Popular Post mpatrickriley Posted January 14, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 14, 2019 I've been inspired by two recent threads: @jlukes's swing overhaul, and @revkev's thread comparing lessons and fitting vs. self-teaching and off-the-rack clubs (these are both great threads that, if you haven't, you should go read and keep up with). To begin, I'm nowhere in jluke's class as a player. I'm a mid/high handicap player, floating right around 15. But I think I can get better. As I commented in revkev's thread, I have no objections to getting lessons and getting a fitting. I'd love to do both of those. My chief obstacle is location. I don't have an actual driving range within an hour of my home. There are no full golf stores (as far as I know) within two hours of where I live. There is a really good golf coach at a course that's an hour away, and he also does fittings. He would absolutely be my first choice, but signing up for regular lessons with a two-hour round-trip commute: the time and cost add up in a hurry. I tried to get together with him to get fitted for my G700 irons that I reviewed for MGS last summer, but we couldn't get our schedules to align. So consider me another test case for revkev's question. I'm aiming to answer the question, "How much improvement can be gained with off-the-rack clubs and self-teaching?" Here's the starting point: This is my Game Golf summary of my rounds from this past July and August, set in contrast with a 5-handicap. What immediately jumps out is that I'm loosing a ton of strokes to a single-digit off the tee and in my short game. There is certainly room for improvement in ball-striking and putting, but the low-hanging fruit is in the other categories. Why am I so bad off the tee? It's not because I spray it all over; I hit an ordinary number of fairways. It's because I hardly hit it out of my own shadow. Do you see that last column? That's embarrassing. So, my first plan is to continue the SuperSpeed training that I've been doing for a couple of months now. I've seen significant speed gains already, but because I have no way to get to a course or a range before spring (late April at best here), I'm anxious to see how the speed with translate. I'm also working on a meaningful swing overhaul, with a lot of similarities to what jlukes is describing in his thread. Here's a screen cap of a swing in my backyard from a couple of years ago: Like jlukes, I have a tendency to have a pronounced forward sway through the swing, which essentially forces me to catch up with a flip at the bottom. The early extension is visible in this video I took for the G700 review. For my part, I'm pretty sure the answer is found in wrist angles, with a corresponding emphasis on rotation and staying behind the ball. These are the moves I'm working on now. I'm also working through the content from Adam Young's The Strike Plan. I'm a big fan of Adam's work, especially the notion of turning strike into a practiced skill. How am I going to measure progress until I'm on the course? Technology! I have just recently purchased a SkyTrak, which I got for a very good price. I also have a good camera that wirelessly connects to my tablet, allowing me to look at my swing in real time. And finally, I have a Zepp swing monitor. My intention is to use my garage as a pretty high-tech self-coaching bay. The SkyTrak is going to be a big part of tightening up my short game as well. One of the built-in features is the Dave Pelz-esque wedge matrix: it allows you to chart your wedges distances for full, 3/4, 1/2, and 1/4 swings for each of the wedges in your bag. My hope is to dial these in with practice this winter, giving me much greater ability to knock shots within 100 yards to makeable putting distances. My goal for this season is ambitious. I want to drop from being ~15 handicap to somewhere in the single digits. But I believe that I have the tools that I need to accomplish this goal. And I have a community here for the support, which is also a key component. I'll be using this thread to keep everyone posted on my progress. Rickp, MaxEntropy, Angry Yeti and 24 others 22 5 Quote TS3 9.5°, Tensei Blue CBX E722 16.5°, Tensei AV RAW Blue 65 S Epic Super Hybrid 19°, Aerotech Steel Fiber FC HYB S C722 22°, Ventus Blue 8S CBX Iron-Wood 25°, Project X HZRDUS Black 6.0 Epic Forged 7 27° 639 CB, Aldila NV 95 Graphite, 7–PW Diamond Tour Inazone 3.0 50°, 54°, 58°, Aldila NV 95 Graphite DF3, Counterbalanced 37", TPT shaft, Garsen Quad Tour 17" Full WITB with pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Awesome man - looking forward to following along. Self improvement is tough but you are going into it with a great perspective and attitude. Other than the Strike Plan, are there any other resources you are using? mpatrickriley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpatrickriley Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 Just now, jlukes said: Awesome man - looking forward to following along. Self improvement is tough but you are going into it with a great perspective and attitude. Other than the Strike Plan, are there any other resources you are using? Like you, I've learned a ton about the swing from Mark Crossfield. He's not everyone's cup of tea (bad British pun not totally intended), but the content is there if you want it. On the more technical side, some of the videos that Trackman Maestro has produced are very helpful. On the mental side of the game and double-bogey avoidance, I think Jon Sherman over at Practical Golf has a lot of good stuff to say. On the short game, the books by Stan Utley and James Sieckmann are really helpful. I like Pelz for a lot of information, but I have moved strongly away from how he teaches the short game swing itself. yungkory, null, JohnSmalls and 3 others 5 1 Quote TS3 9.5°, Tensei Blue CBX E722 16.5°, Tensei AV RAW Blue 65 S Epic Super Hybrid 19°, Aerotech Steel Fiber FC HYB S C722 22°, Ventus Blue 8S CBX Iron-Wood 25°, Project X HZRDUS Black 6.0 Epic Forged 7 27° 639 CB, Aldila NV 95 Graphite, 7–PW Diamond Tour Inazone 3.0 50°, 54°, 58°, Aldila NV 95 Graphite DF3, Counterbalanced 37", TPT shaft, Garsen Quad Tour 17" Full WITB with pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 3 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said: Like you, I've learned a ton about the swing from Mark Crossfield. He's not everyone's cup of tea (bad British pun not totally intended), but the content is there if you want it. On the more technical side, some of the videos that Trackman Maestro has produced are very helpful. On the mental side of the game and double-bogey avoidance, I think Jon Sherman over at Practical Golf has a lot of good stuff to say. On the short game, the books by Stan Utley and James Sieckmann are really helpful. I like Pelz for a lot of information, but I have moved strongly away from how he teaches the short game swing itself. I am not a Pelz guy either. If you are looking for some great short game and putting reads, I highly suggest Dave Stockton. His Unconcious Putting and Unconcious Scoring books are just absolutely fantastic and really helped me simplify my wedge play and putting cksurfdude, mpatrickriley, Rickp and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpatrickriley Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 17 minutes ago, jlukes said: I am not a Pelz guy either. If you are looking for some great short game and putting reads, I highly suggest Dave Stockton. His Unconcious Putting and Unconcious Scoring books are just absolutely fantastic and really helped me simplify my wedge play and putting I've read his putting book. My take on it: 1. I really like it. 2. Like a lot of golf books, it's a single idea that could fit in an article stretched out over a whole book. 3. I'm glad I read it after I read a bunch of technical books. From my point of view, Stockton's "just relax and putt with your stroke" is best taken by those who've already done a ton of grinding over their putting. To go to Stockton right away, I think, could be a problem. null, DannyDips and romeopapazulu 3 Quote TS3 9.5°, Tensei Blue CBX E722 16.5°, Tensei AV RAW Blue 65 S Epic Super Hybrid 19°, Aerotech Steel Fiber FC HYB S C722 22°, Ventus Blue 8S CBX Iron-Wood 25°, Project X HZRDUS Black 6.0 Epic Forged 7 27° 639 CB, Aldila NV 95 Graphite, 7–PW Diamond Tour Inazone 3.0 50°, 54°, 58°, Aldila NV 95 Graphite DF3, Counterbalanced 37", TPT shaft, Garsen Quad Tour 17" Full WITB with pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR1PTIK Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Best of luck!. I'm hoping to reach single-digits in 2019 as well, but I'm starting out a little closer than you. I will say - based on my own experience - that it can definitely be done and not really even that difficult if you put in some time and have modest athletic ability. After seeing your average distance, I'm curious to know what swing speed looks like for you? mpatrickriley 1 Quote Driver: ST190 9.5* Fujikura Atmos Blue 5S Fairway Wood: ST190 15* Fujikura Atmos Blue 6S Hybrid: CLK 17* Fujikura Speeder EVO HB Irons: J40 CB (3-PW) Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Wedges: Milled Grind 2 54* & 58* Dynamic Gold S200 Putter: Tri-Hot 5k Two 34" Bag: Players 5 Stand Bag Ball: Maxfli Tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romeopapazulu Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 I've read his putting book. My take on it: 1. I really like it. 2. Like a lot of golf books, it's a single idea that could fit in an article stretched out over a whole book. 3. I'm glad I read it after I read a bunch of technical books. From my point of view, Stockton's "just relax and putt with your stroke" is best taken by those who've already done a ton of grinding over their putting. To go to Stockton right away, I think, could be a problem.Ha! No.2 is sooo true. I was getting mad as I read that one with fifteen long examples of someone not believing in themselves every single chapter. The story of Jack Nicklaus being told by a bogey golfer how to think on the green was great. A couple others really struck home with me about how down on my own game I was. But after that, tell me how to practice better! I can only handle so much talk about feelings. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy mpatrickriley 1 Quote G400 LST 8.5 Ping Tour 65 Stiff Adams XTD Ti 18 deg 3Hy Ben Hogan PTx 22-46 Ben Hogan TK15 50, 54, 58 deg wedges Futura 5.5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnosil Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Good luck on your journey; I think we are all pulling for you. How many fairways are you hitting per round? Quote Driver: G400 Max 9* w/ KBS Tour Driven Fairway: Paradym AI Smoke Max HL 16.5* w/MCA TENSEI AV Series Blue Hybrids: 915H 21* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype 915H 24* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype Irons: TR20V 6-11 w/Vizard TR20-85 Graphite Wedge: 54/12D, 60/8M w/Accra iWedge 90 Graphite Putter: Render w/VA Composites Baddazz Backup Putters: Sacks Parente MC 3 Stripe, Milled Collection RSX 2 Member: MGS Hitsquad since 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpatrickriley Posted January 15, 2019 Author Share Posted January 15, 2019 10 minutes ago, cnosil said: Good luck on your journey; I think we are all pulling for you. How many fairways are you hitting per round? Game Golf tells me I'm hitting 55-60%. That's actually in line with what they have for a 5 handicap, but I'm 60 yards short, so the "accuracy" isn't even close to mitigating the distance. @TR1PTIK, I don't have a Trackman measurement. The SuperSpeed measurements would lead me to guess that it's going to be somewhere between 90–100. So while I am trying to increase my speed, the other factor is that my strike is very poor, so that I'm not getting efficient use out of the speed I already have. cnosil and GB13 2 Quote TS3 9.5°, Tensei Blue CBX E722 16.5°, Tensei AV RAW Blue 65 S Epic Super Hybrid 19°, Aerotech Steel Fiber FC HYB S C722 22°, Ventus Blue 8S CBX Iron-Wood 25°, Project X HZRDUS Black 6.0 Epic Forged 7 27° 639 CB, Aldila NV 95 Graphite, 7–PW Diamond Tour Inazone 3.0 50°, 54°, 58°, Aldila NV 95 Graphite DF3, Counterbalanced 37", TPT shaft, Garsen Quad Tour 17" Full WITB with pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wedgie Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 I don’t have much to add but best of luck hitting single digits. On second thought, get a set of Launcher HB irons and be done with it.Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy mpatrickriley and MattF 2 Quote Wedgie Driver - XXIO X Driver 9.5 - Launcher Turbo 2 hybrid - F9 One Length 3-L - ER 1.2 Top Flite Gamer Play Right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxEntropy Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Good luck! This will be another good one to follow. mpatrickriley 1 Quote Driver: Epic Speed 9* (set -1) MMT 70X 3W: Tour B JGR Recoil 760ES 7W: Epic Flash 19* TourAD (can't remember the exact model) 4H: Tour B JGR 23* Recoil 780ES 5-AW: Tour B JGR HF2 Modus3 Tour 105 54*, 58*: TAIII Black Putter: Scottsdale TR Senita Bag: BigMax Dri Active Lite Ball: TP5x or AVX (yellow) Pushcart: BigMax iQ+ Most Recent Test: Fit For Golf 2.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shankster Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Nice! You all are inspiring me to get a hitting mat and a net for the garage. Research begins. I’ll be following along.Good luck on the journey fellow Yooper. JohnSmalls, mpatrickriley and GB13 3 Quote Driver: Callway Rogue St Triple Diamond 9* 2 HY: Mizuno STZ 230 16* (set to 13.75) 2 Iron: Taylormade UDI 17* Irons: 2019 Titleist T100S 3-PW Wedges: Vokey SM6 54* and SM9 48* / Taylormade MG3 TW 56* Putter: PING Anser Ball: Pro V1 Bag: Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GB13 Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 That's a really solid plan. I can tell you that being a self taught single digit player is an achievable goal. I know of 2 on the forum who are self-taught single digits. @Jon Brittan and myself. I've never had a lesson and for myself, I feel that is the best path for my game. Taking a cursory look at your game and statistics, extra distance will help you immensely. You're plenty accurate and seem to have a good short game. Eliminating the "hip slide" will increase distance. By eliminating the hip slide myself, I've picked up 5mph and make much better contact. That coupled with SuperSpeed, I expect to see some distance gains and lower score. Good Luck! BennyLar24, cksurfdude, mpatrickriley and 2 others 5 Quote Wilson Staff C300 9.0* Fujikura Pro 58 stiff Callaway Rogue 3W Mitsubishi Diamana D+ LTD 80 stiff Mizuno MP-18 MMC FLI-HI 2 iron UST Mamiya Recoil 95 stiff Ping I200's 4-W Aerotech Steelfiber I110 CW stiff Ping Glide 52* and 58* stiff Bettinardi Studio Stock #38 Armlock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wedgie Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 That's a really solid plan. I can tell you that being a self taught single digit player is an achievable goal. I know of 2 on the forum who are self-taught single digits. [mention=68729]Jon Brittan[/mention] and myself. I've never had a lesson and for myself, I feel that is the best path for my game. Taking a cursory look at your game and statistics, extra distance will help you immensely. You're plenty accurate and seem to have a good short game. Eliminating the "hip slide" will increase distance. By eliminating the hip slide myself, I've picked up 5mph and make much better contact. That coupled with SuperSpeed, I expect to see some distance gains and lower score. Good Luck! Hey, I’m self taught off the rack barely single digit. If you are swinging 90-100 you are about where I am swing speed wise. I was hitting 200-210 drives on average and mostly because of high spin and angle of attack. The Cobra rep put me in a 9.5 head and had me move the ball from inside my left heel to outside my left pinkie toe. I’m still very inefficient but those 2 things gave me about 20 more yards.Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy JohnSmalls, GB13 and mpatrickriley 3 Quote Wedgie Driver - XXIO X Driver 9.5 - Launcher Turbo 2 hybrid - F9 One Length 3-L - ER 1.2 Top Flite Gamer Play Right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00sportsman Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Good luck. I'll be following along with great interest. mpatrickriley 1 Quote I always try to remember that I'm not good enough to get mad! My Bag: G400 Max G30 3W King S9-1 5W Aeroburner 3 Rescue/Hybrid G400 5-UW RTX4 52* and 56* 2Bar Mallet Traverse II Cart Bag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GB13 Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Wedgie said: Hey, I’m self taught off the rack barely single digit. Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy Okay, okay, I know three people on the forum who are self-taught single digits. And one of them (not saying who), is a little needy. Edited January 15, 2019 by GB13 mpatrickriley, Golfspy_CG2, perseveringgolfer and 4 others 7 Quote Wilson Staff C300 9.0* Fujikura Pro 58 stiff Callaway Rogue 3W Mitsubishi Diamana D+ LTD 80 stiff Mizuno MP-18 MMC FLI-HI 2 iron UST Mamiya Recoil 95 stiff Ping I200's 4-W Aerotech Steelfiber I110 CW stiff Ping Glide 52* and 58* stiff Bettinardi Studio Stock #38 Armlock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post hckymeyer Posted January 15, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 15, 2019 22 minutes ago, GB13 said: Okay, okay, I know three people on the forum who are self-taught single digits. And one of them (not saying who), is a little needy. Make it four I've never had lessons and played off the rack for a very long time. Maybe got down to an 8 or so that way. I've still never had lessons, but I have been fit several times. I do believe it's made a big difference. A bad swing is still going to be a bad result, but a good fitting can help you hit the ball well more often. So even though it's a drive, don't give up on it just yet! I will say the biggest thing that helped me go lower though was just playing more often. I used to play a handful of times a year, maybe once or twice a month when the weather was nice. Since we moved on to a course I get to play weekly and sometimes more. Just going out to play more has made by far the biggest difference in my scoring. Golfspy_CG2, JohnSmalls, GB13 and 8 others 11 Quote Driver: SLDR w/ Fujikura Ventus Black 3w: '16 M2 hl w/ Diamana D+ 82 5w: Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Yellow Hybrid: 22 deg. Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Black Irons: 5i - gap Launcher CBX w/ Nippon Modus 3 125 Wedges: 54 CBX & 58 Zipcore w/ Nippon Modus 3 125 Putter: Red 7s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perseveringgolfer Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 9 hours ago, hckymeyer said: Make it four Make it 5 18 to 5 with no lessons or even much understanding of equipment or the technicalities of the swing. I learned it all from John Jacobs basic golf book Practical golf. Since I learned about shafts and intricate technical swing motions in the last 10 years ......I got worse lol Good luck @GolfSpy MPR I'll be following, and supporting, with interest. Wedgie, JohnSmalls, mpatrickriley and 4 others 7 Quote Driver Awaiting NEW Driver (after 10 yrs) 4 Wood Callaway Big Bertha Steelhead plus 4+ Callaway shaft in 'Firm' flex Hybrid Titleist 910H 19* Diamana ahina 'flower' shaft in 'S' Irons Mizuno MP18SC 4-PW N.S Pro Modus3 Tour 105 in 'S' Wedges Callaway Mack Daddy forged in black 50* and 54* KBS Tour in 'R' Putter 'YES' Tracy 11 C groove 34.5" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR1PTIK Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 11 hours ago, GolfSpy MPR said: So while I am trying to increase my speed, the other factor is that my strike is very poor, so that I'm not getting efficient use out of the speed I already have. If you haven't heard about it already, I strongly recommend a can of Dr. Scholl's foot powder spray to help you with strike. Spray it on the face, and you'll be able to see where strike location is. More importantly, you'll be able to LEARN strike location by sound and feel. If you are swinging in that 90-100 MPH range, you should definitely be getting a little more distance. I've lost speed over the last couple years, and now hover at the 100 MPH mark. Carry distances of 220+ are certainly possible at those speeds. mpatrickriley 1 Quote Driver: ST190 9.5* Fujikura Atmos Blue 5S Fairway Wood: ST190 15* Fujikura Atmos Blue 6S Hybrid: CLK 17* Fujikura Speeder EVO HB Irons: J40 CB (3-PW) Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Wedges: Milled Grind 2 54* & 58* Dynamic Gold S200 Putter: Tri-Hot 5k Two 34" Bag: Players 5 Stand Bag Ball: Maxfli Tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattF Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Good luck in your endeavor Pastor! Personally, I'm hoping to get mine down by playing a lot more that I have been because of my membership. Oh, and a new driver. cksurfdude and mpatrickriley 2 Quote In the bag: Driver: Darkspeed X 9° UST Mamiya LIN-Q M40X Blue 7F4 Fairway: Apex UW 19° & 21° Project X HZRDUS Smoke RDX Black 5.5 Irons: JPX 923 HMP 5-PW UST Mamiya Recoil 95 F4 Wedges: T-22 Denim Copper 48°, 52° & 56° UST Mamiya Recoil 95 F4 Putter Sycamore 005 Wide Blade Bag: Fairway 14 stand bag Balls: Chrome Tour X Cart: CaddyLite ONE Ver. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpatrickriley Posted January 15, 2019 Author Share Posted January 15, 2019 53 minutes ago, TR1PTIK said: If you haven't heard about it already, I strongly recommend a can of Dr. Scholl's foot powder spray to help you with strike. Spray it on the face, and you'll be able to see where strike location is. More importantly, you'll be able to LEARN strike location by sound and feel. If you are swinging in that 90-100 MPH range, you should definitely be getting a little more distance. I've lost speed over the last couple years, and now hover at the 100 MPH mark. Carry distances of 220+ are certainly possible at those speeds. The foot spray is definitely something I've intended to do for some time now. My biggest issue is having a place to swing driver. My garage ceiling is just low enough that I clip it with the long club. Practicing outside isn't possible this time of year here (the high Friday is 2°). Practicing outside at the house in good weather concerns me, because my bad miss is the popup off the top line of the driver (with the easy potential of going over the net toward nearby homes). I may end up trying the foot spray indoors with practice balls, which I'm sure will delight my wife and my dog, in very different ways GB13, MattF, cksurfdude and 3 others 6 Quote TS3 9.5°, Tensei Blue CBX E722 16.5°, Tensei AV RAW Blue 65 S Epic Super Hybrid 19°, Aerotech Steel Fiber FC HYB S C722 22°, Ventus Blue 8S CBX Iron-Wood 25°, Project X HZRDUS Black 6.0 Epic Forged 7 27° 639 CB, Aldila NV 95 Graphite, 7–PW Diamond Tour Inazone 3.0 50°, 54°, 58°, Aldila NV 95 Graphite DF3, Counterbalanced 37", TPT shaft, Garsen Quad Tour 17" Full WITB with pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfspy_CG2 Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Good luck MPR...This will be fun to follow. I know you have the dedication to make it happen, I am quite envious of your home setup. ncwoz and mpatrickriley 2 Quote G430 Max 10K TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 SM10 48F/54M and58K S159 48S/52S/56W/60B Select 5.5 Flowback 35" ProV1 Play number 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR1PTIK Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 1 hour ago, GolfSpy MPR said: The foot spray is definitely something I've intended to do for some time now. My biggest issue is having a place to swing driver. My garage ceiling is just low enough that I clip it with the long club. Practicing outside isn't possible this time of year here (the high Friday is 2°). Practicing outside at the house in good weather concerns me, because my bad miss is the popup off the top line of the driver (with the easy potential of going over the net toward nearby homes). I may end up trying the foot spray indoors with practice balls, which I'm sure will delight my wife and my dog, in very different ways I hear you on the cold weather. I haven't hit a ball since early November, but I'm fortunate to have enough space in my garage (and a heater!) to be able to practice through the winter months. It will still make a lot of noise, but you can also just use a rubber tee without a ball. I've done this when swinging indoors. It's pretty easy to imagine where the ball would have been based on the mark left by the tee. mpatrickriley 1 Quote Driver: ST190 9.5* Fujikura Atmos Blue 5S Fairway Wood: ST190 15* Fujikura Atmos Blue 6S Hybrid: CLK 17* Fujikura Speeder EVO HB Irons: J40 CB (3-PW) Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Wedges: Milled Grind 2 54* & 58* Dynamic Gold S200 Putter: Tri-Hot 5k Two 34" Bag: Players 5 Stand Bag Ball: Maxfli Tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnSmalls Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 13 hours ago, Wedgie said: inside my left heel to outside my left pinkie toe. Just want to raise and hand and shout reverend. This has helped me out tremendously off the tee. Not sure if it's due to playing off the rack or not. Definitely not saying it will help you @GolfSpy MPR, but I am a firm believer in ball placement for my own game. Looking forward in following your journey this year! mpatrickriley, edingc and cksurfdude 3 Quote Gameday Vessel Sunday 2.0/ Ogio Silencer Dynapwr Carbon | Hzrdus Smoke Black Mavrik 3w | Evenflow Riptide FG Tour F5 Hybrid(20,23) | MCA Fubuki Apex Ai200 5-PW | DG 115 Mid Vokey SM7 (50, 54, 58) | DG 120 ER2 -ProV1x (left dash) Romans 10:9 Classic Bag Jones Collegiate Clemson Stand Bag Eye 2 Laminate 1973 Staff Dynapower 4-PW Anser DUO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpatrickriley Posted January 15, 2019 Author Share Posted January 15, 2019 Sneaked in some SkyTrak time during lunch today. Wanted to get into the garage today, since it's a balmy 30°, with the highs dropping into single digits this weekend. As I was just doing a little practice, I brought only my driver and 8 iron. I reconfirmed that, even with a swing that exits low and left, the ceiling is just too low. Even if I can make a swing, the ceiling is always on my mind; I can't swing the driver freely in the garage. I did choke down three inches and hit some aggressive bunts, but that's not a shot I need to be practicing With the 8 iron, I did some warmup swings. The best part of having the SkyTrak is (obviously) the feedback, but especially off a mat into a tent, it is absolutely essential to know when the mat is allowing you to "get away" with a fat shot that would be punished on turf. The SkyTrak keeps you honest: without a clean strike, the ball speed drops notably. After a brief warmup, I set up a Target Practice challenge, at 155 yards (which is quite ambitious for an 8 iron). Of the six shots in the challenge, I think I scored points on 4 of them. Here's my chart: The second shot was a total fat. The spin rates remain very, very low, which is probably accurate given 1) swing speed and 2) the G700 irons. I'm pretty sure that the smash factor number (PTI, last column) can be entirely ignored. The SkyTrak doesn't directly measure club data, so if it's guessing low on swing speed, the smash factors are going to be really high. All told, I was pleased with the number of target hits, but it's clear that the strike needs work, so that I increase spin and carry and stop getting this much rollout. cksurfdude, GB13, perseveringgolfer and 2 others 5 Quote TS3 9.5°, Tensei Blue CBX E722 16.5°, Tensei AV RAW Blue 65 S Epic Super Hybrid 19°, Aerotech Steel Fiber FC HYB S C722 22°, Ventus Blue 8S CBX Iron-Wood 25°, Project X HZRDUS Black 6.0 Epic Forged 7 27° 639 CB, Aldila NV 95 Graphite, 7–PW Diamond Tour Inazone 3.0 50°, 54°, 58°, Aldila NV 95 Graphite DF3, Counterbalanced 37", TPT shaft, Garsen Quad Tour 17" Full WITB with pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GB13 Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 2 hours ago, GolfSpy MPR said: Sneaked in some SkyTrak time during lunch today. Wanted to get into the garage today, since it's a balmy 30°, with the highs dropping into single digits this weekend. As I was just doing a little practice, I brought only my driver and 8 iron. I reconfirmed that, even with a swing that exits low and left, the ceiling is just too low. Even if I can make a swing, the ceiling is always on my mind; I can't swing the driver freely in the garage. I did choke down three inches and hit some aggressive bunts, but that's not a shot I need to be practicing With the 8 iron, I did some warmup swings. The best part of having the SkyTrak is (obviously) the feedback, but especially off a mat into a tent, it is absolutely essential to know when the mat is allowing you to "get away" with a fat shot that would be punished on turf. The SkyTrak keeps you honest: without a clean strike, the ball speed drops notably. After a brief warmup, I set up a Target Practice challenge, at 155 yards (which is quite ambitious for an 8 iron). Of the six shots in the challenge, I think I scored points on 4 of them. Here's my chart: The second shot was a total fat. The spin rates remain very, very low, which is probably accurate given 1) swing speed and 2) the G700 irons. I'm pretty sure that the smash factor number (PTI, last column) can be entirely ignored. The SkyTrak doesn't directly measure club data, so if it's guessing low on swing speed, the smash factors are going to be really high. All told, I was pleased with the number of target hits, but it's clear that the strike needs work, so that I increase spin and carry and stop getting this much rollout. Nice! Does 15 yards of roll with an eight iron mirror what you see on course? That seems really high. mpatrickriley 1 Quote Wilson Staff C300 9.0* Fujikura Pro 58 stiff Callaway Rogue 3W Mitsubishi Diamana D+ LTD 80 stiff Mizuno MP-18 MMC FLI-HI 2 iron UST Mamiya Recoil 95 stiff Ping I200's 4-W Aerotech Steelfiber I110 CW stiff Ping Glide 52* and 58* stiff Bettinardi Studio Stock #38 Armlock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpatrickriley Posted January 15, 2019 Author Share Posted January 15, 2019 14 minutes ago, GB13 said: Nice! Does 15 yards of roll with an eight iron mirror what you see on course? That seems really high. I agree that it seems high. Thesis: from what I've read, hitting of a mat decreases spin, and not trivially: https://blog.trackmangolf.com/mats-vs-grass-whats-difference/ I need to figure out how to factor that in in my practice. GB13 and cksurfdude 1 1 Quote TS3 9.5°, Tensei Blue CBX E722 16.5°, Tensei AV RAW Blue 65 S Epic Super Hybrid 19°, Aerotech Steel Fiber FC HYB S C722 22°, Ventus Blue 8S CBX Iron-Wood 25°, Project X HZRDUS Black 6.0 Epic Forged 7 27° 639 CB, Aldila NV 95 Graphite, 7–PW Diamond Tour Inazone 3.0 50°, 54°, 58°, Aldila NV 95 Graphite DF3, Counterbalanced 37", TPT shaft, Garsen Quad Tour 17" Full WITB with pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 I agree that it seems high. Thesis: from what I've read, hitting of a mat decreases spin, and not trivially: https://blog.trackmangolf.com/mats-vs-grass-whats-difference/ I need to figure out how to factor that in in my practice.Interesting article. I know the top club fitters like TXG really were picky with the mats they chose. Ian at TXG stays the ones they use give identical feel and numbers to hitting off tightly mowed grass. cksurfdude and mpatrickriley 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaidJacket Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Sometimes a man has to do what a man has to do. And in your case MPR you just don't have access to a golf course or range or instruction. Not easily anyway. And...to top all that off the weather in your area closes the courses for months on end. I don't know how folks like you do it honestly. Get out man!!! Get out!! Seriously, and I haven't read every comment but your driving distance is really low for a young man of your age. You appear to be in good physical shape too. Please don't take this wrong but I know 12-14 year olds who can hit their driver 250 yds. I'm not kidding! I have no idea about your swing really but I can only guess you're arm swinging. When I see that move/swing out of golfers the ball goes nowhere. Well... maybe 192 yards. Keep working on it. mpatrickriley 1 Quote My Sun Mountain bag currently includes: 771CSI 5i - PW and PFC Micro Tour-c 52°, 56°, 60 wedges EXS 10.5*, 929-HS FW4 16.5* Willimette w/GolfPride Contour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jon Brittan Posted January 16, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 16, 2019 Thanks for the shout-out @GB13 My bits of advice: Get a notepad and on the last page write your full target goal, be that making scratch or the PGA Tour, whatever, you are going to refer back to this repeatedly when setting your short-term goals, but you're going to close the book on that for the time being and not be solely focused on that, we now need achievable targets to remain motivated. Set simple targets for your improvement, not easy but something you could expect to achieve in a month, for example, with regular and focused practice. This is how we're going to improve our game rapidly, but being achievable also helps keep motivation and morale high. Targets can be simple and decide how far you want to push yourself and how you want to achieve your aims. Do you want to be as good as possible as soon as possible? Then pick your biggest scoring weakness to work on and set hard targets like approach proximity etc Do you want the game to be fun and improve at the same time? Set yourself short term goals like hitting more greens in regulation than your last round. Having fewer putts than your last round Play as much as possible. Swing a club every day if you can, even if it's only a few times and it's not at a ball, but do it all with focus on what you're trying to achieve. Use cameras and data as much as you can. It's one thing to eyeball your range balls, it's something different to have a launch monitor and see every aspect of your ball launch and know how each change you make affects your result. You can also target specific areas to improve with each session. I use a piece of software called Kinovea, which is useful for a bunch of reasons. It's free, for a start, but it allows you to set a short delay on "live" camera feeds and multiple inputs, so you can have both an in-front and a down the line camera on a four second delay, take your swing and then look at the screen to see it back immediately. It also allows you to record, to put two videos time-synced next to each other so you can compare your swing from today with your swing from a point in the past or even to a professional's swing and you can measure angles etc easily Practice with the intention of improving, play with the intention of enjoying. I, personally at least, really hampered my scoring for a while when I got to the point I knew I could get birdies, I started trying too hard to give myself the chances and making silly mistakes where I would then be scrambling to maintain par. I scored better when I focused on making par on every hole. My best golf has come in the last few weeks where I'm letting ShotScope record my rounds for me and not even bothering keep tally at any point in the round, simply focusing on every shot as it comes. No matter how a round goes, always find something you did well and something you can learn from. Never waste a bad round dwelling on the fact you didn't play as well as you wanted, make it work to your advantage and think about what you can learn. Never allow a better than usual round to make you think all is perfect, appreciate what went well, think about anywhere you got lucky and look for the bits you still could have done better. That's become quite extensive, so I'll leave it there other than to say one last thing. Everyone is different and has both different ways of learning and enjoying their activities, so find what works best for you, try new things and enjoy the process. Good luck! ncwoz, MattF, Smellis745 and 9 others 11 1 Quote Self taught golfer trying hard to improve his game. Started playing early summer 2016. Instagram @makingscratch : https://www.instagram.com/makingscratch/ Twitter @makingscratchUK : https://twitter.com/makingscratchukWITB: Driver : Ping G400 - Tour65 Stiff 44" Fairway : Taylormade Burner 2.0 15deg - Reax-R Hybrid : Taylormade M2 22deg - Flex-R Irons : 4-6 Srixon Z765, 7-PW Srixon Z965 - Nippon Modus 105 S Wedges 52deg Cleveland CG15 56deg Vokey SM5 F-Grind - Nippon ProModus 130 TX 60deg Miura K-Grind - TT DG Spinner Putter : Evnroll ER2 Ball : Vice Pro Plus Proud owner of a slowly approaching complete archive of Titleist's blades circa 2000-2014 and a Wilson FatShaft CI10 blade putter in perfect condition (seriously, try Googling it and look at the state of the few that show up) which I bought when at college and just happens to look like it's stamped with my daughter's name, born 14 years after I bought it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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