What/How Did You Practice Today?

[202]

I couple of old Wii Fit boards
They are the perfect height for the mat I made.  

Nice. I have to figure something out or buy a full mat.

[GolfSpy AFG]

4 hours ago, IndyBonzo said:

I had a frustrating lesson with my coach today. My swing and game have improved so much over the last few years, but I just cannot seem to overcome my tendency to try to manipulate the ball and raising my wrists at impact thus leaving the clubface open and leaving the ball out right. It creeps in over and over again.  I end up trying too hard and that makes it worse.  Part of what makes it so infuriating is that I know the tendency and I know not to do it and I know how to fix it but it still happens.
 

The other parts of my game are good enough that I should be breaking 80 consistently. But this is holding me back, and I admit to having serious doubts about my ability to resolve this.  This happens primarily on 7-iron and below which means I miss greens. Right now, it’s costing me five or more strokes a round  

My type A personality is beating me up pretty good right now.  All this hard work only to be stuck at this plateau  - yeah, it’s a lot sometimes when we care about this game so much and trying to get better.

I really hope a breakthrough is nearby. Until then, I will keep beating my head against this wall until it gives in.

I’m no coach and I’m normally not one to dispense swing advice, but reading your post I have to ask…what ball flight are you trying to produce?

The reason I ask is that I’m becoming increasingly convinced that practice can be a lot more beneficial if you focus more on a skill or external outcome than a technique…more of an Adam Young style of coaching and training.  If I understand your post correctly, you’re trying to hit shots with your lead wrist in flexion rather than extension at impact.  Something you may want to consider is to forget about those positions altogether, and concentrate instead on the task of a lower ball flight along the desired start line, and let your body self-organize to that task.

Again, I’m no expert, just something to consider.

[RickyBobby_PR]

11 hours ago, IndyBonzo said:

 

I had a frustrating lesson with my coach today.

 

What was frustrating? Was it you been frustrated with what your coach had to say about your swing? Was it frustration with what/how you coach is communicating? Was it frustration with you coach?

 

11 hours ago, IndyBonzo said:

My swing and game have improved so much over the last few years, but I just cannot seem to overcome my tendency to try to manipulate the ball and raising my wrists at impact thus leaving the clubface open and leaving the ball out right.

Our tendecies/faults come out under pressure. We revert back to what feel natural/normal to us in those situations. Do you work on the drills your coach gives you? Do you do them in full speed or slow motion?

What do you mean by “try to manipulate the ball?
You can’t manipulate the ball. The ball is going to react to what the clubface is doing and it’s relationship to your path. 

[Big moose]

My short game is terrible, pitching and chipping is such an adventure, either blading it across the green or chuncking it 3 feet. I try and watch the guys I play with who are really good and try to do the same thing but it doesn't work. Just practice more I guess. I'm just happy to still be here after beating breast cancer. Hopefully practice makes perfect. 

[ZackS]

12 hours ago, IndyBonzo said:

I had a frustrating lesson with my coach today. My swing and game have improved so much over the last few years, but I just cannot seem to overcome my tendency to try to manipulate the ball and raising my wrists at impact thus leaving the clubface open and leaving the ball out right. It creeps in over and over again.  I end up trying too hard and that makes it worse.  Part of what makes it so infuriating is that I know the tendency and I know not to do it and I know how to fix it but it still happens.
 

The other parts of my game are good enough that I should be breaking 80 consistently. But this is holding me back, and I admit to having serious doubts about my ability to resolve this.  This happens primarily on 7-iron and below which means I miss greens. Right now, it’s costing me five or more strokes a round  

My type A personality is beating me up pretty good right now.  All this hard work only to be stuck at this plateau  - yeah, it’s a lot sometimes when we care about this game so much and trying to get better.

I really hope a breakthrough is nearby. Until then, I will keep beating my head against this wall until it gives in.

By raising your wrists I assume you mean raising the handle of the club and decreasing the angle between club and arms. If that is the one thing you can’t seem to get past you might consider setting up allow for this. Since the swing is really about match ups, you could set this angle at setup? This won’t guarantee not still leaving the face open but will give you a little more space for your hands to release from that slightly more extended position as you will have to setup slightly further from the ball or a slightly more upright posture. Think Bryson Dechambeau setup as a reference. Now I am not suggesting you go against your instructor as if you are just going to practice something different then what they are working with you on as that does no one any good if you are going to keep going to them. But you might try and few swings with this setup a few times and if you like it talk with your instructor about it. 

[vandyland]

1 hour ago, Big moose said:

My short game is terrible, pitching and chipping is such an adventure

I'm no expert but how do you setup with your hands? Are your hands even with the ball or ahead? There is a lot of momentum currently in the game towards having hands even with the ball rather than ahead and "using the bounce" rather than exposing the leading edge to digging. I talked it about it earlier but the "Short Game Chef" on youtube has some pretty basic setup feels that I think would be helpful to most people struggling with chipping and pitching IF they are ball back/hands ahead players and struggle with contact. 

[Big moose]

I was always told to keep your hands ahead of the ball at address and through impact so that's what I try to do. I tried my pitching wedge that has 12 degrees of bounce and my gap wedge with 6 degrees and I still don't hit crisp shots.

[cnosil]

2 minutes ago, Big moose said:

I was always told to keep your hands ahead of the ball at address and through impact so that's what I try to do. I tried my pitching wedge that has 12 degrees of bounce and my gap wedge with 6 degrees and I still don't hit crisp shots.

Hinge and hold was kind of the old school way of short game.  As golf has evolved, leveraging the bounce has become the more popular approach.   Different bounces with hinge and hold probably doesn’t matter as it doesn’t get used. 
 

short game takes a lot of practice. This is a weak area for me so I can’t provide a lot of great advice but have found that using the bounce has been easier than keeping hands ahead.  Note that using the bounce doesn’t  mean letting the head get way ahead of the hands.  

[vandyland]

27 minutes ago, Big moose said:

I was always told to keep your hands ahead of the ball at address and through impact so that's what I try to do. I tried my pitching wedge that has 12 degrees of bounce and my gap wedge with 6 degrees and I still don't hit crisp shots.

I have to admit I was leading the witness, your honor . At the risk of sounding like a psycho, I think I am going to require you to at least watch and try what is being discussed in this video (only 8 minutes):

 

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by vandyland

[RickyBobby_PR]

1 hour ago, Big moose said:

I was always told to keep your hands ahead of the ball at address and through impact so that's what I try to do. I tried my pitching wedge that has 12 degrees of bounce and my gap wedge with 6 degrees and I still don't hit crisp shots.

Too much shaft lean reduces your margin for error. Also this setup comes from the thought that one needs to hit down on the ball for these shots and that’s not true. Doesn’t matter what you bounce is on the club yo have pretty much reduced it by setting up like this. The typical miss will be chuncks or blading the ball depending on how quick one gets and how much they change the elevation of their height from takeaway to impact 

In reality you want a shallow approve to the ball and feel like the club is gliding across the grass into the ball. I highly recommend Monte’s use the bounce and use the bounce 2.0 videos. Also several other good ones out there from amg, Chris Ryan and Dan carraher. 

 

[RickyBobby_PR]

13 hours ago, vandyland said:

Break in the weather finally. We are getting what Augusta will get this weekend. Just focusing on hip turn and nothing else, don’t care about contact or any other “positions.” As a reference point here is my “old” swing which had almost no hip turn or depth:

 

And as a comparison, here is the slightly improved hip depth and what I am trying to ingrain:

 

I mean, look at spieth here…this is goals…

Curious for my own learning. In your lesson with Monte did he get into setup with you especially around adding in some knee flex?

Also was there conversation about pressure shifts?

I ask because from what I’ve learned about the swing and what I see I you don’t have room for the trail leg to extend and the hips to turn in the way monte teaches. Which also could be preventing a proper shift in the swing.

One thing that stands out and could be why your arm gets pinned is you bend your real elbow way past 90° and lack width in the swing 

[invee123]

Ton of wedge work yesterday working on 10-30 yard approach shots. I feel like after watching that Tiger and Scotty video posted by TM youtube channel I've got something to actually work on. 

[vandyland]

2 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Curious for my own learning. In your lesson with Monte did he get into setup with you especially around adding in some knee flex?

Also was there conversation about pressure shifts?

I ask because from what I’ve learned about the swing and what I see I you don’t have room for the trail leg to extend and the hips to turn in the way monte teaches. Which also could be preventing a proper shift in the swing.

One thing that stands out and could be why your arm gets pinned is you bend your real elbow way past 90° and lack width in the swing 

This was only a facetime 30 minute lesson so I think we had to focus on major issues. He didn't have any comments specifically on my setup which doesn't mean it is "good" but maybe he saw my hip depth as a five alarm fire we had to discuss. No convo about pressure shift (yet). 

On the right elbow, he mentioned both of my arms are in bad spots being glued to my body but, again, that is a future problem for me. I have always focused on too many things at once. I have to fix my hip issue (you could be right that my setup or pressure shift might hinder this progress) before I think about anything else. 

EDIT: @RickyBobby_PR This is a good reminder to go back to Monte's "Grip & Setup Fundamentals" which is free on the Rebellion Golf app along with "Use the Bounce"

EDIT #2: The setup video does address knee flex at setup but in looking at monte, I would say he would encourage a slight knee bend:

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by vandyland

[chisag]

On 4/7/2023 at 5:27 AM, Big moose said:

My short game is terrible, pitching and chipping is such an adventure, either blading it across the green or chuncking it 3 feet. I try and watch the guys I play with who are really good and try to do the same thing but it doesn't work. Just practice more I guess. I'm just happy to still be here after beating breast cancer. Hopefully practice makes perfect. 

 

... Technique aside, and even the videos posted here don't take into account types of grass or conditions around the green like the velcro Bermuda found in Texas, AZ and some FL courses, but I found when teaching most of the problems were mental and not physical in nature. Chipping and pitching are very easy shots and while you may not get it close to the pin resulting I a 2 putt bogie, making solid contact and getting it on the green should not be a problem with the right mind set.

... Most of the mistakes I saw from students when teaching was anxiety over the shot. Either from fear of a chunk/blade or more often trying to get it close causing a myriad of issues like looking up before contact, yipping and others. The "secret" is 100% concentration on execution with 0% concentration on results. Obviously you want a good result, but that happens when you execute. So find your landing area and a few practice strokes for distance, then forget both and just concentrate on making solid contact. Many find not looking up for a few seconds really helps. Not locking down your head, just keeping your eyes on the ball and the spot after it is gone for a few seconds. Golf is a very crazy game and the best results occur when you don't care about your best results but the execution that produces them. In short just make your best swing and whatever happens, happens. 

[Fjd]

Always try to practice on the course in lieu of the practice area.  Different lies and distances, fairway and green side bunker practice,  pitching and chipping from various lies and pin placements.  Always aware of approaching golfers and stay clear.  Late evening the best time.

[IndyBonzo]

Thank you for your questions and suggestions, @RickyBobby_PR @Getoffmylawn and @ZackS, and for trying to help with my self-pitying "WAAAHHH" post from yesterday.  I was pretty fired up and ticked.  But the optimism has returned!

To try to explain better - my issue is lifting/raising the hands/wrists at impact which closes the clubface and alters the inside-out swing to more straight-on, and causes my wrists not to turn over and arms not to get through the ball.  In other words, rather than *swinging* through the ball, I end up trying to guide the ball with wrists flexed downward toward the ground and trying to manipulate/guide the ball with my hands - leaving the hands out right with a closed-face push.  (I am probably not explaining this very well.)  It's a by-product of playing drums.  My hands are too active.  If I trust my swing through the ball, keep my swing path inside-out, hands low, closer to my body, and get to my left side,  I get my hands in front of the ball as desired and the wrist turnover and strike I want and need.  And I do that no problem with longer irons and woods/hybrids.  So I know how.  That's the frustration.  (It's not my coach - she is amazing and has helped me tons.  She has forgotten more about golf than I will ever know, and is a truly gifted player.)

We are focusing on hitting the back inside quarter of the ball on an inside out path and swinging through it, turning my wrists over, and finishing in the right pose, with my navel pointed left of the target.  I can make it happen on the range after settling into ti.  I just need to drill it into automatic-mode and get my darn subconscious to shut off during the swing.

I'll get there. 

Happy Friday everyone!

 

[ZackS]

35 minutes ago, IndyBonzo said:

Thank you for your questions and suggestions, @RickyBobby_PR @Getoffmylawn and @ZackS, and for trying to help with my self-pitying "WAAAHHH" post from yesterday.  I was pretty fired up and ticked.  But the optimism has returned!

To try to explain better - my issue is lifting/raising the hands/wrists at impact which closes the clubface and alters the inside-out swing to more straight-on, and causes my wrists not to turn over and arms not to get through the ball.  In other words, rather than *swinging* through the ball, I end up trying to guide the ball with wrists flexed downward toward the ground and trying to manipulate/guide the ball with my hands - leaving the hands out right with a closed-face push.  (I am probably not explaining this very well.)  It's a by-product of playing drums.  My hands are too active.  If I trust my swing through the ball, keep my swing path inside-out, hands low, closer to my body, and get to my left side,  I get my hands in front of the ball as desired and the wrist turnover and strike I want and need.  And I do that no problem with longer irons and woods/hybrids.  So I know how.  That's the frustration.  (It's not my coach - she is amazing and has helped me tons.  She has forgotten more about golf than I will ever know, and is a truly gifted player.)

We are focusing on hitting the back inside quarter of the ball on an inside out path and swinging through it, turning my wrists over, and finishing in the right pose, with my navel pointed left of the target.  I can make it happen on the range after settling into ti.  I just need to drill it into automatic-mode and get my darn subconscious to shut off during the swing.

I'll get there. 

Happy Friday everyone!

 

I feel your pain. I have 2 main things in my swing that annoy me every time I see a video. Not huge flaws but I know contribute to inconsistencies in my longer clubs as I can't make up for them as well there. One cause the other or Vice versa and never been able to able to completely get rid of them. In fact typing this out and making me think of it is making me a little angry

[Dweed]

Back in the barn again. Way too much standing water on any flat surfaces.  Have to wait until the Ark lands.

[Kenms3762]

I always work on my posture (I need to stand taller), takeaway (keeping my hands in and clubhead out) and top of swing extension (chest pointing up and out). Then I work on my putting. Long lag putts and shorter straight putts mostly. Then if I can find a place with a chipping area i work on my short game. Unfortunately I have to drive about an hour away to get to a place that has a decent chipping area. And good luck finding a place with a practice bunker.

[Big moose]

I watched the video and I am going to try that. It seems like I was coming in way too steep into the ball so sometimes I would hit fat shots or blade it. This makes sense to come in more shallow. Thanks guys. And happy easter.

[vandyland]

Working on hip turn still. Starting to see more lead knee flex in the backswing and trying to keep my hips turning around my spine angle rather than flat. Tucked my shirt in to be able to see the hip turn better. This was one of the better ones (I think):

 

Also have a good practice plan for tomorrow if I can get out for 2 hours AND it stops raining long enough to do that.

[Bang60]

Practice today was a little different using 4 clubs Sim driver 6 S irons and putter, did a walking loop 8th 9th holes playing 4balls then went to the practice green practice 30-40 metres high chipping. About 80 minutes so not bad, I worked in the garden yesterday for 3+ hours so a bit stiff but enjoyed it…

[MichaelC_81]

Starting to get some random rain as it's autumn here in Australia, so headed to Xgolf for an hour. After playing a quick 18, focused on dialing in my driver. Started getting some consistent numbers and averaging around 265m, not my longest but consistent. 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Solid range session today. Built off my practice round Thursday. Working on shifting properly and getting arms to go straight down in transition. Hit some really solid shots between  drills. Driver is really rough right now. Idk if I am just not moving fast enough at the moment for my setup to get the most out of sit. 4i was also a struggle. To end the session, I went 7,6,5,4,5 and flushed most the 7 and 6 irons. Half the 5s initially and struggled with the 4. Then grabbed three balls I found on the course during my practice round and flushed 3 5i in a row. Was an amazing way to end my session. 

[vandyland]

When to the “serve yourself” range with my shag bag and hit 90-100 balls focusing on hip turn and hit a slight pull draw but contact was excellent (granted it was a 9 iron). Range was mostly sand and dirt so getting good contact out there is a very good sign. One other thing I had great success with was forearm rotation in the backswing, what used to feel like I was laying the club wide open was actually just shallowing the shaft a bit going back. Anyway, not perfect but glad to see ball flight and contact was not a total disaster even though if it was I am trying not to focus on outcome just yet. 
 

 

Also did the clock drill from 4 feet and went: 4/4, 4/4, 4/4, 3/4, 4/4, 4/4. So just one miss. Also hit some mid length pitches. No up/down game because the course no longer allows chipping on the putting green.

[RickyBobby_PR]

30 minutes ago, vandyland said:

When to the “serve yourself” range with my shag bag and hit 90-100 balls focusing on hip turn and hit a slight pull draw but contact was excellent (granted it was a 9 iron). Range was mostly sand and dirt so getting good contact out there is a very good sign. One other thing I had great success with was forearm rotation in the backswing, what used to feel like I was laying the club wide open was actually just shallowing the shaft a bit going back. Anyway, not perfect but glad to see ball flight and contact was not a total disaster even though if it was I am trying not to focus on outcome just yet. 
 

 

Also did the clock drill from 4 feet and went: 4/4, 4/4, 4/4, 3/4, 4/4, 4/4. So just one miss. Also hit some mid length pitches. No up/down game because the course no longer allows chipping on the putting green.

Look at Monte’s zipper back drill. Hip turn I better but you need to be the trail leg to gain flex and he the left hip to move back and around and the lead leg to extend 

[JerryB]

Spent some time today in the garage watching the Master's while rolling putts and taking cuts with the Lagshot. 

I'm really liking the feel of this putter.  Whereas my last putter had me standing more over the ball, this one has the ball a little more out in front of me.  It frees up my arms and makes everything feel more fluid.

I almost wish I could replace all my clubs with Lagshot shafts.  Really helps with my tempo and striking consistency.  When I switch to regular clubs, after a few swings I can feel myself starting to rush everything again.

Should be nice this week so I'm hoping to get a few rounds in before work again.

[tdroma98]

On 4/6/2023 at 9:47 PM, vandyland said:

Break in the weather finally. We are getting what Augusta will get this weekend. Just focusing on hip turn and nothing else, don’t care about contact or any other “positions.” As a reference point here is my “old” swing which had almost no hip turn or depth:

 

FullSizeRender.MOV 4.18 MB · 2 downloads

And as a comparison, here is the slightly improved hip depth and what I am trying to ingrain:

 

FullSizeRender.MOV 3.45 MB · 3 downloads

I mean, look at spieth here…this is goals…

You're getting there Vandy! Congrats! It's a challenge, but you are certainly getting it! It's almost as if you have to exaggerate Speith's move to feel how it should be.  You may have your own instructor, but I've been following a PGA Pro, Tom Saguto, who provided a great instruction & understanding of how to make the turn.  Saguto explanation & instruction clicked for me. Good Luck and keep it going!! 

[cksurfdude]

Had a decent practice today - didn't play too well the other day so needed a bit of a confidence boost...

Started out with some chipping and pitching .. reading through some of the earlier posts about getting the shaft more upright and using the bounce def applies to this guy!

Then a good while on the putting greens (finally open!) .. which are pretty slick and fast for early in the season .. so are good for working on a smooth stroke and on distance control.

Back to the range - first a PW to about a 90 yd target, focusing on alignment and working on the haha 12,537 various swing mechanic and body movement drills from recent lessons.

Next up trying to do the same on a few swipes with a 7i .. back and forth between a ½ swing and a full swing .. mostly ok!

And then... Picked up the driver and tried the same ½ swing / full swing ..  followed by a 7i .. repeat a few times... Well, full swing driver needs work. A lotta work. A lot more work. The ugly sliceroo is back...

 

[chisag]

8 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

Back to the range -  focusing on alignment and working on the haha 12,537 various swing mechanic and body movement drills from recent lessons.