My Swing (Hardspoon)

[Hardspoon]

10 hours ago, billchao said:

I agree. If you can't practice, you're just going to have to find a way to be ok with how you're playing even if it is below your expected level or the game will get frustrating fast.

Yeah, for sure, I get that. I should be clear: my only frustration is the stuff that SHOULD have nothing to do with practice. 

Any normal person should be able to not play/practice for a year and still two-putt from 10’, or get on a green in less than three shots from 25 yards.

That’s all I meant...stupid crap like that is COMBINING with the normal results of lack of practice to make my golf particularly poor right now.

But...no big deal. Still enjoying playing, and hoping to get better. 

[billchao]

3 hours ago, Hardspoon said:

Any normal person should be able to not play/practice for a year and still two-putt from 10’, or get on a green in less than three shots from 25 yards.

I agree you shouldn't be three-putting from 10', but the short game motion was not something that came naturally to me so when I was playing to 19. Two or even three-pitching/chipping was not that uncommon, especially when I wasn't practicing or playing. I've sorted it out now but once in a while the old creeps in.

3 hours ago, Hardspoon said:

But...no big deal. Still enjoying playing, and hoping to get better. 

Yea, I know you well enough that I know you'll have a good attitude about it. I was mostly just sympathizing with you because I've been there.

[Hardspoon]

Played 9 holes today in probably the worst weather I ever golfed in...38 degrees, windy, and sleeting for a few holes.

And...it was awesome.  So much fun to play again.

[Hardspoon]

I've been (slowly) getting back into working on golf again.

I played a round last weekend...lots of ups and downs.  Shot a 43 on the front, and 55 on the back (!)...mostly because of poor contact (fat/thin shots), particularly with wedges.

I went out to the range today for a bit and focused on short, abbreviated swings just trying to make good contact.  I'm hoping to get back one night this week to take some video and continue working on my high-priority full-swing stuff.

[boogielicious]

10 hours ago, Hardspoon said:

I've been (slowly) getting back into working on golf again.

I played a round last weekend...lots of ups and downs.  Shot a 43 on the front, and 55 on the back (!)...mostly because of poor contact (fat/thin shots), particularly with wedges.

I went out to the range today for a bit and focused on short, abbreviated swings just trying to make good contact.  I'm hoping to get back one night this week to take some video and continue working on my high-priority full-swing stuff.

Could fatigue have been a factor? I had a similar round Thursday. We played a pre-league 9, shot a 40, then had almost an hour break for the league 9. I stiffened up quite a bit.

[Hardspoon]

On 5/20/2019 at 6:32 AM, boogielicious said:

Could fatigue have been a factor?

Maybe a bit...I don't think it's physical, though.  The group I play in has a ton of very slow players, and I think it just gets to me after a while.

When I have time to practice lately, it's been working on my putting with the Puttist and working on my takeaway in slow motion.

I did have a very good round today (lowest raw score ever, with an 88), which was nice.  I hit my my driver extremely well, which is always going to lead to good scoring.  Once again, I did play better on the front than the back (42-46).

 

Edited May 26, 2019 by Hardspoon

[Hardspoon]

Went out today to practice the stuff that has been plaguing me lately - clubface control (practiced using slow speed swings with a variety of clubs, trying to start the ball left, right and center) and short wedges (simply a matter of getting my weight forward to make better contact on those 40 - 75 yard shots).

If I could get the wedges figured out, and keep working on my short game (pitching practice in my yard and putting with the Puttist), I'd expect a pretty good benefit to my scoring in a short period of time.

I also need to schedule a trip up to Golf Evolution soon to continue progress on my full swing.

 

[Hardspoon]

On 6/9/2019 at 1:29 PM, Hardspoon said:

I also need to schedule a trip up to Golf Evolution soon to continue progress on my full swing.

Well...if "soon" can be taken to mean "nearly a full year from now", I succeeded!

Stopped up in Erie this week to see @iacas and get back on a track to some improvement.

Worked on two setup pieces: stronger grip and less shoulder tilt away from the target.

The primary "dynamic" piece was a change to the backswing, to bring the club around my body more with rotation than with the hands.

Without any other major adjustments/thoughts, this had me swinging the club less over-the-top.  Need a BIT of a thought to swing out towards right field ("don't hit the pool noodle"), but this part actually came somewhat naturally so the primary thought will be the backswing piece.

Impact position was improved, too, with a bit of a thought towards continuing body rotation rather than using the hands/arms as much.

[Hardspoon]

Played a round with @iacas at Castle Hills Saturday.  First round after the lesson; always a crapshoot.

---

View this round on GAME GOLF

I was really happy with how I hit the ball.  I had a few TERRIBLE swings (topped shots), but overall really solid contact and most importantly good ball flight (not a single big slice with driver).  Hit 57% of fairways.

Putting (especially distance control) is laughable right now...will be practicing that at every opportunity.

 

Edited May 25, 2020 by Hardspoon

[iacas]

Yeah you hit the ball well. you would have scored better if you weren’t planning to hit the slice most of the front nine. 🙂

[Hardspoon]

Still haven't had a "real" practice session since my latest changes, but the grip and backswing stuff are at least reasonable to work on while playing.  Driver is much better when I focus on making a full turn and not just using the arms (which is harder with my swing thought in my mind).

I should be able get a trip to the range soon to work on this more with video.

[iacas]

I've never seen you drive the ball better. 

[Hardspoon]

Spent some time today working in slow motion at the range...no video.  Still focusing on the same stuff.  Played 18 holes afterwards.

I'm driving the ball really well...solid drives, either straight or a bit of fade, in the 230 - 250 range.  Still some misses off the tee, but nothing like before.

Long irons and fairway wood were terrible today.  Poor contact across the board.

[Hardspoon]

I still haven't been able to practice much, but I've been playing more.  I've been practicing the grip and backswing piece at home, so I think those have "stuck" pretty well...but I'm not doing as well at the "swing outward" part on the course.

At the same time, the changes have led to promising results.  I now miss the driver both directions, but I've eliminated my worst miss (weak push slice).  My "big miss" now is actually the over-the-top pull...but it isn't any more offline than the old miss, and it goes about 40 yards further.

Today's round with driver:

Most solid drives are creeping up into the 240 range.

Similar story with irons.  No more weak slices...my miss is a pull when I swing over the top.

Basically, I'm getting the clubface to square or closed because of the grip change...and just need to keep working on pairing that with an outward swing path.

I've actually seen the biggest gains in my short wedges (100-50 yards).  The new takeaway and focus on "swinging out" has vastly improved my contact.  I've significantly reduced the chunked or thinned wedges.

 

 

[Hardspoon]

Not really swing-related, but I just booked a trip to Pebble Beach.  We'll be playing Spanish Bay, Spyglass Hill, and Pebble.  Can't f'ing wait.

[Hardspoon]

More of the same, in terms of golf game, over the last couple weeks.  Driver has been really good.  Other areas, not so much.  This graphic pretty much says it all:

Performance with driver before my May visit to Erie...222 yard typical drive, 35% right (my "bad" miss).

Since that visit...241-yard typical drive, with 47% missing left (not nearly as bad a miss, for me).

Pretty neat to see the swing change make that significant a difference.  The fairway % is a little misleading, because the range of misses themselves have not been nearly as bad since I have much less curve on the ball.

As far as the swing itself, the backswing piece is getting more and more ingrained, so I'm working more and more on the "swing out, miss the noodle" part.  I haven't been to the practice range at all, but I've been playing twice a week recently.

 

 

[Hardspoon]

Full swing continues to be solid, considering I really am not practicing right now (just playing maybe 6 times a month).  Hoping to get up to Erie next weekend to work with @iacas.

I also definitely need some short-game practice.

[Hardspoon]

Good trip up to Erie this weekend for some practice and a fun round with @iacas, @georgep, and @saevel25.

I've made good progress on the backswing/downswing path changes from last trip, so as long as I can keep that solid, there are 2.5 big full-swing pieces to work on right now:

0.5 | Grip - can get too strong if I do a little adjustment over the ball.  Need to grip it and then stay.

1.5 | Turn - need to finish my turn.  This is my nemesis...keeps creeping back in, and leads to loss of distance and some really bad contact.

2.5 | "Down and Forward" - move to start the downswing.

 

Done correctly, this improves the impact position and leads to more solid contact:

 

I'm also going to be spending a lot of time over the next month before my trip on the short game and putting:

- Aimpoint Reads: I spent some time testing my Aimpoint reads, and they were clearly way off (I've been lazy about even using it).  

- Putting Speed Control: Uh...just...practice.

- Pitching/Chipping: Uh...just...practice.  Pitching motion "turn" with the body, not the head.

- Half-Wedges: These are terrible lately, because I've been swinging just with my arms.  No body rotation, and no weigh shift.  I'm "hitting everything fat today."

 

Overall, I feel like I've made good progress this season so far, considering that I've literally practiced maybe three times and have simply been playing a lot.  I'm going to start working range sessions in AFTER I play whenever possible, and focusing on the short game stuff (Aimpoint, putting, etc) BEFORE.