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Posted

Day 17: 2026.01.19

Mirror work on raising arms during backswing. Still feels awkward when I try and incorporate to full swing.


Posted

Day 30 - 2026-01-19

Got 10 minutes in on the mat / net working on exagerrating movements I'm working on. And grip. Also worked with my friendly AI to summarize key negative tendencies I have so that I can build a personal checklist to follow.

Will do more mirror work tonight.

-Chris Brooks

I've blogged about my wanderings since 2003. I love roaming throughout the USA looking for remote public golf courses to play.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted

Day 19, 1/19.  Finished work in time to spend 25 minutes hitting balls (hit 15) indoors, off a mat, into the net.  Usual focus.  

 

-- Michael | My swing! 

"You think you're Jim Furyk. That's why your phone is never charged." - message from my mother

Driver:  Titleist 915D2.  4-wood:  Titleist 917F2.  Titleist TS2 19 degree hybrid.  Another hybrid in here too.  Irons 5-U, Ping G400.  Wedges negotiable (currently 54 degree Cleveland, 58 degree Titleist) Edel putter. 

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Posted

Day 1 (19 Jan 26) - after a week lay-off due to travels, felt great to get in some drills in the backyard today.  Started with lead arm only short pitches focused on squared face and light divot post ball.  Haven’t done this in a while and it showed, with some skulls and slices.  Settled into easy flighted balls - wrapped up with standard two handed swings.  Good restart to the daily drills. 

Ping G400 SFT 10deg  R flex
Ping G410 3w R flex
Ping G400 3h and 4h R flex
Taylormade SLDR 5i thru PW graphite shaft R flex
Cleveland CBX wedges - 50, 54, 58 or 52, 58 (depending on my mood)
Odyssey Versa or White Steel #5
Srixon Q Star

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted

Day 159 1-19

Flow drill while attempting to add arch in wrist on downswing. Not where it needs to be but felt good working on swing flow. 


Posted

Day 55: mirror work again today. Still working on cleaning up backswing stuff. 

-- Daniel

In my bag: :callaway: Paradym :callaway: Epic Flash 3.5W (16 degrees)

:callaway: Rogue Pro 3-PW :edel: SMS Wedges - V-Grind (48, 54, 58):edel: Putter

 :aimpoint:

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted

Day 18: 2026.01.20

Continuing work on arm raise during backswing. Starting to feel less weird, especially the slower I go. Looking like a busy week so might be the weekend before I can hit some balls.


Posted

Day 2 (20 Jan 26) - Similar work as yesterday - started with lead hand solo drills with the 50°, followed by series of pitches and chips utilizing full setup. 

Ping G400 SFT 10deg  R flex
Ping G410 3w R flex
Ping G400 3h and 4h R flex
Taylormade SLDR 5i thru PW graphite shaft R flex
Cleveland CBX wedges - 50, 54, 58 or 52, 58 (depending on my mood)
Odyssey Versa or White Steel #5
Srixon Q Star

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted

Day 160 1-20

Backswing focus tonight making sure wrist is slighly cupped. Worked on wrist arch in downswing. Pausing at top, but shorter duration 


Posted

Day 20, 1/20.  I know I'm sounding like a broken mp3 at this point, but I'm continuing to hit balls after work, even if I only have the energy to hit a dozen good ones (as I did today).

-- Michael | My swing! 

"You think you're Jim Furyk. That's why your phone is never charged." - message from my mother

Driver:  Titleist 915D2.  4-wood:  Titleist 917F2.  Titleist TS2 19 degree hybrid.  Another hybrid in here too.  Irons 5-U, Ping G400.  Wedges negotiable (currently 54 degree Cleveland, 58 degree Titleist) Edel putter. 

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted

Day 56: foam ball drill work in my garage for a solid 20 minutes. Trying to meld the downswing stuff with a proper backswing. Tweaks are looking good. 

-- Daniel

In my bag: :callaway: Paradym :callaway: Epic Flash 3.5W (16 degrees)

:callaway: Rogue Pro 3-PW :edel: SMS Wedges - V-Grind (48, 54, 58):edel: Putter

 :aimpoint:

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted

Day 19: 2026.01.21

Only managed ten minutes of slow swings indoors tonight. Same progress pieces.


Posted

Day 161 1-21

Backswing focus, used mirror to check position. After a few reps hit foam ball.


Posted

Day 3 - played 18 today with the men’s group.  Was an up and down around the green today.  Hitting wedges solid enough a playing partner thought I had illegal grooves.  Gotta love those hop and stop shots. 

Ping G400 SFT 10deg  R flex
Ping G410 3w R flex
Ping G400 3h and 4h R flex
Taylormade SLDR 5i thru PW graphite shaft R flex
Cleveland CBX wedges - 50, 54, 58 or 52, 58 (depending on my mood)
Odyssey Versa or White Steel #5
Srixon Q Star

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted

Day 57: did a stack session. 

-- Daniel

In my bag: :callaway: Paradym :callaway: Epic Flash 3.5W (16 degrees)

:callaway: Rogue Pro 3-PW :edel: SMS Wedges - V-Grind (48, 54, 58):edel: Putter

 :aimpoint:

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted

Day 21, 1/21.  Got home late, still took the time for a half dozen balls (about as many minutes;  some rehearsal and checking position at the top).  For some reason, I used a 9-iron today instead of my usual 6-iron, not sure why.

-- Michael | My swing! 

"You think you're Jim Furyk. That's why your phone is never charged." - message from my mother

Driver:  Titleist 915D2.  4-wood:  Titleist 917F2.  Titleist TS2 19 degree hybrid.  Another hybrid in here too.  Irons 5-U, Ping G400.  Wedges negotiable (currently 54 degree Cleveland, 58 degree Titleist) Edel putter. 

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

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  • Posts

    • The first post is here:   Do you have an overly long backswing that ruins sequencing and leads to poor shots? In nearly 20 years of teaching, I've found 5 common faults. You don't have to swing like Jon Rahm, but a shorter swing will probably help you #PlayBetter golf. Which is your fatal flaw? #1 - Trail Elbow Bend Average golfers ♥️ bending their trail elbows. It can feel powerful! Tour players bend their trail elbows MUCH less. A wider trail elbow creates a longer hand path and preserves structure. It also forces more chest turn; not everything longer is bad! Overly bending your trail elbow can wreak havoc on your swing. It pulls your arms across/beside your body. It requires more time to get the elbow bend "out," ruining your sequencing. The lead arm often bends and low point control is destroyed. The misconception is that it will create more speed, but that's often the opposite of what happens. Golfers often feel they swing "easier" but FASTER with wider trail elbows. Want to play better golf with a shorter backswing? Don't bend your elbow so much. #2 - Hip (Pelvis) Turn I see this all the time: a golfer's hips are only 5-10° open at impact, but he turns them back 60°+ in the backswing. Unless your father is The Flash, your hips are probably not getting 40° open at impact from there! That's more rotation than Rory! Golfers who over-rotate their pelvis often over-turn everything - trail thigh/knee, chest/shoulders, etc. They have more work to do in the same ~0.3 seconds as a Tour player who turns back ~40° and turns through to impact 40° or so. Want to shorten the pelvis turn a bit? Learn to internally rotate into the trail hip, externally rotate away from the lead hip, and do "less" with your knees (extending and flexing) in the backswing. Learn some separation between chest and pelvis. #3 - Rolled Inside and Lifted Up Amateurs love to send the club (and their arms) around them. You see the red golfer here all the time at your local range. The problem? Your arms mostly take the club UP, not around. Going around creates no height until you have to hoist the club up in the air because you're halfway through your backswing and the club is waist high and three feet behind your butt! 😄  Learn to use your arms properly. Arms = up/down, body = around. Most golfers learn how little their arms really have to do in the backswing. The picture here is all you've gotta do (but maybe with a properly sized club!). #4 - Wide Takeaway Width is good, no? Yes, if you're wide at the right time and in the right spots. Golfers seeking width often don't hinge the club much early in the backswing… forcing them to hinge it late. Hinging the club late puts a lot of momentum into the club, wrists, and elbow just before we need to make a hairpin turn in transition and go the other direction at the start of the downswing. When you're driving into a hairpin curve, you go into it slowly and accelerate out of it. Waiting to hinge is like coasting down the straightaway and accelerating into the hairpin. Your car ends up off the road, and your golf ball off the course. Give hinging at a faster rate (earlier) then coasting to the top a try. You'll be able to accelerate out of the hairpin without the momentum of the arms and club pulling in the wrong direction.   #5 - Sway and Tilt Some sway is good but sometimes I see a golfer who just… keeps… swaying… Their chest leans forward a bit for balance, resulting in a whole lotta lean. The green line below is the GEARS "virtual spine." Pros sway a bit, but stay ~90°. This sway often combines with the extra pelvis turn because this golfer is not putting ANY limits on what the "middle of them" (their pelvis) is doing in the backswing. These golfers spend a lot of energy just to get back to neutral! The best players begin pushing forward EARLY in the backswing. Often before the club gets much past their trail foot! Pushing forward (softly) first stops your backward sway and then begins to get your body moving toward the target. Push softly, but early!  
    • I  no longer spend the time and effort trying to sell something I no longer need. Instead, if the clubs are in good condition, I go to my local golf shop or even Dicks Sporting Goods. Trade the clubs in for store credit and pick up something I need, like a hat. Cause you always need another golf hat!
    • Day 205 3-10 Wider backswing, reconnecting arm in downswing/arching wrist through. Also worked on less pause at the top. Recorded and hit a few foam balls. 
    • I really enjoyed this episode with Nick from Callaway. I didn't know the problem with swing weight and female golfers, but it makes sense. I actually think swing weight might not matter that much. If everyone senses the club differently, then wouldn't it mean that people might feel swing weights differently? Swing weight is a way to classify how heavy a club feels during the swing. Yet for a 70-year-old golfer, a D0 might feel like a D4 for a 25-year-old golfer? I think stronger people would consider higher swing weights lighter. Maybe a C8 equals a D2 in terms of feel?   
    • Wordle 1,725 3/6 ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ ⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
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