Taylor Johnson

Being relentless is great. But if you don't pair it up with a good strategy you're going to be awfully disappointed and frustrated. I've learned that the hard way a few times.

I strongly agree with Mr Desmond. Lag is something that happens because you are doing other things correctly, specifically sequencing. Have you ever video taped a practice swing face on? I'll bet if you take a look, you'll see that you create plenty of lag very naturally without thinking about it at all in your practice swing. But when we go to hit a ball, the hands and arms take over, we get out of sequence, and we release early.

I think that's a valid point. I've found Shawn Clement's videos to be helpful with my swing. At least he attempts to back up his theories with anatomical facts/explanations and is not just regurgitating bad information. Phil, I hear what you're saying about how his swing looks, but anyone who has played to scratch both right and left handed probably has some good things to share. To the original question: I'd recommend spending a lot of time here on TST, and going to see a PGA pro instead of looking for a show or a video to help you. There is an ocean of bad information out there as people have already mentioned. It took me a long time to understand that just because something is on the Golf Channel, that doesn't mean it's right for me and my swing.

Its almost like you didn't read any of the thread at all. I find it so bizarre how people hold on to and defend old beliefs just because they got the concept from someone who they respect or who is a good player. I feel like the first 100 or so posts here disprove everything you said rather forcefully and the link x129 posted pretty much ends the conversation.

No offense Gaijin, but at this point you're just being difficult, and it almost seems like you have some emotional attachment to defending your point of view. Erik has repeatedly used hard data and real numbers to prove his point pretty convincingly. Just because "most pros" do or say some something that doesn't make it right or good. Plus, Erik has already addressed this point multiple times as well: working on the short game is a great way to shave lots of strokes for beginners and high teen handicappers (and +). The term GLARING WEAKNESS comes to mind, you may have read that phrase once or twice in this thread. Once you get down to 13,14,15, the full swing becomes much more important to your improvement. I've been through this myself.... "Long drives and GIRs dont mean a thing if you 3-putt." This shouldn't need to be repeated but the whole point is that if you can consistently put yourself in better position, you actually will 3-putt less. How often does even the worst hacker 3-putt from 25 feet when they're below the hole?? Most 3 putts come from being way too far away from the cup to begin with or being on the wrong tier/section of the green. You didn't really respond to the point about a great short game player/putter vs a great driver/iron/GIR player who is mediocre at the short game. If your house is on the line where are you putting your money? It's not really that complicated.

Great job man, and way to keep track of all those stats! That will pay off in the long run, keep that up! A lot of people don't even bother to keep track of how many greens they hit in a given round or how many FIRs they hit. I would say you're progressing faster than the average casual player. I am certain that getting down to a low teen handicap is more than possible within the next year. If you work hard I bet you could be a 9 or a 10 by this time next year. I would say you need to get a little more distance off the tee to be able to attack and consistently score. And focus on being able to 2-putt from anywhere, under any conditions. One thing that has helped me a lot is doing a few different putting drills and keeping track of my stats/number of tries/etc. Trying to simulate the feeling of absolutely having to make a putt will help you on the course. Keep it up!

Mine is getting better. I have some friends that I play with that are always talking trash & intentionally trying to get in my head. It used to be very uncomfortable and I would get thrown off my game very easily. But the more times you experience it, the better prepared you are to handle distractions in real events. I've found that playing in tournaments has started to feel easier because everyone seems so polite and respectful in contrast.

I'm not totally sure what you mean when you say you have a "normal" putter, and I have no clue what you mean when you say you have "good" ball placement. There are a variety of theories about what placement is best for what kind of putter and what kind of stroke you have. What kinds of putting drills do you do? How often? How much of this thread have you implemented? >> http://thesandtrap.com/t/53161/the-apex-of-the-putt/36 How many GIRs do you average in a round? How many putts do you average in a round? Not in a pretend 18 on the putting green but in a round?

Thanks pholmes, I have noticed that and I agree I need to work on continuing to rotate the body through and after impact. I'm definitely struggling with my driver, hitting it at least 25% shorter than last year. Right now it's by far the biggest weakness in my game. I've been hitting of fairways (57-78%), but leaving myself way too long to the green (especially in this thin Colorado air), and my GIR stats show it. Here is a driver swing from today. Mike, I'm trying to set up without sticking my butt out, I'm tucking my tailbone under, and I'm keeping the right hand stronger. I definitely feel the arms hanging more naturally. I have noticed for a while that my address position with my driver (from down the line) you can see too much of my left arm compared to any pro swing I've watched. I'm ashamed to admit my driver is not fit to me at all and I'm starting to wonder if this is causing me a lot of issues. I'm 6' 1" but I have pretty long arms for my height. Here is a follow up: I feel like I do a better job of finishing my backswing and allowing the right knee to lose flexion in the bs. Here is a wedge from today: Again trying to get that curve out of my lower back at address. Seems like my arms are very close to me, but feels more comfortable. I swear there was a time when the grip of the club pointed to the ball or inside the ball at the top, but right now I feel like I can't get into that position and hit a ball to save my life. As you can see I'm hitting a lot of shots off the heel, throughout my bag. Please let me know if you have any questions or if anything needs any clarification. Thanks for watching

Mike, I greatly appreciate all your help. I played Buffalo Run today (before reading your new post) and was +4 through 12, feeling like I had a chance to shoot a low score. Bogeyed the last 6 holes to finish at 82, but the early part of the round (and a number of other 6-9 hole stretches I've had recently) give me hope. Your advice reaffirms my belief that I can play scratch golf one day. Everything you're saying makes a lot of sense and answers a handful of concerns I had floating around in my head. Looking forward to putting this into action. Thanks again

Well when I said "soon," I wasn't thinking 3 months.... but that's how it goes sometimes. Since leaving GolfTec, I've continued to struggle with my game. I've taken 3 lessons at Buffalo Run. I can't help but cringe when my teacher talks about releasing the clubhead and firing the hips without sliding them laterally. I've read enough on here to know those are two red flags. I'm starting to think that I'm going leave traditional teachers behind and essentially use TST as my primary resource. I can't overstate how much I value the way you guys talk about what you do, WHY you do it, and HOW it works. I'm disgusted by how many people in the world of golf just blindly follow things they hear and then aggressively defend them without any logic. I've been working hard on my game, but I'm afraid sometimes I get caught up in working on the wrong things. This is a 5 iron from a couple days ago. After watching that video while on the range, I took another. What I saw in the video above was getting my hands too deep (getting too flat), and extreme cupping of the left wrist. In my practice swing in this second video you can see me try to feel getting my hands much higher and keeping the left wrist flatter. I hit it dead right but I think the swing is more in the direction I'm trying to go. Does my right leg look like it's straightening more in my backswing? Mike, do you think that's enough? These days my most common miss is hitting it off the heel and pushing it dead right. Please ask me any questions. Thanks, Taylor

This thread is definitely an eye opener for me. It's good to hear so many low handicappers agree with the original post. I've felt like my game has hit a wall recently and this explains it. I'd always taken pride in spending the majority of my practice time on and around the greens but I'm starting to realize I need to change that immediately.

TheShark, thanks for joining in. The two elements are definitely related. GolfTec had me doing drills where I would maintain my knee flex from address and make shoulder turns. I think this has obviously limited my should turn as mvmac stated and needless to say, I won't be doing that drill any more. I tried allowing my right knee to straigten more yesterday when I was warming up before I played at Buffalo Run. I felt like my swing had been trapped in a dark basement and mvmac, you may have just unlocked it. I felt effortless power again, or as you described it, a much more dynamic pivot. Excited to see how this develops. I ended up shooting 85, but I think with more range time I'll trust the move more and not have to think about it, like with anything. My driver felt better than it had in weeks on the range, I just wasn't quite able to transfer it to the course but I'm confident this is a step in the right direction. Thanks

Excellent. Thanks for the insight. I've read quite a few of your posts and I definitely value your opinion. I think this cements my decision to move on from GolfTec. My new coach has been trying to preach maintaining knee flex. I even tried bringing up some of the points in the thread you mentioned and he always tries to mutter something about "needing something to push off of." He's a dinosaur... I'll work on this and post some new video and let you know the results. Thanks again.

I started taking lessons at GolfTec (Westminster, CO) in November 2010. My coach left in January of this year and I feel like we made a ton of progress in the 13 or so months we worked together. I switched over to the other coach at that location in essence by default. After my first couple swings with him, he asked me "do you always swing so smooth?" (in a bad way). He told me I need to stop trying to hit the ball, swing to the target and let the ball get in the way. He wants my hips and shoulders more open at impact. Here is a 7i from February: and a wedge from last week: As I have been working with this new guy, I feel like I have lost all sense of tempo. I know I have been struggling with taking the club back below the shaft plane and as you can see in both videos my downswing comes way under the shaft plane. This has been resulting in some nasty, weak hooks. When I first started playing and trying to improve my swing I would take the club back way above the shaft plane and I guess I've over corrected the problem. I've decided to move on from GolfTec and I've been looking into other options. I value the input of this forum. Some other things I struggle with: dipping my head and moving it forward in my backswing (even when I tell myself to keep it freaking still), casting, taking divots (I tend to pick the ball), left arm breaking down too early & coming out of my posture. I've been working on the drill mvmac suggested, placing tees in each armpit. I've been really struggling with my driver, hitting a lot of shots off the heel and even some drop kicks since I started working with this new guy. I'll post some driver swings soon. I'm also working on getting a higher quality camera to take video outside. I hope this can be an ongoing thread. Thanks for looking. I appreciate any feedback.

I can take a guess. But without a video and much more information, we're kinda shooting in the dark. I would say your clubface is wide open at impact. I would try taking a little stronger grip. And I don't mean gripping the club tighter. Let me know if your have any questions.

Quote: Then you would be a horrific free throw shooter. Absolutely horrific. He averaged 36.8% from the from the free throw line in 2008-09!!!!! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Hayes#Player_profile) Yes, the release in a free throw is exponentially more important than the address & cock positions. Yes, the impact position in golf is more important than the backswing and the follow through. "The love is about geometry, motion, analysis, physics, and trying to teach myself something new. Don't know if I'll fail or succeed....it's the trying part that is fun for me." Anthony, this sums up the part that is sad for me. You love and are addicted to the same game I am and we all are. All of those aspects are involved in BECOMING A BETTER GOLFER (which in my opinion should be your primary goal). It is sad that you are limiting your enjoyment, development and entire experience of this game and all the elements you mentioned by going about your project in the way that you are. I'm not saying you aren't having fun or getting anything out of it, that part is evident from the first two posts in this thread. This is page 13. I'm asking you to consider for 60 seconds that there is a way for you to get more enjoyment, experience more personal growth & get more satisfaction if you take a slightly different approach. I'm asking you to allow your mind to imagine for a brief second that sometimes we go off the beaten path because the beaten path is a little bit uncomfortable. Imagine that you could be a single digit handicap by sometime in 2013 if you changed your course today. Would you REALLY continue with what you're doing? Please be honest about this part. "I wouldn't be doing any more project....I would be out enjoying some freshly cut green grass and some 4.25" holes!" This bangs the nail on the head for me. There is more out there waiting for you RIGHT NOW, and you know it, but for some mysterious reason to your wife, many readers on here and me, you have decided to take the long way to your destination. It's completely baffling. An amazing part about golf, as you fully know, is that there is no mountain top. The journey is forever. The is no finish line, there is no peak. We climb and we climb and we climb and we climb. For some reason you want to hang out at the base of the mountain, admiring the infinite beauty, making sure your hiking gear is functioning perfectly, making sure your map is 100% spot on. Sure, you run up a side hill here and there, but something brings you right back down. I'm asking you to come with us. I promise you'll be glad that you did. All the respect in the world to you, and the best of luck. I live in Colorado USA, just north of Denver. Taylor

"I always wondered if it was possible to gain distance by letting out a grunt. You know like a tennis player." I have a friend who does this, entirely unconsciously. When I tell him about it or make fun of him for it he seems completely oblivious to it but it definitely works for him. Not quite as loud as a tennis player but he definitely grunts followed by a sort of sigh. He hits it further than I do. He's about a 6.

Wow. I tried to read as much of this as I could possibly handle. I think I got to page 6 or 7 before my brain shut down. Parts of this are sad. Parts are funny, amusing, aggravating, inspiring, confusing, and just plain weird. "Hogan Project" (I don't recall seeing your name at any point): I commend you for your persistence and your dedication along with your attention to detail. There are many people who could benefit greatly from these qualities you possess and exhibit strongly. I'm amused by your desire to try and do so much on your own instead of leaning on the decades of research, improvement in technology and probably dozens of PGA professionals nearby you that could help your golf game and accelerate your progress (the analogy of crossing the 390,000 sq ft desert with a tiny water bottle and no map couldn't be any better). I'm completely stumped by the "goal" that you continue to state, that you only desire to have a swing that looks like Hogan's. You seem like quite a character (I mean that in a positive way), hopefully I get to meet you one day. Here's what I think: you love golf. I think most members on here do. You have somehow convinced yourself that you could never possibly be a scratch player (or better). You honestly do not believe that you can play par golf one day. So instead of setting that as a goal, which in your mind would be impossible, you set off on a separate mission, to imitate one of the best swings in history, with no "direct" intention of playing better golf because that is less scary to you (funny how you mention the "possible," "indirect" benefits that, "could" come from this. Read: SCORING). You can't seem to acknowledge that with your approach (NOT EVEN READING HOGAN'S BOOK!!?!, etc.) you've created an equally difficult task. I don't mean to sound harsh. This allows you to continue to play the game you love, while making progress on a chart no one else uses or relates to. You might not want to admit it, but you would get more enjoyment & satisfaction (I'm not saying it would be easier) out of saying, "I'm going to become the best golfer I can possibly be," and seeking a PGA professional, studying as much as you can, and practicing as much as you can. I guarantee it. I know we have different opinions but you cannot deny that you have chosen a more obscure goal than most members on this board. Most people just want to play better golf. You want to imitate a swing. Now if you fail, you don't have to face the reality that you failed at golf, you only failed at imitating Hogan, which to you is much less frightening. The fact that you play in tournaments and you keep score doesn't help your case. These are blatant signs that you want to get better at golf. I would bet my house right now that when you get to "Take 100", even if you are able to make an absolute shining replica of a Hogan swing at 60% or 70% speed, or a 100% speed practice swing, when you take that swing to hit a ball at 100% or close to it, you will have significant breakdowns from P5-P7 and maybe worse. I would go even further (which I know you'll say is irrelevant to your goal) to predict that your average score will be within 3 strokes of what it is now. Especially if you're not spending much time on your short game. I hope I don't sound negative. I'm just giving my honest feedback. I think you should consider taking some advice here and doing an honest self re-evaluation. -Taylor

mvmac, in the drill that you mentioned in your original response (tees in each arm pit): Is it recommended to use this drill/feel with a driver as well? Thanks, Taylor

Love how you keep that spine angle way past impact. I seem to always want to stand up through it.

Ben, I can't tell you how inspiring your story is. I was reading the first few pages of the thread from back in 2007 when you were playing in mini tours, even considering going back to amateur status. Then I skipped ahead to page 32, not totally sure what to expect, and you're still at it and it sounds like you're doing great, almost qualifying for a PGA event!?!. Congrats! I aspire to do the same one day. Pretty amazing thread.

One thing not related to mechanics I'm noticing is that when you address each ball, you have little to no regard for your target. This might not seem like it matters, but I assume when you go play you look at your target at least once after you address the ball. I would practice the same thing on the range IMVHO. I think this will help leave you in better scoring positions in general, putting less stress on your short game. But seriously if you're a 20 handicap with that swing, you could cut it in half by practicing 75% of the time from 100 yards and in.

Thanks for the tips & the video. Seems like good stuff. What is your method for speed training? I hit inside a bay a lot at GolfTec and when I try to swing my driver "as hard as I can" I get 94-96mph... My teacher has me whipping the grip end of the club, making the "whoosh" after the ball, but as much as I've been doing that, I don't seem to be increasing clubhead speed.