My Swing (Good Ash)

[Good Ash]

Hi All,

Just became a member today and signed up for some Evolvr Classes.  I have played golf for 15 years (counting the years I would go out 5 times or so) but I have just gotten serious the last two or three. I have never had lessons but look forward to getting specific feedback rather than watching a video on YouTube and wondering if it applies to me.  More to come....

PS. First time recording my swing and I already have some improvement ideas for next time, the main one being - make sure the lens is off the chair so it doesn't move the camera from side to side!!!

PPS. I know my irons spark, I can see it every time I hit the ball!

I've been Playing Golf for: 3 Years
My current handicap index or average score is: High 80's
My typical ball flight is: All
The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Fat and Thin

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Videos: 

 

[iacas]

I embedded the videos for you.

https://thesandtrap.com/how-to/embed-videos

Since you're on evolvr, I'll let you use this thread to document your notes, feelings, your practice, your changes… etc.

[Good Ash]

Just posting some notes on where my game is and what I need to work on going forward.

I went out to a local par three course the other day and I seem to shoot the same score (relative to par) at a short course as I do the longer ones.  To me this would indicate that my weakness is probably in my approach shots.  At the par three, I only hit 2 GIR, but my nGIR was 8 (I am counting 10 feet off or so and the green are really much smaller at this course but I always have a good lie from the tee box even though I hit every shot off the turf).  Most of my chips were within 10 feet of the pin but I didn't seem to convert many of those putts and ended up two putting most of those.  Short Game could use some work to clean the score up but if I could hone in my approach shots I think this would pay off more in the long run.

As far as driving the ball goes, I can usually hit my driver fairly well and most of the time either in the fairway or just off of it.  My distance isn't great but it's not bad either, average probably 240 but get closer to 260 on a good day with the driver and 220 - 230 with the 4 wood.  I think with the driver I just need to work on getting the same shot shape each time.  I currently prefer to hit a little fade with my driver and a draw or straight with my 4 wood and those ball flights dictate what I use on any given hole to tee off with.  I don't really feel like I do anything different when I hit these but my setup is much wider with the driver and my stance is more closed with the ball at my front toe.  With my 4 wood I align it like any regular iron shot just with the ball a little more forward, stance still pretty square and not very wide to still come down on the ball.  

As I type this out I guess my goals for this off-season as follows:

1) Work on consistent shot shapes

2) Learn my average distances a little more and get ball contact more consistent to hit these more frequently

  - A side note to goal number two.  I purchased a new set of Mizuno MP-54 irons (they might be a little too good for me but I love how they look and feel and they were on clearance, when they came in I was hitting them really well the one time my wife let me take them to the range).  Unfortunately my wife is holding them as my Christmas present so working on my distances won't happen until after the start of the new year. In the meantime, I am still using my old Callaway Hawkeye VFT's for the time being or as I like to call them - the skillets!

Up until this point I have been working on getting my swing more shallow but we will see what happens to this as I get feedback from evolvr.  My reasoning for this was if I get a little more shallow I might get a little more consistency but after looking at my first video's it looks like I might have a flip causing the inconsistency instead (perhaps a little inconsistency with my hip slide/rotation and keeping the correct posture through impact causing this)?  As I type this, goal number three - learn more about the golf swing so I can maybe diagnose problems on my own on the range or the course.

[iacas]

3 hours ago, Good Ash said:

1) Work on consistent shot shapes

Just curious… do you mostly mean start lines and then curve, or… what? Start lines are overlooked by people. If I'm playing a draw I'd rather play one that starts on the start line and draws too little or too much than one that starts farther right and hooks more… because in the latter I have two errors, and in the former just the one.

[Good Ash]

Mostly start line and then just have it fall in the right direction.  I have been playing a draw more recently with my irons but a fade and a pulled shot still come in once and a while (I battled a wicked slice for a long time).  If I could aim at the left side of the green and just get the ball to turn over to the right more consistently then my misses would be more acceptable.  Right now I almost have to play towards the middle to account for my miss but I am penalizing my good shots to some degree.

[Good Ash]

Just received my first lesson back from evolvr.  My main priority piece is to maintain my posture better and to stay a little taller, doing this should keep me from lunging at the ball as much as I do.  I just did a couple practice swings in the basement at slow speed and to keep my knee from coming in I feel like I am almost "flaring it out" own the back-swing.  I did notice that my lead arm was much straighter coming through the impact zone doing this though.  

I also felt much more "coil", I quoted coil because to me it feels more like resistance and tension rather than the "stored energy" that you hear it described as. Either way, I did notice that my sequencing was better from this position and everything seemed to flow naturally through the impact area with little effort.

 

[Good Ash]

I've been working on keeping my lead knee from turning in too much during the back swing and my body or head not coming down and as forward as much.  Keeping the knee out definitely feels awkward but I think I will be able to get that down.  Trying to stay "taller" and "further back" on the other hand, this will be very difficult for me.  Has anyone else had this problem and if so, is there a feeling or a drill that helped.  I tried to think about an imaginary wall but even the swings that felt good, still didn't look that good on video.  There was a feeling I had while not recording of actually "standing up" that felt pretty good and it felt like I was able to get good extension through the impact zone, but the camera wasn't on so I can't say for sure.  I wasn't able to replicate that thought with any noticeable improvement with the camera on so maybe I will try that tomorrow.  As follows are the stills from one of the swings I recorded.  To me, the lead knee looks a little better but the posture still drops quite a bit in my back swing.  I tried to record this using the door jam as a reference.  It also looks like this position gives me a little more room to keep my right arm straighter.  PS. don't mind the mess, it's the basement.

One last thing I thought I should document for future reference. I noticed that it felt easier to keep my knee from coming in if I played the imaginary ball more forward in my stance, just something to experiment with later on.  I used to play the ball more forward but I would often get shots that ballooned on me with my game improvement irons so I started playing it further back this year.

 

[iacas]

Are you hitting a ball in that video? Or hitting something?

[Good Ash]

No ball.  I had an old piece of carpet that I marked up with tape for alignment references, there is an open area about five inches wide where the ball would go.  This gives me an actual spot to look at and I can see where my "divot" starts and stops based on the brush marks for the carpet.  I will hit foam balls but use those more with half swings (it can get a little loud when the kids are sleeping). 

[iacas]

7 hours ago, Good Ash said:

No ball.  I had an old piece of carpet that I marked up with tape for alignment references, there is an open area about five inches wide where the ball would go.  This gives me an actual spot to look at and I can see where my "divot" starts and stops based on the brush marks for the carpet.  I will hit foam balls but use those more with half swings (it can get a little loud when the kids are sleeping). 

I understand. The swing is likely a bit different, though, and so informative on what your swing with a ball is like.

[Good Ash]

So I've been working on keeping my front knee out and a steady head for almost half a week now.  My head sway from side to side is getting much better but I am still loosing my posture a little at the top of the back swing and a lot during the downswing.  I was scrolling through this site and others looking for some tips, one thing that has helped me maintain my posture better (at least I think) has been the thread on this site regarding posture and posterior flexion.  When I try to tuck my rear-end in more at set up I notice I don't drop down as much on my backswing.  This is definitely a new feeling for me and something that I will work more towards.  Previously I was in more of a natural position and didn't try to set up with my rear in any particular way.

Just looking at these photos (taken last night) compared to the ones a few days ago, it is amazing how much further back I am on the downswing.  I should be able to make it to the range tomorrow so we will see how some actual shots go.

It also appears with not letting my head sway, I will have to work on getting my weight forward more (at least I think - I don't entirely know what I should be looking for), but I will move onto that once I have these first steps down a little better.

[carpediem4300]

The head dropping on the backswing is nicely improved there bud!!! your pivot looks great from the front as well, 

[Good Ash]

Thank you, it has actually been a lot of work and a few times I felt like breaking my club wondering if I would ever get there.  

I went to the range yesterday to film my next evolvr video and it is pretty much the same as my last post so no need for video or pictures on it.  Afterwards trying to work on the entire posture thing I spent an hour or so reading threads here and watching youtube videos.  I came across a Mark Crossfield one where he said feel like you are pulling your lead shoulder skyward.  I tried a few swings with this this morning and I noticed instant results and consistently it looks like I am an inch or two higher during my downsing (but I think a DTL would show I am maintaining my distant from the ball as well). It does look like my head is shifting too far back now (at least I think) but the posture looks so much better during the downswing.  I also instantly noticed how tall I felt in my follow through and how balanced I felt.  I am going to try this thought for a few days and see how it translates to the range.

On a side note at the range yesterday.  I was swinging at 75% or so but I noticed that my distances were comparable to my old full swing playing speed (I was hitting my 6 iron 175 or so - the range does go slightly downhill - but 6 iron is my 170 - 180 club on the course in good conditions).  Maybe being in just a slightly better position was already leading to better contact?

I am definitely more optimistic now than I have been.

[Good Ash]

Just got my next video back.  Progress with the front knee is going well but we are going to adjust my posture at address a little bit.  Currently I have a lot of leg flex at set up as you can see in the below screen shot.  

The next step is going to be standing up a little taller at address (while continuing to make progress with my knee and scrunching).  I know I am not "there yet" but these set up points have all been well received with my basement swings. With standing taller at address, I should also work on "deep hands" and my shaft angle at P3.  I think I am going to hold off on making any cognizant adjustments with the shaft angel until I have the taller address posture down.  

When I work on this posture at address it feels like the shaft is automatically "taller" or "more vertical" so I want to see how that appears on video.  In the practice swing shots below you can not tell, but with this new set up posture, I definitely feel like I am looking "down at the ball" or that my head is "over the ball more" at set up.  I don't know the right term but that is how it feels anyways.  The posture and swing really feel in balanced and much smoother with these changes so far.

[Good Ash]

Went to the driving range for a test session to see how my progress has been.  Results are mixed.  My posture at address is better, my balance feels better, it doesn't look like my distance to and from the ball changes very much (I am not too much on my heels or my toes), but I still can't keep my head steady when a ball is placed in front of me.  I have been working with the mirror drill, the wall drill, and trying to feel my lead shoulder come up with very limited success.  I think I also need to work on really completing my backswing and feeling the stretch in my side/back, which might help me unwind a little bit more and slide a little less with my upper torso (I don't know if this is actually a thing or not but just something I was thinking watching the videos and positions).

Everything with the swing and set up feels a little different so I guess that is a good thing. One thing I have noticed is that it appears most people have a tendency to come out of the ball and lift up (at least based on youtube videos and articles) so tips and tricks are kind of limited or redundant for not "diving" or "dropping" to the ball.

Anyways, back to the basement till I get this head thing really ironed out.

 

[gulfcoastnative]

You have a good looking swing brotha.. From your first videos to your last its very apparent youve put in some real work.. Not that your first ones were bad by any means, i thought you had a bad ass swing in those too but in the last ones everything just looks tighter.. Does that make sense? I guess what im trying to say is you look solid brotha.. You have a swing just like my bro in law... Its crazy.. Same grip same follow through.. He hits into a lil more of a stiffer left leg but all in all very similar.. And he is carrying a 3 hcp at the moment so id say thats a good thing

[Good Ash]

Thank you!  I have had golfers I get paired with complement my on my swing, usually on one of those days you start out with a string of pars.  The encouragement and compliments are great to hear, especially when you have one of those off days and can see that there are some good pieces to work with. 

By a stiffer lead leg do you mean more extended?  I just received my next video back and my priority piece is to still ingrain the setup I have been working on, and work on a slightly different shaft angel at A3. My long term priority piece is steady head but my posture will work into this. After I have that down he said we will work at having a little more tilt to my hips at impact.  I am thinking that this will translate into a more extended lead leg but we will see after I get the head thing down a bit more.

[Good Ash]

As shown on my last video back my head is looking much better.  It isn't coming in as much towards impact but it still is moving forward and dropping down so I need to keep working on this.  

While working on this something to just be cognizant of is my shaft angle in my backswing.  As shown on this picture, it looks like I over corrected a bit from my last video but this position appears to be closer to being on plane..  To be honest, I never paid that much attention to where this is and I imagine it has some fluctuation on any given swing I take.

For the last couple nights I have been doing some drills working on taking the club back to somewhere between a 9:00 and 10:30 swing three or four times in a row focusing on shaft angle, knee, and head position.  Then after the three or so practice I'll do one actual 9:00 swing, just focusing on tempo.  So far the results have been pretty good.  My free trimmer subscription just expired but I filmed this swing in slow motion and it looks a lot better than where it was before.  I hit the ball a little thin but I wasn't really focusing on making great contact. I really like my steadier head in these clips along with my straighter right arm, and that my hands were at least even with the ball at impact.  On a side note, this was what felt like a really controlled 50% 10:30 swing.  Perhaps, I had been overswinging a little bit in the past, but these swings have felt like they have much more extension (through the backswing, the downswing, and into the ball - I would also describe the feeling as being wide).  Because of no video you can't really see it here, but my hips were turning at some rate almost all the way to the top, which made me feel like the sequencing and tempo were really good.

I am going to keep doing this drill for the next week or two just to ingrain the feelings before moving on.  I have been reading the stupid monkey thread 5 S's of practice threads and am going to focus on slow, concise and repetitive for a while.

PS. Maybe I need to start switching up my "after work" wardrobe a little bit.