What/How Did You Practice Today?

[Josh Parker]

Took my son to the range today. No school for the next couple days so we went down and hit a bucket. After warming up I continued to work on my driver. I was making good contact and was hitting the ball almost dead straight but it's starting right and staying.  I was trying to get this video to upload but it's not working. Once I figure that out, I will upload. 

[BobBC78]

Yesterday I practiced finding the straight putt on uphill and downhill 6' putts, 30' lag putts on side hill lies (one direction then the other) and some chipping. Today did the start line gate drill indoors. 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

If you saw my How'd you play post from today, you likely know what I worked on today. During the Forum call worked on my putting on my thick rug just working on start line and straight putts. Went really well and I know that likely isn't the issue with my putting woes. My coach wants me to send some video so hopefully I can take some before my Saturday round

[barney_bogey]

Rapsodo combines and speed training.

My irons are up about 10-12 mph since starting this venture. Driver is up almost 20mph. Nice to see some reasonable numbers again.

Then practice in the garage led to some "sim" upgrades. Quality of life and safety.

It's nice hitting 100 balls or more per day. My shoulder couldn't take it at first but seemingly I'm adapting.

Oh, and a few golf-focused exercises at the gym too. Guess that counts.

Hope y'all are progressing on something.

B

[Josh Parker]

Got out to the range this morning after knocking out some work and my focus has been on driver lately.  I have always struggled with the dang thing.  I am setting up a second lesson with my pro to continue progress.  When I hit the ball well it will travel, but my consistency is terrible right now and it drives me crazy!

Forgive the video quality..... lol, I asked my son to take it.

 

 

 

[cksurfdude]

A short but focused and productive session focused mostly on wedges - clean contact, starting direction and distance control.

Switched that up with some target practice using PW and 7i to the same target; then back to more wedge work.

Overall dispersion still needs plenty of improvement .. but generally seeing better ball striking. Just need to start to take some of this good stuff out onto the course -- and combine that with picking smarter targets, too!

Work In Progress!!

Edited October 6, 2023 by cksurfdude

[revkev]

First range session after my first bout with COVID.  Hit it well but 30 minutes was all that I could handle and my irregular heartbeat got triggered at the end.  This virus may not have the teeth that it had at the start but it's still nothing to laugh about - symptoms were mild fluid but the after kick is noticeable.  

 

I hit a lot of wedges - the last two full shots that I hit were a great drive followed by a beautiful 8 iron.  When the heart started racing my thought was - well if that was my last shot ever I went out with the bang. 

[ZackS]

7 minutes ago, revkev said:

First range session after my first bout with COVID.  Hit it well but 30 minutes was all that I could handle and my irregular heartbeat got triggered at the end.  This virus may not have the teeth that it had at the start but it's still nothing to laugh about - symptoms were mild fluid but the after kick is noticeable.  

 

I hit a lot of wedges - the last two full shots that I hit were a great drive followed by a beautiful 8 iron.  When the heart started racing my thought was - well if that was my last shot ever I went out with the bang. 

Hopefully you can get back to normal soon. 

[revkev]

On 10/6/2023 at 7:39 PM, ZackS said:

Hopefully you can get back to normal soon. 

Thanks - I’m going to give 9 holes a try after church this afternoon. We had an old front move through so it’s uncharacteristically cool today. 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Got a putting lesson from my coach. My setup was too squaty so worked on that today. Stroke felt more fluid after. Also ordered a rain drop to teach my eyes how to read start line better. 

yesterday

today

Also my usual swing work in the park today. 
 

Finally the last few days I start my day with a 15 minute meditation just focusing on breath and my navel. It is recommended from Breathe Golf. I have also tried that breathing technique before shots (20s or so) and have had much better results and a clearer mind. 

Edited October 8, 2023 by Vegan_Golfer_PNW

[JeremyD]

I just wanted to hit the ball today. Honestly not sure what to do. I've lost some confidence. I've had some skillest lessons. One told me how to fix my slide and turn more, but didn't tell me how. I honestly found his Insta and found drills for what he was telling me. Tried a different skillest, to try the right sided swing. I like the idea, but I'm not sure I want to completely change my swing after almost 40 years. I've tried inperson lesson with a well know insta coach/trick shot guy. honestly I'm kinda lost. I over hook, and I have a ring finger on my left/low hand that i broke doing a stupid obstacle course race when I was thin. Now I'm fat

Either way, I'm not sure at this poing if I should take lessons anymore. I didn't take any my first 12 years golfing, and got down to a 3 handicap. I'm in the 6's now, but ugh, it's ugly sometimes. I'm a 75 or a 90. I'm all timing. 

Little rant. Lost. 

[revkev]

Did play 9 yesterday afternoon and shot 39 - felt much better - cooler weather plus two more days removed from COVID really helped - I felt as if I could have gotten another 9 in.  

[PrismFlopper]

Played 9 on Friday and have rolled probably like 100 putts on the mat over the weekend. Have to get out with the driver, woods and long irons this week. Need a grass range the hitting mats really are transitioning for me.

[Mulligan09]

Time for some practice at TopGolf Overland Park. KS. First some aiming juice

[GaryF]

On 10/4/2023 at 10:38 AM, barney_bogey said:

Oh wow. Honestly didn't expect to see a reply to this comment. Thank you for taking the time, cksurfdude. 

When I got back into the game I purchased 3 lessons right off the bat. More efficient and valuable than buying a driver. The coach decided that a stack and tilt swing was best for me. In hindsight, I think it works for him and he was trying to push it on me because that's what he knows. I've taken a lesson since that post with another professional. I'm back to using a more traditional swing with transitioning weight and that has helped a bit. Topped out at 96 on the unit this past weekend! Still a work in progress as that ball would have OB but hey, a start. 

I will say this, the slower swing had me hitting the ball a lot more pure and accurate but afterwards, a 6 iron in isn't exactly "attacking" any flags! 

Would love to get a driver fitting but the wife said something about "golf budget" recently so it'll have to wait until this winter... maybe. 

Thank you for your reply, experience, and kind words. The takeaway was Focus on technique and contact. 

Cheers

B

Sounds like you are approaching the issue in a good way.  A SS of 96 isn’t all that bad.  When I was younger, I bought new clubs and they measured mine at 96.  Trouble was that I was clueless as to how to swing, was all arms and rarely hit the fairway.  

Years later (about 5 years ago) I became desperate and took a few lessons resulting in a total remake of my swing.  After the correction, I was struggling to hit 200 (total) but was playing from the fairway with a SS in the 80s.  Fairway misses were playable. Over time I incrementally added distance by working on flexibility and core strength.  I’m a lot older and play from our middle tees but this past spring I was measured with 94.6 avg and 96 peak.  Carry 215-220 with total distance 230-240 with mostly relaxed, dead arms.   

Stay the course - technique is everything, and leads to better contact.  As you regain confidence, you will naturally add SS.  Finally, “budget” is simply a suggestion and bundling your golf expenses with her spa treatments may help her see things differently. 
 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Had a range session today (first time I have been to an actual range in several weeks). Worked on new swing feels and videoed for a lesson. 6 irons were really good. Hitting these high tight draws to about 185-190. Still some work to do with my lead shoulder but it is coming along.One thing I really tried to focus on with my swing work is feeling my breath by my belly button. Helped me stay relaxed and I was able to swing easier.

Driver was a little messy but still decent. See the attached driver shot tracer . Face strike not great  

Went to the putting green also and videoed there. Mainly came to work on posture. Realized I was most comfortable gripping all the way down. It was strange. Also noticed, even though I set up a tee gate, that I was still aligned to the right edge of the gate and not central. I ordered a rain drop from perfect practice to help with my start line and help my eyes visualize better.

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by Vegan_Golfer_PNW

[barney_bogey]

I set up the Rapsodo, stretched out, took some warm up swings, then watched a wedding between a Callaway and a Vice ball officiated by this tattooed 4yo. Maybe tomorrow...

[Golf2Much]

If you spend enough time playing golf, you run into periods where you hit a rough patch.   You stand over the ball and you just seem lost.  I've been in that drought for the last several weeks.  With the exception of two good rounds at the beginning of September, I haven't scored well or consistently hit more than a handful of decent shots.  It culminated today with my worst score of the year.  Knowing I've had swing issues, I set up a lesson with our new assistant pro several days ago.   It was our first teacher/student interaction, so I was interested to see what he thought and if he could talk me off the golf ledge!

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to provide the pro with my physical limitations, shot data and expectations before we met at our practice net area.  I enjoyed our session for a few reasons.  First, he listened to what I had to say.  He asked open ended questions about not only my physical swing, but my mental side to the game.  After our discussion, I hit a few balls so he could see my swing and the challenge he was about to face.   To his credit, we started by breaking my swing (or lack of it) into basic fundamentals.   We started with my grip.  I've had a strong-ish grip which he wanted me to weaken.  My ball position, shaft tilt and club face alignment were not optimum as well.  We made some minor tweaks which helped.  We talked about maintaining my spine position through the golf swing, which ultimately will be my biggest challenge going forward as I tend to lift up at impact.  To help me, we worked on widening my stance as a first step of many I'll need to overcome a bad habit that's been 40 plus years in the making.  All of this happened over about 45 minutes.

By the end of the session, I was hitting the ball better.  The challenge now is to get off the mats and see if I can translate my newfound swing improvements to the course.   With two more rounds and likely one more range session probable before the week is out, I'm anxious to see if I can execute my weaker grip, better ball position and slightly wider stance to better iron performance and scoring.   After today's poor round, I'd be hard pressed NOT to show some improvement!! Let's just hope it's due to my lesson!

[Jim Shaw]

3 hours ago, barney_bogey said:

I set up the Rapsodo, stretched out, took some warm up swings, then watched a wedding between a Callaway and a Vice ball officiated by this tattooed 4yo. Maybe tomorrow...

the wedding is way way more important

[barney_bogey]

the wedding is way way more important

Amen to that! She'll think I'm the worst human alive soon enough!

[snoopy79]

So over the past few days I have been hitting into the net and focusing on my clearing my left hip out of the way to make room for my arms to come in thru the downswing. This coupled with my trail arm position has felt really good with all my clubs. I have likely hit 600 balls over the last week, just hitting 40-50 at a time. Contact is much much cleaner and consistent. Simplifying my swing thoughts is relieving, and it's just so much fun to hit the ball well 9/ out of 10 hits!

Now I am trying to focus on my pitching and chipping swing. Which reminds me that some new wedges are on Xmas list now. LOL

[Blaine Dye]

I Went out and did some chipping drills not really focus on making it but hitting the landing spot i wanted 

[BobBC78]

Took my first full swings in 2-weeks today (problems with my knees); hit 7i (worked on face strike) and driver, followed by chipping and putting practice on the practice green. Good session overall. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

Mentioned it in the Rapsodo thread but did a gapping session and practice round for my tournament tomorrow on a course I've never played. Should be fun! Didn't get through the full round but at least got a slight idea for the course.

[cksurfdude]

Had another good practice today - some putting working on distance control; then wedges also working on distance control .. where one of the things I'm trying to do here is start to move my internal focus on technique towards external focus on the target; then some other target and ball striking drills (PW and 7i) alternating with more wedges.

All in all felt like I gained a bit more confidence, but .. as always...

Work In Progress!!

[NubianRugby]

Went to the range today in preparation for a tournament tomorrow. No clue who I'm going to be playing with so I hit a bunch of 120-180 yard shots using the closest to the pin game.

Was striking the ball nicely when I slowed down my swing. I have a pattern where I slow down my swing and start hitting the ball really well, then I start stretching for a little more distance and end up where I started over the course of a month.

[Blaine Dye]

Went and got me some new wedges finally getting some proper gapping so i went a dialed them in at the range last night and was hitting them pretty good a few thins and quiet a few chunky shot but i  feel like my short game is going to be so much better now but we will see how my round goes this weekend 

[Dweed]

11 hours ago, Blaine Dye said:

Went and got me some new wedges finally getting some proper gapping so i went a dialed them in at the range last night and was hitting them pretty good a few thins and quiet a few chunky shot but i  feel like my short game is going to be so much better now but we will see how my round goes this weekend 

Hell @Blaine Dye, don't keep us in suspense. What pray tell did you get?

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Got fogged out and the clubhouse was gonna make me wait until 756 to go off anyways. Said I couldn’t go off the back even though others were. Whatever. 
 

update: talked to the pro inside after my practice  he said you always can go off the back for nine if there at dawn. Will try tomorrow 

Anyways. Got out the raindrop for putting. Started really hitting some good putts and hitting my lines. My new posture where I grip way down also helps. Balls I missed were tap ins. 
 

then some pitching practice. Started great. Halfway in then I started hoseling everything (like 30 out of 35). Instead of getting frustrated I found my breath. Did some shorter shots and then all was good. Also hot ten balls with sw and lw each out of the bunker and just get out. I was 9/10 on both. Then I finished with a game of trying to get in on 4 different greens from either fairway or rough with my sw and varying distances.  Worked out well and now I am more confident in my pitching game than I was two days ago. 

Edited October 14, 2023 by Vegan_Golfer_PNW

[barney_bogey]

Raining all day long. Haven't swung since Thursday. Been too sore. Core work at the gym got out of hand.

Set up the Rapsodo in the garage and took 85 swings. Been focusing on speed and grooving a new swing. I know this isn't a big deal to most here, but I hit a milestone today. Started this journey at 85mph and got triple digits today for the first time.



A decent strike to boot.
Finished off by stepping down to 3w, 3h, 4i until fatigue set in and my speed started suffering.

I feel blessed to be able to work on a swing in bad weather.

Wishing you favorable bounces.

B