[edingc's Work In Progress]

I had my first lesson since April yesterday. I've been playing pretty good golf score-wise, but had been struggling a lot off the tee in recent weeks. In the four rounds prior to my lesson I lost a total of 10 strokes just to penalties off the tee. 

Overall, my coach is really pleased with my progress. At this point it's just a bunch of small changes each time I have a lesson. It seems to take me about three lessons to get things cemented into my on course swing, so I've been happy to see some of the progress I've made on areas where we've worked on in the past.

Couple of frames from my lesson video to note:

At setup I need to feel a little more stretched out with my arms. It's only a small change on video, but to me it feels like I'm reaching a long way to the ball now. Ball position had worked a little too forward as well. And, although we didn't talk about this during the lesson, I had recently been getting too into my toes at setup as well so this is me feeling pressure more over my shoe laces than in the front of my feet.

The big "change" from the lesson is just to turn more. I've been working on this since last fall but had fallen back into the bad habit of having a very short and abbreviated backswing. Simply feeling more turn made a huge difference. I'm going to need to practice this very mindfully because it's an uncomfortable position for me to be in even though I hit great shots that fly further with the extra turn.

Impact doesn't look all that different yet. Backswing turn is the No. 1 priority for me to improve, No. 2 is to let my back stay to target a bit longer and not rip my shoulders open so quickly. 

Exit position was definitely better though.

I think I've taken about 10 or 11 lessons since the fall of 2019. I'm very happy with the return on my investment. For just slightly more than the cost of a new driver I think I've made a ton of progress.

Couple other things to note: 

I had gotten too outside on the takeaway so we worked all lesson using the "Faldo drill" to get my backswing back on track (this was my takeaway when I started my lesson):

I really hadn't noticed this until watching the video, but I'm pleased with my physical conditioning. I can visibly see a difference from last summer to now. I've been walking at least 12-15 miles per week just with golf alone, push mow the lawn and still have been lifting lighter weights a few times a week. Also, my eating habits have been better as well. Just need to keep it up!

[Unofficial Review: L.A.B. Golf Directed Force 2.1 Putter]

Anything inside 10 feet seems automatic with the L.A.B., and I usually walk away disappointed that I didn't make the putt if it doesn't go down.

I still have my days where speed control is less than stellar, but I've had some really, really good rounds, too. The last two rounds at my home course I had 29 putts each time. This morning's round had eight one-putts and four birdies. Just a really good day all around on the green.

I love the alignment markings I went with. I match the line on my golf ball with the center line on the alignment guide and then can focus solely on speed. It's definitely helped me become a better putter. 

[Unofficial Review: Dumina AutoFlex SF505X Driver Shaft]

Just checking in to reiterate a point. While I have not gotten any launch monitor numbers to prove this, I am longer with the AutoFlex without feeling like I'm swinging any harder. Based on my Mevo numbers at the range, my swing speed has actually come down a little bit since winter, and I might top out at 110-111 MPH now.

I had a lesson yesterday and hit the driver pretty well this morning feeling nothing more than "nice, easy swings" and making sure I turned enough in my backswing. Results were:

• No. 3: 263 yards, slight fade, finished just barely in the right rough. Allowed me to go for the green in two.
• No. 5: 260 yards, pulled left going up the hill and hit a tree. Had to punch out.
• No. 7: 265 yards, pretty big fade that was blocked out by trees. Probably over compensated for hitting it left on No. 5. Had to hit a low runner up the fairway.
• No. 9: 241 yards, pulled left, hit grove of trees and ricocheted backwards. Was not a good swing, but got lucky and could hit over the trees up toward the green.
• No. 14: 280 yards, just right of fairway. Beautiful swing, longest drive I've ever hit on this hole. Led to a perfect layup on the par 5.
• No. 15: 261 yards, majorly uphill short par 4, kind of bunted driver that I overdrew. Was hole high though.
• No. 16: 284 yards, downhill. Didn't actually hit the ball all that squarely, but this was a great example of the forgiveness of the AutoFlex. Just barely in the left rough. 
• No. 17: 315 yards, downhill. I hit the sweet spot and unfortunately was aimed just a bit right for the shot shape (slight fade). I ended up blocked out by a line of trees, but I absolutely killed this one.
• No. 18: 283 yards, uphill. Again, not my best swing as it was a bit heely and pulled left. 

As you can see, the driver was pretty good to me coming down the stretch. Nos. 16, 17, and 18 are also the most "open" holes (if my home course has such a thing), so I find it's a bit easier to swing away.

I don't think I'll be selling the stock Rogue White anytime soon, but I am also not seeing a reason to switch back, either. I'm finding the AutoFlex to be very forgiving and the perceived distance gains are crazy.

[What/How Did You Practice Today?]

7 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

Had a good range day yesterday.  Took the planemate with me and did some warmup before hitting.  I tried to hit some balls with it on but I need A LOT more work in that area.  I might have to go back to the short band and just do pitching motions.

Took the planemate off and started to have some fun including this cross-range pitch to the trampoline.  It's about 80 yards from there and I used my GW as the PW was carrying just over the top.  It's a fun target to hit to and a bonus when you bounce it off!

Then I progressed through the bag and ended up hitting some really good drives including this one which carried to the tree along the fence at the end of the range (about 260).  Since making some adjustments to my grip and changing the settings on the driver it's flown considerably straighter and I am not seeing nearly as much left to right.  It's starting to scare me a little.

Lastly I worked on hitting some shots to the 100 yard marker with my GW to really work on a smooth feel.  I was very impressed with this series of shots as they flew exactly where I wanted, and I even got a nice draw on the last one.

I feel like I'm starting to round into mid-season form, now I just need to get out and play some more this year.  

Crazy! That first swing with your gap wedge was so smooth that I thought it was a practice swing until I heard you hit the ball.

[How'd you play?]

1 minute ago, Getoffmylawn said:

Great round Cody, looks like your handicap is moving in the right direction.

Did you take the plunge on DECADE Foundations then?

I re-watched all of the first month that he had given away free a while back. Basically the Tiger Five plus the mental expectations parts. I think this year I'm going to hold off, but I do plan on going in on it next spring. 

[How'd you play?]

- 35/38 = 73 (+1)
- 4/15 FIR
- 11/18 GIR (4 birdies)
- 29 Putts (1 3-putt, 9 2-putts, 8 1-putts)

Scott Fawcett is not wrong when he says winning/playing well is about as much luck as anything else! 

I had a lesson yesterday and got sorted out and hit the ball excellently with everything today, but of the four birdies, I'd say only one I would have expected to go in. Birdied Nos. 1, 3, 9 and 10 and was actually -2 heading to 13. Bogeyed 13 after blocking my tee shot just a bit too far right and then having a "two chip" (DECADE term), and then had a bad three-putt bogey from 30 feet on No. 14 (also a double no-no in DECADE). 

Another gorgeous morning (albeit a bit steamy!) for golf and it's always great to put together that kind of round. It's fun making birdies.

Stuffed a 9 iron on the par three No. 8 hole to within 10 feet. Best par three shot of the year, unfortunately I gave the putt a little too much gas and went through the break for a tap-in par.

[What equipment are you thinking about?]

Just now, B.Boston said:

Cody, you are the hero we need.  Please do a shootout!  

I've been asking for an adjustable Cobra hybrid.... but I want the rails! haha  This does look like a great driving club alternative though.  If I wasn't so comfortable with my 5 wood I'd give one of those 2H a go.

The problem is that I'm actually really happy with everything in the bag right now! I just don't feel the need to go rocking the boat. These actually look like great options at both the 16 degree and 20 degree slots since I play my 4 hybrid as basically a 6/7 wood. 

Wedges are probably going to be the next out of my bag though, not because I don't love them but just because of the amount they get used on course and in practice.

I will say, the top end of the bag would look really sweet with an Epic Speed LS and two of these hybrids... 

[What equipment are you thinking about?]

44 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

EDIT: Could this be a SuperHybrid competitor?  Lots of talk about distance on the website.

Looks like a direct competitor... same length, but it's slightly more adjustable.

Weird that they dropped the rails on this one - probably not as easy to have all of the movable weights. It reminds me of the F7 line, I think?

EDIT - Just saw they are coming stock with the MMT. Could be an interesting shootout vs. the Super Hybrid.

[Dlow206 does away with double bogeys]

5 minutes ago, cnosil said:

IMO, feel is something that is learned.  People always say thinks I don’t thing about mechanics when throwing a baseball; that is true, but to throw a baseball 40:feet you have to build those feels through repetition.  For putting you need to practice rolling the ball specific distances… how far do I move my hands or the head of the putter to roll the ball specific distances.  For me I move the putter head specific distances and always keep the same tempo.  For example a 10 for putt moves the putter back to my big toe,  20 feet is just outside my right foot, etc.   once on the course I know what it feels like to move the putter that far so I just do it without the mechanical thoughts.  

when you go to another course you try rolling a 10 foot putt and see how far the ball goes.  If it is short of 10 feet the greens are slower and you need a bigger stroke. F farther then you need to use a smaller stroke.  
 

practice by doing ladder drills.   Focus on being able to roll the ball a specific distance as speed dictates a lot of the decision process about putting.  

Sage advice! I was just rewatching some DECADE stuff and as Scott says, being a good putter is all about controlling speed. Having the EXPUTT is great for this.

I don't spend a ton of time on the practice green before rounds, but what I usually do is walk off a 10 foot and 20 foot putt and hit at least 2-3 of each to calibrate speed. Once I've got that, then it's just a matter of keeping that feel throughout the round.

@dlow206 sounds like you are making some good progress with the new instructor and grip. I think your plan of improving your bunker play and eliminating those wasted shots is going to make a big difference in your scores.

[How'd you play?]

- 40/41 = 81 (+9)
- 4/15 FIR
- 5/18 GIR (1 birdie)
- 29 Putts (11 2-putts, 7 1-putts)

Another densely foggy morning which was tough to work with. I couldn't see my tee shots land all day and was only able to see greens for my approach by about No. 17.

Wasted a fantastic day with the putter due to my driver all of a sudden going left on me today. It had been going right for the past three weeks! Hooked two balls OB left on the back nine. All but one other of my drivers today went left. On the plus side I was making much better contact with the ball and had two drives out over 280 yards according to Arccos.

Other than the driver, it was a pretty solid round! Had a double bogey on No. 2 because I was about 30 yards past the green with my second shot. Not sure how I managed that! Also birdied No. 9 for the first time this year after hitting a great wedge from the rough about 100 yards out to five feet.

[What/How Did You Practice Today?]

Have been totally lost on the tee box as of late, so I went out today with only a single wedge and then nothing but long irons, hybrids and driver.

Driver still isn't good at all (lesson on Wednesday and I will make that the focus), but by the end of my buckets I started finding some good things with all of the other clubs. I still default to bringing the club way inside on the backswing and it leads to pushes and hooks, especially with the longer clubs. Toward the end of the session, I really focused on "standing up the umbrella" or taking the club back along the shaft line (thanks, @GolfSpy_CS for that thought) and then keeping the right shoulder up on the downswing. Made some really nice contact and hit some dead straight shots, which is a rarity for me.

[Random Thread]

On 6/6/2021 at 10:00 AM, bens197 said:

 

Dead serious. 
 

I helped out with my nephews (8 years old) last fall. 
 

3/5 coaches for opposite team had pants cleats and jerseys on the bench. It was pathetic…and it’s real. 
 

Lots of unresolved personal conflict going on there. 

I'd agree with you at 8 years old. At that point as a coach you're just shepherding and babysitting anyway. 

I did one year of 13/14 year olds my freshman year of college and wore pants, high socks (always rocked the high socks!) and coaching shoes. Cleats would be silly. But we had fairly strict rules about needing to wear sleeves, hats and pants for the kids, so all of the coaches followed along to set the standard.

Not saying that it's the only way to do things, but we had by far the least talented team in our area but yet the most disciplined and best record at the end of the year as a result.

[How'd you play?]

Got a chance to get out with @ncwoz at the local condo course this morning. Great morning for golf and it was nice to have some company out on the course. Last month I shot a 92 from the tips here, today we played the blues but they really aren't much further up. Played better today and made some progress.

- 43/44 = 87 (+16)
- 5/13 FIR
- 8/18 GIR (1 birdie)
- 38 Putts (5 3-putts, 10 2-putts, 3 1-putts)

I was a mess off the tee again for a good chunk of holes and it cost me quite a few strokes. Neither Nate or myself could buy a putt today, but on the back I started getting on the wrong side of greens and you absolutely cannot do that at this course.

Still, was a blast. Can't complain!

[Building My 2021 Sticks - Sub70 699/699 Pro Combo Set]

20 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

Hey Cody, not sure if you've commented on this or not yet.  I know you're getting along well with the 699's.  Didn't know if you've commented about the differences you feel between a player's cavity like that versus your experience with the Speedzone irons last year?

I have to think that the lofts weren't too far apart, maybe a bit in the longer irons, but they are obviously very different in construction.  For me the player's cavity design has been eye-opening.  They're definitely more forgiving then they let on from how they look in the bag.

 

Yes, I'm getting along much better with the Sub70s than I did with the SpeedZones. I didn't hate the looks of the SpeedZones, but the smaller profile of the 699s (even the non-"Pro" long irons) is much more pleasing to look at behind the ball. And whatever they fill the heads with makes them feel and sound really nice as well.

Direct comparisons are always so tough because as I've improved with practice/lessons things like carry distance have come up a bit. I carry my 699 Pro 9 iron about the same exact distance as the SpeedZone 9 iron, but there's 3 degrees of difference between the two clubs. 

I think anyone shooting under 100 with regularity could play something like the 699s and not give up a ton of forgiveness to the more SGI-type clubs. There's a lot of tech packed into the heads to help out. They really are a nice blend looks/forgiveness/feel.

Certainly, SGI clubs have their place. I can imagine if you are very steep or maybe a slower swinger the larger sole and lower CG of something like the SpeedZones may be more beneficial.

[Building My 2021 Sticks - Sub70 699/699 Pro Combo Set]

6 hours ago, golfish! said:

@edingc I am expecting my 699 Pro's also from the Preowned section of Sub70 on Monday! I believe our lofts are the same so wondering what the bottom end of your bag looks like? I believe the AW is 50*. I currently game the Kirkland wedge set which is 52,56,60...would 6* of loft separation be too much to go from 50* to 56*?

The AW is 50. I go 54, 58. My brother-in-law goes 50-56-60 and does well with it.

[Cobra Connect Five-Pre Challenge Chatter-Testers Announced.]

1 hour ago, gavinski91 said:

Sorry to leave you hanging - had to deal with a vomiting cat when I got home. 
 

Anyways, now that I have the Arccos sensors on my current clubs any rounds I play are setting my baseline for the competition. I came into the challenge as a 20+ handicap. Then last night this happened:

My previous career best was an 88 (that I shot last week). On one hand, I’m playing the best golf of my life heading into the challenge. On the other hand, this is like the exact opposite of sandbagging..... 

Sounds like me coming into last year! I think of the 15 baseline rounds last year I shot under 80 like five times and only did it once during the challenge itself.

Awesome round though, and even with that 9 to record a 40/80 is fantastic!

[How'd you play?]

4 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Love the photo

Thanks. What's funny is that picture makes it look like you could actually see out beyond the tee box, which was not the case! On several holes I basically would hit the ball, try to judge what direction it was going based on the feel of the swing and then carefully listen to hear if I hit a tree. I actually had to walk up almost to the greens on the par 3s because I couldn't see the hole location from the tee.

This particular hole I must have hit a slightly cut hybrid because I found it sitting nicely on the right side of the fairway around the dogleg.

[How'd you play?]

Played in a work fundraising scramble yesterday with a co-worker and two of our vendors. I was really happy with the way I hit the ball, and we used the majority of my shots. I think we ended up -3 which is near the bottom middle of the pack as usual in this outing. Some teams get pretty stacked and finish almost -20.

The outing was a long day, basically 11 AM-7 PM with warm-up, lunch, golf and drinks afterward. I wasn't sure how this morning's round would go as a result, but my good ball striking carried over well.

- 39/39 = 78 (+6)
- 6/15 FIR
- 8/18 GIR
- 31 Putts (14 2-putts, 3 1-putts, 1 chip-in par save)

It was very foggy for the first 14 holes which made aiming and following tee shots quite an adventure. Had three birdie putts and three par putts run over edges and had another birdie attempt finish about a roll short. Just a few inches over all 18 holes could have made a huge difference! Gorgeous morning for golf.

[Building My 2021 Sticks - Sub70 699/699 Pro Combo Set]

23 hours ago, Getoffmylawn said:

Cody, now that you're season is well underway, are you still seeing some joint-saving benefits from the MMTs, and still getting consistent performance?

Due to recent injury problems I'm starting to investigate transitioning to a Steelfiber or MMT shaft in the offseason; just re-read this thread with renewed interest.  Thanks for documenting everything here.

I have zero elbow/shoulder/wrist pain from the MMTs, and that's despite playing 3-4 rounds a week plus hitting range balls. I occasionally take some half swings in my basement off the carpet with an old Cleveland wedge and almost immediately start to feel aches and pains crop up from the steel shaft and less padding (mimics my winter range pretty well).

Performance-wise they are every bit as good as steel. I'm glad I went with the stiffer flex. When I'm off a little bit or get tense, my swing gets shorter and my transition gets more abrupt and these hold up just fine to that. I get a nice high ball flight without too much spin on my best shots. Distance has slightly increased throughout the bag even though my lofts are more "traditionally loft-jacked" (45 degree PW) than clubs I've played in the past.

The finish has held up well. I sometimes get a few marks going in and out of the bag but so far they've all rubbed off. 

The only two negatives I've found with the MMTs are:

• The butt end of the 105TX shafts is slightly larger than other shafts I've used. This has caused some issues with my grip and I've contemplated switching to undersized grips.
• Swingweighting with tip weights is nearly impossible - I bought the thinnest tipped weights that I could find on the Internet and they still didn't fit in the MMTs.

Let me know if you have any other questions or if I didn't address something well enough!

[What equipment are you thinking about?]

Somewhat equipment related, but my Arccos subscription is due to renew in 10 days and I'm trying to decide what direction to go:

1. Stay with Arccos
2. Either GolfMetrics or DECADE
3. Quit Tracking

I know I don't want a watch like ShotScope, even a smaller one like v3. Arccos has been so fiddly this year for me. Some rounds it works pretty well, other rounds it's just awful. I end up spending too much time worrying about it working and I think it's hindering my focus a bit. I shut it off after the first hole Monday and played one of my better mental rounds of the year.

DECADE is roughly the same cost as Arccos for the first six month Foundations course and I can get strokes gained analysis and the like from it. GolfMetrics is a little cheaper but doesn't have the DECADE content, obviously.

I really hate to quit tracking as I think there is a lot of value in strokes gained in looking at what areas need improvement, but I also think that during most rounds the worst part of my gain is readily apparent.

I was reading Mike Carroll's (Fit for Golf) post about him going from a 5 to +1 in a year and he used GolfMetrics for the majority of his tracking. I'm seeing some good progress on the course but really am searching for what can push me over the top and get past this hump where I'll match great rounds with miserable rounds. Stat tracking only plays a small part of that - but right now I don't feel like I'm getting a lot of value out of Arccos.

[edingc's Work In Progress]

Enjoyed all of the positive feedback on the last video, so I went out Saturday evening and grabbed some more footage to cut together:

I still have been very hit or miss over the past two weeks - shooting an even par 72 but following it up with a +20 and +19 effort before having a nice round of 81 at a more difficult course on Memorial Day. My driver has been a mess. I have a lesson in a couple of weeks and hope to get that sorted out.

[How'd you play?]

4 hours ago, yungkory said:

Really happy with the way I played today, and not even just because I shot a +4 76

50% FiR

44% GiR

29 Putts

Most pleased with not making anything worse than bogey!

Amazing how well you can score when you keep double-plus off the card. Nice round!

[How'd you play?]

15 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

Well I’m pretty sure thats more golf than I have managed yet this year!  Nothing irks me more than a double or triple bogey on par 5s.  I feel your pain.  I had a round like you with the driver a few weeks ago, couldn’t hit a decent drive for my life.  I think I had 3 go over average that day and one of them was more lucky than good.  

That’s awesome that you got to play so many rounds though, I was supposed to play yesterday but rain/wind/cool temps put that on hold.  

Thanks! It was a little different configuration of holes than I expected to play (like you, I planned to play 18 yesterday morning but we had frost delay for second day in a row so I just went home), but my brother-in-law got stuck with no playing partner at the last minute so I ended up playing two days in a row with him. It's nice to have a playing partner!

Friday and Saturday nights were awesome because I got to walk a twilight nine - perks of a membership - I showed up around 7:30 each night and was the last car in the parking lot both nights. Really relaxing (and I have some more GoPro footage to cut together!).

I got eaten up by a few sand traps today and yesterday. And when my putter goes cold I can get some gnarly looking cards going quickly:

[How'd you play?]

Wife was out of town for the weekend so I played a little more golf than I might normally over the holiday. Won't bore you with stats from five rounds (3 18s, 2 9s), but to sum up my weekend I played OK golf for a lot of holes but couldn't avoid blowup holes on a couple of the rounds.

Shot 39, 91, 42, 92, 81, so very rollercoaster-ish. The 92 and 81 were not at my home course. 92 was a shorter course but extremely penal off the tee. Had two birdies and only lost one ball and still managed the 92.

The 81 was from this morning's round back at Moss Ridge, where we played last weekend and I shot an 87. After completely duffing my opening drive about 30 yards onto the next set of tees (I re-teed for my third shot), I settled down and played pretty well with another pair of birdies, but had an unfortunate (and avoidable) triple bogey on one of the par 5s. 

I'm striking my irons pretty well, chipping pretty well and putting comes and goes. My driver/tee game has been awful for the past few weeks. Just weak fades/slices all weekend long.

[What/How Did You Practice Today?]

Walked a quick practice nine tonight trying to recreate my success from Tuesday. Didn't intend on playing "for real" as I didn't use any technology or laser and went completely by yardage stakes and feel. Ended up shooting a 39 (38 ESC) only because I lost a ball after fanning my tee shot right on No. 3 leading to a triple bogey. Six pars, bogey and a birdie otherwise.

The birdie came on No. 2 for the first time this year after hitting a fantastic 6 iron punch shot beneath the trees and wind from 140 out of the right rough to 7 feet and sinking the birdie putt. 

I didn't hit the ball all that well (no where near as well as Tuesday) but still was able to score OK. Really struggling to get through the ball and onto my left side. A few lessons ago I was working on not letting my head move forward in the downswing and I've overcorrected to falling back a bit with the upper body through impact. Sometimes I get too inside and get stuck and that causes me to fall back to get to the ball, but it happens no matter what unless I'm really focusing on maintaining my spine angle through the downswing.