Swing overhaul and handicap cuts ......

[Carpfather1]

Coming back to the game after a couple of years off has been a up and down rollacoaster ride with myself on more of a mission than ever to get to single figures (my long term goal ).With a 12 handicap and at the moment going up I been struggling with my iron play big time which admittedly is holding me back my driving and short game has been superb (due to trying to get up and down and scrambling constantly as a result of poor iron play.

So anyway as you do you blame your gear so I started blaming my irons thinking the shafts are to heavy blah blah blah” I need game improvement irons”.So off I go for a iron fitting start to warm up and was having all the erratic misses and shanks etc I been having on the course after about the ten mins the fitter says no point doing a fitting you need some lessons to sort this out then think about changing because I could fit you with a high launch big shovels to help you and when you get your swing sorted 6 months down the line and you’ll need something different so I went with it and had a lesson with him we’d night and pretty much instantly got the height back on ball flight no shanks and my misses came toe side instead of heel on the club and was getting that better butter feel from balls coming from the middle of my forged bats again don’t get me wrong Im still getting misses and it’s not going to happen over night but it’s definitely on the right track .so he’s changed my wrist position early on in the swing so the club is neutral better posture and my width in my back swing .He told me straight it’s not going to be easy but if you stick with this it will be better long term ,so guess what I’m doing all winter lol but it proves sometimes it’s better to invest in lessons than change you kit every 2 mins.

my question is has anyone else had a major swing overhaul and once they got it bedded in a bit seen good handicap drops and massive improvement what sort of handicap drop have you experienced from hard graft on the practice field after having lessons and so on??
Have a look at the difference down below it’s crazy I didn’t realise how bad my club position and posture was at the top of the swing .sorry about the long write up cheers James

 

[Khamelion]

Yes, it's an ongoing journey of trying to remove a shed load of bad habits ingrained into my brain that I'm trying to get shot of. Started playing again about 8yrs ago and have had a load of lessons from different coaches, but the one I'm seeing now has put all the other coaches stuff into perspective. Think of it as I was trying to do a jigsaw from the middle towards the edge and it's only now that I'm getting closer to the side pieces of the jigsaw that all the stuff I'd been told is starting to fit into place.

My main problem is that I don't practice enough, play enough and through the winter I put my clubs away and play less frequently than a hibernating hedgehog.

 

[Carpfather1]

Yes, it's an ongoing journey of trying to remove a shed load of bad habits ingrained into my brain that I'm trying to get shot of. Started playing again about 8yrs ago and have had a load of lessons from different coaches, but the one I'm seeing now has put all the other coaches stuff into perspective. Think of it as I was trying to do a jigsaw from the middle towards the edge and it's only now that I'm getting closer to the side pieces of the jigsaw that all the stuff I'd been told is starting to fit into place.

My main problem is that I don't practice enough, play enough and through the winter I put my clubs away and play less frequently than a hibernating hedgehog.

It’s a crazy game before I knocked it on the head for a few years ago (young family)I used to rip my irons but the other parts of my game struggled.This time around it’s the other way around and yes one big jigsaw explains it .

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'm going the other way and trying to have less tuition and work far more with what I have and focus a lot more on the short game from 100 yards and in plus my putting. I have a number of bad habits but in the main, I can't cope. There is stuff I working on (shallowing the club, shortening the swing) but it's a struggle after ingraining them for over thirty years. I've had a win this year at my club to qualify for our "Masters" on Sunday so all good from that side but the handicap started 2018 at 14.2 and has crept to 14.6 even though I feel at times I'm playing some good stuff.

 

[srixon 1]

I’ve been playing for 30 years and it is still work in progress. You fix one part but another part breaks so it’s a never ending circle.

 

[Imurg]

I’ve been playing for 30 years and it is still work in progress. You fix one part but another part breaks so it’s a never ending circle.

Only 1 part breaks..??
You got it good😀

 

[Wilson]

I’m the process of some changes, had no desire for it to be an overhaul, I was hoping it would be a quick fix to stop me getting across the line - turns out there were a few things to fix, thankfully I’ve found a coach that can explain them to me in a way I can easily understand, I’ve put the work in to make the changes, and my first comp I won, and got a 1shot cut to go alongside it - first time into single figures for me. The swing is now in good enough shape that we can look at the putting & chipping, I’m having a lesson every 3/4 weeks, so I have plenty of time to bed the changes in.

I think I’ve been lucky that I’ve seen instant results, as long as you trust the coach, you need to commit to the changes, not drop back to old habits as soon as it gets hard/goes wrong.

 

[Carpfather1]

I’m the process of some changes, had no desire for it to be an overhaul, I was hoping it would be a quick fix to stop me getting across the line - turns out there were a few things to fix, thankfully I’ve found a coach that can explain them to me in a way I can easily understand, I’ve put the work in to make the changes, and my first comp I won, and got a 1shot cut to go alongside it - first time into single figures for me. The swing is now in good enough shape that we can look at the putting & chipping, I’m having a lesson every 3/4 weeks, so I have plenty of time to bed the changes in.

I think I’ve been lucky that I’ve seen instant results, as long as you trust the coach, you need to commit to the changes, not drop back to old habits as soon as it gets hard/goes wrong.

This is the thing keeping the discipline throughout your practice And yes trusting your coach which is a big thing I’m hoping to put the graft in this winter then see the rewards next season but time will tell .

 

[Wilson]

This is the thing keeping the discipline throughout your practice And yes trusting your coach which is a big thing I’m hoping to put the graft in this winter then see the rewards next season but time will tell .

I think you have to find a good practice routine that works for you, I get bored quickly, so have come with a way of breaking my practice down into segments, so I don’t get bored and can drill in my changes.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I think you have to find a good practice routine that works for you, I get bored quickly, so have come with a way of breaking my practice down into segments, so I don’t get bored and can drill in my changes.

That's constructive and in my opinion the correct way to practice otherwise it becomes a ball bashing exercise. I tend to split my balls into groups of 10 if I'm working on a swing change. I will spend time rehearsing the change then hit a few with the thoughts in my head and then try and simply hit some as I would on the course so going through the routine but not thinking consciously of the swing itself and assessing how it goes. If it's not working it's back to rehearsing. If the change comes easily I'll start hitting different clubs and go through the bag

 

[garyinderry]

Carp - any chance of seeing the videos of these two swings.

 

[Spear-Chucker]

Currently overhauling 30 yrs of bad habits but it’s already paying off. Hitting it better, more control but still feels alien... I guess patience is the key as beat my hcp (just - 37pts) for the first time in many, many months today. That’s taken four weeks of practice to achieve since my first lesson. Stick with it OP 👍

 

[bobmac]

Actually having a wrist hinge helps.
Have you got used to the extra distance yet?

 

[Carpfather1]

Cheers for the comments I haven’t got a video my coach filmed me and paused at the top of the back swing with them pictures to show me the difference before and after .