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***Official 2025 Golf Thread,, woz humblebrags he's secretly a plus hcp*** (12 Viewers)
- Thread starter belljr
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Instinctive
Footballguy
So excited to be on a heater. +11, +12, +16, +11 and +21 last few rounds. The 21 included the 3 birdies though! Just some bad dumb other stuff.
Finally feels like some stuff is clicking.
Putting is going great. I haven't had a bad duff/chunk/top with a club more than ~3 in a round in this streak, and only 1 each in the +11/12s. I'm finding a lot of fairways, but the tee game is still what's killing me. The next two big things to correct should keep me moving up, assuming I can hold onto what I have.
1. I have to get better off the tee. Two ways: first, irons on par 3s off the tee are >50% of my mishits, and it's very punishing (OB, penalties, or just being horribly far short and guaranteeing at least a bogey). Second, my driver is averaging like 205 but ranging up to 240 and is a big-time two way miss day to day. Some days, it's straight or a pull. Some days its a fade out to a slice. I have mitigated it by taking out my trusty 3H on any hole where a 200 yard drive in the fairway would leave me with 170 or less into the center of the green because damn that club is money.
2. I can't hit a wood to save my life. I'd guess similar issues to whatever I do with the driver given how long shaft is, but I haven't used it in a round in a long time. Just every few range sessions try it and see if I can work out how to hit it...cannot.
The short tee shots with irons I've adjusted by just teeing it up a bit, knowing I'll get a little under it, and taking an extra club - to excellent results. Elsewhere on the course I've been able to really smooth the swing and rhythm and "hey, no need to kill it, just a nice easy pure strike" is working wonders - tee shots I guess my brain is like you better hit this! So the extra club is helping me really stick to the easy swing.
But the driver holes and anything long that a fairway wood would help...I have no club. The driver when I hit it well is a definite benefit over my 3H, so I need to stick with it. And it sure would be nice to have a 3W to hit 225+ on long par 5s, especially if I was able to hit a great drive and gain back some distance there. Way back when I first took lessons at school, I could drive it 250. Based on all my other clubs, i think I'd be fairly capable of drives 240+ if I can get the same solid contact and smash factor as I am now getting on irons again.
Putting is going seriously well. Maybe 1 3-putt/round, often 3-putt free, and many 1-putts. Part of that is better approach/chipping too, but all in all short game feels great.
Finally feels like some stuff is clicking.
Putting is going great. I haven't had a bad duff/chunk/top with a club more than ~3 in a round in this streak, and only 1 each in the +11/12s. I'm finding a lot of fairways, but the tee game is still what's killing me. The next two big things to correct should keep me moving up, assuming I can hold onto what I have.
1. I have to get better off the tee. Two ways: first, irons on par 3s off the tee are >50% of my mishits, and it's very punishing (OB, penalties, or just being horribly far short and guaranteeing at least a bogey). Second, my driver is averaging like 205 but ranging up to 240 and is a big-time two way miss day to day. Some days, it's straight or a pull. Some days its a fade out to a slice. I have mitigated it by taking out my trusty 3H on any hole where a 200 yard drive in the fairway would leave me with 170 or less into the center of the green because damn that club is money.
2. I can't hit a wood to save my life. I'd guess similar issues to whatever I do with the driver given how long shaft is, but I haven't used it in a round in a long time. Just every few range sessions try it and see if I can work out how to hit it...cannot.
The short tee shots with irons I've adjusted by just teeing it up a bit, knowing I'll get a little under it, and taking an extra club - to excellent results. Elsewhere on the course I've been able to really smooth the swing and rhythm and "hey, no need to kill it, just a nice easy pure strike" is working wonders - tee shots I guess my brain is like you better hit this! So the extra club is helping me really stick to the easy swing.
But the driver holes and anything long that a fairway wood would help...I have no club. The driver when I hit it well is a definite benefit over my 3H, so I need to stick with it. And it sure would be nice to have a 3W to hit 225+ on long par 5s, especially if I was able to hit a great drive and gain back some distance there. Way back when I first took lessons at school, I could drive it 250. Based on all my other clubs, i think I'd be fairly capable of drives 240+ if I can get the same solid contact and smash factor as I am now getting on irons again.
Putting is going seriously well. Maybe 1 3-putt/round, often 3-putt free, and many 1-putts. Part of that is better approach/chipping too, but all in all short game feels great.
Zow
Footballguy
Played in my interclub match today at a very nice course (and against some notables).
Fortunately, I didn't have to play as our scratch player this time. I still started out terribly and was down 3 holes through six but won the last three holes of the first nine and crushed the backside to win the back and the overall. Was like 11 over through 6 holes then played even. On hole five my playing partner implores me to start drinking (was way ahead of him with a flask, game just didn't reflect it yet
).
I love match play. I played like crap overall but way better than my opponent to take down almost all the available points for my club after playing better my prior two rounds out and losing.
Fortunately, I didn't have to play as our scratch player this time. I still started out terribly and was down 3 holes through six but won the last three holes of the first nine and crushed the backside to win the back and the overall. Was like 11 over through 6 holes then played even. On hole five my playing partner implores me to start drinking (was way ahead of him with a flask, game just didn't reflect it yet
).I love match play. I played like crap overall but way better than my opponent to take down almost all the available points for my club after playing better my prior two rounds out and losing.
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BeTheMatch
Footballguy
Two weeks and change away from our annual 12-man Ryder Cup format four-day drinkathon.
BeTheMatch
Footballguy
Little bit of an interesting twist with the teams this year.
Opposing team will have the top two players, but also the bottom two in the group.
I think it could handcuff them with matchups. We'll see.
Day 1 will feature our top two players (I'm one of them) going against their top two. Love the underdog role.
I took down the No. 1 player in singles last year (round of my life) to help get us the team win. So he'll be looking for payback.
Zow
Footballguy
Is it net?
Instinctive
Footballguy
OMG 86 today (+14) and the driver was alternately awesome and terrible. Pulled a few irons too, i think due to messing with driver screen.
Front 9: +9 - 1 par, 1 double, 7 bogeys
Back 9: +5 - 2 doubles, a bogey, 6 pars
Those pars are basically all par 3s or a par 4/5 where I hit the driver well. Course was fairly long at 6500, but their tees were only like 5300, 6500, or 7200 (no way I'm playing over 7000, and 5300 feels way too short).
So the course length was basically at the absolute peak of what I'm willing to play. I try to be 6000-6200 as the sweetspot.
Driver >215 = great shot in.
Driver <215 = often needed to stripe my 3H (which I sometimes did) or hit a 5i perfectly (which I sometimes did) to have a chance at the green.
Putting: today I went solo and I think I lost 2-3 strokes by not being able to see anyone else's putts. Like one green way faster than I thought, one more uphill than i thought, that kind of stuff. I think two in particular made me 3-putt where if I had seen some other balls roll on green I'd have had a better pace. So who knows, but I think this is a part of the game where I do learn a lot from other putts.
Front 9: +9 - 1 par, 1 double, 7 bogeys
Back 9: +5 - 2 doubles, a bogey, 6 pars
Those pars are basically all par 3s or a par 4/5 where I hit the driver well. Course was fairly long at 6500, but their tees were only like 5300, 6500, or 7200 (no way I'm playing over 7000, and 5300 feels way too short).
So the course length was basically at the absolute peak of what I'm willing to play. I try to be 6000-6200 as the sweetspot.
Driver >215 = great shot in.
Driver <215 = often needed to stripe my 3H (which I sometimes did) or hit a 5i perfectly (which I sometimes did) to have a chance at the green.
Putting: today I went solo and I think I lost 2-3 strokes by not being able to see anyone else's putts. Like one green way faster than I thought, one more uphill than i thought, that kind of stuff. I think two in particular made me 3-putt where if I had seen some other balls roll on green I'd have had a better pace. So who knows, but I think this is a part of the game where I do learn a lot from other putts.
Instinctive
Footballguy
Nope. Just Yellow-White-Blue (well, there's also a Green but that was SUPER short, like 100+ yards on par 4/5s in front of the whites, I think for juniors).
The blues were bonkers. Like in my home courses I see the tips and am always like "maybe one day" and it feels attainably beyond the typical blue men's tees...but that massive over 7k there were holes where I was driving like 60-100 yards past the initial tees just to get to mine.
Course was gorgeous though. Up and down in the mountains, beautiful views all over...Couple awesome holes where my drive was like an amazing 265 or something, because it was SO FAR downhill - Arccos is telling me the smart drive distance was like 218 (still great for me!). It was so cool. Had a par 3 where I clubbed up twice because it was that far above me.
BeTheMatch
Footballguy
Zow
Footballguy
Got your work cut out but no pressure when you’re supposed to lose. Swing hard, take chances, talk ****!
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Zow
Footballguy
So I have a confession to make on my playing strategy in matches. If my opponent is over 55 years old, I’ll take my first practice swing with the driver at 110% (ie harder than I’m ever going to actually swing).
If it gets a reaction, my opponent is in trouble. If I get no reaction or a wry smirk, I’m in trouble and I know I better make it up ball striking because my opponent is not making worse than bogey and will have a short game like Aaron Baddeley.
If it gets a reaction, my opponent is in trouble. If I get no reaction or a wry smirk, I’m in trouble and I know I better make it up ball striking because my opponent is not making worse than bogey and will have a short game like Aaron Baddeley.
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BeTheMatch
Footballguy
My partner this year does not view us as underdogs because he just doesn't operate that way. But we are. Fairly significant ones. It'll be fun heaping all the pressure on them.
Last year, their top guy was genuinely happy for me when I put it on him in singles match play. I shot 37 on the front 9 to take a good lead. Everyone in our group was freaking out at the turn with me 3 up. So all of a sudden it got a little less loosey goosey for me on the back.
I was a little nervous on the back (compared to the front) but walked to a 5 and 3 win. Biggest margin anyone has had in any of our matches over the years.
He played decent enough for him but must've lipped out like 8-9 putts. All he could do was laugh.
I kind of stopped playing after sewing it up, even though we do finish all our rounds. Lost focus and finished with a couple doubles because of all the celebrating. Shot 44 on the back for an 81.
Was pissed at myself for not breaking 80.
Truebluey
Footballguy
So I'm just getting back into golf after a 30- year hiatus. I'm getting a professional fitting on Wednesday and I'm really excited.
Is this thread an appropriate place to ask what people are playing, and why? If so, I have a few questions. If not, I can start a separate thread.
Is this thread an appropriate place to ask what people are playing, and why? If so, I have a few questions. If not, I can start a separate thread.
Zow
Footballguy
For sure.
My short answer is that I play what I fit into. Best money I've spent in a long time.
Instinctive
Footballguy
Absolutely it is appropriate
Truebluey
Footballguy
OK great.
So I played 2-3 times a week 30 years ago, got my ghin down to around 15, then kids arrived, I didn't have the time, switched to tennis.
But I played with my old buddies in CO occasionally and always had fun (like once every 2 years). Just visited them in June to celebrate my retirement and my friend loaned me his clubs (TM driver and Mizuno JPX irons) and omg! I drove it longer and straighter than I ever have and the irons were just so EASY to hit.
So I'm hooked again. Going to the driving range, got a few lessons from a pro, joined my local senior men's club. Having a blast. The pro is going to give me a professional fitting on Wednesday to get a set of irons. To replace my old 1980 box set Rams.
This will be my final set I guess. I'm 67, retired, bad back, but fit (the tennis). I hope I use them for the next 15 years.
So does anyone play irons that might be a good fit for a player like me? How do you like them? Anything specific I should look for?
I actually didn't have getting back into golf on my retirement bingo card.
BeTheMatch
Footballguy
There are a lot variables on what's best for you. If you trust the guy doing the fitting, just listen to him. I'd buy whatever he says unless it's out of your price range. If that's the case, ask him for a lower-cost option that fits you best. And do that.
Truebluey
Footballguy
Great advice. He's seen my game, seems to understand my swing, and he's excited for me to get my new shinies. At least half my motivation to get new clubs is that I know it will make me excited to get out on the course and play them.
Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
Instinctive
Footballguy
Their description is weird. It looks and sounds like just a higher lofted hybrid? I wouldn't mind that. I can;t hit a fairway wood to save my life but my 3H is the most reliable club in the bag not named putter/wedge.
Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
The head is bigger than a hybrid, it's closer to a 9 wood but they don't call it that since those are typically 24/25 degree loft. It's labeled as "utility" I think because it can also be used out of the rough so isn't a true "fairway" wood.
Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
I guess in general I would say it's two things - aligning the ball correctly in the stance and what the attack angle is.
The first is pretty easy to explain - for 3 woods I line the ball up with my front hip (or "left nut" if you want to be crude). The other woods move it slightly closer to center for each.
The second is harder. I guess I'd say it this way: When hitting driver I think "hit up" on the ball. For irons, it's more of a down strike. For fairway woods it's thinking "swing at and through". A lot of that is setting up with my grip properly so I ensure I'm "sweeping" the ground at the right length to make contact.
CGRdrJoe
Footballguy
I swing my 3 wood in the fairway the exact same as my long irons but maybe a tad shallower with the divot. I used to sweep with it but during a driver lesson the instructor had me hit a few 3 woods off the deck during the warm up and he immediately changed my thought process with the club. It kind of sucked because it chewed into my driver lesson but in the end it was still worth the 10 minute side track.
The Gator
Footballguy
My favorite club is my 15 year old big Bertha 5 wood. I can rip that pretty well, easily right around 200-220 with smooth swings.
Now my 3 wood is another story so far lol
The Gator
Footballguy
My local sim place is having an Avoda club fitting session in a few weeks. I have no intention to get fitted yet, wanted to play consistently for 6 months to a year before getting fitted with nicer clubs.
The question: should I still go and see what the process is and get more info on my swing?
The question: should I still go and see what the process is and get more info on my swing?
Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
That's probably a better way to put it. "Divot" to me in this case is kind of thinking "remove the grass down to the turf - but don't take out much dirt". The key, I think, is to imagine getting the club face to connect with the ball as if it was on the tee, which naturally will give you SOME interaction with the ground.
Judge Smails
Footballguy
I'm pretty good with fairway woods (weird - I can't hit hybrids, everything is a hook). Key with fairway woods is just trusting that there is plenty of loft to get the ball airborne. Can't try to lift it - that doesn't work with any club, especially fairway woods. It's not on a tee like driver, so you can't swing up. But a lot of people get way too steep. If you go straight down you'll just hit weak pop ups. Very slight descending blow with ball slightly left of center.
TLEF316
Footballguy
We've been planning to go to Bandon in October of next year for well over a year now. We were just waiting for the booking window to open up. The website has been showing "booking through September 30th" for months now.
Apparently in the last month they implemented some sort of lottery booking system and it basically killed the trip. Not sure if the rest of the group (its mostly my brother's friends, so I'm not the planner) just kinda lost interest or if we pulled a bad lottery number (meaning we basically had no chance of getting a decent date...or any date at all in the window) but now its all fallen apart.
To say I'm bummed is an understatement. Between this and my game absolutely falling to pieces (dont even want to get started talking about that. We're in a DARK place) its been a pretty rough end to the summer.
Apparently in the last month they implemented some sort of lottery booking system and it basically killed the trip. Not sure if the rest of the group (its mostly my brother's friends, so I'm not the planner) just kinda lost interest or if we pulled a bad lottery number (meaning we basically had no chance of getting a decent date...or any date at all in the window) but now its all fallen apart.
To say I'm bummed is an understatement. Between this and my game absolutely falling to pieces (dont even want to get started talking about that. We're in a DARK place) its been a pretty rough end to the summer.
Dr_Zaius
Footballguy
It's funny to see the "move the butt cheek" referenced in here, because I've been trying to use it as a swing thought to stop spraying balls all over the place after seeing it on Youtube a couple of weeks ago.
Had my best 9 since June last night with a 43. Could have been even better as I was +2 through 5, but then shanked an 8-iron into the water on 6 and then took 5 to get home from 100 yards out on 7 for back to back doubles.
Butt thought was apparently working for my driver as I was 6/7 for fairways with the miss being only a couple yards off. Short irons were another story unfortunately - I hit a couple of really nice ones, but my last three full swings with them I left the club completely open for bad misses.
Had my best 9 since June last night with a 43. Could have been even better as I was +2 through 5, but then shanked an 8-iron into the water on 6 and then took 5 to get home from 100 yards out on 7 for back to back doubles.
Butt thought was apparently working for my driver as I was 6/7 for fairways with the miss being only a couple yards off. Short irons were another story unfortunately - I hit a couple of really nice ones, but my last three full swings with them I left the club completely open for bad misses.
jb1020
Footballguy
Been playing a ton this summer. My 14 year old is officially obsessed, which is nice. He's one of those kids with a temper and things just fall apart for him when he hits a bad shot. Thats been the most challenging thing.
I never really kept up with my HCP until about 2 years ago. I've always declared it about an 18. When I started keeping up with it was a 16. Down to a 14 at the moment. Its a pretty good feeling. I swear though, I still lip out at least 5 or more 5-10ft putts every single round. It drives me absolutely crazy.
Going back to my kid...He gets lessons pretty regularly. I've played golf for 35 years, but swing mechanics is completely over my head. I give him next to no tips on his swing and tell him to trust the professional. The only tip I ever gave him was to slow his swing down and not try to kill it. Makes sense huh? I try to keep the same thing in mind. He recently developed a bad slice off the tee. His coach told him he was decelerating with his driver and leaving it open.
We played the other day and he was crushing it off the tee. I've been pretty inconsistent with my driver for a while now. I figured I might just try killing it too. My average good drive was about 270, but I rarely hit the fairway. 300+ yards just about every drive last weekend. I think I hit 8 of 14 fairways. Great feeling.
Had my best 9 since I was probably in college the other day. +4, 5/8 fairways and 7/9 GIR. 2 bogeys, 6 Pars and Double.
I never really kept up with my HCP until about 2 years ago. I've always declared it about an 18. When I started keeping up with it was a 16. Down to a 14 at the moment. Its a pretty good feeling. I swear though, I still lip out at least 5 or more 5-10ft putts every single round. It drives me absolutely crazy.
Going back to my kid...He gets lessons pretty regularly. I've played golf for 35 years, but swing mechanics is completely over my head. I give him next to no tips on his swing and tell him to trust the professional. The only tip I ever gave him was to slow his swing down and not try to kill it. Makes sense huh? I try to keep the same thing in mind. He recently developed a bad slice off the tee. His coach told him he was decelerating with his driver and leaving it open.
We played the other day and he was crushing it off the tee. I've been pretty inconsistent with my driver for a while now. I figured I might just try killing it too. My average good drive was about 270, but I rarely hit the fairway. 300+ yards just about every drive last weekend. I think I hit 8 of 14 fairways. Great feeling.
Had my best 9 since I was probably in college the other day. +4, 5/8 fairways and 7/9 GIR. 2 bogeys, 6 Pars and Double.
Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
That's a huge part of the game, actually.
I remember bending the shaft of my 3 wood by hitting my golf bag with it after a bad shot. Turns out the ball was still in the same spot when I got to it, and now I had a bent 3 wood. I calmed down my mind considerably after that point.
Zow
Footballguy
Yeah I really appreciate my fitter because he's always given me two options: 1) the absolute best fit regardless of cost; and 2) a nearly as good fit that is significantly less expensive (the difference is usually found in the shaft options). We then have a frank discussion about whether the difference is negligible or worth paying for.
Zow
Footballguy
My nephew just made his high school golf team and I've played a few rounds with him and his friends over the last year. They all seem to do this too where they think every shot they hit should be perfect and then throw a tantrum when they don't. I'm sure my friends and I probably acted the same way and I'm just willfully misremembering, but what you're describing about your son seems consistent with a lot of kids his age who play.
They're honestly kind of frustrating to play with. They all insist on playing the back tees then throw tantrums but when do shoot 72 and almost all seem to lie about their scores.
Judge Smails
Footballguy
Yeah fix these kids golf mentality ASAP. Lead by example of course. Nobody wants to play with “that guy”. Throw a club? Round is over. Walk back to the clubhouse. Tantrums? Golf time out. Mandate golf etiquette. Or they aren’t on the tee sheet. It’s a privilege to play. Nobody remembers your score. But they do remember how you act. It’s not all about you.
Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
I am counting the days where I can "legally" move up to the senior tees. Lol
Can't remember if I posted this before but the average driving distance drops considerably as we age. Upside is our accuracy typically increases.
How much driving distance golfers lose as they age, according to new data
A new distance study from the game-tracking app Arccos reveals much about amateurs' driving distance and accuracy.
golf.com
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belljr
Footballguy
And I feel like I hit the ball solid. The funny thing is I'm probably only off a half a club with my irons maybe 1. Just my driver lost a lot. I play almost all the same courses I did before and be like. It wasn't long ago that that bunker wasn't even in play off the T cuz I would just fly it or I remember I could reach this par 5 green with a five iron in my second shotI am counting the days where I can "legally" move up to the senior tees. Lol
Can't remember if I posted this before but the average driving distance drops considerably as we age. Upside is our accuracy typically increases.
How much driving distance golfers lose as they age, according to new data
A new distance study from the game-tracking app Arccos reveals much about amateurs' driving distance and accuracy.
belljr
Footballguy
Cool according to that I'm above average and hitting it above my HCP!!! Lol win winI am counting the days where I can "legally" move up to the senior tees. Lol
Can't remember if I posted this before but the average driving distance drops considerably as we age. Upside is our accuracy typically increases.
How much driving distance golfers lose as they age, according to new data
A new distance study from the game-tracking app Arccos reveals much about amateurs' driving distance and accuracy.
Instinctive
Footballguy
Amazing lesson today. Coach said on Sunday he told all the pros they'd have a contest for best lesson of the week and he thinks he has it in the bag now LOL.
Basically, the last 2 weeks have been incredible.
I went from: somewhere between 25-40% of iron shots are godawful, between basically a wasted shot and worse (penalty/OB/etc)...to maybe 1-3 bad shots in an entire round, scores dropped from at best I'm at 90 and average I'm needing great short game to keep me under 100 or a couple lucky bounces to avoid penalties all the way to mid 80s (83, 92, 83, 87, 86) with generally great iron striking.
The big change is I spent a week hitting balls an hour or two every day on the mat with a camera pointed at me. I'd hit 4 balls, track whether I thought it was good or bad, and then watch slo mo all four swings, a bunch, and compare/contrast good with good and good with bad to find differences and commonalities. Throughout that, basically figured out if I have a super short backswing, I make amazing contact. So that's what I did. And it shows on all these recent rounds.
So i get to the lesson, warm up a bit, coach is like astounded. Comments to the other guy setting up for a lesson "look at this stripe show, we must be doing something right." Then I immediately ding the 150 yard pole with an 8-iron (exactly where I was aiming) and they kind of lost their minds in a fun way. So I told him the above, and he says "You can really tell. You're in what we can call the pocket, and everything in the pocket is great. You've figured out club face, the swing path is great, even a couple heavy or thin are flying straight and true, maybe a small draw that's beautiful."
I was like "Ok, but I SUCK with the driver still, have no idea how to swing it, and i am somewhere between a pull draw and a strong draw with my 3H. Consistent, but I'd love to hit it straighter. My 5i and maybe 6i fade on me in a way the other clubs don't."
And he basically walks through, with a series of drills and swing tools and then drills and swapping between clubs and stuff and one very important drill designed to "give your arms freedom, create space for power, but maintain the beautiful pocket you've gotten to."
The main drill is one where I just stop at the peak of my backswing (which is still short, club is maybe just past parallel to the ground), do a full one count, then swing, and don;t try to kill it, recognize that it'll go less far and focus on contact. He said it's really hard so we'll try it and stick with it. And I immediately just start hitting them near perfect. He's like "This is a totally different person than the guy I've coached for a year man oh my god. Now pause for a two count, super long." Just keep hitting them great, a little heavy here or there. Looking good.
So we pull out an iron again and he's like now instead of the pause, keep your turn going and let your arms go where they go. Hit a couple bad ones unwinding, hit a couple good, talk through it. And he moved my weight, like physically has me not lean per se, but it kind of felt like leaning (on video, doesn't look like a lean at all) and is like now do that, same rhythm but during the pause time, the turn just keeps going, weight is moving to back foot, and arms go where they go.
Just start mashing it. 8-iron hits that honestly still weren't perfect are going 7-iron distance. So do a bunch of that, a couple more drills tweaking bits, etc.
Now it's driver time. Same concept, longer club, do the same things. So we worked a ton to keep the weight shift, fixed where I have the ball position (it's about right relative to feet, but my torse made it so the ball was practically middle of my shirt, added a little torso tilt, made sure the weight shift went, made the backswing a little faster so the same timing rhythm applied to the longer club...OMG it was just mashing.
So the final fix to work on is that this new, MUCH more powerful swing, has a fade tendency. The line is perfect, so the face is a little open (and moreso the longer the club). So we're towards the end, he shoes me a couple drills, does a physically grab my arms in driver swing and show where the face needs to close (really feels like my arms roll forward in the downswing basically) and then is basically like with all irons, for a while when you're on your mat at home, do a full shot like this, then do a chip (because my chips are all dead straight or slight draws) to learn the face control.
So that's what I'm doing. He said most of the drives at the end, even with that sometimes fairly large fade, were going like 250-265, with range balls. There's a LOT of power in there. If we can keep the ball striking but add that length and space, it's like a full club, maybe more, on every club.
FEELS INCREDIBLE. Can't wait to play Friday.
Basically, the last 2 weeks have been incredible.
I went from: somewhere between 25-40% of iron shots are godawful, between basically a wasted shot and worse (penalty/OB/etc)...to maybe 1-3 bad shots in an entire round, scores dropped from at best I'm at 90 and average I'm needing great short game to keep me under 100 or a couple lucky bounces to avoid penalties all the way to mid 80s (83, 92, 83, 87, 86) with generally great iron striking.
The big change is I spent a week hitting balls an hour or two every day on the mat with a camera pointed at me. I'd hit 4 balls, track whether I thought it was good or bad, and then watch slo mo all four swings, a bunch, and compare/contrast good with good and good with bad to find differences and commonalities. Throughout that, basically figured out if I have a super short backswing, I make amazing contact. So that's what I did. And it shows on all these recent rounds.
So i get to the lesson, warm up a bit, coach is like astounded. Comments to the other guy setting up for a lesson "look at this stripe show, we must be doing something right." Then I immediately ding the 150 yard pole with an 8-iron (exactly where I was aiming) and they kind of lost their minds in a fun way. So I told him the above, and he says "You can really tell. You're in what we can call the pocket, and everything in the pocket is great. You've figured out club face, the swing path is great, even a couple heavy or thin are flying straight and true, maybe a small draw that's beautiful."
I was like "Ok, but I SUCK with the driver still, have no idea how to swing it, and i am somewhere between a pull draw and a strong draw with my 3H. Consistent, but I'd love to hit it straighter. My 5i and maybe 6i fade on me in a way the other clubs don't."
And he basically walks through, with a series of drills and swing tools and then drills and swapping between clubs and stuff and one very important drill designed to "give your arms freedom, create space for power, but maintain the beautiful pocket you've gotten to."
The main drill is one where I just stop at the peak of my backswing (which is still short, club is maybe just past parallel to the ground), do a full one count, then swing, and don;t try to kill it, recognize that it'll go less far and focus on contact. He said it's really hard so we'll try it and stick with it. And I immediately just start hitting them near perfect. He's like "This is a totally different person than the guy I've coached for a year man oh my god. Now pause for a two count, super long." Just keep hitting them great, a little heavy here or there. Looking good.
So we pull out an iron again and he's like now instead of the pause, keep your turn going and let your arms go where they go. Hit a couple bad ones unwinding, hit a couple good, talk through it. And he moved my weight, like physically has me not lean per se, but it kind of felt like leaning (on video, doesn't look like a lean at all) and is like now do that, same rhythm but during the pause time, the turn just keeps going, weight is moving to back foot, and arms go where they go.
Just start mashing it. 8-iron hits that honestly still weren't perfect are going 7-iron distance. So do a bunch of that, a couple more drills tweaking bits, etc.
Now it's driver time. Same concept, longer club, do the same things. So we worked a ton to keep the weight shift, fixed where I have the ball position (it's about right relative to feet, but my torse made it so the ball was practically middle of my shirt, added a little torso tilt, made sure the weight shift went, made the backswing a little faster so the same timing rhythm applied to the longer club...OMG it was just mashing.
So the final fix to work on is that this new, MUCH more powerful swing, has a fade tendency. The line is perfect, so the face is a little open (and moreso the longer the club). So we're towards the end, he shoes me a couple drills, does a physically grab my arms in driver swing and show where the face needs to close (really feels like my arms roll forward in the downswing basically) and then is basically like with all irons, for a while when you're on your mat at home, do a full shot like this, then do a chip (because my chips are all dead straight or slight draws) to learn the face control.
So that's what I'm doing. He said most of the drives at the end, even with that sometimes fairly large fade, were going like 250-265, with range balls. There's a LOT of power in there. If we can keep the ball striking but add that length and space, it's like a full club, maybe more, on every club.
FEELS INCREDIBLE. Can't wait to play Friday.
Instinctive
Footballguy
Oh and my HCP is down to 15.0 from like 21.2.
Goal for the year was to get from 18 to 13. Not a linear path, but sure feeling good right now.
Goal for the year was to get from 18 to 13. Not a linear path, but sure feeling good right now.
Judge Smails
Footballguy
Great stuff. But “club just past parallel to the ground at the top” is a short backswing?
Instinctive
Footballguy
Like it goes from the ground until it becomes parallel, and no further. Not all the way up to the top and parallel pointing down range. Parallel and pointing behind me still.
Edit: maybe that makes more sense? But basically it's about half a swing, maybe 60% as long as compared to what we worked on today.
Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
I'd guess this means our hands go just above hip level and not above shoulder level.
jb1020
Footballguy
Oh, he's already snapped a pitching wedge after chunking it. My dad actually bought him a new set of Mizuno irons and it was one of those. I made him call my his grandad and apologize.
Might have been a bit too much, but damn that was a rough day.
Cowboysfan8
Footballguy
I think he means the first time in the backswing that the club is parallel to the ground
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