My Swing (billchao)

[billchao]

Oh man... I'd love to. Not happening any time soon though. Young family, bills... Not complaining though. I wouldn't trade the kids for anything. Actually though, my parents live in MD. Next time we road trip there, I am going to try to convince the wife to sidetrack through Erie. Even if I only had time for a short lesson, I would like to.

Honestly, if you were going to pick one time to go, I'd say that weekend would be the best time. Lots of events, plenty of things to do and learn, and lots of people to meet. Should be an awesome experience!

[mvmac]

Wait until you see the video

Look forward to it.

[14ledo81]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 14ledo81

Oh man... I'd love to. Not happening any time soon though. Young family, bills...

Not complaining though. I wouldn't trade the kids for anything.

Actually though, my parents live in MD. Next time we road trip there, I am going to try to convince the wife to sidetrack through Erie. Even if I only had time for a short lesson, I would like to.

We have nice beaches. And wine.

No need for the wine (neither of us drink), but I think she would go for the beaches.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 14ledo81

Oh man... I'd love to. Not happening any time soon though. Young family, bills...

Not complaining though. I wouldn't trade the kids for anything.

Actually though, my parents live in MD. Next time we road trip there, I am going to try to convince the wife to sidetrack through Erie. Even if I only had time for a short lesson, I would like to.

Honestly, if you were going to pick one time to go, I'd say that weekend would be the best time. Lots of events, plenty of things to do and learn, and lots of people to meet. Should be an awesome experience!

I agree with you here.  I just can't move golf in front of the family priority wise.

I would like to do so much more with my golf game, it is just kinda difficult right now.  That is why I set up the net to hit into at home.  I actually hit balls every day.  I will full swing into the net, and hit full wedges from one corner of the lawn to the other, short game practice, etc..  Just can't get out to the course as much as I would like, especially when things get busier in the summer.

[billchao]

I agree with you here.  I just can't move golf in front of the family priority wise. I would like to do so much more with my golf game, it is just kinda difficult right now.  That is why I set up the net to hit into at home.  I actually hit balls every day.  I will full swing into the net, and hit full wedges from one corner of the lawn to the other, short game practice, etc..  Just can't get out to the course as much as I would like, especially when things get busier in the summer.

Yea, I'm in the same boat, it's why I only play like twice a month. Actually it sounds like you get to practice more than I do, too, since my net broke.

[billchao]

[14ledo81]

Very nice @billchao !!

Nice pitching as well.

[billchao]

Very nice @billchao !!   Nice pitching as well.

Thanks! Now I just have to do it all hundreds of times so it sticks.

[CarlSpackler]

Thanks! Now I just have to do it all hundreds of times so it sticks.

I'm not sure that would even help. My brain still goes to left field sometimes.

[billchao]

I'm not sure that would even help. My brain still goes to left field sometimes. :loco:

Well you know what the solution to that is, right? Practice getting your brain to go to right field so you end up somewhere in center :-P

[CarlSpackler]

Well you know what the solution to that is, right?

Practice getting your brain to go to right field so you end up somewhere in center

Lol. My brain seems to have a mind of it's own.

[billchao]

Working on an SV4 skill today. Haven't mapped out my zones, yet, but I am drawing out the upcoming holes for my round on Sunday and making a rudimentary yardage book in a composition notebook with Google Earth.

I'm marking out distances to trouble areas (front and back), distinctive landmarks (like where doglegs turn), and approach shots. I'm also preplanning my tee shots and where I should aim them.

It's a course I am very familiar with so I'm kind of surprised at how tragically flawed my past strategy has been. It's amazing the kind of perspective you can gain by looking at these holes this way, instead of just relying on past experiences on course. I'm seeing options that I never would have considered if I was just looking the holes from the tee.

Hopefully I can play well enough to justify all this work.

Oh, and I'm going to plot the results, too, so I can start to build a pattern (over time).

[billchao]

Short range session today. I did my drills with a few real swings thrown in intermittently. I hit the ball pretty well, most of the shots were draws (90%). Exaggerated swings produced over-draws, almost borderline hooks. Ball is coming out a little lower and starting more to the left than I think it should be, so maybe have to open up the face a little bit now.

8 Iron:

I think the drill swings look good, but when I go back to a "real" swing, I lose a lot of what I'm working on. Picture hasn't changed much.

I think I'm doing things backwards? Like I'm doing the drills and exaggerated swings and trying to incorporate the feels into my regular swing, but maybe I should be swinging with the exaggerated swing and working on making that shot more playable?

Anyway, here's the driver:

Hit left with the driver, too, which I was surprised about. I think that's largely due to clubface issues. I guess I'm so used to fade/slicing it that I just started lining up with the face closed at address and I'm hitting pulls. I'll have to open the face up and see what happens.

[mvmac]

I think it looks pretty good. I see a change in the way the shaft is working and how you're using the ground on the downswing, much more ballistic.

I would just recommend adding in slower swings. Like with the driver, make some swings where you're feeling your pieces but only hitting it 100 yards and I think you'll see a change in the start line. Also it's a good way to train the entire motion. Driver swing also got more cupped with the left wrist and across the line compared to the 8 iron.

Real quick, make sure the 8 iron isn't too far back in your stance, should be forward of center, might be the camera angle that is making it look like it's in the middle of your stance.

[billchao]

I think it looks pretty good. I see a change in the way the shaft is working and how you're using the ground on the downswing, much more ballistic.

Thanks, Mike. The ground thing is a freebie; Dave and I never discussed anything about that. I'll take it. [quote name="mvmac" url="/t/70666/my-swing-billchao/120#post_1015649"]I would just recommend adding in slower swings. Like with the driver, make some swings where you're feeling your pieces but only hitting it 100 yards and I think you'll see a change in the start line. Also it's a good way to train the entire motion. Driver swing also got more cupped with the left wrist and across the line compared to the 8 iron. [/quote]Yea, honestly, the driver swing felt weird. I did all my drills and practice with irons, so when I picked up the driver, it was all really awkward. You'll see on that first swing that I hit it super fat. I'll slow it down and film it. I actually do slow motion swings at home without a ball, but oddly enough, I never do them on the range with a ball. [quote name="mvmac" url="/t/70666/my-swing-billchao/120#post_1015649"]Real quick, make sure the 8 iron isn't too far back in your stance, should be forward of center, might be the camera angle that is making it look like it's in the middle of your stance. [/quote]I think it might be the camera angle. I was set up to hit to a target green, which was about 1 o'clock from the mat. I hard a hard time lining it up perpendicular to my stance line instead of to the mat (and guard fence). I'll keep an eye out though, just in case.

[mvmac]

Thanks, Mike. The ground thing is a freebie; Dave and I never discussed anything about that. I'll take it.

Yeah I figured that. Can be a chicken/egg type of thing, some players will shallow it by getting the weight further forward, some respond to it better by shallowing the shaft/flattening the lead wrist. If you shallow it out ( with decent body alignments) you "have to" transfer forward, makes it more instinctual IMO. Golfers that steepen it have to back out of it in an attempt not swing down and left a million degrees.

[billchao]

Ugly round today. 103. Hooks and over-draws. Couldn't hit the ball straight to save my life. I think I'm doing too much with the swing motion; time to dial it back a little. Then again, who knows? I tried making an adjustment on the course and then I couldn't hit the ball well at all. I haven't hit the ball this poorly in a long time; I was actually getting pissed out there. On one hole, I put it in the woods, and managed to hit a tree on four separate shots before I got out. On the positive side, pitching was actually pretty good. Contact was much better and more consistent. I noticed I was hitting my pitches a little long (landing them too close to the pin), so at one point I started pitching with my 60 instead of the 56. That worked out pretty well.

[iacas]

Ugly round today. 103. Hooks and over-draws. Couldn't hit the ball straight to save my life.

I think I'm doing too much with the swing motion; time to dial it back a little. Then again, who knows? I tried making an adjustment on the course and then I couldn't hit the ball well at all.

You aimed right before, didn't you?

Perhaps your swing motion has improved, but you were still aimed well right. Add that to your now rightward swing direction and you're gonna hit some big hooks.

I would be encouraged if I were you. The changes are creeping in to your actual golf game, right? That's a good thing. When I'm working on a "draw" piece, I don't fret the over-draws. They're a good sign. A sign that I'm moving forward, making progress.

[billchao]

You aimed right before, didn't you? Perhaps your swing motion has improved, but you were still aimed well right. Add that to your now rightward swing direction and you're gonna hit some big hooks.

That makes sense. The course was crowded and one guy in our group was excruciatingly slow and holding up the pace, so I didn't want to look like I was contributing by lining up clubs for alignment. So I have no real idea how well I aimed today. The aiming right was a byproduct of my old swing I think. I swung hard left, so I started standing a bit closed so I would swing less left. But yea, that won't work if I'm swinging right, now will it? Should I start opening my stance? [quote name="iacas" url="/t/70666/my-swing-billchao/120#post_1015950"] I would be encouraged if I were you. The changes are creeping in to your actual golf game, right? That's a good thing. When I'm working on a "draw" piece, I don't fret the over-draws. They're a good sign. A sign that I'm moving forward, making progress. [/quote]Thanks for that. It's kind of tough to be encouraged when I'm hitting it all over the place (which is really just hitting it somewhere I'm not used to, so I don't know how to aim and adjust). But you're right, I have to get my perspective and expectations in order. Dave said as much in person, but I guess I feel differently about hooks on the range vs the golf course.