Sirchunk's Swing Quest

[RickyBobby_PR]

13 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

After reading your post ( thank you, btw) I came home and took some quick video working on getting a feel for remedying a false turn. I took a screenshot from the video and thought I'd post it up. 

I think I'm over compensating for the fact I don't make ball first contact usually and went way to the extreme wanting to get weight forward and keeping it there. Still not anywhere near perfect, but I'll keep working on it. 

Weight forward and keeping it there isn’t a bad thing, that’s the general concept of stack and tilt. The problems comes in when a golfer makes moves that don’t fall into the concepts of stack and tilt. Eric Cogorno has videos on this method. 

[sirchunksalot]

I thought I'd post a couple of screenshots from yesterday. I've been working more on trying to get the start of my backswing better, and I'm starting to see a little progress, but still have a way to go. 

I'm really happy with this, my clubhead isn't as far inside my hands as when I started. Camera angle might not still be perfect, I was in my pajamas and in a little bit of a rush as supper was about ready. I still need to get a little more flexion on my left wrist in order to match up my club to the spine angle.

The other photo, I noticed I'm starting to see more wrist set at left arm parallel. I'm still seeing the false turn, so I've really got to focus in on that. 

I'm planning on going to the range tomorrow or Sunday to see if I see any difference in how I'm hitting the ball and just to get more work in. 

On a side note, I apologize for the brightness being lousy on the photos. The sun was getting low and the exposure wasn't the best. Kinda made me look bald. 

 

[Shapotomous]

Looking better!  Can't wait to hear about the feel and results on the range.  

Not sure which has brighter reflection in the last pic.....the iron head or yours!  

[sirchunksalot]

It's been kind of a ho-hum well as far as the swing quest goes, I've been mostly working on getting my lead wrist straight all week. I'm probably driving my wife crazy because I'm constantly grabbing a club and just going back to lead arm parallel. I'm a firm believer in repetition, repetition, repetition, since I work assembling cars and it's my bread and butter. 

So, I took the new feelings I've been working on to the range tonight and had a pretty good range session. Most of my shots, felt like I got into position fairly well. I did have a few where I noticed a bowing of my wrist, but overall I saw improvement. I hit a lot more good shots than bad.

Now, I still need to work on alignment as I'm seeing a lot of shots going left. I just can't seem to get comfortable lining up correctly. But, I think I could've taken my swing to the course and played better than I have been.

The driver was decent, I was more scattered on contact than I have been recently. I was more toe biased than anything with a bit of inconsistency up and down with a couple that came off the heel. 

I think I might have figured out the root cause for my false turn. I have a tendency to get my weight on the outside of my right foot in the backswing instead of on the inside of my right heel. I'm going to have to get it on video to confirm, but some of the mirror work I've done is leading me to think this. 

 

 

 

[Kenny B]

On 8/6/2021 at 1:45 PM, sirchunksalot said:

I thought I'd post a couple of screenshots from yesterday. I've been working more on trying to get the start of my backswing better, and I'm starting to see a little progress, but still have a way to go. 

I'm really happy with this, my clubhead isn't as far inside my hands as when I started. Camera angle might not still be perfect, I was in my pajamas and in a little bit of a rush as supper was about ready. I still need to get a little more flexion on my left wrist in order to match up my club to the spine angle.

The other photo, I noticed I'm starting to see more wrist set at left arm parallel. I'm still seeing the false turn, so I've really got to focus in on that. 

I'm planning on going to the range tomorrow or Sunday to see if I see any difference in how I'm hitting the ball and just to get more work in. 

On a side note, I apologize for the brightness being lousy on the photos. The sun was getting low and the exposure wasn't the best. Kinda made me look bald. 

 

Your recent pics show much improvement over your starting point.  I can tell you have been working hard at it.  The DTL pic is a good position at club parallel.  Keep working!!  Many swing issues can be fixed when you have a good setup and get the backswing going in the correct direction.  Don't be discouraged by bad shots on the range; they happen because you are making a change to something your brain is not used to.  You are essentially training your brain to recognize new motions and make your body react to make better ball contact.  Takes time!!  I know... my brain is a slow learner.

[russtopherb]

11 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

I think I might have figured out the root cause for my false turn. I have a tendency to get my weight on the outside of my right foot in the backswing instead of on the inside of my right heel. I'm going to have to get it on video to confirm, but some of the mirror work I've done is leading me to think this. 

I had that problem too, for me it was when I was starting out. One feel that the pro I was working with gave me was to feel the weight in the inside of my right thigh, rather than thinking about my feet. He wanted me to feel like the inside part of my upper rear leg was tightening up to bear weight, that helped me stay more centered and make a good turn. 

I'm sure you have plenty enough swing thoughts and feels right now!  However when you posted that, I wanted to share my experience in case it might help you (or someone else reading this thread at any point).

[sirchunksalot]

9 hours ago, Kenny B said:

Your recent pics show much improvement over your starting point.  I can tell you have been working hard at it.  The DTL pic is a good position at club parallel.  Keep working!!  Many swing issues can be fixed when you have a good setup and get the backswing going in the correct direction.  Don't be discouraged by bad shots on the range; they happen because you are making a change to something your brain is not used to.  You are essentially training your brain to recognize new motions and make your body react to make better ball contact.  Takes time!!  I know... my brain is a slow learner.

My brain don't like to pick up on new things too quick, either. Right now I'm kind of in the stage of having to think too much about what I'm doing. I appreciate the encouragement!

1 hour ago, russtopherb said:

I had that problem too, for me it was when I was starting out. One feel that the pro I was working with gave me was to feel the weight in the inside of my right thigh, rather than thinking about my feet. He wanted me to feel like the inside part of my upper rear leg was tightening up to bear weight, that helped me stay more centered and make a good turn. 

I'm sure you have plenty enough swing thoughts and feels right now!  However when you posted that, I wanted to share my experience in case it might help you (or someone else reading this thread at any point).

That might be a better swing thought than worrying about the heel. I took some backswings this morning waiting for the coffee to brew, and honestly, it's easier to think about than the heel. I guess it takes too long for my thoughts to reach my foot than the upper back leg . 

I appreciate you sharing your experience, I think it's going to be beneficial to me and will also help other people. 

[GolfSpy BOS]

20 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

It's been kind of a ho-hum well as far as the swing quest goes, I've been mostly working on getting my lead wrist straight all week. I'm probably driving my wife crazy because I'm constantly grabbing a club and just going back to lead arm parallel. I'm a firm believer in repetition, repetition, repetition, since I work assembling cars and it's my bread and butter. 

So, I took the new feelings I've been working on to the range tonight and had a pretty good range session. Most of my shots, felt like I got into position fairly well. I did have a few where I noticed a bowing of my wrist, but overall I saw improvement. I hit a lot more good shots than bad.

Now, I still need to work on alignment as I'm seeing a lot of shots going left. I just can't seem to get comfortable lining up correctly. But, I think I could've taken my swing to the course and played better than I have been.

The driver was decent, I was more scattered on contact than I have been recently. I was more toe biased than anything with a bit of inconsistency up and down with a couple that came off the heel. 

I think I might have figured out the root cause for my false turn. I have a tendency to get my weight on the outside of my right foot in the backswing instead of on the inside of my right heel. I'm going to have to get it on video to confirm, but some of the mirror work I've done is leading me to think this. 

 

 

 

I also let my weight get outside my back foot on my backswing if I’m getting lazy or over swinging.  Such a hard thing to stop.  Keep it up man!

[Shapotomous]

Keep working on it!  I also get the weight outside my back foot sometimes when I'm in a funk, especially in early season rounds.  One of my early season drills is to take 1/2 swings standing on two balls under the outside of my back foot.  Forces my weight to stay inside on backswing and propels the weight forward on the downswing.  1/2 swings only, it might do funny things to your back knee if you swing too hard like this.  

[sirchunksalot]

After not hitting a golf ball last week, I went to the range today. Now, I'm not saying I haven't swung one or done any work, just that I haven't hit anything in a minute. 

I've been working on wrist set and connection during the swing and after today I realize I still have a long way to go. Looking at the video, I'm still falling into old habits, false backswing, setting my wrists late, not getting my weight on my lead side, etc...

I was hitting my fairways better, I think the only thing I've seen improvement on is getting my flying right elbow calmed down and that made a difference in striking the ball. 

My driver wasn't too bad, I'm still coming OTT and while editing the video I was rewinding it from the top it looked like it needed to. Unfortunately, it was the right swing in the wrong order. 

I can't complain about strike, though. My first go with the driver was good and the second set of three swings was probably the best pattern I've ever seen. 

 

It's still a work in progress, I'm a little disappointed in my performance today but I know it's going to take a long time to rid myself of old habits. It'll happen, I've just got to continue to put in the work and I know better golf is in my future. 

[HeathS16]

26 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

After not hitting a golf ball last week, I went to the range today. Now, I'm not saying I haven't swung one or done any work, just that I haven't hit anything in a minute. 

I've been working on wrist set and connection during the swing and after today I realize I still have a long way to go. Looking at the video, I'm still falling into old habits, false backswing, setting my wrists late, not getting my weight on my lead side, etc...

 

I was hitting my fairways better, I think the only thing I've seen improvement on is getting my flying right elbow calmed down and that made a difference in striking the ball. 

 

My driver wasn't too bad, I'm still coming OTT and while editing the video I was rewinding it from the top it looked like it needed to. Unfortunately, it was the right swing in the wrong order. 

 

I can't complain about strike, though. My first go with the driver was good and the second set of three swings was probably the best pattern I've ever seen. 

 

It's still a work in progress, I'm a little disappointed in my performance today but I know it's going to take a long time to rid myself of old habits. It'll happen, I've just got to continue to put in the work and I know better golf is in my future. 

Keep at it! Progress can sometimes be slow but still measurable! Celebrate finding the middle of the face. Its a great thing to improve! 

[sirchunksalot]

3 minutes ago, HeathS16 said:

Keep at it! Progress can sometimes be slow but still measurable! Celebrate finding the middle of the face. Its a great thing to improve! 

You ain't kidding, looking down and seeing that pattern on the face was pretty awesome. 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

1 hour ago, sirchunksalot said:

After not hitting a golf ball last week, I went to the range today. Now, I'm not saying I haven't swung one or done any work, just that I haven't hit anything in a minute. 

I've been working on wrist set and connection during the swing and after today I realize I still have a long way to go. Looking at the video, I'm still falling into old habits, false backswing, setting my wrists late, not getting my weight on my lead side, etc...

 

I was hitting my fairways better, I think the only thing I've seen improvement on is getting my flying right elbow calmed down and that made a difference in striking the ball. 

 

My driver wasn't too bad, I'm still coming OTT and while editing the video I was rewinding it from the top it looked like it needed to. Unfortunately, it was the right swing in the wrong order. 

 

I can't complain about strike, though. My first go with the driver was good and the second set of three swings was probably the best pattern I've ever seen. 

 

It's still a work in progress, I'm a little disappointed in my performance today but I know it's going to take a long time to rid myself of old habits. It'll happen, I've just got to continue to put in the work and I know better golf is in my future. 

keep it up! i feel bad i gave up on my EF SZ and here you are grinding. One thing i noticed, you are very closed with your driver swing. Thats not a bad thing and should help you come from in to out, but just an observation.

[GolfSpy_APH]

Keep up the hard work. Swing changes are never easy and it is so easy to fall back into bad habits. The hard work will pay off in the long run and there will likely be more down days then ups, but keep building on those ups and things will continue to feel more natural. I am no swing expert so can't say/give any advice, but appreciate all the work you are doing and who knows maybe this Rapsodo review we are dong with the Swing Coach will be something that could be worth a shot with you to look into?

[Shankster]

Sir -

Ive started doing some slow motion drills.  I watched some video years ago about someone (a pro) can’t remember who, but they went through their entire motion in extra slow speed for months.

If you know what to look and feel for it really helps (having a pro would probably help a lot).  For me, I lose the club at the top which causes me to pull down on the handle… not good, as this steepens the swing, big time. I added the towel drill on the end of the club, and I am in a much better position on the downswing now.

Im taking like slower than slow motion.  If we can’t make our swings at ultra slow speed, there is no way we can make them at full speed is the thought behind it I suppose.

Just an idea.  And maybe someone on here mentioned it too, sorry if I didn’t give you credit where it was due.

[sirchunksalot]

1 hour ago, rbsiedsc said:

keep it up! i feel bad i gave up on my EF SZ and here you are grinding. One thing i noticed, you are very closed with your driver swing. Thats not a bad thing and should help you come from in to out, but just an observation.

Thanks man! Looking again, I see what you're saying about being closed at address. Alignment is something I still need to work on, I think I might have overdone it a bit there, but might have to remember to do it, as I was hitting it good.

1 hour ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Keep up the hard work. Swing changes are never easy and it is so easy to fall back into bad habits. The hard work will pay off in the long run and there will likely be more down days then ups, but keep building on those ups and things will continue to feel more natural. I am no swing expert so can't say/give any advice, but appreciate all the work you are doing and who knows maybe this Rapsodo review we are dong with the Swing Coach will be something that could be worth a shot with you to look into?

I'm really interested in the Rapsodo and hope the Android compatibility will be soon in the horizon. I'm watching the review closely to see how the swing coach works out for you testers. It's a great feature.

1 hour ago, Shankster said:

Sir -

Ive started doing some slow motion drills.  I watched some video years ago about someone (a pro) can’t remember who, but they went through their entire motion in extra slow speed for months.

If you know what to look and feel for it really helps (having a pro would probably help a lot).  For me, I lose the club at the top which causes me to pull down on the handle… not good, as this steepens the swing, big time. I added the towel drill on the end of the club, and I am in a much better position on the downswing now.

Im taking like slower than slow motion.  If we can’t make our swings at ultra slow speed, there is no way we can make them at full speed is the thought behind it I suppose.

Just an idea.  And maybe someone on here mentioned it too, sorry if I didn’t give you credit where it was due.

I think I heard once that Tiger does slow motion swings, might have been on the Sweet Spot podcast. I'll start working with them, as I think the work on the transition is going to be a beast for me. Plus, getting the wrists right is still a struggle and it should help get the feels for that. 

[Kenny B]

3 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

Thanks man! Looking again, I see what you're saying about being closed at address. Alignment is something I still need to work on, I think I might have overdone it a bit there, but might have to remember to do it, as I was hitting it good.

I'm really interested in the Rapsodo and hope the Android compatibility will be soon in the horizon. I'm watching the review closely to see how the swing coach works out for you testers. It's a great feature.

I think I heard once that Tiger does slow motion swings, might have been on the Sweet Spot podcast. I'll start working with them, as I think the work on the transition is going to be a beast for me. Plus, getting the wrists right is still a struggle and it should help get the feels for that. 

When you do slo-mo swings, from the top of the backswing focus on moving your hands down and away from the target maintaining the wrist cock, rather than moving hands out in front of you.  

Keep your back to the target as long as you can; when your hands get waist/thigh high, that's when you rotate your body and the club will release.  Club has to come from inside then.  It will feel very weird, because it's so different than what you are used to.  

Keep at it.  Change doesn't happen overnight.

I've been working every day I don't play with the PlaneMate and Monte's NTC drill.  My focus is getting more left tilt at the top.  I do it pretty well when I perform the drills, but not so much out on the course.  I'm getting better, but not where I want to be.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Just now, Kenny B said:

When you do slo-mo swings, from the top of the backswing focus on moving your hands down and away from the target maintaining the wrist cock, rather than moving hands out in front of you.  

Keep your back to the target as long as you can; when your hands get waist/thigh high, that's when you rotate your body and the club will release.  Club has to come from inside then.  It will feel very weird, because it's so different than what you are used to.  

Keep at it.  Change doesn't happen overnight.

I've been working every day I don't play with the PlaneMate and Monte's NTC drill.  My focus is getting more left tilt at the top.  I do it pretty well when I perform the drills, but not so much out on the course.  I'm getting better, but not where I want to be.

to add to kenny here, for me, when i go full speed, i dont try to cast, i try right elbow to belly button. does same thing

[Kenny B]

2 hours ago, rbsiedsc said:

to add to kenny here, for me, when i go full speed, i dont try to cast, i try right elbow to belly button. does same thing

Many ways to delay the club and keep from coming OTT.  Each of us relates to swing thoughts differently; just need to find what works.

[sirchunksalot]

23 hours ago, Kenny B said:

When you do slo-mo swings, from the top of the backswing focus on moving your hands down and away from the target maintaining the wrist cock, rather than moving hands out in front of you.  

Keep your back to the target as long as you can; when your hands get waist/thigh high, that's when you rotate your body and the club will release.  Club has to come from inside then.  It will feel very weird, because it's so different than what you are used to.  

Keep at it.  Change doesn't happen overnight.

I've been working every day I don't play with the PlaneMate and Monte's NTC drill.  My focus is getting more left tilt at the top.  I do it pretty well when I perform the drills, but not so much out on the course.  I'm getting better, but not where I want to be.

Thanks for the advice! Quick question, is this the and move that Monte talks about in Cast A?

I was hoping to get started on done slow motion swings today, but weather decided to change my plans so I'm watching through the NTC.

[Kenny B]

4 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

Thanks for the advice! Quick question, is this the and move that Monte talks about in Cast A?

I was hoping to get started on done slow motion swings today, but weather decided to change my plans so I'm watching through the NTC.

Mostly, Yes.  The Cast A moves the club away from the target and toward 8 o'clock.  Your first move down from the top is to move the club out in front of you toward 5 o'clock... OTT.  Weak move.  I know; I did it for years!!

Also, it's nearly impossible to Cast toward 8 o'clock when your backswing is pulled inside immediately, so you have to take the club away straight back or slightly towards 5 o'clock hinging your wrists by arms parallel. Then you are in position to Cast A.  The Cast A is a "feel" thing that you do in slo-mo. When swinging faster and adding rotation, the arms don't actually do that

I like to work on trying to hold the wrist hinge during the cast until my hands get to waist/thigh level; helps clubhead speed.  Trying to mimic Justin Rose's pre-swing drill...

 

[Kenny B]

Hope you don't have too much flooding from Ida.  Course might be a little wet for awhile.  

[sirchunksalot]

4 hours ago, Kenny B said:

Mostly, Yes.  The Cast A moves the club away from the target and toward 8 o'clock.  Your first move down from the top is to move the club out in front of you toward 5 o'clock... OTT.  Weak move.  I know; I did it for years!!

Also, it's nearly impossible to Cast toward 8 o'clock when your backswing is pulled inside immediately, so you have to take the club away straight back or slightly towards 5 o'clock hinging your wrists by arms parallel. Then you are in position to Cast A.  The Cast A is a "feel" thing that you do in slo-mo. When swinging faster and adding rotation, the arms don't actually do that

I like to work on trying to hold the wrist hinge during the cast until my hands get to waist/thigh level; helps clubhead speed.  Trying to mimic Justin Rose's pre-swing drill...

 

Thanks for the video! That'll be a good one for me to use to get my hands on the correct path on the way down.

As far as the rain goes, I was really happy this morning not to run into a lot of standing water on the way to work. It's been raining steady for a few hours, but not the downpour we had yesterday evening. 

[sirchunksalot]

It's been rainy the last couple of days so any swing work has been relegated to picking up a club in the house and going through motions mostly at the top and working on transition.

I was able to finally get outside today and work on both the Justin Rose drill and do some slow motion swings. 

@Kenny B, the Rose drill is great! The feeling of keeping my hands behind me on the downswing is really shocking to my system, but I can feel the benefit of not lunging at the ball with my shoulders. I even took a couple of full swings and could just feel a better approach into the ball. I'm keeping that one and will be working on it as often as I can. 

@Shankster, those slow motion drills are brutal! I can feel it in my (fl)abs right now. I'll say that I did better than I thought I would as I survived the takeaway, transition, and part of my downswing. It all fell apart after impact and the turning just abruptly stopped. My body just said "nope, I ain't doing that". I'm going to keep that one up, too. I think you brought up a good point by saying that if you can't do it in slow motion then it's not going to happen at speed. 

 

[sirchunksalot]

I got up to play a round with @Tom the Golf Nut today and he set me up with the PGA pro at his course, Bob Ward. Bob was great, we started out talking about my game and questioned me on what I was looking to improve in my game. 

I explained to him that I have a problem with shifting to my lead side causing lots of chunks with my irons and topping fairway woods. 

He watched me swing for a while and told me it wasn't as bad as I was thinking and set me up with a couple of drills. 

We started out with me trying to hit a ball and lift my right foot on the follow through. Well, I'll just say my coordination isn't that great. 

The next drill Bob wanted me to do was to feel like I was pulling the club through with my left shoulder and not pushing the club with my right arm. That was it, I started hitting better shots than I had all round. He also wanted me to get the shaft pointing up to the sky a bit more and the combination was money. 

We moved on to fairway woods where he marveled at my ability to consistently up the ball. A little change in set-up position and getting the shaft of the club aligned with my left arm worked wonders. 

Driver was all about shoulder tilt at address mixed with the other drills and I was hitting nice draws.

Tom then took me to the chipping green and had me working on using my set gap wedge and 52 on greenside chips. He showed me the technique he uses and offered advice on landing spot. I had plenty of good opportunities at thinking most of them with one putt. 

We worked on both uphill and downhill chips, where Tom chipped one closer than any I'd hit. I then proceeded to hit one that had a chance to go in, but hit his ball and sunk it. 

I'll be working on this in the coming weeks and seeing how it'll work out. Right now I'm feeling more confident than I have in a long time. 

 

[Kenny B]

2 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

I got up to play a round with @Tom the Golf Nut today and he set me up with the PGA pro at his course, Bob Ward. Bob was great, we started out talking about my game and questioned me on what I was looking to improve in my game. 

I explained to him that I have a problem with shifting to my lead side causing lots of chunks with my irons and topping fairway woods. 

He watched me swing for a while and told me it wasn't as bad as I was thinking and set me up with a couple of drills. 

We started out with me trying to hit a ball and lift my right foot on the follow through. Well, I'll just say my coordination isn't that great. 

The next drill Bob wanted me to do was to feel like I was pulling the club through with my left shoulder and not pushing the club with my right arm. That was it, I started hitting better shots than I had all round. He also wanted me to get the shaft pointing up to the sky a bit more and the combination was money. 

We moved on to fairway woods where he marveled at my ability to consistently up the ball. A little change in set-up position and getting the shaft of the club aligned with my left arm worked wonders. 

Driver was all about shoulder tilt at address mixed with the other drills and I was hitting nice draws.

Tom then took me to the chipping green and had me working on using my set gap wedge and 52 on greenside chips. He showed me the technique he uses and offered advice on landing spot. I had plenty of good opportunities at thinking most of them with one putt. 

We worked on both uphill and downhill chips, where Tom chipped one closer than any I'd hit. I then proceeded to hit one that had a chance to go in, but hit his ball and sunk it. 

I'll be working on this in the coming weeks and seeing how it'll work out. Right now I'm feeling more confident than I have in a long time. 

 

Sounds like you should move to E. Tennessee and join a private club!!  

[Shapotomous]

17 hours ago, Kenny B said:

Sounds like you should move to E. Tennessee and join a private club!!  

Tom's got an couch right next to a simulator and beer fridge.....If he doesn't call dibs on it I think I will!!!

[sirchunksalot]

1 minute ago, Shapotomous said:

Tom's got an couch right next to a simulator and beer fridge.....If he doesn't call dibs on it I think I will!!!

His downstairs setup is pretty sweet with the simulator, fridge, and a pretty healthy selection of clubs. He pretty much inspired me what to look for in my next house. I need room for a golfers paradise. 

[Kenny B]

2 hours ago, Shapotomous said:

Tom's got an couch right next to a simulator and beer fridge.....If he doesn't call dibs on it I think I will!!!

A good friend of mine lives just a few miles from Tom.  Maybe I should move there!!

[sirchunksalot]

1 minute ago, Kenny B said:

A good friend of mine lives just a few miles from Tom.  Maybe I should move there!!

It's a beautiful area and has some amazing golf courses.