Keys vs. Handicap - Share Your Data!!!

[iacas]

I've posted about this before:

First, check out http://purestrike5sk.com/ to fully understand what each of the 5 Simple Keys® means. For example, "Key #1: Steady Head" doesn't mean your head can't move at all, it just can't be moving a LOT. Key #2: Weight Forward isn't about the backswing, but about properly getting your weight forward at impact .

So, self-assess your "mastery" of each Key. Give yourself some whole numbers, half numbers, or even 3/4 numbers. Remember it's "mastery" so if you can pull something off 9 times out of 10 when playing golf (not on the range), then you might only be a 0.5 to a 0.75. Mastery is nearly 100% of the time.

Then, compare yourself to this chart, which has proven accurate with over 1000 golfers tested (the median values are represented):

Let us know where you fall within each of the Keys, and your handicap index. For an example, see the second post in the thread.

P.S. The handicap indeces are 30, 18, 9, 5, 1, +1 (represented as -1 for this chart).

[iacas]

Key #1: Steady Head

My Score: 1

My head's never really moved, even five or six years ago. I learned a long time ago that if my head moved, I was in for a poor ballstriking day.

Key #2: Weight Forward

My Score: 1

It gets forward. Absolutely.

Key #3: Inline Impact

My Score: 1

Have lined up the shaft pretty darn well the last few years. :)

Key #4: Diagonal Sweetspot Path

My Score: 0.25

This is where I'm saying you should be hard on yourself. I am better at this than 99% of golfers, but it's still too steep and it's still something I'm working on.

Key #5: Clubface Control

My Score: 0.75

I couldn't quite give myself a 1 on this, so the next available rating is 0.75, so that's what I'm giving myself. Despite being steep, my ball tends to start left when it cuts, and right when it draws.

Total: ~4.

My handicap index: 0.2 or so, if I was keeping one.

In other words, I "fit" the data pretty darn well, almost exactly.

[birlyshirly]

I find the scoring difficult. I probably have a half-head's-width of movement from address to the top - but video says I return pretty consistently.

Shaft at impact is generally vertical - so not very laggy or leaned, but not backward leaning either.

I've never hit on force-plates, but on video, I'd say I consistently get the outside of my left hip level with or ahead of the outside of my left foot by impact.

If that all adds up to 2 points, then yes, my ballstriking is probably around a 9...

[Zeph]

Key #1: Steady Head My Score: 0 My head has always moved a lot and I've yet to fix it. I can do it in practice, but not in play. It is and has been a cause for a lot of trouble, so a big zero here. Key #2: Weight Forward My Score: 0.75 I get it somewhat forward, but it's not a case of 100%. Key #3: Inline Impact My Score: 0 Definitely not. I've never been close to achieving this. Key #4: Diagonal Sweetspot Path My Score: 0.25 I was probably higher at some point a few years ago, where I played a consistent push-draw, but it's not consistent enough right now. I got some of the motions in place though, so I don't think it's too far away. Key #5: Clubface Control My Score: 0.5 It's not too bad in this area actually. My shot shape is pretty consistent and I don't feel I have any big rotation or holding off action. Total: ~1.5 My handicap index: Around 12-15 is probably somewhat accurate at this point. I don't know if my points are right, they might be distributed different, but the keys compared to handicap is spot on in the chart. I don't feel like I've nailed any of the keys, but I got a little of each (except #3).

[mvmac]

Key #1: Steady Head

My Score: 1

My head is the steadiest it's ever been.  Struggled for a little bit with the head going down and forward on the backswing then had to back out of the shot to compensate.

Key #2: Weight Forward

My Score: 1

Yep weight is forward at impact.

Key #3: Inline Impact

My Score: .75

Wouldn't say I have "mastered" this Key yet.  My aoa can get a little too shallow, wrist angles can release too soon compared to guys that really strike it well.

Key #4: Diagonal Sweetspot Path

My Score: .50

This has really improved most recently.  Been playing with a shaft pointing too far left at A4 for a looong time and haven't made one "laid off" swing in the past two months.  I go "steep to shallow" but can get too shallow, club in at 6.  Consistently demonstrate an OUTward swing direction.

Key #5: Clubface Control

My Score: 0.75

I know the ball flight laws :-)  2D and 3D.  I tend to "miss" the ball well, I don't curve it much in general, even when I hit a bad shot.  I'm ok when trying to hit it different trajectories, ok-good with hitting my start lines but not great at hitting the big curve shots.

Total: ~4

I would be a low single digit handicap, so the chart is right on the money for me.

[Stretch]

#1 -- 0.75. On video, my head is stable laterally but pulls back (away) from the ball a little on the downswing.

#2 -- 0.5. I could stand to have more hip slide.

#3 -- 0.75. Never been too much of a problem. I was hitting my 39 degree 8 iron on FlightScope today and dynamic loft at impact averaged 38 degrees. Could maybe use a little more forward shaft lean?

#4 -- 0.5. This has been the biggest battle for me. I was a puller/slicer (left club path) from the moment I started playing golf. After working on Evolvr and in person with 5SK instructor Quint Van Der Berg, my club path is now consistently out to the right (20/20 swings today) and I hit nothing but draws and pushes. Fine control isn't quite there yet -- some swings are 2.5 degrees right, others are 5.5. Ding a half for that.

#5 -- 0.75. Good with the irons. Of the 20 shots today, every ball started right of the target, within a range of 2.8 degrees to 4.3 degrees. I am occasionally losing the face big time with my driver, though. Quarter off.

So 3.25 keys, which looks like it'd peg me at around a 3 or 4 handicap? I'm out to 5 at the moment but have been playing well and expect to get cut again this month. Promise I didn't back into it on purpose -- those are honest assessments, supported (I hope) by data.

[dsc123]

Key #1: Steady Head

My Score: .75

I think I've got this down, but I'm reluctant to say I've mastered any aspect of the golf swing.

Key #2: Weight Forward

My Score: .75

I think I've got this down pretty good, but I have the occasional lapse.

Key #3: Inline Impact

My Score: .50

I feel like I'm shooting in the dark on this number, but I don't think I flip or have any major issue here.

Key #4: Diagonal Sweetspot Path

My Score: 0.25

better with some clubs than others..but a long way to go.

Key #5: Clubface Control

My Score: .0

Yeah.

Total: 2.25

The chart says I should be about a 9.5 and I'm at 12.2 right now.  My HC is trending down steadily and a more trained eye might give me less than 2.25.

[Mr Smell Good]

I keep a steady head but I don't really know enough about my swing or the 5 keys yet to score myself on the rest.  I'm actually really curious... this is the first time I've seen it.  4 of them make perfect sense to me although i've never thought about having my weight forward at impact, but rather focused on having my weight forward by the time i'm on my follow through.  I will have to work on that.  The flat wrist thing makes sense too although its harder to work on without over thinking it.  I understand # 5 and the importance of club face (i'm not great at this)

What about #4?  I don't really follow what it's saying.  I always thought I was supposed to line up w/ my feet lined to my target and the swing straight but it appears to be showing swinging along a diagonal plane.  If this is what i'm supposed to be doing this is the first i've ever heard about it.  Is that for general play or for shaping shots?

[Golfingdad]

As an Evolvr student, I feel a lot of pressure here.  When your teacher goes to return you the test but just before she hands it back to you she says "how do YOU think you did?"  However, I think I can do this, so here goes ...

Key #1: Steady Head

My Score: .75

This has improved a lot lately, however there is still a tendency to occasionally slide forward in the backswing, and back in the downswing.  Also like to come "off the wall" some.

Key #2: Weight Forward

My Score: .75

I'm almost tempted to give myself a 1 here, but then I remember I still like to throw in some hideous fat or thin shots every so often.

Key #3: Inline Impact

My Score: .75

I think this directly relates to #2 ... pretty good, however, sometimes blech.

Key #4: Diagonal Sweetspot Path

My Score: 0.25

All of my biggest issues are related to this key.  Slowly but surely, I am replacing the wackiness and the compensations, but the stress is on "slowly."

Key #5: Clubface Control

My Score: 0.5

This one is a guess, but I feel like my ball tends to at least start on a decent line more often than not ... it's the curve, or lack thereof, where most of the problems lie.

Total: 3.0

The chart says I should be a 5 right now, however, I am at an 8.  I may have overestimated a couple of those keys, or it could be attributed to the fact that my putting needs work, and my handicap is slowly trending down too.  It's gone from 10 to 8 since January, so maybe I am not so far off.

[Ernest Jones]

Lotta zeros in my Keys and as one could expect, a lot of zeros in my average score. But I'm doing evolvr now so I'm finally working with a road map instead of wandering around in the wilderness. I look forward to posting here this time next year to see how it all compares.

[cipher]

Key #1: Steady Head

My Score: 1

Good Here.

Key #2: Weight Forward

My Score: .75

Maybe too much some times.

Key #3: Inline Impact

My Score: .75

Ok...I think(don't really know). Has not really come up in my evolvr lessons since my first couple maybe.

Key #4: Diagonal Sweetspot Path

My Score: .25

WIP

Key #5: Clubface Control

My Score: 0.25

Usually start the ball very well.  Not many left or right misses.  Not able to effectively play many shot types and don't really try to.  Just N.T.F.G.

Total: 3.0

Pretty much accurate for me.

[LuciusWooding]

Key #1: Steady Head

My Score: 1

I started really focusing on this one this year, and I don't move my head anymore. Pretty simple.

Key #2: Weight Forward

My Score: 1

Yes, I made a huge improvement this year as well. Got it down. In fact if I really hit a hard right to left shot, I'll often do the Gary Player follow through rather than miss it thin or with a pull. I even do it when putting now.

Key #3: Inline Impact

My Score: .5

This one is very recent; I had a swing fault where I wasn't getting the heel of the club down which messed up my wrist alignments sometimes; The sweet spot would be in a spot at impact that usually could not get a ball off the ground unless I toed it or opened or closed the face excessively.

It literally makes the difference between spraying and crushing the ball, and gave me excellent control over shot shape. My range work and subsequent rounds have been rewarding in the ballstriking department. I can now hit all my clubs well from all lies. I still struggle with consistent driving because of this key, and my short game would benefit from being more like my long game, with more emphasis on this key.

Key #4: Diagonal Sweetspot Path

My Score: .33

This one is a bit unclear to me, as it seems to be about controlling path for curve as well as generating speed efficiently. Either way I must be doing it at least partially right, as I can work the ball both ways with every club. I still hit the occasional shot that goes to target but with the wrong shape or trajectory, and I still need to learn spin control with my irons. This one seems to be the least conscious key on the list for me, I do it pretty intuitively but a bad ball position or uneven lie or something can mess it up a bit.

Key #5: Clubface Control

My Score: .5

I understand the ball flight laws, I can hit shots low and high, left and right, getting the start line and curve right. However, I do not have perfect control over the amount of curve, and I still have a 10% chance of failure, such as the perfectly struck hook I hit into a par 5 the other day that carried 220 with a 5 iron, left, over the green, and into the woods a good long way. It was supposed to be higher, start to the right, and not go quite that far. Can't give myself over a .5 if I'm still doing that even once per round.

Total: 3.33

So I ought to be about a 2 handicap... I think I make a few too many bogeys for that, but I think I'm an outlier in terms of distance and ballstriking. Last time I played 18 I counted 12 bad (I consider a bad shot to be one that doesn't put me inside 8 feet from this range) shots from within 30 yards with just my lob wedge, all from spots I should've gotten up and down, and 38 putts with 6 3-putts to boot. This is after making 9 greens in reg and hitting 11 fairways, and mind you, many of the missed greens were extremely close.

I'd say, however, that I was at about 1.5 keys 2 months ago, and I was shooting a bit more than 8 strokes worse then. But I was probably the worst 1.5 key golfer around, just as I'm one of the worst with 3.

[boogielicious]

Key #1: Steady Head

My Score: 0.5

I have worked on this a lot this year.  I work to feel the right side stretching and extending up on the backswing.  It really improves contact for me and reduces fat shots.

Key #2: Weight Forward

My Score: 0.5

worked a lot on this last year.  My divots moved forward to almost start at my left heel.  Not consistent enough for a 1.0.  Uneven lies can give me issues.

Key #3: Inline Impact

My Score: .25

I would say I have a good deal of shaft lean at impact and definitely don't flip.  But my ball flight and be low at times, which may indicate I am coming in too steep.

Key #4: Diagonal Sweetspot Path

My Score: .25

Working on the right elbow (pitch elbow) helped this a lot.  But sometimes I come in too in-to-out.  If I don't control the face, push fade happens.

Key #5: Clubface Control

My Score: 0.25

Still working on this.  With driver and longer clubs, it is much more challenging for me.  I am good with wedges and short irons though.

1.75, but I may be a little hard on myself, which is always the case.

[dsc123]

I hope you don't mind me posting this here.  Its not directly responsive to what you asked us to do but it seems like the most logical place.  If its not the right place, or if you're trying to keep this thread clean, feel free to move or delete it.

I've been working on 5SK with Evolvr since Oct 2011.  I started with Key #1 in Oct 2011 and began on Key #2 in Jan 2012.  I was slow to understand the hip slide and although I've been getting my weight forward consistently for some time now, I am still tweaking it.  Thinking more about this now, I would probably revise my post above down by .25 for weight forward and .25 for inline impact.  That would put me at 1.75 and almost exactly on the curve with my handicap down to 11.7 now.

Anyway, here are the goods the goods.

I think the initial "spike" (about 1.5 strokes) was a result of taking the game more seriously (i.e, strictly following the rules).  The plateaus last winter and this spring correspond with times where I got busy and did not practice.

[RPMPIRE]

Key #1: Steady Head

My Score: 0.75

My head has been relatively steady since I first started, but I still have the tendencies to "come off the wall" or slide my head forward leading to some worm burners.

Key #2: Weight Forward

My Score: 0.75

I know my weight gets forward, but I'm still trying to get 90%+ weight to my left side at impact. It probably doesn't get to that level until just after. If I had to guess, I'm probably at 80%-85% weight forward at impact.

Key #3: Inline Impact

My Score: 0.25

I know I don't flip the club and that's improvement for me. But I do see my wrist face towards the right of the target mostly because I swing a lot towards the outside on the downswing. James is helping me get the start of my back swing in a better position and turn my hips earlier so I my hands more in line with my heel in the DTL view. This should also help with Key #4.

Key #4: Diagonal Sweetspot Path

My Score: 0.0

I didn't give myself any credit for this one because I know I come down relatively steep in all the videos I've taken. This is probably where most of my problems lie, but it stems from the start of the downswing.

Key #5: Clubface Control

My Score: 0

I haven't actually focused on this key since I'm trying to work more on Key #3 and #4.

Total: 1.75

I haven't posted a score towards my handicap in over a year, but if I was still going off that handicap, I would say I'm right where I should be.

[rkim291968]

Key #3: Inline Impact - 0.25

Key #4: Diagonal Sweetspot Path - 0.25

Key #5: Clubface Control - N/A

My total would be 1.25, plus or minus 0.25 at any given round.

[Lihu]

Key #1: Steady Head

My Score: 0.65

Pretty steady, but need to continue to work on this more.

Key #2: Weight Forward

My Score: 0.55

Getting weight forward, but sometimes my back is not arched as much as it should be.

Key #3: Inline Impact

My Score: 0.25

I can use the MP32 clubs pretty nicely, the ball flight is starting to become more consistent from club to club.

Key #4: Diagonal Sweetspot Path

My Score: 0.15

Can do this with all clubs, but I sometimes "forget" the direction.

Key #5: Clubface Control

My Score: 0.1

Can also control the direction, but again, it's not automatic. I need to concentrate to keep the direction correct.

Total:

1.7 total:  According to my last two scores where I didn't 4 putt and 3 putt that often, my handicap should be 15, but I am starting to get to or near the greens much more easily. I look forward to continuing my progress and maybe get some others to assess my actual levels.

[MS256]

Interesting.

Key #1: Steady Head

My score: .25

No movement in back swing but goes down and forward in downswing and starts back up before impact. (Yuk)

Key #2: Weight Forward

My score: 1

I think the only thing I do well (and naturally).

Key #3: Inline Impact

My score: .50

Probably better than that with some clubs and worse with others so I think that's about an average.

Key #4: Diagonal Sweet Spot Path

My score: .25

Also better with some clubs and sickening with others so also an average.

Key #5: Clubface Control

My score: .75

Another thing I seem to have a knack for.

Total: 2.75

The chart is impressively close.

P.S. I putt and chip quite a bit better than average so that shows how little that really adds.