My Swing (saevel25)

[saevel25]

Just do that first. Forget the other things for now.

For the other things, make some good practice strokes and then just repeat that success.

Short and laid off feeling, right shoulder stacked over ball at impact. And yes, no need to go all out.

Will do.

Quick question, how do you handle moderate to severe ball above your feet. I rather prefer a ball below my feet than above my feet. I've had situations were I pull it left. I've had instances were I account for that and hit it straight or push it right.

Yea I think the right word would be, "FOCUS".

[iacas]

Quick question, how do you handle moderate to severe ball above your feet. I rather prefer a ball below my feet than above my feet. I've had situations were I pull it left. I've had instances were I account for that and hit it straight or push it right.

Aim the face not so far left you hit a pull and not so far right you hit a push. :) Depends on the loft of the club, etc. how much that is.

[saevel25]

Aim the face not so far left you hit a pull and not so far right you hit a push. :) Depends on the loft of the club, etc. how much that is.

Maybe one of these day's I'll just ride around the course dropping balls in some precarious spots and figure it out.

[saevel25]

Bit of downswing practice,

[saevel25]

Played 9 holes tonight in league.

Shot a +7, 42.

3 GIR, 2 nGIR

14 Putts

+3 penalties (1 Unplayable lie, 1 Water Hazard, 1 Lateral Hazard) all on tee shots

More good shots than bad. Just bad shots ended up with penalties. Irons were better overall. Still catch a few with poor contact, mostly towards the toe and very shallow angle of attack to slightly thinnish. The bad ones end up flying lower, start off to the right and I would call them too much draw, not really hookish. They do end up very short because they are usually really towards the toe.

Tee shots can be great to just hooded hooks. Trying to figure out what the difference is between the feeling of a good tee shot with my downswing pieces versus that hooded hook that is costing me a lot of strokes. I am trying to get my right shoulder stacked more, but I end up just starting the ball straight to left of the target line and it goes left pretty hard. Just can't really feel the difference in the swings on these two shots. Maybe I am just trying to hard and throwing my hands over.

[saevel25]

Swing after just warming up,

1) Shorter Please

2) Flatter please

3) More Right shoulder stacked

Downswing Practice

Downswing Practice 2

Driver Swing

Face On Driver Swing

---

I hit solid contact with the pump drill. I struggle trying to get the same solid contact when I try to put the right shoulder stacked in a full swing. I struggle a lot slowing the swing down as well. I feel like I need to go hard with the right shoulder (probably not the right thing to do) to get going.

I can do slow practice swings, and get the backswing flatter and shorter. When I try a normal swing I struggle to get that feeling as well.

Should I make slow backswings when I play then?

I think I can play better golf now if I just do the pump drill on the course. The ball goes straight.

[iacas]

I hit solid contact with the pump drill. I struggle trying to get the same solid contact when I try to put the right shoulder stacked in a full swing. I struggle a lot slowing the swing down as well. I feel like I need to go hard with the right shoulder (probably not the right thing to do) to get going.

You do need to go hard with the right shoulder but just make sure it's more about going FORWARD and not DOWN. I'm not saying you're doing it a LOT, just something to keep in mind. Forward, rather than down.

I can do slow practice swings, and get the backswing flatter and shorter. When I try a normal swing I struggle to get that feeling as well.

Should I make slow backswings when I play then?

Sure.

I think I can play better golf now if I just do the pump drill on the course. The ball goes straight.

Really? If you shoot better scores, sure. But like I said, consider giving practice five days, and then the last day "play" a simulated round on the course and see how it goes.

[saevel25]

http://www.gamegolf.com/player/saevel25/round/412774

Did an experiment. Could I play better with the pump drill as my full swing?

Normal Swing

Typical ball flights are push draw, straight draw, straight hooks.

Ball contact can be good to scoopy thin shots.

Pump Drill Swing

Ball flights were straight fade, push fade, Straight to push cuts. I had two drives that ended up going left. One was a pull, the other was a straight draw.

Ball contact can be good to some slightly heavy shots.

What really hurt my game was my distance wedges and pitch shots.

Cumulative rating (-1 Bad, 0 Avg, +1 Good)

Pitching: -4

Distance Wedges: -4

Bunker: -5

Bunkers were very compacted wet sand from all the rain lately. I couldn't get a good read on how far behind the ball to hit it. I caught some to far behind the ball and others to close to the ball.

Pitching was my classic, catch the ball thin and send it across the green. First hole I felt the knees buckled down as I dipped. I need to really really concentrate on that shot to keep my body more level through the shot. I also find that I stand with my body really open on pitching shots. Not sure if that is a bad thing.  My distance wedges were mostly hitting them fat, very steep into the ball, probably not aggressive enough with the right shoulder on the partial shots.

I calculated if I got onto the green after one try from a short game shot I would have shot around 82.

I actually putted very good today. Greens were like 8 STIMP. I had my arm fully extended for Aimpoint. I was reading the greens dead on. I had maybe 3 balls about 6 inches short dead center. I had a few just on the edge. I made some very good mid-range to long putts.

Conclusion. It's possible. I found it very hard to get good key 4 and 5 timing when you are forced to pause at A4-5, then do the downswing drill piece.

On a side note, when I do this drill, and I stop at A4-5 should my weight be shifted slightly forward at that point? I think more than not I tended to stop it at A4, bring it to A5, but I didn't add in the fact the hips slide. So basically I was more in an A3-4 position with how the lower body was positioned. Might contribute to some fat shots. Maybe that contributes to some inconsistent results with this particular drill at the range as well. I also think on a few of the drill shots I wasn't flat enough with the club. When I think back I wasn't paying attention to that as much as the right shoulder.

[saevel25]

Some Swing Notes

Backswing - Practice

- Left Arm up toe line

- Club more laid off at the top

- Slower and Shorter Backswing (During Round Thought)

Downswing - Practice

- Aggressive right shoulder turn towards the ball, more around less down, getting into a stack position

Drills - Practice

Gate Drill - set up a gate with alignment sticks. Left stick is on the target line.

Get the right shoulder stacked and hitting the ball to the right of the target line

(Expected ball flight would be pretty straight with very little curve)

Pitching Keys - During Round

- Slower backswing

- Pivot through the shot keeping hips and shoulders level

Distance Wedges - During Round

- Focus on proper backswing length

- Be aggressive through the ball

[saevel25]

I committed to subbing for a guy in a golf league up at Kittyhawk.

http://www.gamegolf.com/rounds/review/415286

Actually hit the ball really well compared to previous times. The greens were running at STIMP 4, Ok they were probably a solid STIMP 8. If you stood on the greens you leave a good 1/8 to 1/6 inch foot prints in the green. Just slow, and it threw off my Aimpoint. I was over reading breaks.

Drives: NO HOOKS, NO SLICES!!! . One I had a tree issue because I didn't start it left enough and had to hit a punchy shot. Besides that I had 6 out of 7 very good shots off the tee. I actually thought about what club would work best for the hole, only pulling driver when I needed it. I was in position to make a good shot to the green on a lot of the approach shots.

Approaches: Hit very solid iron shots for most of them. 33% GIR + 4 nGIR. 77% GIR or nGIR, that is much better compared to my  sub 50% GIR + nGIR recently. I am getting that flatter backswing position more now. Seems getting that position I can really go at the ball better.

My worst shot. Hybrid on the first par 5. I aimed towards the left side of the green. In my backswing my head went, "DON'T SWING HARD AND HIT IT LEFT". Guess what I did. I slowed down and hit it left. Then I thought, "NO dipshit, if you turn right you will not hit it left." So I drop a ball, take the hybrid, swing aggressively, and hit the ball 20 yards left of the green pin high from 250 yards. #LessonLearned.

Pitching: So-So. Some were decent, some were bad. Kinda my typical.

Putting: Horrible. 2.0 putts per hole. Missed 5 putts from 6 feet.

---

I went to the short game area after the round.

Struggle a lot with my pitching. Just overall contact control. I realized I was very steep with the club going back and trying to save it through impact. Then I decided to remember what Erik said about fanning the clubface open in the backswing, and not retracing my right elbow back. So I kept my right arm more stable next to my right side, and let the club just rotate over in the backswing. What I found out was, from that position pitching is automatic. With the clubface more open, and the clubhead being lower and more around me the only thing I can do is pivot and the club just likes to make solid contact.

This was me just working on that backswing move for the pitching. Not really concentrating on distance control. Yet 8 out of 10 was with in 10 FT. That is just stupid good for what I've been doing. Recently it has been 20% chance of hitting it over the green, 20% chance duffing it, and 60% chance of some sort of advancement near the hole.

To really test this out. I went to the bunker which had like 1/8" of sand overtop of compacted dirt. I did the same pitching motion. I hit 8 out of 10 balls with in 15 feet of a spot I picked out on the green.

Also worked on distance wedges. Just stopping at different distances and working on backswing length and being aggressive with the right shoulder turn. Works out pretty good.

Note to self when I play next.

Pitching - Relaxed arms. Keep right elbow stable, let the club work around and the clubface fan open. Pivot to finish. Admire how easy it is to do.

I am feeling really really good about things right now. Going to go to the driving range tomorrow to work on the swing, and do some putting practice. My left to right putting is still a struggle. #StopPushingPuttsRight!!!

[Jakester23]

That's great to hear your back to hitting it the way I expect you to

[saevel25]

Shot Zone situation stuff, just for fun ;)

Beavercreek's #2 2nd shot into the par 5. With a good drive I can probably get 235-240 out. The zone over the green is the Hybrid. The next is the 4 iron, then 5 iron, then 6 iron. You do not want to go left of the fairway. The hole slopes from right to left with some unforgiving banks that kick the ball left into the creek. Right of the cart path is OB. Long is death, you fly the green you are in the trees.

6-iron = 2.6

5-iron = 0.25*2.78 + 0.5*2.6 + 0.25*2.5 = 2.62

4-iron = 0.55*2.5 + 0.45*2.78 = 2.59

Hybrid = 0.5*2.69 + 0.5*2.0 = 2.35

Another key factor is that their is a big bank to the right of the green that kicks the ball left. So maybe a good percentage more might be fringe or on the green than the 50% coverage area. So maybe closer to 2.20.

Looks like if I hit the fairway with a tee ball it's a go for the green. Just got to aim at the right edge of the green. Even if I tug it left a big I have a very good chance of catching the bunker.

Still it's a scary looking shot from the fairway. It looks very tight from 230 yards out.

Edit*

Disclaimer, I hope my math was right :)

[iacas]

Shaded easter eggs are easier. :)

[saevel25]

Early Swings in Practice - good.

Swing later in practice - better

I really like these two images :), ball starts right of alignment stick and ends up landing in the middle of the orange circle in the third picture.

I would say 85-90% of all the golf shots were hitting this area down range, with little to no curve on the ball :)

---

On a side note. I lost my putting stroke on the practice green tonight. Couldn't start my ball online. I couldn't take the club back consistently. I kept pulling it back closed and felt like outward. Then I would hit the ball with a push strike. I don't know why my putting leaves me from time to time.

[saevel25]

On a side note. I lost my putting stroke on the practice green tonight. Couldn't start my ball online. I couldn't take the club back consistently. I kept pulling it back closed and felt like outward. Then I would hit the ball with a push strike. I don't know why my putting leaves me from time to time.

Face One View

DTL View

[iacas]

Face One View

DTL View

More shoulders, less of everything below them, especially wrists. And get a little forward shaft lean at setup.

[saevel25]

Went to the range today. Worked on the swing. Hitting more balls much more solidly now.

Though, I am pulling my driver a bit, and sometimes I hit a slice

Then I worked on my putting. Set up a gate drill on a 20 ft putt. Just working on starting line and rocking the shoulders.

[iacas]

Bounce is pretty trivial compared to the grind of the sole.

My Edel wedges have 14, 16, and 18 degrees of bounce and I have no issues with the clubs in any sort of lie. I've used them on hard pan to muddy sand with equal success.

Dough, c'mon. It's not really saying much when you can thin, shank, and fat your wedges equally off all kinds of lies. ;)

I've read your last two posts. Good. Don't worry about the slice, though if it continues you might just be overdoing some of the things. Not uncommon with the driver.