My Swing (billchao)

[billchao]

Couldn't get to the range today, so I practiced in my yard. Still have to get my net fixed.

Still swinging too long, but it's starting to get there.

[billchao]

Didn't have time to look at it in depth, earlier, so I'll do it now. Focus is still deeper hands going back, Dustin Johnson feel, and left hand revving/knuckles down* in the downswing. Here's what I see:

A2:

Deeper hands, so definitely an improvement, there. Could probably get deeper, though. Apparently I closed the face a bit, too, probably a result of the early palmar flexion.

A3.2:

I'd like to stop the club here...

A4:

But I bring it up to here. It's still too long, and the extra movement pulls my head back from the target a bit. Club is across the line due to the shoulder turn. Wrist is flat, not cupped. Definite improvement there.

A5.5ish:

This is as close to A6 as I got with 60fps. Club shaft lines up with forearm, club head inside of hands. Looks like I'm doing a pretty good job of not dumping the wrist angles early, either. I'll admit, I really like this picture.

I'm playing a round tomorrow and I'm going to a range beforehand to warm up. I'll film some swings so I can see if I'm doing these things with a real golf ball.

I'm pretty excited about the swing. Now if only I can learn to aim, I might actually get good at this game.

*Honestly, I don't think I felt any conscious revving, just got in my "bowed" wrist condition and kept it there through impact.

[mvmac]

A5.5ish:

This is as close to A6 as I got with 60fps. Club shaft lines up with forearm, club head inside of hands. Looks like I'm doing a pretty good job of not dumping the wrist angles early, either. I'll admit, I really like this picture.

Looking good!

[billchao]

Looking good!

Thanks. It's not as good when I'm not practicing/focusing on the mechanics, though. I'll upload videos of me warming up for today's round, later.

---

Played Clearbrook GC (67.6/123)  with my friend and his father again. Shot 95. I tried to tone down the hooks from last week and ended up with a two-way miss again. Can't win. 2 Fairways hit, 5 GIR, 7 nGIR.  Yup, I got on and around the green 2/3 of the round and shot a freaking 95.

Not sure if I should switch gears and start working on my short game. I only got it up and down once, and it wasn't for par (chipped it to 1' from just off the fringe, almost holed it). Obviously, the long game is still a long ways off, but if I can't save par when I miss it close, I'd have to literally hit 18 GIR to play good golf, and that's obviously unrealistic.

Average distance from the hole for GIR was ~40'. Distance from the hole for nGIR was ~15', but on 3 holes, it took more than one attempt to get it on the green.

Time to reread some key sections in LSW.

[14ledo81]

Swing is looking good. On the 11 holes you did not make nGIR, how far away were you?

[CarlSpackler]

Thanks. It's not as good when I'm not practicing/focusing on the mechanics, though. I'll upload videos of me warming up for today's round, later. [rule]Played Clearbrook GC (67.6/123)  with my friend and his father again. Shot 95. I tried to tone down the hooks from last week and ended up with a two-way miss again. Can't win. 2 Fairways hit, 5 GIR, 7 nGIR.  Yup, I got on and around the green 2/3 of the round and shot a freaking 95. Not sure if I should switch gears and start working on my short game. I only got it up and down once, and it wasn't for par (chipped it to 1' from just off the fringe, almost holed it). Obviously, the long game is still a long ways off, but if I can't save par when I miss it close, I'd have to literally hit 18 GIR to play good golf, and that's obviously unrealistic. Average distance from the hole for GIR was ~40'. Distance from the hole for nGIR was ~15', but on 3 holes, it took more than one attempt to get it on the green. Time to reread some key sections in LSW.

Right there with you. Too frequently am I taking 3 or more strokes short range.

[billchao]

Swing is looking good. On the 11 holes you did not make nGIR, how far away were you?

Thanks. You misunderstood me. I hit 5 GIR AND 7 nGIR, 12 total. I had 12 opportunities today to make par or better. The other 6 holes included 4 holes with drop penalties (took 2 on one hole after I pushed it into a lateral hazard, then hooked it into another one), 1 greenside bunker, 1 mishit not near the green, and 1 push that was more than 20 yards from the green that I got on and two putt for bogey. I didn't really pay attention to where I was, once I lost the nGIR. [quote name="CarlSpackler" url="/t/70666/my-swing-billchao/120#post_1019664"] Right there with you. Too frequently am I taking 3 or more strokes short range.[/quote]Yea, if I miss GIR, best case is bogey, really. Penalty strokes (long game) are still a killer, for me, but I'm thinking I should devote a slightly higher percentage of time to short game practice. [Rule] I forgot to mention, I started the day birdie-par. Got on the par 5 first in 2 (hit my 4h farther than I thought it could go), and got GIR on the par 3 second hole.

[CarlSpackler]

I still consider par to be what I should make with an nGIR 7 out of 10 depending on circumstances. Most munis don't pose much problem. Home course is a different story, but I'm leaving myself way too many putts 4' or longer. Focusing on GIR but need to start scrambling better.

[billchao]

I still consider par to be what I should make with an nGIR 7 out of 10 depending on circumstances. Most munis don't pose much problem. Home course is a different story, but I'm leaving myself way too many putts 4' or longer. Focusing on GIR but need to start scrambling better.

I'd love to get up that close. Like I said above, I'm leaving myself outside 10' for par putts. I'm not even giving myself a chance to save par.

[CarlSpackler]

I'd love to get up that close. Like I said above, I'm leaving myself outside 10' for par putts. I'm not even giving myself a chance to save par.

I need to spend some quality time in the short game area challenging myself with different shots around the green. I warm up with some easy ones then try to challenge myself with more difficult or impossible shots. It's actually pretty fun. Nothing frustrates your friends/opponents when they think you're dead and you pull off a crazy shot and save par or bogey.

[boogielicious]

Thanks. It's not as good when I'm not practicing/focusing on the mechanics, though. I'll upload videos of me warming up for today's round, later.

Played Clearbrook GC (67.6/123)  with my friend and his father again. Shot 95. I tried to tone down the hooks from last week and ended up with a two-way miss again. Can't win. 2 Fairways hit, 5 GIR, 7 nGIR.  Yup, I got on and around the green 2/3 of the round and shot a freaking 95.

Not sure if I should switch gears and start working on my short game. I only got it up and down once, and it wasn't for par (chipped it to 1' from just off the fringe, almost holed it). Obviously, the long game is still a long ways off, but if I can't save par when I miss it close, I'd have to literally hit 18 GIR to play good golf, and that's obviously unrealistic.

Average distance from the hole for GIR was ~40'. Distance from the hole for nGIR was ~15', but on 3 holes, it took more than one attempt to get it on the green.

Time to reread some key sections in LSW.

Spend a little time on the short game to give yourself more confidence that if you get nGIR, you still have a shot at par.  Mine is pretty good, but like you, the long game is the key.

[billchao]

I need to spend some quality time in the short game area challenging myself with different shots around the green. I warm up with some easy ones then try to challenge myself with more difficult or impossible shots. It's actually pretty fun. Nothing frustrates your friends/opponents when they think you're dead and you pull off a crazy shot and save par or bogey.

This thread isn't about you :-P But seriously, good advice. I used to do more things like that, but my focus has been primarily on the full swing, so my short game practice has been limited to hitting the ball to targets around my yard to make sure I have the motion down. I remember taking a short game lesson once and it was a lot of fun. I honestly think I get more enjoyment from hitting a shot close to the pin than I do from bombing a long drive. [quote name="boogielicious" url="/t/70666/my-swing-billchao/120#post_1019857"]Spend a little time on the short game to give yourself more confidence that if you get nGIR, you still have a shot at par.  Mine is pretty good, but like you, the long game is the key. [/quote]I'm striking it pretty well, for my handicap anyway, so I think my short game needs catching up. I think the problem is, when I practice the short game at home, there isn't much variation in the lie, I don't have to navigate slopes, and I'm not hitting to a green, so I'm working on the technique, but I'm not getting the full effect of the course. That, and I try to get it close to the pin, which can end up disastrous.

[boogielicious]

I think the problem is, when I practice the short game at home, there isn't much variation in the lie, I don't have to navigate slopes, and I'm not hitting to a green, so I'm working on the technique, but I'm not getting the full effect of the course.

That, and I try to get it close to the pin, which can end up disastrous.

I find it best to go to a local course and practice on their practice green.  I will swing by after work and spend an hour doing different technique drills or playing 1 ball.  1 ball is where you throw the ball into the rough and try to get up and down.  If the green is not busy, I will go "around the world" and move from pin to pin to give myself a bunch of different lies and approaches (uphill downhill etc.). LSW has several good drills in the Short Game Practice section.

Lately, I have been working on the to add to what I am comfortable with.

[14ledo81]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 14ledo81

Swing is looking good.

On the 11 holes you did not make nGIR, how far away were you?

Thanks.

You misunderstood me. I hit 5 GIR AND 7 nGIR, 12 total. I had 12 opportunities today to make par or better.

The other 6 holes included 4 holes with drop penalties (took 2 on one hole after I pushed it into a lateral hazard, then hooked it into another one), 1 greenside bunker, 1 mishit not near the green, and 1 push that was more than 20 yards from the green that I got on and two putt for bogey.

I didn't really pay attention to where I was, once I lost the nGIR.

Aaaahhh...  I see.  Yeah it does seem like 95 is a pretty bad score considering how many times you were on or close.

[billchao]

I find it best to go to a local course and practice on their practice green.  I will swing by after work and spend an hour doing different technique drills or playing 1 ball.  1 ball is where you throw the ball into the rough and try to get up and down.  If the green is not busy, I will go "around the world" and move from pin to pin to give myself a bunch of different lies and approaches (uphill downhill etc.). LSW has several good drills in the Short Game Practice section. Lately, I have been working on the  [CONTENTEMBED=/t/70998/chipping-with-a-putting-method layout=inline]​[/CONTENTEMBED] to add to what I am comfortable with.

It's just hard for me to find the extra time, really. I'll have to re-read LSW to see if there's anything I can incorporate into my current routine. [quote name="14ledo81" url="/t/70666/my-swing-billchao/120#post_1019961"] Aaaahhh...  I see.  Yeah it does seem like 95 is a pretty bad score considering how many times you were on or close. [/quote]Yea, rub it in, why don't ya? Kick a man while he's down. ;-)

[14ledo81]

Quote:

Originally Posted by billchao

Quote:

Originally Posted by 14ledo81

Aaaahhh...  I see.  Yeah it does seem like 95 is a pretty bad score considering how many times you were on or close.

Yea, rub it in, why don't ya? Kick a man while he's down.

I dunno.  I wish I had short game problems and not long game problems.  Hitting the ball solid and far makes the game a lot more fun.

[billchao]

I dunno.  I wish I had short game problems and not long game problems.  Hitting the ball solid and far makes the game a lot more fun.

I've got both :doh: Game isn't just about hitting long and far. Lowest score wins, remember? Can't score low if I can't scramble and I hit the ball into oblivion when I miss. I'd say, if we were playing straight up, for money, you'd be having a lot more fun than me...

[14ledo81]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 14ledo81

I dunno.  I wish I had short game problems and not long game problems.  Hitting the ball solid and far makes the game a lot more fun.

I've got both

Game isn't just about hitting long and far. Lowest score wins, remember? Can't score low if I can't scramble and I hit the ball into oblivion when I miss.

I'd say, if we were playing straight up, for money, you'd be having a lot more fun than me...

After reading your (self) assessment of you game, it reminds me of a buddy I play with sometime.  He hits his irons around 15 yards longer than mine, and his best shots are certainly better than my best.  At this point though, I could very easily beat him because he hits a lot of balls out of play.

I still am envious when I see him hit his 6 iron solidly from 175 out.