Chisag's Tip Of The Day #13

[chisag]

... Why Am I So Bad After A Lesson? 

... A good frond of mine started taking lessons and called to ask me the above question. He said he has had 2 lessons now and he is hitting the ball worse than he has ever hit the ball and it was all my fault!  I let him know the reason why he and almost everyone else really struggles after taking a lesson or two. And the more you have played the chances are the worse the lesson will make your swing. 

... Very few golfers are lucky enough to power the golf ball with strength. Arnold Palmer did not have a smooth flowing swing, but strong forearms and used them to hammer the golf ball. Most of us have to swing the club and that takes a lack of tension to allow our muscles to move as quickly as possible. Like a pitcher throwing a baseball 100mph has to have a loose wrist and hold the baseball lightly in his fingers to achieve maximum speed. Most all of us have heard to grip the club like a baby bird is in our hands, tight enough so it doesn't wriggle free but loose enough so you don't harm them.  I also loved the tip from Nciklaus that said he likes his arms to feel like "over cooked spaghetti" in his swing. Clearly tension is the enemy. Take something like walking that almost all of us do tension free. Now force yourself to make your step 3/4 your normal stride. You literally have to make yourself step shorter and it takes quite a bit of effort which adds tension to your gate. Don't fully concentrate for a spit second and you go back to your natural gate. The same thing happens with a golf swing. 

... When you take a lesson and your instructor asks you to do something different than you have been doing for thousands of swings, you have to force yourself to swing differently. Forcing anything causes tension. Tension ruins a golf swing. You are tense both mentally and physically. There really aren't many ways around this. You simply have to put in the work and the time to make the new movement something that feels familiar, until you are not forcing your body (and mind) to do something different. Every lessons and every practice session is dedicated to engraining the new movement and slowly but surely the new movement will take less and less "forcing". I had students that come back after 2 range sessions between lessons and say "It worked much better with you, but on my own it got really bad. I had to leave some of my balls and go home because I couldn't even make decent contact and was hitting the worst shots of my life". I explained that is because I am constantly telling them to relax and talk to the in a positive and soothing tone that at least relaxed them mentally. I often say Great Swing! when they hit a bad shot because they got closer to the move we want to engrain. I tried my best to let them know they will suffer on their own and hit really bad shots and take really bad swings because more often than not they are doing a little of the new swing with a little of the old swing at the same time. Making a swing change is very difficult and again, the longer you have played the harder it is to change. 

... Keep in mind Tiger Woods, if not the best golfer ever certainly the best ball striker ever and he took a full year to implement a permanent swing change. So if you are taking a lesson and like what your pro has to say and believe in the change, just keep putting in the work and be aware that you are trying to re-train your muscles and that takes time and effort. Stick with it and you will begin to feel less and less tension as time goes on and you will begin reaping the rewards of your new swing. Good luck!

[cksurfdude]

Well said (as always!). Practice practice practice after a lesson, but ... be sure to practice the "right" thing.

I was taking a series of lessons over the winter, spread them apart over time and was sure to practice in-between, but .. most importantly imho that has benefitted me .. each lesson was just a 1/2 hour session, purposefully concentrating on just ONE new part of the swing / new move. That helped me focus in my practice and I feel like I'm on the way to building an overall better swing!

[Micah T]

Great post! And I can attest first hand to playing worse after my first lesson! Mine was 2 years ago when I was a 14 handicap, and that season involved a total grip change! I’m a 7 handicap now, but the 2 months after I started implementing a grip and subsequent swing change were so bad that I stopped playing! My scores went up 8-10 strokes a round for those 2 months, and I gave up playing and stuck to practicing. There are too many thoughts and “checklists” going thru your mind to make playing a round enjoyable, IMO. But my advice is stay the course, it’s worth it and it gets better.

[SlowNLow]

On 4/28/2020 at 5:01 PM, chisag said:

... Why Am I So Bad After A Lesson? 

... A good frond of mine started taking lessons and called to ask me the above question. He said he has had 2 lessons now and he is hitting the ball worse than he has ever hit the ball and it was all my fault!  I let him know the reason why he and almost everyone else really struggles after taking a lesson or two. And the more you have played the chances are the worse the lesson will make your swing. 

... Very few golfers are lucky enough to power the golf ball with strength. Arnold Palmer did not have a smooth flowing swing, but strong forearms and used them to hammer the golf ball. Most of us have to swing the club and that takes a lack of tension to allow our muscles to move as quickly as possible. Like a pitcher throwing a baseball 100mph has to have a loose wrist and hold the baseball lightly in his fingers to achieve maximum speed. Most all of us have heard to grip the club like a baby bird is in our hands, tight enough so it doesn't wriggle free but loose enough so you don't harm them.  I also loved the tip from Nciklaus that said he likes his arms to feel like "over cooked spaghetti" in his swing. Clearly tension is the enemy. Take something like walking that almost all of us do tension free. Now force yourself to make your step 3/4 your normal stride. You literally have to make yourself step shorter and it takes quite a bit of effort which adds tension to your gate. Don't fully concentrate for a spit second and you go back to your natural gate. The same thing happens with a golf swing. 

... When you take a lesson and your instructor asks you to do something different than you have been doing for thousands of swings, you have to force yourself to swing differently. Forcing anything causes tension. Tension ruins a golf swing. You are tense both mentally and physically. There really aren't many ways around this. You simply have to put in the work and the time to make the new movement something that feels familiar, until you are not forcing your body (and mind) to do something different. Every lessons and every practice session is dedicated to engraining the new movement and slowly but surely the new movement will take less and less "forcing". I had students that come back after 2 range sessions between lessons and say "It worked much better with you, but on my own it got really bad. I had to leave some of my balls and go home because I couldn't even make decent contact and was hitting the worst shots of my life". I explained that is because I am constantly telling them to relax and talk to the in a positive and soothing tone that at least relaxed them mentally. I often say Great Swing! when they hit a bad shot because they got closer to the move we want to engrain. I tried my best to let them know they will suffer on their own and hit really bad shots and take really bad swings because more often than not they are doing a little of the new swing with a little of the old swing at the same time. Making a swing change is very difficult and again, the longer you have played the harder it is to change. 

... Keep in mind Tiger Woods, if not the best golfer ever certainly the best ball striker ever and he took a full year to implement a permanent swing change. So if you are taking a lesson and like what your pro has to say and believe in the change, just keep putting in the work and be aware that you are trying to re-train your muscles and that takes time and effort. Stick with it and you will begin to feel less and less tension as time goes on and you will begin reaping the rewards of your new swing. Good luck!

Welcome to the "valley of limbo".

Where I live we can't play much Nov-Apr. so  I feel better taking lessons in winter, hitting balls inside, let the changes take over without having to worry about getting around the course. 

During the summer while playing a course, it is hard to stay with the changes when "new" unusual shots suddenly come out of nowhere.  Without a clue why it happened, and how not to have them happen again. 

If the changes are more alignment/setup, then it is OK, actually can help immediately,  but if the changes are related to grip or movement, it is almost like we need our teacher there watching us hit every shot. 

Edited April 30, 2020 by SlowNLow

[chisag]

 

On 4/30/2020 at 3:19 PM, SlowNLow said:

Welcome to the "valley of limbo".

Where I live we can't play much Nov-Apr. so  I feel better taking lessons in winter, hitting balls inside, let the changes take over without having to worry about getting around the course. 

During the summer while playing a course, it is hard to stay with the changes when "new" unusual shots suddenly come out of nowhere.  Without a clue why it happened, and how not to have them happen again. 

If the changes are more alignment/setup, then it is OK, actually can help immediately,  but if the changes are related to grip or movement, it is almost like we need our teacher there watching us hit every shot. 

 

... This is one of the reasons that for most of my students, I taught them how to do what they already do... just better. Instead of a weak slice and too much toe contact from an over the top swing they have grooved, I tried to help them hit a fade that is longer from better contact. Most people do not want to take a year or two to completely revamp their swing. Many play once a week and rarely practice in between. They were looking to go from shooting 110 and being frustrated with poor shots to maybe breaking 100 or consistently shooting in the 90's but making better contact and hitting some good shots they can be proud of. 

... I played with a guy in Phoenix and that had a weak fade, hitting his driver under 200 yds. On the 18th hole I hit a 2 iron (UDi) around 230 and had 185 to a pin tucked just over the water. The safe play was to hit a 4 iron and be sure if I missed it a little I would carry the water and if I caught it perfectly I would be on the back of the green or maybe the fringe. I hit my 5 iron because it is my 185 club and it was a go big or go home shot, needing a birdie to shoot 1 under par. I was really swinging well that day and hit it to 5 feet. The guy I was playing with had hit a 3 wood in the water and said "That why I don't take lessons. I am 62 years old and have been playing for 5 years. Never played another sport and the golf swing is hard for me. I know no matter how many lessons I took, I could NEVER hit a shot like you just hit". 

... I smiled and said "Given your swing and your age I agree with you. You will never hit a towering 5 iron over water to a tucked pin from 185. But you just hit a weak 190 yd slice into the rough off the tee. You hit an 8 iron out of the rough that went 40 yds, and then hit a 3 wood low on the face and in the water. Wouldn't it be nice if instead of a slice, you hit a controlled fade off the tee 215 or 220 that started left then landed in the fairway, then a reasonably solid 8 iron to the left of the water. And followed that with a good wedge to 10 feet and made par to end your day?" He liked that idea and said he might look into taking lessons that summer back in Minnesota. At least he left the course with a positive thought and hopefully dreams of improving just enough to enjoy the game a little more and hit some shots he could be proud of. 

[SlowNLow]

2 hours ago, chisag said:

 

 

... This is one of the reasons that for most of my students, I taught them how to do what they already do... just better. Instead of a weak slice and too much toe contact from an over the top swing they have grooved, I tried to help them hit a fade that is longer from better contact. Most people do not want too take a year or two to c completely revamp their swing. Many play once a week and rarely opera time in between. They were looking to go from shooting 110 and being frustrated with poor shots to maybe breaking 100 or consistently shooting in the 90's but making better contact and hitting some good shots they can be proud of. 

... I played with a guy in Phoenix and that had a weak fade, hitting his driver under 200 yds. On the 18th hole I hit a 2 iron (UDi) around 230 and had 185 to a spin tucked just over the water. The safe play was to hit a 4 iron and be sure iff I missed it a little I would carry the water and if I caught it perfectly I would be on the back of the green or maybe the fringe. I hit my 5 iron because it is my 185 club and it was a go big or go home shot, needing a birdie to shoot 1 under par. I was really swinging well that day and hit it to 5 feet. The guy I was playing with had hit a 3 wood in the water and said "That why I don't take lessons. I am 62 years old and have been playing for 5 years. Never played another sport and the golf swing is hard for me. I know no matter how many lessons I took, I could NEVER hit a shot like you just hit". 

... I smiled and said "Given your swing and your age I agree with you. You will never hit a towering 5 iron over water to a tucked pin from 185. But you just hit a weak 190 yd slice into the rough off the tee. You hit an 8 iron out of the rough that went 40 yds, and then hit a 3 wood low on the face and in the water. Wouldn't it be nice if instead of a slice, you hit a controlled fade off the tee 215 or 220 that started left then landed in the fairway, then a reasonably solid 8 iron to the left of the water. And followed that with a good wedge to 10 feet and made par to end your day?" He liked that idea and said he might look into taking lessons that summer back in Minnesota. At least he left the course with a positive thought and hopefully dreams of improving just enough to enjoy the game a little more and hit some shots he could be proud of. 

Its good to hear that you like to work with a student to improve on what he has.    And the honest communication is so important.

My favorite teacher just worked with some setup and alignment stuff and little with length of my backswing.    And he communicated his intentions the whole time. Unfortunately he isn't accessible anymore.

Another teacher I've seen in recent years went crazy, first lesson was changing my grip, ball positions, posture, etc.    What was worse, I didn't know where he was going next.     He seemed to have his ideas but he didn't care about my ideas.   My play suffered for about a month, but I was able to revert back to my old ugly self.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2020 by SlowNLow

[edteergolf]

This is a great topic and agree with everything.  I do want to make one point, players are in complete control of the time and 'pain' faced when making a swing change.  Training the correct way as opposed to as the way we want, can and will greatly reduce the time/pain endured to make a change.  Expectation management, the correct system and procedure to change, and player discipline all contribute to the experience of development.   After providing a plan, I often hear, "That sounds so hard."  Which is harder, enduring frustration and a sense of being lost or following a prescribed plan executed with persistence and perseverance?   Furthermore, once you learn how to 'change' a player must always incorporate the system into their maintenance plan.  

We have all experienced assembling something for your home. How often are we plagued with horrible instructions that cause frustration, anger, and often damage to what we just bought.  However, what a great experience it is to have organized packaging, crystal clear instructions, pictures, & online support!  How often have we just followed the great plan or chose to go our own way because we know better?  Success leaves clues.  So does failure.