Is there a tipping point?

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Alex1975

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Hi all,

I am interested in story's from people who have made rapid progress after understanding a or some fundamentals about there swing.

I have been working on a real grow ups golf swing over this winter and it is feeling a bit special in places. I have been down some blind alleys that really hampered my progress in the past but I am definatly on to something now.

Is there a tipping point? A point where you have started to feel the things you have been told about.

I would dearly like to start putting more time into my chipping and putting.

Al
 
Not sure. Been having some lessons (well two) with a new teacher and hit some balls last Tuesday and it clicked. Wow. Longer straighter and with a better flight than anything I've had in many years. Went to the range today. Couldn't replicate it. Story of my golf though. Too inconsistent. On my day I am a decent player but too many off days.
 
HomerJSimpson said:
Not sure. Been having some lessons (well two) with a new teacher and hit some balls last Tuesday and it clicked. Wow. Longer straighter and with a better flight than anything I've had in many years. Went to the range today. Couldn't replicate it. Story of my golf though. Too inconsistent. On my day I am a decent player but too many off days.
Click to expand...

Ok but how about between 28 and 13? Did it take years or did you do it in a chunk after working something through?
 
I could not hit a ball with my irons at all, until a guy at work gave me a dvd to watch Aj Bonnar's the truth about golf and i was forever trying to slide my club under the ball rather than aiming for the equator of the ball DING it was like those cartoons where you see a light bulb above the head within weeks i could hit my irons and went from hcp 18 to 14 and shot a net 60 to win my 2nd medal.
 
My first handicap was 14.1. I struggled off that for a long time. I was guilty of trying to smash the ball on every shot. I was hitting a PW 150yrds but nowhere near the direction I wanted.
Had a lightbulb moment when I had pulled a muscle meaning I couldn't swash buckle on everyshot. I played some of my best golf because I had to think about the shots I was attempting.
I've lost alot of yardage on my irons but I couldnt care less.
Single figures is teasing me and I want it so so bad it hurts!
 
I had a lightbulb moment last year. I have always been a fader, but I have realised that with no realignment I can hit a draw just by making my swing shallower. I have now started hitting down the right hand side of 17 and 18 at my course where there is out of bounds knowing it will come back to centre fairway (mostly!). It's changed the way I play, and my handicap is 3 lower than it has ever been and I feel I have a way of tackling any shaped hole. So to speak.
 
I am keen to stay cool and move forward slowly now I feel that I on a good road. I am going to have a friend look at the swing this week with a slow mo camera and a different set of eyes to check I am where I think I am.


I am praying that he does not say "I still think we can move the weight forward a little bit more"..... As I feel I am in the swing as long as I can be now.
 
Alex1975 said:
Hi all,

I am interested in story's from people who have made rapid progress after understanding a or some fundamentals about there swing.

I have been working on a real grow ups golf swing over this winter and it is feeling a bit special in places. I have been down some blind alleys that really hampered my progress in the past but I am definatly on to something now.

Is there a tipping point? A point where you have started to feel the things you have been told about.

I would dearly like to start putting more time into my chipping and putting.

Al
Click to expand...

Performance improvents tends to progress through plateaus, so you hit a level stay around it for a while and then have a jump in performance. It is generally considered in the area of skill acquisition than performane and learning are not the same thing and the suggestion would be that you are still learning during the plateau phase and sorting out how to bring the newly acquired abilities into the rest of your game. Improvements can come about through areas such as teh technical, physical, mental or tactical parts of a skill.
 
Al,

I'm not sure how long you've been playing etc, so can't speak for your game, but in my experience, yes, there is often a tipping point...

Mine was when I was a junior though, so I don't know if at that age (early to mid teens) the human body is more "programable".

I went from a 24-ish capper, to low teens in the course of one summer pretty much. But as a caveat, I was playing almost every day in school holidays.

I think what clicked for me was a combination of muscle memory, understanding the way a swing works, and feeling for the club head.

How? I played a lot, practiced a lot and watched a lot of golf on the TV. I'm pretty sure you put a decent amount of work into your game, so would be confident that your game will click as well.

Good luck bro!
 
Monty_Brown said:
Al,

I'm not sure how long you've been playing etc, so can't speak for your game, but in my experience, yes, there is often a tipping point...

Mine was when I was a junior though, so I don't know if at that age (early to mid teens) the human body is more "programable".

I went from a 24-ish capper, to low teens in the course of one summer pretty much. But as a caveat, I was playing almost every day in school holidays.

I think what clicked for me was a combination of muscle memory, understanding the way a swing works, and feeling for the club head.

How? I played a lot, practiced a lot and watched a lot of golf on the TV. I'm pretty sure you put a decent amount of work into your game, so would be confident that your game will click as well.

Good luck bro!
Click to expand...

I'm 27 year's old now (nearly 28) but I'm hoping to drop my handicap by doing mostly the above...I've dubbed it "The Snelly" ;)

Once I move clubs, I will have the opportunity to play/practice every morning or evening after work and I'm hoping that all this extra time on the course will pay dividends and get my handicap dropped to below where I want it this year.
 
Like most things in life you get out of it what you put in. I started with a 24 handicap worked at the short game a lot a couple of summers back which helped to save some shots on a regular basis. Then just gettin the swing to repeat is key. I am working on my tee shots now as that is what is letting me down, I always spend time hitting out sideways from the trees a few times every round, so being more accurate with the driver and 3 wood is key for me. If I can get that sorted then I will get into single figures easy. It really is a case of getting to a decent standard in all areas rather than being great a one thing and poor at another
 
Thanks for the replies chaps, I am highly confident that I have the movements that I need, particularly at the start of the downswing to move forward with my ball striking. It is very frustrating that this is stuff I knew a year ago but had not understood the importance of. I real waste of a year, I am looking forward to ingraining the muscle memory a little more and then affording the time to work on other parts of the game. I feel and hope that I am on the crest of a wave and that with the correct work over the next few months I will be playing a different game of golf.


I tell you what though.... its really exiting. I have had eureka moments before but this is different gravy. We will see what the camera has to say on the matter...
 
Whilst good ball striking is a key element, don't overlook the need to play the course properly. Course management can make such a difference to your score if you take it seriously.
 
Is there anywhere I can back said "friend" saying that we can still get the weight further forward at impact lol? Will put the camera on charge :)

Alex1975 said:
I am keen to stay cool and move forward slowly now I feel that I on a good road. I am going to have a friend look at the swing this week with a slow mo camera and a different set of eyes to check I am where I think I am.


I am praying that he does not say "I still think we can move the weight forward a little bit more"..... As I feel I am in the swing as long as I can be now.
Click to expand...
 
I have struggled off the tee with the driver for years now and have found recently that a stiffer shaft keeps me straight albeit at the range. So hopefully no more hacking out of the trees( that's assuming I find the ball). I read Dave Pelz's Short Game Bible and went and practiced hitting different distances with my 52 degree wedge. It's made a huge difference around the green. Hopefully my handicap will start coming down.
 
Alex1975 said:
I am interested in story's from people who have made rapid progress after understanding a or some fundamentals about there swing.
Click to expand...

I'm a believer that you could basically learn to swing a club out of a book. Crazy as it seems if you can just apply the laws of physics to your swing then the ball will go in the right direction. People think they know stuff when really they're just making it up, speculation and hearsay are RIFE in the realms of the golfing world both at higher and lower levels. People tweak their swings one way or another without a clue what they're doing and look for many quick fixes to cover the real faults in their swing... sometimes people will listen to anybody without regard of what the knock-on effect of that advice will be, and then their swing just develops a whole new set of faults.

Write down what you KNOW about the swing and see just how adept you are to hitting the ball properly.

Video is priceless, it's the only way you can see the difference between 'feel' and 'real'.

One thing can only be true... the ball flight will let you know how you're getting on :thup:
 
One thing can only be true... the ball flight will let you know how you're getting on


I think Alex will tell you, he'd like to have a pound for every time he's heard this when hitting balls!!!!!
 
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