GolfSpy TCB

Well, I knew I was frustrated in doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. My game wasn't improving - so I knew I was focusing on the wrong things, and probably not practicing in a way to improve. I hit a lot of balls on the range and I played a lot of rounds... but that didn't help me improve - so I explained to him that I was committed to improving my game. My long-term goal was to get to scratch. But I was also up front with him, that while that is a stretch goal - I wasn't sure I was capable of that. I also explained that I wasn't looking for a quick fix, and would be happy with a slow improvement over time - as long as there was improvement. Length entered the conversation (or my lack of length specifically) but that discussion was more about my realizing that I was not being technically efficient with my swing, and it was robbing me distance. Of course, I could also pursue speed training, but I wasn't looking at that as an answer until I learned how to be more consistent and technically sound with my swing. I talked through the types of shots I hit, what my standard ball flight is, what my standard misses are, and he even let me tell him what I thought was the cause... and in some cases I was correct - and just didn't know how to fix it. In other cases, I was completely wrong in my assumption, and he helped educate me on the golf swing. The main focus when I started talking to him was to improve me approach game. I was missing everything short and right, and just wasn't making good contact with any full iron shot. I recognized that was costing me a ton of strokes, and making me spend a whole day scrambling on every hole. The other aspects of my game were secondary to the full swing approach game. Once we had spent some time on the irons, we moved to driver, then to pitches and chips, then to hybrid/fairways, then to putting. He prompted that order, but I think my comments each week led us in that direction too. We would start each session with "how did you play last weekend?" then review the positives and negatives from the previoius session as it was shown in my actual course play... then move to the coaching in a specific area. If I was struggling with the irons.. we kept on that another week. If I had issues off the tee, that is what we spent the session on. It turned out to be a very organic series of sessions - and most important to me.. didn't feel like lessons - more coaching - if that makes sense. The results this year with my handicap drop were much faster than I expected. I honestly thought I would bounce up a little as I was implementing new concepts into my swing (which it did at first) and then I would maybe drop a few strokes by the end of the year. I certainly wasn't expecting 6. I believe I can continue to improve, and I'll keep working at it... but I"m certainly not expecting another 6 stroke drop next year ;).

To quote Elvis Costello.... My Aim is True (you are welcome for the ear worm...) Having "gone" there - I will say while my aim is an 8 - my execution is more like a 6. I recognize that my misses when it comes to breaking putts is setting up on the intended target line, then pushing or pulling the putt toward the hole. (which results a miss on the low side 10 out of 10 times unless I have misread the putt to begin with).

Sounds like a "turning water into wine" moment, haha.

Since this thread popped to the top of the recent list again... This year I committed to regular coaching sessions with my club pro. Before I made that decision, I had a swing analysis at GolfTec and a one off lesson early last year with another teaching professional. I really didn't know what I was looking for (in my 35+ years of golf, I have never had a lesson prior to last year other than the guy down the range coming over to offer me his thoughts on my swing - un-invited usually). So when I started talking to my club pro, and essentially interviewed him by asking his experience, his approach, his expectations, etc - he seemed to fit what I was looking for in my mind... which was not a swing overhaul through lessons and drills - but more of a view on how to utilize the swing I have, and improve with some better positions (or said differently... not trying to fit me into a mold, but using my swing as the parameters and building a mold around it). Nothing negative to say about the Golftec session, or the other one-off lesson I had... a lot of golfers have improved their game in those environments, but I was looking for less a lesson and more a coaching relationship... We had an initial "getting to know you" session where we did a lot of talking about my game and what I'm hoping to accomplish, as well as walking through each major section of the bag (Driver, Fairways, Long Irons, Short Irons, short game (partial shots including chipping and sand) and putting and me hitting shots in each area. That session took over an hour and he didn't offer any suggestions or direction in that first meeting. He took notes and then in the next session, had a game plan proposal for me. At this point, I was his player to coach. For the first month, we met weekly for 1/2 hour sessions (sometimes stretched near an hour)... picking one area to focus on... talked through what was happening in my swing and why the results were what they were, then offering some suggested swing thoughts, not so much drills - as much helping me feel what better positions felt like, then trying to make them habits by some repetition. Then I would spend the following week working on what I learned during the session. Each new session, we started with the last week's focus... and we either stayed on it (if I didn't fully implement what I was working on - or mis-understood, and found myself down some tangential road) or moved to the next area, keeping previous swing guidance in mind. I have been really impressed how he was able to thread the different aspects of the swing together... at least I thought he did - by starting with a building block in one aspect of the swing, which dovetailed into the next aspect of the swing we were working on. We also had a playing session where we went out to the course and played several holes - in one case a full 9 holes and along with the swing evolution, he had me talk through my on course routine and decision making strategy for playing each hole/shot. After the first few months, we pulled back on the frequency - for a couple of reasons. It was getting into the heat of the club event season, and with the Member/Member, the Men's Club Championship, the Club Championship and various other events - I was working to maintain my swing, rather than evolve it... so we focused on reviewing past coachings to keep my focus within my familiar swing. So from the first lesson in early spring, I have gone from an index of 9.5 to my current 3.4. For those of you doing the math... that is 6.1 strokes improvement. We have now been about a month since our last session, and as we are entering the "winter" season... my plan is to talk with my swing coach and determine where we can go from here. Of course I want to continue to improve... but can I? Have I reached my pinnacle with the tools I have at my disposal? I question that often. If we decide to continue our coach/player relationship... where do we go from here. At times I felt like he wasn't sure where to take me beyond what we already discussed, but that may just be my perception... and talking through it with him is the best way for us to come to the decision on how to move forward. The key is... I trust him. I trust him with my swing and I trust him to shoot straight and tell me either... "here is what we need to work on" or "dude, enjoy where you are at... it won't get much better than this". I know which answer I want from him... we'll see which one he gives me . So, in keeping with the thread titles... "When to abandon golf lessons....?" The answer I have is: If you have a coach/instructor that you trust, have the frank conversation with him to decide if you should continue or move on. If you don't trust your coach/instructor with your game or to have that conversation - the time to abandon is here, and you should seek someone you do trust.

The traditionalist of me cringes a little every time I see that back cap (though I have 2 sets currently that have it ). I know it is about what is under the hood that matters and hearing that they have improved the sound and feel make me very intrigued. Having said all that... these are beautiful irons!

Several rounds here that could be cross posted in the Weekly MGS Forum Member Championship Tour .... just sayin' If you post the course you played, the par for the course, your course handicap and your gross score... I can take it from there (but feel free to also include the net birdies or better and longest drive if you would like to).

This made me laugh out loud Jerry...

The thing that intrigues me about the high toe wedge is the added mass at the top line of the wedge should raise the CG a bit higher... so I "should" get a lower trajectory to assist in flighting my shots. I haven't done a lot of testing with High Toe or Full Face wedges, but as I start looking at replacements this next year due to groove wear on my current set... I plan to see how they may fit in my game... and probably equally important... to my eye. I'm more of a traditionalist on look, so I'm not sure I will have a "love it" reaction looking down at a high toe... at least that has been my initial experience when putting one on the floor in at the store and looking down at it. Of course - performance will help me get over the looks fairly quickly

I am sold on the importance of having a fitter watch your shots and make adjustments with the knowledge of what each shaft profile will give. I was always an "off the shelf" club buyer... trying to diagnose my own swing to get the best fit (while relying too much on what others were using and having success with). It has really only been in the past year that I have started to utilize the various fitting resources available to me... I have also developed relationships with a few of these fitters (one Titleist fitter in my area, and one shop fitter) so they know my swing (for better or worse) and I trust them to take the time in finding my best fit. I will still do some one off testing of my own (for example my recent experiments with the Otto-Phlex shaft), but I always have the "fitted" club(s) as my control when I experiment. Awesome review of your fitting experience @Reesedw I know Puetz Golf well (though the location in South Seattle area), I frequented that store a lot when I was living in SW WA, glad you had a good experience with them. Looking forward to hearing how your new TSR3 works out for you!

I have gone the wrong direction over the past 3-4 months. Put on about 10 pounds, rather than losing them... so that puts me at about a 20 pound delta. I am going to try to be more diligent between now and my nemesis.... Christmas. Also, now that the temp has come down a little, I am endeavoring to walk the course vs. ride when I go... It is a constant battle.

I just received my replacement TSR3 Driver from Titleist (original had a mfg. defect and I said this before, but huge shout out to Titleist Customer Service... they were helpful and responsive in replacing the club). Now I have a decision to make... TSR3 with Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue XLink "R" flex TSi3 with Graffaloy Pro Launch Blue "L" flex TSR3 with Graffaloy Pro Launch Blue "L" flex A week ago, no decision... option 1 - hands down. Sent my TSR3 back to Titleist and installed the PLB in the TSi3 5 days ago... and it earned a shot at the bag... Now with the TSR3 back in the mix... I have some serious testing to do. I have 2 clubs with 4 head/shaft options that are all supremely playable (at least I assume the TSR3 head with PLB shaft is a viable option based on my initial tests with the TSi3 head... but haven't officially tested that combo yet... maybe today... ).

I think there is an important distinction between gaining distance through improving technique and flexibility vs. focused speed training. Striving to improve your ability to swing the golf club in a way that delivers consistent and solid contact with the ball will in turn give you your cake with icing to a certain extent (accuracy and distance). Swinging the club faster with the same non-technically sound swing faults may result in a longer ball with bigger misses from the target line as Chisag outlined. My personal opinion is everyone (me included) can hit the ball farther without sacrificing accuracy, if you are working on improving your technique and employ repetition.

There is definitely less margin for lower handicap players Cnosil. I started this as a net game since the handicap system is designed to allow all players of all skill levels play and compete together on a level playing ground - and have some fun stacking our scores up against each other. My hopes of winning a black jacket are pretty low as well... but I'm enjoying posting my scores in the mix of the other members. I am also considering a way to also have a Gross game, though it is a little more difficult to do that across all the different courses the members play... and finding a way to account for the relative difficulty of those courses (like the course handicap calculation does). We will try to come up with a plan for a Gross game as part of Season 2 - which begins the first week of April :). In the meantime, I hope you continue to post your scores... and you never know when a few shots under your handicap may just walk away with the top prize for the week!

Great post Sam, I picked this quote from your post because it resonates with me and my game this year. I was a full swing player at the beginning of this year. I gapped all my clubs based on full swing distances (albeit slow full swings by my own expectation and hope), I wanted to maximize my distance with every club. What that resulted in (so I have since realized) is that I may hit that full swing distance 4 or 5 out of 10 times, the other 50-60% of the time, for one reason or another, I was short of my target. What dawned on my is that I was setting my playing yardages to an unrealistic expectation that I couldn't consistently repeat. Enter the 3/4 swing shot. I started carving out a fair part of my practice time to hitting less than full shots with all my wedges, and even toyed at trying to dial in the 9 and 8 iron with that type of swing... that is a work in progress - but what I have discovered is the meaning of the flighted wedge shot. It is been night an day for me from 110 yards in. I'm not perfect with those shots, but I'm now 8 out of 10 rather than 4 out of 10 on contact consistently, and not only have I dialed in the distance control, but also the direction control... so it effectively improved in two planes (front to back, and left to right). The other thing to note, if I need that full swing shot (getting the ball up quickly to get over a tree or something) I still have it to draw from... I just know it is a lower percentage shot than the partial swing flighted shot.

This is going to be a great upcoming year for golf. I predict Rory and Scheffler will be trading that #1 spot a few times... Could '23 be the year for Rory's Grand Slam???? I think he is peaking at the perfect time!!

Posting a round out of the gate Vandy!! Some pretty strong stats too. Especially that 304 yard drive.

Hmmm... what wedge would you add? Looks like you are pretty well gapped from PW - 58*

You know you are in trouble, when the bunker has a flight of stairs. haha. Love the pics @Golfspy_Lukes!!

This is GREAT Bobbers. I'm following your comments very well I should say, that I won't be the one doing the work... but I have found that if I give EXPLICIT instructions and expectations to my builder... things go much more smoothly. For example... this last trip, I "thought" I had communicated clearly that I wanted a NEW Titleist tip installed on the PLB, so I could have an easily interchangeable shaft back to my original. What I found when I went to pick it up was the existing tip pulled off the old shaft and installed on the new shaft. Easily rectified... but I guess I wasn't clear enough of my expectations. Then I started worrying that the new PLB shaft was cut to length from the wrong end... but as you said, it is a butt end mod... so all good there. So, I'm just getting my ducks in a row, so I can show my builder which order all those ducks belong in when I get there I don't have a swing weight scale, but I have used the calculation method listed above in the thread, and it is pretty dead on in my various tests. My builder has a scale, so between the two of us, we get to the right end. One of the things I'm toying with is using a 5w or 3w length shaft in the 7w head... combined with the O-PH protocol, I may have the perfect club between my 3w and the hybrid I carry ... plus a nice high flying soft landing flight from the added club loft. I really do want to see what the PLB shaft will do in the Srixon 3w head... but I may wait to receive my TSR 3w and have the shaft options between the GD shaft I ordered in it, and the O-PH shaft. Man, this is fun!

Thanks Bobbers, I really appreciate the help and attention to my questions. I think by next spring, my bag will be filled with TSRs (Driver, 3W and another fairway to be named later - trying to determine if the 4w, 5w or 7w will be the best fit for my game... but won't have that answer until I put the TSR2+ 3w into play... ) I currently also have a Titleist TSi2 Hybrid... so all those would be Titleist Tipped. My current gamers are the Srixon Zx fairways (3w, 5w, 7w). and I also have couple Tour Edge Exotics hybrids that i may dedicate to the O-PH cause. So that is my potential arsenal... In just a few short days, I am amazed at what the Driver with the PLB-"L" is feeling like, and the results. I bit mind boggling to be honest. So of course... as golfers who can never be satisfied I'm saying... ok - what else can I do?? haha. I mean... I can't remember the last time I walked to my ball over 300 yards down the fairway... I'm talking YEARS .... if EVER? It happened yesterday... I'm not opposed to trying other shaft styles... especially if they have been vetted by this thread... I have just had such immediate results with the PLB... seems like a logical next step to me. What I don't want to do is remove some of the "magic" of the O-PH by a bad decision on the club building process... i.e. tipping it the wrong way. Thanks again for your help on this!

+1

So @Bobbers, @azstu324and others... when you decided to move into the fairways... how did you approach the length adjustments on the shaft...? To clarify... if I were to get a couple of raw fairway/hybrid shafts, and I wanted to install in my 3w, 5w and hybrid... when I have them cut to length, should I approach the length adjustment from the butt end, the tip end or both (fairly new to the club building environment... so thanks for the education and not laughing if it is a stupid question... ) .

WEEK 4 RESULTS ARE IN!!! @GolfSpy_APH is maintaining his lead in the Year Long MGS Forum Cup Points Race... A long way to go... Remember - The only way to earn points is to post weekly scores in the MGS Forum Member Championship Tour Thread... See you there!!

WEEK 5 of the Virtual MYGOLFSPY FORUM MEMBER CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR is now open!! October 24th through October 30th It is easy to enter the weekly tournament - simply post the following information in this thread: Course Name Gross Score Course Handicap Net Score Net Birdies or Better Longest Drive of the round Feel free to post your card, pictures of your round, and talk about your round.... this is a forum after all . Low Net Score, Most Net Birdies or Better and Longest Drive each week wins the coveted profile badges for the week! PLAY OFTEN - POST OFTEN

WEEK 4 FINAL LEADERBOARD MYGOLFSPY FORUM MEMBER CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR ============================================== Another awesome week of participation with 26 rounds posted across the forum members. WEEK 4 WINNERS: Low Net Score: Taking home the MGS Forum Black Jacket this week.... @ChitownM2 posted a net 66 at Bloomingdale GC to finish the week at 5 under par - winning the Week 4 Low Net Score by one stroke over a 5 way tie for 2nd including @Golf2Much @snicerz @badgergolf and @fozcyclewith rounds of 4 under par. Most Net Birdies or Better: @fozcycleled the field this week with 9 net birdies or better in his round at Plantation Palms - with hot pursuit by @ChitownM2, @Golf2Much, @badgergolf, and @snicerz . @fozcyclewill sport the Low Birdie badge for the upcoming week! Longest Drive: Week 4 continues to highlight some big hitters, with 5 individual drives posted over 300 yards. @snicerzunleashed the winning bomb this week, with his measured drive of 337 yards - some 16 yards past the nearest competitor @Golfspy_TCB with a 321 yard drive. @snicerzclaims the Long Drive Badge for Week 4. Congratulations to all the winners and a huge thank you to all who continue to post their rounds as part of the MYGOLFSPY FORUM MEMBER CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR. **Also make sure to check out the Year To Date Points Standings on the MGS Forum Cup ** Week 5 starts now, so as always PLAY OFTEN / POST OFTEN!!