My Swing (saevel25)

[saevel25]

I played 9 hole this afternoon. I struggled a bit to implement my revving of the left wrist. I believe I was revving it, but i was just not doing it in conjunction with swinging the arms outward more. This caused me to hit some massive pull hooks. There were a few good shots in there though. 

I still struggled with my short game and distance wedges. I need to focus on more softer arms. I don't know why it kicked in on hole 7, but I hit my pitch with softer arms. Though it went a tad too far, it was the best feeling pitch shot I've had in a long time. 

 

[boogielicious]

10 hours ago, saevel25 said:

I played 9 hole this afternoon. I struggled a bit to implement my revving of the left wrist. I believe I was revving it, but i was just not doing it in conjunction with swinging the arms outward more. This caused me to hit some massive pull hooks. There were a few good shots in there though. 

I still struggled with my short game and distance wedges. I need to focus on more softer arms. I don't know why it kicked in on hole 7, but I hit my pitch with softer arms. Though it went a tad too far, it was the best feeling pitch shot I've had in a long time. 

 

This happens to me if I over do it. Sometimes if I start the rev too soon, as it at A4, it will cause an over-the-top move. I pull the grip down instead of out. I need to flatten first, from A4 to 5 and do the rev at A4.5. I've been doing slow swings at the range to try and nail this down.

[saevel25]

Saturday I went up to Chautauqua, NY for a group golf lesson with @Hardspoon. The lesson was to primarily clean up my driver and wedge play. 

Full Swing

Spoiler

Elbow goes from vertical to less vertical.

I need to get the elbow more at the end of the green line on the right. 

More left shoulder working up and back and right shoulder working down and around. Right shoulder will be more rounded and lower towards the ball. 

I need to work on getting the right elbow closer to the left elbow in transition, with out having my hands shift outward. This is something to be aware of when doing the drill as to not cheat the feel. 

Specifically with the driver. I need to work on getting my right shoulder to work down and around towards the ball and have my left shoulder feel like it's rotating more up and around behind me.  Right now the feel is the left shoulder going more steeply up and around. Also, I need to be weary of doing it too much and start tipping back.  

I also need to be aware of my set up with the driver. I have a tendency to put the ball too far forward in my stance. 

Pitching & Distance Wedges
This was primarily a set up issue. 

1. I need to set up with the ball more forward in the my stance
2. I need to set up with less spine tilt away from the target. Feel like the right shoulder is higher. 
3. I need to keep more weight on my lead foot through out the swing
4. When taking the swing, don't shift much weight off the lead foot. Just pivot. Also, take a proper backswing length (WORK ON THIS!!!!)
5. When pitching, ground as to gauge the proper distance to stand from the ball. Do not force the flip & Do not drag hands through impact. Let the pivot control the swing.

---

I played in a scramble today. I hit some really good shots and some really bad shots. Erik warned me about my tendency to get in my own way. For, 3-4 holes on the back-nine I hit some horrendous long game shots. I figured out I was doing my left shoulder way too much. The more I hit bad shots the more I wanted to do it for some stupid reason. My misses were big push slices, not really big pulls or nasty heel cuts. 

After being stupid for 3-4 holes, I realized I should just swing for contact. The last two drives I made sure I was set up properly, that the ball was not too far forward. I just took a swing to make good contact. I hit the two best drives of the day that maybe had 5-10 yards of draw on them. I was really happy about that. I just need to remember to do that more often. :) 

 

[iacas]

22 hours ago, saevel25 said:

I played in a scramble today. I hit some really good shots and some really bad shots. Erik warned me about my tendency to get in my own way. For, 3-4 holes on the back-nine I hit some horrendous long game shots. I figured out I was doing my left shoulder way too much. The more I hit bad shots the more I wanted to do it for some stupid reason. My misses were big push slices, not really big pulls or nasty heel cuts. 

After being stupid for 3-4 holes, I realized I should just swing for contact. The last two drives I made sure I was set up properly, that the ball was not too far forward. I just took a swing to make good contact. I hit the two best drives of the day that maybe had 5-10 yards of draw on them. I was really happy about that. I just need to remember to do that more often. :) 

Yes. Emphasize the little things, but remember that your swing isn't total crap and that you have to fix twenty seven things to make it work again.

You should always be able to get back to hitting the ball solidly within a few balls. Don't let the exaggerations you do in practice make you feel bad or lose that. Mix in a few solidly hit, "no thought" balls every now and then.

When you play, just play. Do your piece a little, or not at all, or do what you need to do to play good golf. Practice on the range, PLAY on the course.

And don't kill yourself with the practice. Focused, simple, specific… that means don't go searching for 14 other things wrong.

You did well. So keep at it.

[saevel25]

I didn't shoot particularly good tonight. 

First, the greens were horrifically slow. I just struggled to hit them with enough pace. You got through the routine, you are use to greens that are 4-5 feet faster and it's hard to mentally think, "HIT IT HARDER". 

Second, I need work on my distance wedges. Maybe I wasn't nailing the set up as I thought I was. I should not be thinning them like I was. Nail the set up, and make a good swing. #DUMMY! 

Third, pitching was OK. I wasn't hitting them to tap in range, but the technique was good. I just got to trust it and not help it. Most of my pitches end up going long. I also had some nasty lies tonight. 3 pitches had a severe angle lie. 

Irons were OK. I had two really bad iron shots. Just a pushy, heavy shot. Then I had a few irons I just flushed perfect. 

Driver was good. I had one bad block right drive. The rest were slight pushes to push draws. 

http://www.gamegolf.com/player/saevel25/round/1090911

Overall I like how the swing is hitting shots when I make good contact. There isn't any big curves to the ball. I just need to polish the rest of the game. 

[billchao]

1 hour ago, saevel25 said:

First, the greens were horrifically slow. I just struggled to hit them with enough pace. You got through the routine, you are use to greens that are 4-5 feet faster and it's hard to mentally think, "HIT IT HARDER". 

I like to adjust to speed by changing my visual target. Say if I'm aiming to die the putt just past the hole on normal greens, on slower greens I adjust the "hole" farther away. This way I'm not changing my stroke or adding any hit instinct, but rather just visualizing a longer putt and making a longer stroke to compensate.

I do the same thing in reverse on faster greens than I'm used to: just convince myself I'm putting a 6 foot putt when my actual putt is 10 feet or something.

Where I tend to struggle on slower greens is adjusting to the break (or lack thereof). I'm always convinced it will break more than it does and I watch my ball hold my line the entire way.

[saevel25]

 Today was just a bad round

Hole 1 -   I crushed a drive down the middle. Hit a duffed pitch shot. Hit a halfway decent pitch and two putted from about 15 feet. 
Hole 2 -  I sliced a ball OB right onto the road. Hit another cut that stayed in bounds. Caught a SW about 1-2 grooves too thing and caught a tree branch. Pitched on to about 17 feet and two putted. 
Hole 3 - Drop kicked a drive down the middle. Bladed a wedge over the green. Hit a pitch to about 25 feet. Short sided with a lot of slope, very hard to get it close form over the green with a back pin placement. I again two putted. 
Hole 4 - Hit a slightly toe drive to the left side of the fairway. I hit a distance wedge about 30 feet too long. I pitched it to about 16 feet and two putted. 
Hole 5 - Hit a pretty solid 8 iron that just flew too far. This was an inbetween yardage for me. Very hard to get the ball close to the pin with the green running away from you and with a downhill lie. I two putted for bogey. 
Hole 6 - Popped up a drive. Hit a push cut 3-wood that left me about 95 yards. I hit the best contact wedge shot all round, just pushed it and caught a slope that kicked me just off the green. I then thin a pitch shot. I hit a better 2nd pitch shot to about 8 feet and miss the putt on the right edge. 
Hole 7 - I hit a great drive just in the left hand rough. I then thin a wedge over the green. I hit a pretty great pitch shot to 7 feet. I again just burn the edge and two putt. 
Hole 8 - I hit a toe'd 9 iron that just ended up on the left fringe. I two putted for par. 
Hole 9 - I bomb a drive down the middle. I hit the best pitch shot of the round to about 11 feet. The contact and feel of the shot were spot on. I just aimed a tad too far right. I again just missed the putt on the edge. 

Except for 1 drive, I had a lot of good drives. My iron game was just a bit off on distance control. My pitching and distance wedges were crap. I still struggle to make putts outside of 5 feet. 

On my pitching and distance wedges. I am really trying to get my weight forward and keep it there. I'm trying to just trust the pivot. I'm  not sure what I am doing wrong on the distance wedge stuff. 

[saevel25]

Just thinking about my round in comparing my good shots to the bad ones.  

- Pitching, I am not standing far enough away. I remember making sure my set up was good on my last pitch and it was my best pitch contact and feel.

-My distance wedges need more weight on my lead foot, and less spine tilt. Feel more stacked over my left foot. Don't be afraid to really putting the ball forward in the stance as well. Then just trust the pivot. My best distance wedge, though a slight push, was when I really focused on making a good pivot. I need to make sure not to overdo the left shoulder part or I start to tilt too much and hit thin shots. 

- Driver is working really well. I had one bad shot, but that was a backswing issue. A4 felt really different than the other swings. 

- Irons were OK when I got a full iron shot. They were both nGIR, but the contact was solid. 

Summary
Nail the pitching set up.  
Nail the distance wedge set up. Trust the swing, make a good pivot (on all swing, but especially the wedge shots)

---

I feel like my best shots over the past week have been more of a distance wedge feel for all shots. 

1. Make a B or better grade backswing
2. Pivot/turn with a tiny bit of extension, slightly more left shoulder going up and around. 

I can definitely feel the difference in the extension on my good shots. The swing feels less around and flat and more around and up. Even though I am turning, it feels like a tighter turn as well. 

I'll try to hit the range this weekend to work on the wedge game, and some of my new pieces. I feel like getting some quality reps in will sharpen that part of the game. Then I can work on the distance control, and properly controlling my backswing length. 

[saevel25]

I didn't particularly shoot well tonight because of my putting. Very slow greens. BLAH!!! 

I like the full swing. Tee shots were spot on. Starting down a good target line with very little curve to them. 

Full iron shots were solid. I am trying to club up and take partial swings to help focus on contact.

Distance wedges were a tad off with distance control. Contact for the most part was good. I had one bad distance wedge off an uphill lie, but the rest were solid contact. I

Pitching was OK, not great. No extra short game shots. Just not many near or inside 5 feet. 

---

For the full swing i like focusing on just maintaining a more steady head through out the swing. This has helped sure up a lot of my contact issues. 

For distance wedges I need to keep working on getting that set up better. Weight forward, less axis tilt. 

For pitching I need to shallow out the pitch more. I am taking too many pitches where the club doesn't nip or brush the ground, but thumps it pretty hard. I still get caught not trusting the pivot. 

If I can get time over the next few weeks I'll work on the wedge game some more. I feel like this is the final piece to get me to shooting consistently lower scores right now. 

[DaveP043]

18 hours ago, saevel25 said:

I didn't particularly shoot well tonight because of my putting. Very slow greens. BLAH!!! 

I like the full swing. Tee shots were spot on. Starting down a good target line with very little curve to them. 

Full iron shots were solid. I am trying to club up and take partial swings to help focus on contact.

Distance wedges were a tad off with distance control. Contact for the most part was good. I had one bad distance wedge off an uphill lie, but the rest were solid contact. I

Pitching was OK, not great. No extra short game shots. Just not many near or inside 5 feet. 

---

For the full swing i like focusing on just maintaining a more steady head through out the swing. This has helped sure up a lot of my contact issues. 

For distance wedges I need to keep working on getting that set up better. Weight forward, less axis tilt. 

For pitching I need to shallow out the pitch more. I am taking too many pitches where the club doesn't nip or brush the ground, but thumps it pretty hard. I still get caught not trusting the pivot. 

If I can get time over the next few weeks I'll work on the wedge game some more. I feel like this is the final piece to get me to shooting consistently lower scores right now. 

This is probably the least technical evaluation of a round that I've seen you post, and to me it shows the real progress.  When you're able to change from "making golf swings" to "playing golf", you're really on the right track.  Well done!

[saevel25]

I went out to practice for the first time in over 3 weeks. Just really busy lately. 

The full swing was too steep. I was hitting too many cuts. I need to work on the right elbow in transition stuff. 

I hit a few distance wedges. They were for the most part good. Pitching was good as well. 

I just got to keep working at the right elbow, right shoulder at A4-A5. I need to keep working on not letting my hands dive leftward through impact as well. Same stuff. 

[saevel25]

I'm going to keep this brief. 

1. Make sure to stand more away from the ball. I was standing too close for my irons. I was able to hit solid distance wedges because i was more aware of my set up than with my irons. 

2. Keep working on shortening the swing

3. Keep working on right elbow and right shoulder. 

Range session was about 80% steep and cut shots. 

[saevel25]

Another range session. Things are getting better.  I work on two things, at about 50/50

1. Right elbow closer to left elbow at A4-A5. Right shoulder less retracted. 

2. Keeping my head steadier in the downswing, trying to get my left shoulder to go more back and up, and getting the hands to exit higher. 

I still get a few shots that end up being very low trajectory pull cuts. 

As for pitching and distance wedges

1. Put more weight than I think I need on my front foot and keep it there. 

[saevel25]

I finally got to the range today. I hit the ball OK. I'm still struggling on not hitting a big cut. Even on my drills which should produce more draws or hooks I hit straight and cuts.

I can feel my hands and arms diving inward way to much. Still more work on my pieces. 

[saevel25]

I went to the range today with my video camera and realized I have no computer to upload the video with.  ??

Taking a look at the video I can point out a few things. 

1) overwriting, though I found it easier to shorten it now. A lot of the rest of the swings arw parallel or less.

2) I still yank the hands out towards the ball from A4-A5. The elbow together feel isn't working out to well for me.

3) hands still drive down and in after impact. I still send the club outward. Especially more so with the longer clubs. 

4) on the plus side, my hips are more open at impact. It's easier to get them more open. 

 

[iacas]

14 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

I went to the range today with my video camera and realized I have no computer to upload the video with.  ??

Yeah. It's getting ridiculous… An October event?

https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/05/2016-mac-keynote-date/

[saevel25]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Yeah. It's getting ridiculous… An October event?

https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/05/2016-mac-keynote-date/

I'm trying to be patient about it ?

[iacas]

11 hours ago, saevel25 said:

I'm trying to be patient about it ?

Soon.