That's great that ya decided to take us along for the journey.

 

ABSOLUTELY!

 

Heck....even I can see the improvement in your swing and I know nuttin

 

Like RP & everyone else said.....thanks for bringing us along on the ride. Threads like this are fun to see progress.

[Mr_Theoo]

Time for an update. So far the lessons and changes have shown through on the course. I shot 112, 108 and 117 the last three times out on the course. While the 117 is more of my old scores that was mostly due to a huge headache I got on the last 2 holes. Before that i was at 100.

 

In my lessons we have started working on my club path as well was getting rid of the flip at impact. Its been a tough change mostly because I feel like I'm getting stuck at the end with trying to lead with my hands but like changing the backswing I will get there.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXEE_m84Tfs

 

Overall I'm happy with where im headed

[The Dansome]

Wow dude, yer coming along real nice like

[Mr_Theoo]

Wow dude, yer coming along real nice like

 

Thanks, gotta be ready for the next MGS open

[Tyk]

Looks like you're making some good progress! I sure wish I had taken lessons my 2nd year playing!

[Mr_Theoo]

Looks like you're making some good progress! I sure wish I had taken lessons my 2nd year playing!

 

Thanks! I guess its one of the advantages of still being young and not working a full time job to devote my full attention to getting better.

[Mr_Theoo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3kVyGKM8bM

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPCMLE1iNzY

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6waqAJ-KXM

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKv3sdJ2CA8

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcWF0WAhJCw

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMmL-Wwhg_o

[Mr_Theoo]

Have had a few more lessons. I can definitely see my game improving out on the course. I'm getting much better at chipping. I actually hit the flag stick last week. The biggest change by far has been ball flight and distance. I have gone from hitting a Fade/Slice to hitting a Draw/Hook. I still have much more to improve on like my posture and getting rid of the flip at impact but this has been a lot of fun so far. In the lesson we worked on my driver I actually hit a 292 yard drive

[Mr_Theoo]

 

[BestGrips.com]

Dude, I commend you for the huevos to post these changes on here! Also, that's some great improvement. Keep it up!

[Mr_Theoo]

So my season has came to an end, that stupid thing winter has rolled back in. So I thought I would do an update of how my swing is looking. 

 

I feel the back swing is getting much better and I am still working on getting it flatter and deeper.

I still have to work on getting rid of the flip but in my last lesson we may have had a break through as to why it was so hard for me to eliminate it. I wasn't turning my hips enough before impact so I was just using my strength to get the club where it needed to be. Which worked fine for hitting it a long way, but didn't do much for consistently.

 

The best thing from these lessons is by far the distance increase. I was hitting my 6 iron 155-160 max on pure strikes, now I'm approaching the 200+ mark. My mental game has also gotten stronger, when playing I now take into account where the pin is when selecting my club where before i was just hitting to the yardage i was at to the center of the green. Still not hitting many GIR but I'm getting myself into a lot less trouble which is good. 

 

This winter is going to be cleaning up my posture and getting rid of the flip at impact. Lots of hard work but its been so much fun getting to this point I cant wait to see where i end up by the start of next season.

[Mr_Theoo]

Dude, I commend you for the huevos to post these changes on here! Also, that's some great improvement. Keep it up!

 

Thanks Zach!

[lmh3]

Some very impressive improvement over the year, the good thing about an indoor facility is you can still get some work in over the winter. Continued success with your development and keep having fun.

[Mr_Theoo]

Well its almost been a year since I started this process and I couldn't be any happier with my swing and game as a whole.

 

A couple of weeks ago I got to go out and play a round with my swing coach. This was almost better than any swing lesson because he was able to see my weak points and I was able to see how a good player attacks a course.

 

We figured out that I need to start getting off the tee better. Especially with my driver. But my iron and wedge game has vastly improved over last year.

 

So while I have learned a lot, I still have a long way to go and can't wait to see what this season and year 2 has in store for my game!