My Swing (JonMA1)

[iacas]

3 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

I cleaned up my youtube channel today thinking that because the videos were "embedded", they'd remain on my swing thread. Not the case. I've replaced my last entry (top video below). 

 Please don't do that, yeah. You can make your videos unlisted and they won't appear on your channel, but deleting them removes them.

Embedding doesn't copy the video, it just embeds the YouTube video here. When you delete the YouTube video…

[JonMA1]

Still failing at making any progress in getting the weight forward. Slowing down to the point of using 2 clubs more didn't even work. Finally took some video and sure enough, same old shit - weight way back at impact.

The only upside is that I'm still committed to making this one key a permanent part of my swing. If I have to play like this all of next year then so be it.

[Ernest Jones]

1 hour ago, JonMA1 said:

Still failing at making any progress in getting the weight forward. Slowing down to the point of using 2 clubs more didn't even work. Finally took some video and sure enough, same old shit - weight way back at impact.

The only upside is that I'm still committed to making this one key a permanent part of my swing. If I have to play like this all of next year then so be it.

 

 

Try this...

Imagine a big foot switch under your lead foot. It's old and rusty and needs a lot of pressure to click it on. From the top of your backswing, stomp on that ****er hard as you can.

Don't worry about anything else, literally ignore everything else you need to do, just make your goal getting that nasty, old rusty piece of shit to click on.

[JonMA1]

Thanks @Ernest Jones.

[JonMA1]

After almost a month of concentrating solely on weight forward, I took some video of a couple of swings out on the course.

This first is a 6iron from a little less than 150yds to an elevated green.

The weight back at impact is as bad as it's ever been. Even though the good contact and resulting fade resulted in a GIR (actually, within 6ft to the pin), I was pretty disappointed that all work hadn't seemed to change anything on the course.

On the next video - a 135yd tee shot to a small green - I used Jason's suggestion in the post above (concentrating on pressure of my lead foot)...

This looks better to me (also resulted in a GIR). My left hip seems to be over my left ankle at impact. I don't think I'd been able to accomplish this on the course before.

Even when using this swing thought, I could still feel the weight back on most swings today. It's been almost impossible to for me to override my natural tendencies.

On the upside, the slow practice has been cool for the most part. In addition to the weight forward work, when I start to see the fade/slice ball flight, I've been able to make adjustments to the swing path to turn it into a draw (albeit at about 3/4 of my stock distances). I can't do that with full speed swings, so working on this slowly has allowed me to try a lot of different things.

Now if I can only apply these towards my game...

Edited October 30, 2016 by JonMA1

[iacas]

I think the second one is better, but the camera angle is a little misleading.

You'll look a bit more forward than you may be when shot from that angle.

[JonMA1]

I wondered about that @iacas. Thanks, it's good to know.

I recorded four shots from this tee box and camera angle - two without the swing thought, two with - and there was slight a difference. What sucks is that I can't always tell by feel what's going on. 

At this point, anything in the right direction - even a little - is encouraging. I was making better contact yesterday but for the most part it was still my old swing. I just don't want to fall into the trap of thinking everything is ok as long as I'm hitting some good shots. 

[JonMA1]

Just wanted to make some quick notes after a short but productive practice with an 8i tonight in the field.

• Focused on elbows and grip at address
• Very slow, centered pivot backswing - no regard to how "choppy" or "jerky" it was - very slow start to the downswing. A pause or a hitch might be what I'll have to live with.
• The feel of "balancing" on my lead foot through and after impact. Tried to avoid spinning lead foot open.
• Abbreviated followthrough

30 + swings, excellent contact with one exception. Good control of the low point of the swing. Felt like I could swing hard and still make good contact. Good distance. Could control of ball flight and starting line by changing swing path and face. No video but it felt like I was doing better with key #2 (priority).

I'll try to repeat with a longer iron if I get a chance tomorrow.

[Ernest Jones]

17 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

Just wanted to make some quick notes after a short but productive practice with an 8i tonight in the field.

• Focused on elbows and grip at address
• Very slow, centered pivot backswing - no regard to how "choppy" or "jerky" it was - very slow start to the downswing. A pause or a hitch might be what I'll have to live with.
• The feel of "balancing" on my lead foot through and after impact. Tried to avoid spinning lead foot open.
• Abbreviated followthrough

30 + swings, excellent contact with one exception. Good control of the low point of the swing. Felt like I could swing hard and still make good contact. Good distance. Could control of ball flight and starting line by changing swing path and face. No video but it felt like I was doing better with key #2 (priority).

I'll try to repeat with a longer iron if I get a chance tomorrow.

STOMP on that rusty, old bitch of a foot switch, hard as ****! Screw everything else. Get FORWARD!!!!!

[JonMA1]

33 minutes ago, Ernest Jones said:

STOMP on that rusty, old bitch of a foot switch, hard as ****! Screw everything else. Get FORWARD!!!!!

 

There are those rare occasions like today when it seems relatively effortless. But on most days I feel like I'm fighting against my own body to keep from pivoting on my back foot. Your "foot switch" thought will sometimes work.

What kind of a spazz can't just integrate this move?  I can do this all day long inside hitting into a net that's 6' away, but get me outside and... 

[JonMA1]

I'm starting to see the futility of trying to improve without professional guidance.

Identifying a priority offers enough of a challenge. Discovering the solution to it is next to impossible. If I'm lucky enough to figure something out through trial and error, I can't remember it or apply it long-term. If I can't repeat the solution during practices, I won't have a prayer of embedding it into a swing to use on the course.

Needs:

1. Learn how to practice. More discipline in keeping with a routine - the things I know that work.

2. Simplify. Quit trying too many fixes at once.

3. Slow down. My natural tempo seems to be very slow.

4. When practice is going poorly, back off to a point where I feel somewhat in control.

[Lihu]

18 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

I'm starting to see the futility of trying to improve without professional guidance.

Identifying a priority offers enough of a challenge. Discovering the solution to it is next to impossible. If I'm lucky enough to figure something out through trial and error, I can't remember it or apply it long-term. If I can't repeat the solution during practices, I won't have a prayer of embedding it into a swing to use on the course.

Needs:

1. Learn how to practice. More discipline in keeping with a routine - the things I know that work.

2. Simplify. Quit trying too many fixes at once.

3. Slow down. My natural tempo seems to be very slow.

4. When practice is going poorly, back off to a point where I feel somewhat in control.

These two helped me a lot.

The slowing down doesn't mean the club head at impact. Getting speed is kind of like cracking a whip. You move in a controlled motion to get the end of the whip moving supersonic.

The 4th item is important. Even if you have almost a full bucket left, but you don't feel like you're doing anything right, just back off and come back another day.

[JonMA1]

46 minutes ago, Lihu said:

 

The slowing down doesn't mean the club head at impact. Getting speed is kind of like cracking a whip. You move in a controlled motion to get the end of the whip moving supersonic.

 

Thanks Lihu. I agree.

I was given a "drill" while struggling at a simulator a couple of years ago. This guy told me to relax a bit and take a full swing but to try and hit it only 100 yds (mid iron). Was surprised when I got more than my stock distance with that little of effort. Granted, contact was more center of the face, but you still have to have a certain club head speed to get x amount of distance. I repeated this with each iron and the results were remarkably similar.

Looking back to when I am getting more distance on the course, I feel like I'm holding back a bit. When I struggle, I tend to start swinging out of my shoes which of course does nothing to gain distance. That should be a red light that something is awry with my mechanics.

What I meant by slowing down was my tempo - especially the backswing and transition... think LPGA. I do not need more distance right now. I need a manageable swing.

[RandallT]

That's been my goal with lessons.  Get a reliable, even if shortened, swing that can keep the ball in play mostly- without guessing what shot would show up:  slice, hook, chunk, thin. Consistency. I've spent too many years in the wilderness. 

[JonMA1]

Looks like you come a long way @RandallT. Your recent videos are solid - from my untrained eye anyway. Do you feel the improved swing has shown up on the course?

Yeah, I'm tired of the inconsistencies - I guess every golfer would probably say the same thing. With me, it's the same cycle of improvement throughout the year with a decline at the end of the season. That has repeated over each of the last few seasons.

I'd be willing to spend an entire season just learning how to practice... period. Start completely from scratch. That would require discipline, however. With each season that goes by, I lose a bit more confidence and I think it's supposed to be the other way around. I'm not ready to quit but this game really kicks my ass.

[RandallT]

I pretty much had a season where nearly all of my golf was practice- long story.  In many ways, it was probably exactly what I needed golf-wise- even if I was really missing the course. I'll let you know how scores go next year! 

Like you said, I think I've learned about practice (and how poor I was).  While I still need to concentrate more, I'm better at making good use of my time now.

Other years, I knew the pattern at the end of the year where my game suffered. You're definitely not alone there. All I can say is hang in there, keep your head down, and work on one thing at a time that a qualified person gives you.  Bit by bit, shot by shot, year after year, just gotta trust that we are moving in the right direction.

Then again, jury is out with my scores so maybe I'm just blowing smoke!   I will say that I've never felt closer to putting things together regarding a consistent swing, and it's exciting. If the game were easy, I'd not be as psyched- so hope you can stick it out and get some successes! 

[JonMA1]

Finished gathering some GG data and putting it into a spreadsheet. There are inaccuracies through out the process, but I think the information is useful.

Not surprising...

1. Using 36 putts per round as a benchmark, I lost 5 strokes per round due to poor putting. I need to devote more practice time and gain some confidence. But I'm also going to work on getting closer to the hole with my short game.

2. I averaged 3.4 strokes lost to penalties. Just have to improve my full swing (see below).

Surprising...

I divided my clubs into the Driver, Woods, Long irons (4i, 5i, 6i) and mid/short/wedges (7i down to gap wedge). I assumed the highest percentage of penalties might come from my driver, but I was wrong.

1.15% of my fairway wood shots went awry (from off the tee and off the deck). I always felt as though those clubs were solid. A prime example of why feel ain't real.

2. 13% of my tee shots with a driver resulted in penalties.

3. 9% of my long irons.

4. 5% of my other irons and wedges (this category includes more shots than the other three combined. 

My home course requires you carry water hazards on seven of the nine holes. I'll drop some in there on occasions - usually due to poor contact with shorter clubs. But most of my penalties are a result of left or right misses. Tells me I need improvement with keys 4 and 5.

[JonMA1]

Been working on my putting in the basement, and the full swing in the garage pretty much every day. Both feel pretty good. I've been using the "hit to right field" swing thought and was hoping it would help with my key #2 priority.

Had a bit of a thaw this week and took advantage of it by hitting a few outside every night this week.

Same #@!^ different season.

An indoor swing that easily allows for a proper weight shift. To steal a term from another thread, almost an unconscious competency because it just feels natural. But just the opposite occurs when I'm swinging outside.

If a swing from off the mat and into a net a few feet away feels comfortable and easy, swinging while outdoors brings out anxiety and tension - probably because I'm aware there's an issue.  

I have been getting a significant push draw with every iron, so something has changed. It's just such an awkward feel. The next time we have a break in the weather I'm going to take video to see exactly where things start to change between the two. I suspect there's a slight pause on my transition that allows for the shift when hitting into the net. I'm probably rushing the start of the DS while hitting in the yard.