[What/How Did You Practice Today?]

@twyatt700 @Lacassem

You're both right, and that's why I've trimmed down video to only a handful of swings per session. Mostly just to check grip and setup, which is at the recommendation of my instructor. Always try to pull a few good things out as well. Had a couple great Super Hybrids from the tee today and that made my session! Have made a ton of good progress in the last month or so! Ready for warmer weather to truly set in so I can get out on the course more regularly.

[What/How Did You Practice Today?]

Honestly, maybe I’m having a little too much opportunity to practice this early in the season.

I love practicing but get in my head, and inadvertently make my goal to be perfect on every swing. On course I’d likely be very happy with most of my shots, but on the range it’s a different deal sometimes. Oh well. Something I need to work on!

I have had a few so-so buckets working on things from my last lesson and keep falling into some bad habits. I’m making progress in some areas, but have been overall a bit frustrated. Then I watch video and see old habits, like how I let my hands work in too close to my body at address:

I’m getting better at not throwing my upper body at the ball. My hip rotation is improving. But when I get too close to the ball, I come back too inside and it sets off a bad chain of events later on in the downswing.

[Unofficial Review: Dumina AutoFlex SF505X Driver Shaft]

Another heavy AutoFlex day at the range. Today was not the best of weather days with it being in the low 40s with a sustained 12-15 MPH right-to-left wind. Weather aside, I'm starting to dial in the strike point with the AutoFlex at D2.5 and 45.75":

I caught one ball low heel, but most of my "misses" struck barely low on the face. Several shots came right out of the center. That pattern is over 30-plus shots. I noticed I had started to let the ball work too forward in my stance over the past few sessions. Bringing the ball back in line with my left big toe upped my consistency.

Mevo numbers were disappointing, but I suspect the temperature of the range balls did me no favors. I also received my second COVID-19 vaccine last week. My swing speed dropped following my first dose three weeks ago and hadn't fully recovered. The second dose had more noticeable side effects and wiped me out for a whole day at the end of last week.

Excuses aside, I averaged 110 MPH club speed and 158 MPH ball speed. My last swing of the day was the best, hitting 162.3 MPH ball speed on a beautiful baby draw.

I am pretty certain my dispersion has improved with the AutoFlex in the Mavrik. This is a feel and not a validated fact. I still hit an overcooked hook or a high blocked fade with the best of them.

At this point, I'm waiting on the weather to cooperate with me so I can get the AutoFlex out on the course. I feel like I've been practicing forever and should be playing. However, we've had such a mild early spring, I forget it is only the end of March.

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

8 hours ago, Tpoole22 said:

Been really wanting to try one of these for a while and I may have missed it somewhere in this thread, but do these work well for a slight arc putting stroke?

Others can chime in, but the L.A.B. should work with a variety of stroke types. The balance is along your arc, whatever that may be. 

I personally consider myself a slight arc putter (and EXPUTT confirms that) and, as my review says, get along well with the putter.

[What/How Did You Practice Today?]

2 hours ago, Lacassem said:

Glad everyone is getting out to throw their back out today!

@Shankster I think swinging like this can be helpful, 1) helps you realize what you can get up to and 2) I was playing around with yesterday what I felt comfortable with getting up to, for me 104 felt pretty good and could be a crisp shot, range time hopefully to tell. That 131 is impressive, I might have to get out of my office in a few minutes and see....Post to come....

@edingcnice work there, how did you feel swinging all out with it? I found a couple times getting a wider base helped me feel a little more stable and could potentially if I really wanted to crank it up on course.

Anyway I am hoping that since I dont have the SS sticks this could atleast help me get up that speed again.

I'm a wide-base guy naturally, and can get very wide if I don't pay much attention to setup. Definitely a good way to add a bit of speed. I've really enjoyed swinging all out this offseason, I think it's translated to a few more MPH on my "normal" swings. Big fan.

1 hour ago, Chip Strokes said:

@Shankster @Lacassem @edingc i wanna play!  anyone wanna send me their fancy swing speed radar? 

You could just take Shank's driver photo and claim it's your 4 iron. I'd believe you.

[edingc's Work In Progress]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

You could think of it this way: the pivot point of the swing needs to be in the chest, so that the head can function as a counterweight. I don't think I want to try to get my head in a place: I want to be pivoting so hard around my upper chest (the top of the triangle of my arms) that my head is thrown backward.

 

This is spot on. (And I greatly appreciate the thoughtful response.)

I've been grasping for different feels as to how to accomplish this feat, which feels nearly impossible at the moment. The ones that are just feelings about the head not moving tend to result in poor swings. Sure, my head doesn't move much, but in accomplishing that I have to do all sorts of compensations like leaning backward and throwing out my rear hip. As you alluded to, I'm not counterbalancing myself in these cases, I'm fixing the center of my movement on my head.

In no particular order, some different feels I've tried so far that have had times of success:

• The "cast" portion of the "No Turn, Cast" drill.
• Replacing my left shoulder on the top of the backswing with my right shoulder on the downswing.
• Feeling like my hips and chest are matched up at impact (taken from this AMG video).
• Right shoulder down-and-out (versus out-and-down). 
• Throwing the club (a la your mentioned hammer throw...)
• Rotating around my shirt tag or the base of my neck.
• Back to target longer. (Gets me rotating my upper body instead of shifting forward.)
• Hands starting the downswing.  (This is the one that my coach keeps re-iterating to me and tends to have the most success - albeit still inconsistently.)

You highlight an important point, and one that's unclear in my own critique: my head movement is a symptom of another swing ailment and not the ailment in itself.

[What/How Did You Practice Today?]

21 minutes ago, Shankster said:

Hmm...

I definitely was swinging for the next county...  but dang, I had no idea I could move like this... 

Those are some legitimately crazy numbers regardless of how uncontrolled you were. 

My best 4 iron effort was a little short...

[edingc's Work In Progress]

1 minute ago, ncwoz said:

Mostly because I'm curious and also need some more upper/lower body dissociation in transition, do you feel like there's any mobility limitations holding you back? Or is it mostly just a weird movement to get used to? 

I'm generally not super flexible, but can't figure out if it's holding me back from making a good move or not.

I think for me it's just a weird movement. I have zero issues making that move in the mirror or at slow speed. I've been pitching balls in the backyard and seem to be able to do it there as well.

Part of the issue is that it: 1) Doesn't feel as powerful as throwing the upper body toward the target (obviously not true) 2) When my lower body gets in the right position my brain interprets it as my upper body falling backward (also, not true)

I think a few buckets of some half swings working up to a full swing about every third swing will help. I'm guilty of taking full cuts for an entire bucket, even when I'm working on something.

[edingc's Work In Progress]

10 hours ago, dlow206 said:

Swing is looking good. It doesn't look like your head is moving massively to me. AMG posted about head movement today.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CM19u-LDXl6/

Good video, thanks. Yes, the goal isn't to necessarily eliminate head movement but get my upper/lower body a little more disassociated in transition, and get my left hip to clear a little more so that I'm posted up, so to speak.

[edingc's Work In Progress]

44 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

I feel your pain. Kirke laughs at us both:

 

Such a great swing and exactly what I need to be doing. That motion to me feels like I'm going to fall over.

[edingc's Work In Progress]

15 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

If you do a face-on video while using the Down Under Board, do you see more head stability?

I've been trying to have that feel on the downswing, but haven't put the board between my feet in a while. Hard to explain feels, but I think I'm going to need to "recalibrate" my feelings of where my head is on the downswing by just committing to several buckets of mostly half swings. I don't feel like my head is moving forward, and if I get the right movement in my swing (either in a mirror or during a lesson with a pool noodle against my head), I feel like I am falling backward. Because it's so uncomfortable for me I am struggling to implement it.

[edingc's Work In Progress]

I thought I’d do a quick face-on swing critique from today’s range session. As we're nearing the "regular" season, I'm hopeful this will be beneficial for me to look back on in the future.

This 7-iron swing is pretty indicative of where I am right now. I’ve come a long ways, but still have a long ways to go. As always, golf is frustrating!

Setup

Setup is always a sticking point for me. I like to stand too wide and play the ball too far forward. Both exaggerate issues in my swing. I like this swing, but my left hand grip has gotten a little weak.

I also would love for a bit more spine tilt. My right shoulder naturally drops forward from years of baseball and computer work. The drop allows me to get my right hand on the club the "correct" position without actually needing to tilt my spine.

Takeaway

I left in my rehearsal of my hip rotation in the video. This was a great swing for the takeaway. I love how my right hip works behind me instead of swaying to the right of me. Good width. Steady head. Happy. Single biggest change in my golf swing since starting lessons.

Top of Backswing

My hip rotation is much improved from last season. I still feel like there’s more length to be had on the backswing, but I keep a very firm right wrist that limits my length. While it keeps me from feeling sloppy at the top, the club doesn’t set as much as you see with some other golfers.

Transition/Start of Downswing

This is the biggest area I need to work on. The first move in my transition has my hips and upper body moving forward as one. I have been working on the “No Turn, Cast” drill, but have a long way to go. I need to feel my head “staying back” more while my lower body gets through the ball. Easy to do in the mirror, tough to do on the course/range.

Impact

As a result of my upper body moving forward in transition, I throw away a lot of shaft lean coming into impact. As my left side softens, I get “flippy,” and playing the ball too far forward makes it worse. I’m OK when my timing is good, but the flip tends to lead to thins or high, weak shots.

Follow Through

A small detail, but the finishing balance and arm structure on my best swings has improved a lot.

[Unofficial Review: Dumina AutoFlex SF505X Driver Shaft]

7 hours ago, PMookie said:

@edingc I see that you’re playing it at 45.75”, and that was recommended. Have you found anyone playing it at 45” and having success? Does it have to be on the longer side to be effective?

A few people on the Facebook group have gone shorter and found success at 45.5" or 45.25". I think I recall one person going to 45" and saying they liked that.

I watched the latest TXG livestream and Ian acknowledged that going shorter would help swingweight with heavier heads like the TSi series, but he also warned that cutting it shorter would lessen some of the speed potential.

I'm leery of going shorter for one reason - resale value. A 45.75" shaft is worth more on the secondhand market than a shorter one. I've debated about going to 45.25" but that's what is holding me back so far.

[Unofficial Review: Dumina AutoFlex SF505X Driver Shaft]

1 minute ago, Thin2win said:

Glad it is working for you so far. any more testing with it lately? 

I've hit it a bit more at the range this week. My planned round last Saturday got wiped out due to frost.

The reality is I'm a mid-handicap and driver is probably the worst part of my game. The AutoFlex hasn't miraculously made me into a robot, and save for last Friday's range session I'm still struggling with face contact. Some of that is my swing. Monday's range session was awful all around and Tuesday wasn't much better - product of it being early in the season and working on things from last week's lesson.

Perhaps the best new feedback I can offer is that misses don't seem as severe as they could be/have been with other shafts. For as whippy and uncontrolled as the AF feels waggling around, it easily holds up to 110+ MPH swings. 

It does feel like the AF produces effortless ball speed. I'm seeing a lot of 160+ MPH ball speeds and those were very rare before this past offseason. But right now a good strike is only about one-in-five swings so my consistency needs some major help.

I'm hoping to give the AF into June/July time period before making a long-term decision. I haven't put the Rogue White back into the Mavrik for fear of making even more changes while I'm struggling.

[2020 Forum Member Review - SuperSpeed Training System]

4 hours ago, revkev said:

This happened to me at first as well - more than once honestly - it didn’t last long though.


Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Yup, the body gets to be pretty good at self-organizing and corrects itself quickly. 

I've been grabbing my sticks about every other day and working through limited protocols. I think I discussed this earlier, but I've cut down to just right-side, "normal" swings in an effort to increase my blue and red readings.

I've basically been maintaining my speeds with readings around mid-130s/mid-120s/118ish with the sticks. Every now and then I see a "quick" blue or red swing but they aren't consistent yet.

I'm convinced at this point I may be limited by my strength development. I've put on some muscle the last two offseasons but am worlds behind where I'd like to be. Weightlifting was never my favorite growing up so I'm a little behind where I probably should be at my age.

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

1 hour ago, dlow206 said:

Think they raised the price. $549 without any shaft upgrades.

Interesting. My setup would be over $800 now. About a $120 increase since I placed my order in October. And the price increase is all in the head, as the add-on components are still the same price I paid.

EDIT: Neglected to read the additional comments. This is a head scratcher for me. The stock prices are lower than the previous lowest base price, if I remember correctly. Seems odd to drastically raise the price of the head for a custom build but lower the price of the base model.

I get that as far as machining goes, the cost is in setup. But, as someone who has worked in a machine shop around CNC machines, I can't imagine there is a lot of setup to drill a single hole.

[What/How Did You Practice Today?]

Range opened up last week, and it's been really nice to get out on my lunch breaks. That we've had 60-plus degree weather is a bonus. 

I've been really working hard on my homework from my last lesson, which basically revolved around getting my setup right (don't be too close to the ball, grip had gotten too weak) and then feeling like my hands and arms start the downswing. I rotate way too hard in the downswing. When I started lessons that meant over-the-top slices, but I've gotten better now and keep my upper body closed and end up getting stuck with right elbow jammed up with the right hip.

Anyway, I re-watched Monte Scheinblum's "No Turn, Cast" drill and have been trying to imitate the casting portion. Getting better. Front side is still a little soft through impact and I get flippy, but there's a lot more shaft lean there than there used to be. Going to break out the DownUnder Board and see if I can get posted up a little better.

Downside of all these new thoughts is that some old habits are showing up again. Feels like I'm chasing a moving target sometimes.

[Impact of shaft weight for you]

I seem to be more sensitive to swing weight than shaft weight. When I get too light in the head I start to lose consistency in my strike location. The last two iron sets that I built came out on the heavy side of D4, and I struck/strike of both them much better than the Cobra SpeedZones built at D2 from #CobraConnect. The shafts for all three sets are within 5 grams of each other (all in the 110-115 range). For woods and hybrids, I seem to be best around D2 or D3.

The two iron fittings I've had both put me in the 110-115 range, and I haven't moved out of it because I've had good success with that range. I tried a bunch of different shafts in my last iron fitting for #CC but nothing beat the 110 gram range shafts.

 

[Happy thread]

Today started off blah. Had a 9:30 tee time that got pushed to 10:30 because of frost. By 11:15 we still couldn't tee off, so I got a raincheck and left.

But... that ended up being great. When I got home the wife suggested we go to the range. She hasn't hit a ball in nearly three years due to health issues and a bad surgery. Range was packed and she was really nervous because she hates feeling like she's bad at golf. Thankfully while we were setting up, a couple of guys down the line shanked a few balls in a row right in front of us and that took her edge off.

She ended up hitting about a half bucket and did great. We tweaked her left hand grip to be a bit stronger and she hit a bunch of nice straight ones near the end.

Finished off the afternoon with drinks on the patio watching the No. 9 green. Great way to spend a warm early spring day.

[Unofficial Review: Dumina AutoFlex SF505X Driver Shaft]

I was able to get out on the range yesterday afternoon after my lesson. Following a lesson is likely the worst time to evaluate a new club/shaft, but I was eager to hit the AutoFlex again.

The session went much the same way as my first, with an impact pattern all over the face. My average club speed shot up to 113 (warm and loose from the lesson), but my efficiency was terrible (1.4) with an average ball speed of 158.3. Disappointing numbers. I know range balls vary and don't produce the same ball speed as a premium ball. But, I've been tracking my driver all winter and a range ball speed of 158.3 isn't above my average.

Heel hits filled the majority of both early sessions. Low heel used to be my miss, but I haven't seen consistent contact there in quite some time. 

To be fair to the AutoFlex, the Facebook users group implies very few people will have "plug and play" success. Many members mentioned they likely wouldn't have chosen the AutoFlex based on a single fitting or testing session. Several experimented with different weights and hosel settings before finding a working combination.

I re-installed the stock five gram weight in the Mavrik last night. The extra three grams moved the swingweight from D1.5 to D2.5. I am now above the range recommended by Dumina, but back to what I had with the stock Aldila Rogue White.

I was back out on the range during lunch today and had much better results with the stock weight installed. I also switched back to my lower tee. I still missed a few low heel, and a couple high middle/toe, but I hit a ton more out of the near middle than I did on the first two days.

Getting the contact location squared away made the AutoFlex shine. I averaged 112 MPH swing speed and 162.7 MPH ball speed over my 38 shots. 

I am finding you cannot rush with the AutoFlex. I found the most success feeling a long and smooth takeaway before allowing myself to be violent through the ball. My worst shots came from ripping the club back too fast on the back swing.

I hit two blocks of about 20 drivers each. The first block was good, but the second block was amazing. Over my last six shots I averaged 165 MPH ball speed (max 167.9) and 111.6 MPH club speed (max 113.9). Launch and spin fell in acceptable ranges, and I was right around 90-100 feet peak height.

[What equipment are you thinking about?]

On 3/13/2021 at 12:27 PM, B.Boston said:

Alright you super hybrids guys...

Any of you have a case of the lefts with traditional hybrids and not with the super hybrid? Or are they still sort of draw biased?

I can control the 5-wood both ways but the hybrid likes to go left. 

I'm as big of a Super Hybrid fan as they come, but if you're looking to replace the SpeedZone hybrid with less left bias I'd look toward something from Tour Edge in the "pro" line. The Super Hybrid doesn't seem to be left-biased, but has a big, big footprint. Great as a wood replacement but as a normal hybrid, I'm not sure. With the length, you'd probably want the 23 degree one to replace the 21 degree SpeedZone.

I think the majority of us who have one here have the 17 degree version as a 3 wood replacement. @StrokerAce and @cksurfdude have higher lofted ones, I believe. Perhaps they can chime in.

 

[Unofficial Review: Dumina AutoFlex SF505X Driver Shaft]

37 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

Looking forward to your continued updates. I think I can speak for a lot of us that we had hoped to read about a miraculous improvement.

Certainly always looking for magic in a bottle, so to speak.

In rewatching my clip, I did notice the majority of my best shots came near the end of the bucket after making the tee change and after getting more used to the feel of the shaft. That has me excited to get out there again, hopefully Friday. I have a round scheduled for Saturday morning again, too. The AutoFlex will get put through its paces.

Your comment on "miraculous improvement" does lead me down a rabbit hole. What kind of changes do I need to see to somehow say an $800 shaft is worth the price tag? How can I quantify that? With something like my L.A.B. putter, I saw immediate changes to my scoring and distance control. In cycling through three or four drivers in two years, I can't say I've gotten a ton better outside of any improvements I've made from lessons and good 'ol practice.

One thought that did cross my mind is how I react to a lighter shaft later in rounds. During my first round of the season I drove the ball really well on the front nine. But, as I tired, the driver started to get very squirrelly on the back nine. Will switching to a shaft that is something like 10 grams lighter than the Rogue White help out there?

[Unofficial Review: Dumina AutoFlex SF505X Driver Shaft]

Quite an interesting first day on the range with the AutoFlex. A very whip-like feel everywhere but at impact. Such an odd shaft.

Not surprisingly, the AutoFlex didn't magically make me drive the ball like Bryson. Even though the shaft is only 1/2" longer than the Rogue White, it took a bit to adjust to the longer length. I tend to struggle with balance and setup, getting too bent from the hips at address. That kind of bent-over setup can cause me to stand up through impact, and it gets worse the longer the club. You'll see me try to get taller at address as the shots go on, and that's something I need to work on if my driver is going to improve.

I'm sure setup accounted for some of this today, but I didn't hit the center of the club face much. I heeled a lot of shots, hit a lot of others low in the face and had one or two that almost missed the face altogether. It seemed a bit hard to find a groove with the AutoFlex. But, it was my second range session of the year and tough to tell for sure what was the cause.

Numbers-wise, I didn't see much change. Over 19 shots, the AutoFlex was comparable to my Rogue White numbers from Friday (differences highlighted):

Ball Speed	Club Speed	Smash	Carry	Launch	Spin	Height (ft)	Time
158.8 (-1.4)	111.5 (+2.3)	1.42 (-0.05)	256.5 (-3.5)	N/A	2,540 (-100)	N/A	N/A

The numbers are from two different ranges and two different mixes of range balls. The difference in elevations between ranges mess with the Mevo readings for launch, height and time so I've removed them. I'm not sure how much faith to put in these numbers this early.

The low-faced hits has me thinking the AutoFlex is deflecting a lot coming into impact. The majority of my shots today launched very high.  The next time out I will loft the Mavrik down to eight degrees. Also, near the end of the session I switched to my tallest tee (2.5" above ground, 4" total), and that helped center the ball vertically on the face.

Quite a few balls visibly had too much spin, but I would guess hitting them low on the head was the cause of that. I middled the last shot in the video and crushed it.

I can't say the AutoFlex was any better or worse than the Rogue White in regards to dispersion. My good shots are slight draws, awful shots are duck hooks or high and right. Those misses have been consistent all winter through four different driver/shaft combinations.

[Unofficial Titleist Hybrid-14 bag review]

Nice looking bag, Stu! Thanks for the review.

I like 14-way tops that allow for some flexibility. I don't think I could have gone with the Woode either. The clubs shifting out of place slightly would have bothered me too much!

[What/How Did You Practice Today?]

On 3/14/2021 at 3:54 PM, chisag said:

 

... Good to have those shots in your arsenal. I have come to believe the more short shot options you have the better. I have always used my 58/60* for all shots around the green with great success but that technique has proven problematic here in the desert with very tight Bermuda lies. Down grain the ball just doesn't spin quite as much and if the green is down grain too the ball just rolls out way more and hard to predict. The opposite problem when into the grain as hitting it 1/100th of an inch fat will come up way short. That same shot a little fat with a slightly open face is money on bent fairways. So I have been using my Gw and running the ball through the Bermuda fairways can be sticky and sometimes bounce the ball off line. Gotta keep experimenting with Gw-8 iron until it becomes a staple in my short game. 

... I find it interesting that the ball rolls forever on these tight hard desert fairways which mean reaching many long holes in 2 BUT the short game calls for a completely different arsenal of shots so it will continue be a learning experience. Just when you think you have this game figured out ...

You are right about having multiple short shots. My home course isn't perfectly manicured year-round, so I end up with my fair share of less than stellar lies that I shouldn't attack with a basic pitch/chip. The putting stroke chip gives me a lot more forgiveness assuming I don't need to go over something. Much less likely to flub a chip short or blade it across the green.

14 hours ago, chisag said:

... Just amazing how easy it is with no ball and fairway in front of you!  I would love to take that exact aggressive carefree swing in my yard to the first tee. 

You and me both! Excited to be able to get back to the range to focus on the same feels with a ball, and hopefully, on to the tee box for real at some point.