My Swing (b101)

[b101]

So today was supposed to be a practice day but snow and silly winds put that plan on the backburner. Instead, lots of work on the putting indoors ?

Definitely getting there with the path, although stance changes still feel a bit strange

[b101]

Hit the range for a little today and managed to play 18 holes in freezing weather yesterday. I'm making better contact than I thought I would do after so much time off recently, but, judging from the video, a lot of that is in spite of the same old issues, most notably my hand path and the breakdown of wrist angles at the top of the backswing. I'm going to work on these two and then re-submit to Preston in the New Year, because there's nothing new for him to analyse right now.

Today, I tried to do a bit of work on feeling like my hips were really clearing through impact. Judging from the video evidence, there's not much change, although maybe this is me expecting too much. Pictures on the left are 'standard' swing, on the right are with me trying to lead with the hip turn in the way that I do with my driver swing. Hands do exit a little higher and there's a touch more shallowing in the downswing. For now though, I really want to tidy up those wrist angles at the top. 

Video below - I'll have a chance to hit the range tomorrow and play on Friday, so there's some good scope to clear things up.

 

[iacas]

1 hour ago, b101 said:

Today, I tried to do a bit of work on feeling like my hips were really clearing through impact.

The middle frames look like you're clearing plenty.

[b101]

9 hours ago, iacas said:

The middle frames look like you're clearing plenty.

Thank you - good to know . I've sent Preston a quick message to see whether he'd be on board with me shortening the backswing length, so will see what he says. I think he's mentioned it before, but not necessarily as the 'this is priority number one' area.

A bit more putting work for me this morning - spot the overly cramped living room! Mostly working on the setup as Preston wanted to see a few things: from DTL, making sure that left forearm angle matches shaft angle; from FO, keeping shoulders level, making upper left arm match shaft more and keeping ball position forward. Oh, and I need to keep focusing on follow-through matching backstroke for length. Not the best camera work, but things are looking better - I've uploaded to evolvr for a quick check before I start grinding away to make this more like the normal picture. Love the putting template though; it's a great reference point.

 

[b101]

Played today at Farleigh, which is probably the easiest course I play - quite nice and open and a decent drive tends to leave me with a short iron in, at most. Also, worth noting that it was very wet, so drives are all carry. Greens aren't too tricky and the areas around them leave makeable up and downs (at least compared to Burnham, which is brutal). 

73 (+1) for a new personal best 

http://www.gamegolf.com/player/benpage101/round/1960345

The good news is that I'm getting more comfortable going low - particularly pleasing given that I was not swinging well. There were a few lucky breaks, but I stayed aggressive the whole way and had a really good number of birdie opportunities. 78% GIR helps .

Interesting how much crossover between good and bad there is...

The good, first of all:

• Approach play was better than it ever has been - see below, led to 14 GIR which is a new high. I think this is my ceiling:

• Distance putting feels much better, but I'm not sure this is borne out by the stats. More on this later...
• Iron play - this is much improved compared to recent rounds (really good shots that leapt out were 6i on 17, 5i on 10, 8i to 4ft on 9, pin-high with 9i/8i on 6 and 7).
• Up and downs - particularly on the front nine - the first from a greenside bunker set the tone, followed by the worst/best par I've ever made on 8 (two utterly abysmal shots before a wedge and putt from 75 yards, and nearly managed another on 15, but just left the putt short.

The 'to work on'.:

• Driver. I fought a poor hook the whole way round - see 1st, 3rd, 5th, 11th, 13th, 15th... There were a few good shots in there, but I really need to work out what was going on. The driver has been my most consistent club for the last 6 months, so suddenly losing it really confused me and I then really started over-thinking it. Range work needed.
• 3 wood / hybrid from the deck. Both are still very shaky and whilst I can hit them ok on the range, I just don't have confidence in them on the course. 
• Partial wedges. 3/4 swings with GW/PW or full swings are great, but my distance control from inside 100 yards is poor - I'll hit the green, but cause other issues... See below
• Putting. 2.5 putts per GIR seems poor, although I left myself a lot of long putts (see above). I also need to be more committed with makeable 10/15 foot putts, as I left about 3 short, tracking for the centre of the cup.

Still, properly happy with this and it's nice to see that I'm getting better at putting a score together even when I'm not playing particularly well.

[b101]

Getting into the groove with the putting practice and spent a good 40 minutes on the mat tonight from 6 feet just to check start line. Feeling much better with the setup changes and finished by 'holing' six in a row, which I wouldn't normally do. What was really obvious was how many I would miss when the mat was misaligned, either slightly left or right, and how much I'd compensate by either pushing or shutting the face down. That'll be a focus when I'm on the course. Going to keep doing the same thing over the next week or so to ingrain it, but nice to see some pretty instant improvement.

[b101]

Lots of slow-motion and feel work today and the picture is starting to change. Much, much happier with the way the backswing is looking compared to a month or so ago, although I need to keep working on hand path on the downswing. Contact is mostly very good at the moment - the one thing that did start happening today was that I was starting the ball right a little more than usual, just without it turning back like I'd want (you'll particularly see this with the 3 wood). Goes to show that it's just the path that needs pushing a little more right than it is currently. Nothing disastrous in terms of the misses.

In terms of the session itself, I started out working on the shorter backswing feel by using the idea of stopping when my left arm reaches the top (I tend to go slightly beyond that). I spent about 15 minutes on the slow-motion feels and worked up to 75% swings, then added on the stick in front to force hand path a bit more right. To be honest, I could have made the hand path drill more extreme and will do next time. Finally, I noticed that my worst shots on the range always come when my head drops when I'm thinking of too many other things. So, the last thing I added was to try to feel like my head was raising in the downswing. Results were pretty good and some of these swings look the best I've produced in ages.

 

[b101]

On 03/01/2017 at 6:06 PM, b101 said:

 

A bit more work on this today and whilst I'm still not totally nailing the position, I'm really starting to see progress. Spent 80% of my range session hitting 8 irons to about 90 yards with a full swing and it's so good to see the draw coming back. I did record a couple of face on shots as well, with a proper full out swing in there as well. Feeling much better about things now and looking forward to starting to take this swing to the course. The full swing shows, as expected, that there's more to do to make those positions feel natural, but it's miles better than where it was a month ago. The New Year's resolution (golf-wise) is to do more evolvr stuff and just keep things ticking over - I feel my game would be knocking on the door of the 10 handicap, but I keep having 4 week spells where I get too caught up in work and don't make it out. I'm playing two rounds this week and have a putting lesson before work starts up again post-Xmas holidays next Monday. The trick will be finding time to get to the range in Jan and Feb whilst light is still poor. 

Just as a comparison with (roughly) this time last year. There are definitely improvements with the amount of depth in the backswing, but it's perhaps unsurprising that I still get too caught up with work and don't practise well enough when I do get out. I'm going to really try to remedy that this year. The driving and putting has massively come on and I'm getting back to a state of confidence with my wedges. Definite improvements and my scoring has shown that: 2017 average thus far: + 8.9 per round, 2016 average: + 10.9 per round. And that's with more rounds on a tougher course and a couple of real brutes (Lytham/Formby) .

Edited December 24, 2017 by b101

[b101]

A lot of this thread tends to happen over Christmas times...

---

Headed out for 9 holes today (only played 7 though) and recorded 4 just to see what the on-course swing looks like. The only thoughts were the usual ones of trying to lead with the hips for the driver, no wrist hinge then hit down and left with wedges and just standard swing with irons. I'm definitely pulling the ball more than I'd like and I clearly need to work harder on taking the changes to the course - basically, this starts with ingraining them more when on the range. Drove pretty well meaning lots of wedges in. Putting still a work in progress, but again, proof that my driving is key to my scoring. Happy with most of these shots - they are more functional than pretty, but I'm getting the ball round the course pretty well.

Overall: level - you'll only see the first four on camera before it ran out of battery)

10th - par (short of green but flag was only 5 feet on, so it was a safe leave and a simple chip)
11th - bogey (poor tee shot cost)
12th - par (should have made the first putt, but an easy par)
13th - par (when you only have 125 yards in for a par 5, you hope for better - I thought the flag was at the back, aimed for middle and overhit it. Poor distance control on the putt then cost me...). N.B. This putt is what I'm trying to sort - I still have a tendency to accelerate through and have a massive follow-through when I haven't judged the distance properly...
14th - par (driver went high into the wind, so only about 230, but middle of fairway. Nice chippy 6 iron into the middle from 150 and easy two-putt)
7th - (jumped across) - birdie (drove through fairway to left rough, 5 iron to just right of the green, pitched to a foot)
18th - (jumped back) - par (drove just over the fairway bunker, chippy 8 iron to 20ft, two putt).

---

Won't manage to get out tomorrow, so I'll do some mirror work at home, then hit the range again on the 28th. Next proper round is likely New Year's Eve at Burnham.

Edited December 26, 2017 by b101

[b101]

Exciting news is that my Mevo arrived, giving a whole new load of data to my practice. I won't add all of it, but the two main things that I want to use it to work on are my launch angle with my driver and my distance control with partial wedges. As noted in the main Mevo thread, I'm finding the swing speed with my driver to be a bit off (far too high, by about 10mph), meaning that the smash factor is low. However, overall carry seems decent, if again a bit on the high side. What it does do is give immediate feedback as to whether I'm succeeding in doing whatever I'm trying to. In this case, launch it higher. 

Driver first - lots of success here, but just need to make the good swings more consistent. The feels I've been using for the higher shots are: Head staying high in downswing, clearing hips, feeling a very vertical release. Today's attempts - first drive was a 'standard' shot, thereafter was me working with the feels.

Wedge work - spent a fair amount of time gauging distance of partial swings and particularly developing the 1/2 swing feel, which I'm not good at. Then, I wrote down 10 random yardages and tried to hit them, getting a score (total distance missed by). One really big mishap, but otherwise pretty successful with the odd over/underclub that I do see on the course.

Exact results:

Shot	Club	Ball Speed (mph)	Club Speed (mph)	Smash	Launch	Spin (rpm)	Height (ft)	Time (s)	Carry Distance (yds)	Target	Difference
1	GW	66.2	59.8	1.11	39.5	8058	64	4.4	68.3	64	4.3
2	SW	46.3	53.9	0.86	43.1	7892	34	3.2	38.8	37	1.8
3	SW	70.5	79.9	0.88	45	6232	85	5	70.4	78	7.6
4	SW	85.3	63.6	1.34	39	8387	106	5.7	94.3	92	2.3
5	GW	59.2	67.5	0.88	39.6	10206	50	3.9	58.4	67	8.6
6	GW	76.6	76	1.01	39.7	7116	87	5.2	82.6	76	6.6
7	LW	64.2	76.4	0.84	45	7654	70	4.6	61.2	48	13.2
8	LW	58.8	77.5	0.76	45	8373	59	4.2	54.6	58	3.4
9	PW	83.1	67.7	1.23	37	6480	96	5.5	98.3	84	14.3
10	LW	55.1	72.2	0.76	45	8993	51	3.9	49.7	55	5.3
										Sum	67.4
										Avg	6.74

 

So yeah, lots to work on, but there's a plan! My first step is to work on the partial wedges and particularly work out why I'm tending to shank the odd shot. This literally only happens when I work on partial distances, and my guess is that it's to do with either body rotation stalling or my hand path being too out-to-in. 

Playing nine and practising more tomorrow, then have 18 with a friend on Sunday.

Edited December 29, 2017 by b101

[iacas]

Did you write to FlightScope about your readings with the driver? Maybe try that after you see what another driver registers as.

[b101]

https://www.gamegolf.com/player/benpage101/round/1971295

+10. Very windy again (20mph). Great front nine, but really struggled into wind on the back nine. Didn't help that I started trying to change things with my swing from the 13th onwards, resulting in some really disastrous shots. To do list:

- get better with 3w and hybrid off the deck. Just need to commit more to the hybrid, as I leak that right a lot and not top the three wood (about a 10-20% chance at the moment...)
- develop confidence with my 1/2 wedge swing (awful duff on 3 and a thin on 17 really cost me). I feel I just lose pace and stall as I'm not comfortable on the distance control yet. Needs to be a more authoritative shot.
- try to find a time to practise driver into the wind. I just need to be comfortable taking a little off it. 

Lots of good - the fairway stat is misleading as I missed lots by just a few yards (2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14) and all were very safe. GIR in the wind was less good, but didn't miss many greens in bad spots. Pleased with knock-down shots in the wind and the effectiveness of some of my lower pitch and run shots. Also putted fairly well. Just need to get rid of those 5 awful swings that are still costing me shots. All about consistency...

[b101]

Two updates from the last couple of days. Firstly, I posted an upload to evolvr yesterday for both putting and 7 iron swing - there's still a few things to tidy up with the 7 iron swing and I'm looking forward to what Preston gets me to work on, even if it's the same things as before. I'm trying to improve the hand path and I think it's getting there, but still proves a bit of an issue with longer clubs. With the putting, it still looks awkward from the video and I'm pretty sure I'm cutting across the ball, so his feedback will be really useful. 

I then went on to video some tee shot clubs and it's clear that I can do better with the hand path and wrist angles at the top of the backswing. I also realised I was setting up with the ball out to the toe for the hybrid - made a change today to that which saw instant rewards. Given the wind, I thought I'd have another go at hitting the driving iron. It's getting better in terms of flight, but I still have to work really hard not to lose it right into wind! Something to keep tracking...

 

---

Today saw another range session and more great stuff with the Mevo. I have never been able to hit with a launch of more than 10 degrees consistently, in spite of owning a 10.5 degree driver, lofted up 2 degrees and lots of work on it. With the Mevo, it's taken two sessions and just check the launch angles below. I challenged myself to beat 15 degrees, then beat 17 degrees. The feels I have to use are ridiculous and I basically need to believe I'm falling backwards as I hit it, but the proof is there. The best bit about this is, when it gets too extreme (11/12), I get that feedback and can scale back. 

Shot 14 was the last and me not doing anything in particular, but playing the shot like I would on the course. Would have been middle of my imaginary fairway with a slight draw (something else that has come about from hitting more up on the ball, rather than the slight fade I tend to have). Trajectory view of #8 below:

N.B. Still having the clubspeed and smash factor issues. This was outside, but admittedly the ground and lie angle for the Mevo wasn't perfect. I actually hit the centre of my driver (or slightly off) more often than not, so there's no way these smash factors are realistic.

---

Also worked on my partial wedges, which are definitely improving and I'm starting to be able to tell whether it's gone too far or too short. I did the 10 random yardage game again and got a new personal best in terms of average difference between actual carry and target (2.86 yards this time, last time 6.74 yards plus one shank). Don't think I'll be beating this one in a hurry!

---

With the wedge work, I also wanted to record and look over my partial swings, particularly those where I'm feeling little wrist hinge, to see why my low point control might be poor. I think it's just a lack of committing to the shot, but will keep practising and reviewing the footage. It's immediately noticeable how much more I hit down and across with a wedge, so maybe this is something to look at... One for the future, probably. I think I'm working on enough at the moment and really just need to get my confidence back with my wedges on the course.

 

[b101]

So, Preston's last update was to get me to work on limiting my lower body movement by concentrating on the amount my left knee flexes in the backswing. Here's how things look currently, at about 75% with me being very conscious of the left knee. Love the way A4 is starting to look, but, as ever, more work still to do:

 

[Used to Be a 3]

You hit the ball a ton, farther than I ever hit it consistently.  You seem to hit a nice ball as well, not spraying it all over the course.  Your swing looks solid, there was one drive where you were a bit out of balance, falling forward a little at the end, but nothing terrible.  So what is holding your game back?  Is that a USGA handicap equivalent, the 11?  Because you look like you could play scratch or within a few strokes of it with what you do to the ball.  Do you feel you're managing the courses well?  Making good decisions?  I didn't look much up about you, how long have you been playing? 

Edited January 15, 2018 by Used to Be a 3

[b101]

43 minutes ago, Used to Be a 3 said:

You hit the ball a ton, farther than I ever hit it consistently.  You seem to hit a nice ball as well, not spraying it all over the course.  Your swing looks solid, there was one drive where you were a bit out of balance, falling forward a little at the end, but nothing terrible.  So what is holding your game back?  Is that a USGA handicap equivalent, the 11?  Because you look like you could play scratch or within a few strokes of it with what you do to the ball.  Do you feel you're managing the courses well?  Making good decisions?  I didn't look much up about you, how long have you been playing? 

Thanks! 

A couple of answers really:

1. I don't get to play many rounds toward handicap - I play at a club a long way away and work most Saturdays, which are competition days. I'll play about four competition rounds a year and almost always have the odd blow-up hole. I play a fair amount of friendly rounds with mates, so I don't think my handicap is as accurate as it could be.
2. I play a very tough course... Links, so wind comes into play a lot and I'm not great at dealing with it. I either try to do too much and mess with my swing to the extent that I hit no greens/fairways and put myself in a lot of trouble or I leave it as it is and find it very tough to play well into the wind.
3. I'm not totally used to playing well. I'll be great for 12 holes and have the odd very poor hole with an OB or a lost ball. I also don't always fully trust my swing, so that can cause issues under pressure.
4. Decisions wise, I think I'm ok and getting better. I've started to take more of the risk out of my short game, but really, my rounds always depend on how well I'm hitting driver. If I'm in play, I'll have 150 odd into the green, which is an 8/9 iron and I won't score badly. If I'm offline, bad things happen.

In short, lots to work on, but the bad rounds are going away. I'll typically shoot 80-84 round my home track (SSS: 73). The other issue is that, as a teacher, I lose a lot of time to practise during term time, particularly September-November when it's busiest. I really need to be better at carving out opportunities to practise though, as the last few years have essentially been 'back to square one' at the start of the holidays...

[b101]

Still doing something pretty much every day, but today was the first day in a while that I actually made it to the course. I tried to take the swing piece I've been working on with me, so it was a bit of a case of 'let's see where it ends up' for the first four holes. I'm particularly finding start direction and low point to be an issue, but worked the driver out after the first two holes. Everything still revolves around me getting that left knee motion right - I could feel when I was swaying off the ball and that was definitely the cause of the worst shots. I was particularly pleased with the fairway count - in part due to not taking on as many drives as normal - but the iron and wedge play needs to get better. Didn't really hole any putts either and still need to keep working on that. I'm happy that I have some really clear targets for this winter though and that I can still score relatively well even when I'm not playing great.

www.gamegolf.com/player/benpage101/round/1994518

I took some video of the swing after and can see there are some changes, but that I still have a long way to go to get where I want to be. Feels (and success) are:

1) left knee flexing down with right hip coming up to facilitate a better hip turn (about 4/10 on this evidence)
2) left arm staying straighter to create more width and allow shallowing (about 5/10 - it is straighter, but I need to gain more depth based on the DTL view)
3) setup changes - create secondary axis tilt by bumping hips, add shaft lean at address and widen stance (7/10 - just need to work on the axis tilt)

 

[b101]

Double post, I know, but I wasn't happy with what I was seeing on the video, so just went and did 20 minutes of mirror work comparing my lower body action to Preston's sample stuff. Turns out, the feel I need to generate that knee flex picture is that I fall away from the target, whilst trying to get my left knee to sink into the floor... Can totally see a different picture at the top of the backswing and leads to a much easier job of getting the left arm straight at A4 - now to spend more time working on it and grinding on the range later this week.