What/How Did You Practice Today?

[ParFore74x]

58 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

100% agree. I have been dwelling in a bad place over the ball and having that focus on the routine helps calm the mind. 

I saw you shot another 91, congratulations on that!

I get the same way over the ball, too many thoughts in my head. I added one more element to my pre-shot routine over the last couple of weeks to try to relieve that. Right as I am ready to start my back swing, I exhale. Mind goes completely clear, any tension in my upper body goes away, and swing feels smooth and free.

Everyone’s routine is different but it might be worth a try. 

[Kenny B]

2 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

Hit the range today to work on a pre shot routine. I've never had a consistent one and want something to help with the jitters I've had over the ball the last year or so. It's always felt like I spend way too much time over the ball. Now it's two waggles feeling the face being square in the takeaway and three taps and go. Still need to work on the last part, cause sometimes it's four or five taps.

Just as long as it's not 8 or 9... or 12... or 15 taps like Sergio used to do a few years ago.  

[Tom the Golf Nut]

6 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

Just as long as it's not 8 or 9... or 12... or 15 taps like Sergio used to do a few years ago.  

The cure for Sergio was playing at Bethpage. That NY crowd was brutally rough on him. 

[Rickp]

14 minutes ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

The cure for Sergio was playing at Bethpage. That NY crowd was brutally rough on him. 

You beat me too it.  I was at Bethpage and the crowd was all over him and drove him crazy.

[sirchunksalot]

24 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

Just as long as it's not 8 or 9... or 12... or 15 taps like Sergio used to do a few years ago.  

I was trying to remember who it was that took forever to settle behind the ball, thank you for that. I've put him to shame on a couple of occasions. 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

33 minutes ago, Rickp said:

You beat me too it.  I was at Bethpage and the crowd was all over him and drove him crazy.

I remember it like it was yesterday. But it was crazy that a Pro couldn't pull the trigger. NY cured him!

[Rickp]

39 minutes ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I remember it like it was yesterday. But it was crazy that a Pro couldn't pull the trigger. NY cured him!

I’m not a Sergio guy so I really didn’t get sideways over it.  I watched him on 1st hole only.  Was more interested in Tiger & Phil.

[RichL85]

Toasty 107 degrees today so I figured why not hit the range in the middle of the afternoon after being in the sun all day Friday and Saturday. It was a poor choice. I've been making some good progress recently, but today things were just out of sorts. After getting pretty frustrated, I walked away and went over to the putting green for awhile to calm down. Spent some time chipping, practicing a few different trajectories to give myself some options should the need arise.

[PMookie]

Hit the range yesterday in the sweltering heat. 110* heat index, but there was a little breeze, so it wasn’t awful. Hit a large bucket and finished the last 30 really well with the same swing thought and mechanics. One of these days this stuff has to finally sink-in so I can stop playing “golf swing” on the course!!! I was pleased when I left the range.

[Rickp]

17 minutes ago, PMookie said:

Hit the range yesterday in the sweltering heat. 110* heat index, but there was a little breeze, so it wasn’t awful. Hit a large bucket and finished the last 30 really well with the same swing thought and mechanics. One of these days this stuff has to finally sink-in so I can stop playing “golf swing” on the course!!! I was pleased when I left the range.

Wow, 110’ is brutal!

[chisag]

3 hours ago, Rickp said:

Wow, 110’ is brutal!

 

... And it's only 109* ... today!  

 

 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Worked on some putting after the gym. Drove to the course and started with 15 ft, then 25-40ft lag putts. Some ladder drill and then three sets of 20 ft, 12ft, 15ft and trying to sink them. 

[Kenny B]

I played yesterday, but rather than post in the How'd you play? thread, I thought it would be more appropriate here in this practice thread.  Apparently, I played a practice round instead of playing golf because this wasn't golf.  I practiced all the bad shots I could possibly have on a golf course!    I felt fine; just nothing went right (I even hit my tee shot on #9 so far left that I was in the driving range; never done that... ever!).  I spent the remainder of the round trying to focus on just the shot at hand and deal with it.  Rather unsuccessfully I might add.  However, I live to golf another day!  

[Rickp]

1 hour ago, chisag said:

 

... And it's only 109* ... today!  

 

 

Layer up!!

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Had about 15 mins to kill so worked on my swing drills. Then tried something with my PRGR and driver. Tried a pause at the top of my swing. With SS training i was trying to be a fluid as possible. With my pause, i realized i can gain 7 mph head speed and feel like i am using the ground more. Plan to bring that feeling to the range this week and see where the face contact is.

[ParFore74x]

Worked on the putting a bit this afternoon at home. Trying to get past a speed barrier I guess. Putting hasn’t been terrible but, it hasn’t been great either. I find myself leaving a few short, 2-3 putts per round, that just didn’t have enough speed but had great direction. 

[JerryB]

Putting practice today in the basement.  Spent about ninety minutes doing ladder drills.  Started to come along near the end.  A couple pieces of tape on the head seems to help.  Might put some more on it though I'm not sure how much is too much...

[Syks7]

I keep finding it funny and amazing how important a proper setup is.  Before I started taking lessons this year I just kind of assumed I had setup in the bag without realizing how your setup can slowly drift from baseline over time and affect your entire game.  

I've been struggling with putting lately, just haven't had the feel for it that I do when I'm confident and haven't been able to figure it out.  I was watching a video where someone explained how Cam Smith uses a putting mirror to train his eyes and body to setup properly aligned.  Hopped on Amazon and ordered one, then went to the garage putting mat (birdieball) to see what I had that I could use to accomplish the same thing.  Long story short I used some extra equipment to practice training my eyes on what proper alignment looks like then switched sides and putted randomly from 4-10 ft.  While I wasn't dropping every putt I also had banished the funny little yips I'd been having.

Today I went to the range, setup some sticks and the camera.  Two things jumped out immediately open shoulders and standing way to close to the ball.  Two adjustments and that was that.  Everything else about the swing worked fine.  It hadn't been bad before it was just being derailed a bit to two little things.  The complexity and simplicity of this game are wild.

[Syks7]

I should add one more thing.  It's great to use a camera to check your alignment.  One of things that you don't realize is that your perspective, particularly on longer clubs, skews what you perceive as centering the ball on the club face.  For me, a ball centered on the club face looks like I've got it past the alignment mark and almost out on the toe on my driver.  But on camera it's dead center.  If I line up on the tick mark it's heel strike city for me.

[gavinski91]

Spent an hour on the sim today at my local course. Wanted to work on some stuff with my 5 wood, since I was having issues with a pull-hook last round, and also wanted to compare the Srixon ZStar ◊ with the ZStar XV.

Both balls were pretty comparable throughout the bag (a slight spin advantage to the ◊, since I struggle to generate spin with my mid-irons) but ultimately it was driver numbers that made the decision for me.

Maybe that explains some of my poor performances off the tee lately while I've been gaming the ZStar ◊!

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Trying to target low hanging fruit today.

Practiced putting in my house for 30 mins today. Did ladder drills, different angles to the putt out, distance control of just to the cup and going up the ramp more, and then played a simulated 9 where i start for either a birdie or eagle. I ended up -1.

Later this morning, i brought i box out to our HOA park and hit chips with my 54 and 58 and then hit short pitches with each (20-30 yards) all to the box. Learned that i need to aim significantly left of target for pitches. i think this is due to the lie angle of my wedges and the thick grass snagging the clubhead. Seemed to work out really well. 

[gavinski91]

1 hour ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

Later this morning, i brought i box out to our HOA park and hit chips with my 54 and 58 and then hit short pitches with each (20-30 yards) all to the box. Learned that i need to aim significantly left of target for pitches. i think this is due to the lie angle of my wedges and the thick grass snagging the clubhead. Seemed to work out really well. 

I'm the opposite - I chip with the ball closer to my feet (so that the club head is toe-down and less likely to grab the turf) so that points the face a bit to the right with the lie angle adjustment. Pitches though I'm addressing more like a normal wedge shot, just with my feet closer together, so they tend to go in the same direction that my feet are aligned.

[RollingGreens]

Working on staying inside of the ball at the range with my irons. Focusing on slow tempo while keeping my elbow inside. Strong tendency to get over the top with a slap pull and when I stay inside it really helps me make a solid strike with a nice launch and landing descent 

[JerryB]

Had another epiphany moment yesterday while hitting 8 irons into the net in the basement.  When I've lined up with the ball centered on the club face my shots have been really toe-y.  I haven't really noticed it because I play SGI clubs.  In the basement I was hitting an old Wilson Staff blade and my hands were going numb before I realized what was happening.  

Once I adjusted and put the ball along the extreme heel, I was striping it over and over.  I've got a tee time later today and I'm hoping to get there early enough to hit a bucket at the range and verify the feeling.

It's funny how fickle golf is.  Oftentimes it feels like I've changed nothing but somehow get drastically different results!

[revkev]

I have been playing well lately.

 

Interestingly nearly all my practice has been short game due to the Mezz.1 test and the summer heat.

 

This weekend I hit the practice green again. Worked on trap shots, pitch shots and putting because why not stick with what’s working?

 

And the heat index was around 110.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Between reading my new golf book did a few things

Worked on 8ft and in putts trying to keep it on the line of a rug. Got out the backup which has a pistol grip and feels heavier, then went back to the scotty and things clicked way more

Did some swing work i got from my coach. Working on getting my lead shoulder to work up and away in transition instead of down. I can also feel that crunching the right side over and tucking the trail elbow. Just did these with 15% speed swings as well as a club across the shoulders. Causes me to feel more ground force from trail foot and helps my lead hip rotate back. Its an awesome feeling.

Then for fun i was hitting different parts of my divot board with my wedges for low point/face work. After that came up with an idea to hit chips into my stroller in the garage with foam balls. Did this alternating ball position and trying to make them come in higher or lower. Did this with my 54, 58 and GW. Tried with my 7i for fun and the ball didn't get more than 4 inches off the ground. Was fun to try. Then did some small pitches with different ball positions just for feel.

[Nolan220]

been working on getting in a better left shoulder tilt with all my clubs but most importantly the driver .. went to the range and just worked on that also kept the ball in the same position inside the left foot heel but instead i gave a gap between my club and the ball and it really helped on getting better contact for me .. so far positive results 

[CarlH]

Worked a timing/sequence drill today with my 7 iron.  I'd take the club to the top, do a prolonged pause at the top of my swing, then focus on starting the downswing with lower body and purposely keeping hands as passive as I could.  Effectively, I was allowing my hands to drop into the slot and deliver the club head to the ball on a slight inside to out path.  The results were very good.  I found myself hitting it a bit longer (with regards to the range balls) with a nice baby draw.  

I have never been one that paused at the top of my swing, so this was an interesting drill.  It may merit exploring the pause deeper to see if it improves my ball striking on course....not a long pause, but the feel of one, anyway.  @chisag-- any thoughts on an intentional pause?  I did notice that the move helped ensure that I finished the backswing (which is a fault that I occasionally find in my swing)

[RickyBobby_PR]

11 minutes ago, CarlH said:

I have never been one that paused at the top of my swing, so this was an interesting drill.  It may merit exploring the pause deeper to see if it improves my ball striking on course....not a long pause, but the feel of one, anyway.  @chisag-- any thoughts on an intentional pause?  I did notice that the move helped ensure that I finished the backswing (which is a fault that I occasionally find in my swing)

As a drill the pause is great. Several instructors refer to it as the hideki drill. But in an actual swing including hideki’s there is no pause at the top. The swing is a constant motion.

AMG does a real good job diving into this 

[CarlH]

37 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

As a drill the pause is great. Several instructors refer to it as the hideki drill. But in an actual swing including hideki’s there is no pause at the top. The swing is a constant motion.

AMG does a real good job diving into this 

As you know, feel and real aren't always the same.  Doing the drill, I was very deliberate about holding the pause.  But, on the course, I would think that my feel of a pause would really be just a more deliberate change of direction.