My Swing (Jetfan1983)

[iacas]

Hey, Constantine, I'm glad we have been able to keep in touch over the past 2.5 years, and I particularly enjoyed getting to watch Star Wars with you the day before opening night at the super-late 7:00pm show time… 😄

We've talked a bunch about your shoulders, and I think you have a firm grasp on what and how to work on that. I think you're mentally strong enough to deal with the stops and starts and all that jazz that's bound to be a part of your re-entry.

I've never been able to imagine your situation, and that is as true now as ever, but I'm happy to have remained a friend and I'm really, really just thrilled to see you able to get back to golf, even if it's still a ways out. You know what they say about some things in life making you appreciate stuff more, but I know I don't have to remind you of that.

And, on the bright side… you'll be among the 2% of golfers who probably won't have to worry about your swing getting too long. 🙂

[klineka]

16 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

@JetFan1983

Great post! One stupid question, are you icing immediately after the round or practice? If not, do it. Also, there is a technique called ice massage that can target better and faster. Take a paper cup and freeze water in it. Peel back the paper and massage the spot for about 3-5 minutes if you can do it comfortably. This targets inflammation. Shoulders are harder to do, but it is worth trying. You may already be doing this, but I thought I'd ask.

 

Not sure if icing is the best option or even necessary, especially for chronic pain.

"In fact, icing appears to have no effect on recovery at all, good or bad. What few studies we have of this just show no difference"

"If ice can help a repetitive strain injury in any way beyond brief numbing, no one has ever actually proven it or shown how it might work."

The article does suggest that icing wont necessarily hurt, and shows some images describing the ice cups you mentioned, but just figured I'd throw it out there that icing isn't 100% necessary nor will it automatically make you feel better.

https://www.painscience.com/articles/icing.php

Nonetheless, glad to hear you are able to swing and play again and even managed a birdie on your first round back! Impressive!

 

[iacas]

I won't speak for @JetFan1983, but I think he knows way, way, way more about what he's been dealing with than any of us could, and also that he appreciates the concern and good intentions.

I also imagine that he might rather we focus on the positives here, and not the stuff he's been dealing with that has taken him away from the game for awhile.

But again, not speaking for him, just trying to re-focus back to "Yay! He's playing golf again!"

[boogielicious]

35 minutes ago, iacas said:

I won't speak for @JetFan1983, but I think he knows way, way, way more about what he's been dealing with than any of us could, and also that he appreciates the concern and good intentions.

I also imagine that he might rather we focus on the positives here, and not the stuff he's been dealing with that has taken him away from the game for awhile.

But again, not speaking for him, just trying to re-focus back to "Yay! He's playing golf again!"

Yeah, my bad. It is great to have @JetFan1983 back. He has one of the best avatars on the site! It was a good example of a my swing post too. 

[iacas]

9 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

He has one of the best avatars on the site!

I spent far too much time making that one, and yet… I enjoyed every second of that time, and chuckled more than once.

9 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

It was a good example of a my swing post too. 

It was a phenomenal example, you're right.

[mchepp]

So great to have you back @JetFan1983! Now we can hopefully get back to chasing Amanda around town again!

[JetFan1983]

7 hours ago, iacas said:

I won't speak for @JetFan1983, but I think he knows way, way, way more about what he's been dealing with than any of us could, and also that he appreciates the concern and good intentions.

I also imagine that he might rather we focus on the positives here, and not the stuff he's been dealing with that has taken him away from the game for awhile.

But again, not speaking for him, just trying to re-focus back to "Yay! He's playing golf again!"

Yea so, just to clarify to anyone who was wondering, (and feel free to skip over this, I won't be offended) I have this disease called adhesive capsulitis. Here's a link to the wikipedia page if you want a crash course in it. There's a lot of misinformation on it (for example, you cannot prevent it once you get it), but it'll give you a basic idea of what it is.

The term "frozen shoulder" is a catch-all used by both doctors and physical therapists to describe any shoulder condition that is both painful and includes loss of ROM (range-of-motion). Unfortunately, adhesive capsulitis gets conflated under this umbrella term. In most cases, rest and some physical therapy will help someone dealing with ROM loss due to an injury to the shoulder; in my case however, PT is both useless and detrimental during the first year or two of the disease. PT only becomes effective once the ball-socket joint begins to "thaw," or rather, when ROM shows signs of returning simply on its own. My left shoulder became symptomatic in June 2016 and didn't show any signs of thawing until September. Even back in July I tried to putt, but the pain was so severe, I left after five minutes. That was a really depressing day. 

The unfortunate reality of this disease is that even doctors don't know how to cure this. If you see five orthopedic surgeons, three will tell you to get intense PT, one will tell you to get surgery, and one will tell you to do nothing for two years. The latter doctor is the one who understands the condition the best of the five. 

And I can do PT now that I'm thawing, but rather than do that, I'm just playing golf, which is doing the exact same thing, and is obviously way more fun 

There is some debate among researches how this disease happens. Some think it is caused by trauma, some believe it is genetic, some believe there may be a viral component. IMO, this is genetic. I thought this was caused by golf, but when the other shoulder became symptomatic in December 2017, and I had done jack shit for over a year and a half at that point, I knew right away this was a disease. The symptoms and their trajectory were exactly the same. 

Typically, when your second shoulder goes, it's less severe than the first. That was the case for me. Someone I met online who also has this joked that "maybe the 2nd one is easier to deal with because we realize at this point to not do any PT for it?" I agreed. 

This disease can also attack the hips, but it's much rarer. I've met people online who have had the frozen hip too. I had hip pain in late October that lasted 4-5 weeks, so I was scared my hip was freezing too, but it turned out just to be a minor strain from all the walking I do daily for exercise. I guess anytime i get hip pain now, I'm going to have a panic attack, but such is the nature of the legacy of this disease. 

Experts have told me I should gradually regain ROM over the next five years and that if I'm lucky I could get 90% back, which I would take at this point. I may get none or I may get 100%. I've met people online who stay frozen forever, with no thawing phase. I know people who are over nine years into their disease. I've met people who had botched surgeries that say this disease is a cakewalk compared to what they deal with now. Within the community, I'm one of the luckier ones, believe it or not. 

7 hours ago, boogielicious said:

@JetFan1983

Great post! One stupid question, are you icing immediately after the round or practice? If not, do it. Also, there is a technique called ice massage that can target better and faster. Take a paper cup and freeze water in it. Peel back the paper and massage the spot for about 3-5 minutes if you can do it comfortably. This targets inflammation. Shoulders are harder to do, but it is worth trying. You may already be doing this, but I thought I'd ask.

Second, your A4 is the same as my A4! So you have the range of a 58 year old from Boston. 

I have something like thirty CVS ice packs in my freezer. It helps a lot. I'm something of a pro at tying ace bandages around my shoulders without any help 

I also did do PT for this for months in the early going and learned lots of tips and tricks for rehabbing injuries. I definitely learned the frozen cup trick!

Plus, I've always had some trouble shortening my backswing, so if there's anything good that comes out of this, that's probably it!

7 hours ago, iacas said:

Hey, Constantine, I'm glad we have been able to keep in touch over the past 2.5 years, and I particularly enjoyed getting to watch Star Wars with you the day before opening night at the super-late 7:00pm show time… 😄

We've talked a bunch about your shoulders, and I think you have a firm grasp on what and how to work on that. I think you're mentally strong enough to deal with the stops and starts and all that jazz that's bound to be a part of your re-entry.

I've never been able to imagine your situation, and that is as true now as ever, but I'm happy to have remained a friend and I'm really, really just thrilled to see you able to get back to golf, even if it's still a ways out. You know what they say about some things in life making you appreciate stuff more, but I know I don't have to remind you of that.

And, on the bright side… you'll be among the 2% of golfers who probably won't have to worry about your swing getting too long. 🙂

Star Wars up in Port St.Lucie was awesome! Outback Steakhouse! Erik getting his usual coke zero!

Yea, the sick thing about that was my right shoulder was JUST starting to become symptomatic when we hung out. I think I even mentioned it to you that my right shoulder was feeling weird, but it wasn't for two more months where the symptoms became great enough where it was obvious to me it was happening. 

Yea, following golf these last 2.5 years has been tough, and for long stretches I disappeared entirely from it. I didn't watch any majors last year. I watched the Honda Classic just because I live down the street from PGA National, but that was it. It was simply too difficult to enjoy it, partly because of the pain, partly because I didn't know if I would ever be able to play again. It's been fun the last couple weeks catching up on tournament highlights, guys like Tommy Fleetwood who have risen to prominence, and watching content from new social media stars like Erik Anders Lang and Brodie Smith. I even got a Mevo in the mail today. 

And yea, you're right about the shorter backswing. Maybe we should inject @saevel25 with a droplet of this disease to help him with shortening his swing finally? JK.  I'm surprised I can hit draws with only max 90 degrees of external rotation from both shoulders. 

This condition has been extremely difficult though, as you can probably guess. I've gotten the blues at varying times in my life, but I've never suffered depression like this before. The wikipedia page actually gets that part of it pretty spot on. It sucks. But I like to think the worst is over now with this. 

7 hours ago, klineka said:

Not sure if icing is the best option or even necessary, especially for chronic pain.

"In fact, icing appears to have no effect on recovery at all, good or bad. What few studies we have of this just show no difference"

"If ice can help a repetitive strain injury in any way beyond brief numbing, no one has ever actually proven it or shown how it might work."

The article does suggest that icing wont necessarily hurt, and shows some images describing the ice cups you mentioned, but just figured I'd throw it out there that icing isn't 100% necessary nor will it automatically make you feel better.

https://www.painscience.com/articles/icing.php

Nonetheless, glad to hear you are able to swing and play again and even managed a birdie on your first round back! Impressive!

 

I appreciate the reply! Yea, so ice essentially just numbs the area, so I get relief from the pain for only a short period of time, but it's better than nothing. Not everyone responds to ice with this, but I do for some reason. Heat makes it worse for me, and I even tried to do hot tub therapy for a while there. 

I agree that with this particular condition, ice doesn't actually solve anything besides reducing symptoms for a little bit, but I'll take any relief I can get. I basically tried to mix up my usage of pills so I wouldn't overdo any one thing as well. Aleve one day, Tylenol the next, then I would give myself one or two days a week where I would take a Percocet or Tramadol or other opioid. I was very aware of the addiction risk since I know that a huge percentage of people who end up addicted start from the exact situation I was in: chronic pain. It can be from a sports injury, cancer, a car accident, whatever. The rest of the days, I simply just suffered and drank a glass of wine or ate crap.

It sucked.

I took a ton of vitamins and did try to eat healthy on some days, but I'm not sure it did anything. 

6 hours ago, boogielicious said:

Yeah, my bad. It is great to have @JetFan1983 back. He has one of the best avatars on the site! It was a good example of a my swing post too. 

 

6 hours ago, iacas said:

I spent far too much time making that one, and yet… I enjoyed every second of that time, and chuckled more than once.

It was a phenomenal example, you're right.

The avatar works even better when Brandel is in some sort of controversy or scandal. Like when he blocked Dufner or when he makes some claim that has been proven false already. 

And thanks for the compliments on the post. That advice I gave @Faksakes this morning was definitely born out of learning it the hard way. I simply don't have the strength anymore to waste my time figuring things out on my own. Maybe those of you who have been blessed with decent health can take this advice to heart and focus more on working with a qualified instructor. It really is a waste of time to go searching for it through the dirt because, frankly, life's too short and I'm not Ben Hogan. I just cannot afford to waste a single swing working on the wrong thing anymore. I only get so many swings I can make in a month so I have to make them all count. 

This doesn't mean I don't have to work hard to get better, I just can't afford to work on the wrong thing.

 

5 hours ago, mchepp said:

So great to have you back @JetFan1983! Now we can hopefully get back to chasing Amanda around town again!

It's funny that I haven't run into her once in like a year and a half or something. I used to see her all over town, but that time at Bed, Bath and Beyond up in Jupiter was the last time. Shame. Maybe she left town? My stalking game is totally slacking these days. 

But thanks, Michael, I appreciate it! 

[boogielicious]

Terrific post @JetFan1983.

[chspeed]

14 hours ago, JetFan1983 said:

Yea so, just to clarify to anyone who was wondering, (and feel free to skip over this, I won't be offended) I have this disease called adhesive capsulitis. Here's a link to the wikipedia page if you want a crash course in it. There's a lot of misinformation on it (for example, you cannot prevent it once you get it), but it'll give you a basic idea of what it is.

Wow. Sounds absolutely brutal. Makes coming back from shoulder surgery, which isn't fun, seem like a walk in the park. I hope that more research is done about this condition, and that they can figure out how to treat it in the future. Hope your recovery continues going well and that you're able to enjoy golf for many years to come!

[Bo the Golfer]

@JetFan1983 I just took the last very quiet day and a half at work to read this thread. Yours is a very compelling journey and I'm very happy to hear that golf again is a part of your life. I saw that I posted back in late 2012 on this telling you I would refer to this thread in my own journey. I got sidetracked for personal reasons but reading through this has reignited my resolve. I hope you continue to make progress and I look forward to following along.

[JetFan1983]

Yay, I got to practice and play nine holes today with my dad! I don't take these days for granted ever. It was probably a perfect day 

 

I'm happy with how my swing is looking already after hitting only like fifteen range balls. Granted, I'm practicing really smart, but the changes are starting to show already. These vids are definitely an A+ start in my book.

Here's me dressed as a ketchup bottle hitting a 56:

 

Sorry for the vertical view.

This is a massive improvement from what it looked like in that first filmed swing a couple weeks ago IMO. 

I hit it super solidly on the range swinging at what felt like 70% speed. Mostly tight draws. It's fragilé and will take a long time to ingrain, but great start so far for me. 

Here's me doing a drill swing with driver:

 

That was a tight draw too. I think. For some reason I don't look happy after that shot, but I stopped filming myself after that swing, so I must've been happy.

 

We played nine after this and I only shot a 44, but I hit a couple drives 270+, both push-draws. I made one birdie. The drives were a nice relief from the 215 yards I was averaging during that first round back. I focused on sequence the entire round, swinging at a slow enough tempo to give myself the best chance for the changes to happen. It worked sometimes.  

Now I would've played better but I was dealing with pain again today and I was protecting everything the farther into the round we got. I kept clubbing up and swinging slower and slower not to jar anything loose, and as a result, I basically blocked everything right over the last few holes.

Turns out, in addition to my shoulder issues, overall I'm more brittle than usual. I have a minor strain in my right forearm/wrist that I developed during my last range session at Abacoa (my previous Swing Thread update). It hasn't healed yet and started flaring up as the day went on. I probably need a couple more weeks for it to go away. I don't want to make it worse since it's minor and the last thing I want is to turn it into something serious, so I'll probably take the time it needs to resolve. I wish I could practice all the time, but I gotta be smart and let this heal.  

Despite that though, today was a perfect day. I gave my dad a lesson and he shot his lowest nine hole score ever, a 43, beating me by one (he played from the 5600 yard tees tho).

We were both on cloud nine after the round. It was our first round together in about three years. Yea, I mean... it just doesn't get much better than that. Golf, great weather, dad... Life is good.

Hopefully I have more updates like this to document in the near future here. Cheers, everyone. Have a great New Years.  

Edited December 31, 2018 by JetFan1983

[Effington]

Sounds great, and looks like the weather was perfect for ya.  

[JetFan1983]

On 12/19/2018 at 11:40 AM, Bo the Golfer said:

@JetFan1983 I just took the last very quiet day and a half at work to read this thread. Yours is a very compelling journey and I'm very happy to hear that golf again is a part of your life. I saw that I posted back in late 2012 on this telling you I would refer to this thread in my own journey. I got sidetracked for personal reasons but reading through this has reignited my resolve. I hope you continue to make progress and I look forward to following along.

That's awesome! I really appreciate that.

I've checked your content recently and noticed you were gearing up for (if not already doing) a diet and exercise program. I really want to do the same thing, so I've been mentally preparing these last few weeks. I'm kind of dreading it, but I know the long term will improve in too many ways for me not to do it. It takes me like 2-3 weeks to get used to fewer calories per day, and since I'm so out of shape, my fitness routine will be fairly basic. Maybe thirty minutes of weights twice a week to start? Baby steps. But I'm tired of all these minor strains I've been getting since I increased my overall activity in November. I won't be able to work out my shoulders, and exercise will most likely irritate them, but the rest of my body really needs the maintenance. 

Also, on your Swing Thread, I noticed you had an epiphany about the rotary function of the hips in conjunction with the slide. There's a third variable here as well that maybe you didn't know about: the extension of the pelvis. Here are a couple posts I wrote about that if you wanted to check that out and complete your theoretical understanding of this aspect of the sequence:

 

I do want to encourage you to invest in finding a great instructor though, and not doing this on your own. I've made my swing so much better in such a short amount of time because of it. It's absolutely worth the time, energy and money to work with a topflight teacher. Short of being born with talent and starting young, it's the biggest advantage in the amateur game to have a teacher that knows how to help you. In my opinion of course.

Have a happy New Year, Bo! 

On 12/19/2018 at 8:38 AM, chspeed said:

Wow. Sounds absolutely brutal. Makes coming back from shoulder surgery, which isn't fun, seem like a walk in the park. I hope that more research is done about this condition, and that they can figure out how to treat it in the future. Hope your recovery continues going well and that you're able to enjoy golf for many years to come!

 

Thanks, man, but don't sell yourself short on surgery. That can't be a walk in the park either. 

I was reading about the pro golfer Will Claxton's return to the tour this season, and he was out for four years with both a serious hip issue and two ruptured discs in his back. When I read that, I really got kinda nauseous for him. Can't imagine going through that. I was happy to hear he's back playing, and at a high level.

Adhesive capsulitis stinks though yes. The online community for it is a real depressed bunch. I've met a lot of people who have had it for nearly a decade, and some who've had it in their hip joints too. I still have it myself, but at least the pain symptoms are like 90% gone. Hopefully it continues to improve for me over the next few years and then resolves entirely. My right shoulder is still pretty tender from it, and I don't think I'm doing damage to it, but I could be. Fingers crossed that golfing again is helping it. I think it might be.

I appreciate the reply! 

1 hour ago, Effington said:

Sounds great, and looks like the weather was perfect for ya.  

It was the most joy I've experienced on a golf course ever. It beat the day I first broke 80, the day I shot my lowest score ever (75), and was better than my first round back several weeks ago. Just a perfect day with lots of laughter. Days like that don't come along everyday, that's for sure. 

[Bo the Golfer]

2 hours ago, JetFan1983 said:

That's awesome! I really appreciate that.

I've checked your content recently and noticed you were gearing up for (if not already doing) a diet and exercise program. I really want to do the same thing, so I've been mentally preparing these last few weeks. I'm kind of dreading it, but I know the long term will improve in too many ways for me not to do it. It takes me like 2-3 weeks to get used to fewer calories per day, and since I'm so out of shape, my fitness routine will be fairly basic. Maybe thirty minutes of weights twice a week to start? Baby steps. But I'm tired of all these minor strains I've been getting since I increased my overall activity in November. I won't be able to work out my shoulders, and exercise will most likely irritate them, but the rest of my body really needs the maintenance. 

Also, on your Swing Thread, I noticed you had an epiphany about the rotary function of the hips in conjunction with the slide. There's a third variable here as well that maybe you didn't know about: the extension of the pelvis. Here are a couple posts I wrote about that if you wanted to check that out and complete your theoretical understanding of this aspect of the sequence:

 

I do want to encourage you to invest in finding a great instructor though, and not doing this on your own. I've made my swing so much better in such a short amount of time because of it. It's absolutely worth the time, energy and money to work with a topflight teacher. Short of being born with talent and starting young, it's the biggest advantage in the amateur game to have a teacher that knows how to help you. In my opinion of course.

Have a happy New Year, Bo! 

 

Thanks, man, but don't sell yourself short on surgery. That can't be a walk in the park either. 

I was reading about the pro golfer Will Claxton's return to the tour this season, and he was out for four years with both a serious hip issue and two ruptured discs in his back. When I read that, I really got kinda nauseous for him. Can't imagine going through that. I was happy to hear he's back playing, and at a high level.

Adhesive capsulitis stinks though yes. The online community for it is a real depressed bunch. I've met a lot of people who have had it for nearly a decade, and some who've had it in their hip joints too. I still have it myself, but at least the pain symptoms are like 90% gone. Hopefully it continues to improve for me over the next few years and then resolves entirely. My right shoulder is still pretty tender from it, and I don't think I'm doing damage to it, but I could be. Fingers crossed that golfing again is helping it. I think it might be.

I appreciate the reply! 

It was the most joy I've experienced on a golf course ever. It beat the day I first broke 80, the day I shot my lowest score ever (75), and was better than my first round back several weeks ago. Just a perfect day with lots of laughter. Days like that don't come along everyday, that's for sure. 

Thank you for the great advice. I'm really planning on this being the year for both better health and better golf. Happy new year @JetFan1983

Edited December 31, 2018 by Bo the Golfer

[JetFan1983]

Well, I'm not gonna say "I'm back," because of how precarious this all probably is, but after two major surgeries and a lot of rehab, I actually hit range balls without pain this past Sunday for 45 minutes. Predictably, my swing is horrible now (well, worse than usual), but my only real concern is getting strong enough to be able to practice regularly. I've taken my diet seriously for almost eight months (keto) and I've lost 30 pounds, plus I rehab pretty much every day, so I'm slowly getting stronger and more flexible (six months and counting). 

Right now, diet/rehab/sleep are the priorities in my life, which is boring yes, but after six plus months of it, I know it's a path that should eventually lead me back to the gym and ultimately to the practice tee on a regular basis. 

Anyway, I should probably include a couple swings from the first post-surgical session, so here you go. 

 

The swing itself is worse than the fact that I just posted another vertical video, yikes 😋... To be expected though, I guess. A far cry from the goodness of the last swing I uploaded here (me decked out in red above). Hopefully I can get that back sooner rather than later.

So yea, I declared my priorities to be: 1) Slide hips 2) Head stays back 3) Swing arms passed body

The best I could muster in that short session was this:

 

I guess that's decent for just a few swings. 

After I got home, I decided the other priority was adding palmar flexion to the lead wrist in transition (I'm steep too, but that's hard to see from FO). 

Priorities for next time:

1) Slide/rotate/extend hips on downswing

2) Head moves downward and back on downswing (NOT forward)

3) Swing arms aggressively across my chest on downswing

4) Palmar flex lead wrist in transition and early downswing to facilitate less steepness

 

Now, I know that's a lot, but I'm pretty sure that's what I'm supposed to be focusing on when practicing. I'm not gonna step on a course for a while anyway. For one, I'm only cleared to hit range balls twice a week max right now. I've been chipping and putting since November 1st only, so I still have a long way to go. I probably won't be cleared for actual golf for a couple months, which is actually fine by me cuz my swing isn't functional right now anyway. 

 

I have rehab at 11am today. Like I said, I rehab every day, probably on average about three hours per day since I also take care of everything else (back, legs, forearms, etc.). It's a lot and almost like a full-time job. Currently, I'm doing blood flow restriction therapy on both shoulders and my left knee. It's intense, but it's helping a lot to rebuild all the atrophy I have in my arms and legs. The doctors here are awesome. I rehab with MLB players and other cool pro athletes at his baller facility here in West Palm. Even Brook Koepka was here for a little bit rehabbing his patella, with my same doctor team. Nice guy. He should've stayed (he bounced after only a week). Maybe he'd be playing the President's Cup had he stuck around.

 

PS- My surgeries were the following if anyone was wondering:

I've progressed a ton since this post, but it sums up what the problem was decently enough. 

Oh yea, hitting range balls on Sunday was the first pain free golf session I've had since June 6th, 2016. Crazy right? I'm still sore from it, but at least it's a "good" sore. 

Who knows how long I'll be able to last. I don't really want to think about it. I just focus on my daily rehab, my healthy diet, and I stay positive and hope for the best. 

....aaaaaamd I think I know what I'm gonna be thankful for this year 😊

Happy Thanksgiving, guys!

[ncates00]

13 minutes ago, JetFan1983 said:

Well, I'm not gonna say "I'm back," because of how precarious this all probably is, but after two major surgeries and a lot of rehab, I actually hit range balls without pain this past Sunday for 45 minutes. Predictably, my swing is horrible now (well, worse than usual), but my only real concern is getting strong enough to be able to practice regularly. I've taken my diet seriously for almost eight months (keto) and I've lost 30 pounds, plus I rehab pretty much every day, so I'm slowly getting stronger and more flexible (six months and counting). 

Right now, diet/rehab/sleep are the priorities in my life, which is boring yes, but after six plus months of it, I know it's a path that should eventually lead me back to the gym and ultimately to the practice tee on a regular basis. 

Anyway, I should probably include a couple swings from the first post-surgical session, so here you go. 

 

The swing itself is worse than the fact that I just posted another vertical video, yikes 😋... To be expected though, I guess. A far cry from the goodness of the last swing I uploaded here (me decked out in red above). Hopefully I can get that back sooner rather than later.

So yea, I declared my priorities to be: 1) Slide hips 2) Head stays back 3) Swing arms passed body

The best I could muster in that short session was this:

 

I guess that's decent for just a few swings. 

After I got home, I decided the other priority was adding palmar flexion to the lead wrist in transition (I'm steep too, but that's hard to see from FO). 

Priorities for next time:

1) Slide/rotate/extend hips on downswing

2) Head moves downward and back on downswing (NOT forward)

3) Swing arms aggressively across my chest on downswing

4) Palmar flex lead wrist in transition and early downswing to facilitate less steepness

 

Now, I know that's a lot, but I'm pretty sure that's what I'm supposed to be focusing on when practicing. I'm not gonna step on a course for a while anyway. For one, I'm only cleared to hit range balls twice a week max right now. I've been chipping and putting since November 1st only, so I still have a long way to go. I probably won't be cleared for actual golf for a couple months, which is actually fine by me cuz my swing isn't functional right now anyway. 

 

I have rehab at 11am today. Like I said, I rehab every day, probably on average about three hours per day since I also take care of everything else (back, legs, forearms, etc.). It's a lot and almost like a full-time job. Currently, I'm doing blood flow restriction therapy on both shoulders and my left knee. It's intense, but it's helping a lot to rebuild all the atrophy I have in my arms and legs. The doctors here are awesome. I rehab with MLB players and other cool pro athletes at his baller facility here in West Palm. Even Brook Koepka was here for a little bit rehabbing his patella, with my same doctor team. Nice guy. He should've stayed (he bounced after only a week). Maybe he'd be playing the President's Cup had he stuck around.

 

PS- My surgeries were the following if anyone was wondering:

I've progressed a ton since this post, but it sums up what the problem was decently enough. 

Oh yea, hitting range balls on Sunday was the first pain free golf session I've had since June 6th, 2016. Crazy right? I'm still sore from it, but at least it's a "good" sore. 

Who knows how long I'll be able to last. I don't really want to think about it. I just focus on my daily rehab, my healthy diet, and I stay positive and hope for the best. 

....aaaaaamd I think I know what I'm gonna be thankful for this year 😊

Happy Thanksgiving, guys!

Awesome man.  Yeah, the keto diet is really good.  I've really enjoyed it and have had great success with it.  Keto + powerlifting is amazing.

Keep at it and welcome back.

[JetFan1983]

Just now, ncates00 said:

Awesome man.  Yeah, the keto diet is really good.  I've really enjoyed it and have had great success with it.  Keto + powerlifting is amazing.

Keep at it and welcome back.

Thanks! Appreciate that. Yea, the keto diet was the spark that started a bunch of good things happening for me. 6 weeks later I found a good surgeon/rehab team and was able to go from there. Non-stop keto since April 6th of this year!

---

I was editing my original post, but I might as well add what I was gonna edit here:

All my ball flights were horrendous push-fades that almost went out of the range, hence why palmar flexion makes sense to add. And I'm super steep too. I have one video of it (the only DTL vid I shot), so you can just take my word for it that I steepen the crap out of it in transition then dump it/shallow it/high handle it late, with totally not-functional results 😂 Too ugly to post.

My last swing of the day I added a bit of motorcycle revving and the cut immediately was reduced by like 80%.

[boogielicious]

28 minutes ago, JetFan1983 said:

Well, I'm not gonna say "I'm back," because of how precarious this all probably is, but after two major surgeries and a lot of rehab, I actually hit range balls without pain this past Sunday for 45 minutes. Predictably, my swing is horrible now (well, worse than usual), but my only real concern is getting strong enough to be able to practice regularly. I've taken my diet seriously for almost eight months (keto) and I've lost 30 pounds, plus I rehab pretty much every day, so I'm slowly getting stronger and more flexible (six months and counting). 

Right now, diet/rehab/sleep are the priorities in my life, which is boring yes, but after six plus months of it, I know it's a path that should eventually lead me back to the gym and ultimately to the practice tee on a regular basis. 

Anyway, I should probably include a couple swings from the first post-surgical session, so here you go. 

 

The swing itself is worse than the fact that I just posted another vertical video, yikes 😋... To be expected though, I guess. A far cry from the goodness of the last swing I uploaded here (me decked out in red above). Hopefully I can get that back sooner rather than later.

So yea, I declared my priorities to be: 1) Slide hips 2) Head stays back 3) Swing arms passed body

The best I could muster in that short session was this:

 

I guess that's decent for just a few swings. 

After I got home, I decided the other priority was adding palmar flexion to the lead wrist in transition (I'm steep too, but that's hard to see from FO). 

Priorities for next time:

1) Slide/rotate/extend hips on downswing

2) Head moves downward and back on downswing (NOT forward)

3) Swing arms aggressively across my chest on downswing

4) Palmar flex lead wrist in transition and early downswing to facilitate less steepness

 

Now, I know that's a lot, but I'm pretty sure that's what I'm supposed to be focusing on when practicing. I'm not gonna step on a course for a while anyway. For one, I'm only cleared to hit range balls twice a week max right now. I've been chipping and putting since November 1st only, so I still have a long way to go. I probably won't be cleared for actual golf for a couple months, which is actually fine by me cuz my swing isn't functional right now anyway. 

 

I have rehab at 11am today. Like I said, I rehab every day, probably on average about three hours per day since I also take care of everything else (back, legs, forearms, etc.). It's a lot and almost like a full-time job. Currently, I'm doing blood flow restriction therapy on both shoulders and my left knee. It's intense, but it's helping a lot to rebuild all the atrophy I have in my arms and legs. The doctors here are awesome. I rehab with MLB players and other cool pro athletes at his baller facility here in West Palm. Even Brook Koepka was here for a little bit rehabbing his patella, with my same doctor team. Nice guy. He should've stayed (he bounced after only a week). Maybe he'd be playing the President's Cup had he stuck around.

 

PS- My surgeries were the following if anyone was wondering:

I've progressed a ton since this post, but it sums up what the problem was decently enough. 

Oh yea, hitting range balls on Sunday was the first pain free golf session I've had since June 6th, 2016. Crazy right? I'm still sore from it, but at least it's a "good" sore. 

Who knows how long I'll be able to last. I don't really want to think about it. I just focus on my daily rehab, my healthy diet, and I stay positive and hope for the best. 

....aaaaaamd I think I know what I'm gonna be thankful for this year 😊

Happy Thanksgiving, guys!

Happy Thanksgiving Constantine! Glad you are progressing and thanks for the update.