What/How Did You Practice Today?

[Jim Shaw]

Good morning spy's

Monday was a frustrating day on the golf course to say the least.

I went home and critiqued my round and decided i was swinging too hard which is never good for me.

Yesterday I went to the range and worked on rhythm and balance, I would say it was a 50% success but will stick with that today.

It is consistently my "go to" when I feel I am not striking the ball up to my standards.

After years of playing high level golf there usually isn't full scale changes needed during the season. Sometimes just going back to the basics is all I need.

[BobBC78]

Echoing @Jim Shaw , yesterday I likewise had a frustrating day on the course. Deciding to be smart and warmup first, I went to the range and hit a small (32-ball) bucket, then walked 9-holes. Perhaps not the best idea to do both this early in the season as I was out of gas by the end of the round!

My round included a mix of poor ball striking (including topping a 5W tee shot into a hazard, shanking a 7i and fatting two 9i shots) and three putting, not once but 3 times (poor distance control and missing a short putt).  It didn't help that after a rainy March (over 12") and first week of April, the course was pretty wet (soggy fairways, some bunkers with standing water), but weaknesses were exposed.

After spending some time to evaluate the round this morning, I have set my practice plan for the next 2-weeks.

Edited April 10 by BobBC78

[GolfSpy_KFT]

Went to the range over lunch to try to work through the case of the shanks I have developed. About a month and a half ago, my ball striking with irons was feeling very good. Right now I cannot not hit the ball out of the deep heel/hosel. After spending about an hour on the range, I could count on one hand the number of decent shots, not necessarily even good ones, that I hit. I didn’t hit a ton of balls as I was being intentionally deliberate and doing some dry swings as well from different positions of the backswing. 

Had my alignment sticks and went as far as lining my club outside the stick and trying to hit the ground inside the stick on the way down. Was able to do that no problem, but then put a ball in front of me and it’s right back to the heel. Worked on feeling a good hip turn and put the alignment stick in my belt loops to give me a bit of a visual aid and hit a couple shots that way that right off the bat were two of the decent ones, then couldn’t repeat it. 

Next step I’m hoping to take is scheduling a lesson with our head pro to see if he can see what I am doing and get back to better strikes. Not the way I wanted to start my 2024 season, but will work through it. 

[Willie T]

Day 87 (10 Apr 24) - Easy day hitting chips and pitches in the backyard.  Bounced between the 7i and 54* wedge. 

[tdroma98]

Walked 18 holes this morning, the 3rd morning in a row.  Today, not happy about the round. Although I did try some different setups specifically for chipping & pitch shots. Mixed results. I've been playing just ok, lately. Putting is still mediocre at best, but yesterday I switched to left-hand low (which is the way I had putted for about 10 yrs) and it felt better and the results were better.  The next step will be a grip change (The putter is new & getting accustomed to it). As a result, I eked out a 1 under round yesterday due to making putting.  

Today was a fiasco from the first hole.  Arriving to course late. Feeling rushed & having a group playing behind us the entire round, but those are excuses. I had some good drives & poor drives.  Hit a good tee shot, it hits a tree root and ricochets out of bounds. Odd stuff.  Wedge play from the fairway was C-.  

Like @Jim Shaw stated there usually aren't full-scale changes needed.  Going back to fundamentals and staying focused are keys. 

Last month I went through a Titleist Iron & Wedge fitting and learned a couple of things. Because the Lie is not correct (my fault, not fitter's fault) I've been trying to open the club face a bit more on my T200 irons, just not having any consistency with that setup.

The Titleist fitting was excellent and I did order new Titleist irons:
T200 6-GW & fitted for T350 5 iron. I tested 4 different iron shafts & the Nippon Modus3 Steel Shafts performed & felt the best. I'm a Nippon fan! The Nippon Modus3 numbers were better than the iron shafts in my current T200 irons - AMT S300 Black.  All the new iron lies will be set at 2 degrees upright, which has been my standard fitting for 20 years and going back to my grip preference - Golf Pride 2G Tour Wrap - Midsized with 2 wraps. Looking forward to more positive results. Also purchased two new Vokey SM10 wedges. Let's see what happens! 

[RickyBobby_PR]

8 hours ago, cnosil said:

There are people that disagree.  I guess it will depend on your definition of practice, but I consider working on mechanics and body motion practice.  
 

 

He’s an outlier in teaching to start with. He starts with downswing? That’s very uncommon teaching because 1) the downswing is .25 seconds from the top of the swing to impact 2) the prevailing nights is the downswing in a reaction to what happens in the backswing and where the club is. So if you are in a and position in the backswing the downswing is just compensation of moves to get got the ball hopefully with a square face.

changing a swing pattern is changing a movement pattern. As someone who is studying to be a corrective exercise specialist learning about the nuero system, how motor neurons work and the motor neuron pathway works is a huge part of the training. The science tells us that it’s slow reps that slowly build up in speed and intensity are needed to make a change and that change can take 8-12 weeks of doing the same movement with the added speed and intensity depending on what the client can handle and how do under control. The science also tells us it takes up to 3000 reps to master a movement.

in the video around the 9:10 mark he show how wide open Corrie’s face is just before impact and that he would hit a bad shot if there was a ball there. Cordie was also in a lot of side bend which isn’t ideal and nobody needs that much to hit a ball.

As they discussed people are focused on the result of the shot, so he tries to get away from that focus and he incorporates a ball relatively early in the process because our brains need to react to hitting an object.

as Monte says if 148 out of 150 pros do something and two don’t you don’t focus on the outlier. Same applies to teaching. If the majority of good to top level instructors teach from impact or p6 then slowly work their way thru the backswing that’s probably where one should start. They all do it somewhat differently. Monte teaches p6 first in efficient swing, Gankas teaches to get to p2. Porzak teaches checkpoint one which is around p2,Milo teaches foundation 1 which it club parallel no wrist set and then turn thru the ball then parallel with wrist set. Dan carraher teaches takeaway and backswing first. All of them use a ball and that contact and results don’t matter because your training a movement and that’s all the focus should be. As you improve the movement contact gets better and the ball starts going in the right direction.

we can look at Monte’s ntc. He says in the video if you are in the position he demonstrates in the backswing then skip everything up to the point, if not then it’s learning wrist hinge, then lead arm parallel then top of swing. The it’s cast a for transition into impact. Cast b aka the release he says if it’s not happening automatically then work on cast b.

[cburins]

3 hours ago, GolfSpy_KFT said:

Went to the range over lunch to try to work through the case of the shanks I have developed. About a month and a half ago, my ball striking with irons was feeling very good. Right now I cannot not hit the ball out of the deep heel/hosel. After spending about an hour on the range, I could count on one hand the number of decent shots, not necessarily even good ones, that I hit. I didn’t hit a ton of balls as I was being intentionally deliberate and doing some dry swings as well from different positions of the backswing. 

Had my alignment sticks and went as far as lining my club outside the stick and trying to hit the ground inside the stick on the way down. Was able to do that no problem, but then put a ball in front of me and it’s right back to the heel. Worked on feeling a good hip turn and put the alignment stick in my belt loops to give me a bit of a visual aid and hit a couple shots that way that right off the bat were two of the decent ones, then couldn’t repeat it. 

Next step I’m hoping to take is scheduling a lesson with our head pro to see if he can see what I am doing and get back to better strikes. Not the way I wanted to start my 2024 season, but will work through it. 

I had the same issue, but instead I was hitting everything off the toe. It's really frustrating but I found this drill from Cameron McCormick that helped me:

Having the visualization of the alignment rod train tacks was helpful. I would just do this until I could feel the repetition and try it without the alignment rods. Hopefully this help! 

[Indy_Oz]

A forecast 48hrs of rain kicked in at lunchtime, so I hit the sim 'range' this evening. An hour of FlightScope Skills distance and accuracy ladders after a warm up and Dan Grieve's Address System pitching drills to nail down gapping and swing feels.  Starting to feel more and more 'automatic' once I decide on a distance. Just need that to translate to the course!
Hoping to get out for a wet round Friday afternoon. I have a discounted round coupon that expires Monday and I have a stacked non-golfing weekend, so a half day off work whatever the weather saves me wasting the $$. Ha ha. Dusted off the rain gear and cleaned my all goretex Ecco shoes in preparation.

[BLD7]

Ahwile back I posted that I had picked up a Ventus TR Black 6X shaft to try in my TSR3. I had read somewhere that a lighter shaft could increase club head speed. Figured why not, I'll give it a shot. Sure enough 6X shaft avg's a few MPH more than my Ventus TR Black 7X. (All measurments with the PRGR.) Awesome, or so I thought... First few range sessions with the 6X, ball is slicing left - and not by a little, Im talking 40 yard banana slice. Try as I might to hit that shaft/head combo where Im aiming, wasn't happening. So, I decided the last couple range sessions to bring the 7X along. Previously I left the 7X home so as to not be tempted during the transition phase. Sure enough, start with the 6X, ball going left. 5 consecutive swings. Put the 7X on, takes about 3 swings then ball flight is as expected, little fade but can turn it over if I try to. Back to the 6X, all left. Swap the 7X in again, ball going at target. Rinse/repeat for a few sessions. So, today was a pre-league season scramble (warm-up) event. Couldn't bring myself to even try the 6X shaft. Drove the ball the way I normally do/expect to do all day. 

Anyone else have similar experience trying to go to a lighter (or maybe even heavier) shaft? Just curious. TBH I was really surprised by the drastic difference. I was not expecting that much of a difference. <shrug>

[Peaksy68]

Did a bit of everything. Full swing irons, a few drivers, some putting and a bit of short game work.

Tried something different with my irons. Didn’t aim at all, just swung the club. Lined up with the divot line I was making and swung. Ball flight was very solid, and consistency was great. 
 

Putting worked mainly on distance control doing ladder drill.

Short game hit random pitches from 20-40 yards. Kept it short and sweet as things were working well 

[Rob Person]

7 hours ago, BLD7 said:

Ahwile back I posted that I had picked up a Ventus TR Black 6X shaft to try in my TSR3. I had read somewhere that a lighter shaft could increase club head speed. Figured why not, I'll give it a shot. Sure enough 6X shaft avg's a few MPH more than my Ventus TR Black 7X. (All measurments with the PRGR.) Awesome, or so I thought... First few range sessions with the 6X, ball is slicing left - and not by a little, Im talking 40 yard banana slice. Try as I might to hit that shaft/head combo where Im aiming, wasn't happening. So, I decided the last couple range sessions to bring the 7X along. Previously I left the 7X home so as to not be tempted during the transition phase. Sure enough, start with the 6X, ball going left. 5 consecutive swings. Put the 7X on, takes about 3 swings then ball flight is as expected, little fade but can turn it over if I try to. Back to the 6X, all left. Swap the 7X in again, ball going at target. Rinse/repeat for a few sessions. So, today was a pre-league season scramble (warm-up) event. Couldn't bring myself to even try the 6X shaft. Drove the ball the way I normally do/expect to do all day. 

Anyone else have similar experience trying to go to a lighter (or maybe even heavier) shaft? Just curious. TBH I was really surprised by the drastic difference. I was not expecting that much of a difference. <shrug>

Did you adjust any loft/lie settings to compensate for the extra flex?

[BLD7]

52 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

Did you adjust any loft/lie settings to compensate for the extra flex?

After the first few sessions I did move the loft/lie but the difference/change was minimal. The weight difference (65g vs 75g) is noticeable to me. A part of me wonders if the lack of weight is enough to cause my swing to be more OTT causing the slice swing path.

[buckpillar]

Got in some practice with the AI CH#1  last night, rolled about 80 putts on the patio, looking to grove the alignment and aiming aspect. 

Took me a few minutes but the AI dialed me in and I was able to consistently hit my aiming point and if I did miss it, it was just by a fraction.

ODYSSEY AI #! CH -- love this putter-

Check out the testers reviews on the AI putters

 

[CSiders12]

I was able to get out to the driving range last night with my wife. I didn't work much on my swing, but I helped my wife with her swing. It was the first time she had gotten out to hit a ball this year, so she was pretty rusty. However, I have been impressed with her willingness and eagerness to get better this year. She wants to get better and get into some leagues, which is a dream come true. 

Last night, we worked on her not swaying in the backswing, hitting down on the ball, and getting a better turn in the backswing. For her first time out this year, she did an awesome job! It was cool to see her get the ball up in the air and hit some really nice shots. She was happy with her performance and I was happy to see her happy. I can't wait to get out and have more nights like that!

[Nharvey20]

On 9/5/2016 at 3:22 PM, null said:

We have a thread asking how did you play today, but what about those days you simply worked on your game rather than played?

 

What did you work on today?

I worked on my grip at the range! I think grib is so important being that it is the only thing in contact with your club head. 

[Al_Mack]

Indoor putting practice, attempting to go to the local range later today.

We had 7" of rain the past 2 days, so a short 9-hole is probably out of the question.

 

Cheers.

[BobBC78]

Worked on Phil Kenyon's gate drill, broomstick style today. 

[golfgunguy99]

I have a senior men’s club event coming up on Wednesday so I went to the range and worked through my bag hitting all my clubs ending with the driver. I left feeling good about my ball contact.

Unfortunately it didn’t translate to a good game the following day. Very disappointing round. No consistency. I guess I need a lot more practice to get that consistency to happen. 
Plating a round tomorrow. We will see how that goes. 

[Big moose]

No practice today, another sucky day in Western pa. Rain off and on all day, I might have to put pontoons on my lawn tractor to cut the grass. 

[Al_Mack]

1 minute ago, Big moose said:

No practice today, another sucky day in Western pa. Rain off and on all day, I might have to put pontoons on my lawn tractor to cut the grass. 

I hear you, we have had 7" of rain over Tues. and Wed. here, putting a real "damper" on the weekly golf rituals here, to say the least.

 

Cheers.

[Big moose]

16 minutes ago, Al_Mack said:

I hear you, we have had 7" of rain over Tues. and Wed. here, putting a real "damper" on the weekly golf rituals here, to say the least.

 

Cheers.

We got half that much I can't imagine what my yard would be like with 7". 

[TJ Hall]

Only thing I can do at home is putting indoors for practice…love putting with the Ai-ONE 7S.  Feel so comfortable with this putter in my hands.  Getting out for a round Saturday morning…hoping the practice will translate to the round!

[MN_Hacker]

Worked on my tee game and wedge/short irons in the wind.

Mat only sucks, but it beats not being outside.

[Indy_Oz]

More rain, so another indoor sim range session. FlightScope Skills app for the most part, working on consistent strike, shape and distance. Wedges and irons were pretty dialed and felt great- the Mizuno range balls my place uses leave a nice mark on the club face so that's really useful to check strike consistency.

Hybrid and fairway woods were good off tees and a little less consistent off the deck. Progress though.

Driver not great, but ok. Mostly fades, which is what I want. Just need to reduce spin (waaaay too high) and keep fades on the gentle, manageable side. Trying a stiffer/ lower launch and lower spin Kai'Li 60X shaft when it arrives. The stock Ping Tour Chrome 2.0 65X is too spinny and high launch for me. I tried out the Kai'Li at the local Golf Galaxy and that was working really nicely. Much more consistent direction.

[JStapp]

Hold on tight, and buckle up… I’m in need of HELP. DRIVER ISSUES
 

Background: + Handicap, competing in high level amateur events. I’ve ALWAYS struggled with driver. I’ve taken multiple lessons in person, some online lessons with McCormicks/Yarwoods of the world, tried different methods of practice/drills etc. and I just can’t be consistent. I have rounds where it’s great, and rounds where it’s average. 
 

First: Here’s a recent video from this winter/spring. Anything stand out? (I’ll read anybody and everybody’s opinion I don’t care) 

Second: Playing the Callaway TD w/ Ventus Blue TR 6X at 120-125 mph clubhead. I’ll try some other things: anything to keep it in play with decent spin. Most “forgiving” or max models spin to the moon. 
 

sincerely: desperate person 

[Willie T]

Day 88 (11 Apr 24) - Played 18 at Minnesott today - what started off let’s have fun with gusting winds with the threat of rain to gusting winds and steady rain.  As I made the turn on the back nine, I had thought about calling it but stuck it out.  Actually it was a good exercise in playing thru…still not something I would do every day.  

[cnosil]

9 hours ago, JStapp said:

I just can’t be consistent. I have rounds where it’s great, and rounds where it’s average. 

What does I can’t be consistent mean?   As a plus 2 you obviously hit the ball extremely well, probably better than 99+% of the people on the forum.   What is your driver performance, what do you expect, and how to you track?   Do you have launch monitor numbers to show swing and club dynamics.   What did the pro level instructors say about your swing? 

[Stuka44]

More rain this week, so a round  tomorrow, or Sunday, looking very doubtful at this point.  So it was another session(2nd this week) on the Birdie Ball putting green (Thanks MGS!).  A total of 78 putts.   6 each from 3-10 feet, and then 30 putts at the Perfect Putt putt trainer, so far in 30 putts a session the most I've  gotten the ball to stick in that damn little perfect speed hole is 3 times.  I start at 2 feet, and then move back a foot whenever it sticks.

Edited April 12 by Stuka44

[RickyBobby_PR]

10 hours ago, JStapp said:

Hold on tight, and buckle up… I’m in need of HELP. DRIVER ISSUES
 

Background: + Handicap, competing in high level amateur events. I’ve ALWAYS struggled with driver. I’ve taken multiple lessons in person, some online lessons with McCormicks/Yarwoods of the world, tried different methods of practice/drills etc. and I just can’t be consistent. I have rounds where it’s great, and rounds where it’s average. 
 

First: Here’s a recent video from this winter/spring. Anything stand out? (I’ll read anybody and everybody’s opinion I don’t care) 

Second: Playing the Callaway TD w/ Ventus Blue TR 6X at 120-125 mph clubhead. I’ll try some other things: anything to keep it in play with decent spin. Most “forgiving” or max models spin to the moon. 
 

sincerely: desperate person 

Have you sprayed your face to see contact point? If you having good and bad rounds and having spin issues the chances are you are aren’t consistent with your face control contact.

What stands out to me and it’s nowhere as bad as most swings which I’m not surprised at due to the handicap level is 

1) just a little inside on the takeaway and wrist set could be a little more vertical(I’ll hit on why shortly). The slight inside is from the hips moving a little to early plus the wrist set. Hips should be the last thing to go in the backswing, yours go pretty early

2) at the top you get long with the arms and club because of a late load or relaxing the wrists. Pic 1 is really all you need as far as backswing length. Pic 2 shows your wrists hinge more and the club disappear behind you. It takes time to recover from this. Touching more on it in next point

3) your transition and downswing have a pretty unison  movement of the lower and upper body so you don’t have as much time for the club to catch up, back to the target longer will help this. if you watch your right foot the heel comes off the ground pretty early and the knee moves toward the target(pic 3). You have to slow down the rotation to let things catch up which is why you see the extension of the arms (pic 4)and the rolling of the arms which is your mechanism to square the face. The days that you can time this up are the days you have great driving days and the days where you can’t you dont get as good of a result. These on these days is probably some added dynamic loft and lower than usually face contact which will increase spin. You can see how much you are standing up and on your toes post impact rather than rotating thru the ball(pic 5)

Do yo have a face on video?

 

[JStapp]

56 minutes ago, cnosil said:

What does I can’t be consistent mean?   As a plus 2 you obviously hit the ball extremely well, probably better than 99+% of the people on the forum.   What is your driver performance, what do you expect, and how to you track?   Do you have launch monitor numbers to show swing and club dynamics.   What did the pro level instructors say about your swing? 

My driver can be literally off the planet. I'm in the woods 50%+ of the time when its going bad. I was tracking strokes gained with DECADE last season, but I haven't bought it this season. I expect, to have a shot at the green the majority of the time haha. I don't need to hit a ton of fairways, with my length I just want it in play. 

My numbers on trackman are typically between -1 and 1 swing path. 0 to +3 attack angle. So pretty good numbers on those. I guess it comes down to clubface control which can be extremely closed or open at any given time. @RickyBobby_PR just posted another response with some comments on the swing that are widely similar to what I hear from coaches. I guess my question is, how do I fix it? haha