My Swing (phillyk)

[phillyk]

First off, turn the volume up. It sounds so good!

I tried adding more flow to my swing by rehearsing the Kwon 2 step drill directly prior to hitting the ball. No other swing thoughts other than to do it. Hit the ball so pure for the few holes I played today. Even driver went really solid with this routine.

But, I still want to keep my left knee and hip from getting past my left foot. From DTL, I’m still bending my knees a little too much as well. So still working on keeping those rotations internal which should help extend my left side instead of leaning past the foot. 

[phillyk]

Summer is still going but I haven’t played much good golf lately. Handicap is going up. Full swing still feels good but short game has been awful all year and took a worse turn last week, full top and chunk mode. Putting is ok. Certainly a problem is that I simply don’t play 18 holes any more (no time). Even playing 9 holes is hard to do. So the times I have a pro am, I can’t get focused or keep it. Needless to say, scoring in pro ams is the worst it’s been for several years. 

So A) I need to figure out a way to play more golf (it doesn’t help that my course is always full until 2pm and I don’t stay late)

B) Full swing work is the same as before and it seems to be holding well. Current main thoughts are grip in my left had, making sure I see more knuckles. Keep pressure in balls of feet via 2 step drill and keep working on the turn with less knee bend towards the ball. My irons have definitely been my strength. 

C) I worked on short game today for a couple hours. I have to have pressure in balls of feet still. I lifted right heel for added left side weight. Ball position I moved to be more center head or slightly back, I had it way too forward. Biggest change was grip pressure, I had to lighten it a lot. Helped “release” the club. Otherwise I tighten up too much and start accelerating a lot, which led to many problems and confidence issues. It seems better, but we’ll see. My confidence/emotion on it is better. 

[phillyk]

Like the swing here. 

In terms of the game, so long as I hit GIR, I’ll score well (I average 70-75% right now). When I miss and can’t putt, it isn’t good. I need to focus more on feeling the shot and less on the mechanics of it. Putting is meh, short little left to right putts have been causing me issues. But, I’m starting to have more time to practice and play, so it’ll come. 

[phillyk]

Shot my best round of the year today. Greens were aerated a week ago but hit several shots close enough that it didn't matter. Got my full swing feeling good. Putting was its usual “meh.” Short game is getting better. I went to an old feeling of forcing hip turn and it has seemed to produce better results consistently. I still had 1 horrific short game shot today that produced a bogey to end my good birdie run, but I’m feeling better. 

Shot a 67. I played off the 6200yd or so tees. I had 4 two-putt birdies and 1 three-putt par. 14 GIR, 6 FIR (I don’t care much about these as our fairways are the skinniest things I’ve ever seen and rough is easy), and 32 putts. So on in two on 4 of 4 par 5s and drove a par 4. Pretty pleased, since my game has felt like crap for months now. 

[phillyk]

I had an absolutely insane start to my round today. It was a pro am at North Bellingham GC and was a shotgun start. We started on hole 5, a par 3. 

Before I get into it, I have to set it up. Tuesday, Wednesday and today was a 3 day event, in a way. Each day had an individual pay out but there was a 3 day team pay out. Tuesday I played what I felt was typical but clearly not how I’ve scored all year, 69 (-3). Normal good enough tee to green, and normal annoying poor putting. Once again all par 5s in two with two putt birdies, etc. 

Yesterday put what I thought was poor putting to a shame. I kid you all not, I missed 6 3ft putts. Six…….. i had a 4 putt and 6 3 putts en route to an 80. I had every chance to perform well but I have no idea what happened. I putt straight, it broke. I play for break, it goes straight. Different putting grips, anything. I still missed all the 3 foot putts.

I nearly threw my putter in the woods. Whenever, I have had putting woes, I have gone to an Odyssey O-works putter. It has a very high lofted face but I see and hit my line so well with it. I am so tired of big headed putters. I like mallets but not huge ones. I have a putter coming in that I’m 95% sure I will like more than the others. But my plan is to choose either this or the new one this winter and that is it for years. Im done messing around. 

Today, the first 8 holes, I feel like I made up for many missed putts. Basically, I played like I know I can if I can make putts. I went -7 through 8 holes. I had my swing thoughts, I had the speed on greens, and I had the lines. 5 birdies and an eagle in 8 holes.

Of course, it’s hard to concentrate with that. My thoughts slipped. I started pushing shots and ended up bogeying 3 of the next 4 holes. I then got a birdie and parred out from there. I had many good chances for birdie on those last 5 holes, but my read was ever so slightly off.

I finished with a -5, 67. It gave me a T-1 finish. My goal for a while has been to win a pro am. I was so close today. I learned a lot about how I need to play. It’s the most excited I’ve been in a round for a long time. Good day. 

[phillyk]

The edit here was not good. It kept zooming in for some reason. The iron swing was better anyway. 

Woah, it’s been a while since I last posted an update. That last post was about an awesome day.

First off I completed TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) and SAM Putt Lab certifications. Both were needed to fill in gaps in my coaching, but TPI has definitely been helpful. What’s been a process, is applying the information to my own game.

TPI allows you to go through physical tests to determine stability and mobility of your body in current form. The tests are based on the kinematic sequence and TPI’s 12 swing characteristics. Even PGA Tour pros fail some/several of these tests. I remember they said Adam Scott was one of five people who’ve gotten a perfect score. 

There were a few tests I did not do well on and it explained some tendencies in my game. In my posture, my thoracic spine was more curved than it was supposed to be. This meant it could be difficult to properly deepen my hands and some EE throughout. I also was unable to get my trail forearm in a vertical position when in golf posture. Instead it was parallel with my upper body which is evident in the video above. At a4, my right forearm stays parallel with my spine. If I tried to lower my hands in a way that would get my right forearm more vertical, I would lose posture in the swing (like keeping a towel in the right armpit on the backswing has always been really hard for me, not that I felt I needed to do that).

There are some workouts and stretches I am doing to improve these areas. I definitely feel more sequenced in my swing now, because I am using my chest to turn better. Another thought for full swing I had, was to reduce hinge at a4 and intentionally increase it to a5, then “release.” The iron swing above did this well. The driver still wasn’t quite there, as usual. But I like how it fits with the TPI stuff.

Short game has gotten much better with better posture from the thoracic spine work. Once again, from using my chest better, my low point and balance is much more consistent.

SAM Putt lab helped me understand how people may need to find odd ways to align themselves to see “straight.” I typically never use the line on a ball. I could line it up really well from behind. But, over the ball, it never looked like it was lined up where I wanted it. This means my perception of straight is not correct, and that I need to change my position over the ball in a way that allows me to see that line pointing where I want it to. I noticed when I closed my left eye to line up the club and ball, it worked. So yeah, I’m closing my left eye now in my routine to get straightened out. My stroke is still somewhat inconsistent but I now can recognize it more clearly. My miss is a very slight pull which aligns with my old aiming method. 

So, a lot of positive vibes right now. I’m looking forward to next year. 

[phillyk]

New clubs came! Also got the proto Z star series balls to try.

Clubs feel good. Biggest change is driver. The shaft I got has a stiffer tip, no more carbon fiber look on top, it sort of sets up different than the last one, and there is different weighting in the shaft. So, it will take time to get comfortable with it. I really like the shaft, though. I can tell it has much lower flight and spin. 

I also got a new putter, not shown in the pic. I was using an older cleveland elevado. I decided, last year, this putter I now have, will be my last one I get for a while. I am going to bend it 1* less loft and then it will be perfect. I played a round yesterday and I made everything inside 8ft. The look and alignment with it is spot on. I can feel/visualize my putts with it much better than my last putters. It’s a bit lighter though and I was hitting the putts a bit firmer than intended outside 12ft. So still need practice with it, but I think it will really help with my confidence on the greens. 

[Double Mocha Man]

7 hours ago, phillyk said:

New clubs came! Also got the proto Z star series balls to try.

Clubs feel good. Biggest change is driver. The shaft I got has a stiffer tip, no more carbon fiber look on top, it sort of sets up different than the last one, and there is different weighting in the shaft. So, it will take time to get comfortable with it. I really like the shaft, though. I can tell it has much lower flight and spin. 

I also got a new putter, not shown in the pic. I was using an older cleveland elevado. I decided, last year, this putter I now have, will be my last one I get for a while. I am going to bend it 1* less loft and then it will be perfect. I played a round yesterday and I made everything inside 8ft. The look and alignment with it is spot on. I can feel/visualize my putts with it much better than my last putters. It’s a bit lighter though and I was hitting the putts a bit firmer than intended outside 12ft. So still need practice with it, but I think it will really help with my confidence on the greens. 

1. You better hurry fitting yourself into those new clubs. You've got an important excursion to a sort of okay course in March.

2.  Too late. You're already a putter ho.  I'll loan you the stand up putter tomorrow. 😁

[mchepp]

On 8/3/2022 at 8:33 PM, phillyk said:

First off, turn the volume up. It sounds so good!

I tried adding more flow to my swing by rehearsing the Kwon 2 step drill directly prior to hitting the ball. No other swing thoughts other than to do it. Hit the ball so pure for the few holes I played today. Even driver went really solid with this routine.

But, I still want to keep my left knee and hip from getting past my left foot. From DTL, I’m still bending my knees a little too much as well. So still working on keeping those rotations internal which should help extend my left side instead of leaning past the foot. 

Swing looks great @phillyk.  
 

I have been watching some of Dr. Kwon’s YouTube and most of the content is about flow. The idea that you sort of take a “pre” trigger to the swing. How do you implement that into your swing when you start from a standard set up position?

[phillyk]

Today is a great example of my golf game. I had 15/18 GIR (83%, where PGA Tour average is 65-70%, 70% is pretty average for me too). I shot 78. 1 bad course management decision and I definitely own that. 3 god awful short game shots.
 

 Putting has generally been ok but the last 3 days of the NW Open, I hit every stupid edge and lip-out of every cup. High side, low side, didn’t matter. I know I’m putting better, whereas short game had been a disaster for 2-3yrs. But, it’s been this same story for 10yrs. It’s tiring.

If putts drop, I get my scratch. If short game shot’s decide to show up, I go low. 

[klineka]

30 minutes ago, phillyk said:

Today is a great example of my golf game. I had 15/18 GIR (83%, where PGA Tour average is 65-70%, 70% is pretty average for me too). I shot 78. 1 bad course management decision and I definitely own that. 3 god awful short game shots.
 

 Putting has generally been ok but the last 3 days of the NW Open, I hit every stupid edge and lip-out of every cup. High side, low side, didn’t matter. I know I’m putting better, whereas short game had been a disaster for 2-3yrs. But, it’s been this same story for 10yrs. It’s tiring.

If putts drop, I get my scratch. If short game shot’s decide to show up, I go low. 

Man that's gotta be frustrating. Is there a specific short game shot that you struggle with or does it not seem to matter? Do you think it's something in your technique or more mental?

Wondering if a reset and trying something different like bump and runs with a 7iron or something whenever possible might help free you up a bit? 

[phillyk]

17 minutes ago, klineka said:

Man that's gotta be frustrating. Is there a specific short game shot that you struggle with or does it not seem to matter? Do you think it's something in your technique or more mental?

Wondering if a reset and trying something different like bump and runs with a 7iron or something whenever possible might help free you up a bit? 

I’m definitely mental. I know the technique but I have zero confidence and feel to do it. If one were to watch me warm up before the round, you may not even know I had this problem. 

Doesn’t matter if it’s a hybrid runner or flop. All the same.

What I do wonder is whether the conditions made a significant impact on my feel. Greens rolled around 13 and they were nearly as rock hard as rock hard can be with healthy greens. Many of us were wondering if greens would even survive this week. I swing fast and not even my 60 would back up. If you didn’t have a wedge or short iron in hand and you know how to spin it, you had no chance to hold a green if you landed there. 

[phillyk]

I occasionally mess around with swinging lefty. I use a drill with my students to swing in both directions, to help with balance, rotation and speed. It’s clearly helped me create a good swing.

I hadn’t videoed myself swinging lefty until today and am impressed. It also puts me in my students shoes (sort of) to see how feels or thoughts definitely start small. The assistant pro at my course is lefty. I may have to switch with him one day and see how I do. 

[iacas]

9 hours ago, phillyk said:

I occasionally mess around with swinging lefty. I use a drill with my students to swing in both directions, to help with balance, rotation and speed. It’s clearly helped me create a good swing.

[phillyk]

My view today. 

Playing the Ocean Club today on Paradise Island. Playing Baha Mar the next two days.

[phillyk]

This has been a piece in need of improving for a while. My full swing has always been my strength, but consistency, especially off the tee, can always be better. 

I think before, I tried to think of it as lowering hands or more chest turn or flatter plane. Nothing really stuck in feel like I wanted it to. 

During junior camps, I would do a drill to simulate an oversimplified swing. Basically stand up straight and take a horizontal swing motion and hit a ball teed up at chest height. But I’d separate the BS part in pieces of rotation, hinge and arms. 

I got really good at striking a driver doing this drill. Recently, I’d do that then add chest bend towards the ball at the top of the BS to see what my arms felt like. Then I’d start over trying to find that feel.

I believe I’m onto it.

Short game and putting have been feeling good lately. I’m hoping to put in some good golf this off season. 

[iacas]

So, that looks just a weeeeeee bit better than it did at the Newport Cup. 😉 

[phillyk]

I played an interesting round today. The piece of working on deepening the hands is going well for the most part. I ran into an open face issue last week. My swing “B” is controlling the “blur” of the clubhead around impact. This brought it back to what I expect.

 I didn’t warm up before the round, which is on me and that’s fine. I started by watching the blur today and I started to see some hooking as I got further in the round. This means, for me, I can start feeling more engagement in my lower body. On the turn, that’s what I did. I went 41/32. This included me being a dummy on the back 9 and not pulling the flagstick on a putt that struck dead center and bounced out because it was leaning. 

Game feels good right now. I need to make sure I warm up more often though as it really makes a difference.