marklemcd

Day 3: Went to the club range and spent 15 balls very deliberately setting up properly. After that, I noticed in my video I took yesterday that my pivot was sloppy and not what Erik taught me last year so I did about 15 minutes where I would do the pivot drill he gave me twice, then swing slowly and hit the ball. Then I worked on the rope drill for another 10 minutes. I was done practicing and as I was walking off the range the head of the greens committee invited me to play with him so I did for fun. After all rain the course was very sloppy so we didn't keep score but I did get 4 pars in 9 holes. Not bad considering.

As I mentioned in the "Are you better" thread I am not better and I'm finally being honest with myself on why and am committed to being better in 2023. I've already submitted these on Evolvr but want to post them here anyway. Obviously this thread is 8 years stagnant, but hopefully being here (this thread and site more generally) will keep me on track. I plan on posting my swing here often as I go through making changes, so I don't expect opinions and help each time. I know I have a lot to work on. I've been Playing Golf for: 14 yearsMy current handicap index or average score is: 15My typical ball flight is: High, very high. Typically a pull hook or a weak fade.The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: I know generally a one way miss is a fallacy, but I'd like to develop the skill that when absolutely needed I can miss left (the less penal miss at my club).

Day 2: Went to the club to get in some practice and record myself for Erik. Did about 10 swings where I very consciously worked to set up with the instructed posture and then recorded swings. After I finished that I spent another 15 minutes where I took maybe 20 swings. Again worked on that posture and worked on Erik's rope drill. After that I went to our chipping area to practice. I chipped 30 balls to various holes from various areas around the green, some 10ft away some up to 50 feet away. Put 13 of the 30 within 5 feet which is the game I'm playing as I practice.

January 11, Day 1: I spent time this morning working on setup posture. I need to change how I set up as I am in my heels almost sitting. Was told to get my heels 2 inches from my wall and set up with my butt just barely touching the wall and to get my other angles right. 2 inches is surprisingly close to the wall when you look down, and I felt like I was falling forward. So I was doing it right. I need to do it looking in the mirror too so I can set up right without the wall as a crutch.

Hi I'm Mark. I've been a visitor to TST before and even posted a few times but it was a long long while ago. @iacas posts elsewhere which is how I found him and I've given him some videos in the past and more recently on evolvr. Plan on posting here much more often as I begin a journey to improvement. Quick answer to the thread is no I am not better than I was a year ago. No I am not better than I was 5 years ago. I am the same golfer I've been since I got past the quick gains of being a new golfer. In the past year I've had some injury stuff that I used as an excuse for not getting better in 2022, and it's not like it's not true. But in all honesty I set a goal to be a single digit each year (I'm a 15) and I never get there. And I never get there because despite talking a good game I don't do the stuff to get better. I get a lesson here or there and then for whatever reason I fall off the wagon. It's gotta stop. Here's my strokes gained compared to a 10 handicap in 2022. If I showed 2021 it wouldn't look that much different except that in 2022 I drove the ball better than in the past for whatever reason. I stink at improving, and that's going to change for good.

Totally. Feels totally weird. But also awesome how just improving that one position has changed my contact with the ball so much.

Just checking in here with some progress and notes. I'm not going to post a video yet, but I've been working diligently on the feedback received from my first evolvr submission. I don't want to reveal their secret sauce but my main priority is working to get to a better position when the shaft is parallel to the ground. If you look at my video above, you can see that my hands are high and outside and the clubface is inside of my hands and I've rolled over. Here's a photo taken while I video'd my practice at the range. While not perfect, seems to me I've gotten closer to where I should be. And the results are obvious to me in much better contact with added distance. After practicing for a week I played this weekend and broke 90 for the first time in 2 years while having much improved contact with my irons. I plan to work on it more this week and video again this weekend for a submission to evolvr again.

Was able to video my swing from both positions and sent them through evolvr but again want to document my progress as I go along. I tried to change my setup a bit as recommended though I’m still working on it and will work to implement whatever comes from evolvr.

Ah, the appeal to authority logical fallacy. I'm not the best golfer in the world. Not by a longshot. But I almost always hit outside to in because I stink so much. And my ball often starts right. Which is not possible based on what you're saying.

Today will be my first day doing this challenge. I video'd my swing Sunday, got some feedback yesterday and thus my top priority for the next couple weeks is to change my address/swing posture. I'll be practicing my set up in the mirror every day. This morning I practiced getting into my setup in the mirror, specifically ensuring my feet were shoulder width and my feet were slightly flared outward allowing my knees to "point" out rather than in. I plan to practice this each day this week at home and possibly hit the indoor range to practice getting into it and swinging a bit later in the week.

Thanks, I'll make this my first priority and work on it this week. Appreciate the help.

I get what you're saying, is the solution to have some flex (is that the right word) in my knees? Also I saw in another swing thread the post about having knees turned out vs turned in (and feet flared as well). Is that where I should be starting you think?

Been going through other member swings to learn. Amongst other things, looks like I'm not getting nearly enough turn from my hips/shoulders on the backswing? I definitely don't have a good impact position, even without a good face on shot. Clearly my head is not steady and I'm standing at impact.

I've been Playing Golf for: 9 years My current handicap index or average score is: 21 My typical ball flight is: I wish there was typical? My usual miss is either a very strong pull or a weak push. I am hitting a 7 iron, it typically flies 155ish and when I pull it goes 170 and when I push it goes 140 The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: I'd love a consistent miss rather than being all over the place I bit more: I started playing 9 years ago, played a decent amount until having kids and was "ok" in that I'd shoot high 80s regularly and my handicap was 16. Barely played after having 2 kids quickly and then last spring got back to swinging and playing more and now I find myself with the time to be able to concentrate fully. I want to build a good swing from the ground up, so I'm willing to start with the most basic of things to get to a good repeatable swing. I plan on creating an evovlr account soon and going that route, but I want a place to publicly document my progression and to hear what others have to say. Sorry that this angle isn't the best, I plan on going to a different range this week to get a better DTL view and a good face on. Please be brutally honest, I can take it. Videos:

My take away from this thread: On Friday last week I played a round. Hole number 1 I birdied after a perfectly drawn drive that cut the dogleg, then an approach to within 6 feet and a 1 putt. So that is my true talent not the other 17 holes that I played 20 over par.

90 even (par 71). Overall an encouraging round. I scored 43/47. The back nine had me at 1 over after 4 holes (bogey, birdie, bogey, par) and then I just lost my swing a bit, which I still do from time to time as I'm in the midst of making a pretty major swing change. I played +11 on the last 5 holes with 2 in the water and 1OB. That said, I haven't broken 90 since 2013, and I was right on track to before holes 14-17 derailed me. I'm making progress and am trending the right direction.

I'm currently in a similar place as the OP. In my lessons we worked a ton on keeping my head steady. That got all my contact to be much better, and we've transitioned to getting my weight forward and turning properly in the backswing. My driver distance has gone from 215 to 250 regularly and sometimes I can bomb in out there (relative) 270. It didn't immediately translate to my irons until we worked on it. Irons are different that the driver, and I wasn't getting my weight forward correctly. I've been "feeling" like I'm doing 3/4 swings with the irons where I concentrate on weight forward. It's working. My 5 iron is going 190 right now.

8 over through 13, 11 over on the last 5.

I shot the best 105 that anyone has ever shot. Let me explain. I've been working on key 1 A LOT. And my head has gotten much more steady. Last month on 2 difficult courses I shot a 91 and 93 which for me is very good. In my last lesson we started to move on to getting my weight forward, and we started by looking at video that had me really on my front foot even at the top of the swing. So we corrected that and I worked a few times this week on that. And the results were VERY noticeable. My driver distance increased this round from 220 if i really connected (rarely) to 260 average this round. All of my clubs were longer. And that is why I shot a 105. 1 sample hole will give you the idea: 385 yard par four. I drive it and my GPS says I have 123 yards to the front of the green. Normally that is a 9 iron for me, but in an attempt to adjust to the distance I play PW. I still hit it over the green by about 10 yards. Ended up being about 145 yards with my pitching wedge. That happened all day long to me. I never once came up short today, and only once did I judge my irons correctly. I was constantly hitting over. I hit long on a layup into a creek. I hit over greens, I hit long into bunkers. It was awesome and I can't wait for my next round so I can play used to everything going so much further. Best 105 ever.

Based on the video, you need to work on key 1, a lot.

Nevermind then, you seem to know all that you need to do already. No need for input from others.

I don't post a lot as I mostly lurk, and I am not a golf expert by any means, but... You seem all over the place in approach, and your post (#37) shows your results are all over the place which means your swing isn't at all repeatable. You got some great advice on the 5 keys early in this thread, but you seemed to just gloss right over it, and you seem fixated on the technical results of results measurement. Your path to 80 is clear: 1) work on putting and 2) get your full swing in order. RE: 2...post some video, work on one aspect at a time, and get to a point where you can consistently replicate the same swing over and over. Use video. Video. And more video. Forget launch angles and speeds and blah blah blah. Build a swing.

Hi. This is just one guy's opinion. I did golftec from Jan-Jun of 2013. When I started my index was 27, when I ended with them it was 19 and my best round had gone from 98 to 85. I stopped going because my wife was pregnant and I had other things going on. I thought golftec was great....or rather the teacher I had combined with the technology was great. If the teach sucks then I am sure the whole experience will suck. What I liked about it was instant feedback and the fact that I was indoors and not watching the ball. I could see that my measureables improved even if I hit it crappy. I think I paid 1100 for something like 12 half our lessons. I don't think that's too bad, as it also included a club fitting. For me the indoor aspect was better than being on the range. In the lessons I took my irons got much better, though I never worked with him on my driver and for me getting off the tee is still a massive weakness. I would also say don't worry about your clubs until you have a swing that is consistent and repeatable. At this point your swing will be way different 6 months from now and clubs you fit today may not fit then.

Had a kid in mid November and thus haven't played in forever. Got out for the first time in a while last weekend and felt a bit rusty. One thing I've been able to do is use an indoor facility near my work for 25-30 minutes once a week or so, and that seemed to help. I shot better than my handicap with a 91 (handicap is 21) which is a differential of about 19 on the course. That felt good. I shot 44 on the front and 47 on the back. Generally I struck the ball pretty well with my irons but was very inconsistent with my driver which is very much common for me. Best feeling of the day was hitting into a fairway bunker on 17 which left me with 135 to the middle of the green and pulling out my 8 iron and flushing it about 145 and hitting over the green. For me hitting an 8 iron that far means the work at the indoor place is paying off. Hopefully I'll be posting and playing more often now that we're out of the hard part of having the kid.