My Swing (mvmac)

[coop6]

On March 21, 2016 at 0:50 AM, mvmac said:

Got on a pressure matt this week, pretty cool stuff. Was getting into a old/usual habit of kicking in too much extension and moving my upper center forward into 4. This lead to both centers moving forward from 4-5 which caused me shift the weight towards my toes. The pressure trace went too sharply to the left. So here are the feels I'm working on the change things.

- Feel more loading into my right hip as I stay in flexion.
- Exaggerate the turning rates on the downswing as my head feels like it stays back.
- Similar feels/piece to what I've already been doing but with more exaggeration and instead of feeling the opening with the hips on the downswing I'm focusing more on the motion of the left shoulder.

The "after" pressure trace, much straighter and finishing into the left heel.

Swing is looking great!! What is your feeling to start the downswing??

[mvmac]

 

Good drill I've sort of re-discovered, feeling it at 70% speed. For me the drill helps with my pivot, specifically keeping my upper back "soft" as I go from 3-4. My tendency is to stall my turning rates towards the end of the backswing, extend my thoracic at too fast a rate which leads to my head drifting forward from 4-5 causing me to make some "recovery" moves on the downswing. Not trying to make it perfect but any progress in the right direction will certainly help my ability to hit it better.

A video posted by Michael McLoughlin (@mvmac01) on May 3, 2016 at 8:13pm PDT

 

Posted the drill swing yesterday, here's the full speed caddy view. #golfswing

A video posted by Michael McLoughlin (@mvmac01) on May 4, 2016 at 10:58am PDT

[Jeremie Boop]

I was doing that ball drill last year. Seemed to get some pretty good results improving my one piece takeaway and getting rid of my chicken wing until the ball I was using got popped by the kids. I had a hard time finding the right sized ball to replace it and eventually forgot about it. Where did you pick that ball up?

[mvmac]

Really like the way 6-7 has been looking lately. Similar pivot pictures, right hip moves up and around, left knee gradually moves "in". Want to feel like I turn into my side. I sometimes have the image of the right hip "floating" back to the right for a split second during the takeaway and then "climbing" up. Then on the downswing I basically feel like I'm skipping a rock, rotating but keeping the right side "lower". Feels like I'm hitting a cut with my body but the ball is drawing. Was actually trying to hit a cut for a little bit to really get the rotation through the ball better.

 

[GolfLug]

@mvmac, do have a miss and what do you think causes it?

[mvmac]

1 hour ago, GolfLug said:

@mvmac, do have a miss and what do you think causes it?

When I'm playing well it's a slight pull or pull draw. When it's bad it's a thinny push or push cut. 

What causes it is what happens around the start of the downswing, even towards the end of the backswing. My head drifts forward and my shoulders and hips open at the same rate. I'm most likely always going to do this, it's just about limiting it or putting it pieces where I "have to" do it less. Part of it I think is just how my brain/body wants to get the club back to the ball.

You'll tend to see good player stay level or even raise slightly on the backswing and then lower in transition (or late backswing). I kind of do the opposite, I lower on the takeaway and raise towards the end of the backswing/start of transition. Leads my pivot to get too level. To get the club to the ball I have to stall my rotation which causes me to lower the handle, buckle my knees and tuck my hips. All that makes it hard to have consistent command over Key 3-5.

So the feeling I described in the last post, right hip "climbing" and the left knee flexing inward, help me stay "tall" and turn on the backswing. It gives me a better chance to go "down" on the downswing, skipping the rock feel, rotating while crunching my right side. Really like the comments @david_wedzik shared when I posted my swing on Facebook several months ago: "Hold (feel increase maybe) your pelvic/shoulder slants just a split second longer in start down and then have the feeling that the right shoulder gets lower and closer to the ball all the way into impact (you'll sense more right side bend). Jumping part should take care of itself from there." I agree and getting there was/is definitely part of the gameplan, it's just about finding the right feels/pictures that help me do that. While I can still make it better, it's a functional pattern and the past few months has been the most shaft lean/best Key #3 I've ever had.

[GolfLug]

4 hours ago, mvmac said:

When I'm playing well it's a slight pull or pull draw. When it's bad it's a thinny push or push cut. 

What causes it is what happens around the start of the downswing, even towards the end of the backswing. My head drifts forward and my shoulders and hips open at the same rate. I'm most likely always going to do this, it's just about limiting it or putting it pieces where I "have to" do it less. Part of it I think is just how my brain/body wants to get the club back to the ball.

You'll tend to see good player stay level or even raise slightly on the backswing and then lower in transition (or late backswing). I kind of do the opposite, I lower on the takeaway and raise towards the end of the backswing/start of transition. Leads my pivot to get too level. To get the club to the ball I have to stall my rotation which causes me to lower the handle, buckle my knees and tuck my hips. All that makes it hard to have consistent command over Key 3-5.

So the feeling I described in the last post, right hip "climbing" and the left knee flexing inward, help me stay "tall" and turn on the backswing. It gives me a better chance to go "down" on the downswing, skipping the rock feel, rotating while crunching my right side. Really like the comments @david_wedzik shared when I posted my swing on Facebook several months ago: "Hold (feel increase maybe) your pelvic/shoulder slants just a split second longer in start down and then have the feeling that the right shoulder gets lower and closer to the ball all the way into impact (you'll sense more right side bend). Jumping part should take care of itself from there." I agree and getting there was/is definitely part of the gameplan, it's just about finding the right feels/pictures that help me do that. While I can still make it better, it's a functional pattern and the past few months has been the most shaft lean/best Key #3 I've ever had.

You have outstanding self awareness.

Let me ask you this and is sort of continuation of answer you gave me on Insta - Do you think the kicking the right knee forward and in by the oldies to start BS (eg., Gary Player maybe) was a way to keep them turning too level, i.e., forced them to have a more tilted pivot (right hip going up) during BS?

[mvmac]

4 hours ago, GolfLug said:

You have outstanding self awareness.

Haha, well I better, I've learned (and continue to learn) from some very smart people. 

4 hours ago, GolfLug said:

Let me ask you this and is sort of continuation of answer you gave me on Insta - Do you think the kicking the right knee forward and in by the oldies to start BS (eg., Gary Player maybe) was a way to keep them turning too level, i.e., forced them to have a more tilted pivot (right hip going up) during BS?

Not really, I think it was just a way for them to put themselves in motion from a static position. I've added a little of that myself the past couple months, feeling a little pressure shift left to "push off" into my backswing, has helped my turning rates and the overall dynamics of the swing. For me it makes getting my left knee working "in" (pointing behind the ball) so much easier on the backswing, have to think about it less. Also helps me create a little more "snap" on the downswing.

Basically reached a crossroads with my swing several months ago, my mechanics were decent but my dynamics needed work. So I've been focusing more on the movements/motion and less on positions. Not saying one is better than the other, just sharing where I am in my "journey".

[mvmac]

Some recent swings. Similar backswing feels with the left knee working more "in"/less towards the ball and the "flow" into my right side. Also leads my takeaway/backswing to be wider and working more in front of me. Not really trying to do anything with the hands/arms going back other than just making sure I keep the width in my right arm.

On the downswing making sure the hands don't shift "out" as much which can lead me to getting too shallow and I have to sag my knees and stall my rotation to get the club on the ball. So hand path feels like it's "straighter" into the ball as I sit back with my left glute from 4-5.

This was a 7-iron, swing direction was a couple degrees left and 3-4 down. Pretty straight shots, falling a little right. Been going with more of a fade lately, feel it "intuitively" goes along with what I'm trying to do with my downswing, setting up with my body a little open.

 

[mvmac]

Pitching practice on the practice green. Pivot with the arms/hands feeling soft and passive.

 

[mvmac]

Hitting a persimmon driver for fun. Would be interesting to play a round with it. The grip was really old and felt like it was going to slip out of my hands.

 

[CarlSpackler]

6 hours ago, mvmac said:

Hitting a persimmon driver for fun. Would be interesting to play a round with it. The grip was really old and felt like it was going to slip out of my hands.

Go for it. It would be interesting to have a tournament where everyone had to play with equipment from Jack and Arnie's era. 

Edited January 8, 2017 by CarlSpackler
Autocorrect fix

[b101]

Love the videos and the feels that you're going with - I could genuinely watch your swing for about an hour and not stop noticing good things 

[iacas]

We hit persimmon drivers, those PINGs, at the range where we did the 5SK thing with that you-know-what.

[mvmac]

8 hours ago, b101 said:

Love the videos and the feels that you're going with - I could genuinely watch your swing for about an hour and not stop noticing good things 

Thanks!

 

[mvmac]

Working on mostly downswing stuff on the range but on the course my rehearsal feels are to point the left knee behind the ball on the backswing and squeeze the thighs together on the followthrough.

Couple things I've been happy to maintain as I keep gradually improving things.

- Good Key #3 alignments, always been prone to a bit of a "flip".
- Making a full turn on the backswing.
- "Wider" loading of the right arm/shaft on the backswing.

Hand path on the downswing is better. Moving forward I want to keep lessening the head drift in the early part of the downswing so I can just turn and thrust. When I do it right (or better) I feel more right side bend on the downswing and followthrough.

 

[Wanzo]

6 hours ago, mvmac said:

Moving forward I want to keep lessening the head drift in the early part of the downswing so I can just turn and thrust.

Great swing Mike. I was curious if you were trying to reduce the head moving back in the backswing as part of the solution?  I'm working on a similar feel to start down, tend to move my head towards target initially. And I'm jealous of your January outfit. 

[mvmac]

On 1/31/2017 at 4:43 AM, Wanzo said:

Great swing Mike. I was curious if you were trying to reduce the head moving back in the backswing as part of the solution? 

Thanks!

Not really, it would drift even a little farther forward when my head was more "centered". I'm fine with a little drift back a little because I'm probably always going to "re-centered" it towards the top, still in the steady range.

I think the head drift in the early downswing is from some bad habits I formed growing up trying to get my low point forward and not having good instincts on how to do it properly. Growing up in windy conditions and on a range hitting balls with the wind behind my back may have also played a role.