My Swing (Wanzo)

[Wanzo]

I've been Playing Golf for: 20 years off and on
My current handicap index or average score is: 10
My typical ball flight is: straight/draw
The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: pull draw

I just signed up for evolvr.  I'm hoping to use this thread as place to document my progress. 

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Videos: 

Spoiler

Edited December 20, 2016 by Wanzo

[Wanzo]

Sorry I posted this accidentally before done. I'll edit with comments soon 

[Club Rat]

33 minutes ago, Wanzo said:

I just signed up for evolvr.  I'm hoping to use this thread as place to document my progress. 

Looking forward to see the changes. Also, it's interesting to follow a persons progress when they have a goal to achieve.
Adding captions from time to time about priority pieces and objectives will benefit you at later dates.

[Wanzo]

So I jumped the gun posting that initial video, but here is some more background.  Like I mentioned I just signed up for evolvr and had my first lesson.  I haven't had the opportunity to play a lot the last few years, but I'm really working this winter to get my game in shape so I can try to play more next year and start scoring better.  The videos I attached to start the thread were the videos I submitted initially to evolvr.  From my first lesson, the feedback I received and started working on was:

adjust setup:

-extend knees so a little straighter

-upper back rounds down a little bit more

-bump hips forward small amount to get a little more right tilt (6-10 degrees total)

-eyes look down straight at ball

Wall drill:

-to improve the hip turn and eliminate the sway

Here is my second submission a couple of weeks later.....

 

Spoiler

This was just a check up and I was trying to exaggerate and really think about the feeling of the wall drill while I was making these swings.  From that, the feedback I'm trying to incorporate now is:

Tweak Setup:

-shaft a tiny bit lower, pointing to belt

-arms hang closer to vertical

-bend over a touch more

-right ear a little lower, so my head tilt matches my new spine/secondary axis tilt

 

With the wall drill, I'm going to keep at it using the adjusted setup with a focus on softening the hips going forward so fast and focus more on the trail hip turning behind me.  I highly recommend evolvr by the way, keeping it simple and seeing progress quickly.  Thanks for any comments or encouragement. 

[Wanzo]

The setup changes are feeling pretty good. I still have to be really intentional about them and then swing. Here are my latest videos with basically no swing thoughts after setup.

Spoiler

The pivot seems to be better from all the wall drills I have done. My evolvr coach wants me to eliminate some of the extra run off my arms make after the pivot stops. So basically feel like my left arm stops when parallel to the floor or feel 1/2 swings. So that is my focus for the next couple weeks. What fees like a 1/2 swing to me is actually a pretty full swing. This will take some getting used to. 

[Wanzo]

I'm pretty happy with the progress I've been making. Even though I'm not hitting every shot solid I can see the swing changing  Had a quick evolvr checkup and for now, I'm going to keep with the same focus (1-3), with one added piece (4).

1. Make sure setup is correct, might be overdoing the spine tilt at address just a touch.  The rest looks pretty good

2. Keep reinforcing the wall drill to keep the hip turn/pivot looking good

3. Keep practicing the 1/2 swings to make that natural, where my arms don't keep going after the pivot stops

4. The only piece to add for now is to work on the first move down, keeping the axis tilt and not moving my head forward.  Feel the hips go forward but the head stays in the "box"

[Wanzo]

The swing is coming along.  The pieces I am working on with evolvr instructor are getting more and more natural.  Pretty happy with the changes I've made to get the positions at top of the backswing better.

The focus for the next couple weeks is to get a little more wrist hinge to start the swing.

This will also help me shorten the swing a bit which I am working on....stopping the arms when the pivot stops.  Still need to keep working on keeping the head still and not moving toward target as I start down, but seeing some improvement. 

[Golfingdad]

9 hours ago, Wanzo said:

The swing is coming along.  The pieces I am working on with evolvr instructor are getting more and more natural.  Pretty happy with the changes I've made to get the positions at top of the backswing better.

The focus for the next couple weeks is to get a little more wrist hinge to start the swing.

This will also help me shorten the swing a bit which I am working on....stopping the arms when the pivot stops.  Still need to keep working on keeping the head still and not moving toward target as I start down, but seeing some improvement. 

Glad things are improving, keep it up!  Also, that's a sweet little practice setup you've got there. 

[Wanzo]

2 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

Glad things are improving, keep it up!  Also, that's a sweet little practice setup you've got there. 

Thanks for the encouragement!  Yeah I'm fortunate to have a place to hit especially in the winter here or sneak in a little time in the early am before kids are up. My hope is someday to retire in a climate like yours. 

[Denny Bang Bang]

14 hours ago, Wanzo said:

The swing is coming along.  The pieces I am working on with evolvr instructor are getting more and more natural.  Pretty happy with the changes I've made to get the positions at top of the backswing better.

The focus for the next couple weeks is to get a little more wrist hinge to start the swing.

This will also help me shorten the swing a bit which I am working on....stopping the arms when the pivot stops.  Still need to keep working on keeping the head still and not moving toward target as I start down, but seeing some improvement. 

I notice in the bottom left picture, you're getting laid off a bit (and in one of the videos as well).  Did the instructor mention that at all?  I've struggled a little with pull draw/hook myself, and I know getting laid off can be part of the problem.

You have a solid swing from what I can see.  Good luck on the continued improvements!

[Wanzo]

6 hours ago, Denny Bang Bang said:

I notice in the bottom left picture, you're getting laid off a bit (and in one of the videos as well).  Did the instructor mention that at all?  I've struggled a little with pull draw/hook myself, and I know getting laid off can be part of the problem.

You have a solid swing from what I can see.  Good luck on the continued improvements!

Thanks for commenting, I really appreciate it. For me, we are not addressing it now. I think it will start to look a little less behind my hands early as a byproduct of the setup tweaks along with hinging the wrists to start the swing. But the thought right now is that I end up in a good position at the top, so it's not as relevant for me.  i do hate a pull draw!  

[iacas]

8 hours ago, Denny Bang Bang said:

I notice in the bottom left picture, you're getting laid off a bit (and in one of the videos as well).  Did the instructor mention that at all?  I've struggled a little with pull draw/hook myself, and I know getting laid off can be part of the problem.

I've said a few times that just about any reasonably knowledgeable golfer can identify the 14 things wrong with their golf swing, but they often don't have the first clue which to work on first or how to go about it, and which things are compensations for other things, and which things don't even matter.

You probably wouldn't change that part of that swing.

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Rolling the wrists under early (most refer to it as laid off only really at the top) is often problematic because the golfer, sensing the sweet spot under the plane, sends it "up" to the plane where it builds momentum in that direction, doesn't stop on the plane around the top of the backswing, and continues to move over the plane where they swing the club down from there.

[Wanzo]

Thanks for the note Erik. I'm trying to start fresh the last few months and wipe the slate (my mind) of any preconceived "flaws" I've self identified in my swing.  I went through a period where I was trying to fix those 14 things as you say, really without knowing the why, other than someone told me I should look a certain way at certain positions.  Now I feel confident I'm on the right path, keeping it simple and focused on the priority and things that matter.  And having a portion of my swing being compared to Ray Floyd isn't so bad. 

[Denny Bang Bang]

On 1/27/2017 at 7:00 AM, iacas said:

I've said a few times that just about any reasonably knowledgeable golfer can identify the 14 things wrong with their golf swing, but they often don't have the first clue which to work on first or how to go about it, and which things are compensations for other things, and which things don't even matter.

You probably wouldn't change that part of that swing.

---

Rolling the wrists under early (most refer to it as laid off only really at the top) is often problematic because the golfer, sensing the sweet spot under the plane, sends it "up" to the plane where it builds momentum in that direction, doesn't stop on the plane around the top of the backswing, and continues to move over the plane where they swing the club down from there.

Floyd can get away with a lot more than we can.  I imagine the majority of pros don't get laid off on the takeaway like he did (although I'm sure there is more than one example).

I wasn't trying to provide advice, just noticed it particularly because that's something a pro I went to in the past had me working on in the takeaway (specifically trying to get my takeaway to look more like Adam Scott's).  So I was curious if that was brought up at all.

[iacas]

7 minutes ago, Denny Bang Bang said:

Floyd can get away with a lot more than we can.

Why?

For most people, as I said, I agree - they swing the club under the plane, and in trying to get it back to the plane, the momentum carries it over the plane.

@Wanzo doesn't do that. Ergo, not a problem for him.

7 minutes ago, Denny Bang Bang said:

I wasn't trying to provide advice, just noticed it particularly because that's something a pro I went to in the past had me working on in the takeaway (specifically trying to get my takeaway to look more like Adam Scott's).  So I was curious if that was brought up at all.

It's not a problem in his swing. Not in the top ten or so.

Again, if we're speaking generally, what I'm saying would be very different. Most players can't recover well from that position.

But we're talking specifically about @Wanzo here.

[Wanzo]

12 hours ago, Denny Bang Bang said:

that's something a pro I went to in the past had me working on in the takeaway (specifically trying to get my takeaway to look more like Adam Scott's).  

Me too, I was told that caused a series of compensations.  But, obviously I didn't "fix" it, so I'm kind of relieved that for me it's not a priority.

 

11 hours ago, iacas said:

Not in the top ten or so

more than ten problems!   I've got some work to do. 

[iacas]

9 minutes ago, Wanzo said:

more than ten problems!   I've got some work to do. 

We haven't seen your short game or putting stroke yet.

[Wanzo]

36 minutes ago, iacas said:

We haven't seen your short game or putting stroke yet.

haha, touche'