My Swing (billchao)

[nevets88]

18 minutes ago, billchao said:

Grip adjustment for the seven thousandth time... left hand slightly weaker and more in the fingers if both hands. It's so hard for me make this change stick for a couple of reasons, but I think this time I'm going to get it, because I was able to do this:

 

Not across the line at A4, bowed wrist with shallow shaft through the downswing, and more stable clubface through the hitting zone (less forearm roll).

This is the first time I've ever seen myself swing with a bowed left wrist at A6 without the clubhead being 6" behind my hands which I think has a lot to do with what I've been working on with keeping the arms in front of me and not getting so deep.

Just as an additional feel, the left arm is dead, passive, whatever; all I feel it's doing is holding onto the grip. The right arm is the primary arm in the swing.

Pretty excited about this. I can make this move and I can make it at speed. Now it's just a matter of repetition until it becomes permanent.

Nice. Grip changes are hard, based on my little window of experience. At impact, with a weaker wrist, feels so "turned down", also more torque (or some kind of force) on it.

[billchao]

21 hours ago, nevets88 said:

Nice. Grip changes are hard, based on my little window of experience. At impact, with a weaker wrist, feels so "turned down", also more torque (or some kind of force) on it.

Tumble 

Yea it's hard, for stupid reasons, too. I'm just used to my old grip so it feels comfortable and it's very easy to slip back into. That, and every time I've tried to get more bowed, I just hooked everything off the planet because I was getting too deep at A4. 

[billchao]

Just a quick assessment before the handicap season ends and I have time to make adjustments:

Putting - Speed is decent. I haven't calibrated my AimPoint in a while but my read is usually good. Bead is my primary issue. Spent some time today putting on a yardstick and found I held the start line well; my problem is mostly aim. Going to see if using the aim line on my ball helps any.

Short Game - Big issue here is sometimes I blade shots over the green, but it's a mechanical issue I'm aware of. I tend to flip at the ball and expose too much bounce going into impact. Need to feel hinge and hold, let the pivot unhinge the wrists instead of actively assisting with the hands.

Long Game - Good shots are straight with maybe a slight draw. Still hitting straight pushes, some occasionally fade, some may draw. Large path issue is minimized, but currently questioning whether my straight pushes are actually pushes or I'm hitting straight shots and just aiming right without realizing it (this was an issue years ago).

It's the lack of curve that throws me off. Back when I was hitting big draws and straight pushes, it was obvious my path was too far right. But now I'm hitting straight shots that are good and straight shots that are 20 yards right of target and I have a hard time believing that my path is that inconsistent while my face stays relatively square to it. Need to lay my club at my feet and double check that I am lined up where I think I am; will use alignment sticks on the course once the season closes.

Trying my best to get a sub-80 round or a no-sixes round in before the end of the season. I know it's s longshot but it's a goal to work towards.

As an aside, I like being able to use Game Golf to evaluate my strategy on courses I've played and make changes, if necessary. I've been taking different lines or choosing different clubs on some holes because of the additional information at my disposal.

[Henrik Engvall]

Good work! I think you should practise you shortgame and play more on the course and learn to shoot a low score 

[billchao]

9 hours ago, Henrik Engvall said:

Good work! I think you should practise you shortgame and play more on the course and learn to shoot a low score 

I appreciate the feedback. My short game isn't really holding me back, it's on par with my index. Putting could use work, but I mostly just need a putter I can aim and I haven't been able put together the funds for that yet.

[billchao]

On 11/1/2017 at 11:47 PM, billchao said:

Putting - Speed is decent. I haven't calibrated my AimPoint in a while but my read is usually good. Bead is my primary issue. Spent some time today putting on a yardstick and found I held the start line well; my problem is mostly aim. Going to see if using the aim line on my ball helps any.

I practiced with my laser the other day and I did sort out my aim issue when I repainted my putter earlier this year. The reason I'm pushing my putts is my stroke. More specifically, it's my grip and how it affects my stroke. The cool thing about having a laser on my putter is I can see where the face is pointed as I swing, but I also confirmed it by pushing putts I lined up with a line on the ball.

Anyway, my putter grip is too much in the fingers and it makes me take the clubhead too far to the inside. From there, I swing it out to the right and keep the face lined up with the path, causing pushes. I put the grip more in my palm and it straightened the stroke out, along with making the club more stable in my hands in general.

I have a vague recollection that I was told to make this grip change a long time ago, but I never practice my putting so I forgot about it. I could kick myself. 

[billchao]

Going to do an end of season assessment. I'm using the insights function from Game Golf here, comparing my last 10 rounds to a 10 handicap benchmark (my target):

A couple of things jumped out at me right away:

1. My short game and putting are worse than I thought they were. I'm losing 4.28 strokes to a 10 handicap in those two categories combined versus 2.54 strokes in long game (GG has me as a 16). I have to go all the way down to a 20 handicap benchmark to get similar numbers in the short game and putting, which effectively means I'm a 20 from 100 yards and in.
2. My approach numbers indicate that I'm proficient from 150+ yards. I fall somewhere between a 5 and scratch. I'm deficient from 100 yards and in.
3. My driving is fine distance-wise, but dispersion is a problem.

Here is what I think:

1. Lack of practice. I just haven't done much putting and short game practice this year, if at all, really. I usually go out once or twice during the season just to practice around the greens and I didn't do that this year due to lack of time. It was easier to find time to practice the full swing into my net at home but not as easy to get out to the course to do some work. I used to just tell myself that my short game and putting were up to par with my handicap level but clearly they are not.
2. See #1. I spend more time on the full swing. That and I hit the ball a decent distance, so I have a shorter club in my hands to begin with. From 100 yards and in, the problem lies in not knowing my partial wedge distances well and executing those shots. Most people aren't missing long from there as much I am.
3. I knew this already. My driving hurts my game a lot. I hate that old cliche where people think they can hit more greens just by being in play off the tee but that may actually be true in my case. Funny enough, even when I do hit a good drive, I'm not good from 100 yards and in anyway so I might not even be taking advantage of them.

My plan for improvement:

1. Obviously, practice my short game and putting more next season. Even if it's just 10 minutes pitching or putting after a round focusing on one particular skill at a time, it will help. It doesn't have to be a full hour practice session or anything and it will be easier to get the extra time to do golf stuff when I'm already out doing golf stuff. It won't be as big of a deal if I come home 15 minutes later from a round.
2. Need to learn my partial wedges. I tried to do this a long time ago and I remember it being hard to find time on a course without a lot of other people around so I can map things out. I'm hoping to get a Mevo to incorporate into my practice to help with this. To add to that, I need new wedges. I don't like blaming my equipment for my deficiencies, but they're not helping. My wedges aren't properly gapped for my set anymore and my GW is a 35 year old PW I'm using only because it's 50° and fills the yardage gap better than my 52°. I'm going to try to get fit for Edel wedges early next Spring and even replace my set's PW and play four wedges to give me a variety of options for any situation.
3. Improve my driving? That doesn't actually need to be stated since I'm always trying to work on my full swing, but the block miss is most prevalent with the driver. It's funny because GG has me missing 33% left. I don't really miss left, I just aim so far left to allow for missing right that sometimes I'll end up hitting good drives left of the fairway. I don't think the solution off the tee is to take less club (maybe it is?). If I tee off a hybrid and mis-hit it, I'm not going to be in good shape, either. Plus, I can still block a shorter club. I think what i need to do is develop a less than full driver swing, something I can control my start line a bit better with when I can get away with losing a little bit of distance off the tee. Kind of like how my start lines seem to be tighter when I flight shots, I need to apply that same principle to the big stick.

I think I'm going to get fit for an Edel putter, too. It's long overdue. I've always had a good acceleration profile, so having a putter that I can control distance with will be a big advantage. I think it will make a big difference having a putter I'm confident at aiming, too. I'm still pretty sure I solved my aim issue with my current putter but I was still pushing putts so doubt is still there. At least I'll know with a custom putter that it's not the putter.

That's the plan going forward. I'm probably not going to change my full swing practice, just add a little bit more work to address other needs. I know I say this a lot, but I feel like I'm close to turning a corner.

[Jack Watson]

For me I'd rather arrive early for a round so I can spend at least twenty minutes chipping and pitching.  Distance control feel is what I lose when not practicing.

I just think it's easy to lose distance control feel on short game.  After a long layoff if I know I will play I try to get in some time before the round.

[billchao]

5 minutes ago, Jack Watson said:

For me I'd rather arrive early for a round so I can spend at least twenty minutes chipping and pitching.  Distance control feel is what I lose when not practicing.

I just think it's easy to lose distance control feel on short game.  After a long layoff if I know I will play I try to get in some time before the round.

Hard to practice when the sun hasn't risen yet.

[iacas]

30 minutes ago, billchao said:

My short game and putting are worse than I thought they were. I'm losing 4.28 strokes to a 10 handicap in those two categories combined versus 2.54 strokes in long game (GG has me as a 16). I have to go all the way down to a 20 handicap benchmark to get similar numbers in the short game and putting, which effectively means I'm a 20 from 100 yards and in.

1. My approach numbers indicate that I'm proficient from 150+ yards. I fall somewhere between a 5 and scratch. I'm deficient from 100 yards and in.

Remember, too, those numbers look worse than just a straight up comparison.

On average, you should lose about 2/3 of your strokes with the long game, and 1/3 with the short game.

So to have a short game (including putting) "on par with" (pardon the pun) your full swing, you should lose half as many strokes.

2.54 long game / 2 = 1.27. Yet you lose 4.28, which is 168% instead of 50%.

You get what I'm saying, I think.

[billchao]

7 minutes ago, iacas said:

Remember, too, those numbers look worse than just a straight up comparison.

On average, you should lose about 2/3 of your strokes with the long game, and 1/3 with the short game.

So to have a short game (including putting) "on par with" (pardon the pun) your full swing, you should lose half as many strokes.

2.54 long game / 2 = 1.27. Yet you lose 4.28, which is 168% instead of 50%.

You get what I'm saying, I think.

Yea, I have a glaring weakness around (and on) the greens to the tune of about 3 strokes.

It was kind of eye opening when I had to change the benchmark to 20 to get similar strokes lost numbers.

[billchao]

Wanted to take advantage of the warmer weather to hit some balls and play with the Mevo, but took a couple of practice swings to test my finger and it's not having it.

I've been practicing my takeaway for a while with no issues, but once force is applied, it starts to hurt. Going to have to shut it down until it's 100%. Oh well.

[JonMA1]

Sorry to hear about your injury @billchao. Here's to a speedy recovery. I suppose if you are going to be injured, December/January is as good a time as any. I hope it isn't affecting your job too much.

Anyway, good plan on letting it heal.

[billchao]

1 hour ago, JonMA1 said:

Sorry to hear about your injury @billchao. Here's to a speedy recovery. I suppose if you are going to be injured, December/January is as good a time as any.

Thanks. I banged my hand on something around Thanksgiving, don't even remember what now, and the middle joint on my left middle finger has been sprained ever since. It's still swollen and I'm experiencing minor pain if I stress it accompanied by limited range of motion.

1 hour ago, JonMA1 said:

I hope it isn't affecting your job too much.

To be honest with you, I think it's the other way around. I'm a little weaker, but otherwise it's not interfering with work. However, I believe work is slowing down the healing process because I'm constantly stressing it.

1 hour ago, JonMA1 said:

Anyway, good plan on letting it heal.

Yea I can live without swinging a club for a while. Maybe 

I thought about going to see a doctor this week but I'm not sure what they will do for me. I don't think anything is broken and nothing is deformed other than the swelling. It doesn't even hurt that much anymore unless I really push with it or try to squeeze something very tightly. I buddy tape it to my ring finger when I work as a precaution.

[GolfLug]

@billchao, do you think you would be able to get a good assessment of 5 Keys in actual rounds? You seem awfully close to having all 5 of them down from your vids and hard for me to tell during the rounds that I have seen you in. 

I realized that last few months my 'control' of keys 1 and 2 had drifted significantly. Calibration from that stand point of view is always good. Try to take a vid or two during an actual round. You might spot something that you wouldn't in practice vids like the ones in this thread. Maybe a v-log is in order?

[billchao]

25 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

@billchao, do you think you would be able to get a good assessment of 5 Keys in actual rounds?

Sure. Swing gets a little long on the course which exacerbates Key #4 and Key #5 issues. Problem is primarily with the driver as I'll spray shots all over the course, but I shallow hard late which can lead to poor contact, especially out of the rough.

40 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

You seem awfully close to having all 5 of them down from your vids and hard for me to tell during the rounds that I have seen you in.

Nah. Maybe three if I'm being generous, but probably closer to two. My swing is slightly better than my handicap would indicate because there's a huge hole in my game from about 120 yards and in, but it's probably no more than a 10 handicap at best.

People always tell me my swing looks good in person, but without the benefit of slow motion, its harder to catch the flaws I think. For whatever reason they always think I'm a better player than I am.

1 hour ago, GolfLug said:

I realized that last few months my 'control' of keys 1 and 2 had drifted significantly. Calibration from that stand point of view is always good. Try to take a vid or two during an actual round. You might spot something that you wouldn't in practice vids like the ones in this thread. Maybe a v-log is in order?

Yea I like to do that once in a while for that reason, it's just harder to set up my phone on the course to take a video without slowing down play (and because I always forget to bring my gorilla pod). I think the last time I took on course swing videos was back in June or July when I played a rare solo round.

The good thing is I know what I'm working on and I can practice it even with my hand being jacked up, so with any luck it will become permanent after working on it all winter.

[billchao]

It was almost 50°F today and I found these weird metal sticks in my garage to hit 

 

Been working on being a little less externally rotated at A4 and less across the line. I don't think I rotate my hands at all because I flared everything right when I first started hitting, then decided to feel more rotation and less arms pulling down to square the face. These videos are the result of that action. Toed the crap out of the ball.

It was nice to be able to hit a fee balls. Stupid finger still hasn't healed but only felt minor discomfort so that's ok.

[iacas]

I'm still not sure how you're not a lower handicap than I am.

#PushForNewportCup2K19