My Swing (hoselpalooza)

[billchao]

12 minutes ago, hoselpalooza said:

i know, hence the p.s. above 😉

 

Well it's not a "skosh" right of your hands, it's like 18" farther right of where it should be.

[hoselpalooza]

12 minutes ago, billchao said:

Well it's not a "skosh" right of your hands, it's like 18" farther right of where it should be.

is the video unusable? 

[billchao]

45 minutes ago, hoselpalooza said:

is the video unusable? 

It's not great because the angle distorts what you're doing.

What exactly are you working on? It kind if seems to me like you're shifting focus a lot.

[hoselpalooza]

10 minutes ago, billchao said:

It's not great because the angle distorts what you're doing.

What exactly are you working on? It kind if seems to me like you're shifting focus a lot.

what do you mean about shifting focus? i haven't posted a swing video in 1.5 months.

Edited May 18, 2019 by hoselpalooza
clarity

[billchao]

8 minutes ago, hoselpalooza said:

what do you mean about shifting focus? i haven't posted a swing video in 1.5 months.

 

It just sounded like you didn't have a targeted approach to improvement. You said someone at the range showed you something to try, etc.

[hoselpalooza]

6 minutes ago, billchao said:

It just sounded like you didn't have a targeted approach to improvement. You said someone at the range showed you something to try, etc.

thanks, i appreciate your concern. for all the crappy advice i've heard at the range, occasionally i've been blessed to pick up some good tips from skilled or knowledgeable golfers. usually i don't focus on tips the same day (if at all); i just thank people for the suggestion and say i'll think about it. this one in particular was mentioned to me a few weeks ago and i think it's a good one.

as for swing mechanics, over the past month-and-a-half i spent a few weeks focusing on keeping my elbows closer together, especially during the takeaway and during transition. in general, most of my mechanical work focuses on takeaway and transition. i want to get to the point where all i think once i've triggered my swing is "left shoulder to chin, enjoy the transition, go!" 

overall, i think my swing is pretty solid (imho) but i lack the consistency i believe i'm capable of. so for now the priorities are to find minor tweaks to eliminate the big miss (e.g. pulls with the 3-wood), focus more on feel and executing good shots from different lies around the golf course, and develop a sound strategy to help me get from tee to green in as few strokes as possible.

[hoselpalooza]

today i made some progress eliminating the big miss. focusing on better tempo, slightly opening my stance, and keeping my upper body closed longer (not sure if this is the best explanation) seemed to do the trick. dispersion was significantly better.

to accomplish this i jotted down a practice routine filled with various drills to help develop better feel and diagnose the miss. it's not perfect but i thought it was generally effective so i'll share it below. after each drill i stopped and wrote down some notes. note-taking was a nice way to maintain focus and energy for the whole large bucket and avoid getting into too much of a groove. it didn't add much time, either:

• start with mirror swings to check positions i'm working on and establish some feels right away. today the feels were keeping elbows together, and letting the club fall to shallow out swing, and constant grip pressure.
• head to the grass and set up alignment rod and do balance drills. hit one ball with feet together, one with front foot forward and back foot on toe, and vice versa. repeat 3x.
• 3/4 swing "freeze outs": 3 balls.
• tempo swings. in order: 1/4, 1/2, 3/4. repeat 3x.
• partial swings: 1/3, 1/2, 2/3. repeat 3x.
• ball placement: forward (focus on keeping more pressure on front foot), back, middle. repeat 3x.
• swing plane: inside, outside, regular. repeat 3x.
• follow-through height: low, high, regular. repeat 3x.
• stance: open, closed, square. repeat 3x.
• grip pressure: tight as possible, loose as possible, normal. repeat 3x.
• fun shot shaping and hitting different lies with the rest of the balls (about 20-30). my favorite is a low, sweeping hook with a long-iron. 

in the future i will do fewer of these drills at once, but i'm glad i tried all of these today. i was surprised to learn some things like my regular grip strength is too tight as a result of grip strength training this year. so while i'll continue to focus on constant grip pressure i'll remember to loosen it a bit to make better contact.

additionally, i was surprised at how much easier it was to get the feel for shallowing out my swing by yanking the club back way too inside, and taking the club too far outside forced me to make a really good transition to make solid contact. it was fun to make a regular swing after these moves.

i also really enjoyed the tempo swings and partial shots and will probably incorporate these into all of my range sessions, kind of like what i try to do with balance and freeze out drills before i get to full swings. my thinking is if i start each session with a hand full of specific drills like these it will be easier to reliably figure out "who i'm taking to the dance." e.g. easily moving from drill to drill could build confidence i've brought my "a" swing and can play aggressively. or maybe it seems like i brought my "b" or "c" swing so i just accept it and make whatever changes i feel are necessary.

[trainsmokegolf]

15 hours ago, hoselpalooza said:

today i made some progress eliminating the big miss. focusing on better tempo, slightly opening my stance, and keeping my upper body closed longer (not sure if this is the best explanation) seemed to do the trick. dispersion was significantly better.

to accomplish this i jotted down a practice routine filled with various drills to help develop better feel and diagnose the miss. it's not perfect but i thought it was generally effective so i'll share it below. after each drill i stopped and wrote down some notes. note-taking was a nice way to maintain focus and energy for the whole large bucket and avoid getting into too much of a groove. it didn't add much time, either:

• start with mirror swings to check positions i'm working on and establish some feels right away. today the feels were keeping elbows together, and letting the club fall to shallow out swing, and constant grip pressure.
• head to the grass and set up alignment rod and do balance drills. hit one ball with feet together, one with front foot forward and back foot on toe, and vice versa. repeat 3x.
• 3/4 swing "freeze outs": 3 balls.
• tempo swings. in order: 1/4, 1/2, 3/4. repeat 3x.
• partial swings: 1/3, 1/2, 2/3. repeat 3x.
• ball placement: forward (focus on keeping more pressure on front foot), back, middle. repeat 3x.
• swing plane: inside, outside, regular. repeat 3x.
• follow-through height: low, high, regular. repeat 3x.
• stance: open, closed, square. repeat 3x.
• grip pressure: tight as possible, loose as possible, normal. repeat 3x.
• fun shot shaping and hitting different lies with the rest of the balls (about 20-30). my favorite is a low, sweeping hook with a long-iron. 

in the future i will do fewer of these drills at once, but i'm glad i tried all of these today. i was surprised to learn some things like my regular grip strength is too tight as a result of grip strength training this year. so while i'll continue to focus on constant grip pressure i'll remember to loosen it a bit to make better contact.

additionally, i was surprised at how much easier it was to get the feel for shallowing out my swing by yanking the club back way too inside, and taking the club too far outside forced me to make a really good transition to make solid contact. it was fun to make a regular swing after these moves.

i also really enjoyed the tempo swings and partial shots and will probably incorporate these into all of my range sessions, kind of like what i try to do with balance and freeze out drills before i get to full swings. my thinking is if i start each session with a hand full of specific drills like these it will be easier to reliably figure out "who i'm taking to the dance." e.g. easily moving from drill to drill could build confidence i've brought my "a" swing and can play aggressively. or maybe it seems like i brought my "b" or "c" swing so i just accept it and make whatever changes i feel are necessary.

love the very deliberate drill routine, i might have to write something down and copy this lol

[hoselpalooza]

2 minutes ago, trainsmokegolf said:

love the very deliberate drill routine, i might have to write something down and copy this lol

@trainsmokegolf, thanks for the compliment. if you end up trying this i'd be keen to know how it works for you or if you have any other feedback.

[hoselpalooza]

today, what started out as a real test of patience turned out to be a very productive range session. i'd be lying if i said i didn't want to hit pure shots 100% of the time, however, i doubt i'd appreciate it as much as when i grind through a session only to have something click halfway through and to finish strong.

here are my key takeaways from today's session:

keep doing freeze out drills!

add the new building blocks (below) to my pre-shot practice swings. 

add these to building my set-up:

• during waggle, momentarily grip club as tightly as possible to promote a looser grip and prevent tension from creeping in.
• after waggle, confirm shoulders are square to target line, even if my stance is slightly open. 
• ensure i address the ball with forward shaft lean, especially for the longer clubs. easier for me to make a good takeaway when this happens.

after building my setup:

• if i lose focus or confidence step off of the ball and start over. it's not worth the risk to force the shot and it will only take a few more seconds. (i should really time my pre-shot routine because 3 seconds is a fib 😉) 
• after making a good takeaway get my right hand up and my left shoulder to my chin. remember to turn and let the wrists hinge.
• once i'm at the top enjoy it for a moment!
• make a small lateral shift toward the target with my lower body as my upper body hangs back.
• make a nice and aggressive move as i feel my upper body square to the target line and rotate my lower body while i let the club fall and throw the club head through the impact zone*

* this bit may not be entirely accurate. i wasn't focused on it and am just trying to recall what i felt. it's something i'll continue to monitor as i get the other parts down and until then i'll just try to feel it more when i do the freeze out drills.

[hoselpalooza]

tweaked something after hitting a half-bucket last week and haven't taken a full swing since. instead of worrying about full shots i've spent a couple of sessions doing one-handed chipping with each hand. much more fun that i would've thought. as things improve i'll try some 20y-30y one-handed pitches with wedges, and eventually plan to progress to 1/2, 3/4 and full shots with each club in the bag.

 i was bummed at first but it's a sign i need to improve my fitness. and getting a new skill goal out of it (one-handed shots) seems like a positive consequence, too. lemons into lemonade, right?

[hoselpalooza]

not being able to make full swings for the past couple of weeks turned out to be a blessing in disguise. making easy one-arm swings, especially with the trail arm, helped develop better feel for what the mass of the club wants to do during the downswing. though i don't have launch monitor numbers to back this up (and i'm still not swinging hard), i sense i'm able to accelerate the club in the downswing more efficiently by guiding the club where it wants to go at first instead of overpowering it, if that makes sense.

after making easy one-arm swings for about a week i focused on improving my transition move. i think besides impact the transition is probably the most important part of the golf swing and it's something i really want to enjoy more and solidify. the first thing i noticed is i'm better able to feel the club head if i delay my wrist cock until just before i've finished the backswing. it looks similar to gary woodland's swing in this video. 

the next thing i focused on was footwork. this is something i should've done a long time ago. i don't know exactly how to articulate this but i noticed my foot pressure was inconsistent throughout the swing. the first pattern i noticed was sometimes i would "jump" out of shots. swinging hard exposed the flaw but it wasn't the cause. i also think this put unnecessary strain on my lower back. 

i thought focusing on footwork would be boring but it's really easy to do when i'm watching a ball game in the living room and has produced some immediate results. and not needing a club to practice is a plus. separately, balance is better now that i focus on where i should sense foot pressure throughout the swing, and only being able to do 1/2-3/4 swings made it easier to feel the connection between the upper and lower halves of the body. one of my favorite drills now is doing 1/2 swing "freeze outs" à la tommy fleetwood (2nd video) because it rewards maintaining the connection and focusing on good footwork.

still getting used to these adjustments and have a bit of work to do, but today i was really pleased/encouraged with the first proper range session in a while. e.g. last 10 balls were 3/4 freeze outs with a gripped-down PW into a very stiff wind from 110y out and i landed 7/10 within a 10-foot circle, nearly knocking down the flag stick twice. some luck could have been involved but i'll take what i can get. 🙂

can't wait to get back to 100% and take it to the course.