My Swing (RandallT)

[RandallT]

Got my assignment from instructor, and it's mostly stay the course. Progress is happening, but need to tweak some things but mostly keep doing the same focus of A4-A6.

1. In the slow motion mapping, make it continuous and begin cutting back on the portions where I stop and adjust.
2. Use camera after every swing to review. Hit slow swings (even if just 40yds)- only fast enough to get the swing looking better.  This will help transition the practice into real swings over the ball. Range should be fewer balls over the same period of time (camera review takes time). But meaningful swings.
3. On backswing:

• toe head points less toward the sky. Face should slightly more outside hands and pointing more down
• at left arm parallel, get shaft more upright and point inside ball (this will help club lay down at top, maybe figure 8 feel)

I did camera work today and did not break my slow motion swings into pieces. I snipped off a soft swing here for posting for the day. It was pretty representative of the rest of the swings. Contact wasn't great but the motion actually felt natural.

I'll try to get to the range over the holiday weekend. Progress, I think. Particularly in my body feeling more natural. I wasn't straining today to get to these positions, which is a breakthrough.

 

 

[iacas]

Looks really good.

[RandallT]

Just a quick update about things- no real developments, but I have the next analysis back from my instructor and it's basically to add more left wrist flex at the top. That will offset the cupping I tend to do when I make a swing at a ball.

My practice motion without a ball is getting closer to what he's looking for, but it breaks down on a real swing. He says to continue to evaluate every shot on video after I make the stroke. Hit the ball as short as I need to such that the swing is the same as my slow motion practice swing.

That's mostly it (with all the prior caveats to, obviously, which I review). I had a range session today, and added in his new thoughts. Can I say that it does get tedious to review every swing? Whew. But I do admit it helps know where I stand- can't argue with the recording. The tediousness is in that I don't feel like I get into a rhythm, and I make the same mistakes nearly every time. But I stuck with it today, and the success when striking a ball still feels ever so elusive, just on the horizon. I'm hoping with continued focus, I'll get over this hump at some point.

[b101]

53 minutes ago, RandallT said:

Can I say that it does get tedious to review every swing? Whew. But I do admit it helps know where I stand- can't argue with the recording. The tediousness is in that I don't feel like I get into a rhythm, and I make the same mistakes nearly every time.

Kinda sums up where I'm at with it. I'll tend to pop it on record for 3 mins or so, go through two or three balls and then review. I guess I need to be harder on myself, but it is tough to stay the course! My real issue at the moment is speeding the slow-mo up to 75%, then 85%, then full swings etc. 

Like Erik says, though - it's looking good. Love the backswing in particular - tons of good moves there 

[RandallT]

1 hour ago, b101 said:

Kinda sums up where I'm at with it. I'll tend to pop it on record for 3 mins or so, go through two or three balls and then review. I guess I need to be harder on myself, but it is tough to stay the course! My real issue at the moment is speeding the slow-mo up to 75%, then 85%, then full swings etc. 

Like Erik says, though - it's looking good. Love the backswing in particular - tons of good moves there 

Thanks for the note! I forget where I first heard "the ball is the enemy" but to me, that sums up for me. I can do a decent slow speed swing, then try to repeat the exact same thing, but instead of going over the ball by an inch, I make contact....  When I review the swings- they're different!  But it's all good. Still enjoying the process, and trying to stay disciplined.

Just took a look at the last couple pages of your swing thread- very nice progress. It's amazing that I'm starting to tell if someone has a better or worse handicap than me by reviewing their A5 and A6 positions now. Sure enough, I saw yours and knew you were better. (I try not to look first) TST has taught me to evaluate a swing, as I was once totally clueless (didn't even really grasp how to spot an OTT). Now just barely knowledgable enough to be dangerous, but I'm getting the hang of it bit by bit. 

[Hardspoon]

7 hours ago, RandallT said:

Can I say that it does get tedious to review every swing? Whew. But I do admit it helps know where I stand- can't argue with the recording. The tediousness is in that I don't feel like I get into a rhythm, and I make the same mistakes nearly every time.

Definitely agree with this.  I've been thinking lately about a way to make it more organic.  What would be awesome would be to be able to film with one device on the tripod (iPhone), and view on another (iPad)...but I think that might be going to a bit too far.

Anyway, glad you're making good progress!  I feel like we have a similar approach to things, and it's good to see that it does work.

5 hours ago, RandallT said:

It's amazing that I'm starting to tell if someone has a better or worse handicap than me by reviewing their A5 and A6 positions now.

This has been my "game" since I first started peeking at MySwing threads on here!  I always look at the videos first and then try to guess the index.  I'm absolutely awful at it. 

[b101]

8 hours ago, RandallT said:

Thanks for the note! I forget where I first heard "the ball is the enemy" but to me, that sums up for me. I can do a decent slow speed swing, then try to repeat the exact same thing, but instead of going over the ball by an inch, I make contact....  When I review the swings- they're different!  But it's all good. Still enjoying the process, and trying to stay disciplined.

Just took a look at the last couple pages of your swing thread- very nice progress. It's amazing that I'm starting to tell if someone has a better or worse handicap than me by reviewing their A5 and A6 positions now. Sure enough, I saw yours and knew you were better. (I try not to look first) TST has taught me to evaluate a swing, as I was once totally clueless (didn't even really grasp how to spot an OTT). Now just barely knowledgable enough to be dangerous, but I'm getting the hang of it bit by bit. 

Sadly, the camera never lies and the ball does ruin things - it's great to look at others' threads and remind yourself of the discipline thing though as I'm sure we could all do more (certainly, I could). Thanks for the kind comment btw, it's nice to know someone else sees some changes as I'm never sure if I'm just kidding myself! Looking forward to seeing your progress; based on your work ethic, I'm sure it'll come quickly.

[Jeremie Boop]

9 hours ago, Hardspoon said:

Definitely agree with this.  I've been thinking lately about a way to make it more organic.  What would be awesome would be to be able to film with one device on the tripod (iPhone), and view on another (iPad)...but I think that might be going to a bit too far.

That's not quite as far as you think it is. The camera I bought for $60 has an app and a wireless connection to allow you to view the live feed, change settings, start/stop recording, and playback the recordings. It also allows for up to 240 fps recording. It was a pretty good deal, I just need to pick up a decent sized tablet to utilize the playback function on a larger screen than my phone to get the most out of my range time.

[GolfLug]

@RandallT, I will add to the chorus and say the BS looks very good. Only thing I will add is that I think just about everybody who does slow practice experiences bit of a difference when you speed it up to full.

For me, I found the biggest issue is that during slow mapping I had no trouble maintaining key no. 2 (weight on left) but when I did full swings I noticed that I swayed back to right MUCH more, lost left arm structure, etc., during BS and then 'lurched' forward at DS. Not saying that's your issue or anything but just an example.

Solution? I guess, speed up 5% at a time at the most. Too much of a dynamic burst at a time messes with the mapping. Or in reverse, if your mapping is being lost than then you are not ready for whatever dynamic speed you are getting up to.

[RandallT]

Great feedback, guys. Here is some of today's practice. Tons of slow motion video, but I'll just pick 2:

That face on vid got a bit fast, but most of the DTL videos were going 50yds or so. 

My daughter is fired as cameraman, because when she said she wanted to come, I put away my tripod and camera, pulled phone from my pocket, and left a big goofy white clump of cloth hanging out (and she didn't notice).

Anyway, the pieces I'm working on:

1. On the BS, keep club outside hands at A2, and toe pointing less to sky. Get bit steeper in backswing
2. Then at the top, rev left wrist to add flex and start to let club drop. That was a BIG piece I was focusing on today, and it really helped make me feel the club drop down more. That's a good feel.
3. At A6, check club to see if it's inside my hands at all (has been way outside for a while). Most were barely outside or even with my hands. Still work to do.
4. Face On, tried to keep club from going too far. Keep it short.

Did about an hour of this sort of thing today (including 15 minutes just loosely hitting balls at end with these things in mind). Contact felt GREAT, but the items above were breaking down a bit. I could still feel the things listed, however, and it's starting to feel more natural. That was the biggest success today- it's feeling more and more natural after months of feeling incredibly awkward.

[GolfLug]

54 minutes ago, RandallT said:

Great feedback, guys. Here is some of today's practice. Tons of slow motion video, but I'll just pick 2:

That face on vid got a bit fast, but most of the DTL videos were going 50yds or so. 

My daughter is fired as cameraman, because when she said she wanted to come, I put away my tripod and camera, pulled phone from my pocket, and left a big goofy white clump of cloth hanging out (and she didn't notice).

Anyway, the pieces I'm working on:

1. On the BS, keep club outside hands at A2, and toe pointing less to sky. Get bit steeper in backswing
2. Then at the top, rev left wrist to add flex and start to let club drop. That was a BIG piece I was focusing on today, and it really helped make me feel the club drop down more. That's a good feel.
3. At A6, check club to see if it's inside my hands at all (has been way outside for a while). Most were barely outside or even with my hands. Still work to do.
4. Face On, tried to keep club from going too far. Keep it short.

Did about an hour of this sort of thing today (including 15 minutes just loosely hitting balls at end with these things in mind). Contact felt GREAT, but the items above were breaking down a bit. I could still feel the things listed, however, and it's starting to feel more natural. That was the biggest success today- it's feeling more and more natural after months of feeling incredibly awkward.

Dood, you are SOOOOO on track, it's not funny. Let nothing distract you from this!!

(P.S. What's up with that goofy white clump of cloth hanging out from your pocket?? you wearing your shorts inside out??)

[RandallT]

15 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

P.S. What's up with that goofy white clump of cloth hanging out from your pocket?? you wearing your shorts inside out??)

It's actually a GREAT visual aid to watch for proper hip rotation.  You can actually see when the hip is moving, so perhaps it's a new trend in swing analysis. Next time both pockets are out! 

Thanks for encouragement, V

[GolfLug]

4 minutes ago, RandallT said:

It's actually a GREAT visual aid to watch for proper hip rotation.  You can actually see when the hip is moving, so perhaps it's a new trend in swing analysis. Next time both pockets are out! 

Thanks for encouragement, V

Ha ha.. Ever the opportunist! See, your daughter was looking out for your interests after all.

[nevets88]

49 minutes ago, RandallT said:

It's actually a GREAT visual aid to watch for proper hip rotation.  You can actually see when the hip is moving, so perhaps it's a new trend in swing analysis. Next time both pockets are out! 

Thanks for encouragement, V

There's a Dana Dahlquist student who puts gloves in his back pockets to see rotation better. 

[mchepp]

24 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

There's a Dana Dahlquist student who puts gloves in his back pockets to see rotation better. 

Mac was the originator. But yes, gloves do it well.

 

[RandallT]

Couple swing vids from today:

 

 

Gonna submit to instructor, then maybe do some analysis via screenshots. I've spent some time with flat wrist and the backswing- with the goal of eventually being less steep on the downswing. So my first take is that my wrist is cupped at the top of the swing- argh. I honestly thought my practice was going to mostly eliminate that, but it's still very inconsistent. Unless I think of just that, I can't seem to do it in a real swing. These swings were sorta in "auto-pilot" to just see what my natural tendencies are now. I had a target in mind, and was thinking about being out on the course.

 

[Club Rat]

6 hours ago, RandallT said:

being less steep on the downswing.

Looks good Randy, much better than the Vids in July.
I should have been out today, it was gorgeous here.
Instead, I installed a new Cart Cover which took longer than expected. 

[RandallT]

On 12/2/2016 at 7:18 PM, Club Rat said:

Looks good Randy, much better than the Vids in July.
I should have been out today, it was gorgeous here.
Instead, I installed a new Cart Cover which took longer than expected. 

Thanks! I'm a slow learner, but I'm making progress bit by bit. 

Here's another couple videos. The piece I was given to work on after the last set was A3 to A4. Keep the head down, get a full shoulder turn, and get a hand depth that matches what his model golfer had (hands just to the "left" of the right shoulder in the DTL view). I worked on that for a few days in the mirror, and this was my first effort to put that into practice on the range.

I had been standing up, and my hands were rising vertically at the tail end of the backswing. Need to get more depth, and stop lifting myself. Hopefully I don't lose too much other progress (flat left wrist, better shallowing, etc).

Without further ado, here are the vids. I'll analyze later (whoops on the DTL centering, duh):