Jump to content
Check out the Spin Axis Podcast! ×
Note: This thread is 1365 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Recommended Posts

  • Moderator
Posted

More grip pressure at A1, for stability. Intention is shallow, cover, straight arms, extend, get arms behind head. Also working on getting to same position at A4 consistently. Arms get bendy, takeaway too low at A1

 

  • Thumbs Up 1

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator
Posted

Getting better at swinging hard with driver. Still learning to get contact away from heel, less hands shooting towards ball at 4.5 ish. 

 

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator
Posted

Same stuff, also working to keep contact away from heel. Better with "covering" this practice session, keeping clubhead behind me, but arms in front of body, in sync with turn. Trusting all the stuff I learned from teacher and just "letting it happen" holistically. More hooks than blocks fading right, which is good. This swing, contact is still a smidge towards the heel, but not that big a deal.

All the stuff I've been learning over the years, shallow, keeping the wrist from overhinging at 4, extending at 4 and at 8, I am internalizing them better and better at blending them.

Need to get to a short game area with the Mevo, still haven't gotten to that yet, but have been improving finesse wedges with on course practice, noticed my head moves forward then back on these shots and also weakened grip, steepened the plane going back, better at utilizing bounce, not getting leading edge stuck in grass. The feel is the wrists are "flipping" way more at impact.

 

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator
Posted

OK, I am this close to calling it quits. Lots of work and scoring still sucks. This may be my last season. I just don't have the knack for this thing.

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator
Posted
33 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

OK, I am this close to calling it quits. Lots of work and scoring still sucks. This may be my last season. I just don't have the knack for this thing.

Here's an idea: take a break from swing work. Practice a little to keep the rust off, but otherwise just go play and have fun.

Do you enjoy playing or is your enjoyment of the game tied to improving? Because I don't think that will change if you get better, at least that's how it is for me. I enjoy the game the same now as I did when I was a 20. It's always going to be frustrating at times. I still have rounds where I'll ask myself (sarcastically) why I pay money and wake up early to aggravate myself, yet I still make another tee time when I get home. Hell I did it yesterday during my awful round.

I may never be a scratch golfer. It's a goal, but not the reason I play. Why do you play?

  • Thumbs Up 1

Bill

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” - Confucius

My Swing Thread

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator
Posted
7 minutes ago, billchao said:

Here's an idea: take a break from swing work. Practice a little to keep the rust off, but otherwise just go play and have fun.

Do you enjoy playing or is your enjoyment of the game tied to improving? Because I don't think that will change if you get better, at least that's how it is for me. I enjoy the game the same now as I did when I was a 20. It's always going to be frustrating at times. I still have rounds where I'll ask myself (sarcastically) why I pay money and wake up early to aggravate myself, yet I still make another tee time when I get home. Hell I did it yesterday during my awful round.

I may never be a scratch golfer. It's a goal, but not the reason I play. Why do you play?

To get as good as I can but apparently that's a low ceiling. I don't enjoy shooting in the 90s or higher. There's no way that score is going down if I don't improve the full swing, which I think I understand better, but I just don't have the talent for this.

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted
1 hour ago, nevets88 said:

but I just don't have the talent for this

So what? So you don't have a lot of golf talent. Neither do I. Neither do most people on here. You need a lot of golf talent to play competitively. You need a lot of golf talent to get to scratch. But you do not need a lot of talent to improve.

1 hour ago, billchao said:

Do you enjoy playing or is your enjoyment of the game tied to improving?

That's the key question. I enjoy two things about golf. First, I enjoy the Sisyphean task of trying to improve. It's absurd, difficult, filled with ups and downs, obsessive, and frankly, silly. Still, I love it. Second, I like the routine of getting up early to meet my golf buddies, being outdoors in all weather conditions, playing well (rarely), playing lousy (often), and exchanging the same $20 back and forth for years.

I bet you like some things about golf (equipment? practice?) or you wouldn't be here in the first place. Your threat of quitting is only a cry for help. We all know you can't. 😂

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Administrator
Posted

Steven, I think you should spend a few months not practicing more than five minutes or so per day, and playing almost exclusively.

  • Thumbs Up 1

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator
Posted
13 hours ago, nevets88 said:

To get as good as I can but apparently that's a low ceiling. I don't enjoy shooting in the 90s or higher. There's no way that score is going down if I don't improve the full swing, which I think I understand better, but I just don't have the talent for this.

I feel the same as you do a lot of the time because I put a lot of pressure on myself. But I seem to play and score better when I clear my head and just focus on the ball when I play. I also am clubbing up and swinging less than full with better results. I practice a lot, but I also seem to do better with short, very specific practice on most days. I see the changes in my swing over time. 

Let's talk more on Saturday if you want.

Scott

Titleist, Edel, Scotty Cameron Putter, Snell - AimPoint - Evolvr - MirrorVision

My Swing Thread

boogielicious - Adjective describing the perfect surf wave

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator
Posted

I've been playing more, a lot more than previous seasons, but I agree I could play more than that and I plan on doing that this season. This game is a struggle.

 

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator
Posted
17 hours ago, nevets88 said:

To get as good as I can but apparently that's a low ceiling. I don't enjoy shooting in the 90s or higher. There's no way that score is going down if I don't improve the full swing, which I think I understand better, but I just don't have the talent for this.

So let's say you hit your ceiling (and I don't believe for a second that you have). Can you enjoy the game as it is? Is shooting a better score really the only enjoyment you get out of it?

What about golf made you interested enough in it to pursue improvement in the first place?

Bill

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” - Confucius

My Swing Thread

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Administrator
Posted
3 hours ago, nevets88 said:

I've been playing more, a lot more than previous seasons, but I agree I could play more than that and I plan on doing that this season. This game is a struggle.

Like Scott said, play golf to play golf. Just get the ball to go in the hole quickly. Don't think or obsess about your swing on the golf course - be an athlete on the golf course. Athletes aren't thinking about technique.

You probably are, if you admit the truth, more than you should.

  • Thumbs Up 1

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • 1 month later...
  • Moderator
Posted

OK, I'm back at it, decided to go give it another go, will try and play as much as possible. Changed things up as I was near Bethlehem and had Eric Cogorno look at my swing he said the same thing Erik and Bill did, play more and skills vs mechanics. Wanted to go out to Erie but didn't have time. Mechanically, working on not coming in so shallow from 6 to 7, as you said @billchao. Pulled the crap out of this one, but Key #4 is better.

 

  • Like 1
  • Thumbs Up 1

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Administrator
Posted

Good post, good update, good stuff.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator
Posted

Oh yeah, another change I made is every practice session, hit 5 draws, 5 fades, 5 low punch shots. As per Eric's recommendation. I'm beginning to see why he recommended this, gives me more feel for the swing.

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator
Posted
14 hours ago, nevets88 said:

OK, I'm back at it, decided to go give it another go, will try and play as much as possible. Changed things up as I was near Bethlehem and had Eric Cogorno look at my swing he said the same thing Erik and Bill did, play more and skills vs mechanics. Wanted to go out to Erie but didn't have time. Mechanically, working on not coming in so shallow from 6 to 7, as you said @billchao. Pulled the crap out of this one, but Key #4 is better.

 

Great to see you back and healthy! I’m in the play more mode too. I think you and I are similar in critiquing our swings a bit more than we should and not just focusing on the course and just playing. Have fun!

  • Upvote 1

Scott

Titleist, Edel, Scotty Cameron Putter, Snell - AimPoint - Evolvr - MirrorVision

My Swing Thread

boogielicious - Adjective describing the perfect surf wave

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator
Posted

Good stuff, @nevets88! Play golf, learn to score. Embrace the game, not just the swing.

4 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I think you and I are similar in critiquing our swings a bit more than we should and not just focusing on the course and just playing.

Been there, too, for many years. I've been approaching things from a different perspective and it's liberating. It's still frustrating to hit bad shots but I'm not frustrating myself over the minutiae of my swing. Mis-hits happen.

  • Upvote 1

Bill

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” - Confucius

My Swing Thread

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator
Posted

Another thing Eric Cogorno mentioned was my hands were a little too far from the body at 1 so I moved them in a touch. The big mechanics piece he showed me  which really helped was how to pivot the hips, it felt extremely like I was a top spinning about a vertical axis. Also less hand depth at the top and then a little more down with the hands than out from 4. Played for the first time in a month, shot a 49, still shanked a wedge but parred the last three holes, with a dodgy but recovering back.

Wobbly finish but Key #4 is improving.

 

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Note: This thread is 1365 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Want to join this community?

    We'd love to have you!

    Sign Up
  • TST Partners

    Carl's Place
    PlayBetter
    Golfer's Journal
    ShotScope
    The Stack System
    FitForGolf
    FlightScope Mevo

    Coupon Codes (save 10-20%): "IACAS" for Mevo/Stack/FitForGolf, "IACASPLUS" for Mevo+/Pro Package, and "THESANDTRAP" for ShotScope. 15% off TourStriker (no code).
  • Posts

    • Day 610 - 2026-06-03 Got some work in between lessons today. Rare late day, teaching until 7:30pm.
    • Let's continue on… Cool. The thing is, nobody's claiming par is "reliable" and par's inclusion piggy-backs in the course rating, which is awfully close to par and, thus, brings par in to make it make sense. Once again, for those in the back… (CR - Par) just makes it really easy to know what kind of score you need to shoot to best, match, or play worse than your handicap index. Yes, when par is different, the players from the higher par tees get an extra stroke (72 vs. 71, the 72s get an extra stroke. That makes sense and is a small complication (more info at https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/handicapping/roh/Content/rules/Committee%20Content/USGA/LG_R6d.htm). However, most of the time, this adjustment will not be needed, as many courses play to the same par for the same genders from all sets of tees. And, the rare times it is needed, par (measured in whole numbers, integers) and strokes (also whole numbers/integers) map easily and the idea is easily grasped. Dean seems to be unaware of the fact that most every golfer carries something orders of magnitude more powerful than the highest end desktop computers available the last time he consulted with the USGA in their pockets. While it is quaint that his club puts printouts by the first tee… get with the times, Dean. Look up your handicap index and course handicap in the GHIN app and get on with it. It's a better system than the one that didn't account — at all — for a difference in the playing conditions (via an algorithm, not a judgment). Dean's assertions about the "less precise system because of par" continues to make absolutely zero sense. Right, it still changed tee to tee. Now it just changes differently… and in a way that more accurately reflects the score you need to shoot to play to your handicap. Previously, a 1.1 index would get 1 stroke on a 66.7/122 par-72 course. Now they give four strokes back to the course and must shoot 68 to play to their handicap. This makes way more sense. The 18-shot difference is a pretty extreme example. Maybe a long course that also offers a par-three set of tees could play that long, but… man, that's not going to be super common. Sensationalistic much, Dean? Also, once those unhappy (complete assumption) golfers realize a) what the change shows them (playing to net par = playing to your index) and b) realizes that their differential is going to be the same… I think they'll get over their initial questions. No. And yet… if he shoots the same scores, he'll get the same handicap index he has now. But he'll know on each course what score he needs to shoot to "play to his handicap." Sheesh, Dean. This stuff isn't that hard to figure out. Enough with the sensationalistic stuff. I don't find it "unacceptable" at all. Then again, I'm not nearly 80 and seemingly incapable of doing basic math these days. No. This literally makes no sense, as that part of the differential calculation and the course handicap calculation remains identical. Good! No. Categorically wrong. They should have been adjusting their handicaps all along. Previously it was by subtracting the course ratings. Which… is still basically what's done, with the addition of the course rating being "baked in" to the course handicap calculation. Dean is wrong here, or doing some math heretofore unknown by the world. When par is the same, what determines the difference in handicaps? The course rating, which Dean loves! Sheesh! You had to things when players were in situations like this before, too. This is getting exhausting. He keeps using words like "less precise" and "unfair" but does not seem to understand what they mean. This is like the Princess Bride meme: "you keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." The caps reduce upward movement. Committees have reign to reduce a player's handicap, and there's still an automatic Exceptional Score Reduction. I'm going through these more quickly now because… well, it's silly how badly Dean misses the mark with this blog post. Dean is literally confusing the upward movement (with the soft and hard caps) here with the exceptional score reduction which is used when lowering handicaps due to an exceptionally good score. The creators of the WHS are handicap experts. They know more about the current state of handicaps/handicapping than the Pope Emeritus. It's been shown to have almost no effect across all handicaps. Yes, some 36s under the old system are now 35s under the new system. Yawn. He should have stopped there. It's easier to apply and makes more sense. This makes no sense. It's "not complex" but players will have to guess? And, for men or women, the stroke index of each hole doesn't change because they play a different set of tees. They get a different number of strokes, but it's always been true that when you get 14 strokes you apply a stroke to stroke index holes 1-14, and when you get 11, to just holes with a SI of 1-11. Objection, your honor. Assumes facts not in evidence. Dean's just out here continuing to make shit up about "the inaccuracy of par" and ignoring that with Par (an integer) came the Course Rating, which he agrees is precise and accurate. No. No, this is inaccurate. Also, as noted, you can randomly assign stroke indexes, and so long as all the low numbers or all the high numbers are not clumped together at the beginning or ends of the 18 holes, matches generally work out the same. This is inaccurate. It is an algorithm that looks at scores. That's it. Also, this is better than a system like the prior one where no such thing existed at all. Wildly inaccurate and off-base. Did they do actual testing? No need. They have millions and millions of rounds and ran many, many, many simulations. That's testing. Dean seems to continue to be unaware of the fact that computers are more powerful now than they were in 2002. But, he's nearly 80, so we can understand if not going so far as to give him a pass on how much he gets wrong. Cool. Noted. For the most part that was because many countries haven't been able to rate enough of their courses. :sigh:
    • Day 3 (3 Jun 26) - More work on keeping arms connected today - hard foam balls with 7i and 5w…..
    • Day 274 6-3 flow drill getting chest through, arms in front. Arms get a little pinned to the side, not as much in front as I want them when I add speed. 
    • Shot 48 yesterday.  For me bogey golf is good.  I was 10 over through 7 and figured with a Par 3 and 4 coming on all I needed was birdie / par to get my 45. I had a great tee shot on #8 and sunk  a 5 footer for birdie, game was coming together, now just needed par on #9. Had a great tee drive and the green was within range for a hoped GIR or nGIR.  But I pulled the shot left into tall weeds and needed to take a drop.  So much for par, but a bogey for 46 is still good for me. I hit my lob wedge to get over a small tree and saw the ball riding nicely  on line to the pin when my club hit the ball a 2nd time on my follow through causing the ball to change directions and ended up @ pin high but along the same tall weeds I just took an unplayable out of.  had no room for a backswing, Just hacked at it and it shot across the green to the rough on the far side.  Needed a chip & 1 putt got a triple bogey. you can see the hole fall apart in the screenshot below.  
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.