My Quest to Break 80 in a Year (July 2016) from a 22 Handicap

[iacas]

It takes a while. All power is produced by your you core and hips. It's something called torque. Your arms are a mere extension of the core. It all then leads to load and lag on a golf club. Read into ball flight theory. Go see a PGA Pro before you get into bad habits. Utilising your hips is hard and can be done wrong and will mess your swing and game up more. It takes time and you'll get worse before you get better.

That's not true at all. Your arms produce a fairly tremendous amount of speed.

I agree that the core and your hips are important, but there's more to generating speed than hanging two ropes from your shoulders and tying them on to the grip.

[iTzJordyyyy]

That's not true at all. Your arms produce a fairly tremendous amount of speed . I agree that the core and your hips are important, but there's more to generating speed than hanging two ropes from your shoulders and tying them on to the grip.

There's a different between speed and torque. Yeah your arms arn't floppy bits of ropes i agree. But 90% of the power produced in a shot is driven from your core.

[iacas]

But 90% of the power produced in a shot is driven from your core.

That's simply not true. Your arms contribute a significant portion to the clubhead speed.

And speed is what matters. Torque only matters inasmuch as it can be turned into clubhead speed.

[Big Lex]

In case you are still looking for opinions and ideas on how to accomplish your quest, I will share my story on how I learned to break 80.

I'm 50. I've been playing since I was about 25. While I think I broke 80 once before this year, it really was only THIS year that I started playing the kind of golf you need to play in order to break 80 legitimately.  I've had I think four rounds below 80 this year (played about 40 rounds so far), and I've posted scores below 80 about 9 times. (So equitable stroke control scoring pushed a couple of my 80/81/82s into the 70s.

Here's what it took for me:

1. Figure out WHAT you need to do to shoot scores in the 70s.

2. Commit enough TIME to it, both practice and playing.

By #1 above, I basically mean you have to learn what a good golf shot is. Meaning....center face contact, square face, lots of club head speed (for you). You have to learn how to do this ONCE, with every club, know what it feels like, and know on every shot you take how close you were to achieving it. I learned this very early in my golf career, but I wouldn't have learned it unless I had taken lessons from good pros, and played some rounds with excellent golfers.

You need #2 because it takes a long, long, long time, and lots of reps to be able to accomplish #1 with enough consistency to shoot in the 80s. Playing lots of rounds - 2-3 rounds per week - is very important. And practice is very important of course, but if you can practice ON the actual golf course you play on, it's even better.

I think it's important to work alot on your own, and then check periodically with pros/lessons. Ultimately, in order to be able to break 80 on something other than a freak round, you have to learn to be your own teacher. To know your swing, how to diagnose and correct, etc. But if you've been playing bad for a while or simply cannot figure out why you are doing something wrong, it's critical to see a pro who knows you and your game.

It took me 24 years to break 80 mainly because for the first 23, I didn't really have the time to devote to the game. I played 20-30 rounds per year maybe, some years even less. And that was it; I had very few opportunities to practice. Last season, I rejoined a local country club and began playing and practicing alot, and my index dropped from 12-something to its current 6.7 in basically one year of playing 60-75 rounds per year.

The best book to read is Lowest Score Wins. It is, by far, the best handbook available for improving at golf. It combines simple, sensible performance/technical information with fantastic, insightful advice about what I call the inner game of golf: how to decide what shot to hit, how to know what skills are most important to work on, etc.

Finally, what helped me alot is that you must have the right attitude. You can't be afraid and timid....as you improve, there are times when you get out of your comfort zone and can almost be afraid of making putts or whatever. You have to trust yourself and take chances and allow yourself to learn. Don't get too frustrated at bad rounds and shots, and don't take too much gratification on the good ones. Act like you expect them to happen, and they will happen more often than if you think you just pulled off something incredible. Remember it's just a game, and a bad round is just that, a bad round, and they happen.

[ChrisWev]

Thanks for the input guys.

I've been hitting a few 8i concentrating on not flipping and it looks like my LA is back to what it was before (about 23 degrees, still a bit high probably) but the distance is still miles short.

Getting a bit concerned to be honest. I went from carrying the 8i 135 (a year ago), to 145 (about a month ago) and now about 120. It feels like I'm hitting it well, maybe there's something else off or I've beat the balls to death (although I would say this is unlikely). 7i was 155 and 6i about 165 on the better hits.

I've checked an old video and it doesn't look like I was flipping back then (or moving my head as much), so god knows where they have crept in from. I'm starting to think that me changing my grip slightly weaker (pro's advice) about a month ago has totally killed the power and I've not been able to make up for it elsewhere.

I'm going to try a few 7i's tonight as that's probably the club I've got the best ability to compare to previous results.

Should also get my smash bag today to I can try a few more drills out to get a bit more lean. I've looked at the key 3 two ball drill. It looks alike a bit like Micklesons hinge and hold. I used to practice that a lot with my short game practice, I wonder that now I've not been practicing it much that it's let the flip in?

Also been working on putting 6 footers this morning in 5 ball sets for about 20 mins on the putting mat, I was making about 40% when I started and every single miss was a pull. I had never noticed this before. Anyway, by the end of it I was making 60% then 80-100%. I also think my counterbalance putter might be too long, when the putter is level the counterbalance weight is right near my sternum.

I think I might do this little putting drill for 10 minutes each morning with the Straight Back Straight Through Mirror (Elk's Key, or whatever it's called), and not let my self leave until I get two sets 80% or over in a row. I've looked at the pro's stats and they're anywhere from 50%-85% with 6 footers, on fast sloping greens though. I should be able to get 80% of these on a level surface, I would imagine a pro to get 95/100 doing the same drill.

[Lihu]

Why did the pro recommend you weaken your grip?

[ChrisWev]

Why did the pro recommend you weaken your grip?

I was delivering the club pointing left sometimes. He weakened my rh (which was underneath), but i think i may have weakened my lh too (where as that might have been ok).

[ChrisWev]

Well, there's a shock! Had a few hits on the smash bag and this happened:

I was very surprised, these were pretty good hits with the 7i......and miles better than I had of late since I had been flipping. Then I realised they were with my 8i once I looked at the impact tape, nice surprise!

These were the first 7 hits before I took the impact tape off, hence the very low spin numbers (which will have no doubt improved carry, but nowhere near to the degree of how short they were). I'm sort of back happy again now! I had it set up as a 7i in the program, basically picked the wrong club up. Went back to the stronger LH grip (which turns out wasn't that strong at all, 2.5 nuckles). RH grip neutral. Wasn't really paying much attention to direction or path either.

Club speed data is calculated, so don't pay much attention to that, probably explains why the SF is through the roof thinking it's a 7i.

[Lihu]

Nice work. It probably made you follow through impact better.

[ChrisWev]

Nice work. It probably made you follow through impact better.

Thanks, it made me feel a lot better. I was getting pretty mad with myself since I started hitting it way too high. I think because everything was going so high I was trying to absolutely smash it to make up for it, which was just further compounding the problem and also making me move my head.

At least one good thing has come out of it anyway, I don't seem to be hitting it in the heel now, it's toe now if anything, lol.

I don't really want to be going through that again, so from now on:

• Concentrate on 1-2 things at the most at any one time (not 12, as before)
• Only two full swing sessions before practicing some 30-70 yard shots (hinge hold type makes it difficult to flip, so it's short game practice as well as stopping a full swing bad habit)
• "Work the bag", the smash bag that is
• Putting practice for 10-15 minutes every day/ other day
• Try not to do too much too quick as that seems to give from one and take from another, it's not really progress
• Don't go more than a month without seeing my pro or posting a video

[ChrisWev]

I've been trying to stop the flat shoulders (stretching my core every day too, which has never been stretched this way), after this is sorted I'm going to try and limit that overs-wing which is lifting my head up.

At some frames that kind of looks like how it's meant to haha! :)

[ChrisWev]

Set Up:

Been working on sticking my bum back a bit and getting a bit more lean forwards towards the ball, which has really helped that shoulder plane (until I over swing).

Swing thoughts:

On the back swing I saw a drill (https://youtu.be/__STx0KvqX4?list=FLCTyTKo2eIQbZKq7DCnYv8Q) to try and help a bit more with the flipping which effectively imagines you're pushing a pack of balls back straight to camera on the back swing to load the RH side more and gives a bit of lag. The smash bag helped for balls immediately after but then soon faded back off to flipping and wasn't great on the wrists. This drill has helped loads, and I've not even progressed into thinking about the hip turn first which is mentioned in the video. It's made my swing path come a bit left on the video, but I wasn't thinking about path on the downswing with this practice.

After a few practice swings outside I went on the LM indoors and this was the result of my second batch of 20 shots with the 7i:

I seem to have eliminated the big pulls which were my longest shots and now the longest/ best strikes are the straight ones which is what I've been aiming for. Strike was massively improved and there were hardly any fat shots. It still doesn't feel natural yet but I'm happy again now and feel my game is "playable" again.

Had no face tape on and beat my furthest ever carry with the 7i and it was even a straight shot, which I'm made up with. My previous longest were 20-50 yard hooks and the ones going right on this were probably in the heel I imagine, so not that concerned with that at the minute.

Club speed is an estimation so don't read much into that, same as smash factor, spin is noticeably lower but was using a bridgestone e7 which doesn't spin much.

Hopefully as this becomes a bit more natural (can't imagine it will take long) and I try and stop the overswing I can tighten that dispersion up a bit. New set up seem miles better, happy again :)

Been working on my putting most weekdays, but not had much course time as course flooded, managed a bit of short game work though.

After a bit of a two week swing relapse I'm definitely in a much better position than a few month back, and this is no doubt due to the pointers with trying to avoid the flipping and flat shoulder plane.

Thanks for the input guys, been a big help. Tried to film this last swing with a bit better angle this time.

[RandallT]

Hey, cool 3D action with that whiffle ball flying back at the camera. All the below is offered from one newbie going through similar swing issues to another, of course.

My instructor is working on me stopping my BS about here.

Club pointing up and a bit to the left of target. Shoulders still angled down, perpendicular to original spine tilt.  It feels very controlled, but very short.

You are continuing up to here:

Yes that's your club under your left shoulder. It's now pointing downward and to the right of the target.  Your shoulder plane has also gotten flat again (lost the angle because you stood up and your spine angle got more vertical, I think), which I believe you are working on.

Also, I know this isn't what you are focusing on, but your impact position jumped out at me. It looks a lot like address, and needs to be more dynamic. Hips should have rotated more. Ditto shoulders. Just thought I'd make note now, even if not a priority for you. It might help to get into that position you see Rory at here and remember it. Get there on your downswing somehow, or at least somewhere close to it.

[ChrisWev]

Never noticed the ball until afterwards haha! Yeah I'm aware of that overswing (and how it lifts my head and flattens shoulders) and the drill I was on about mentioned starting to rotate the hips just before the downswing (think it was mentioned as clearing the hips earlier, assume that's the same thing) so these will be the next two things I tackle once I get a bit set in better with the setup and takeaway.

[RandallT]

When you get to the impact position, this may help since I think. Good luck!

[JasonOwens]

If it makes you feel better I am down to a 2.5 and only been playing a little around 18 months. I believe I broke 80 my first year. I just practice more than any insane person. On course practice man. I play sun up to sun down. Aimpoint express helped me tremendously.

[Lihu]

If it makes you feel better I am down to a 2.5 and only been playing a little around 18 months. I believe I broke 80 my first year. I just practice more than any insane person. On course practice man. I play sun up to sun down. Aimpoint express helped me tremendously.

I'm sure it makes him feel pretty terrible, actually. . .probably better to brag in your own thread.

[JasonOwens]

@Lihu could Not be more the opposite of my intention. It was meant as a statement of possibility. But an unbelievable, antisocial even, amount of work. All worth it.