Launch Monitor Session = Negative Impact On Driver Swing

[GreenSlayer6]

Recently, I had an opportunity to get a couple hours at a Full Swing LM bay for dirt cheap.  Now, I've used LM's before to help gauge gapping with new irons or ball speed with new woods and all that stuff but I never really dove into the nitty gritty details of all the info that they provide as I'm very much a feel player.  This time, for whatever reason, I decided to pay closer attention to swing path and boy has it rocked my world. 

My driving has been my rock for a long time.  I've always been consistent and typically hit 60 - 70% fairways in a round.  For the last 3 - 4 years I've been hitting a high spinny cut and I know I'm sacrificing yards for consistency.  As with all golfers, consistency wasn't good enough and I wanted more.  I decided to try and straighten my ball flight out to gain that distance back and I figured out how to do that.  I started hitting a high straight ball with maybe a 5 yard draw for the past year or so, never really giving much thought at all to my swing path or anything.  I had one swing thought, take the club back straighter if not a little outside on the takeaway, as I had a tendency to go too inside and get stuck at times.   My normal shot shape with everything but my driver has always been a draw, with an occasional straight push about 15 - 20 yards right of target.  

Fast forward to two weeks ago when I'm in the bay and I notice that my swing path with my wedges and irons was IO 10*, which makes the previously mentioned push make since with the irons.  Then I bust out old reliable, the first 3 or 4 drives were my normal flight I've grown accustomed to and I only looked at ball speed, spin and carry for those shots.  After that next shot is when I made the mistake that I'm suffering from now, I looked at swing path and club face angle and pretty much 80% of my drives since then has been a snap hook from hell.  

I have this conscience thought that "I come from the inside too much with my driver, let's fix this" before my tee shots and if they had a shot tracer on this baby, it'd look like a Nike Swoosh.  I've tried going back to my normal swing thought of taken it back straighter, but ultimately the snappy turtle returns.  The last 2 rounds since that LM session, I've hit driver 16 times and 13 of them ended up OB left or in the woods.  

I've been paralyzed by LM data and it's been hugely detrimental to my game.  I know that ultimately, the issue is upstairs and that's the first place to start but I'm wondering if anyone else has this issue before and how they overcame that.  

Open to all suggestions/drills/whatever to help get rid of the snappy turtles. 

Thanks for taking the time to answer!

 

[GolfSpy_APH]

17 minutes ago, GreenSlayer6 said:

Recently, I had an opportunity to get a couple hours at a Full Swing LM bay for dirt cheap.  Now, I've used LM's before to help gauge gapping with new irons or ball speed with new woods and all that stuff but I never really dove into the nitty gritty details of all the info that they provide as I'm very much a feel player.  This time, for whatever reason, I decided to pay closer attention to swing path and boy has it rocked my world. 

My driving has been my rock for a long time.  I've always been consistent and typically hit 60 - 70% fairways in a round.  For the last 3 - 4 years I've been hitting a high spinny cut and I know I'm sacrificing yards for consistency.  As with all golfers, consistency wasn't good enough and I wanted more.  I decided to try and straighten my ball flight out to gain that distance back and I figured out how to do that.  I started hitting a high straight ball with maybe a 5 yard draw for the past year or so, never really giving much thought at all to my swing path or anything.  I had one swing thought, take the club back straighter if not a little outside on the takeaway, as I had a tendency to go too inside and get stuck at times.   My normal shot shape with everything but my driver has always been a draw, with an occasional straight push about 15 - 20 yards right of target.  

Fast forward to two weeks ago when I'm in the bay and I notice that my swing path with my wedges and irons was IO 10*, which makes the previously mentioned push make since with the irons.  Then I bust out old reliable, the first 3 or 4 drives were my normal flight I've grown accustomed to and I only looked at ball speed, spin and carry for those shots.  After that next shot is when I made the mistake that I'm suffering from now, I looked at swing path and club face angle and pretty much 80% of my drives since then has been a snap hook from hell.  

I have this conscience thought that "I come from the inside too much with my driver, let's fix this" before my tee shots and if they had a shot tracer on this baby, it'd look like a Nike Swoosh.  I've tried going back to my normal swing thought of taken it back straighter, but ultimately the snappy turtle returns.  The last 2 rounds since that LM session, I've hit driver 16 times and 13 of them ended up OB left or in the woods.  

I've been paralyzed by LM data and it's been hugely detrimental to my game.  I know that ultimately, the issue is upstairs and that's the first place to start but I'm wondering if anyone else has this issue before and how they overcame that.  

Open to all suggestions/drills/whatever to help get rid of the snappy turtles. 

Thanks for taking the time to answer!

 

I haven't really come across this. I more so see different things on course than I do on LM and due to this I usually take all those numbers with a grain of salt. I trust my on course swing and what I see there.

[cnosil]

57 minutes ago, GreenSlayer6 said:

  

Open to all suggestions/drills/whatever to help get rid of the snappy turtles. 

 

 

WHat you have done is essentially called chasing numbers and not so,etching you should do.   Best course of action is to get to the range and get you swing worked out and if you can’t do it yourself take a lesson.

Edited June 25 by cnosil

[JAYER38]

1 hour ago, cnosil said:

WHat you have done is essentially called chasing numbers and not so,etching you should do.   Best course of action is to get to the range and get you swing worked out and if you can’t do it yourself take a lesson.

As stated right here... You basically got in your own head with numbers and the best way to fix this is just grind it out no matter how painful it is. 

I've personally been down this road a few times where LM data/sim flight and swings don't corollate to what I'm seeing on the course. Your natural habits should come back fairly easy, you need need to find the 1 thing to trigger it that brings all those feels back to you.

[Jean D]

Ugh- take 2... 

LM's are a tool- but aren't the be-all and end-all of your golf swing.  I love data and am a data guy by trade, but while I find data useful in golf, I have to go out to the range and hit balls and SEE what the ball is doing. Just go out, hit some balls and your natural swing will come through!!!

Edited June 25 by Jean D

[mpatrickriley]

As one who loves—and lives and dies by—numbers in golf, I feel your pain.

I agree with your assessment though: this does seem mental. The knowledge that you've gained about the measured data of your swing has messed with your on course execution.

If you can't shake it, I second @cnosil's suggestion of getting coaching help.

But maybe something that could help: an insight that has really helped me, from coach Adam Young (I first read it in his book, The Practice Manual). There, he writes about five places that you can set your attention during your swing:

• Internal: you're thinking about how some part of your body needs to move.
• Near external: you're thinking about something outside your body, but in your immediate proximity. Examples: make contact with the ground after the ball, or have the ball pass over a nearby intermediate target.
• Far external: you're thinking chiefly about your target, or something like it (perhaps the ball flight you're trying to generate or the landing spot for a chip).
• Neutral: you're thinking about something not directly related to golf, like a song, or counting backwards.
• "The Zone"

For most people, thinking about LM numbers can press them hard into internal focus on the golf course. And again, for most people, internal focus does not result in their best performance.

My suggestion would be to consciously seek to employ an external focus while you're on the course, where your mind is preoccupied with the shot rather than the swing. If that isn't working, you may well want to play with neutral focus, thinking about something else entirely during your swing, so that your more "natural" swing instinct becomes more active.

[ZackS]

I would say it depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Sounds like you are happy with what you have now and want to get back to that and all the above mentioned is what you would need to do. If you are wanting to work on your swing then you can get drills to work on the path and use the LM for follow up on your practice to verify path is getting better. 

[chisag]

... I'm gonna compare this to another sport. Playing Qb you can do drills where you throw a football to a target, usually a circle with a net. You can work on your form and accuracy. But playing QB when it counts is fundamentally different. First the target is almost always moving. You are also under a time pressure with a good internal clock sounding the alarm at 2.5 seconds. You may be moving or running while throwing. And if it is 3rd down or under 2 minutes there can be intense pressure both internally and externally. 

... I find golf similar. Hitting balls with a LM is nothing like playing golf. First and foremost none of the shots count and you intrinsically know that. When you take a poor swing or hit a bad shot, you just tee up another ball. On the tee at the course, there are consequences for a bad swing or bad shot, as well as hazards to avoid and that creates both mental and physical pressure. You get one shot only and other than those that play a mulligan, you have to accept those results good or bad.

... I think a LM can put you in the ball park for equipment that fits your swing, but even then you may find different results on the course. Same for your swing, you may and in most cases will find you swing differently on the course. Better golfer accept their flaws and play with the swing they have on any given day. They may put in some work at the range to fix a temporary flaw but they don't spend time on a LM as others have said "chasing numbers". My advice is just play more golf and learn to play the swing you have that day. 

Edited June 25 by chisag

[GreenSlayer6]

Thanks for the insight, I think it comes down to just essentially forgetting that LM session ever happened in the first place.  

Im basically suffering from paralysis by analysis, just need to let the core muscle memory regain control.  

I'm going to take a few bits and pieces from everyone’s suggestions and see what works out best for me.  Luckily the Mrs. Gave me the green light to play any day this week on vacation so I might get back to the basics and just try to focus on what got me consistent results over the last few years.  
 

Will report back soon.  Thanks again for taking the time to respond.  

[NM01]

The club straight back and the club out are not great concepts. The club works on an arc and many who try the club out actually end up pushing the hands out and getting disconnected in the swing. 

[cksurfdude]

12 hours ago, GreenSlayer6 said:

.. get back to the basics and just try to focus on what got me consistent results over the last few years.  

Sounds like the right idea - good luck, and .. enjoy the vacay and the game!!

[MNUte]

13 hours ago, GreenSlayer6 said:

Thanks for the insight, I think it comes down to just essentially forgetting that LM session ever happened in the first place.  

Im basically suffering from paralysis by analysis, just need to let the core muscle memory regain control.  

I'm going to take a few bits and pieces from everyone’s suggestions and see what works out best for me.  Luckily the Mrs. Gave me the green light to play any day this week on vacation so I might get back to the basics and just try to focus on what got me consistent results over the last few years.  
 

Will report back soon.  Thanks again for taking the time to respond.  

Too many mind.