What Are You Working On?

[iacas]

Similar to "What'd You Shoot Today," "Best Shot of the Week," "2009 Goals," and other similar threads, I thought it'd be neat to have a thread that asks: "What are you working on?"

The rules:

1. Post what you're working on, why, what you hope to accomplish, how you're doing about it, etc.
2. Post when you begin something new, take a new approach, etc.
3. Don't reply to any posts unless your reply also accomplishes the two things listed above.

In other words, this isn't a true "discussion" thread, much like "What'd You Shoot Today" isn't a discussion thread - more of a "post or read" kind of thread. If you truly want to reply to someone else's post, start a new thread and quote the post in this thread.

I'll have something to add Friday after my first lesson, but until then, someone go ahead and get us started: What are you working on?

[ERC7.5]

At this point in the season, I am working on my iron play. So far this season, I have been getting off the tee great (yardage, launch, consistancy, controlled) and my play around the green has been well above normal. In between is where I am lacking (along with putting but that has been mostly due to greens conditions at this point in the season)

Primarily working on hitting my new irons:

• Accurate ball striking
• Gaining yardage
• Stop digging
• Slightly lower ball flight would be great....coming in too steep (I think)

[right handed phil mickelson]

Well, first off thanks for asking lol.

1. Iron distances and pure contact : sometimes catching the ball too clean- need to work on making a divot after contact with the ball.
2. Work on hitting my hybrid well : has a tendency to draw too much, and then over-correct with a slice.
3. Chipping : find a reliable chip shot which I know what it is going to do, and find a reliable drop-and-stop pitch shot.
4. Putting : 10-20 footers I am not getting to the hole.


Hopefully I'm going to iron out the putting and chipping today, and work on the irons and the hybrid over the course of the week. Thanks for putting this up Iacas because I wrote down what I need to work on today at school lol. =O

[neudi]

Last Wednesday my boss showed me that I am standing too close to the ball. My hands were almost touching my inner thigh. I have started to stand farther away from the ball and stand up straighter. This is causing my hands to be away from my body, but also me standing up straighter is allowing for a bigger arc, more distance, and a more comfortable feel. It has been very difficult because basically it is an entire change within the stance which is very important in the golf swing. I have not been scoring as well at the moment, but I have been hitting the ball better than ever.

Some things that I lose focus on when I am changing my swing like this is that my tempo gets quick, so my backswing gets really fast and I turn the club over too fast. I also don't get my club in the slot sometimes, but rarely, which makes me push the ball out to the right and not finish through correctly.

When I am able to set up correctly and pull off the slow tempo and smooth swing, golf is such an easy game, but when I don't, it makes it difficult to hit a good shot. When I get comfortable and everything is working great, hopefully in a few months, I will probably be playing the best golf of my life and be able to qualify for a few USGA tournaments on the higher stages.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Ive been working on shortning and flattening my swing for the last 6 months. Im beginning to so see some results in my ballstriking now. As a result of the better body control I get from the shorter swing im compressing the ball better and not lunging at it.

My ball flight is slowly shifting from a soft draw into a soft fade with less hand action. Which is fine with me. Its a slow process because my swing used to be very upright and steep, so i still fight that tendacy.

I feel its a more rotary move that will be easier to repeat. As the things im working on get more ingrained, i feel i will be just able to drop my hands from the top and then turn through using my core and lower body. It feels better than my old uber aggresive move - when i do it correctly.

[Zeph]

Working on removing my swing from over the top and aiming. I usually aim to the right and swing to the left. My goal is to aim straight and swing straight or with a slight draw.
The feeling I'm looking for is getting the hands closer to my body on the downswing, trying to get them on the same path as when I take them away. Part of this is also to fix my reverse pivot which is caused by swinging too far and moving the whole body against the target before the downswing is initiated.

It's something I've struggled with forever. I used to slice alot, but today the clubface follow where I swing, so if I swing outside to inside, the ball will go straight to the left. Still have the occasional slice, mostly with the driver, but I see improvement all the time.

Also working on using less arms and more big muscles, essentially using the hips more to swing through.

I video tape my swing and use items which give me instant feedback when I swing outside to the inside. I will get some lessons this season to get some help on improving my swing. The aiming part also goes for when I'm putting. I draw a line through a spot when lining up the putt, but when I set up it looks wrong and I don't trust it, so my misses are to the right.

[Shindig]

1. Post what you're working on, why, what you hope to accomplish, how you're doing about it, etc.
2. Post when you begin something new, take a new approach, etc.
3. Don't reply to any posts unless your reply also accomplishes the two things listed above.

After my swing deteriorating from so much abuse and cooks in the past 10 months, and my handicap stagnating since August despite a measurably improved short game, I went back for a lesson.

I'm working on my grip. My previous grip migrated south for the winter and didn't bother returning with the other birds. I'm working on my downswing. I can't remember the term for what it is I'm working on. I'm also working on hitting the inside of the ball (which I now know means the half closer to me). My swing is now producing a baby draw with the irons and wedges. It starts a little right of where I'm aimed, and ends up more or less where I aimed, at least on the range. I haven't hit any woods with it yet, but I did hit my 3-hybrid. This has also added, by my estimate, at least 10 yards to my distances. I've hit the 125 marker with my 8-iron quite a bit these past four days, despite that it used to be my 7-iron that would reach it. I'm going to work on bringing it to the course next week: 9 holes executive on Monday and 18 holes regulation on Thursday. Then I will see my instructor on Saturday, and might have something new to work on. Since there isn't a "my post above" in this thread yet, I'll add that I'm still working on my putting drills. I've made it up to 32 in a row from 3 feet, but still can't best 6 from 5 feet, other than once or twice almost a year ago.

[ks8829]

I am working on my short game.

1) Putting 30 strokes or less per round
a) 3 foot putts and distance control from 10-20 feet

2) Getting up and down 80% of the time
a) Chipping from 10-20 yards and pitching from 50 yards
b) working on consistent distance control

[Awsi Dooger]

I'm working on playing lefty, after 40 years doing everything lefthanded except golf. My dad and grandfather had only righthanded clubs for me to learn with, a common situation.

I wanted to at least be able to say I tried it, instead of always regretting not giving it a shot. For 25+ years my game has been stagnant, never approaching my teenage form, before I broke my elbow in two places smack on the joint while playing basketball.

In particular, having my left hand as the lead hand, while playing righty, never seemed ideal. My best comparison is to tennis and ping pong where I've always been a wristy player relying on topspin backhands. That same dynamic gets into my golf game, and my left wrist wants to become heavily involved at impact. I never know if it will be a sharp twist left or right.

Two weeks ago I bought a set of used lefty Bridestone GC Mid irons. So far it's been about as I expected. The right hand as lead hand feels like stealing. It is remarkably docile, unlike anything I've ever experienced. Today I was practicing chips and pitches up to 30 yards, and a wide dispersion would have been 8 feet. When I chip righthanded I'm all over the place, my left hand closing to produce a low cannonball, or opening for a weak fluff to the right. I get significantly more natural height on lefty chips, and an ability to alter trajectory.

That being said, right now it's hard to imagine hitting a full shot with a long club. I tried two 4 irons on the course and the divot went further than the ball. I'm trying to get accustomed to lefty by swinging the wedge and short irons up to the 7. I'm still not even at 3/4 yet but the wedge distance and comfort factor have loosened up significantly, from maybe 60 yards tops to about 100. Yesterday I put two lefty clubs in the bag, a 7 and PW. After I shoved a righty drive into a lateral hazard on a par 4, I decided to hit the next shot as a lefty, from almost 100 yards. It was more frustration than expectation. But somehow, with a left to right wind, I hit a controlled draw that bit 7 feet left of the pin.

Truthfully, I'm not sure where this will end up. I might stall when my short game is ready to transfer to lefty, and remain righthanded at the long stuff. I've putted left handed, or switch depending on the break, for almost 30 years. Today I think I would whiff if I tried to hit a driver from the left.

This afternoon I went to the short game area and saw a young guy, literally a spitting image of Carrot Top, hitting lovely flop shots lefthanded with a great effortless flowing backwing. He paused while I walked past, and I started a conversation about my new project. When I told him my left hand never felt correct as the lead hand, he interrupted with a semi-laugh and said, "Of course not."

Sigh. Made me wish I had done this 25 years ago. But it's always been difficult to abandon righthanded since I wasn't horrible, and starting from scratch is more than a bit embarrassing. I semi-chunked one today when a guy walked past, and I almost wanted to tell him, "Hey, I normally play righthanded."

[golf_junkie27]

Currently working on:

1) Tempo-I was taking the club back too fast. In fact, I'm pretty sure I could make Nick Price blush. I've been counting up to three and trying to reach a full turn and have my hands in the proper slot. I used to be much faster.

2) Knee bend-A friend of mine mentioned that although my upper body was fine I was not bending enough at the knees. He mentioned by doing so I would be able to generate more push with my back leg and have more power coming from the bottom. It's a work in progress but there have been some balls that I've absolutely smashed (265 yards of carry) without giving it much of a forceful swing.

[denver_nuggs_15]

I just changed my grip from very weak to neutral. Obviously, there are going to be some issues, so I'm working them out now. The last time I played, my irons were money in terms of distance, ballflight, and accuracy. (Unfortunately, I had a few blow up holes.) It's my driver that's been giving me some trouble. I usually average about 250 off the tee. Now, I'm only getting like 230-240 because of this huge 30 yard draw with the driver. I need to change that. It's weird because my irons are 5-10 yards longer with the new grip.

I'm always working on putting. Mostly just my stroke right now. There are days when I'm on (for me that's about 33 PPR) and then there are the bad days. I just need to get down to the 32 PPR...basically stop with the 3-putts (2.24 PPGIR...yay!). I think I'm going to go and practice on a green for like an hour once per week if I can over the summer.

I just got new wedges and haven't played with them yet, so that should be an adventure the next time I play...hopefully a good one.

[bogeyhitter25]

Consistency off of the tee and the fairway. As well as always staying positive (it is just a game). And of course I'm working on my short game.

[goblue107501]

Two main things:

1. Repeating my 'perfect' swing. I took some lessons a few years back and we figured out what I need to do to hit a good ball. I know exactly what I need to do, and I know when I don't do it. All I have figure out is how to do is do it every time. I know it is there, and I can do it about 40% of the time. It is such a great feeling on the range to get in a groove and hit a few balls in a row that are absolutely perfect.

2. Figuring out my distances. I got new clubs last fall and a combination of different shafts and my old ones being worn out, the distance I hit each one is different. Not by much, 5-7 yards, but I had my other set for so long I knew how far I hit each one, especially the 8-PW. Even with different grips and swings I had them down to a +/- 2 or 3 yards. Now, instead of knowing exactly how to hit a 140 yard shot, I have to think about it and guess. 140 used to be a nuked 9 or a 3/4 grip and a little more than 1/2 swing 8. Now I have no idea. It is probably a 3/4 grip 3/4 swing 8, but I really don't know. The biggest problem is I don't play enough that it might take me the whole summer to get them dialed in. Range balls are so inconsistent that it is really going to have to be on-course trial and error.

[87vert]

Currently working on correcting a horrible slice I had with my woods / driver.

It's been a combination of flaws causing the issue. I was rolling my wrists at the top of the swing causing the face to be wide open and not rolling my forearms over on the follow through.

Also been working on the rest of my game. This is my first full season so I've been trying to figure out the distances for all my clubs. I play a par 3 course about every weekend to work on my short game.

[shortgrass lover]

Im working on:

- a consistent putting stroke.
- wedge play from inside 130 yards
- strength and flexibility
- a swing that I can rely on in high-pressure situations

[misty_mountainhop]

Currently:

1) Pitching from 50-100 yards with several different clubs. Having watched the Masters (best one for a few years) it was so obvious just how good the top guys are from 100 yards in. They hit some rubbish like the rest of us (Cabrera at 1st playoff hole) but then stiff it from ~80 yards out to save par (Cabrera again). Going to be my major area for improvement this year (I hope). In terms of how; experimentation and practice I guess. Learn how far my wedges go with different lengths of swing. Make sure I can hit the same length pitch standard, punched etc etc.

2) Putting. Just put more hours in on the practice green. Never done enough in the past. Doh!

[trumps4]

I am working on "Clean contact." I have a tendency to hit mid/short irons heavy. Strangely, I hardly ever hit them thin which seems odd considering that most pros will tell you both mis-hits are caused by the same flaws. But I digress.
Anyway, to improve contact, I am hitting short pitch shots with my sand wedge with a towel about and inch behind the ball. It just discourages me from hanging back and flipping at it somehow. It also provides instant & dramatic feedback. As consistency improves, my plan is to work my way up in length of club and back-swing performing the same drill.
Wish me luck.

[atrapasuenos]

I'm working on:
- When backswinging, put the club in the right plane, that is one of my biggest problems. More shoulder turn and less hip turn.

- At the top of the backswing, I tend to overswing so I'm working on puttin the club more online at the top and putting my left wrist flat. When I achieve this a little draw is the result if I bend it a little a slice will come.

- On the downswing I'm trying to be more quiet with my lower body, trying not to rise so soon my right foot. Staying low at impact.

- My short game, I think I don't have a lot of problems, my putts per round is between 30 and 33... eventhough I want to lower it, I practice a lot at my room and also my chipping/pitch shots.

And I think that is all...

Greetings!