My Swing (Lugowskins)

[Lugowskins]

Haven't posted an update in a while this is just a single swing, my computer with my video editing software is having issues. I let my dog outside and went to the garage took about 5 swings and this was the best one. Things have certainly come around for me lately just the past 2 weeks I shot par over 9 holes for the first time (also shot 1 over) and broke 80 for the first time. I made a grip change (strengthened a lot) and all of a sudden my irons have been lights out (by my standards) distance has jumped up considerably and I have been far more consistent with my ball striking. I made the same grip change with my driver and it has been a tougher adjustment. I have been hitting some hard pulls (still coming too far out to in occasionally) but the added distance has been there as well. Easily another 15+ yards, when I hit the right swing plane I've been over 300 yards of carry which is honestly too long for a lot of the holes on my home course. Nobody ever believes distance stories on here but yesterday warming up for our round I hit one well past a 315 yard par 4 and during our round I carried one to the back of the green on a 318 yard par 4 that bounced roughly 20 yards deep. This swing was with a 4 iron i haven't had it in the bag at all this year but I hit it all the time in my garage and I think I should ditch my hybrid for it. My 5 iron has been carrying about 205 if my 4 iron can be a consistent 220 club I might just end up hitting that off the tee majority of the time.  

 

 

[Lugowskins]

Latest swing vid. I noticed I was too far on my toes got my weight more on my heels and seemed to help my balance a bit but that still is an issue. I need to try to swing at like 80% and stay smooth and balanced but it's really hard to not just go after it especially when I'm on the course.

 

 

 

[Lugowskins]

So this isn't the best video to analyze but I went to Carls Golf Land with a buddy and was feeling good (this was after walking 27 holes and at the end of a large bucket of balls) he took a video without me knowing I believe this is either a 6 or 7 iron swing. There is still a lot of sway in it, my head is staying moderately steady and I like the sinking of my hips I feel like that is helping generate power but I'm not sure how to keep that move while stopping the sway and simplifying everything else to be more consistent. I notice my back foot is picking up a bit I think I'll work on keeping that planted hard and that should help with the sway but I really dont want to lose the drop and drive motion am I wrong in thinking that? I've also developed a large fade (at times) I have what I think is a very strong grip and I have worked hard to negate my out to in swing but the better my swing plane gets the more I am fading the ball. I assume it is a club face issue but I cant imagine strengthening my grip anymore than it already is so it's like is this just my shot shape now or is it something I can correct?

 

[ncates00]

On 7/23/2020 at 10:46 PM, Lugowskins said:

Things have certainly come around for me lately just the past 2 weeks I shot par over 9 holes for the first time (also shot 1 over) and broke 80 for the first time.

Bro, awesome work. 

[Lugowskins]

6 hours ago, ncates00 said:

Bro, awesome work. 

Thank you!

[Lugowskins]

The season is essentially over. Tomorrow is going to be nice so will most likely be the last gameable day until spring so figure I'll put some of my stats up from the year accompanying the swing video. These are more for me and keeping a record to look back on. I had super high expectations this year and intentionally overshot my statistical goals. Even with that I came up woefully short of what I thought I would do. I have managed to get my handicap under 10 which was my main goal for the year so I can't be too upset but now I have a baseline for what I should be looking at for next years statistical goals.

My average score was 82.8 which I think is pretty good I would have expected much worse but I didn't have too many blow up rounds.

I averaged 31.2 putts per round which is higher than I would have liked, I set my goal at 30. My GIR putts per hole were 1.84 non GIR 1.63. 

My GIR% was an abysmal 30.3% I want to get that well over 40% next year. It is also telling where my issues are that i only hit 24.5% of my par 3s, 30.9% of par 4s, and 47.1% of my par 5s.

I only hit 43.5% of fairways although that got much better the second half of the year when I realized there is no need for driver on a lot of holes. My goal is over 50% next year. Very telling that when I hit the fairway I had 47.7% GIR while when I missed I only hit the green 17.9% of the time.

My par save percentage was 40% which I don't really know how good that is but I felt like that was a strong suit. 

My longest streak of par or better was 9 holes, longest streak of fairways hit was 5, longest streak of GIR was 5, longest double bogie free streak was 35 holes, longest no 3 putt streak was 116 holes, my most par save putts in a row was 5, and my lowest score for the year was a 76. 

I had 7 rounds in the 70s and 4 rounds in the 90s.

Stats aside I know the improvements I've made this year were pretty drastic. My ball striking, course management, distance/ distance control, short game all improved dramatically. This is just the beginning my goal next year is to get under 5, time to get to work. 

 

 

[Lugowskins]

Been working hard last couple months (a lot because I love doing it a little because there is literally just nothing else to do). I have been working on my balance no more rolling over my back foot, my swing plane which had become too under plane believe it or not, I got a launch monitor and have been working on dialing in wedge distance which I had never done before and the confidence it's instilled on approach shots is incredible, still trying to find my wood setup I think I am close but man do I still struggle feeling comfortable over the ball with a wood in my hand, the yips are real. If I could get that straightened out I have 0 doubt in my mind I would drop 5+ strokes off my handicap quickly. 

That said I know I have made big strides with the wedges and ball striking with both irons and woods I cant wait for the season to start. I am also going for my first ever iron fitting in a couple weeks I'm excited to see how that helps. 

 

 

[Lugowskins]

Bought a new phone and it has super slow motion and this may be a game changer it allows me to see so much more in my swing. That said I think this looks pretty damn good aside from the fact I cannot stop playing the ball too far back in my stance. 

 

[iacas]

So what are you working on? I'd be concerned with:

• How quickly and how much the right knee extends.
• The lack of width at the top of the backswing.

[Lugowskins]

3 hours ago, iacas said:

So what are you working on? I'd be concerned with:

• How quickly and how much the right knee extends.
• The lack of width at the top of the backswing.

Mostly balance and strike consistency. I still find myself rolling over my back foot which I hate. I spend a lot of time putting tape on my club face and trying to find the middle (generally 3-5 swings then switch clubs). My misses have become fats and thins not so much toe or heel strikes. 

Staying connected in my takeaway and not opening the club face up. I have a tendency of getting my hands ahead of my body and coming back way under plane while opening up my club face. Just getting reps and taking video a lot where this is my focus. The longer the club the more I struggle with this.

Trying to get my hips more involved and in sequence I feel like my upper body gets ahead of my lower body through impact at times and that leads to some strike issues. Trying to keep my weight on the inside of my right foot and dropping and driving my right hip through the ball. 

I have been hitting a ton of wedges, the launch monitor I have is supposed to be pretty accurate from short yardages (Garmin Approach G80) so I've gone through from 50-150 in 10 yard increments and tried to develop shots for each yardage with different clubs. 

The right knee extension is a new move for me if you go look at older videos I didn't extend it much, if at all, that came into play when I really started to focus on not rolling over the outside of my foot. I should go check videos of some pros since it's not really anything I ever payed attention to. 

I feel like I'm creating width in my backswing I just have a habit of breaking my wrists at the top which I've been working on a bit but it feels very weird to not do it as that's what I've always done.

No idea if I am on the right path with any of this just kind of winging it and trying to create a swing that is fast and on plane. 

Appreciate the feedback! There hasn't been much lately so just been using this as sort of a swing journal past few months lol 

[iacas]

I mean…

• The right leg is almost locked out straight before you get to A2, and…
• the club shaft almost hits you in the neck.

I'd shift course and look at those two things.

[Lugowskins]

Haven't posted in a while this is not really a swing video but I will be posting one soon with a wedge swing, short iron, long iron, hybrid, and driver video that I hope will get a lot of feedback. This is being put up because I thought it was interesting I have been playing my Ping G410 LST with their stock 75 gram x stiff shaft with mixed results I bought a HZRDUS black rdx x stiff 60 gram shaft and my ball speed jumped up 8-10 MPH. I had always been struggling to hit 170 ball speed but I put this in and was hitting 170 incredibly easy and this swing topped out at 177 MPH which beat my prior personal best by 3 MPH. This shaft is actually 1/4' shorter but the weight and stiffness profile seem to fit me well my goal of being over 170 consistently this year on easy swings seems well within grasp. Also, I know the smash factor makes you want to call BS but all reviews I have seen of this launch monitor (Garmin Approach G80) say ball speed numbers are spot on and in hundreds of swings I have taken I've never seen anything higher than 115 which makes me think it has an issue reading any higher. 

 

 

[Lugowskins]

Ran through some shots through the bag some things I'm working on I need to come more inside and closed on the takeaway and can come over the top too much at times. Weight shift has been an issue too staying too much on the back side and flipping at it. Swing is still long but I don't really want to change that too much leads to some inconsistency but will probably be something I tackle in the offseason. 

 

[Lugowskins]

Been playing good golf lately shortened the iron swing up a bit which has helped ball striking I should probably work on the same with the woods but I feel more comfortable going after it with a driver in hand right now. Been pointed out before how much I lock out my back leg should reign that in shorten up the back swing even more and improve consistency. I keep having like 3-4 hole stretches in between strong golf where I lose it and drop strokes its frustrating but I know I'll get there. I know the driver swing is horrible cropping, quality, and it wouldnt let me overlay it like the iron swing but I had the video so figured I'd include it anyway. Looking at it I have had problems with low ball flights, some of that is contact but a lot looks like launch angle I'm going to try teeing it up a little higher and hitting more up on the ball. I pre ordered the new Garmin approach R10 that offers a ton more launch statistics than my current G80 that only recorded ball speed so I am excited to really get dialed in especially with the driver I am hitting it far but I feel like it should be much further with my ball speed sitting in the mid 170s right now. 

 

[boogielicious]

13 hours ago, Lugowskins said:

Been playing good golf lately shortened the iron swing up a bit which has helped ball striking I should probably work on the same with the woods but I feel more comfortable going after it with a driver in hand right now. Been pointed out before how much I lock out my back leg should reign that in shorten up the back swing even more and improve consistency. I keep having like 3-4 hole stretches in between strong golf where I lose it and drop strokes its frustrating but I know I'll get there. I know the driver swing is horrible cropping, quality, and it wouldnt let me overlay it like the iron swing but I had the video so figured I'd include it anyway. Looking at it I have had problems with low ball flights, some of that is contact but a lot looks like launch angle I'm going to try teeing it up a little higher and hitting more up on the ball. I pre ordered the new Garmin approach R10 that offers a ton more launch statistics than my current G80 that only recorded ball speed so I am excited to really get dialed in especially with the driver I am hitting it far but I feel like it should be much further with my ball speed sitting in the mid 170s right now. 

 

How close to you get to the rafters with the driver? I think that would worry me!😀

[Lugowskins]

2 hours ago, boogielicious said:

How close to you get to the rafters with the driver? I think that would worry me!😀

Cant lie and say I haven't clipped them before lol but the front of my garage is wide open so as long as I keep the mat back it's not an issue. Of the probably tens of thousands of swings I've taken in there I've hit them maybe 5 times mostly wedges because I move up on the mat so I don't hit it over my net. 

[ncates00]

20 hours ago, Lugowskins said:

Been playing good golf lately shortened the iron swing up a bit which has helped ball striking I should probably work on the same with the woods but I feel more comfortable going after it with a driver in hand right now. Been pointed out before how much I lock out my back leg should reign that in shorten up the back swing even more and improve consistency. I keep having like 3-4 hole stretches in between strong golf where I lose it and drop strokes its frustrating but I know I'll get there. I know the driver swing is horrible cropping, quality, and it wouldnt let me overlay it like the iron swing but I had the video so figured I'd include it anyway. Looking at it I have had problems with low ball flights, some of that is contact but a lot looks like launch angle I'm going to try teeing it up a little higher and hitting more up on the ball. I pre ordered the new Garmin approach R10 that offers a ton more launch statistics than my current G80 that only recorded ball speed so I am excited to really get dialed in especially with the driver I am hitting it far but I feel like it should be much further with my ball speed sitting in the mid 170s right now. 

 

Hitting it hard my man. Keep it up. I’m jealous of your speed. 

[Alx]

Looks to me like your grip opens quite a bit at the top of the backswing?