Your Breakthrough Moment

[nlowplacez]

my breakthrough moment was the first time i saw ben hogan swing on video.

and i have breakthrough moments every day when i decide not to read a golf tip or listen to someone who thinks they're good give advice. i honestly think golf tips and instruction are the number one reason people arent getting better at golf. if you put a man on a deserted island with nothing but a set of golf clubs, balls, and a course, i guaruntee you he could make scratch within a few years. put the same guy in the real world with numerous instructors, magazines, books and yada yada, and it will take his whole life. i hope what i wrote is not misinterpreted, because i give tips, and read a book, and whatnot. but most people read and listen to way too many. stick with one book or author, one instructor (a good one), and watch pros at work and thats it. p.s. im really sorry to get off on this on a thread that has nothing to do with it, i'm just trying to get my five in so i can post new threads and this has been on my mind for a while :)

[nevets88]

No aha! moment for me. My improvements came gradually, painfully slowly, although the main swing ideas that helped me make the most progress was:

Hit the ball first, divot after the ball, hands ahead of ball, dollar bill divots.

Getting the swing plane correct.

No or minimal tension in the grip or arms.

Figuring out how to coordinate the hip turn, arm and wrist motion all at the same time and knowing when each part is off and being able to self correct on the course.

If there was an aha! moment for me, it was finally seeing a video of myself at impact position with my hands ahead of the ball. No flippy business.

[RX Phoenix]

Just yesterday, I finally understood the importance of high spin balls around the green (always been a bump and run player until now) as I was landing my chips/pitches hole high and they were just stopping dead for short putts.

It was the combination of ProV1's and my new Callaway X-forged 56* Mack Daddy (MD) grooves. Unbelievable spin off of even soft chips, very little roll if any on the ball. Equipment can made a big difference. It wasn't any different technique I was using.

[Soup Fan]

My first big breakthrough that actually translated to results happened in a doctor's office 2 or 3 seasons ago. I was reading an article in a golf mag (can't recall which) about Chris DiMarco and his claw putting grip. So much of what he said he had problems with hit home with me that I, quite intrigued, made a point of heading to a practice green the next morning and giving it a whirl. In short, I completely restructured my putting, which was the absolute worst part of my game at that point, and have become far and away the best putter of my little group of golfing buddies. I now have a solid, repeatable putting routine and stroke that has dramatically reduced the amount of numbers over 6 that go on my score card, and now my brother calls me Dr. Zoidberg.

The second breakthrough happened at the range a couple weeks ago. I was pushing and slicing everything to the right really bad when I slowed down my back swing to try and figure out what/where the problem was. I am not sure if I was jerking the club away or if my fast back swing was leading to problems up top, but when I slowed down the tempo of my back swing to (what feels like) a crawl I noticed I was suddenly hitting the ball (GASP) straight as a string and it was going where I wanted it to. That's when I began working on my "swing thought," which is really just more of a mental checklist that I am trying to go through as I approach the ball. I call it my "4 S List:"

-Soft hands
-Slow take away
-Stare at the damn ball (I have gone so far as to write "HEAD DOWN" on the tops of all my woods)
-Shift weight

I found that, for whatever reason, when I slowed it down I was releasing my wrists into impact, which I was not doing before.

The first time I played after that was a short par 3 park district course where I shot a 36 (4 strokes a hole is as good as I have ever played at any course), including an excellent birdie on the first hole where I put my 8 iron on (with backspin, no less!) and sunk a 12 footer like it was nothing.

[Ben]

Golfing life: The time I hit that first solid seven iron that went nice and high and dead straight about 100 after a lesson when I was 11. I still remember it and can see it in my mind like it was yesterday.

Current day: Cashing my first check in an event.

My breakthrough moment was when I realized that focusing on how I moved through the golf swing rather than specific positions works better for me. I have improved steadily since that time.

I really like that thought.

[Ben]

and i have breakthrough moments every day when i decide not to read a golf tip or listen to someone who thinks they're good give advice. i honestly think golf tips and instruction are the number one reason people arent getting better at golf... ...i hope what i wrote is not misinterpreted, because i give tips, and read a book, and whatnot. but most people read and listen to way too many. stick with one book or author, one instructor (a good one), and watch pros at work and thats it.

I've always thought the same as well. When I instruct, I always tell my students to never read tips in magazines, and when you see a tip segment coming on TV to either not pay attention, or better yet, turn the channel. I actually don't even really like teaching, but find its a necessary evil in that its a good way to supplement my income. After 3 years working at a club, I'm just now starting to take on a limited number of students.

[Hellisan]

First of all, let me say I'm new to the forum. Since I can't create posts to "introduce" myself, I'll have to do it here.

I've been golfing since around Christmas of 2005, when my dad bought me a set of $100 clubs (Cougar Golf FTW!!). I have improved my scores from 110+ to 100+ in that timeframe. I certainly haven't had any "breakthrough" moments, but I recently did start to realize - at least partially - how much concentration it takes to hit the ball well, consistently.

I primarily created this account to thank the guys who give advice on topics like breaking 100 - which I've done only twice - I really learned from some of those, and I'm hoping to come to some of those breakthrough moments in the upcoming year.

Bryan
San Diego, CA


edit: I agree to an extent about the tips. Especially if you're not any good! Stop telling me how to play if you can't break 90!!! But I think there are some instances in which you should speak up. I'll give an example. My Dad is a high 70s, low 80's shooter who for awhile was above 85 for like 20 rounds in a row. I first noticed that he was missing birdie putts in the 7 and under foot range all the time - I never saw him make one of those in several rounds. Also, he was inconsistent with the putter all around. Not the most patient guy to begin with, one day I decided to mention to him that after he made contact with the putt he was immediately stepping into a chase mode, and not standing over the putt afterward. He made the change and hasn't shot ABOVE 85 since. That's the kind of tip that even a horrible golfer like myself can help somebody with. I'd never mention any aspect of the swing to anybody, though.

[Jack_2251]

My first breakthrough was when I fixed up my massive slice swing, but a week later it changed to a huge hook swing, and it swaps back about every 2 months. lol.

[Franco!]

When I heard people talking about me at a tournament.
Dropping eves ftw!

[rudygu]

I've had two...

First: When I finally fixed my over the top move and learned what it felt like to attack the ball from the inside and stopped hitting huge slices. Of course, I soon began overdoing it. Which leads to...

Second: When I realized I had a pretty bad inside takeaway, fixed it, and stopped hitting huge hooks. Also, this led to some major improvement with my short game. It's very hard to compensate for an inside takeaway with an abbreviated swing.

Right now, putting is the weakest aspect of my game and my current obsession (I'm big on turning weaknesses into strengths). Hopefully, I'll experience another breakthrough soon.

[sonicblue]

I've had two...

If you haven't had it yet, your putting breakthrough will come when you realize, the mere act of touching the ball with your putter is the extent of the physical act of putting. Most of your putting stroke amounts to what you DON'T do (manipulate the putter head, e.g.). 99% of it is mental, it's trust, it's confidence, it's both taking, yet relinquishing, control. Once you've read the putt, once you've made a decision on speed - all of which must be done in confidence - you have to give up control. All you can do is trust those things and make your putting stroke.

Imagine you are nothing but a little putting robot. There's no fades or draws, no low punches, or high cuts. Your putting stroke is the same, every single time, it only gets a little longer or shorter, and you just turn your body to point the right way. It's like hitting down on a ball to get it up. Once you've rolled in a ten footer because you trusted your read, trusted your alignment and just stroked it, you never go back.

[Chas]

Easy. My moment was last year when I found myself standing on the fifth tee at a course near Palm Springs, at one under par ! Nothing but fairways and GIR's!

I should never have said anything to myself, or to the guy I was playing with. Broke the spell. After a string of mostly bogies and some double bogies I ended up in the high 80s - my usual style.

But for a minute there, I wasn't just playing goff - I was a kuntendah .......

[Chas]

Second: When I realized I had a pretty bad inside takeaway, fixed it, and stopped hitting huge hooks. Also, this led to some major improvement with my short game. It's very hard to compensate for an inside takeaway with an abbreviated swing.

More seriously, this would be my latest "breakthrough" as well. Eliminating the big push or the big hook with driver, and the > 80% change of missing greens to the right with anything longer than a PW in my hand. How I hated that.

Now I pull it about as often as I push it ..... nice.

[johnnyb588]

I bought some blades a couple of weeks back, went to the range and worked on my swing. I shot a 108 on a Monday, and on Saturday I shot an 85 on a much more difficult course.
Confidence was a big factor. I changed my grip and was getting the clubhead through on every swing, which gave me the aforementioned confidence. I smartened up with my club selection, and my newfound consistency paid off, because I could hit about half the greens in regulation, which I could have never dreamed of before.

I don't feel like I've had my big breakthrough. I really don't feel like I've reached anywhere near my potential, but I've scratched the surface. My striking is getting more consistent with every week, and my distance is improving greatly as I get stronger and more in tune with the golf swing. The problem is that my short game is still very choppy. I 3-putt 5-8 times per round, and I am a very inconsistent chipper and pitcher. If I don't get a GIR, it's pretty much a guaranteed 3-4 stroked from there on. I feel like I can be a scratch golfer, but now I get to see whether or not I'm willing to put in the work that requires.

[dkinser86]

My breakthrough came during the spring break of my 8th grade year. I had been playing golf for about a year, and was on the golf team, b/c my best friends had talked me into it. Anyways, I had never broke 50 for nine holes, and most of the time I was in the 60s. I worked hard during the summer between my 7th and 8th grade years, and got to the point where I could reasonably tell you where my ball was going. But as my 8th grade golf season started, I was still shooting the same scores, mainly due to poor putting. It came to blows when in a 9 hole round, I didn't miss a fairway, and only missed two greens, but had 28 putts. (I five putted on a par 3 from 6 feet for a 6) My friend spent the weekend with me and taught me to putt left hand low. It didn't feel comfortable at first, but I trusted him. Anyways, 2 days later we played 18 holes on a course that I had never played before, and shot 49-43=92. The next day we played another 18 on a different course and i shot 44-41=85. The next week, I medaled in an important match from the 6th spot with a 37. After that, I think I might owe my friend something...