At Last.

I know I've posted a couple times regarding my "aha!" moments, each temporary solutions.

As for this one, I've finally figured it all out.

All the driving ranges were closed here in Kansas, since Winter is still about, but today's weather was the nicest at 48 degrees Ferenheit, so I decided to play 18.

First hole, Par 5 - only one on the tee so I hit about 6 different 'warm-up' balls with my driver, all slices...darn, still haven't figured the thing out after this winter break...oh well.

Somehow managed to eek out a par.

My 'aha' moment came on the second hole. Par 3, 150 yards downhill, 8 iron for me (usually). Behind the hole was the frozen lake, I could see a couple of golf balls still on the top surface, made me laugh.

As I walked to the tee, I was thinking about everything that had been through my head during this winter break. From Jeff Mann's e-book to Shootin's findings in regards to address, ending on this past weekend's CBS Coverage on the Nissan Open.

Shootin says setup with your stomach muscles flexed, when I did this, the inside of my upper arms glued to my chest, felt comfortable.

In the CBS Coverage of the NIssan Open, I remember seeing in one of their Slow-Mo videos of Padraig Harrington's swing. As some of you experts know, that the best golfers start their downswing with their lower body before the backswing of their upper body was even finished: everytime I saw that in my head, I figured why not - let's take that approach on this hole.

And last, but not least, I remembered that Jeff's book says something about how Ben Hogan said the downswing was like a side arm throw in baseball, or like skipping rocks across a lake. This was my final thought to combine all three.

So I did. And the results were incredible.

Not only was there additional power, there was that nice penetrating ball flight and the accuracy was considerably better than before. My driving off the tee was straight with a slight draw, I've never drawn my driver ever, not once.

The feeling is very odd though. My tempo feels blistering fast, but the results speak for themselves.

Something I should note. Even though my thoughts are what fueled this consistency, there could be a chance I'm not actually DOING what I set out to do. But I'm a feel player and the feeling is definitely there, so whether or not I'm right, it feels right.

After a while, not to discredit Shootin or Jeff, I just focused on starting my downswing before my backswing finished; thats it and the results were the exact same.

It's finally hit me how important your address is, and how having a mental image of a swing can result in consistency. These factors combined can result in some really enjoyable golf. I urge everyone to try it.

Can't wait for another outing, hopefully the weather can stay this nice. Take Care.

__________________
IN THE BAG:
- 10.5 deg GX Squared TI w/UST Proforce 65 SFlex (GigaGolf.com)
- Ben Hogan CFT Ti 3i Hybrid, Steel (Used)
- Nike Pro Combo 3-PW/TT DGSL S300 (From LowPost42 on GTO - Thanks man)
- 56 deg SGS "Score Grind Scale" Wedge (GigaGolf.com)
- 54 deg Cleveland CG10 Wedge
- White Polymer Putter Model 692 - Stainless Steel
- TaylorMade TP Red Golf Ball or Titleist DT Solo (Quite the difference I know)

MY GOLF BLOG

Hi Matt,

I think you have something here. Jack Nicklaus said if he wanted to swing smooth he would not think about the mechanics of that before the swing he would see a picture in his mind of himself making a smooth swing.

Good Job Matt, nice to know that as a 5 marker, complacency hasn't hit you and you are still driving yourself to get lower...

As I mentioned in another thread, I too had my "swing easy" cathartic golfing moment last weekend, and a 14 over 85 resulted. The good thing for me is I managed to post an 85 with 4 doubles and a triple. So, for me it means I played "single figure" golf for 13 holes.

Best round of the year to date for me and saw 0.9 shaved from h/cap in to 16.8 from 17.7

Can only endorse Brians thoughts......

Heres hoping it continues.

Cheers

__________________
Look at the Target, Look at the Ball, Swing... Dr Bob Rotella...

Scragger,

That was a great achievement over those 13 holes, you must be so close to breaking 80. Do it before the winter sets in the Antipodes

By the way what part of OZ do you hail from?

Thanks again Brian, yes, very happy with that result.

Very much anticipating that 70 Something......

Originally hail from country Victoria, about 2 hours drive east of Melbourne. Now, I live in suburban Melbourne, about 15klm or so north east of the CBD. My offices are literally 200m across the road from the MCG and if I tilt my head just so, I get a semi interupted view of light tower one and the top of the new Members stand...

Cheers

well matt, with an attitude like that I dont expect you will hold your five handicap
what are your goals this year, to try and get scratch
set up is THE MOST important of everything, you hit that one on the head. good luck man
enjoy the journey
seeker

That's it.

Once you have the correct mental picture in your mind, and you execute the golf mechanics correctly (Hogan's side-throw action), then your subconscious mind remembers the "feeling" and it becomes part of your swing. Just remember to go back to the golf mechanic basics if your swing breaks down, and rehearse the correct "feeling", so that it again becomes part of your subconscious. Then you only have to concentrate on timing and rhythm/tempo when you actually swing on the course.

Jeff.

It feels good that I'm on the right track, and this time around I'm working on the right stuff instead of the wrong things like I had the majority of last year.

I played a beatiful round -1 (69) in some absolutely gorgeous weather here in Kansas. The greens were rock hard though, so making an adjustment on club yardage was key. My driving was something out of this world, for me. I've never AVERAGED a consistent 250 yards, but today I did, my longest was a 280 yard drive on a par 5; in which I managed to get on in two - something I've never been able to do. My 30 foot putt for eagle lipped out which resulted in a routine bird.

The bad shots were what I would usually see from good players, like pulls and hooks - these were mine too. I'm probably going to get the video camera set up so I can study why I'm pulling my shots a bit and most noticeably struggling with my 8-PW irons.

Regarding setup, I fixed something that helped me be consistent with my driver. I made sure the only thing touching the ground was the heel of the driver (so toe is up) and with my 12 degree loft, I teed the ball lower than yesterday. Another thing that I worked on, on majority of shots in particular mid-irons, was using Hogan's right leg push at setup, keeping me from a reverse pivot.

I'll be playing another 18 tomorrow, the weather is supposed to go downhill again this weekend, so hopefully I can make it count.

__________________
IN THE BAG:
- 10.5 deg GX Squared TI w/UST Proforce 65 SFlex (GigaGolf.com)
- Ben Hogan CFT Ti 3i Hybrid, Steel (Used)
- Nike Pro Combo 3-PW/TT DGSL S300 (From LowPost42 on GTO - Thanks man)
- 56 deg SGS "Score Grind Scale" Wedge (GigaGolf.com)
- 54 deg Cleveland CG10 Wedge
- White Polymer Putter Model 692 - Stainless Steel
- TaylorMade TP Red Golf Ball or Titleist DT Solo (Quite the difference I know)

MY GOLF BLOG