My Swing (RFKFREAK)

[RFKFREAK]

So, I think I have the start of the downswing ingrained and am getting more and more comfortable getting the shaft vertical on the backswing.  I have been trying to get my weight over to my front foot to start the downswing and laying the shaft down but it looks like it'll take a lot more work as I had difficulty making good contact with the ball, hitting it both fat and thin.  The last two swings I recorded I tried to stay behind the ball to try and get the reverse C finish that my instructor had previously told me was one of the things that would be needing address.

 

[RFKFREAK]

Short range session today that started with my hitting shots fat, then thin, and then push shots that failed to hit the sweet spot and felt hard.  However, hit some with the driver and which started with a shot that I hit the top of the club followed by a bunch of shots I hit on the heel with a with a slice thrown in.  I think reset, and tried to be more fluid rather than crush the ball and I started hitting the ball more in the center of the face and straight or with a slight draw.  So, happy with that result.

 

[RFKFREAK]

Hit the range at lunch today.  Overall happy with the session.  Club didn't cross the line at the top and my swing is slightly going in to out which happened when I started concentrating on bowing my wrist and the feeling of pulling down on the club to start the downswing.  Unfortunately, the last few swings I had difficulty bottoming out the club and hit some fat shots as I have to concentrate on those feels to make them happen.

 

 

[RFKFREAK]

Working on 2 pieces with my instructor.  Getting the hands closer to my body while having the clubhead pass through my hands from the DTL view at A2 and a secondary piece of swinging in to out.

I think the first piece I started to do well on but the second still needs a ton of work.

 

[RFKFREAK]

Found the wall drill online (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs22MYfuUJs) and along with the pieces my instructor has me working on, I had a great range session with the ball flight being draws or pushes with my 6I, Driver, and 3W.  I've never been able to hit my 3W, I usually top it, hit it thin, fat, or some other way leading the ball to roll 50 yards on the ground but today I hit about 10 balls and hit the center of the face about 5 times which I was happy about.  Overall very encouraged with how things are progressing so far after a brutal two rounds to start the year.

 

 

 

 

 

[RFKFREAK]

End of season but feeling good about my swing at the moment.  Hoping to be able to put in some reps over the off-season.

 

 

[RFKFREAK]

So, today was the first time I was able to get to the range since my lesson with @iacas at the Chautauqua Golf Club outing where we worked on my alignment and also rotating to start my backswing rather than breaking my wrists and then turning.  These were two of my best swings at the end of today's practice session.  Felt awkward at Chautauqua but feels very natural now.  Planning to get out there again tomorrow and hoping to play a couple birthday rounds on Wednesday.  Downswing needs work, though, I feel - especially with getting my weight forward.

 

[iacas]

Those are MUCH better.

Look at you!

P.S. You can be a little taller at address, too, but that's not bad. B+ there.

[RFKFREAK]

Just now, iacas said:

Those are MUCH better.

Look at you!

P.S. You can be a little taller at address, too, but that's not bad. B+ there.

Thanks for the words of encouragement.

And yeah, have to remember the taller piece both at setup and in the downswing. 👍 

[boogielicious]

9 hours ago, RFKFREAK said:

So, today was the first time I was able to get to the range since my lesson with @iacas at the Chautauqua Golf Club outing where we worked on my alignment and also rotating to start my backswing rather than breaking my wrists and then turning.  These were two of my best swings at the end of today's practice session.  Felt awkward at Chautauqua but feels very natural now.  Planning to get out there again tomorrow and hoping to play a couple birthday rounds on Wednesday.  Downswing needs work, though, I feel - especially with getting my weight forward.

 

Keep at it. These are looking much better!

[RFKFREAK]

4 hours ago, boogielicious said:

Keep at it. These are looking much better!

Thanks, man!

Planning on heading to the range again today! 👍

[RFKFREAK]

Hit the range again today.  

Focused on standing taller and resulted in lots of inconsistent contact.  When I transitioned to driver, I was hitting the ball on the heel of the driver about a ballsworth of distance from the center of the face. 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2020 by RFKFREAK

[iacas]

Swing is better. Question: do you practice and hit balls at full speed all the time, or do you ever just hit balls at 50% speed, or 60%, or use any training aids like a stick in the ground to help you assess whether your head is moving much?

The "slow" and "short" "S-Words" are important, too:

Practice at the edge of your ability. Right now that might be 40%. Or 60. Or a 2/3 backswing length.

[RFKFREAK]

On 8/11/2020 at 9:02 PM, iacas said:

Swing is better. Question: do you practice and hit balls at full speed all the time, or do you ever just hit balls at 50% speed, or 60%, or use any training aids like a stick in the ground to help you assess whether your head is moving much?

The "slow" and "short" "S-Words" are important, too:

Practice at the edge of your ability. Right now that might be 40%. Or 60. Or a 2/3 backswing length.

Generally, I'm terrible at practice.  Even though I know I should do slow swings it's just hard for me to motivate to get to the range to do that work, especially this year given that I haven't been able to get to the range a lot this year, much less consistently.

As for yesterday and the day before - they were full swings at regular speed, partially because I wanted to get used to the feeling more and partially because I was playing two rounds today and wanted to get some swings in.  Provided I'm able to get to the range on a more regular basis, I'll plan on having the 5 S's be a greater part of my practice regime.

As an aside, I was able to start incorporating the rotation aspect of my backswing today midway into my second round today and I was crushing the driver.  It felt a lot more natural and contact with the irons wasn't too bad, either.  Because I had such issues with consistent contact standing taller at the range yesterday and warming up today, I forewent that while playing.  I also shot a 90 and 96 in both my rounds today even though my tee shots were terrible in the first round and the front 9 in the second round was bad.  That said, both rounds in the 90's isn't something I'm used to so must be doing some things right.  Once again, appreciate your help, @iacas! 

Edited August 13, 2020 by RFKFREAK

[RFKFREAK]

Got some practice in yesterday morning before going out and playing in the afternoon.

I took @iacas's advice and slowed down my swing to about 75% and found myself being able to make contact more consistently while standing taller which I was able to take to the course, sometimes with some not so good results, but I wasn't too upset by it.  I also felt that if I had the feeling of a flat left wrist that my contact was better and, amazingly enough, the ball did not go way right with a wedge as though it slid off the club yesterday both in practice and with my full wedge and 9i.  Anyway, I'm starting to feel comfortable with it and plan on staying at 75% speed for a while.

 

[iacas]

Looking good! Low 90s here you come! And then lower! 🙂

[Antneye]

Swing looks good. I really struggle with swinging at anything other than a full speed swing. I wish I could do this as well. 

[RFKFREAK]

On 8/24/2020 at 10:28 PM, iacas said:

Looking good! Low 90s here you come! And then lower! 🙂

Haha - not today but wasn't that upset by it.

@iacas, quick question - at setup it appears to me that by standing taller the shaft is more upright and, as a result, the club is toed down.  Is this ok or should I have my clubs adjusted by a fitter?

On 8/25/2020 at 11:15 AM, Antneye said:

Swing looks good. I really struggle with swinging at anything other than a full speed swing. I wish I could do this as well. 

Thanks!

Yeah, initially it felt unnatural like so much else when we first try it, but I'm starting to get used to it.  Just gotta do it and I feel stop yourself from getting ahead of yourself and moving on to the next piece until you've really got that piece down.