My Swing (Golfingdad)

[Ernest Jones]

1 hour ago, Golfingdad said:

Trying to work on keeping my heading steady in my living room - put together this contraption:

Seems it's easy for me to keep it steady for the first half of the backswing - but then my left shoulder bumps into my chin and my head starts to rotate for the last bit.

Looks comfy. 

[iacas]

20 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

Trying to work on keeping my heading steady in my living room - put together this contraption:

Seems it's easy for me to keep it steady for the first half of the backswing - but then my left shoulder bumps into my chin and my head starts to rotate for the last bit.

Your head will rotate unless you have incredible neck flexibility. So don't expect otherwise…

[GolfLug]

On ‎1‎/‎19‎/‎2017 at 1:17 AM, Golfingdad said:

Trying to work on keeping my heading steady in my living room - put together this contraption:

Seems it's easy for me to keep it steady for the first half of the backswing - but then my left shoulder bumps into my chin and my head starts to rotate for the last bit.

Drew, just thinking out aloud but isn't a tad bit of head rotation (I think along shoulder plane) a good thing? Not trying to get in your 'head' (see what I did there?.. :-)) or anything but I think if arms hang a bit more naturally at address might help, no?

BTW, nice contraption there Tin Cup.. ha ha.

[nevets88]

@Golfingdad, another thing you can do is if you see your shadow, place a ball or something on top of your shadow's head, make sure you don't move off that ball.

 

[boogielicious]

4 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

@Golfingdad, another thing you can do is if you see your shadow, place a ball or something on top of your shadow's head, make sure you don't move off that ball.

 

I used that technique with my hips. One of the ranges I go to has the setting sun at my back. I watch my hips with my practice swings.

[nevets88]

35 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

I used that technique with my hips. One of the ranges I go to has the setting sun at my back. I watch my hips with my practice swings.

Yep, you can put balls on left and right hip shadow, stay between them.

[Golfingdad]

12 hours ago, iacas said:

Your head will rotate unless you have incredible neck flexibility. So don't expect otherwise…

 

3 hours ago, GolfLug said:

Drew, just thinking out aloud but isn't a tad bit of head rotation (I think along shoulder plane) a good thing? Not trying to get in your 'head' (see what I did there?.. :-)) or anything but I think if arms hang a bit more naturally at address might help, no?

BTW, nice contraption there Tin Cup.. ha ha.

Thanks guys.  Yeah so it sounds like Stephan was just asking me to minimize my head movement, not eliminate it.  Also, I think we're more concerned with the tipping forward than a slight rotation.

Also, my wife laughed out loud and called me tin cup as well when she saw it.

1 hour ago, nevets88 said:

@Golfingdad, another thing you can do is if you see your shadow, place a ball or something on top of your shadow's head, make sure you don't move off that ball.

Another good idea.  And if I can't see my shadow ... that means like 2 more weeks of winter or something?

---

Now I'm off to hopefully play golf with @DaveP043 and @mvmac, and hopefully not in the rain. :)

[iacas]

Motion of the head is not about rotation, it's about translation (side to side).

Yes, your head goes forward. Yes, it will rotate, but so does everyone's.

[billchao]

You can make backswings at home with your head next to a door jamb @Golfingdad. To your left since you slide forward.

[mvmac]

Agree with what @billchao said, put your head up against something and then make a bunch of slow backswing and then some normal speed ones. Another drill/feel is with two alignment sticks. One on the ground just inside your right foot (perpendicular to your stance line) and the other across your chest. Make backswings and pause at 4, try to match up the stick across your shoulders to the one on the ground.

When you go to hit balls have the same image or feel. At first you'll feel like you'll fat it but keep at it. I think this will help with some of those start lines issues you can have. Overall your contact was pretty good contact.

[Golfingdad]

In my last analysis, Stephan had me working on trying to get my head to move back and my right knee to stayed flexed longer during the backswing.  I have problems with overextending and my head going forward.  Here I am working on that in face-on view:

In this video, I was fairly successful in the knee staying bent a little longer, and the head at least not going forward, however, you may notice that my hips don't stay centered in the turn, they sway back.  My analysis off of this video is to work on that.

A lot of mirror/reflection work to try and find a motion where I can get the hips to stay centered.  If there is a line drawn along the outside of my right thigh at A1, ideally at A4 there will be space between my leg and that line.  For now, though, if I can at least get it to stay on that line and not cross it, that will be good progress.

In addition to the reflection work without a ball, I have to start getting better at taking slower swings with a ball.  I don't have trouble with practicing motions, but I do tend to have trouble not going full speed when a ball is down there.

[Golfingdad]

On March 5, 2017 at 0:19 PM, Golfingdad said:

A lot of mirror/reflection work to try and find a motion where I can get the hips to stay centered.  If there is a line drawn along the outside of my right thigh at A1, ideally at A4 there will be space between my leg and that line.  For now, though, if I can at least get it to stay on that line and not cross it, that will be good progress.

In addition to the reflection work without a ball, I have to start getting better at taking slower swings with a ball.  I don't have trouble with practicing motions, but I do tend to have trouble not going full speed when a ball is down there.

Here is a follow-up to the above post.  This is a screenshot from the same video showing exactly what I'm referring to above:

Now, here is a screenshot from my practice session today, after spending the last few days trying to get the right position doing reflection work in the window at night:

Below is my raw video from today, showing me attempting to get better at slower swings. :)

 

[mdl]

You lose weight?  Looking good.

Swing work is looking good too!

[Wanzo]

Hip turn is looking good. I relate to having trouble not going full speed when ball is there. keep it up!  

[billchao]

21 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

Here is a follow-up to the above post.  This is a screenshot from the same video showing exactly what I'm referring to above:

Now, here is a screenshot from my practice session today, after spending the last few days trying to get the right position doing reflection work in the window at night:

Below is my raw video from today, showing me attempting to get better at slower swings. :)

 

I think that thing you're doing where you are pushing your tailbone/lead hip towards the target is leading to more extension.

Maybe you're turning your hips too level? Are you getting your right hip up and around as you turn?

[Golfingdad]

21 hours ago, mdl said:

You lose weight?  Looking good.

It's been awhile now, but yes.  Over the course of 2015, I lost about 50 pounds. :)

3 hours ago, Wanzo said:

Hip turn is looking good. I relate to having trouble not going full speed when ball is there. keep it up!  

It's funny because I was all proud of myself at the range because I took a couple of slow swings that felt like 30-40% speed.  Then I watched the video and it looks like it was more like 90-95% speed.  Whoops.

1 hour ago, billchao said:

I think that thing you're doing where you are pushing your tailbone/lead hip towards the target is leading to more extension.

Maybe you're turning your hips too level? Are you getting your right hip up and around as you turn?

I don't think it's leading to more extension - simply because I'm not extending more than I was last week before I did it.  But, I agree that I'm not extending less either.  But a couple of the things we are monitoring that have something to do with the extension are starting to look a little better at least.  First, I am able to keep the head from tipping forward in the backswing, and the other item is trying to keep my right leg from straightening too soon.  Those two kind of go hand in hand.

We'll find out soon enough what Stephan thinks, but I suspect he might suggest continuing to try and make the head go back and try to hunch over to try and get that arch out of the back.  But that's a wild guess.

[Golfingdad]

On 3/7/2017 at 9:59 PM, Golfingdad said:

Very encouraging response from @sk golf on this one.  He said that this is "a big deal" and "the best I've seen your backswing," which, for him, is nearly 5 years.

I practiced it for a few days in front of my reflection and this video was taken on only the second day of actual practice, so I'm nowhere near having it down yet.  I'm definitely in the conscious competence stage of this piece, and have a lot of work to go before it becomes unconscious.  I mention that because Stephan went ahead and gave me a new piece to work on, while at the same time cautioning me to not get ahead of myself if I'm not ready for it yet.***

The new piece is a downswing piece, though, so while I am still mostly focusing on the backswing during my practice, I am still making somewhat of an attempt to work on the new piece as well, just not a lot of focus yet.  I have "saggy knees" and get my weight too far forward, get out of sequence, pivot stalls, hands overtake rapidly, and I hit lots of pulls and hooks.  The move is to try and feel like I'm NOT getting my weight forward, but rather just turning.  If I was getting a live lesson, he'd be trying to get my right front pocket around and up instead of just sliding forward and not opening.

Anyways, a little progress is always encouraging.

***This is a small drawback to online lessons with somebody halfway across the country.  He isn't there to see how well you have progressed, he only has the one or two swings you send to him.  If you're not honest with yourself, then it would be too easy to get ahead of yourself and be working on the wrong things.  If you are honest with yourself, then you're golden. :)

[coachjimsc]

1 hour ago, Golfingdad said:

Very encouraging response from @sk golf on this one.  He said that this is "a big deal" and "the best I've seen your backswing," which, for him, is nearly 5 years.

Keep it up Drew. I fully expect to give you Zero strokes by October 19th!