My Swing (Abu3baid)

[Abu3baid]

Weaker grip JUST for pitching and chipping.

And no, that won't do more than a little bit. Feet together, and somehow you've got to learn to just feel like you give up control. Right-handed pitches for a few days.

I realize that this isn't the final picture that I want, but should I keep practicing this in the video?  w/ and w/o the ball?

Just looked at the fred couples video and I think I need to straighten my arm a little more on the way back, but hey maybe I can get this!

[iacas]

I realize that this isn't the final picture that I want, but should I keep practicing this in the video?  w/ and w/o the ball?

The video is private. And do this pitching balls on the golf course, not in your living room, please. :)

[Abu3baid]

The video is private. And do this pitching balls on the golf course, not in your living room, please. :)

- Your right.. I think the excitement over took my judgement..

Does that mean that should keep going? (just w/o the ball?)

[iacas]

- Your right.. I think the excitement over took my judgement..

Does that mean that should keep going? (just w/o the ball?)

I watched it. That's better.

[Abu3baid]

Reviewed my first lesson from Stephan regarding my pitching, and all I have to say is wow.. really, you don't know what it is that you don't know until someone who knows what the heck they are talking about explains it to you.

Obviously priorities first.

1.  Weak Grip (was mentioned by Erik before, but reinforced by Stephen), I think the big issue here is really now I will be going from strong grip with the full swing to weak grip for pitching and putting.. Is this usual? (By the way changing to a weaker grip wasn't really a big deal to me, as that is how I was griping the club all the time before now)

2.  My stance - no shaft lean at address, level shoulders & the club bounce basically laying on the ground instead of the leading edge.

I practiced the same night, but took it to the course the next day, and I have to say the results were great compared to before.

@sk golf I think the main question that I have is that I know this method I am going to be working on is mainly for high shots, and I will go ahead and send a new video as soon as I can, but what is the distance limit for me to attempt this shot?  Or should I just do a trial and error with both my 60* and 56* to figure out where I can use this?

I basically tried this shot when ever I was with in 30 yards or so.. I really only had 4 bad shots with it today, but I also had some great shots and even got out of the bunker with it with a pro like trajectory (still ended up bogying the hole because of 3 putts) :)

Good news is that I don't even think about my full swing at all (maybe it is a good thing for now), so after a few rounds I will record again because that will really be my natural swing, and then I will start up again by sending to Evolvr to see where I stand.. I'm still going to work at home at trying to get my shoulder down so that my head doesn't pop up on the backswing!

I can probably keep going, but the only thing I want to add is that I am still not seeing the improvement in my score, and with implementing so many changes and using different pitching techniques over the past 3 weeks doesn't help.  I think since I just started this new change with @sk golf I will see a much more consistent approach from close by, and this should really help keep my score down since for now I'm pretty comfortable with putting (except the 3 putt mentioned earlier, but who misses a 1 footer I mean come on?)  :)

thanks guys!

[Abu3baid]

Something very interesting transpires today. Not sure why, but I have been having issues with my contact. I weakened my grip and now bam I'm hitting everything crisp, I hit my 3 w nicely, and my medium range game just started clicking. Most important in the short range game is that I'm not pulling my SW and LW to the left.. I think it is All about the grip there. I will take a vid to verify everything is working correctly, but my contacact is encouraging! Edit: when I say I weakened my grip I mean it is not crazy strong to the point it is uncomfortable now. I think I have much better structure than before and now I am closer to neutral strong rather than strong strong if that makes sense

[Abu3baid]

Finally was able to record my self trying to work in the changes according to my priority piece in my pitching.

Using a 60* here trying to get it over a bunker

I think I am trying way too hard to make the club do what I want instead of just letting it do the work.  I am sure this feel type of shot is not going to come easy, but hey I've seen improvement in my contact and my results, so I'll just keep trying.

Differences from my previous pitching video?

1. Much less shaft lean at address (still not 90*, but much better than before

2. Not much dip in my right shoulder at address, and this is due to removing the shaft lean and changing my grip

3. A little more flipping at the ball, not even close to where I want it to be, but much less flat wrist at and right after impact.

Negatives still.. I'm not trusting my self and forcing it to the point where I am still taking little mini divots, I need to trust that the club will do what it is supposed to do!

Notice some of the scuffing on the ground?

All in all I still feel much better than I did before, and I think the picture is changing slowly but surely!

[mvmac]

1. Much less shaft lean at address (still not 90*, but much better than before

Amount of lean you have at address looks fine for a standard pitch. Don't need it to be perfectly 90*

Notice some of the scuffing on the ground?

Still seeing that head lower like in this previous picture, which will cause you to take more turf. I think @sk golf would agree, do whatever he says

[FooFader]

Apologies if i'm butting in but i just wanted to say i've spent the past hour reading through your thread and it was quite inspiring. Hopefully my experience with evolvr will be equally positive. The progress you're making is looking pretty awesome. Keep it up

[Abu3baid]

Apologies if i'm butting in but i just wanted to say i've spent the past hour reading through your thread and it was quite inspiring. Hopefully my experience with evolvr will be equally positive. The progress you're making is looking pretty awesome. Keep it up :-)

I appreciate the support very much! I hope that I can keep going at the same energy level (without upsetting the wife, just got her a new dryer so that should keep her letting me golf for a while) so that I can keep getting more of the same results! I think aside from getting one on one training this is the best avenue for getting better, so ya just like any other teacher, when the student shows enthusiasm you find the teacher working that much harder and putting more time and effort in as well! At least that's what I did when I was a tutor in school and now as a manager with other people! I can't wait to see how well you'll do! (No pressure huh). J/k you'll do well I'm sure!

[Abu3baid]

Finally I have internet again.  It has been out for almost a week now, and at least now it is a Fiber connection so I'm happy!

What I'm not happy about it is playing the "Dirab Golf Course" for the first time last Thursday and the reason.. Well, 99 of them.

Shot a 48 / 51 the first time I ever play a real 18 hole course.  We played the whites at 6,700 I believe.

Why did I do so bad?  Well, because I was barely finding the fairway and barely finding the greens.  I need to go to the range period!

Putting was great on those fast greens, hit a couple of nice ones that saved me a stroke or two.  Also, had the approach of the day on a par 3, 185 yd green protected by OB all around it.  Hit a 5 iron within 5 feet of the hole and got my only birdi of the day!!

I was very happy with my short game as well.... OB & just being in the woods really hurt me all day.. Only had 1 triple and one 4 over, but a lot of doubles and bogies!

Can't wait to go there again sometime soon to make up for that!  My next goal is to break 90!

[hopefulhacker]

Finally I have internet again.  It has been out for almost a week now, and at least now it is a Fiber connection so I'm happy!

What I'm not happy about it is playing the "Dirab Golf Course" for the first time last Thursday and the reason.. Well, 99 of them.

Shot a 48 / 51 the first time I ever play a real 18 hole course.  We played the whites at 6,700 I believe.

Why did I do so bad?  Well, because I was barely finding the fairway and barely finding the greens.  I need to go to the range period!

Putting was great on those fast greens, hit a couple of nice ones that saved me a stroke or two.  Also, had the approach of the day on a par 3, 185 yd green protected by OB all around it.  Hit a 5 iron within 5 feet of the hole and got my only birdi of the day!!

I was very happy with my short game as well.... OB & just being in the woods really hurt me all day.. Only had 1 triple and one 4 over, but a lot of doubles and bogies!

Can't wait to go there again sometime soon to make up for that!  My next goal is to break 90!

Well done Eyad, you may not be happy but it's a fairly decent first step.

Re the highlighted bit... I actually think you need to get to the course more rather than looking to the range as the answer.

Obviously keep up the good work at the range etc but the course is where you'll really find things out and improve over time.

It's one thing hitting the ball where you want at the range, it's another thing doing it in the completely different circumstances that you experience on a course.

You could have a good day on the range were everything is seemingly going where you want it to go... try stepping up and finding you spot after you've hit your last drive OOB and there's a narrow fairway with danger all around... the difference is huge.

I would even go as far as guessing that if you were to forget about the range and play the same course 9 more times in fairly quick succession: that you would get very close and probably break 90.

I'm not advocating forgetting about the range, I am moreso highlighting the difference in learning that you experience on the course.

Range is practice, course is performance in my view, you need to learn from your performance and keep learning regularly.

Tweak and improve on the range, real learning comes on the course.

[Abu3baid]

Well done Eyad, you may not be happy but it's a fairly decent first step.

Re the highlighted bit... I actually think you need to get to the course more rather than looking to the range as the answer.

Obviously keep up the good work at the range etc but the course is where you'll really find things out and improve over time.

It's one thing hitting the ball where you want at the range, it's another thing doing it in the completely different circumstances that you experience on a course.

You could have a good day on the range were everything is seemingly going where you want it to go... try stepping up and finding you spot after you've hit your last drive OOB and there's a narrow fairway with danger all around... the difference is huge.

I would even go as far as guessing that if you were to forget about the range and play the same course 9 more times in fairly quick succession: that you would get very close and probably break 90.

I'm not advocating forgetting about the range, I am moreso highlighting the difference in learning that you experience on the course.

Range is practice, course is performance in my view, you need to learn from your performance and keep learning regularly.

Tweak and improve on the range, real learning comes on the course.

Thank you!  Well, my problem which was highlighted by @iacas on the thread about leaving the range is that I don't go to the range at all!  I am usually just playing on the 9 hole course that I have a membership with.  My boss invited me to play with him on this course and I went there for the first time, and that is where it went all down hill!

It is actually an improvement for me when I start saying that I have to go to the range, because it is so hard for me to justify going to the course and not playing :) "Playing is way more fun as we all know"

Since I already get enough performance work on the 9 hole course, I need to finally be able to reel in my swing.. I need to be more dedicated, and I need to get off my lazy bum and send in another video of my full swing for analysis.. I have kind of just let it drop off ever since I started caring about my pitching, but now that I feel more comfortable with my pitching and short game overall.. I need to go back to full swing mode, and get that figured out.  What is the most upsetting is not the ball flight I am fighting, but just mishits.. those should be all but eliminated by now!  Gota keep working on my Key# 1

[iacas]

Re the highlighted bit... I actually think you need to get to the course more rather than looking to the range as the answer.

Eyad almost never goes to the range. I think you may have missed that part. We've tried (and succeeded a little) at getting him to go to the range and to "work on" things a bit more often.

[Abu3baid]

Eyad almost never goes to the range. I think you may have missed that part. :-D  We've tried (and succeeded a little) at getting him to go to the range and to "work on" things a bit more often.

Took it to heart and went to the range today.. Worked on my short game for about 20 minutes, just nice easy swings trying to feel loose next to the green and then medium pitches with the same motion just a little bit longer in the backswing. Didn't video today because it was basically night time, but I wasn't really going after the ball like I usually would have, jus nice and steady, it felt good. Contact was good but didn't really control distance at all. Then got a bucket and started my real work.. Just nice and slow back swings and then feelin the club shallowing out on the way down.. I did a whole bunch of half swings to make sure I work on contact. Finally I addressed my 3W by again taking half swings and finally getting to full swings. Ball placement seems to play a big role in my results, my balls pretty much had draw spin on ten, but still not really pushing much.. When I open up my face a little I suffer with contact for some reason. My 3h is still pretty nice with a very very slight push draw that almost looks like it is going straight, even though it is obvious to me that it is not. I was very happy with the contact, but not happy with the lack off management of my range work.. I haven't sent a vid in a while and just wasn't sure what I should work on. I will play tomorrow and maybe can tape my swing so that I can get going again with my evolvr coach! It took a lot not to go play today!

[Ernest Jones]

Took it to heart and went to the range today..

Worked on my short game for about 20 minutes, just nice easy swings trying to feel loose next to the green and then medium pitches with the same motion just a little bit longer in the backswing. Didn't video today because it was basically night time, but I wasn't really going after the ball like I usually would have, jus nice and steady, it felt good. Contact was good but didn't really control distance at all.

Then got a bucket and started my real work.. Just nice and slow back swings and then feelin the club shallowing out on the way down.. I did a whole bunch of half swings to make sure I work on contact.

Finally I addressed my 3W by again taking half swings and finally getting to full swings. Ball placement seems to play a big role in my results, my balls pretty much had draw spin on ten, but still not really pushing much.. When I open up my face a little I suffer with contact for some reason.

My 3h is still pretty nice with a very very slight push draw that almost looks like it is going straight, even though it is obvious to me that it is not.

I was very happy with the contact, but not happy with the lack off management of my range work.. I haven't sent a vid in a while and just wasn't sure what I should work on.

I will play tomorrow and maybe can tape my swing so that I can get going again with my evolvr coach!

It took a lot not to go play today!

You could always do both. Instead of ~4 hours playing 18, you could do an hour and a half on the range followed by a 9 hole round for less total time than playing 18 with no range time. Just sayin'.

[Abu3baid]

You could always do both. Instead of ~4 hours playing 18, you could do an hour and a half on the range followed by a 9 hole round for less total time than playing 18 with no range time. Just sayin'. :-)

My friend! That's a good one, but no I don't ever play 18 except one day a week on Saturday! I don't have that kind of free time to play 18.. Also, I play with a friend that I am getting hooked on golf, so right now he doesn't want to go to the range and only wants to play.. He says that practice is not needed ;) During the week day I play right after the morning prayer at like 5:45 am so that I can get to work on time at 9.. Anyway, I think I just have to convince my friend that it's worth it to go to the range and maybe instead of playing everyday we can go to the range one day a week! Otherwise I'd rather him keep playing with me than turn him off by insisting on the range!

[hopefulhacker]

Eyad almost never goes to the range. I think you may have missed that part. :-D  We've tried (and succeeded a little) at getting him to go to the range and to "work on" things a bit more often.

Apologies, I did miss that... And I'm an avid follower (embarrassed) Eyad... Get to the range :)