Little Talent, Suspect Professional (rant)

**MikeLowry5** · August 1, 2009

Mini rant here.....
I've been play for a year no and I suck. after making a95on Monday I thought the corner was turned. I played yesterday and it's hook city. Lost over 24 balls in 9 holes.

Here is the part that posses me off the worst. I have been taking lessons since may and the guy has consistently tried to bandage my swing. First it was the "hockey swing" now a death grip top hand that completely closes the face and locks out any hand action at contact.

What man who claims to be a Class A professional starts off teachin an athletic 26 year old who's never played like this? He's never even given me any drills to work on.

BTW I just broke my damn 6iron from hitting it off the toe so much... Really ready to say •••• it

**Knockglock** · August 1, 2009

Mini rant here.....

I would take it down a couple notches. Work on taking half swings at significantly slower speeds then normal, then slowly slowly ratchet it up to full swing at normal speed

**CG031** · August 1, 2009

First of all, find a new instructor right away. Tell him you want to work on the fundamentals of the golf swing the most, including the set up.

If you have good fundamentals, there is no way you can lose 24 golf balls on 9 holes - it's that simple.

Second of all, just calm down. It's just a game and it's a tough one at that. We all have our bad days, whether it be shooting a 120 or it's a 75 for some people, it's still a 'bad' day for them...so it happens dude. Don't quit over it.

**prutkows** · August 1, 2009

First of all, find a new instructor right away. Tell him you want to work on the fundamentals of the golf swing the most, including the set up.

Exactly, find a new instructor and work on the fundamentals of the game - grip, swing plane, tempo, stuff like that. Secondly, it's very true that every player has a bad day, even the pro's. Tiger missed the cut at a major this year, John daly just shot an 81.. an 81 (maybe good for you and me, but for a pro? ha!)

**kafka01** · August 1, 2009

I had/have many problems with my swing over the last 3 years, Over the top, Reverse C Pivots, Dipping, Lateral sway - my pro never really told me to "change my swing" all the time. We ever only worked on very tiny things to get these things corrected step for step and stay with my natural movement (which was okay despite the problems).

And looking backwards, he might have been right. Even after all this time and hitting so many balls i´m suprised that these little things pop up all of a sudden again, and i have to fight them. So i guess, just going ahead and trying to change a swing completly doesnt really work at all. You have to work with what you got and refine it over time.

Developing and ingraining a proper swing is a very natural process and doesnt happen overnight and the older you start the game, the harder it is to do.

So your pro doesnt give you any drills - did he at least sent you off practicing short game stuff like chipping/pitching, which basically builds a swing from ground up. If not, go look for somebody who does.

BTW - 24 on 9 - that has to be a new record, i never even came close to that, but then, i always had a slice, and they are shorter and easier to find than hooks :)

**alf174** · August 1, 2009

Exactly, find a new instructor and work on the fundamentals of the game - grip, swing plane, tempo, stuff like that.

Daly shot an 81? I think he'll be glad to hear that, PGA recorded an 88!

But I agree, time for an instructor.

**kafka01** · August 1, 2009

BTW you might have a look here - http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27420 - you can have sucess with an "unconventional" swing - it just have to work for you.

**dag2000** · August 2, 2009

...now a death grip top hand that completely closes the face and locks out any hand action at contact.

A couple things caught my eye here.

First, a proper golf grip doesn't feel natural to a beginning golfer. Most beginners I've seen tend to take the right hand and turn it so that the thumb is on the right side of the the grip (as you look down at the club), so it feels like you have some decent power and control over the club exerted through the thumb. Without seeing a picture of your grip, I can't tell one way or the other, but when I took my first lessons and was given a correct grip, it felt very uncomfortable. The fact that you're young and athletic can actually work against you in some respects. You can get away with improper technique by virtue of good hand-eye coordination. With respect to feeling like you're being locked out of hand action at impact, if you mean by that that you cannot consciously manipulate the clubface at impact with your hands , I don't know if that's a bad thing. If your hands, arms, and shoulders are reasonably relaxed, by the time the club reaches the ball, you shouldn't need any hand action. If you can, post a picture of your grip. But the most important thing is to relax and learn patience. It's a lifelong game and it is indeed difficult. And the mental game is so important. Patience is rewarded in golf, over and over and over.

**microcrayfish** · August 2, 2009

If your professional is one of those "band-aid" types that just try and fix your new ball flight that week you should find a new one. As others have said, a good teacher will work towards giving you solid fundamentals and making sure your swing is on plane.

You might want to try a lesson package next time because if a pro thinks you're only going to come along once or twice they're probably just going to give you a quick fix rather than work with you towards a solid swing.

**MikeLowry5** · August 2, 2009

Here is the grip he has me working on now. It completely closes the club face and force the hands to be completely in front of the ball at address. This was to get rid of a push/open club face

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37082881@N02/3779932084/

How I believe the club is supposed to be gripped and how I gripped it before this nonsense.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37082881@N02/3779913942/

**CG031** · August 2, 2009

If I were instructing you (and believe me, I'm far from being a golf swing guru) I would instruct you to take the grip with the 2nd picture, but move the top hand (YOU'RE RIGHT HAND) to OUR (viewer of picture) to the RIGHT. This would produce a stronger grip, which should help with the slice/open club face.

Right now, it appears that you have the grip on the RIGHT in this diagram. You should have it like the one on the left to get rid of the slice, or at least tame it.

**MikeLowry5** · August 2, 2009

The grip on the left is the grip he has me using now which is producing low spinning hooks that are not going far at all and also making me hit EVERYTHING off the toe.

I went back to the neutral grip today at the range and was hitting the ball straighter but sill was pulling the ball some.

**CG031** · August 2, 2009

The grip on the left is the grip he has me using now which is producing low spinning hooks that are not going far at all and also making me hit EVERYTHING off the toe.

Not really. You look like, in that first picture, that your left hand is way underneath the club...What I am suggesting is your left hand like it is in the 2nd photo, but the right hand like the (left) picture in the diagram.

**BirdIsTheWord** · August 2, 2009

My first instructor was a major coke-head...gone. I outdrove my second instructor by about 40-50 yrds. He helped with fundamentals but did not accentuate my strong points, he seemed to focus only on the minimally negative. He didn't know how to harness power, as he had none...gone. I have since had random lessons with many instructors (one top 100) and have not yet found anyone that compares to my most influential teacher, me. I know myself better than anyone else possibly can. I do from time to time have professionals check my fundamentals without robbing any natural ability. However, there are parameters of fundamentals. Swings are like snowflakes, no two are Exactly alike. For every piece of advice, you will hear the exact opposite somewhere else. It all comes back to YOU. Your traits/tendancies. You need to find someone who will highlight your strengths and expose your weaknesses, sun tzu style. Not a cookie-cutter paycheck...good luck. P.S.--Just hang around the sand trap and ask questions, don't you know we are all pros here? Lololol....

fairwayfader · August 2, 2009

You're kidding me right? You go out there and lose 24 balls in 9 holes and you think that the instructor is at fault for giving you instruction on what you have never done before? Nonsense. Obviously if you shot a 95, you're doing something wrong. The whole point of an instructor is to show you NEW ideas. FYI-doing the same thing over and over won't help you lose less that 20 balls a round, or half a round for that matter.

**gibbous** · August 2, 2009

Not really. You look like, in that first picture, that your left hand is way underneath the club...What I am suggesting is your left hand like it is in the 2nd photo, but the right hand like the (left) picture in the diagram.

I agree w/ this, the grip of the top hand in the 2nd picture should be stronger. Also, if the 2nd picture shows how you normally hold the shaft at address, I'd suggest setting up with your right wrist a little flatter and the shaft leaning toward the target more. In the first picture the shaft forms a pretty straight line with your right arm which is good, but I don't think this is something that your grip should force you to do.

If you've only been playing for a year, it's going to take some time before you can really tell what makes one swing different from another, and what tends to change from day to day to create different results. An instructor should be able to do this as well after a few sessions, but even if they were to tell you exactly what you needed to do differently actually being able to execute it regularly will be a challenge for a new player. If you don't think the instructor's teaching methods suit the way you learn best then by all means get a new one, but if your game is as bad as you make it out to be it's still very possible that you'll remain frustrated for a while no matter who is instructing you.

**gibbous** · August 2, 2009

but if your game is as bad as you make it out to be it's still very possible that you'll remain frustrated for a while no matter who is instructing you.

I hope that didn't come off as harsh by the way, and I certainly don't mean to say that you're some kind of doomed student. One ugly round after a questionable tip means basically nothing as long as you don't let the frustration detract from your desire to improve, and hopefully the number of balls lost not overly influence your enjoyment of the round or the game.

**MikeLowry5** · August 2, 2009

You're kidding me right? You go out there and lose 24 balls in 9 holes and you think that the instructor is at fault for giving you instruction on what you have never done before? Nonsense. Obviously if you shot a 95, you're doing something wrong. The whole point of an instructor is to show you NEW ideas. FYI-doing the same thing over and over won't help you lose less that 20 balls a round, or half a round for that matter.

No I lost the balls, not blaming him for that.

I was expressing my frustrations in someone who has up till this point been trying to put band-aids on a swing of someone who is new to the game. We have never talked about swing plane, take away, etc. One time we talked about releasing the club and when that didn't go the way he wanted to that day he changed my grip to the "death grip" picture.

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Little Talent, Suspect Professional (rant)

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