The good, the bad, and the ugle

A rare opportunity to emulate my swing...

Putfile - Woodys Practice Range

Todd

The swings an art form Tod!

Interesting. I recorded the video on Saturday. I studied it a little and saw how short my backswing is, which I already knew. I hadn't been aware of how little I was bending my knees, though, because it *felt* like they were sufficiently flexed. But watching the video, I could see that they weren't bent enough to provide stability, so my upper body was rocking around a bit. I also noticed that even though I *felt* like my short backswing was slow enough, in fact it was rushed.

The great thing about video is the lesson it provides about the difference between what you're doing and what it feels like you're doing.

I mentioned in another post that for a long time, the worst part of my game has been my mid- and long irons, and that I often duff 10 or so iron shots in a round.

So, after making this video, I played 18 holes on Sunday. I didn't duff *any* iron shots. My score was 96, which is good for me but obviously nothing special. But I was also using a new putter, which I haven't gotten a feel for yet, so I did a lot of 3-putting. The main thing was: I wasn't duffing my irons.

So, what was different?

1. I used the modified "diagonal" grip that I had been experimenting with. The position of the club in my hand is no more than a centimeter different from what it was before, but it seems to make a difference in terms of finding the sweet spot.

2. I made an effort to take a bit more backswing. Not a lot more; just a little.

3. I flexed my knees more than I've been used to doing.

4. I set up the ball in the middle of my stance for all iron shots. I'd been resisting doing this, because of various things I've read about where the ball "should" be at setup. But whenever I've looked at divots or places where my irons s****e the grass, they've always started just at the center line between my feet. This may mean that I don't get my hips around enough, but I've been unable to fix it. So my usual iron shot has tended to be either very thin or topped or, if I hit it in the air, a pull-hook. All of that suggests that I'm making contact with the ball too late, so I just decided to give up trying to strike the ball further forward in my stance.

5. I slowed my backswing more than felt natural.

That's five changes to my swing, but since they all come at different times (except 2 and 5), it wasn't that hard to do. Once I have my grip, I get my foot/ball position, then the backswing.

So that was that. On the first hole, I hit a bad drive. I almost always do on the first hole. No matter how much I limber up, stretch, and so on, I seem to need to hit one bad ball before I can settle down and hit properly. Anyway, that bad drive only went about 150 yds, low and off to the left. I walked to it and took out my 5i, with 225 yds to go. I didn't choose the 5i because I thought I could make it to the green. I picked it because it was the longest iron that I could take out of the bag with some iota of confidence. I set up and swung, with the modifications described above, and hit a perfect shot that landed about 30 yds from the green. I was flabbergasted. Since when do I hit a 5i 190 yds?

I didn't pay too much attention, thinking it was just a fluke. On the next hole I got a decent drive, maybe 240 yds., in the middle of the fairway. I walked to the ball, shrugged, and took out the 5i again. Click--another nice long straight ball.

This kept happening. I'd take an iron out, and hit it clean and straight. Good distance. Sometimes my line was off, but then I'd check and I was aiming carelessly anyway. I never spent too much time on aim before, because my iron shots were so wild anyway.

I know too well that what "clicks" one day can easily unclick the next. But I just thought I'd share the experience of playing a round of golf where each shot was, well, golf-like.

Todd

PS -- Relevant to the recent discussion about True Length Technology, although my irons all seemed to work well, it was only the 5i that was giving me unusual distance, suggesting that that particular iron best fits the mechanics of my build and swing.

__________________
Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller

I like it. It's the same kind of thing I've been known to do for myself (right down to the hand signals).

Ubizmo, the one thing that stands out is that you don't look up to your target once during the video. That lends me to believe that you don't aim for a target during practice. Let's compare what you do during that video and what you probably must do during play.

Practice.

Focus on swing technique without an apparent purpose. You don't look at your target. You swing and strike the ball then look up to see where it went with no reference because you don't aim for a target. Because you have no reference, you can't correct either way. You are sending balls anywhere, you might as well send them nowhere.

Play.

You must aim at a target. But since you don't practice that, your skill in this matter is somewhat low. You miss shot after shot and probably get discouraged after a while. You don't have fun after that.

Bear in mind, I'm only speculating based on that single video of yours. Perhaps you do look up to your target during practice but you were focused on something else for the purpose of this video. I don't mean to be harsh.

I advise that you practice aiming for a target. Select a target down range and select the appropriate club for the distance. Focus on making proper contact with the ball. Maintain your eyes on the ball as long as you can during the swing even after the ball is gone. Instead of counting on power to strike the ball, count on precision to strike the ball. With high precision, the club transmits more power to the ball and thus sends it farther. The worse the contact, the less the power, the shorter the distance. So, instead of focusing on technique to produce power, focus on precision to strike the ball properly. Swing under control, not out of control.

In another thread, I wrote a short list of important things to consider during the swing. Here it is:

1. Maintain a solid and stable base on my feet and legs throughout.
2. Maintain focus on the ball with my eyes throughout.
3. Focus on making proper contact with the ball above all else.

Notice that there is barely any technical aspect to that list, it's just a few guidelines to follow. It describes my intent and nothing else, if you will. From this intent, I can deduce any technique that I need to satisfy this intent. No technique is taboo as long as I satisfy my intent. Notice also that it lacks the target, that is so obvious to me that I leave it out of that list. Instead, it is the ultimate purpose of that list in the first place. Anyway, I don't aim for the target during the swing, I do so before I swing.

My purpose is to send the ball to the target using the club. That short list allows me to do just that. In your case, I advise that you begin your short list, if you have one, with the explicit command "aim for a target". At least until it becomes automatic. I also advise that you use the exact same list during practice and during play.

That's not entirely true, but I concede that the purpose of that particular practice session was not aim, but ball striking. It it pointless to make a fuss about aim if you can't reliably strike the golf ball.

Again, this isn't entirely true. My goal is to send the balls reasonably straight toward the fence. I do stand behind the ball occasionally to remind myself of that.

In play, I use a secondary target and therefore don't look up at the primary target during setup. My secondary target is just a couple of feet ahead of the ball. This helps me to keep my attention on the ball and impact.

Yes, here I have to agree. I try to make myself *watch* the moment of impact, and I remind myself to see the spot that the ball vacates. This isn't easy, but I find it's crucial. I sometimes imagine that I am "locked on" to the ball during setup, which is another reason why I don't glance up at the target until the finish...if I'm doing it right.

Well, as I see it, technique is the key to precision. I am naturally strong but I don't swing a golf club with anything approaching maximum power, because if I do, my technique and precision go out the window--and they are barely *in* the window to begin with.

__________________
Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller

A drill I use to remind me of what's important once in a while.

Address the ball normally. Do a half swing. Maintain focus on the ball throughout and even after it's well gone. More specifically, maintain focus on the spot where the ball is. Focus on making proper contact above all else. Don't look up at my target. This drill is intended to practice my will, not my technique.

It helps me eliminate any tendency to look up prematurely at where the ball is going. It helps me make better contact than otherwise. It helps me eliminate any superfluous action that can reduce precision. It's a sort of first step toward sending the ball to the target. Before I can send the ball to the target I must be able to strike the ball properly. This drill allows me to focus on that and only that.

I become more confident at making proper contact. As a result, I become deliberate in my actions, I am in no hurry to strike the ball. As a result of that, I make even better contact and that drives my confidence even higher.

Perhaps it helps you as well.