I cant afford lessons, what is the next best step?

[kleraudio]

Hey everyone, Im sure this has been posted before but I couldnt really find anything definitive to stick to.

Anyways, I REALLY love this game and I REALLY want to get better at it. I just spent 3 more hours at the range working on the short game and my irons. My irons are really inconsistent. I'll have streaks where they are beautiful, 7 iron to 175 yards. To hitting everything fat, 7 iron 100 yards... I just want to be very consistent.

Im very athletic and am good at most sports, this one just gets me....

Anyways, any suggestions on what I should do if I cant afford lessons? I dont want to keep buying buckets of balls and repeating the same mistakes. Ive read some books already and stuff like that, but that just makes you think too much during your swing.

How do you guys make it look so natural?

Thanks

Jim

[cirem22]

If you don't want to pay for a ton of range buckets and don't want to pay for lessons then I would say you should pick up some sort of practice balls, the type that can show slice/hook but only go a fraction of the distance. This way you can work on your swing for as long as you would like at your local park or in your yard. Pick up a mat to swing off also.

I have seen this product called BirdieBalls with a swing pad. They are cylinder shaped objects that are supposed to hit and feel like a real golf ball and also slice and hook but only go about 40 yards max. They come with a hitting mat that allows you to get the feel of taking a divot without actually taking one. Package seemed fairly cheap, I am yet to hear how that set up works from people though.

Oh and youtube has a ton of instructionals

[ks8829]

1) watch video on-line
A) you tube, swing like Tiger Woods
2) do not go to the range and pound balls unless you have someone helping you with your swing.
3) go to the short game area and practice pitch shots of up to 30 yards
4) focus on the impact zone and the correct take away.
5) spend time putting and chipping around the green and become proficient at both.
6) I have a grassy field near my house where I hit PW, 9 & 8 irons and grooved my swing.
7) you can hit iron shots only taking the club back hip high
8) you can go to the beach and practice sand shots
9) When you go and play a round of golf find a player that is better and allow him to make some constructive comments on your swing.

[Drennen13]

You should put a video on here to get some great tips. Plus the more you play and the more you practice, is definately a good way to get better.

[iWALK18]

I got to where I am now sans lessons. 3 years ago I was struggling to break 100. Here is how I did it...

1) I watched a lot of old Bobby Jones videos ("How I play Golf" and other series).
2) I watched a lot of "playing lessons with the pros"

and I practiced what i saw. Thats it...

[timwalsh300]

I was in a similar situation a few months ago. I was just beating balls and not really improving, and I couldn't afford lessons.

My solution was to buy a cheap digital camera that could take 30 fps video, which you probably already have. At first I just hit those plastic balls in my backyard, and then later I took it to the range. I recorded every swing and looked at each one on my laptop, comparing it frame-by-frame to the Swing Vision videos on Youtube...

1. Take a swing
2. Compare it to the Tour player (especially the transition and the down swing through impact)
3. See what looks different
4. Take another swing trying to emulate the Tour player
5. Repeat.

After about a month of this I completely changed the way I hit the golf ball and learned what a good swing really feels like. And that is just so valuable. Unless you are using video, I guarantee that what you feel you are doing is completely different from what is really happening .

I wish I did this years ago. I straightened out my ball flight and added a full 20% to the distance I hit all my clubs. You can see what my swing looks like now down in my signature. It's nice to finally know that my swing is OK and I can just concentrate on actually playing the game and building consistency. I'm sure that having a good teacher helps, and I'd still like to work with one eventually, but you can accomplish quite a bit on your own with enough determination.

Tim

[Shindig]

Do you have access to a video camera? TST does "Swing Check" that you can put video for, and get comments on from good players.

[kleraudio]

Sounds good guys, thanks for the replies. I dont mind paying for buckets of balls, but I dont know anyone that can critique my swing. I work in an environment where I dont meet anybody, so the only one I golf with is my Dad and I dont want him critiquing my swing

He's out of town for a pretty long time now, how do you guys suggest I record myself swinging if I go solo. I dont have a tripod or anything like that.

Tim, that swing looks awesome man. I only wish to get there soon!

iWalk, thanks for the tips man, its motivating, and I love the screen name too.

Everyone else, thanks again and keep the advice coming. I wish I could drop 300 bucks on a "5 pack" of lessons but I just dont have the funds.... The pro at the driving range is the PGA Florida Senior champion. I think he'd be a good guy to get lessons from.

So just whacking balls at the range wont really help huh? Like I said 50% of my shots are clean and the distance is pretty sick. Its the other 50% that I have to erase!

Thanks a ton!

Jim

[kleraudio]

Do you have access to a video camera? TST does "Swing Check" that you can put video for, and get comments on from good players.

Yea, Ill see if I can borrow a video camera from someone. Ill take the wife to the range and have her video tape me. That would be really cool to get some critiques from the better players.

Jim

[ControlJunkie]

YouTube, Shawn Clement is my favorite. He keeps it simple and puts everything into manageable chunks. Also, go to Barnes and Noble and pick up a good book, whether it's any of Hogan's, Haney's, Harmon's, etc. If you look at the Reading Room subforum, you can get some good feedback on some of these books. Like others have said, practice with a purpose as well.

[squaddie]

So just whacking balls at the range wont really help huh? Like I said 50% of my shots are clean and the distance is pretty sick. Its the other 50% that I have to erase!

Yeah, hitting balls at the range all the time won't help improve your swing, much. You may develop muscles and flexibility somewhat to hit the ball further, but not consistency. The problem is there can be some basic swing flaws you don't realize unless someone else more experienced points them out to you. With my weekly range sessions I was hitting 1 good shot and the other four being shanks, pushes or fat hits, which was going on for a few months. I found out from a video lesson recently that my address was too upright and I was dropping my head down too far in the downswing, which was causing me to move the club forward at impact (causing the shank or fat shots). I had no clue my head was dropping that much without another person (PGA pro) reviewing the video. I also had no idea my posture was too upright. I think I started out with a good bend at the hips, but due to my head moving down I tried to stand more upright to compensate for the problem. If you can't afford a lesson you should at least save up for a decent camera that can record 30fps and submit it here or to an instructor that can analyze the video. I believe Shawn Clement (see his youtube videos) offers to analyze one's swing video for $29.95.

[JoelDuffer]

I prob. have no place to give pointers but I pratice with my wiffle balls. But if am not hitting the ball well,(mis hits ect) I stop hitting for a while and regroup. I need to so I don't keep making the mistakes or ingraing bad habits.
My 2 cents,,,,,,here's you change. ;)

[timwalsh300]

how do you guys suggest I record myself swinging if I go solo. I dont have a tripod or anything like that.

I don't have a tripod either. I just set the camera on top of my bag, press "record," and go hit my shot.

It actually works much better than having someone hold the camera for a few reasons... (1) it is rock-steady, (2) you can make sure it is lined up exactly how you want it, (3) you don't have to go find someone every time you want to practice. Remember, I was recording every single swing and analyzing it on my laptop before taking another one. I wasn't going to find someone to stand around everyday and hold the camera for 1-2 hours. This is important: DO NOT just record your swing one time, identify a problem, and then go take 100 more swings thinking you are fixing the problem. Like I said, what you feel yourself doing and what is really happening are usually two different things. You need to record every swing. Look at each one. Each one should look and feel a little different. Once you make a swing that finally looks correct, remember what that swing felt like. THEN you can go hit a 100 balls trying to repeat that feeling and solidify it. Tim

[senorchipotle]

Hey everyone, Im sure this has been posted before but I couldnt really find anything definitive to stick to.

make sure to keep your left arm straight at all times from address until after you hit the ball. this will do more for your swing consistency than anything.

[ControlJunkie]

I don't have a tripod either. I just set the camera on top of my bag, press "record," and go hit my shot.

I was thinking about exactly this the other day. I was thinking of something that had a threaded head on the top, to screw the camera down onto (like on a tripod), but the bottom of this thing would be like a clip type of thing (think of the bottom of a lamp that would clip on your headboard on your bed). You would use the clip to secure it on one of the divider bars on your golf bag.

So what exactly do you set the camera on top of (on your bag) to keep it stable and balanced?

[ks8829]

If you hang around the golf course, you meet people that are willing to help you out for free, sometimes it a friend or relative and they are willing to help you along with your golf swing

[uttexas]

If you can't afford lessons, definitely get your swing video recorded, you need the "down the line" angle.

Every now and then, GolfTec offers a $25 30 minute swing analysis. This is a great deal.

The golf swing is complex and there are numerous different theories.
From experience, I tried to be self taught for the past 20 years and plateud. Just couldn't improve without taking lessons. Seriously consider saving some cash by not playing for a month or two and get three or so lessons.

I know you've been reading alot, but the best imo are as follows.
John Jacobs Practical Golf
Hogan's Five Lessons
Tom Watson's Getting up and down 40 yards and In
Dave Pelz short game bible.

The best swing aid is the heavy 8iron with the built in perfect grip--its $20 at Academy Sports and Outdoors.

The major breakthrough I've had recently is to imagine hitting a golf ball as you would a forehand in tennis. same weight transfer, same tempo.
Practice the weight transfer and tempo with 50% shots and 3/4 shots. Do this over and over.

Youtube is great also for lessons.

[Zeph]

What I've done and still do:

- Film my swing and review it, compare it to pros on Youtube. Not trying to mimic anyone, but getting the fundamentals in place
- Watching video tips online
- Buying instructional DVDs and books to not only see and try to mimic things, but to really understand how the sequence of motions work
- Posting my video online to get it reviewed
- Learning how the swingpath and clubhead affect the ball flight. With this knowledge I can tell what is wrong after a shot that's not gone the way I wanted. There are several things that can cause the initial fault, but the reason is always the same
- Read on this forum and discuss both the game and swing