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

[ChrisWev]

Been going through quite a few changes recently trying to be more consistent with strike and I've took a bit of a hit in a few areas but improved others.

Had my worst round in about a year a week ago, the front 9 was 54 (18 over), back 6 was a bit of a recovery to score 30 (+6) . Hit three tee shots on the same hole OOB and well onto the driving range, all out of the heel, which made me pretty mad. This was a big kick up the arse to make some changes anyway, think there's light at the end of the tunnel after today.

What I've been struggling with, in the order I've tried to tackle them:

1. Big variation in distances and dispersion left/ right, through fat/thin and an array of strike areas
2. Heel strikes, A LOT of heel strikes
3. Pushes (due to heel strike)
4. Big snap hooks
5. launching the ball too far left (although this may have slightly been due to setting up launch monitor wrong(not level))
6. Over swinging through arms collapsing - didn't realise how many problems this was causing

What I've done to combat the above, in order of what I tried:

1. Set up with ball a bit closer to front foot (away from centre, distance from centre depending on club) with a bit of shaft lean and axis tilt - this helped
2. Tried setting up on the toe of the club but this was masking the problem and dispersion was still bad - didn't work
3. As above, didn't really work
4. RH grip was a bit strong and in the top of palm, moved this more to fingers and weakened LH grip - this helped (at a price)
5. These seem to have been cured with the grip alteration
6. Today I watched this vid https://youtu.be/_v5tXGtJoi0?list=FLCTyTKo2eIQbZKq7DCnYv8Q - improved strike instantly, stopped collapse and totally moved strike away from the heel - hallelujah! This was probably the biggest instant change I've had since I took up the game. I've tried to stop overswinging/ collapse before and nothing as ever worked, until now.

As a by product of the changes I've cut out a lot of the absolute shocker shots, fat shots, snap hooks etc but now the problems I'm having:

I seem to have lost A LOT (about 10%) of distance and ballspeed, although I don't think I'm swinging any slower, ie 8i is now going 128 carry. It used to be around 135 before I started messing around (strike was all over the place), then I got it up to 144 although these were all going about 20 yards left or weak heel pushes, which wasn't usable. Have always launched 8i about 22 degrees and 5000 rpm, now I'm launching 31 degrees at about 7500 rpm. I tried a few hits with a slightly stronger LH grip and 6i is now going 145 carry and launching about 24 degrees with 5500 rpm spin.

So strike has improved, consistency has improved, dispersion has improved but launch angle has gone through the roof and ballspeed has come down. Could this be because I've just changed from overswinging so need to rotate more to get the distance back? How on earth am I launching my 8i 31 degrees (some have been up to 36!). Obviously there's a bit of a dynamic loft problem somewhere? Or is the ballspeed reducing just a function of presenting more dynamic loft?

I appreciate this may be hard to diagnose without seeing a video, but there's no room for a camera to get a good angle in my garage. I'll aim to get a video sorted when I've had chance to bed in the overswing prevention and can get to the range where there is more room.

Looking forward to trying the driver without the overswing, would be nice to get one out of the centre again!

[ChrisWev]

Think I've figured the distance problem out, a 9 degree difference in loft from 22 to 31 is potentially killing the smash factor from about 1.37 to about 1.28. This means for my 8I swinging at 75mph that ball speed could go from about 105mph to 95mph. Should have realised that earlier, now just need to sort out why I'm launching too high.

[marklemcd]

I don't post a lot as I mostly lurk, and I am not a golf expert by any means, but...

You seem all over the place in approach, and your post (#37) shows your results are all over the place which means your swing isn't at all repeatable. You got some great advice on the 5 keys early in this thread, but you seemed to just gloss right over it, and you seem fixated on the technical results of results measurement. Your path to 80 is clear: 1) work on putting and 2) get your full swing in order.

RE: 2...post some video, work on one aspect at a time, and get to a point where you can consistently replicate the same swing over and over. Use video. Video.  And more video.  Forget launch angles and speeds and blah blah blah.  Build a swing.

[ChrisWev]

You seem all over the place in approach, and your post (#37) shows your results are all over the place which means your swing isn't at all repeatable. You got some great advice on the 5 keys early in this thread, but you seemed to just gloss right over it, and you seem fixated on the technical results of results measurement. Your path to 80 is clear: 1) work on putting and 2) get your full swing in order. RE: 2...post some video, work on one aspect at a time, and get to a point where you can consistently replicate the same swing over and over. Use video. Video.  And more video.  Forget launch angles and speeds and blah blah blah.  Build a swing.

Setup, strike, face angle and path are the most important things. I've been concentrating on sorting my setup and strike out and now strike the ball much, much more consistently and now hitting the middle much, much more consistently. Hit a driver carry 250 (never done that before) yesterday without even practicing with driver since the swing adjustment. Simply by adjusting a couple of things setup and strike wise. It seems to me like you just don't understand the numbers, swing is cause numbers are effect, they're linked so it's stupid to ignore when technology is there. Like I've said, I've corrected quite a few issues (over swing still not perfect), once I fix my LA then I'll be on a completely different level to where I was two month ago. I'm guessing my very high launch is I'm not getting my weight forward on downswing and possibly flipping around impact but I'll need to video that or go see my pro to check that out. Putting doesn't vary much (it's actually got better now I've stopped practicing) so is on the backburner for the minute, same with short game, that's more than good enough for my level. As far as the keys go I'm thinking Key 2/ weight forward isn't good at the minute or maybe it is but the hands aren't going through right.

[inthehole]

I've broken 80 2x this year ... most of my game remains the same, but for me there are a few key things that have fallen into place which helped this happen:

1. Keep drives in bounds - focusing on smoooooth tempo ... simply can't afford an OB tee shot

2. Much improved lag putting - using a heavier oversize putter this year - helps dramatically

3. Making EVERYTHING from 2-3 ft - giving all the short putts my full attention ... walking behind & taking a quick look helps a lot

[iTzJordyyyy]

If that doesn't fix it I'll probably look at a combo set for the new clubs, or get a 3 and 5hy and just make myself hit he 6i well. Sometimes the 6 absolutely flies on the course and I hit my 5i 200y total once last week

Alot if this is mental. Train your 15th club :)

[marklemcd]

Nevermind then, you seem to know all that you need to do already. No need for input from others.

[ChrisWev]

I've broken 80 2x this year ... most of my game remains the same, but for me there are a few key things that have fallen into place which helped this happen:

1. Keep drives in bounds - focusing on smoooooth tempo ... simply can't afford an OB tee shot

2. Much improved lag putting - using a heavier oversize putter this year - helps dramatically

3. Making EVERYTHING from 2-3 ft - giving all the short putts my full attention ... walking behind & taking a quick look helps a lot

Totally agree with this:

1: Hit some unbelievable strikes with driver yesterday, considering it was cold and wet but yes I put a few OOB too. I think I just need some practice with the driver but I don't want to touch this until I'm happy again with my 6-PW

2: The weather is that variable at the minute our greens are varying too, I need to learn how to read the pace of the greens better. Or  quick practice before a round.

3: I'v never done this but agree, Pro's get about 99% of these I think .

I've practiced putting on the carpet at home but I think it's about stimp 25 as if I maintain the same pace on course I'm often falling waaay short, which is unacceptable. Effectively the time I practiced on the carpet was a total waste of time. I've just received a putting mat though so that should help with anything up to about 9 feet anyway. I don't really want to use up my practice/ outside time on putting though as we're getting short on light now. Need to use what time I have on the grass hitting full shots as I'm probably doing too much mat work rather than grass work.

Alot if this is mental. Train your 15th club :)

Yeah my 15th club is a problem, on course and in practice. I think I try and improve too much too quick which kills me in the short term, hopefully it will work in the long run. I find it difficult to not have about 5 things in my head when I set up though.

What I think pre-shot at the minute is: Get setup correctly (takes a while), don't sway back, swing in to out, don't collapse, close the clubface, get weight forward etc etc

I know this is too much but I just can't seem to be able to only think about one or two swing thoughts, but that's just my mentality. I'm very impationt and just want to be better now. I've a good idea of what I should be doing but trying to do it all at once is a bit silly I know.

It's a hard game.

[iTzJordyyyy]

Nevermind then, you seem to know all that you need to do already. No need for input from others.

I agree with you. It's his swing dynamics. Put 10 balls 150 yards away from the flag on the fairway and watch his swing it'll change, therefore the ball will land in different places. Look at english rugby with the ball kicker. Or nadal at tennis. His pre serve set up and routine( like a golf swing) is the same.

[iTzJordyyyy]

Totally agree with this: Yeah my 15th club is a problem, on course and in practice. I think I try and improve too much too quick which kills me in the short term, hopefully it will work in the long run. I find it difficult to not have about 5 things in my head when I set up though. What I think pre-shot at the minute is: Get setup correctly (takes a while), don't sway back, swing in to out, don't collapse, close the clubface, get weight forward etc etc I know this is too much but I just can't seem to be able to only think about one or two swing thoughts, but that's just my mentality. I'm very impationt and just want to be better now. I've a good idea of what I should be doing but trying to do it all at once is a bit silly I know. It's a hard game.

I find this helps. Practise swing. Set up. Close eyes and imagine the club going back and forward and launching up and away. Open eye's think of a similar shot you've done while taking a deep breath. Swing.

[ChrisWev]

Nevermind then, you seem to know all that you need to do already. No need for input from others.

Sorry, I think you misunderstood me. I know I'm probably thinking about too much and concentrating on too many things, but that's just my mentality, been like that all my life which is problematic .

All I was really getting at was I'm a numbers person so like having the data. Strike has been a problem for me with the heel hits so I've just been working on what I can to correct this. Mainly it was down to overswing by the looks of it which too me doesn't relate to any of the keys (although I imagine strike will).

As far as the keys go I'm probably tackled (or delved into) the latter ones before Key 2 (weight forward), which is probably why I'm launching the ball sky high (even though the strike is good, there is just too much loft).

[ChrisWev]

I agree with you. It's his swing dynamics. Put 10 balls 150 yards away from the flag on the fairway and watch his swing it'll change, therefore the ball will land in different places. Look at english rugby with the ball kicker. Or nadal at tennis. His pre serve set up and routine( like a golf swing) is the same.

I bet it does, and is a very good point. I think my setup is pretty good but I probably only achieve 2/6  things that I can stop thinking about during my swing. This is undoubtebly bad but I find it very difficult to just work on one thing.

I find this helps.

Practise swing.

Set up.

Close eyes and imagine the club going back and forward and launching up and away.

Open eye's think of a similar shot you've done while taking a deep breath.

Swing.

I've never really tried visualising the shot and I tend not to make many practice swings as I take a while to setup (overthinking). I think I should practice swing, setup quick and just hit it, rather thank thinking too much being stood over the ball etc.

[Lihu]

Think I've figured the distance problem out, a 9 degree difference in loft from 22 to 31 is potentially killing the smash factor from about 1.37 to about 1.28. This means for my 8I swinging at 75mph that ball speed could go from about 105mph to 95mph. Should have realised that earlier, now just need to sort out why I'm launching too high.

I've heard that the rule of thumb spin and club number is 1000. So, a PW ideally is around 10,000 rpm and 8i would be 8,000 rpm. Your 7500 might be okay? 5,000 is low for an 8i and it won't stop on greens as well as you might like for an 8i. Also, the added 10 degree LA might be caused by flipping? A previous poster mentioned you should work on your swing to hit more consistently which is pretty sound advice. Launch numbers only tell you part of the story, and analyzing your swing tells the rest. If you hit the same spot all the time on the club face, you might be able to compensate but that's not the right approach.

[ChrisWev]

I've heard that the rule of thumb spin and club number is 1000. So, a PW ideally is around 10,000 rpm and 8i would be 8,000 rpm. Your 7500 might be okay? 5,000 is low for an 8i and it won't stop on greens as well as you might like for an 8i. Also, the added 10 degree LA might be caused by flipping?

A previous poster mentioned you should work on your swing to hit more consistently which is pretty sound advice. Launch numbers only tell you part of the story, and analyzing your swing tells the rest. If you hit the same spot all the time on the club face, you might be able to compensate but that's not the right approach.

Yes, I thought it was about 1000 rpm lower than the club number (for pro's), but it depends on the club (8i is 8000 for a pro) either is close enough I suppose . But If my 8i is launching higher then spin should go up? The spin numbers I've got in my numbers are variable as I've just switch form using a low spinning Bridgestone e7, to a Srixon Z-star.

My last set of spin numbers with the Z-star using an 8i were averaging about 7500 spin, but I'm launching that 8i more like a PW, but obvoiusly not hitting down on the ball, getting my weight forward or as you mentioned "flipping". I'm almost certain you're correct, but will have to video this outside in my garden hitting an air ball off the patio. No room in garage/ swing room for a good camera angle. Although I thought my strike has been central, I'm guessing it's not compressing the ball and putting the ballspeed and spin numbers even higher. When I have launched the odd one at a reasonable LA the spin is about 9000rpm on the 8I. I've had some 7i over 9500, not good.

Thinking about it, you must be right about the flipping. As I pretty much do plant my LH side forward and don't move much more weight back on to my RH from there. I'll have to look into how to fix this after I've video'd my swing to confirm.

Thanks for the input everyone, much appreciated.

[Lihu]

[QUOTE name="Lihu" url="/t/83049/my-quest-to-break-80-in-a-year-july-2016-from-a-22-handicap/36#post_1194598"] I've heard that the rule of thumb spin and club number is 1000. So, a PW ideally is around 10,000 rpm and 8i would be 8,000 rpm. Your 7500 might be okay? 5,000 is low for an 8i and it won't stop on greens as well as you might like for an 8i. Also, the added 10 degree LA might be caused by flipping? A previous poster mentioned you should work on your swing to hit more consistently which is pretty sound advice. Launch numbers only tell you part of the story, and analyzing your swing tells the rest. If you hit the same spot all the time on the club face, you might be able to compensate but that's not the right approach.[/QUOTE] Yes, I thought it was about 1000 rpm lower than the club number (for pro's), but it depends on the club (8i is 8000 for a pro) either is close enough I suppose :beer: . But If my 8i is launching higher then spin should go up? The spin numbers I've got in my numbers are variable as I've just switch form using a low spinning Bridgestone e7, to a Srixon Z-star. My last set of spin numbers with the Z-star using an 8i were averaging about 7500 spin, but I'm launching that 8i more like a PW, but obvoiusly not hitting down on the ball, getting my weight forward or as you mentioned "flipping". I'm almost certain you're correct, but will have to video this outside in my garden hitting an air ball off the patio. No room in garage/ swing room for a good camera angle. Although I thought my strike has been central, I'm guessing it's not compressing the ball and putting the ballspeed and spin numbers even higher. When I have launched the odd one at a reasonable LA the spin is about 9000rpm on the 8I. I've had some 7i over 9500, not good. Thinking about it, you must be right about the flipping. As I pretty much do plant my LH side forward and don't move much more weight back on to my RH from there. I'll have to look into how to fix this after I've video'd my swing to confirm. Thanks for the input everyone, much appreciated.

You could very well be hitting the center of the face, but if the attack angle is not optimal you could launch too high. Also, an 8i is supposed to launch pretty high, even a 7i is supposed to go high.

[ChrisWev]

To me it still looks like I'm over-swinging (even when trying not to), still a bit of sway and head movement but weight doesn't look too bad (better than I thought, but I set up forward bias?}. Massive flipping though? Lihu, 10 points!

These swings may be slightly reluctant considering I was basically blasting an air ball directly into my house / outside wall, which might explain the weird followthrough/ apprehensive swing end!

Don't pay too much thought to my alignment, was a bit of a rush job and was more setting up against camera/ mat, using the only part of my yard/ garden I can swing a club (using air balls).

These videos were an 8i. Straight after I went on the mat in the garage with the Skytrak and got this data (first 6 shots in a row, after that I had to go to the pub )

Shot	Ball Speed (mph)	Club Speed (mph)	Launch Angle (deg)	Back Spin (rpm)	Side Spin (rpm)	Carry (yards)	Total (yards)	Deviation (yards)

1	92	72	25.2	5520	78	121	125	-13
2	85	80	26.2	7992	-1383	105	108	7
3	86	82	24.6	8340	-1321	107	109	2
4	83	83	24.7	8704	-999	101	102	0
5	91	84	27.2	8312	-594	113	115	1
6	88	74	25.8	6629	-1147	108	111	0

Total spin is in the 8,500-10,000 range, which isn't good, same as the launch angle. Ballspeed is measured with skytrack, clubspeed is estimated from BS v LA, I think. Most of these felt like good strikes out of the middle.

[RandallT]

In case it helps to see each position.

[ChrisWev]

I've got kinovea which is cracking for splitting it up, drawing lines (swing plane) and doing frame by frame etc. I've rarely used it recently though as I can only film my swing without real balls (limited garden) outside, don't want to risk my neighbours cars/ windows. Most of my work is in the garage and can't film in there or on course (no time to set up). I would have used my iPhone instead of the SLR (120 or 240 FPS) but it narrows the FOV too much to be worth anything.

Really appreciate the effort of breaking it down for all to see though, should hopefully give others an easier insight into how to help/ educate me :)

I would bet $20 that you would expect me to have some kind of software/ anylitical tool to video my swing though?