My Swing (JonMA1)

[JonMA1]

Continuing to work on my priority but at the same time, trying to introduce a bit more shoulder turn. I'm thinking that's a mistake even though the weight forward is starting to feel natural on the course. if anyone has an opinion, you're welcome to share it.

Here's a lengthy practice video from the other night (basically 4 minutes of the same shit)....

As you can see, the exaggerated shoulder turn isn't showing up when I hit the ball.

This afternoon, I thought if I repeatedly held the full shoulder turn at the top and swung at a ball from that position, it might help. After spending several minutes doing that, I was able to kind of do it in one motion. (I know there's a lot of unnecessary movement that has to be eliminated)....

I'm honestly not sure if I should do anything besides the weight forward thing right now. I'm so unaccustomed to any level of success, even this small amount is new territory for me.

[HJJ003]

26 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

Continuing to work on my priority but at the same time, trying to introduce a bit more shoulder turn. I'm thinking that's a mistake even though the weight forward is starting to feel natural on the course. if anyone has an opinion, you're welcome to share it.

Here's a lengthy practice video from the other night (basically 4 minutes of the same shit)....

As you can see, the exaggerated shoulder turn isn't showing up when I hit the ball.

This afternoon, I thought if I repeatedly held the full shoulder turn at the top and swung at a ball from that position, it might help. After spending several minutes doing that, I was able to kind of do it in one motion. (I know there's a lot of unnecessary movement that has to be eliminated)....

I'm honestly not sure if I should do anything besides the weight forward thing right now. I'm so unaccustomed to any level of success, even this small amount is new territory for me.

1) Your weight transfer looks more natural than it has in other recent videos. Good job and keep working on it. Until it feels unnatural to do anything else. 

2) I am by no means someone to give advice but here it goes anyway: I think it’s completly fine to introduce something different as secondary priority. I think it’s important/useful to have something else to work on from time to time when the priority piece stalls or frustrates. With that said I think the priority had to remain the priority. I’m an 80/20 rule kinda guy so maybe only focus on the shoulder turn no more than 20 percent of the time while practicing full swing. Just a thought. 

[JonMA1]

5 minutes ago, HJJ003 said:

With that said I think the priority had to remain the priority. I’m an 80/20 rule kinda guy so maybe only focus on the shoulder turn no more than 20 percent of the time while practicing full swing. Just a thought.

I'm pretty sure your advice is spot on, Henry.

I have a long way to go on the priority. It feels pretty natural when on a nice level lie at the course, but introduce any kind of slope or a fairway bunker, for examples, and I'm back on my trail foot.

Thanks for the feedback. I don't think I'm going to mess with this much in the near future.

 

[JonMA1]

Walked 18 with my playing partner today but didn't keep score. Overall game felt good and it was another stress-free round. Was struggling with partial wedges and may have figured out a fix. By the end of the round, contact and direction had greatly improved. That's kind of a good feeling.

As far as mechanics, I felt as though I might have been slipping back into old habits. On one particular 6 iron shot, I made a point of really trying to get my weight past the outside of my left ankle. The result was one of the longer shots of the day. But for many other shots I felt as though I was failing - even if the results were good.

Took video after the round and discovered I'm simply turning without any forward hip movement. There's still a little weight going forward, or at least none going back, but I'd like to do better. 

I ended up going to the range and took video there. What felt pretty good didn't look good on video. So I went out late tonight and hit into the field to try and work it out. I think my trail foot drag has to almost forward on the top of my toes to get the kind of shift I'm looking for. Maybe I'm wrong... I don't know. It would be nice to have some feel to let me know I'm doing this ok on the course.

One thing is certain... it's very easy to revert back when I don't concentrate.

[Lihu]

7 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

Walked 18 with my playing partner today but didn't keep score. Overall game felt good and it was another stress-free round. Was struggling with partial wedges and may have figured out a fix. By the end of the round, contact and direction had greatly improved. That's kind of a good feeling.

Nice!

7 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

One thing is certain... it's very easy to revert back when I don't concentrate.

That’s why good practice is important 🏌🏻‍♂️

[JonMA1]

I started lessons last week and was happy that the instructor wants to help me with my priority. I'm  not sure I'm close enough with the work I've done so far, but that's kind of what I'd been waiting for all this time. I suppose time will tell. I've paid in advance for 4 lessons. If things change for the better, there's no reason not to take more. There are so many weaknesses beyond my full swing, but I want to make a lasting change there first.

It's strange how the practices have been going. One minute a complete collapse swing after swing followed shortly after with what feels to be very good weight shift swing after swing. Very Jeckyll and Hyde like. This is especially true with the long irons.

One thing that seems to be changing is I'm not falling back as much and as frequently. It's still happening, just not on every swing. When I'm able to slow down and control my followthrough, the mechanics seems to improve. My hope is that the Jeckyll swing will occur so often that it becomes normal. It would be nice to go out on the course and only worry about club face control.

The rounds have been super relaxing and enjoyable until I start to keep score - as I did today. In the back of my mind there's the thought that this is what golf will become... just play and not keep score. Certainly not the type of golf I envisioned when I took the game up, but if that's what brings about the enjoyment, so be it.

[JonMA1]

I’ll elaborate when I have a chance, but poor mechanics with every part of my game more than the mental aspect or course management.

Ironically, my instructor is planning an on-course lesson tonight to see where my weaknesses lie. I think he suspects poor strategy or mental issues. Not sure why he isn’t seeing the same swing flaws I’m seeing on my full swing. Lol.

Anyway, I’ll share his opinion if I get a chance to post tonight.

Thanks.

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, JonMA1 said:

I’ll elaborate when I have a chance, but poor mechanics with every part of my game more than the mental aspect or course management.

Ironically, my instructor is planning an on-course lesson tonight to see where my weaknesses lie. I think he suspects poor strategy or mental issues. Not sure why he isn’t seeing the same swing flaws I’m seeing on my full swing. Lol.

Anyway, I’ll share his opinion if I get a chance to post tonight.

Thanks.

On the course, things are more mental 🤪

Seriously though, the lie and how you handle it can make a big difference.

The instructor might very well be seeing those flaws, but just thinks you can score better than you do with your current swing. He’s possibly just looking for lower hanging fruit to fix...

[iacas]

2 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

Ironically, my instructor is planning an on-course lesson tonight to see where my weaknesses lie. I think he suspects poor strategy or mental issues. Not sure why he isn’t seeing the same swing flaws I’m seeing on my full swing. Lol.

Sometimes instructors who aren’t good at mechanics put more emphasis on things that they can’t measure. Like your “mental approach.”

May or may not be the case here. I’d have no way of knowing.

[JonMA1]

1 hour ago, Lihu said:

On the course, things are more mental 🤪

Seriously though, the lie and how you handle it can make a big difference.

The instructor might very well be seeing those flaws, but just thinks you can score better than you do with your current swing. He’s possibly just looking for lower hanging fruit to fix...

Good post @Lihu. I think you called it.

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Sometimes instructors who aren’t good at mechanics put more emphasis on things that they can’t measure. Like your “mental approach.”

May or may not be the case here. I’d have no way of knowing.

In the back of my mind, I’m thinking this, or that it makes his job a little easier to work on something as intangible. There is a lot of talk about positive thinking. 🤨

But I’m approaching this with a decent amount of faith. The worst that will happen is that I work on the wrong thing.... nothing I haven’t done before on my own.

I think @Lihu nailed it. The instructor asked where I wanted to get to. I told him a 15. It might be that he sees the flaws but believes I can get there with minimal mechanical changes. Had I told him single digits, he’d be taking a different approach. Who knows??? He knows my short game needs work as well and perhaps wants to see exactly where the effort needs to be placed.

He did promise we’d have no problem getting more weight in my left side at impact so I’m holding him to that.

[JonMA1]

On 7/25/2018 at 10:24 AM, iacas said:

Sometimes instructors who aren’t good at mechanics put more emphasis on things that they can’t measure. Like your “mental approach.”

May or may not be the case here. I’d have no way of knowing.

I'm pretty sure you were right Erik.

We play a few holes. He has me do the same pre-shot routine... rehearse the exact type of shot I want to play, what I'm aligning to, then address the ball and take the shot.

This part of his instruction and this part of the mental game is good, IMO. I need more of this simple structure while on the course.

He also addresses the issue of forgetting the last shot and focusing on the next.  Again, good advice and something most of us need to do. I think these two things helped me shoot a decent 9 hole score that night.

Before I go on, understand that I'd approached him for lessons with the question "Can you help me get my weight forward?" and was emphatic about that being my #1 objective. I explained I've been unable to do this by myself or with lessons for several years. He assured me we could succeed.

Well, we're through 2 of the 4 lesson through and all he's told me was that I need to get my weight forward. He's even told me the reasons why. Yet, there has been no work or even a drill other than a brief, almost after-thought mention of Gary Player's step through drill without any work or demonstration of it.

I'm debating on writing this guy off and taking a different tack. I'd like to avoid an unpleasant confrontation (by me) because he's not an asshole or anything like that. At this point, it has zero to do with the money and I'm not pissed. But if he tells me at my next lesson I need to work harder on keeping a positive attitude...

I decided on lessons now because I thought there might have been enough progress made on my own this year to have a pro help get me the rest of the way. I made a point of clearly communicating the objective... not sure what else could or should have been done.

Am I fixated on this one key? Of course I am. But if an instructor doesn't agree it's a priority, all they have to do is tell me to look elsewhere for lessons. He was provided videos beforehand.

I think I'll see what the next lesson brings and if the priority isn't addressed, I'll let him know there's no reason to continue. 

Edited July 29, 2018 by JonMA1

[JonMA1]

Tried doing the drill @Grizvok posted in another thread where you take a step forward with the lead foot to become accustomed to a weight shift.

About the same as my regular swing. As easy as can be to get the rhythm down when just swinging a club. It became a bit harder when hitting a foam ball, but after a few slow swings, I was able to develop the timing and rhythm.

As soon as I put a real ball down, I become an uncoordinated oaf. Started to get it with slow swings, completely lost it... decided to try again tomorrow. Lol.

This habit of hitting off my back foot has become very difficult to break. I have to keep the swing at basically hitting pitches to make any headway - which I will continue to do. The best I can do with a full swing is maybe weight at 50/50 at impact.

[billchao]

On 7/29/2018 at 12:45 PM, JonMA1 said:

Am I fixated on this one key? Of course I am. But if an instructor doesn't agree it's a priority, all they have to do is tell me to look elsewhere for lessons. He was provided videos beforehand.

You sound like a guy who's convinced he has an illness and is going to go to as many doctors as possible until one agrees with him. Not that I have much confidence in your instructor based on what you've written about him, but you're kind of doing the whole lessons thing wrong. What's the point of seeing an instructor just to tell him what you need to work on? You might as well stay home and watch YouTube.

1 hour ago, JonMA1 said:

Tried doing the drill @Grizvok posted in another thread where you take a step forward with the lead foot to become accustomed to a weight shift.

About the same as my regular swing. As easy as can be to get the rhythm down when just swinging a club. It became a bit harder when hitting a foam ball, but after a few slow swings, I was able to develop the timing and rhythm.

Did you film this drill? The way you describe it as "a step forward with the lead foot" kind of makes me think you're doing it wrong.

[JonMA1]

7 minutes ago, billchao said:

You sound like a guy who's convinced he has an illness and is going to go to as many doctors as possible until one agrees with him

This is the first instructor I've hired since taking Evolvr lessons back in January of 2016. I thought face- to-face lessons might prove beneficial.

I'm not getting my weight forward - that is a fact. There are plenty of videos that show it with the occasional one where I actually get a little weight forward. You know more than I do what issues come hitting off the back foot. So yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a real issue. May not be the biggest issue, but it needs to be fixed if I'm going to improve.

If someone can identify another fault that is the root cause, I'd love to hear it.

22 minutes ago, billchao said:

Did you film this drill? The way you describe it as "a step forward with the lead foot" kind of makes me think you're doing it wrong.

This is the drill. (No I didn't film it and yes I was not doing it well)

 

[billchao]

1 hour ago, JonMA1 said:

This is the first instructor I've hired since taking Evolvr lessons back in January of 2016. I thought face- to-face lessons might prove beneficial.

I'm not getting my weight forward - that is a fact. There are plenty of videos that show it with the occasional one where I actually get a little weight forward. You know more than I do what issues come hitting off the back foot. So yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a real issue. May not be the biggest issue, but it needs to be fixed if I'm going to improve.

You ever hear story about the zen master and the teacup?

Empty your teacup. 

1 hour ago, JonMA1 said:

If someone can identify another fault that is the root cause, I'd love to hear it.

I thought some time ago we established that your priority wasn't what you thought it was.

1 hour ago, JonMA1 said:

This is the drill.

I know the drill you alluded to, that's why I said if you were thinking of it as a step forward with the lead foot, you're probably doing it wrong. It's more of a fall than a step.

[boogielicious]

9 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

This is the first instructor I've hired since taking Evolvr lessons back in January of 2016. I thought face- to-face lessons might prove beneficial.

I'm not getting my weight forward - that is a fact. There are plenty of videos that show it with the occasional one where I actually get a little weight forward. You know more than I do what issues come hitting off the back foot. So yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a real issue. May not be the biggest issue, but it needs to be fixed if I'm going to improve.

If someone can identify another fault that is the root cause, I'd love to hear it.

This is the drill. (No I didn't film it and yes I was not doing it well)

 

Film yourself doing the drill and post it. I sometimes just post my drills to make sure I am doing it correctly.

[JonMA1]

Thanks @billchao and @boogielicious.

I was definitely failing last night with this drill. I will film and post as soon as possible.

The trouble I was having with it last night might shed light on the trouble I’m having with key #2 in general.

Any advice would be appreciated. The falling vs stepping that Bill used is a good thought for example.

[tlazzol]

When you get your weight shift fixed I'm going demand strokes the next time we play.