What/How Did You Practice Today?

[Jim Shaw]

2 hours ago, Girldad18 said:

Worked on swing path again yesterday afternoon. Mainly on the take away. Trying to video the sessions for feedback. 

 

Seems really solid to me, especially the impact position. what are you seeing at or after impact, ie: solid strikes and straight shot or solid strike and a bit right or left? 

[Girldad18]

2 minutes ago, Jim Shaw said:

Seems really solid to me, especially the impact position. what are you seeing at or after impact, ie: solid strikes and straight shot or solid strike and a bit right or left? 

Slight toe hits.  Working on the path back at start, I was going way inside last year.  Posture at setup, trying to be taller so closer to the ball.  This swing felt pretty good and results were getting better towards the end of the year.  Still toeish but closer to center.  This was a 7 iron.  If the dang wind will ever die down enough here I will mess with the 4 or 5 iron and see how that goes.  Overall, I am happy.  Ball flight is good, slight draw on solid hits, which I prefer, but I want that center contact.  I hit several of these and one was noticeably higher ball flight than the others which is what I think the end result will be once I get this worked out.  Takes time.  

[Jim Shaw]

2 minutes ago, Girldad18 said:

Slight toe hits.  Working on the path back at start, I was going way inside last year.  Posture at setup, trying to be taller so closer to the ball.  This swing felt pretty good and results were getting better towards the end of the year.  Still toeish but closer to center.  This was a 7 iron.  If the dang wind will ever die down enough here I will mess with the 4 or 5 iron and see how that goes.  Overall, I am happy.  Ball flight is good, slight draw on solid hits, which I prefer, but I want that center contact.  I hit several of these and one was noticeably higher ball flight than the others which is what I think the end result will be once I get this worked out.  Takes time.  

looks  a little windy, missed that piece when I first watched your video. I don't know if this helps, but I have really been focusing on ball position in the past couple of months, for centre hits, and strangely enough in order to hit is solid the ball position may change slightly from round to round, and I mean slightly, but finding the proper ball position is on my list before every round. 

[Girldad18]

3 minutes ago, Jim Shaw said:

looks  a little windy, missed that piece when I first watched your video. I don't know if this helps, but I have really been focusing on ball position in the past couple of months, for centre hits, and strangely enough in order to hit is solid the ball position may change slightly from round to round, and I mean slightly, but finding the proper ball position is on my list before every round. 

I'll have to take a look at that.  Standing taller I have narrowed my stance a bit so that could be adding to it.  

[BobBC78]

Practiced armlock putting doing the PuttOUT gauntlet (goal is to make a series of perfect putts in 1' increments from 1' to 6') today. I took 63 putts to make all 6 of the perfect putts. Out of 63 putts, I missed the hole target twice (once from 5' and once from 6'; left both times) for a "make" percentage of 97%. 

I have been working on technique for the past few weeks, and so have a grip (a Schauffle left hand low grip) and stance that works pretty well. I can repeatedly start the ball on my intended line, however speed control is rough. I was OK on the 2' and 3' distances, but beyond that needs a lot of work, so repeating this drill and tracking my performance, will be my focus. 

[BobBC78]

3 hours ago, TSauer said:

It seems a lot of people who have issues with arthritis tend to gravitate towards the JM. What size do you use?

Extra small, which was this size recommended based on the length of my wrist joint to the tip of my middle finger, which I found on the JM website. 

[Willie T]

Day 52 (05 Mar 24) - with yesterday’s all day rain, opted to not go to the course but rather do the Divot Board thing in the backyard.  Worked with irons (9-7-6) and hard foam balls.  Love the visual that the board provides regarding ball strikes and how that correlates to the ball flight seem - not the digital data a LM provides, but good visuals nonetheless.  

[bens197]

Got off work this AM, sat for a 3 hour class and then decided since it's almost 70* outside, I was hoping Dad wanted to hit the range...which he did.  Shared a large, got some swings in and enjoyed every minute.

The good...phenomenal confidence with 12 of my full swing clubs.  Feeling really good.

Made some better swings with the U505 today but still having difficulty with the "why" this became such a troublemaker.

I started playing around with address positions and amusingly enough...when I set the club right at the toe almost to a point where it wasn't even facing the ball, I was hitting it ideally.  It deserves more patience so we'll see.

Besides that...awesome day.

[TJ Hall]

2 hours ago, bens197 said:

Got off work this AM, sat for a 3 hour class and then decided since it's almost 70* outside, I was hoping Dad wanted to hit the range...which he did.  Shared a large, got some swings in and enjoyed every minute.

The good...phenomenal confidence with 12 of my full swing clubs.  Feeling really good.

Made some better swings with the U505 today but still having difficulty with the "why" this became such a troublemaker.

I started playing around with address positions and amusingly enough...when I set the club right at the toe almost to a point where it wasn't even facing the ball, I was hitting it ideally.  It deserves more patience so we'll see.

Besides that...awesome day.

I had a similar experience with the U510 for a while…got it and couldn’t miss.  Consistently hit about 225 with high baby fade, then it went away.  Tried a variety of different utilities and ultimately decided to give the U519 a chance again and starting to come back around.  Not as consistent as it was, but getting there.

[bens197]

1 hour ago, TJ Hall said:

I had a similar experience with the U510 for a while…got it and couldn’t miss.  Consistently hit about 225 with high baby fade, then it went away.  Tried a variety of different utilities and ultimately decided to give the U519 a chance again and starting to come back around.  Not as consistent as it was, but getting there.

It's certainly puzzling. My misses are these drop kicks...toe shots that go about 50-80% and feel awful at impact.

I hope I can figure it out...When it's on its fun to hit.

[cksurfdude]

On 2/21/2024 at 2:55 PM, GolfSpy_KFT said:

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

Nice!! Have had that demonstrated to me in the past .. definitely been helpful to me also!

And fyi.. the same thing is super useful for *putting* - to easily  check you're _not_ moving your hips during your stroke!

[Rob Person]

Hit the putting green and chipping are for 20 minutes before "Ranger Rob" had to report for duty.

Putts were from 10'-12' for pure speed control.  Roughly 30 putts, 19/30 sank using the circle drill with 10 balls at a time. They were placed around a cup that had uphill and downhill sloping, and had a break on each putt.

Chipping was strictly with a 7i, worked on low chips from 5' down an embankment, trying to land just over the fringe, and roll out 8-10',  using a putter stroke (straight back, straight through) had a couple of duffs from hitting the ground too early.  Also had 1 flyer that traversed across the green at mach2.

[Willie T]

33 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

Chipping was strictly with a 7i, worked on low chips from 5' down an embankment, trying to land just over the fringe, and roll out 8-10',  using a putter stroke (straight back, straight through) had a couple of duffs from hitting the ground too early.  Also had 1 flyer that traversed across the green at mach2.

Love these types of drills - do them often in my backyard, roll out no where as learnable as on a real green.  Still it teaches the foundation for solid chip/bump and runs…

[jbern]

On 3/4/2024 at 2:38 PM, TSauer said:

Put a JumboMax XL grip on my driver and tinkered around with it yesterday. There's something about the massive grip that just feels good. I may look into getting a slightly smaller size, maybe a small or medium. Anyone else use a JMX Ultralite on their driver?

I was able to get 4 JMX STR8 Ultralite grips, size XS, from someone at the range last weekend and I'm planning to put them on my Dr, 3w, 5w & 4hy. I have used JMX Tour series grips in the past and really liked those! The STR8 grips are similar to the ultralite but with less of a taper. I'll definitely post how the STR8 grips work out for me!

[TSauer]

8 minutes ago, jbern said:

I was able to get 4 JMX STR8 Ultralite grips, size XS, from someone at the range last weekend and I'm planning to put them on my Dr, 3w, 5w & 4hy. I have used JMX Tour series grips in the past and really liked those! The STR8 grips are similar to the ultralite but with less of a taper. I'll definitely post how the STR8 grips work out for me!

Right on! At $15-$16 a pop, they're definitely a commitment. So, I'm looking forward to hearing some thoughts on them.

[TuukkaH]

Had nice one hour Trackman session. Solid 76 on PGA West Stadium. Had some short time to work on my drive after the round and there was some promising signs that for the next season, I could hit some bombs! This one was just a hair under 300 yards (meters in the display)

 

[Girldad18]

Yesterday I hit some balls and worked on alignment. Pretty sure that was the main issue. Fundamentals. Fellow spies, rule #1 is always check the fundamentals. Surprisingly though, once I squared my shoulders I hit the sweet spot. So maybe my shoulders were slightly off square causing a toeish strike? We will monitor and see. 

[Jmikecpa]

With the weather we have had it is putting right now, lots of putting right now. The indoor putting green is getting a lot of reps this week. 

[jbern]

50 minutes ago, Girldad18 said:

Fundamentals. Fellow spies, rule #1 is always check the fundamentals.

I worked on  the fundamentals last night in my living room! I wasn't able to get out and hit balls anywhere, so I worked on addressing the ball and making sure my address position is where I want it! Great reminder about checking the fundamentals!

Edited March 6 by jbern

[GolFlikeaNUT]

Rain is wrecking our days here in the SE but it is warming up. In the meantime it's putting practice in the office for me trying to train a good stroke under pressure.

[barney_bogey]

I haven’t had a lesson yet where I didn’t hit balls doing a drill and with golf swings.
There were some with just doing a drill with not club or club but not hitting the ball but they all had actual swings taking place during the lesson.
someone mentioned hitting 12 balls in a lesson. If I had a lesson like that it would be my last lesson with that pro.
The neuro system has toe be trained to change or create a movement pattern. That comes thru reps and many of them slower reps over an longer period of time than most people realize.
A good instructor isn’t going to have a student take lessons every couple weeks unless it’s to work on the somethings as the last lesson because whatever they are working on isn’t going to change in that period. Especially if the student isn’t practicing a lot in between 

Certainly isn't for everyone, that low swing count lesson. But I'm not paying him for swing lessons, rather golf lessons. I didn't grow up on a course. Dad wasn't a country club member. There are tidbits that can help an amateur golfer score lower that have nothing to do with mechanics.


It was a short game lesson where we discussed strategy, how to approach different lies, club selection, green reading, etc. He assessed my strengths and weaknesses. My ability with a wedge is stronger than my golf IQ. That was the reason for this very important session. I take notes and draw diagrams. Then I'm off to work on drills he recommends by myself. Next week, I go back and show him my progress and we move on or not.

I take it the academics of golf aren't for you. Another reason why I know this coach is perfect for me. He's tailored the experience exactly to my liking, ability, and understanding.

Just wanted to add context. Money well spent. But like I said in my op, this type of lesson isn't for everyone... Some folks know too much for it.

B

[BobBC78]

23 hours ago, BobBC78 said:

Practiced armlock putting doing the PuttOUT gauntlet (goal is to make a series of perfect putts in 1' increments from 1' to 6') today. I took 63 putts to make all 6 of the perfect putts. Out of 63 putts, I missed the hole target twice (once from 5' and once from 6'; left both times) for a "make" percentage of 97%. 

I have been working on technique for the past few weeks, and so have a grip (a Schauffele left hand low grip) and stance that works pretty well. I can repeatedly start the ball on my intended line, however speed control is rough. I was OK on the 2' and 3' distances, but beyond that needs a lot of work, so repeating this drill and tracking my performance, will be my focus. 

Today I did the same drill (PuttOUT Gauntlet) with my 34.5" Seemore FGP also using the Schauffele type left hand low grip. It took only 22 putts to make all 6 perfect putts and I missed 1 (left) on the 6' putt for a "make" percentage of 95%. 

My speed control with the conventional style putter appears to be quite a bit better than with the armlock, and while my "miss" percentage was 5% today, versus 3% yesterday, the difference is a function of my taking only 22 putts versus 63 yesterday. With the season about to start, I have to give some serious thought to how much time I want to spend perfecting the armlock approach. 

Edited March 6 by BobBC78

[RickyBobby_PR]

50 minutes ago, barney_bogey said:

Certainly isn't for everyone, that low swing count lesson. But I'm not paying him for swing lessons, rather golf lessons. I didn't grow up on a course. Dad wasn't a country club member. There are tidbits that can help an amateur golfer score lower that have nothing to do with mechanics.


It was a short game lesson where we discussed strategy, how to approach different lies, club selection, green reading, etc. He assessed my strengths and weaknesses. My ability with a wedge is stronger than my golf IQ. That was the reason for this very important session. I take notes and draw diagrams. Then I'm off to work on drills he recommends by myself. Next week, I go back and show him my progress and we move on or not.

I take it the academics of golf aren't for you. Another reason why I know this coach is perfect for me. He's tailored the experience exactly to my liking, ability, and understanding.

Just wanted to add context. Money well spent. But like I said in my op, this type of lesson isn't for everyone... Some folks know too much for it.

B


 

I’ve done a coaching program rather than just lessons and it’s what got me from a 15ish hdcp to sub 10. We did swing work, short game work, on course lessons, course management, practice using trackman combine, scenarios for shot making. In all those lessons as much conversation we had about what to do, how to do it I hit balls throughout. 

so all the academics of playing golf.

As a trained and someone that is studying corrective exercise I understand how the learning process and body works.

Reps are needed to engrain a movement pattern and change. 12 swings in a 30 min lesson isn’t going to accomplish that and even less in a 45-60 min lesson.

glad it’s working for you but it’s not an optimal way of learning for the vast majority of golfers. 
 

To the bolded part that’s not even remotely close. I’ve spent the last 3+ years learning and understanding the swing and helping some friends get better at golf. One of them broke 90 for the first time last year on a difficult course and shot an 82 on a slightly less difficult course. He’s dropped his handicap by 7 strokes last year

[barney_bogey]

I’ve done a coaching program rather than just lessons and it’s what got me from a 15ish hdcp to sub 10. We did swing work, short game work, on course lessons, course management, practice using trackman combine, scenarios for shot making. In all those lessons as much conversation we had about what to do, how to do it I hit balls throughout. 
so all the academics of playing golf.
As a trained and someone that is studying corrective exercise I understand how the learning process and body works.
Reps are needed to engrain a movement pattern and change. 12 swings in a 30 min lesson isn’t going to accomplish that and even less in a 45-60 min lesson.
glad it’s working for you but it’s not an optimal way of learning for the vast majority of golfers. 
 
To the bolded part that’s not even remotely close. I’ve spent the last 3+ years learning and understanding the swing and helping some friends get better at golf. One of them broke 90 for the first time last year on a difficult course and shot an 82 on a slightly less difficult course. He’s dropped his handicap by 7 strokes last year

I think you still miss the point.

That was one lesson about strategy around the green. This was following a lesson on the mechanics of a chip shot. Could have been in a classroom, really. As mentioned this is a holistic approach. Some things you may take for granted are still valuable knowledge for others, yeah?

The very next lesson was different as it was a full swing lesson. I swung maybe 30 times in that hour.

I appreciate your feedback on the program and will add it to the scale when I consider continuing with this coach after this season.

Wishing you favorable bounces.

B

[Shlax]

Well, first range session of the season on March 5th.

A full month or so ahead of the typical opening date of driving ranges and more than a month and a half ahead of the usual earliest opening date of golf courses in my area!

After taking the winter off from practive (no simulator at all), I was astounded by how quickly I found my swing back. I've been struggling with weak cuts and slices for the past two years and spent an uncalculable amount of hours working of my swing to avoid these misses. Yesterday was all about tight draws! and misses were snap hooks (yes, I'm happy with that ) with the occasional straight-push. That's golf I guess! A little time off seems to have paid off.

Absolutely pumped for the start of the season if I can indeed start earlier this year!!!

 

 

[nvizble1]

I went to the local range to work on PW, 5i and driver. Got through a few balls when the pro asked me to escort a few of his First Tee kids on 3 holes. They were so excited to hit a decent shot or sink a putt!

[Willie T]

Day 53 (6 Mar 24) - another all day rain,  broke out putter and rolled some putts from - 5-7-9 ft out.  A good day to roll the ball,  not a good day for much else. 

[No3PuttLaLa]

Working on putting in the office today. Focusing on making square contact. Have struggled mightily, so trying to spend time every day rolling putts. 

[Rob Person]

I practice putting almost every evening at home on rollout mats. At the range I usually do 3 to 4 clubs.

I've developed a new to me approach on practicing. By changing just 1 thing, and repeating that change to see if it works. Sometimes it may work, but not feel right or natural. But.... if it works and is consistently successful,  it may be the right move. This last week I've worked on hand grip pressures. It's to help me develop a smoother stroke/feel between my hands and the putter head. I've adopted the claw grip as my 1 change. It has automatically promoted my position to be more over the ball, simultaneously allowing a smoother alignment in my stroke. So far it seems to feel mostly natural, and not alot of re-adjusting when setting up to the ball. With the DB large pistol grip, my fingers rest easily over it Next week I may work on how a reverse grip (lead hand lower) will work. Or not...thats the great thing about Practice

[CSiders12]

I was able to take advantage of the wonderful 55-degree weather yesterday and go to the range. I was able to play 18 on Saturday and my irons were pretty good, however, I struggled off the tee. My focus at the range was to hit my long irons and woods more consistently. I have been working on my trail elbow staying tight to the body with better upper body rotation in the backswing. With this change, I have been hitting it low on the face of the driver resulting in wayward shots. 

I worked on swinging more with my arms and starting the backswing with my arms first. Once I did this, I was hitting the most pure high draws of my life. Hoping to get out and practice this more. Also helps me not swinging out of my shoes with the driver. Small growth every day!