What/How Did You Practice Today?

[turkgirlmama]

Took a lesson last week to work on my stance, distance from the ball, with my irons and wedges. I have been really working on that, as I tend to stand further away, and my posture suffers. When I stand closer, ball is straighter and I have much more control over my follow through to avoid my signature hook to the left. PGA pro gave me a few drills to work on that I can do at the range, so very grateful for that!

[ILMgolfnut]

Worked my way through the bag on the range yesterday, from GW to 8-iron, 6i, 7-wood, 3-wood and driver, then wrapped it up with 54-, 58- and 64-degree wedges. First two wedges were stone cold tops (hadn't hit a shot in a week or so), then started making good contact, mostly straight, a few baby draws/fades, a couple of pushes and a couple of pulled wedges. I didn't take my Garmin with me to the range, but I'd estimate my drivers were carrying 170-190 based on a target green that is 165 from the mats. Followed with 30 minutes on the putting green which was SLICK. Had to be rolling 12+ on the Stimp. Made my last putt from ~20 feet and figured that was a good time to quit.

[TJ Hall]

Was able to get out and play a quick 9 holes this afternoon…way too inconsistent.  Hit some very good shots and some bad ones.  Chipping/putting/wedge approaches were great, irons were ok, hybrid needs some work, woods were playable.

Have had a few decent rounds recently, looking to build on that as league play starts in a little over a month.

[sirchunksalot]

9 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

If you are getting quick it’s a good sign you aren’t completing your backswing.

It could be what you are doing with your hands but it could be as much what you are doing with your arms and your rotation and pressure. If you are early extending then you have to work even harder with the hands. This is where golfers start addressing symptoms and not causes.

That's a good possibility, I do sometimes get short with my backswing and rush on the way down. I've found that getting a good turn really helps me with hitting fairway woods. I'll be sure to keep this in mind next time I go hit.

9 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

To much movement and/or change in levels which can cause hands to pull on the club.

chip on just your front leg. Keep the top front of the toes with your back leg on the ground for balance. 

This one is a drill I've wanted to try and actually got out in my yard this evening and attempted. This one is tough, one of my greatest liabilities swinging a club is the lack of balance and strength in my left foot. I might be able to handle getting to almost shaft parallel, but that's about the limit before I lose balance. 

[Willie T]

Day 38 (19 Feb 24) - Played 18 today with son and grandson.  A little windy and chilly, but still fun.  Good day with the Indi wedges and the Odyssey putter, aka Millie,  as I had 4 up and downs for par, of the other 5 looks at par, one was for birdie and the others two putts for par.  

[Rob Person]

Was on the pracrice green at work before they opened. Theres something about fresh dewy ball tracks thats so peaceful.

Practiced long putting with the Lombardi with 50 balls (20-60'). Practiced with the DB for 100 balls.(3'-20') Both rolled well and the DB is still reigning champ for a spot in the bag. (Lol. Like there was ever a doubt)

after my shift, I hit the range to work through the bag. Been working on some new to me swing dynamics, recommended by the pga teaching coach at the course He analyzed and addressed my grip, swing, and stance in 3 practice swings !!!

So I've switched from my neutral interlock grip, to a neutral baseball grip- this is to increase stability in my down swing , and keep my hands/wrists in line with the swing plane. Also he said I was pivoting my lower body too late, forcing my hands to be just behind the club head on contact. (forcing the face to be wide open causing my slice issues) I have issues with syncing my upper and lower body, so have to slow down my swing to re-learn how-to mesh them together. Lastly, my trail elbow was not tucked into my side enough in the down swing. By tucking it in tighter, it promotes the "pulling the hands down" through the swing. 

So the first 5 whacks with the driver was awkward. I felt out of sync even more! I was hooking,  slicing, and burning the ground. Absolutely a mess! I decided to move into changing just one thing at a time before incorporating them together. So I started with the grip change and used my normal swing. Next 5 shots while not straight, felt better. Added the tighter trail elbow for next 5,  and I saw 20 more feet of height, and 10- 15 yards longer. Also, by pulling the elbow in it forced my hips to pivot more, helping align my upper/lower body through the turn. I still have a fade/slice, but it was not as exaggerated like before. Man it was a much better contact, and the extra distance was amazing to see happen! I played around for another 20 shots or so with different things, like stepping back my trail foot a bit, closing the face at address, etc. In the end, I ended up aligning myself 6-8" left of my target (on the ground in front of me) to compensate for the ball flight path. I was happy with the results. The consistency was definitely a plus for me.

Moving through the woods and irons, I had almost zero fade or slices, just straight shots down the range. (minus the few topped shots I had due to trying to swing faster) I also actually hit my 7i an avg of 150 yards 5 times!!! (we have not got along... ever!) and saw an increase in ball height in flight!!! (7w has been my 140y-145y goto club, but no real height from it)

No chipping or short wedge practice, as I was tuckered out! Total practice was over 2 hours, and 150+ balls.

Does anyone wear a glove on each hand during practice sessions??? My right hand is blistered between the fingers and on palm!!!

 

 

Edited February 20 by Rob Person

[RickyBobby_PR]

1 hour ago, sirchunksalot said:

That's a good possibility, I do sometimes get short with my backswing and rush on the way down. I've found that getting a good turn really helps me with hitting fairway woods. I'll be sure to keep this in mind next time I go hit.

This one is a drill I've wanted to try and actually got out in my yard this evening and attempted. This one is tough, one of my greatest liabilities swinging a club is the lack of balance and strength in my left foot. I might be able to handle getting to almost shaft parallel, but that's about the limit before I lose balance. 

The goal for chipping is to keep weight left and not let it get to the right. 55/45 or 60/40

[Brycwade]

Was able to get out yesterday for an hour. Spent 40 minutes at the short game facility hitting 20-25 yard chip shots to three different pin locations. As the grass starts to pop around the greens the playing conditions are becoming favorable to be a little more creative around the sometimes wetter green complexes. Spent the last 20 minutes putting from 10ft and in. I tried to find relatively straight lines to work on takeaway and follow through. Spent the last 5 minutes hitting lag putts to (hopefully) within 3 feet.  

Edited February 20 by Brycwade
Typo

[BallsLeon]

12 hours ago, Rob Person said:

Does anyone wear a glove on each hand during practice sessions??? My right hand is blistered between the fingers and on palm!!!

 

Sounds like some serious practice! Will occasionally get some blisters on my lead hand (left), but haven't had any on the right yet hope it heals up quick. 

[ILMgolfnut]

I used to get blisters on both hands but since I switched to Winn Dri-Tac grips the problem has gone away. Even had a couple of long practice sessions with no gloves (forgot to bring one) without issue.

[BLD7]

Was able to make time this morning to get out the SuperSpeed set and get a session in. First full swing training session in a long time. Was a good session. Tried not to hurt myself, will see how the body feels tomorrow morning. HA.

[BobBC78]

Trackman session today. Started with 58* SW hitting chips and pitches, then UW, 9i, 7i, 5H, 5W and Driver. Had a case of the "lefts", which is my tendency, with the long clubs because I was closing the face too much, otherwise it was a good session.

Based on a suggestion from the club fitter at GG, next step will be to flatten the lies of my hybrids and 5W. For the Driver, I went from Big "+" setting to small "+" setting towards the end of the session which opened the face a bit and helped limit going left. More work to do with club face control, however. 

[Willie T]

Day 39 (20 Feb 24) - Continued work with Divot Board using 7i and hard foam balls - focused on setup and getting consistent ball contact.  Even got the grandson in on the drill (once he got home from school). 

[ZackS]

Been having some issues with short puts recently that got into my head so I am being more intentional with my practice and have 3 days in a row doing that with good results and helping the confidence. 

[Indy_Oz]

5 hours ago, BobBC78 said:

Trackman session today. Started with 58* SW hitting chips and pitches, then UW, 9i, 7i, 5H, 5W and Driver. Had a case of the "lefts", which is my tendency, with the long clubs because I was closing the face too much, otherwise it was a good session.

Based on a suggestion from the club fitter at GG, next step will be to flatten the lies of my hybrids and 5W. For the Driver, I went from Big "+" setting to small "+" setting towards the end of the session which opened the face a bit and helped limit going left. More work to do with club face control, however. 

Ref flattening lies. I can only speak to hybrids, but I play a TM Stealth+ 3H and I changed the hosel to the flat setting and that helped hugely with pull draws. I have a natural draw with irons and hybrid after going through a swing change last year, but with the change in lie the 3H is my most reliably straight long club and my go-to for tighter fairways. With fixed hosel hybrids I'd tried before the Stealth+ I didn't have that accuracy and would pull draw too much.

[EnderinAZ]

Out to the short game practice area again today. Working on the 9:00 position of the "Finesse shots". 20 balls with each of my longer wedges and the Garmin to measure the results. Very consistent with a dispersion that would fit into a 15 foot diameter circle, which is EXCELLENT!!!. Then went to the practice green and worked 10, 15, and 20 yards in to a very short pin location out of fairly long grass (+ 2 inches).  I am really starting to get my semi flop shot down pat. The best was 18 out of 20 balls from 15 yards inside of 4 feet to the pin. The key to the end of my struggles around the green was moving the ball way forward, onto the toe of my left foot. It feels like that has taken wobble out of the bad shoulder, and anything I can do to eliminate wobble or stabilize that right shoulder is a boon to my game. 

[BobBC78]

9 hours ago, Indy_Oz said:

Ref flattening lies. I can only speak to hybrids, but I play a TM Stealth+ 3H and I changed the hosel to the flat setting and that helped hugely with pull draws. I have a natural draw with irons and hybrid after going through a swing change last year, but with the change in lie the 3H is my most reliably straight long club and my go-to for tighter fairways. With fixed hosel hybrids I'd tried before the Stealth+ I didn't have that accuracy and would pull draw too much.

@Indy_Oz - Thanks for this input. After doing some research, I realized that the fairway woods and hybrids which I hit best had flatter lies than my Pings. Furthermore, my G710 irons are red dot, so 1* flat (and I hit them yesterday with tight dispersion only slightly left which is my tendancy as well), so it makes sense that my other clubs should be somewhat flatter than standard too. 

[cjeffs12]

I needed an after work therapy session yesterday, so I went to the range to work on my swing. I started with the prosendr to get the feels and connection. I am really trying to feel my arms drop and lead hip to clear to start my downswing, and I was really striping it with my P and 8. I moved to my 4 iron as I try to make it as difficult as possible and expose my swing. It was not working with the 4, and then something clicked, I tucked my trail elbow turned my inner forearm to the sky then turned my hand to grip the club(sorry internal and external rotation always confuses me). This really allowed me to feel it work around arc and not so chicken wing at the top. I started flushing my 4 iron and was hitting the green on the range at 225, I loved the contact and how shallow my divots were getting. I hoping that I am at a place to where I can go play 9 this week and start working on playing better golf. 

[David T G Pro]

For no real reason I cleaned up my old set of Callaway Razr's last night. Looking nearly new and just off the range from their lunch time bonus offer. Bit windy but they felt good.

[Rob Person]

23 minutes ago, siddiqueee123 said:

if your are a golf player you are used to get up early in the morning now elevate your game and boost up the morning of your loved ones by using the Morning quotes and images. because i have been using them for a very long time and they provide quality good morning images, wishes, quotes as well as funny memes

Welcome to the site!!!

[GolfSpy_KFT]

I have been trying to work on my hips working more properly in the swing this offseason. I recently watched a YouTube video with Kerrod Gray and he said something that for whatever reason resonated with me; getting the tailbone to work towards the target in the backswing. This should allow for more depth in the backswing and more room to move the club and hands through impact. He showed some drills using an alignment stick through the belt loops to demonstrate the turn we should be looking for, so I’ve put some of those into my practice routine. I feel like I have made some progress but still room to improve and will take time to have it become second nature. Took a screenshot of one swing that felt like I was doing a better job with the turn.

Also took a photo of my club face at one point after hitting 4 balls in a row out of the same spot. Slightly toe-y, but was still happy with the consistency. Just need to keep working at it so it becomes that more often.

[BobBC78]

Practiced grip and setup then short swings through the impact area hitting an AlmostGOLF ball for about 15-minutes. 

[tdroma98]

Walked 18 holes this morning, birdied the first hole, but didn't manage another birdie till hole #11. Chalk it up to cold weather & mediocre putting.

Worked on rhythm today, after finding something yesterday.  Slowed myself down & had more rhythm with the swing, not matter the club used.  Trusting the swing more and not rushing.  Hit the ball nicely from the 4th hole and on.

Putting has been disappointing the past week (and all of 2024).  For the back 9, I went back to using the Japanese putting grip (that's the only way I can describe it) and it worked nicely. Getting a feel for the speed has been an issue and I think the primary reason for not scoring.   

Results this morning, 2 over on the front, 1 over on the back. Chipping was good.  Had one 3 putt from 57 ft, uphill breaking to left.  Misread the break to the left, ball went by hole breaking even further left, leaving about a 6 foot putt for par, which I missed.

1 hour ago, GolfSpy_KFT said:

He showed some drills using an alignment stick through the belt loops to demonstrate the turn we should be looking for

@GolfSpy_KFT the alignment stick through the belt loops, was the best drill I had ever done to understand how to engage the hips. What a great drill, glad it resonated Jason! 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

22 minutes ago, tdroma98 said:

 

@GolfSpy_KFT the alignment stick through the belt loops, was the best drill I had ever done to understand how to engage the hips. What a great drill, glad it resonated Jason! 

It was just kind of like one of those "aha" moments. Really helps to have that visual guide to go along with the physcial feel. Now just continuing to drill it so that it can become second nature. I am still having to work on keeping my arms in sync as my trail arm seems to get a little too separated from my upper body in the downswing compared to what we see the best in the world do - but trying not to overwhelm myself at the same time. Have been working on getting just a bit more shallow in the downswing and now the better hip movement so sticking to those for now.

[cnosil]

More putting practice today.  struggled a bit with the stroke today;  distance control was fine, but couldn't get comfortable with my setup. 

 

[Willie T]

Day 40 (21 Feb 24) - played a pickup 9 when the plan was range session with a friend who last swung a club in ‘15 and prior to that another 15year gap.  He wanted to play and I was game (even though I had one of my older setups).  Was fun watching someone embrace the game again….

[tdroma98]

@GolfSpy_KFT it's such a simple drill, isn't it?  I was looking for a way to get my hips better engaged.  I felt my hips were too restricted.   I saw the drill on Saguto Golf.  Like you, I had that aha moment. 
Jason, when I'm at the range, I'll hit balls with alignment stick in my belt loops.  It's a good way to making sure your arms are connected in takeaway and your rhythm is good, not too fast.  Try hitting balls with the alignment stick in your belt. LOL.  Don't swing too fast! 

[johngschulz]

On 2/19/2024 at 7:07 PM, Rob Person said:

Was on the pracrice green at work before they opened. Theres something about fresh dewy ball tracks thats so peaceful.

Practiced long putting with the Lombardi with 50 balls (20-60'). Practiced with the DB for 100 balls.(3'-20') Both rolled well and the DB is still reigning champ for a spot in the bag. (Lol. Like there was ever a doubt)

after my shift, I hit the range to work through the bag. Been working on some new to me swing dynamics, recommended by the pga teaching coach at the course He analyzed and addressed my grip, swing, and stance in 3 practice swings !!!

So I've switched from my neutral interlock grip, to a neutral baseball grip- this is to increase stability in my down swing , and keep my hands/wrists in line with the swing plane. Also he said I was pivoting my lower body too late, forcing my hands to be just behind the club head on contact. (forcing the face to be wide open causing my slice issues) I have issues with syncing my upper and lower body, so have to slow down my swing to re-learn how-to mesh them together. Lastly, my trail elbow was not tucked into my side enough in the down swing. By tucking it in tighter, it promotes the "pulling the hands down" through the swing. 

So the first 5 whacks with the driver was awkward. I felt out of sync even more! I was hooking,  slicing, and burning the ground. Absolutely a mess! I decided to move into changing just one thing at a time before incorporating them together. So I started with the grip change and used my normal swing. Next 5 shots while not straight, felt better. Added the tighter trail elbow for next 5,  and I saw 20 more feet of height, and 10- 15 yards longer. Also, by pulling the elbow in it forced my hips to pivot more, helping align my upper/lower body through the turn. I still have a fade/slice, but it was not as exaggerated like before. Man it was a much better contact, and the extra distance was amazing to see happen! I played around for another 20 shots or so with different things, like stepping back my trail foot a bit, closing the face at address, etc. In the end, I ended up aligning myself 6-8" left of my target (on the ground in front of me) to compensate for the ball flight path. I was happy with the results. The consistency was definitely a plus for me.

Moving through the woods and irons, I had almost zero fade or slices, just straight shots down the range. (minus the few topped shots I had due to trying to swing faster) I also actually hit my 7i an avg of 150 yards 5 times!!! (we have not got along... ever!) and saw an increase in ball height in flight!!! (7w has been my 140y-145y goto club, but no real height from it)

No chipping or short wedge practice, as I was tuckered out! Total practice was over 2 hours, and 150+ balls.

Does anyone wear a glove on each hand during practice sessions??? My right hand is blistered between the fingers and on palm!!!

 

 

I read this when you responded to my post about changing grip style and forgot to respond here! I’m in a situation where I’m working on fitness for the first time in a while too, so I’m not necessarily making the 10 finger grip switch for added distance (which I think we all want). I’m mostly wanting to feel like I’m getting better contact at impact *consistently*
 

I do find that my right pinky gets a little smushed when I have long practice sessions, and I mentioned in a different post blister issues for *speed* training. I had a pair of Macwet gloves I used to practice with, but have no idea where they went so it’s one glove life for me for now!

[johngschulz]

7 hours ago, GolfSpy_KFT said:

I have been trying to work on my hips working more properly in the swing this offseason. I recently watched a YouTube video with Kerrod Gray and he said something that for whatever reason resonated with me; getting the tailbone to work towards the target in the backswing. This should allow for more depth in the backswing and more room to move the club and hands through impact. He showed some drills using an alignment stick through the belt loops to demonstrate the turn we should be looking for, so I’ve put some of those into my practice routine. I feel like I have made some progress but still room to improve and will take time to have it become second nature. Took a screenshot of one swing that felt like I was doing a better job with the turn.

Also took a photo of my club face at one point after hitting 4 balls in a row out of the same spot. Slightly toe-y, but was still happy with the consistency. Just need to keep working at it so it becomes that more often.

This. I’ve been working on a few things, probably too many at one time, but I have definitely been blocking out my swing by not using hip rotation properly. My best swings definitely feel like it align with what you’re describing here, and something I’ve been actively working on! Nice pattern.

[BallsLeon]

Matt Blois of Golf Liberty had a Q&A session yesterday on YouTube, and he made an analogy about practice that stuck with me. He compared practice to a file transfer, that practice/file transfer will be faster when it’s dedicated to a singular focus rather than splitting across multiple focuses. This connected with the inner-IT nerd in me.

So, for tonight’s practice I only swung my 9 iron and focused on face angle. Found the Trackman optimizer to be pretty helpful here for targeted practice, giving me an optimal range for face angle to hit. Managed to hit optimal face angles exactly half the time, with a lot narrowly outside the range. Finding the left miss/overly shut face comes when I rush my downswing. Really happy with trajectory and distance I was seeing across the board.

Wrapped up the night putting with a ladder drill on the PuttView green, and the alignment aides turned off. Ladder consisted of 8 putts between 2-10ft, on a slightly uphill right-to-left break. After a warm-up I managed to complete the ladder twice with 10 putts each, matching my personal best. Getting some confidence back with the flat stick, and the roll is looking a lot better than a couple weeks ago.