What/How Did You Practice Today?

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

3 hours ago, StrokerAce said:

Was listening to the post-round interview with Harman and they asked him about getting off to a bad start and how he was able to course-correct this time vs others (or something along that line) and something in his answer caught my attention.

(paraphrasing here...)

He talked about not getting ahead of himself. How he would start thinking too far ahead and it would be detrimental. Then one of the commentators later said that Langer said something similar after he won the latest championship on the champions tour. 

It really got me thinking about something I need to practice: being present on the course. In the moment. Don't think: I made double now I need to make a birdie to even it out, or, there are a couple short par 5's coming up so I can afford a bogey here. 

I really need to work on staying in the moment and not get ahead of myself. Sounds easier than it is and I'm not sure how to practice that but I'm going to try.

This is why I really focused on meditation. I had a streak of 260 some days to work on being present 

[Dweed]

Hit balls into my net at home. Working on a more consistent strike. Managed to get 10 shots into an oblong silver dollar sized area. 9 out of 10 shots managed to impact a bit of the sweet spot circle on the impact tape.

[Dweed]

5 minutes ago, Dweed said:

 Working on a more consistent strike. Managed to get 10 shots into an oblong silver dollar sized area. 

Almost forgot to mention. This reference was the "old silver dollars" the real ones and not the current $1 coins. I wish I could be THAT consistent. 

[chisag]

4 hours ago, StrokerAce said:

I really need to work on staying in the moment and not get ahead of myself. Sounds easier than it is and I'm not sure how to practice that but I'm going to try.

 

... I have always felt change is instantaneous. Implementation may take more time but once you truly decide to mentally embrace the moment, it becomes the new norm. I think once you recognize you have absolutely zero control over anything but what you are experiencing right now, the mental change is both instantaneous and relatively easy. The hard part is accepting your lack of control. Kinda Yoda like "Do or do not. There is no try" All you can do with any shot is give it your full attention, attempt your best swing and then let it go. The rest of the hole and your score is irrelevant and completely dependent on right now. If you miss the green your focus is on the chip or flop or whatever that exact shot calls for. Not getting up and down which is a result, but focusing on this shot only. "getting up and down" creates pressure because you are addressing two shots not just the one you are executing. 

... As an actor I did an audition and forgot it immediately. I would get a callback for a 2nd audition or get booked for the job or I would not. Thinking about it or even worse, worrying about it changes nothing other than causing stress which affects your mental attitude and your next audition with several others hanging over your head. Golf is exactly the same. Focus on this shot, execute to the best of your ability then your focus shifts to the next shot. Then do it again. And again. For 18 holes. Once you fully accept the concept it really is easy. A dog doesn't think about why you left or when you will be back or how long you will stay when you just walk to the end of the driveway and get your mail and come back in the house. They are just overjoyed you walked back through the door. They truly live in the moment and golfers can learn a lot from them.

[IndyBonzo]

@chisag I read that to my wife.  We agree there is a lot of wisdom there.  Thank you.  
 

She also says it’s clear you have never had a Bernedoodle bc they are thinking all those things.  Lol.  

[Bang60]

11 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Awesome post and excellent example of speed and line! I am a die in the hole putter and always putt on the high side. Someone with a more aggressive stroke can play a lot less break. Of course a consistent speed is a must for either stroke. 

I struggle more with the speed putt longer than 2feet so die into the hole is better, I'm scared I go too far past the hole and 3 putt then nervous for the rest of the round..

[Haro]

Working on my putting stroke. Still have problems with downhill fast breaking putts. I’m starting to read better but frustrated at my stroke.  I tried hitting off the heel and cutting stroke to take some juice off but it’s not consistent.  Then I tried hitting off the toe and that seems to much more manageable and consist.  I have already chip off the toe but don’t really do it for the putter may try it in the range 

[Bang60]

So day 2 with the Hot metal 7 iron not as good but no warmup in the nets because of the rain just hit cold which was just ok, hit a dozen balls and have to say hit one out of the hot spot 160metres up hill Hot metal 7iron head 6iron shaft 30deg loft expect I'll work out some ave number in a few weeks but I'm happy ..

[RichL85]

15 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... I have always felt change is instantaneous. Implementation may take more time but once you truly decide to mentally embrace the moment, it becomes the new norm. I think once you recognize you have absolutely zero control over anything but what you are experiencing right now, the mental change is both instantaneous and relatively easy. The hard part is accepting your lack of control. Kinda Yoda like "Do or do not. There is no try" All you can do with any shot is give it your full attention, attempt your best swing and then let it go. The rest of the hole and your score is irrelevant and completely dependent on right now. If you miss the green your focus is on the chip or flop or whatever that exact shot calls for. Not getting up and down which is a result, but focusing on this shot only. "getting up and down" creates pressure because you are addressing two shots not just the one you are executing. 

... As an actor I did an audition and forgot it immediately. I would get a callback for a 2nd audition or get booked for the job or I would not. Thinking about it or even worse, worrying about it changes nothing other than causing stress which affects your mental attitude and your next audition with several others hanging over your head. Golf is exactly the same. Focus on this shot, execute to the best of your ability then your focus shifts to the next shot. Then do it again. And again. For 18 holes. Once you fully accept the concept it really is easy. A dog doesn't think about why you left or when you will be back or how long you will stay when you just walk to the end of the driveway and get your mail and come back in the house. They are just overjoyed you walked back through the door. They truly live in the moment and golfers can learn a lot from them.

This whole thought honestly reminds me of how I felt about exams back in school. So many of my classmates would cram up to the last minute to take an exam and then stress over it while awaiting the results. I always wondered if I was weird because I would usually hit a point, hours before the exam where I accepted that I was as prepared as I was going to be. I had done all the preparation I could before, and once the test was over, everything I could do the affect my grade was done. Time to move on and wait for the results.

Now, I never once said I could translate that same acceptance to the golf course... I should probably work on that. 

[BobBC78]

Two hour practice session at the NKGC range and practice green today.

Range: Started with 9 to 3 swings; about 12 with UW and about the same with Driver (working on both quality of contact and developing a "bunt" driver). Followed this work with full Driver and 4W, 7W, 9W and 27H both off a tee and the ground. 

Practice green: Chipping practice with PW, UW and SW working on hitting a spot and determining rollout (Ridyard had a recent video about this). Putted out several of the chipped, practiced lag putting and finished with the spiral drill (6 balls starting at 3' and working around the hole to about 8') which I used to practice read and speed. 

[cksurfdude]

Possibly had a small bit of a breakthrough today...

Was at the range, after some putting practice, just casually loosening / warming up with just a 9i before a round .. which got rain delayed then cancelled .. and I think I felt "It", I think I felt myself actually *swinging* the club from the top and *through* the ball..!

(.. i.e. vs sloppily moving my arms down and _hitting at_ the ball with my hands ..)

Hopefully this feel can be repeated? Work In Progress!

[cjeffs12]

After a rough weekend of 80 and 82, I had to put in the work today at the range. I was working on keeping my right elbow tighter to my body, and posting on my rear leg so I don’t sway. I really need to work on my connection. It worked so well with my irons, but my driver swing is in bad shape. I just can’t get connected. I either take it inside or way outside, neither allow me to square the face and hit good shots. The driver just feels so wrong, but that’s golf. I will get it figured out, just need to get the right feel. 

[BallsLeon]

Went to Golf Galaxy today to swing through my bag in front of the Trackman. Trying to figure out the distances between my clubs. 

Ended up getting through 8 clubs, I forgot to switch a couple times and some clubs took a while to get “good” hits. Also, unfortunately the printer and app login weren’t working so I was left with bad phone pictures. Apologies.

8i, 9i, 52°, and SW all went great:

 

On the other hand… PW, 7i, 6i, and Driver not so hot…

 

[downlowkey]

Thoughts that cross the mind on a glorious evening when you have an entire range to yourself, get deep in your process, nearly frozen over the ball trying to implement a new swing trigger and the pro shop guy sneaks up from behind to offer an unsolicited critique: a) No, no it really wasn’t a “good shot” but you most likely wouldn’t grok the protestation on deck, so I’ll just bite my tongue _and_ b) For chrissake man, don’t you know better than to sneak up on someone performing open heart swing surgery?

I’ve been avoiding the sweltering TX heatwave in Santa Fe, NM (and surrounds) for the past month. A year of steady (sometimes excruciating) PT has my hinky lead wrist in a place where I can actually sort of grind again - thank aforementioned Christ. Slowly digging some swing changes out of the high desert dirt that feel monumental but on video would apparently be more accurately categorized as minutely incremental at best. Subsequently harboring more than a little jealousy for the HackMotion review team casually hitting ~30 balls in a session and enjoying noticeable gains. All the while, cognizant that I should show more gratitude to be mostly flushing it out of the middle, even if the frame-by-frame practice session review process regularly makes me nauseous. Appreciative of having all you fellow golf sickos to commiserate over this maddening institution that we lightheartedly refer to as a game but obviously understand to the contrary.

We return to our regularly scheduled big bucket 7-iron grind session with a lone rabbit now the only other curious creature around to witness the incremental progress of a slightly more manageable but still problematic golf swing.

[MILGolfing]

Yesterday was my first range session in over a week. I was recovering from food poisoning and also had my niece and nephew over for the week - so i was more occupied playing fortnite and taking them to trampoline parks vs practicing. 

I worked solely on 100 yards and less, once i felt warmed up - i started taking 3-5 shots working my way down the bag. Take a few driver hits and switch back to irons and chipping in a similar sequence as to how i would play. Ended the session at the chipping range working on the 30 yards and less. 

Edited July 28, 2023 by MILGolfing
Adding videos

[cksurfdude]

13 hours ago, downlowkey said:

A year of steady (sometimes excruciating) PT has my hinky lead wrist in a place where I can actually sort of grind again

Oh man hope that wrist stays in a good place!

.. hadn't seen your name in here in a while, but wanted to thank you for something you'd mentioned to me a long time ago about "dropping in" ... I think I may be finally starting to a little bit kinda sorta get it as far as it relates to my golf swing... So thx!!

But, as always, it's a work in progress!

[Haro]

added few  new shots in my bag of tricks

1 Hook with a 9 or 8 iron   Im behind a tree and need to go around and can make a full sling

Can play for a 20-30 yards hook and if it doesn hook still can be in the fairway

2 Punch out between trees . basically the other option when stuck i the woods

Fells like a chip shot I took 7 or 6 iron look for a landing spot 1/3  to 1/2 way where I want the ball to land and then scoot out in the fairway 

I like see my spot and forward pressure and chip out that way 

Has been very useful and saves me par several times this season

 

Golf is not a game of perfect and I dont dread playing at tree line courses anymore

[downlowkey]

8 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

Oh man hope that wrist stays in a good place!

.. hadn't seen your name in here in a while, but wanted to thank you for something you'd mentioned to me a long time ago about "dropping in" ... I think I may be finally starting to a little bit kinda sorta get it as far as it relates to my golf swing... So thx!!

But, as always, it's a work in progress!

Thanks muchacho!

Very happy to hear you’re managing to inject some of that surf charging flow state into your golf game. As a fellow paddler, I truly believe the surf/golf combo is greater than the sum of its parts with each having qualities that can be applied to the other, if you’re in the right state of mind.

[GaryF]

On 7/15/2023 at 4:24 PM, cjeffs12 said:

My home course is closed to repair the greens, so all I’ve been able to do is hit the range. I’m still waiting on my driver to come back from warranty. I’ve really been working on half swings a lot, really focusing on using my lower body to start the downswing and get more on my lead side, and really getting my finish position in a good place. Over the last week, I have probably hit about 200+ shots with a short iron like this. It is really paying off, from 6 iron down I am able to hit the different windows and shot shapes. Today, I focused on more wedges and my new 3 wood is built up and worked on my back up off the tee. While I was working on my wedges I found a really good feel when I was hitting some dead arm wedge shots, and wanted to get the same feeling on my full iron shots. It was a phenomenal feeling, my ball would start just right of my line and stay straight or just minimal curve. That feeling of letting my arms fall while my body turned was really good for me swing. It really makes me have to get through the ball. My strike and compression have been night and day better. I’m also, been working on putting with a mirror and through a gate. My goal is 30 minutes a day as often as I can throughout the week. This has really been beneficial to my putting. I’m ready for the course to open. 

I’ve been doing dead arm wedge shots for a few years and whenever I go to the range gir practice or play, it’s the first set of shots that I hit.  It’s really a simple, almost effortless shot to make and helps me get my swing just right.  Fortunately/unfortunately, I’ve got new clubs with a set GW (48*) which I use the dead arm technique, and 2 RTX6 wedges that are back ordered with estimated arrival in Sept.  I’ve tried carrying my old set UW and SW but the feel is just too different.  It has forced me to learn some 2 and 3 o’clock swings with the GW with some success.  With the 2 new wedges, I’ll have much better gapping and some overlap in distances where I can choose one wedge for full swing (more spin) or a diff wedge for same distance using dead arms (more runout).  For me, this is really the fun part of the game. 

I should add I think practicing the dead arm technique has has a big impact in my drives as I’m getting better and better at relaxing my arms and use my core to generate rotational speed.   The core doesn’t actuate with the wedges but definitely with the driver.  Still a work in progress with the other clubs but all of these techniques tie together.
 

Edited July 27, 2023 by GaryF

[cjeffs12]

6 hours ago, GaryF said:

I’ve been doing dead arm wedge shots for a few years and whenever I go to the range gir practice or play, it’s the first set of shots that I hit.  It’s really a simple, almost effortless shot to make and helps me get my swing just right.  Fortunately/unfortunately, I’ve got new clubs with a set GW (48*) which I use the dead arm technique, and 2 RTX6 wedges that are back ordered with estimated arrival in Sept.  I’ve tried carrying my old set UW and SW but the feel is just too different.  It has forced me to learn some 2 and 3 o’clock swings with the GW with some success.  With the 2 new wedges, I’ll have much better gapping and some overlap in distances where I can choose one wedge for full swing (more spin) or a diff wedge for same distance using dead arms (more runout).  For me, this is really the fun part of the game. 

I should add I think practicing the dead arm technique has has a big impact in my drives as I’m getting better and better at relaxing my arms and use my core to generate rotational speed.   The core doesn’t actuate with the wedges but definitely with the driver.  Still a work in progress with the other clubs but all of these techniques tie together.
 

Adding this shot to the bag has really been a weapon on the course. I carry 3 or 4 wedges depending on how I am feeling. I have several options for yardages inside 100 yards. The biggest difference is how useful this is on back pins, because I can take a pw or gw and hit a low control flight and it just hops and stops. Also, I love my rtx6 wedges, I had to wait awhile for mine too. 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

More swing work today. This time i mixed in some driver swings as well do try and get that feel to transfer over. Today was good as the sun provided a shadow behind me and I could see how my face was at the top and the club shallowing as I drop my hand straight down. Just validates the movements I am doing. Planning on a lesson checkin next week.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

13 hours ago, GaryF said:

I’ve been doing dead arm wedge shots for a few years and whenever I go to the range gir practice or play, it’s the first set of shots that I hit.  It’s really a simple, almost effortless shot to make and helps me get my swing just right.  Fortunately/unfortunately, I’ve got new clubs with a set GW (48*) which I use the dead arm technique, and 2 RTX6 wedges that are back ordered with estimated arrival in Sept.  I’ve tried carrying my old set UW and SW but the feel is just too different.  It has forced me to learn some 2 and 3 o’clock swings with the GW with some success.  With the 2 new wedges, I’ll have much better gapping and some overlap in distances where I can choose one wedge for full swing (more spin) or a diff wedge for same distance using dead arms (more runout).  For me, this is really the fun part of the game. 

I should add I think practicing the dead arm technique has has a big impact in my drives as I’m getting better and better at relaxing my arms and use my core to generate rotational speed.   The core doesn’t actuate with the wedges but definitely with the driver.  Still a work in progress with the other clubs but all of these techniques tie together.
 

is this what you mean by dead arms? Seems so simple and much better than what the PM had me doing in the protocols

 

 

[GaryF]

1 hour ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

is this what you mean by dead arms? Seems so simple and much better than what the PM had me doing in the protocols

 

 

For me I think slightly different than the video.  I shorten the swing to about 3/4, maybe more but backswing tempo same as my full swing, just not quite as far back.  I cock my wrists as I rotate back as I do for a full swing.  My downswing is strictly body rotation and wrist/release at the bottom, with comparable follow thru but with same moderate tempo as my backswing. For a full swing, I accelerate pretty hard on the downswing.  Result is about 3/4 distance with comparably high trajectory but more roll out than full swing.  Not sure if this fits the definition of dead arms, but when my instructor watched me hit them, that’s what he called what I was doing. 
 

Edited July 27, 2023 by GaryF

[BobBC78]

Super Speed training today, finished week 3, level 2.

[cksurfdude]

Had a productive, but short in the heat + humidity, practice session .. starting to feel a little more confident in my game from 150 and in.

Started out chipping / pitching with a PW to various distances and varying trajectories; then a while on the putting green working on speed control from different distance to different targets; then some chipping, again with a PW, from the rough around the practice green - this one needs the most work!; back to the range with a 54, then 7i, then LW; and back to the putting green for a bit.

Happy with the way I'm making contact with the ball with each club .. tho still, of course, some directional and some left-right issues so .. as always .. work in progress!!

 

[RickyBobby_PR]

4 hours ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

is this what you mean by dead arms? Seems so simple and much better than what the PM had me doing in the protocols

 

 

This and what Jason day and Steve stricker use. It’s actually what protocol 1 of planemate has you do.

Also what Milo lines teaches as his foundation 1 and foundation 2 is with wrist set which is the max wrist set in a full swing

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

2 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

This and what Jason day and Steve stricker use. It’s actually what protocol 1 of planemate has you do.

Also what Milo lines teaches as his foundation 1 and foundation 2 is with wrist set which is the max wrist set in a full swing

i thought protocol 1 was just the form finish? I always remember the PM of bring the club back half way, let the band loosen then turn. To me the video doesn't show that but that is just my interpretation

[RickyBobby_PR]

1 minute ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

i thought protocol 1 was just the form finish? I always remember the PM of bring the club back half way, let the band loosen then turn. To me the video doesn't show that but that is just my interpretation

It’s day 3 protocol and while he does have the band relax which is p6 position it’s the same concept, it’s not using wrist set but just getting the wrists into the impact position. This is what Monte uses in the beginning of efficient swing.

But if you want pure dead arm with no wrists look at stricker and day

 

[Haro]

Been drawing my iron past month. 
very different “feel” for me as I usually slice or pull my irons. 
Been using the standard advice aligned my body /torso when I want the ball to start and line the clubface where I want the ball to end up.  So lining up what feels like 20-30 degrees right of the target 

 

[Ding-dong]

Went to the range with my old Dad. 

But he had a seven iron and I had my bag and the i15s I lent him 10yrs ago. 
I thought I would compare to the PXG 0211 dc irons. The lofts of the i15s are more like my Mizuno blades but 1 degree stronger and shaft length 0.25 shorter .. the PXGs are 0,5” longer and 2 degrees stronger.

The i15s are old school cavity back, forgiving around the face. I definitely feel the PXG’s to be “ bouncy” around the face and forgiving. But I like the i15s for consistency… so I think I shall have a few rounds with them .