My Swing (Lihu)

[Lihu]

Just tallied today's 1 hour 9 hole morning round (Brookside Course 1, Blues 72.7/130, but I played the longer/easier back 9), and did some really coarse analysis on the round. It was my best score ever on either front or back of this course, and I am still trying to figure out why. That is, what do I need to do to re-produce it every time?

I am still keeping close to the greens (even on a par 3 where the ball was dangerously close to the "brook" dropoff), and had one sand save today. Amazingly, had only one double, the rest were bogey and a couple par on the easiest holes for a 43. Putting was better than usual, but I think it was luck or the greens were slower today. The previous two days I got 2 and 3 more strokes than today due to extra putting strokes. So, if I tally up the three days scores 46, 45, 43. I made only 1 GIR each day and only had less putts today. I will try to play the whole thing tomorrow, if I can convince my partner to go.

[mvmac]

Just tallied today's 1 hour 9 hole morning round (Brookside Course 1, Blues 72.7/130, but I played the longer/easier back 9), and did some really coarse analysis on the round. It was my best score ever on either front or back of this course, and I am still trying to figure out why. That is, what do I need to do to re-produce it every time?

Just keep up the good practice

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

Just tallied today's 1 hour 9 hole morning round (Brookside Course 1, Blues 72.7/130, but I played the longer/easier back 9), and did some really coarse analysis on the round. It was my best score ever on either front or back of this course, and I am still trying to figure out why. That is, what do I need to do to re-produce it every time?

Just keep up the good practice

I guess what I meant was to be able to play any course of similar rating without having played it two days prior, and get the same low score.

My main concern is that this day to day improvement is simply from getting comfortable with the course, again. Maybe I am subconsciously making play decisions to make it easier rather than actually improving by 3 strokes over the last three 9 hole rounds. These one GIRs per 9 hole round might translate to a really bad score on some other courses, because of potential for OB to the side or behind a green as was the case at Oak Quarry and Hidden Valley.

However, you're right about the drills I am doing are helping my long game, and maybe I won't have to worry so much about this. I just have not developed any confidence distance-wise. At this point, even if I know I shoot 100 yards with my 52 and the pin is 100 yards away with OB even 15 yards behind it, I have no confidence in my approach shot and even less so with a longer club from longer distances.

[Lihu]

I did end up going to Brookside as a single, but did not have time to finish either 9. I skipped the 3rd hole, as the people in front of me politely let me play through. I opted to get out of their way by driving to the next hole.

Smooth sailing all the way to the forced water carry hole. I had a choice to hit deeper and have to carry 230 yards or towards a bunker and lose 40 yards with a 200 yard forced carry. I hit one ball deep and thought it rolled back into the water. I hit a provisional over the 200 region to make sure I got it over. I got to the closer one and hit it towards the green. 60 yards out I saw my first one. Arrrghh. I ended up getting 8 strokes because I 3 putted it due to my feeling of overall incompetence. At this point I am 6 strokes over on the holes I played. Lesson learned, drive further up to see if your first ball is in play. To add insult to injury, I was in a cart to insure that I keep pace of play up, and could easily have driven up to check.

Then I got paired up with a couple. They were playing a little slow, because the husband wanted to wait till the fairway was clear to 300 yards or more, so I ended up driving first to speed things up. Our drives were about the same (mine a tiny bit further), not 300 yards. He was interested in my steel shafts on my woods. He thought it was a custom high tech shaft at first. I told him I got them for $18 plus installation at Dick's. He was a bit surprised and inspected the head face and shaft with great interest.

Retro-steel shafts might be the future? BTW, a plug for True Temper Dynamic Gold steel wood shafts. Please keep making them.

I had another blowup hole. My shafts were separating from the head on the driver and my 3W. I had a lousy drive, it rolled to a little less than 200 yards, and I had 268 yards to go. My 3W was creaky on the shot and pulled right, onto another fairway. I hit a PW to get over some trees and it hit the very top of the tree and landed in the green side bunker. For the first time in months, it took me 2 shots to get out of the bunker. Last time was at Oak Quarry in a pot bunker. This should have been cake, and I ended up with an 8 with a 3 putt.

In any case, it was getting late. I needed to get to Dick's before they closed to have the pro write up the ticket for the club repair.

All told, I had 4 GIR on 14 holes and was staring at 4 birdie putts, 2 from inside 5 feet. No birdies. Maybe the pressure? Well in any case I was never good enough to be in this situation before. That in and of itself was very gratifying. 5 pars, 5 bogey, 2 doubles and 2 blow up holes. Lessons learned, always check your first drive to make sure it is OB, check the driver/3W before going out to play.

At least it is easier for me to get on the greens. There appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

[Lihu]

I tried using two different steel shafts with two heads.

One was a Ping G15 10.5 degree with a DG-X200 45.5 inch shaft, the other the TM Burner 1.0 9.5 degree DG-X100 46 inch shaft.

The TM burner consistently averaged about 20 yards more distance on the 6 holes where I tested it (2 shots per driver per hole with brand new Callaway Hex Control Balls for each test). As the temperature dropped the difference diminished, because the overall distance reduced according to my current range finding skills.

It was the first time I used the Ping with the new shaft. I think I might be seeing the effect of the X200 versus X100 shaft. Both had roughly the same flight. The Ping might have been a hair higher. The temperature changed from about 70F down to 56F, but in every case I did a side by side comparison.

The next experiment will be with DG-X100 in both drivers to see if the distance does go up with the Ping.

In both cases, the steel shafted drivers are much more stable than with graphite shafts with no distance loss in either case. Even the X200 shaft in the Ping G15 10.5 did not reduce the distance as compared to the Aldila 65 S (276 CPM) graphite shaft.

[hopefulhacker]

Nice swing Lihu....my friend

[Lihu]

Nice swing Lihu....my friend

Thanks, but still lots of work to do.

[Lihu]

Changed the 8i i20 iron back to the CFS shaft, and decided that the shorter distance is fine, so I am going to change the Rifle FCM 6.5 out back in favor of the original CFS stiff shafts. The 145 carry I get with this 8i is acceptable given the more spin I get on it (not measured, but I can see some of the range balls backup at the 150 range green flag. I get some that run off the other side of the 150 range green, but I got at least 5 of them to stick (out of 50 shots). I can also get a draw better with the less stiff shaft. The Rifles are too stiff, and don't give me enough flexibility to play with flight.

The decision is based upon getting more spin and control, rather than distance.

Once I get them back again, I am going to play with adding more lag and setting up the balls further back in my stance to see if I can get lower flights. I guess I am just starting to learn about "workability".

Sigh. . ., so much more to learn and practice.

[Lihu]

I wonder if the people who get 135 yards with their PW are putting the club back in their stance and more lag?

I can only carry 105 with the PW, but the flight is really high. Every now and then I get a "thin" ball that goes 125 or so. If I could control this flight I think I could get the appropriate distances. On the other hand, what is the advantage of doing this versus using a 9i?

[billchao]

I wonder if the people who get 135 yards with their PW are putting the club back in their stance and more lag? I can only carry 105 with the PW, but the flight is really high. Every now and then I get a "thin" ball that goes 125 or so. If I could control this flight I think I could get the appropriate distances. On the other hand, what is the advantage of doing this versus using a 9i?

Some people just swing faster, but distance is all about launch conditions afaik. If you hit it high and carry it short, you may have too much spin, also known as ballooning. Most people think a high flight is bad because most people who hit it high also hit it with too much spin, thus reducing their distance. Ideally, a higher ball will stay in the air longer and thus carry farther. To answer your last question, if you need to carry it farther, why wouldn't you hit a longer club?

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

I wonder if the people who get 135 yards with their PW are putting the club back in their stance and more lag?

I can only carry 105 with the PW, but the flight is really high. Every now and then I get a "thin" ball that goes 125 or so. If I could control this flight I think I could get the appropriate distances. On the other hand, what is the advantage of doing this versus using a 9i?

Some people just swing faster, but distance is all about launch conditions afaik.

If you hit it high and carry it short, you may have too much spin, also known as ballooning. Most people think a high flight is bad because most people who hit it high also hit it with too much spin, thus reducing their distance. Ideally, a higher ball will stay in the air longer and thus carry farther.

To answer your last question, if you need to carry it farther, why wouldn't you hit a longer club?

Yes .

I should have specified my case a bit better. I drive roughly the same as one person I played with, and I hit further with the 3W and hybrids. When it came to the PW and other wedges, he hit a good 20 yards further than me, and his flight was just a little bit lower.

I heard that if you carry driver 240 that you should be able to carry the PW 120, and I don't with the stock Ping CFS stiff setup. I am sure there is still more refinement on my swing, but I would think it should be in the ballpark of 120 yards at least.

Yes, I usually just hit a 9i to get my distances from 125 to 135, and the 9i also appears to be a more flexible club for me.

[billchao]

Yes .

I should have specified my case a bit better. I drive roughly the same as one person I played with, and I hit further with the 3W and hybrids. When it came to the PW and other wedges, he hit a good 20 yards further than me, and his flight was just a little bit lower.

I heard that if you carry driver 240 that you should be able to carry the PW 120, and I don't with the stock Ping CFS stiff setup. I am sure there is still more refinement on my swing, but I would think it should be in the ballpark of 120 yards at least.

Yes, I usually just hit a 9i to get my distances from 125 to 135, and the 9i also appears to be a more flexible club for me.

I think this is related to spin loft, which is the difference between AoA and dynamic loft. Basically, the greater the spin loft, the greater the spin you impart on the golf ball, and the less ball speed you will have.

As I understand it, your playing partner (assuming the same swing speed) hits his short irons with less spin loft than you, probably due to delofting the clubface, and thus hits it farther with lower launch.

With a high launch and high spin rate,  I'm thinking you're hitting your short irons with a higher AoA than your friend and an even greater dynamic loft. In short, flipping. How's your key #3?

BTW if any of the above is wrong, hopefully someone will come and correct me.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

Yes .

I should have specified my case a bit better. I drive roughly the same as one person I played with, and I hit further with the 3W and hybrids. When it came to the PW and other wedges, he hit a good 20 yards further than me, and his flight was just a little bit lower.

I heard that if you carry driver 240 that you should be able to carry the PW 120, and I don't with the stock Ping CFS stiff setup. I am sure there is still more refinement on my swing, but I would think it should be in the ballpark of 120 yards at least.

Yes, I usually just hit a 9i to get my distances from 125 to 135, and the 9i also appears to be a more flexible club for me.

I think this is related to spin loft, which is the difference between AoA and dynamic loft. Basically, the greater the spin loft, the greater the spin you impart on the golf ball, and the less ball speed you will have.

As I understand it, your playing partner (assuming the same swing speed) hits his short irons with less spin loft than you, probably due to delofting the clubface, and thus hits it farther with lower launch.

With a high launch and high spin rate,  I'm thinking you're hitting your short irons with a higher AoA than your friend and an even greater dynamic loft. In short, flipping. How's your key #3?

BTW if any of the above is wrong, hopefully someone will come and correct me.

You might be right that I am flipping the shorter clubs, and it correlates because they are much lighter than the clubs I swing better. For example, I can even get my 52 degree wedge pretty much the same distance as the PW if I go after it, and it is a heavier club.

My key #3 is probably not so good, because I am still focused on Key 2, and maintaining key 1.

[Abu3baid]

You might be right that I am flipping the shorter clubs, and it correlates because they are much lighter than the clubs I swing better. For example, I can even get my 52 degree wedge pretty much the same distance as the PW if I go after it, and it is a heavier club. My key #3 is probably not so good, because I am still focused on Key 2, and maintaining key 1.

What are some of the things you are doing to maintain key number one?

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

You might be right that I am flipping the shorter clubs, and it correlates because they are much lighter than the clubs I swing better. For example, I can even get my 52 degree wedge pretty much the same distance as the PW if I go after it, and it is a heavier club.

My key #3 is probably not so good, because I am still focused on Key 2, and maintaining key 1.

What are some of the things you are doing to maintain key number one?

I use a colored block to make sure I don't move. You can use a coke bottle like the one Dave shows in a video.

[Abu3baid]

From my understanding, the coke bottle or block can really help show you that hey your moving your head and now you should fix.. As a swing thought or drill though? I'm assuming that steady head is really just an outcome of all the little movements before the end if the backswing.. So, is there a priority you are working in that is preventing you from keeping a steady head? For me it was too wide a stance, not enough hinge at A2 and shoulders not steep enough on turn.. That is why I asked how are you keeping your head steady..

[Lihu]

From my understanding, the coke bottle or block can really help show you that hey your moving your head and now you should fix.. As a swing thought or drill though? I'm assuming that steady head is really just an outcome of all the little movements before the end if the backswing.. So, is there a priority you are working in that is preventing you from keeping a steady head? For me it was too wide a stance, not enough hinge at A2 and shoulders not steep enough on turn.. That is why I asked how are you keeping your head steady..

I am trying to get a full 1 on the first two keys. It takes a lot of diligence to maintain both of the two keys shot after shot. So, the more mechanisms I have to maintain them the better.

Key 3 eluded me after having worked hard on all of them for over two months successfully, and I needed to go back to Mike and Dana to fix the problem with it. So, I am working on all three keys, but the one I want to get "perfect" is 1 for now.

[hopefulhacker]

I am trying to get a full 1 on the first two keys. It takes a lot of diligence to maintain both of the two keys shot after shot. So, the more mechanisms I have to maintain them the better.

Key 3 eluded me after having worked hard on all of them for over two months successfully, and I needed to go back to Mike and Dana to fix the problem with it. So, I am working on all three keys, but the one I want to get "perfect" is 1 for now.

I enjoy following your updates Lihu, keep them coming.

I am in a similar position, but my main focus or the one I want to perfect is Key #2 and in particular getting the weight onto my  inside right foot & left knee forward and down in the downswing.

You are right when you say it takes a lot of diligence. But it pays off.

My Monday & Wednesday range sessions were very good this week, I spent time in between shots working on the movement and the results were good.

The Tuesday was not as good, I think I got a bit carried away with Mondays success, I didn't put in the work between shots or take short practice shots, I ended up hitting twice as many balls with half the success.

Re your GIR's:

Are you taking enough club?

Last summer I found that I benefited from taking my yardages to the back of the green (unless it was a monster green obviously) and took that as my distance.

I went from leaving a lot short to increasing my GIR's almost immediately.

I am hitting at least one if not two clubs more on some holes than I used to.

My thinking was that I will rarely, if ever, hit an iron further than I think I will, but I will often leave it shorter than I expect.

If I'm taking yardage to the back of the green a good shot should hit it but a higher % of my bad shots will also hit it.

Most trouble on my home course is in front or to the sides of the green,  I think the majority of golf holes are the same, so it's a no brainer for me.