What/How Did You Practice Today?

[PMookie]

Went to the range to hit a couple buckets of balls. Started out with a few drills, then moved to working on approach irons: 7-PW. Then I grabbed the Super Hybrid and tried to figure her out. Changed the setting from neutral/-1 to plain neutral. The swing was coming together so this sweetie started to show herself! Dang!!! Quite a nice surprise! We’ll see how she does Saturday morning as I’ll be using her off 4 tees, and on the second shot of a long par 5. 
Ultimately today I think I figured out something with this swing I’ve been learning. If I can get the swing though ingrained it could be special! Driver was dead-on! I have a great swing thought as I step to the ball. Working VERY well!!! Stoked.

[russtopherb]

Another range session this morning where the driver is pretty much fine. Just haven't been able to take it to the course yet. Trying to just ingrain the right feels, standing up taller, etc. so I'm not worrying about those when I have a defined fairway/landing zone to try and hit. I'm hopeful it'll get there soon.

Wedges and irons were decent, but I pretty much hit over half the bucket with driver to try and work things out. Lots of practice swings hitting the top of the tee and feeling like I'm sweeping instead of coming in steep. Hope to get out with my son this weekend for at least 9 holes and we'll see how things go.

The gentleman a few stations down from me had HB Turbos and even with a bad knee was just striping his irons all over the place. I was envious.

[Superjoemofo]

On 8/2/2021 at 6:07 AM, Shapotomous said:

What'll really mess ya up is if you start thinking about take away hand position, backswing arm rotation, backswing length and downswing plane & wrist angles.......      I went through that phase and it's no fun telling yourself not to think about those things and all you can do then is think about them!  

 

Tell me about it! I was consistently shooting better round after round for 3 months, then I tried working on shifting my weight and POOF! I forgot how to golf... last round was 15 over average... hit the range and still over thinking everything... hope the round goes good tomorrow... might have a cocktail before hand to loosen up and calm down.... woooo saaaa....

[Kenny B]

On 8/5/2021 at 8:40 AM, rbsiedsc said:

While working on my swing trying to figure a good way to shallow at the top. Watched an Adam young video and talked about an outside takeaway can lead to a body response to shallow. I have it a go as I also struggle with my lead shoulder. Here are some comparison videos. I don’t want to go down a rabbit hole but wondered everyone’s thoughts. And yes, I did whack the garage door opener  

 

 

Outside takeaway is the PlaneMate move.  Keep doing that, but don't fall down!

Inside takeaway is your usual swing and promotes OTT.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Back to Planemate protocols and things just seem nice. My best round this year I warmed up with the PM and that is likely why I hit my irons so well. Need to get those feels back as I stay shallow and in control. 

[sirchunksalot]

I got out for a range session today to see if there's been any progress to my ability to hit the ball since I've been working on swing changes. Stared the day or hitting wedges to random targets and was doing pretty good. I was hitting them a little left, so I know I've still got to work on alignment, I tend to open up a bit and it was evident today.

I moved on to irons, laying alignment sticks down, and was hitting them fairly well. My focus with them was getting a more outside takeaway and getting my left wrist bowed. Not gonna lie, it felt a bit odd and I really had to focus in on the moves I've been working on through Monte's No Turn Cast. 

Fairway woods were still hit or miss, but there were fewer bad shots than normal.

Driver was the star of the day, I was consistent hitting the center and was missing more up and down than side to side. 

I actually hit the sweet spot twice! Once after spraying the face and again after spraying the second time and launching one off the toe.

I played six holes from the course on the range and played a couple that would've given me birdie chances according to my targets and how I was playing the distances.

I got tired and sloppy toward the end, hitting some beaver pelt chunks. I feel like I was stalling out my rotation and excavating some major turf. 

Overall, it was the best range session I've had in a while. 

 

[RichL85]

Wife was at work and kids slept in late, so hit into the net for a bit. Trying to work on more consistent contact with the irons and getting rid of a little out to in thing I've got going on. In my mind, I know what to do, but I can't seem to get it consistently working in practice. 

[CarlH]

Driving range today working on stability and rotation and tempo.  Also spent time working on speed control on the putting range, as well as restricting unnecessary body movements.

[Shapotomous]

I was able to hit the range last evening and then the course to work through a wipey short right fade that has been randomly showing up on approach shots.  After re-reading Hogans 5 lessons book Sat night, I think I was getting loose with the arms.  I concentrated on the image in the book with the arms wrapped together with an ace bandage connecting them to the chest rotation and was able to get back to compressing the ball and it jumping off the face. 

Went out on the course until dark and got in 16 practice holes.  Most shots were compressed but there were still a few that were scooped and slid up the face.

The course was pretty empty for a mid 80's low humidity weekend evening compared to what I had been seeing over the last year or so.  Maybe we are getting back to pre-covid crowds?

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Day three of hardcore planemate work. Really needing to focus on my downswing starting with my lower body. Realized I was starting it with my shoulders and not rotating my body around. Backswing feeling good. Just need to remember to take it back slow so I don’t over swing and feel the club head at the top shallowing out

[russtopherb]

Went to the lighted range with my son tonight. Love watching ballflight under the lights! Again… driver was pretty good. Just keep on working on the setup and trying to ingrain the feelings so I don’t fall apart at the course. 

I had my son experimenting with ball position and taking lots of practice swings so he wouldn’t just bash away. He used my old graphite shaft irons not the steel shafted Cobras my dad gave him. After a while his ballflight straightened out somewhat and I asked what he was figuring out. He responded that he was taking a pause at the top and not rushing the downswing. I honestly couldn’t notice anything different but he said he felt a short pause and his hooks turned into push draws. Next time out he’ll bring the steel shafts and I’m curious to see how the heavier irons will work for him. 

[Nolan220]

Went to range and just got some swings in wasn’t really practicing anything just did my routine I usually do on the range ..

[Shapotomous]

Got in a little practice into the net yesterday paying attention to my spine angle through the swing.  My back has been a little tight the last week or so from a lot of driving and I could feel myself standing up when swinging.  I hit a few fat but once I got the ball position correct it felt pretty good.

I also practiced putting for a good while last night as the temps & humidity dropped with a real nice breeze, it was actually pleasant.   The last league night my putting was abysmal and I need to work on it a bit.  Mostly I had a lot of weight on my back foot and I wasn't keeping the face square at impact.  I worked on set up and posture while putting one handed.  This really makes me concentrate on the face angle at impact.  It was a pretty good session, I made 15/16 one handed 5'ers with 13 in a row before going back to two hands at the 15' mark...I was hitting the line consistently and need to take that to the course.  I hope to get in 9 holes and some practice over there tonight.

[RichL85]

Had a quick range visit this morning. Decided to try to use the MLM again since I've been pretty disappointed with it so far and wanted to give it a few more chances. 

Been working on my setup to correct a few things and thinking less about the mechanics of the swing. Thinking less seemed to help far more than it really should. 

[Syks7]

Dropped by the range this morning after dropping my daughter off to do my new normal once a week big practice session.  I've been trying to practice with purpose lately and it appears to be working.  I haven't seen a drop in scoring yet, but I do feel like scoring is more consistent and far less dependent on miracle saves or putts.

Started out with chipping.  I'm trying to teach myself to feel the distance on stuff inside 40 yards so I have a sleeve of 20 balls that I loosely scatter in an area with the aim to work on a particular kind of shot around the green.  I usually do a run of 20 balls with the 50/56/60 then 20 more out of the sand with the 56.  The idea being to build some muscle memory.  I've been doing it for about a month now and am really starting to see results.  Both on the course and in practice.  Today I hit from 30 yards with the 56 I hit 5/20 within 5', shorted 2/20, skulled 1/20, and put the other 12 within 15'.  A vast improvement over my lucky to get 50% on the green from a month ago.  

Moved onto putting.  I've been using the two tee gate drill from 3',6',and 9' then back to 4'.  Then if I have time I'll practice long lags into the 4' range.  I was rushed today so I skipped lag putting and 9' and 4' but I did managed to drop all 20 from 3' today and 12/20 from 6'.   I feel like the muscle memory is starting build.  I've hit more putts in the last month than I did all of 2020.

Moving onto the range I've only been hitting small buckets.  The idea being that I can work on something small and work it into my swing over a longer period rather than trying to cram it in in one session and potentially unfolding my swing in the process.  I posted my swing the other day and got some good advice about my hip turn and keeping my trail arm from collapsing so I focused on that using my 9, PW, and 50.  I think what I was working on took pretty well and I'm excited to keep working on it.  We'll see how this all translates when I play on Wednesday.

[cjeffs12]

Went to the range after work, and my swing changes are really starting to feel more natural. I'm trying to picture Xander or Morikawa in my head, instead of getting really flat and inside. The last couple weeks I had to force myself to go slow, and I started trying to "perfect" (as much as a 9 hcp can) my wedges. I have gradually been working my way up, and yesterday I was able to get a majority of good shots with my 6 iron. I am really happy looking up and seeing more height and a ball flight that starts left and falls right to target. I think my next step is to see my Pro about the driver, I was striking it well for the most part, not a lot of curve, but could not hit my 20 yard wide target for fairway often as I'd like. It was a very motivating range session, and I am almost brave enough to post a video of my swing. Almost, maybe next time I go. 

[edingc]

After another couple rounds of so-so ball striking with my irons, I realized I had started to push my hands away from my body to start my backswing instead of just letting them come along as a result of my shoulders rotating. It was causing me to get really disconnected, pivot poorly and either hit pull draws/hooks, thin straight shots or weak block/fades.

Went through a bucket working on letting the hands work back naturally and then "standing up the umbrella" a la Planemate and I hit the ball so much better, from hybrid down to wedges. I also was playing with the concept of getting the "whoosh" as far in front of the ball as possible (kudos to a Golf Science Lab video with Rypstick team) and that really seemed to help me put more zip on my wedges, especially.

Driver was much less successful, but I think I need to work more on ball position and grip. I'm finding what feels right as a grip with my longest clubs is way too weak and is causing all sorts of issues.

[RollingGreens]

Really working on pace and green reading on the putting green. Imagining every put just barely dropping in has helped with pace. Luckily the club I play at has a diverse putting green with lots of different pin locations and layouts 

[Haro]

5 putted on a long two tier green and knew I need practice.  Crown greens can give me too fits if they are really small   Just need to make sure I get the ball up to the top tier cause it’s disheartening to see ball come back down like I was playing mini golf 

Its like I need to invent a new stroke to get the ball up to the top tier or

if I am going from the top tier recoil if I am trying to gently move ball to lower tier if that where the pin is 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Planemate work after range work yesterday. Had a mental breakdown today after planemate work. Think I need to take a few days off. Contemplating not playing again. Swing changes are hard. 

[cnosil]

29 minutes ago, rbsiedsc said:

Planemate work after range work yesterday. Had a mental breakdown today after planemate work. Think I need to take a few days off. Contemplating not playing again. Swing changes are hard. 

As you stated goof is hard.  Take a few days off to reset and maybe stop putting so much pressure on yourself to get better.   

[MDGolfHacker]

No practice for a week since I'm down Ocean City MD with the family sans clubs BUT I did take practice swings with the bottom half of the beach umbrella...does that count...

 

MDGolfHacker

[GolfSpy TCB]

29 minutes ago, MDGolfHacker said:

BUT I did take practice swings with the bottom half of the beach umbrella...does that count...

I bet your form was impeccable!  

[ncwoz]

Went to the local muni's short game area and did some pitches from 20-70 yards. Focused on keeping my club on plane better and staying more connected (both faults I caught from recording my swing the other day). 

It felt great!!! If I had an endless supply of balls and didn't have to do the back and forth walk, I think I could legitimately hit partial wedge shots all day long.

[MDGolfHacker]

4 hours ago, Tiftaaft said:

I bet your form was impeccable!  

It felt good, although the beach umbrella "shaft" was 1.5" in diameter so it played like an extra, extra, extra, extra, extra stiff shaft...

 

MDGolfHacker

[sirchunksalot]

6 hours ago, rbsiedsc said:

Planemate work after range work yesterday. Had a mental breakdown today after planemate work. Think I need to take a few days off. Contemplating not playing again. Swing changes are hard. 

I feel for you, swing changes can take time and a toll on your psyche. I videoed my sing the other day and saw all the progress I've made just disappear, it's very disheartening. Sometimes a break can do you good and hopefully when you get back to it, you'll be doing better. I'm rooting for you hard. 

[russtopherb]

6 hours ago, rbsiedsc said:

Planemate work after range work yesterday. Had a mental breakdown today after planemate work. Think I need to take a few days off. Contemplating not playing again. Swing changes are hard. 

Take a break. It'll do wonders for you. I had one of those days 2 summers ago, I went to three different ranges over the course of the morning & afternoon because I just had nothing going right. It was terrible. I put the clubs in a closet for over a week and didn't think about them, didn't pick one up for mirror work, didn't do anything. The following range session was night and day. I'm sure you'll figure things out. It'll come. 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

18 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

I feel for you, swing changes can take time and a toll on your psyche. I videoed my sing the other day and saw all the progress I've made just disappear, it's very disheartening. Sometimes a break can do you good and hopefully when you get back to it, you'll be doing better. I'm rooting for you hard. 

thanks man. that is exactly what is happening to me. my swing feels good and then i tape it and it looks like crap (even though the ball flies great). Wondering if I should give it the Adam Young treatment and work with what i have. I have a playable swing. Just ugly as all 

[sirchunksalot]

6 minutes ago, rbsiedsc said:

thanks man. that is exactly what is happening to me. my swing feels good and then i tape it and it looks like crap (even though the ball flies great). Wondering if I should give it the Adam Young treatment and work with what i have. I have a playable swing. Just ugly as all 

I would say go the Adam Young route and play what you've got, especially if the ball flight is good. There's plenty of time to work on getting the swing to look better. 

[russtopherb]

2 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

I would say go the Adam Young route and play what you've got, especially if the ball flight is good. There's plenty of time to work on getting the swing to look better. 

So much this. The ball doesn’t care what your swing looks like. If it gets the ball close to where you’re aiming, you’re in good shape.