My Swing (David in FL)

[David in FL]

It's kind of up to you, but I'd probably do it now or else you risk finding the sweetspot after, then possibly adding it back and throwing things off again.

I'd probably also step back an inch or two from the golf ball. You were hitting a 6-iron or 7-iron.

Same feel/changes with the longer clubs, woods, and driver, right?

[iacas]

Same feel/changes with the longer clubs, woods, and driver, right?

Yes.

[mvmac]

It's kind of up to you, but I'd probably do it now or else you risk finding the sweetspot after, then possibly adding it back and throwing things off again.

I agree with this.  Do the grip stuff now and you'll be better off in the long run.  Might feel like crap in the short term but I think it's an important piece that'll benefit your ballstriking.

Also it's ok for it to feel like crap right now, means you're making it change.  You can also practice the grip at home, before bed, watching TV, at the office, will make the changes "stick" much faster.

[David in FL]

Alright, I took it to the course yesterday......

I spent the last 3 days just doing some slow mo mirror work.  Aside from the obvious swing path improvement, It seems as if my head is a lot steadier over the ball and I'm not coming off the ball as bad as I was previously.  Whether I'm doing "better" or just "less bad", will take some video to determine......next time I'm at the range, I'll do that, put it up here and we'll see.

I also took the grip change to heart and committed to it.  I found that going back to the "upside down" club in the finger tips that Dave showed me helped solidify the feel a bit and while still not quite "normal", it hasn't really been as distracting as I was afraid it would be.

At the course, I didn't do anything weird.  Just my normal 25 ball warm-up, but every one with the new swing feels.  In the hope of mitigating the shanks that I'd found on Saturday, I used a  mantra that I got from Erik a couple of posts ago.......I just kept telling myself to simply "put the sweet-spot on it".  Pretty silly and simple, but I figured if Erik thought that that was all there was to it, who was I to argue?  Believe it or not, I didn't lay a single hosel on a ball all day. Simple thoughts for a simple guy.....

On the course I shot an 83.....an ugly differential of 11.1.  May as well get that out of the way first......BUT, and you have to understand, this is a huge "but", I didn't hit a single pull all day.  I only hit 5 greens, because I was 30 yards right of everything !  I've played with a pretty well developed over-the-top move that I've learned to compensate for over the years by aiming right.  Yesterday I hit everything right where I was used to aiming.  I really struggled to bring my point of aim left, on line with the target, but just couldn't do it.  That's OK though, I'm ,surprised but pretty pleased at the early results and the relative consistency with which I struck the ball.

After yesterday, I'm fully committed to the new swing and I'll keep at it.  I'm not a techno swing kind of guy, so I really like the simple "feels" that Dave gave me.   I think if I can continue to reinforce those feels to the point that they become second nature, I'll naturally begin to adjust my aim where the ball is tending to go.

[mvmac]

On the course I shot an 83.....an ugly differential of 11.1.  May as well get that out of the way first......BUT, and you have to understand, this is a huge "but", I didn't hit a single pull all day.  I only hit 5 greens, because I was 30 yards right of everything!  I've played with a pretty well developed over-the-top move that I've learned to compensate for over the years by aiming right.  Yesterday I hit everything right where I was used to aiming.  I really struggled to bring my point of aim left, on line with the target, but just couldn't do it.  That's OK though, I'm ,surprised but pretty pleased at the early results and the relative consistency with which I struck the ball.

If everything was starting where you were aimed then nice work.  May suck for now but it's a positive thing.  Won't take you very long to adjust, just keep working at it.

[iacas]

If everything was starting where you were aimed then nice work.  May suck for now but it's a positive thing.  Won't take you very long to adjust, just keep working at it.

Precisely. I meant to add more here now. Pushes are, for now, a very good thing for you, especially since they aren't actually pushes at all. :)

If you do range work, use a stick to make sure where your feet are aligned as you hit balls so that you can begin to convince yourself that you're actually starting the ball on or right of your target line slightly.

[saevel25]

Precisely. I meant to add more here now. Pushes are, for now, a very good thing for you, especially since they aren't actually pushes at all. :)

If you do range work, use a stick to make sure where your feet are aligned as you hit balls so that you can begin to convince yourself that you're actually starting the ball on or right of your target line slightly.

When you do, try to line up so straight shots go over the 100 yard flag or marker. This way you can get a good visualization if the ball is starting right. The ball wont start curving till way past that point, and its easier to see the ball fly that far.

[David in FL]

If everything was starting where you were aimed then nice work.  May suck for now but it's a positive thing.  Won't take you very long to adjust, just keep working at it.

Precisely. I meant to add more here now. Pushes are, for now, a very good thing for you, especially since they aren't actually pushes at all. :)

If you do range work, use a stick to make sure where your feet are aligned as you hit balls so that you can begin to convince yourself that you're actually starting the ball on or right of your target line slightly.

That was my thought.  Without a pull, everything went about where I'm normally aligned.  Who'da thunk, hitting the ball where I'm actually aimed.  DAMN, but that's gonna honk me up......

I've gotta say, I feel a LOT better about that 83 than I would a 78 with my normal move.  Playing again Friday.  Slow, stupid monkey in the mirror between now and then.

[David in FL]

Here are 2 videos from Erik.

Before and after.....

Erik and Mike will likely comment too, but again, note the flat hips and shoulders and the over-the-top move.  My left foot also tends to spin out on the downswing.  It ain't pretty.....

Less flat with hips and shoulders, more flex in lead leg and better weight forward with no spin out on the downswing.  Club head approaching the ball more from the inside.

You can see the difference in the downswing when the shaft is parallel to the ground......that's A6, right?  To me, even my head seems steadier, with no conscious effort to do so.

[Stretch]

So much better already!

[colin007]

More video already? Take it easy Dave, you had 6 more years to post a second video at the rate you were at...

[iacas]

More video already? Take it easy Dave, you had 6 more years to post a second video at the rate you were at...

Those are from his lesson. :)

[mvmac]

Erik and Mike will likely comment too, but again, note the flat hips and shoulders and the over-the-top move.  My left foot also tends to spin out on the downswing.  It ain't pretty.....

Less flat with hips and shoulders, more flex in lead leg and better weight forward with no spin out on the downswing.  Club head approaching the ball more from the inside.

Nothing more to really add, well said.

You can see the difference in the downswing when the shaft is parallel to the ground......that's A6, right?  To me, even my head seems steadier, with no conscious effort to do so.

Yeah A6 is club shaft parallel to the ground on the downswing.

[nevets88]

It's appropriate the sky opened up with sun on the improved swing. Just missing pipe organ and choir. :-)

[David in FL]

From this past weekend.

Still pretty flat, but I like the flex in the left leg and I think I'm steadier overall.  Not sure if the path continues to improve or not.  Those with better video editing capabilities than me can help there.  My pulls are definitely not as bad as they used to be.

I inadvertently deleted my FO video.  I'll get one of those next time.

[Ernest Jones]

From this past weekend.

Still pretty flat, but I like the flex in the left leg and I think I'm steadier overall.  Not sure if the path continues to improve or not.  Those with better video editing capabilities than me can help there.  My pulls are definitely not as bad as they used to be.

I inadvertently deleted my FO video.  I'll get one of those next time.

Path looks much better to me at least as far as I can tell based on A6, your camera isn't square to your stance though so it's a little skewed.

Also this:

[saevel25]

NOT VERTICAL VIDEO SYNDROME!!!!

[iacas]

It's better, @David in FL , but you can do more. Make yourself do more.

As you know there's more to it than just the way your knee works - your hips and your spine will "bend" a bit as well.

Mind your camera angles, please. But good for posting a video - thumbs up. And good work. It's getting better.