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Everything posted by Rob Thompson
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Watch a Bowling Ball and a Feather Fall in a Vacuum
Rob Thompson replied to billchao's topic in Geek Zone
That vacuum chamber is literally .5 mile from where I work, or at least work for another 20 days :). It can be seen in the opening scene from Avengers. They filmed it there a few years back. Kind of funny stuff because they came to our door and asked that we did not have any open fires during the week of filming. I always thought for being the only request it was kind of funny. -
I feel like this looks closer to the videos I have been watching. I can tell when I do not pivot enough going through because the shot is thin. Is this looking closer to correct?
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Why do iron loft gaps change?
Rob Thompson replied to dwade247's topic in Clubs, Grips, Shafts, Fitting
Why they gap them 3* then 4* is based on getting the most performance out of the club. The 3* at the top creates better gapping throughout the set. Some companies are even adding length in order to increase the ball speed for better gapping. Where each company makes the change is based on R&D.; Each club head will have a different center of gravity, therefore launch and spin differently. Also it is dependent on the type of club. A more forgiving set or game improvement would be likely to have 3* gapping deeper into the set to help a higher handicap player play better golf. A lot of "better" players will request 4* gapping on their sets. If you research some older club specs you will find that 4* was the norm for quite some time. -
@mvmac @iacas Thank you for the advice. One other thing I notice is that, in the motion made by you guys, it appears that your right hands are on top more. Like the left wrist is parallel to the floor and the right hand is on top of that. Your trail elbow looks like is bending in rowing motion more than a outward curling motion. Make sense? Is that the bending of the elbow I should be feeling?
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Ill give it a try at my next practice. Thank you for the insight.
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That is interesting because I felt in the pass, that I held the angle too much. Maybe I have over done it???
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Here is another area that I struggle. I have been trying to implement the thoughts from Dave Wedzik and @iacas videos. I am trying to feel my right hand "dealing cards". I am much better at using the bounce than I used to be (Thank you Edel Wedges!) but something still looks off to me. Any thoughts?
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Fitbit Surge, Charge HR and Charge
Rob Thompson replied to Rob Thompson's topic in Fitness and Exercise
Well today was the first day with the new Fitbit Surge. My initial impression is good. Like the Fitbit Flex it tracked all my steps but in addition it also tracked floors climbed, average HR, calories burned and miles walked. When I setup the new Surge it linked seamlessly to my previous account. Actually I received a notification that I have walked 500 miles while wearing my Fitbit. Only issue I had was that during my weightlifting this morning it stopped tracking and I had to restart it. Not sure how long it was not tracking but I'm sure it had no effect on the performance measured but just something to note. Overall I think I am going to really like this activity tracker. It appears that it is gong to perform as advertised. I will keep you all update as time goes on -
I am curious to hear if anyone has purchased or plans to purchase the new Fitbit Surge or other new Fitbit products. I have my Surge on order and it should be delivered today. I currrenty use the Nike+ watch w/GPS. It does require a chest strap for heart rate. My biggest issue is that it only thinks you are running. So if I go for a bike ride and want to track HR it works but tells me ran a 5K in 10 minutes. When running I could not ask for anything better but the watch is one dimensional. Also the HR strap connects sometimes and not others. I also use the Fitbit Flex for daily tracking of steps. This works great but you cannnot wear both at the same time and link them to your MyFitnes account because it counts as double the activitly. If you take the Fitbit off you do not get credit for steps, but if you do not use the watch there is no accuracy to the data entered. I am hoping to solve this problem with the Surge. It will allow you to track all forms of activity plus track HR, GPS info and playback controls for my music in one package. The HR is built into the watch and with additional other functions that the Nike does not offer. https://www.fitbit.com/surge Let me know if you have one, hate it or love it. I am always curious of others opinions on things.
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Here is my latest practice session. My instructions for practice were to work 80-120-160 yard shots. I did my best to hit those marks but it is hard the FlightScope to pick them up inside so I started at 100 and worked up. Same idea just different yardages. My only swing thought for the whole practice was to feel zero wrist set. I was actually trying to feel my Ulnar Flexion on the backswing. Practice went really well. I am starting to feel some changes. I like that the 100 yard and 175 yards shots do not look that different. Swing speed was about 20mph higher in the full shot. 100 Yard Swing 135 Yard Swing 155 Yard Swing 175 Yard Swing (100% Full Go)
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I do not think you should be disappointed at all. Your progress looks good. I always have students who want to move on before I feel they are ready for the next step. Sometimes they are not being challenged by me enough and sometimes they are just bored working the same thing over and over. If you have read LSW (if not you should) recall the story of Dave practicing with the rubber tube tied around his body. Hours, days and weeks of practice to change the picture. It takes time. Its hard to tell but is the head moving or rotating? Remember Steady Head is a minimal move in both the back swing and downswing. It is not meant to think the head does not move at all. The head looks like it rotating to me because the shoulder turn is a little flat. Take a look at the FO in post #26 vs #33. Big difference there to me.
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Thank you to everyone for the kind words. It's a great way to start out my 2015. Yes sorry typo...The parents did not read it. Also the my former boss and 3 of the girls teaching pro (same guy) did not read it either. I taught the other 3. Though all 6 read the book and understood the concept it was hard at times to get the parents and other coach on board. I was just at Golf Evolution two Mondays ago. I was planning on taking 2 of the 3 non students up there to learn Aimpoint Express but they backed out last minute. I was hoping for a turning point then. Ill keep wearing them down though ;). All of the people I know that read the book say something similar to you. It has a perfectly laid out plan to achieve better scores. There is no guess work. It's such a simple read that you can go through 2-3 times in 2 weeks and then start practicing. I recently took a new position as the Head Professional at a new course. My Director of Golf wanted to know more about how I coach and teach players. I handed him a copy of the book and said this covers it pretty well. I am also a 5SK instructor, which is broken down in the beginning. With the 5SK and SV skills it pretty much sums up my teaching. He read the booked and loved it. My future is looking bright already at my new employment.
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Thank you, but I only read a book. Dave and Erik deserve the credit for the research and time to write such a wonderful book. The girls had to trust in the process. I was lucky to have a group of kids who believed enough in me to make the right decisions.
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Thank you Mike! Have a Happy New Year!
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Much like the rest the opinions in the thread, I believe this book is great. I bought a few copies and asked the High School team that I coached to read it. The girls got a lot out of it. I worked the SV(r) skills into to our practice schedule. They really enjoyed knowing why they were working on driving the ball better and not chipping and putting like coaches before. Where I messed up was I did n't ask the parents to read it. Without reading it yourself, most did not believe driving and ball striking out weighed other practice details. The parents often suggested that the girls practice putting because they shot 100 with 40-45 putts. I found myself often explaining that they also took 55-60 shots to get on the green. So if they hit every green in reg and still had 45 putts they shoot 81. I always tried to explain that putting needed improvement but the odds of them making a 50 footer was close to zero. One of the things I like about the book is that the SV(r) skills are not set in stone. If your are struggling with a skill level 2 its ok to spend more time practicing that skill instead of a Level 3 or 4. Because of this we did work on not 3 putting from that distance, but again this meant making more 3-15 footers to keep from 3 putting. Another thing I was able to do was identify the needs of each player. The drills for improvement were already provided. I just needed the girl to take a book and look up the drill. This meant I could help more girls at once. In my state the coaches are able to talk to the player tee to green. I had a good understanding of "game planning" but with the book I was able to take it to another level. This especially came in handy as we reached the sectional and district levels. These were courses the girls and I had never seen before. As we walked our practice round we made yardage books and outlined "black" areas. After one of those rounds, I overheard one of the girls telling her parents "every time I pulled out my yardage book, it was like Rob was standing there to help me". I just laughed and said that was the point. Our team made it to the state finals. We placed 12 out of 12. Not great but it was 12th out of the state. The team was 2 Freshman, 2 Sophomores and 1 Junior.
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I had a chance to try and qualify for the All-Army Golf team this year. I didn't play great my first round of qualifying so I needed to go after it for the rest of the tryout. First hole was a par three about 165 yards into a 15mph wind. I hit it to 3-4ft and made birdie. Started my next round out perfect. I didn't make the team but I had a great time and look forward to trying out again next year.
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Mike, The feelings were similar to what we talked about...Thank you again for sending those videos 1. Feeling the right arm bend earlier on the backswing, but not more that 120* 2. The swing needed to be wider and softer 3. The wrist were not setting at all, and even the "feeling" of unloading them early in the downswing.
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I've been Playing Golf for: 10 years My current handicap index or average score is: 2.4 My typical ball flight is: Push Draw The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Push Fade or Straight push Video: This is before my last lesson on 12/22/14. On the range I can hit push draws all day. I often get the question "what goes wrong on the course?" Well until today I was not really sure. Dave Wedzik was able to explain it to me in way that finally made sense. My swing was making it very hard to control Key #5 Club Face Control. My miss was big pushes and push fades. We spent about 30 minutes together and you can see the results below. This is the same day at the end of the lesson. You can see the swing looks a lot different. The swing thoughts were very simple. I am now at home on my own to work the swing. I am using a similar training aid as in the video above. I am starting with slow swings and lots of practice swings in between. I continue to work the speed and distance hit, up as I feel comfortable. This is my last two swings at full go and no training aid. Looks good to me, knowing I have only spent one week working on the changes. My plan for the winter is to take a few more lessons and keep working on it. I will be the Head Professional at a local golf course next season and for the first time in my life be making golf my full time profession. I am beyond excited about the move, and now with the new swing changes. I am very excited about my playing season as well.
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2014 Erie/Cleveland/Pittsburgh/Buffalo Summer Get-Together (August 16-17)
Rob Thompson replied to iacas's topic in Golf Talk
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2014 Erie/Cleveland/Pittsburgh/Buffalo Summer Get-Together (August 16-17)
Rob Thompson replied to iacas's topic in Golf Talk
We went from back of the tees, bunker at 280-290. Now its front of the tees, 300. I think its safe to say that we are not really sure what the bunker was playing at that day. I also do not know where my ball went in the hazard. I think its far shorter on the right side vs. the middle or left. I can honestly say that I pulled Jeremie's ball out of the hazard. -
2014 Erie/Cleveland/Pittsburgh/Buffalo Summer Get-Together (August 16-17)
Rob Thompson replied to iacas's topic in Golf Talk
what video? -
2014 Erie/Cleveland/Pittsburgh/Buffalo Summer Get-Together (August 16-17)
Rob Thompson replied to iacas's topic in Golf Talk
It was downwind and downhill. I don't think you need 125-130 club speed to hit it that far in those conditions. That bunker is probably closer to 310-315. I am not saying I am the longest guy out, because I am not. However, I have and do hit it 300 + often. Not internet 300 + but the actual thing. I have a Flightscope and I have had unlimited access to a Trackman for the last 3 years. I know my numbers and I know what I have seen actually happen. -
2014 Erie/Cleveland/Pittsburgh/Buffalo Summer Get-Together (August 16-17)
Rob Thompson replied to iacas's topic in Golf Talk
People attending (copy this post - don't quote, just select and copy - and add your name if you're attending): @iacas 0.0 @iacas guest ( @mvmac ) 0.0 @vasaribm @saevel25 6.6 @cipher @Jeremie Boop @CarlSpackler @billchao @georgep @jamo @cedrictheo @Divot Master @Lihu 15.1 @Rob Thompson 0.3 @GolfLug @BradSomrak @rwolfe -
How to Grip a Golf Club, Commonalities of a Functional Golf Grip
Rob Thompson replied to mvmac's topic in Swing Thoughts
@mvmac I watched this video earlier in the week and worked on it without swinging throughout the remainder of the week. Today was the first day I got out to practice. Man did this grip feel great. I have to admit also that I am big fan of your swing. I especially like the latest you posted to instagram. I really like the tempo and transition in the swing. I used both the grip and swing thought today and striped it great. I had been using as swing thought "smooth", and with your swing video it really allowed me to visualize the tempo and transition I was looking for. My only issue today was that the second I tried to record my swing the batteries died in the camera. Thank you for the instruction on the grip and the inspiration on the swing. -
2014 Erie/Cleveland/Pittsburgh/Buffalo Summer Get-Together (August 16-17)
Rob Thompson replied to iacas's topic in Golf Talk
mistakes happen. I am wondering why you are so upset about it. Just remove me from the list. I would rather play with people who sound fun. Thanks for the advance warning.