My Swing (JonMA1)

[Lihu]

Thanks @JonMA1, it’s all about pacing yourself and enjoying playing despite all the naysayers.

People, in general, tend to think too highly of themselves and let that get in the way of being decent people. They’re so busy proving people wrong that they forget this is a game. It’s supposed to be fun! 😊

[HJJ003]

7 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

94

3 Penalties, 29 putts, 4 GIR.

I know putting stats are misleading, but I don't feel as though I putted that well (I thought I'd made an error somewhere but everything checked out). This was on my home course where the greens are smaller and faster, and I'm more familiar with them. Lots of putts from off the green that rolled within 5'.

7 1-putts and a putt that went in from the fringe to go along with the 2 3-putts.

Mid irons were solid, short iron/wedge approach shots were ok... I'm learning to accept slight misses.

Shot of the day was a 163yd 6i approach to a very small, protected green. The ball hit the green and stopped on the far fringe where I made the putt for birdie. While a 20' putt is cool, hitting a target with a mid or long iron is one of my favorite shots - I don't succeed very often. I usually opt to layup on this green from that distance but decided instead to be a bit more aggressive.

Driver continues to lack distance, unless I'm-pissed off when I swing it.

Overall, my game is still weak and I can shoot some high scores. I just have to enjoy the rounds when that doesn't happen.

Do you feel like your penalties come from shots leaving your shot zones or from duffed or topped shots into hazards?

[JonMA1]

33 minutes ago, HJJ003 said:

Do you feel like your penalties come from shots leaving your shot zones or from duffed or topped shots into hazards?

This year, almost always shots leaving the zone. Usually it's a an open face on the driver or 5w resulting in a push or push slice. Occasionally I'll over-compensate and pull one out-of-bounds left.

Last season was "year of the duff" into water hazards. That was painful. Lol.

[HJJ003]

6 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

This year, almost always shots leaving the zone. Usually it's a an open face on the driver or 5w resulting in a push or push slice. Occasionally I'll over-compensate and pull one out-of-bounds left.

Last season was "year of the duff" into water hazards. That was painful. Lol.

Do you think it’s time to reshape your shot zone? I had to and it’s helped. Just a suggestion. My penalties are coming from the duffs shanks and tops lol. 

[JonMA1]

29 minutes ago, HJJ003 said:

Do you think it’s time to reshape your shot zone? I had to and it’s helped. Just a suggestion. My penalties are coming from the duffs shanks and tops lol. 

I don't think that's a bad idea. Really though, even if my shot zone is giant on those clubs (and it likely is), I find it hard not to use them. On many occasions I've tried being conservative and it is a trade off. I might keep more balls in play, but it forces going for greens with longer clubs.

I think ideally (for me), it's better to work on reducing the shot zones by using those clubs every chance it makes sense - par 4's and par 5's that don't have a bottleneck or dog leg at 200 yards. 

[HJJ003]

2 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

I don't think that's a bad idea. Really though, even if my shot zone is giant on those clubs (and it likely is), I find it hard not to use them. On many occasions I've tried being conservative and it is a trade off. I might keep more balls in play, but it forces going for greens with longer clubs.

I think ideally (for me), it's better to work on reducing the shot zones by using those clubs every chance it makes sense - par 4's and par 5's that don't have a bottleneck or dog leg at 200 yards. 

ok gotcha. yeah I Have started hitting drivers and 3 woods more as well as long a penalty hazard isn't brought into play by them or a playable hazard that one smaller club removes. I usually don't go down to hybrids anymore unless penalty hazards force me too or I can remove a bunker and still have a wedge into the green. Anyways just thought I would ask. 

[JonMA1]

16 minutes ago, HJJ003 said:

ok gotcha. yeah I Have started hitting drivers and 3 woods more as well as long a penalty hazard isn't brought into play by them or a playable hazard that one smaller club removes. I usually don't go down to hybrids anymore unless penalty hazards force me too or I can remove a bunker and still have a wedge into the green. Anyways just thought I would ask. 

No, I agree with your logic. It’s important to know our limitations.

[JonMA1]

It comes a bit early this year, but it’s time for my yearly rant.

For the first time since I've started playing golf, I started seriously considering what it would be like without the game in my life.

I’m not sure how to go about doing this. It’s been such a huge part of my leisure for the last several years. I have some nice equipment, an affordable home course and a wife who is perfectly fine with the 4 hours of solitude the game provides her. I’m still enjoying the game, but it’s not without a certain level of hopelessness.

Pretty typical week….

I played a solo round Monday on a nearby course and shot a 94. Played a longer, tougher course on Tuesday shot a 103. Played my shorter home course on Wednesday and stumbled my way through a 102.

This morning, I played a solo round again on my home course and shot a craptacular 97. The round included several GIR, several pars, a couple of long 1-putts and even a rare holed-out chip from off the green. Unfortunately, it also included a lot of very poor shots.

I started out with the mindset of slowing down today, swinging a little easier with more club and taking my time between shots in hopes of hitting straighter shots. 

That strategy only lasted the first three holes after a 7, 4 and 10. Even the 4 included a penalty off the tee with the aforementioned chip saving me from double or triple bogey on the short par 3.

After the 10 on an easy par 5, I said screw-it and went back to my normal spastic swings, finishing each with the weight on my back foot and my front foot spinning around. At that point, I started hitting pars and bogeys for next several holes until pushing an 8i out of bounds on a par 5. Still, I finished that hole with a 7. Satisfactory play in my mind.

I hit another GIR and par on the following par 3, and a double on the 9th. Overall, not a terrible finish to a very rocky start. The second time through the 9 hole course yielded a 47 with the only blowup hole coming on the 9th.

It wasn't that the score was relatively terrible. It's that I had no confidence standing over my ball. I had to pull a 5i today for a shot that normally calls for a 7i or 6i, and this after considering laying up from the 150 yard distance. My slice has become so prevalent I can no longer confidently hit my distances, even on good contact. So on this shot I started the ball left of the green and, sure enough, it sliced back to the center.

The point to all of this is that I'm exactly in the same place as I have been for the last several years.

 I know improvement is not going to come. My confidence to change anything is so completely shattered that even if I could afford lessons, I'd choose not to take them for fear it would be a colossal waste of someone else's time. I've convinced myself improvement is impossible, and so it has become impossible. The mental part of the game may not have much of an impact while playing, but it can wreak havoc on a practice plan.

I want to believe I can enjoy this game at my level. But perhaps I'm conning myself by thinking that. I can no longer play golf with others because I'm embarrassed both by the poor play and my even poorer reaction to it.

So, what can I do? (rhetorical question)  Maybe I'll ask my doc to prescribe some Indifferil or Conurselvidin.  Because seriously, If there were such drugs available I'd be having the time of my life out there hacking it around and not caring in the least. 

Instead of calling it a day, what's going to happen is I'm going to go out and practice some more. I'll stop coming across the ball, hitting the hosel and topping my wedges. Figuring out a bandaid fix will be easy. I'll start hitting straighter, longer shots and even get a few to draw. The fix might work for a few holes on my next round, but inevitably, the crappy swing will take over and I'll be back to trying to figure out how to enjoy this level of golf.

[iacas]

3 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

I can no longer play golf with others because I'm embarrassed both by the poor play and my even poorer reaction to it.

That's the only part that stands out to me as something you can and should actually expect to fix.

Like the popular phrase… "You're not good enough to get mad at poor shots."

[Lihu]

6 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

It comes a bit early this year, but it’s time for my yearly rant.

For the first time since I've started playing golf, I started seriously considering what it would be like without the game in my life.

I’m not sure how to go about doing this. It’s been such a huge part of my leisure for the last several years. I have some nice equipment, an affordable home course and a wife who is perfectly fine with the 4 hours of solitude the game provides her. I’m still enjoying the game, but it’s not without a certain level of hopelessness.

Pretty typical week….

I played a solo round Monday on a nearby course and shot a 94. Played a longer, tougher course on Tuesday shot a 103. Played my shorter home course on Wednesday and stumbled my way through a 102.

This morning, I played a solo round again on my home course and shot a craptacular 97. The round included several GIR, several pars, a couple of long 1-putts and even a rare holed-out chip from off the green. Unfortunately, it also included a lot of very poor shots.

I started out with the mindset of slowing down today, swinging a little easier with more club and taking my time between shots in hopes of hitting straighter shots. 

That strategy only lasted the first three holes after a 7, 4 and 10. Even the 4 included a penalty off the tee with the aforementioned chip saving me from double or triple bogey on the short par 3.

After the 10 on an easy par 5, I said screw-it and went back to my normal spastic swings, finishing each with the weight on my back foot and my front foot spinning around. At that point, I started hitting pars and bogeys for next several holes until pushing an 8i out of bounds on a par 5. Still, I finished that hole with a 7. Satisfactory play in my mind.

I hit another GIR and par on the following par 3, and a double on the 9th. Overall, not a terrible finish to a very rocky start. The second time through the 9 hole course yielded a 47 with the only blowup hole coming on the 9th.

It wasn't that the score was relatively terrible. It's that I had no confidence standing over my ball. I had to pull a 5i today for a shot that normally calls for a 7i or 6i, and this after considering laying up from the 150 yard distance. My slice has become so prevalent I can no longer confidently hit my distances, even on good contact. So on this shot I started the ball left of the green and, sure enough, it sliced back to the center.

The point to all of this is that I'm exactly in the same place as I have been for the last several years.

 I know improvement is not going to come. My confidence to change anything is so completely shattered that even if I could afford lessons, I'd choose not to take them for fear it would be a colossal waste of someone else's time. I've convinced myself improvement is impossible, and so it has become impossible. The mental part of the game may not have much of an impact while playing, but it can wreak havoc on a practice plan.

I want to believe I can enjoy this game at my level. But perhaps I'm conning myself by thinking that. I can no longer play golf with others because I'm embarrassed both by the poor play and my even poorer reaction to it.

So, what can I do? (rhetorical question)  Maybe I'll ask my doc to prescribe some Indifferil or Conurselvidin.  Because seriously, If there were such drugs available I'd be having the time of my life out there hacking it around and not caring in the least. 

Instead of calling it a day, what's going to happen is I'm going to go out and practice some more. I'll stop coming across the ball, hitting the hosel and topping my wedges. Figuring out a bandaid fix will be easy. I'll start hitting straighter, longer shots and even get a few to draw. The fix might work for a few holes on my next round, but inevitably, the crappy swing will take over and I'll be back to trying to figure out how to enjoy this level of golf.

I'd go with the "indifferel".

This is a game, why do you care how well you shoot? You shoot about average for all golfers, 100.

Also, why did you revert back to your old swing when things weren't working with the new swing for just a couple rounds?

[JonMA1]

13 minutes ago, Lihu said:

This is a game, why do you care how well you shoot?

Because I'm an idiot.

Most of us care how well we shoot. There are rounds where it doesn't matter in the least, but they are rare. More times than not, I just try to accept it.

I honestly don't know how to not give a shit, don't know how to get better, and don't know how to walk away from the game. I'd settle for any one of the three, but given a choice, I'd very much prefer to learn to care less.

[Lihu]

19 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

Because I'm an idiot.

Most of us care how well we shoot. There are rounds where it doesn't matter in the least, but they are rare. More times than not, I just try to accept it.

I honestly don't know how to not give a shit, don't know how to get better, and don't know how to walk away from the game. I'd settle for any one of the three, but given a choice, I'd very much prefer to learn to care less.

 

This is the easiest of all options.

To keep from going backwards, so much, maybe a better strategy is to care more about how you swing than what you score for the time being?

[JonMA1]

I had what felt like a very productive practice tonight. Three things...

1. I'm experimenting with increased pressure on my left foot sooner in the swing - as in before I reach the top. This is the main change

2. Can't describe the downswing feel, but it's different because of the change listed above.

3. Abbreviated followthrough (keeps me staying focused on balance and swinging slowly)

Since my Evolvr lessons a few years ago, I'd been shifting weight back as I start the backswing. It really helped at first but I think over that time, I've taken a good thing too far.

Anyway, I have to do everything very slowly because I'll fail when I speed it up. I try to focus on my weight and very subtle changes from neutral to back, and then from back to neutral and to forward. Even the take-away is painfully slow. I'm not good at guessing a percentage, but there's less weight back than there was before, and much more weight forward, earlier. By the time I've reached the top, there is already more weight forward than back. Not sure if this is good or bad, but it's different. 

The feel is really weird...like I'm "crowded" as I think about starting the downswing. But on almost every swing, it feels good coming into the ball, like I have a better chance at good contact.

I know there's not a great deal of forward hip movement, but as long as I keep the follow-through short, almost all of my weight feels forward on the finish and I'm not moving my feet around due to losing balance.

I've done this countless times before... had a couple good practices only to fail to replicate it the next time. But all I can do is keep plugging away.

[Lihu]

I’m not sure weight shift too soon or at the top is going to make a huge difference? I’ve noticed people taking their arms back early and some later. Of course, it was only casual observation.

What has been helping me is focusing on my sequencing. If I do the same thing every time, it helps me make more consistent shots. I think my rear foot pressure is much stronger as soon as I turn back, then peaks with my arm weight at the top...but I just focus on trying to sequence my body and arms the same way every time. Camera and LM are helpful...

[JonMA1]

On 6/25/2018 at 5:36 PM, Lihu said:

To keep from going backwards, so much, maybe a better strategy is to care more about how you swing than what you score for the time being?

I wanted to respond to this post as I've just returned from walking 18 without keeping score. Much less frustration even though it was the same mixed bag of good and poor shots. It was slow enough on the course to take video of multiple swings while trying to replicate what I was doing last night. Even if I didn't succeed at that in particular, I at least stayed with it the entire round.

10 hours ago, Lihu said:

I’m not sure weight shift too soon or at the top is going to make a huge difference

Nor do I. Just trying to do something different. It's not the right approach, I know, but it isn't like I have a lot of options left.

10 hours ago, Lihu said:

What has been helping me is focusing on my sequencing. If I do the same thing every time, it helps me make more consistent shots.

There's a difference between doing the same right things every time and doing the same wrong things every time. Herein lies the problem. I only know of one way to hit a golf ball and it just so happens to be the wrong way. Maybe doing what I did tonight is a step in the right direction towards breaking bad habits????

[JonMA1]

7i

8i

I played my second round in a row without keeping score and remaining 100% committed to making a change. While these swings are not what anyone would consider correct, I am getting some weight forward - something I've previously been unable to do on the course. Almost all of my weight has always been over my back foot. These videos are pretty consistent with those I've taken at home and with some of the long iron swings I've recorded.

I don't know if any of this will lead to better scores, but this is a small but necessary step in what's needed towards developing a better swing. My front foot is still spinning a bit, there's a little bit of a flip, my head is moving and I'm not making a full of a turn, so I can do lot better. But at least there's a change.

Contact was a bit spotty with a few thinned shots, but they have for the most part been straight. The thing is, I don't really care about bad shots right now and the ability to focus on mechanics has been somewhat encouraging. There was almost no frustration today other than with a couple crappy driver swings.

Besides my iron swing, putting felt very good. I did well controlling speed on lag putts and leaving quite a few tap-ins. I've had some trouble with chipping on harder ground or tight lies recently, so I used my sand wedge instead of my gap wedge and was happy with the results.

While I haven't been keeping scores, I'm probably playing just under double-bogey golf right now while working on the new swing. I hope to continue this "training" for the next couple months. The last two rounds have been a lot more enjoyable. Who knows, maybe this is how I should be playing golf.

[Lihu]

Nice!

Keep trying to get that weight forward. I also noticed a little backwards sway in the 7i video. I think it’s possi you are being maybe too conscious of getting pressure on the back foot?

[JonMA1]

4 hours ago, Lihu said:

Nice!

Keep trying to get that weight forward. I also noticed a little backwards sway in the 7i video. I think it’s possi you are being maybe too conscious of getting pressure on the back foot?

Thanks @Lihu. I see a lot of things like that as well. I'm not sure which to work on first or to not worry about any of them now. Maybe continue to improve and ingrain what I'm trying to accomplish. That alone is going to take a long time.

Edited July 2, 2018 by JonMA1