My Swing (BC-to-MI)

[iacas]

  On 8/14/2019 at 8:17 PM, BC-to-MI said:

To work on that at the range, could that be something as simple as making swings with a towel/glove/headcover under my left arm to maintain the feeling of keeping it closer to my chest through the downswing?

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No. That's generally a bad way to go about that one.

Put a stick in the ground outside the target line and behind the ball, angled over your right shoulder. Like the Hogan pane of glass. Then keep your left arm under that.

I think someone has a picture somewhere.

[BC-to-MI]

  On 8/14/2019 at 8:19 PM, iacas said:

No. That's generally a bad way to go about that one.

Put a stick in the ground outside the target line and behind the ball, angled over your right shoulder. Like the Hogan pane of glass. Then keep your left arm under that.

I think someone has a picture somewhere.

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Glad I asked. So, like this?

[iacas]

Yep. A bit closer to the ball target line, and a bit lower, too. But yeah, like that.

[BC-to-MI]

  On 8/14/2019 at 8:39 PM, iacas said:

Yep. A bit closer to the ball target line, and a bit lower, too. But yeah, like that.

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Awesome. Thanks for the input. I will give it a run next time I can get out to the range.

[Vikthuuu]

hmm i think you should try not to lift the left hell in the backswing 🙂

[BC-to-MI]

Just need to get the driver on track and I think I could really be getting somewhere. I've gotten past the couple week period there where it felt I couldn't hit a good iron shot to save my life, and now I have hit them extremely well the last couple times out. Standing closer to the ball really seems to have helped eliminate the feeling that I need to throw my hands out after the ball, making it much easier to keep my arms closer to my body in the downswing and eliminate most of the horrible sliced irons (though I'm still good for my one obligatory hosel rocket every nine holes). Also came across this thread and fixed my grip, which was the exact one that creates the wear pattern shown on the glove in the comments.

Been hitting a slight push at times with the grip on my wedges and short irons, but the considerably straighter and more consistent ball flight is well worth the trade off. Hoping to get to the range tomorrow to work on the drill suggested above.

[BC-to-MI]

Got out to the range today to give the drill suggested earlier a try. @iacas , can you confirm if I am doing this properly?

I made a bunch of swings with the alignment stick there at about 70-80% speed to get the feeling down without being concerned about the outcome of the swing. At the end of the range session, I made some normal swings and had some great results with my irons. I was hitting high baby draws right on target and had basically none of the thin/fat strikes I often struggle with.

With the driver, however, I still struggled, even at a much lower speed, to get the hang of the swing feel. The regular swings I took at the end generally resulted in playable shots, they were just incredibly inconsistent ball flight (pulls, fades, high, low). Work in progress.

 

[iacas]

  On 8/22/2019 at 12:51 AM, BC-to-MI said:

Got out to the range today to give the drill suggested earlier a try. @iacas , can you confirm if I am doing this properly?

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No…?

The shaft has to go over your shoulder, to keep the left arm in, not right outside the ball or else you'll just want to toe it like you did in the one video.

 

 

[BC-to-MI]

  On 8/22/2019 at 1:37 AM, iacas said:

The shaft has to go over your shoulder, to keep the left arm in, not right outside the ball or else you'll just want to toe it like you did in the one video.

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Ok, I had it about 4 inches behind the ball, so I will move it back to be in line with my shoulder. Am I also going to want to find a way to make the alignment stick longer, as well?

[iacas]

  On 8/22/2019 at 12:06 PM, BC-to-MI said:

Ok, I had it about 4 inches behind the ball, so I will move it back to be in line with my shoulder. Am I also going to want to find a way to make the alignment stick longer, as well?

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Yes, that's the whole point - so that it changes the way your left arm works.

[BC-to-MI]

  On 8/22/2019 at 1:18 PM, iacas said:

Yes, that's the whole point - so that it changes the way your left arm works.

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Sounds good. I'll go scrounge up some tape and an old shaft or something like that.

[BC-to-MI]

Played a couple rounds this weekend and really tried to keep the swing thought of the left arm staying in, especially with the driver. For the most part, it went really well. Driver was really good at times, pretty good most of the time, and I believe I only hit one driver OB in 27 holes. Ended up shooting a 41 (37.1/142) and an 86 (73.2/143) despite terrible short game and putting relative to how I usually play, so it's clear how much the long game impacts my scores.

[BC-to-MI]

Hopefully I did a better job of setting this drill up the second time around. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that my buddy was standing a bit off to the side when he took the videos until too late, so it isn't the best angle for what I'm trying to see here.

 

 

[iacas]

  On 8/29/2019 at 7:33 PM, BC-to-MI said:

Hopefully I did a better job of setting this drill up the second time around. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that my buddy was standing a bit off to the side when he took the videos until too late, so it isn't the best angle for what I'm trying to see here.

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It could still be a lot closer to your shoulder. Like, six to ten inches lower?

At any rate… those look like some thick impacts. Where's the FO video? At least the left arm is in more throughout the downswing.

[BC-to-MI]

  On 8/30/2019 at 1:29 AM, iacas said:

It could still be a lot closer to your shoulder. Like, six to ten inches lower?

At any rate… those look like some thick impacts. Where's the FO video? At least the left arm is in more throughout the downswing.

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I'll make sure to get both videos next time. I just ran out over lunch last week, so I only grabbed a few videos, but yes, I was hitting a decent amount of balls fat here.

[BC-to-MI]

Grad school starting up again means I haven't been able to get out much in the last few weeks, and when I have, I spend the first few holes trying to get my feel back. Fortunately, my irons have felt much better the last couple times out after a stretch of just miserable golf for a couple weeks. Unfortunately, that has come at the same time as my driver completely abandoning me. Haven't had a ton of issue keeping it in play, but my home course loves to line the fairways with trees, and I have been spending most of my holes punching out. Hopefully I can correct that down the stretch of golf season here.

 

[BC-to-MI]

Posted this in the goal thread, but thought I would copy it here, as well, so that I can easily reference it and be held accountable.

Goals:

1. Keep a single-digit handicap. I got down to a 9.1 last year (8.9 now with the handicap system change) from an 18.4 at the beginning of the year, but a stretch during the summer where I played or went to the range pretty much daily is bringing that down. I'm probably between a 9-12 or somewhere in there, so I want to improve to the point where I can stay in the single digits.
2. Break 80 over 18 holes and break par on 9 holes. I've shot an 81 for a full round and even par on 9 holes, but never broken either benchmark.
3. Win at least one half of our men's league. We break the league into two seasons and then the winners face off, so I want to win one of the seasons to have a chance to play for the overall title.
4. Fix my attitude on the course. I am a super perfectionist and I get way too upset over bad shots, which often leads to another bad shot. I also know it can be frustrating to play with people who are overly negative, so I want to improve my on-course demeanor.

How:

1. Get lessons for the first time. I have never taken lessons, so I plan on starting that as the Michigan golf season gets closer. I hope to get one every month or two, depending on finances/time.
2. Practice better. I have a tendency to just bang balls at the range, so I need to focus my time better and remember to take video. The lessons will hopefully give some guidance on what to practice, as should being more diligent in posting video to my swing thread here.
3. Eliminate the blow up holes. Hopefully the lessons will help with this, too, as a lot of my big numbers come from driving the ball into terrible positions/OB, but I also have a tendency to play the hero shot or not focus enough when I am taking my medicine, which leads to more issues.
4. Eliminate the three putts. I am pretty good at reading the break of greens, but I am dreadful at speed control. I leave a huge number of putts short, and often put myself in situations where I leave myself a 5-10 footer after my first putt.
5. Track my stats. I plan on tracking my FIR, GIR, and stuff like that so that I have a better idea of where I need to improve. I keep track during the round, but never end up doing anything with the data afterward.
6. Read Lowest Score Wins. I got the book for Christmas, so I need to carve out some time to dig in.

[BC-to-MI]

Finally got back out to the range a couple times this week for the first time since last fall. Ball striking has been horrible in the couple Par 3 course rounds I have played, but I didn't expect much coming out such a long layoff. Really struggling with controlling the club face right now -- lots of really bad pushes with the occasional overcorrection into a dead pull. Hopefully driving ranges starting to open up again in Michigan will help with getting my consistency back. (Will try to get face on video as well next time, but a crowded range and trying to be mindful of social distancing didn't allow that here)

 

Edited May 14, 2020 by BC-to-MI