What would you do........

[kid2]

Well its no surprise to anyone on here how I swing a club..... God knows Iv melted most of your heads over the past few months...... Its also no surprise to the direction I wanted to take last year and get lessons to see exactly
what i was doing wrong....

A change of swing plane, teamed with countless range sessions of shanks, tops thins, slices,hooks,straight shots draws fades, the lot......

Now that I have a fair understanding of what makes the ball do what it does and what is causing me issues.....

Is there much point in spending money on lessons again this year?.....
I think I have pretty sound groundwork for the type of swing I have and with a few small changes to posture it should see me swinging better....

As some do when you go through changes you start to question why they are being done..... There is so much conflicting information that you wonder who's right and who is wrong..... I could literally fill a book with why different swing styles require different approaches just from the amount of information on the net..... One instructor is telling you swing the arms down the line... Others tell you swing left after impact......

Some tell you move off the ball others tell you not to...
Everyone has their own way of swinging a club with the single goal of getting impact right so that we can get a more consistent swing.....


So do I save the money or spend more on lessons again this season...Decisions...

 

[JustOne]

Now that I have a fair understanding of what makes the ball do what it does and what is causing me issues.....

What is causing you issues?

 

[Lump]

What is causing you issues?

you know what James, thats got to be one of the best questions you can ask anyone on here wanting help.

 

[kid2]

I think if I sort out my posture it will give me a better platform to play with...... I can see the early extension plain as day when I slow down the videos..... This causes the pushes and the shanks and the hooks when its happening me....
I think that I'm swinging more in to out this season.... Evident by my misses if I'm right....



This of course is when I'm swinging from a square setup and wanting to draw the ball... This was what my pro originally wanted me doing.....
Basically I can see the benefits of being able to shape the ball both ways but I think this may be a bit much to bite off.... My short game is decent so there is also the advantage of being able to hit one shape of shot 99% of the time and take one side of the course out of play.....

 

[Imurg]

Any reason why you can't play with what you have for a while..?

A lot people seem to be on a continuous plod of constantly changing things - how do you know if you're comfortable with anything if as soon as you've changed something you start changing it again..?

 

[Foxholer]

To me, this is a good time for you to do this review.

Over the season, you've dropped 4 shots and it's probably going to require a slightly different approach to make anything like the same progress in the next year. It's likely that there's still some ingraining/consolidation work to be done.

I'd suggest you consult with whoever has been your main teacher as to what they believe the best use of the off season is.

 

[kid2]

Any reason why you can't play with what you have for a while..?

A lot people seem to be on a continuous plod of constantly changing things - how do you know if you're comfortable with anything if as soon as you've changed something you start changing it again..?

No reason i cant Pal.....
I played last weekend purposely hitting a fade the whole round and shot nett level Par..... I messed up 3 holes that id no shots on and only took 2 points from the 3 but i knew why.....
It was a very enjoyable easy going 18 that at no point i felt pressure that i couldnt hit the shot i wanted.....

I have flaws...Who hasnt but at what handicap do you feel at ease with the swing you have and just play with that and immerse yourself in the short game.....
I know i wont be happy until i reach Cat 1 and to be honest im not good enough to know if that swing you see in the other post could get me to this level and maintain it.........

 

[JT77]

it really doesn't matter what it looks like mate. The only thing that matters is the number on the card
if you have found a way to hit the fairway a good bit of the time I would concentrate on sticking with it and get going on your inside 50 and putting.
the only way to get to cat 1 and stay there is to be very good ad minimising damage, and maximising opportunity.
maybe stop tinkering and thinking to much about you swing plane etc and play a few rounds to see if its ingrained ?

 

[JustOne]

but at what handicap do you feel at ease with the swing you have and just play with that and immerse yourself in the short game.....
I know i wont be happy until i reach Cat 1 and to be honest im not good enough to know if that swing you see in the other post could get me to this level and maintain it.........

I know lots and lots of 4-5 h/cappers who have godawful swings.

Being a 5 h/cap isn't about having a good swing... just ask RickG :rofl:

 

[kid2]

I know lots and lots of 4-5 h/cappers who have godawful swings.

Being a 5 h/cap isn't about having a good swing... just ask RickG :rofl:

:rofl:...... Im not in a position to comment.......

Question for you James....... If you were me what would you do?

 

[JT77]

im in a similar situation mate. trying to get lower, I have played some great stuff over the last couple months but in amongst that has been a few god awful holes which has cost me my score.
I'm getting there because I've worked hard on my wedges on putting I feel much happier short game wise than I did at the start of the season and im starting to see it come together.
so if I were you id stop worrying about my swing, get my wedges out and get confident knocking them close and try to hold more putts.

 

[kid2]

im in a similar situation mate. trying to get lower, I have played some great stuff over the last couple months but in amongst that has been a few god awful holes which has cost me my score.
I'm getting there because I've worked hard on my wedges on putting I feel much happier short game wise than I did at the start of the season and im starting to see it come together.
so if I were you id stop worrying about my swing, get my wedges out and get confident knocking them close and try to hold more putts.

Thanks for the encouragement pal..... :thup:

 

[JustOne]

Question for you James....... If you were me what would you do?

Apart from fly me out to Ireland for a 2 night stay in early November?

I can't say what you should or should do on your behalf (apart from see me) but I do know that Tiger Woods works on his swing, so does Mickelson, Rose, Poulter, McIlroy etc etc, so for you NOT TO work on your swing would be ridiculous.

Mentally you have to split the game into two halves and try to enjoy both,.. 1) Working on your swing 2) Playing and seeing where it gets you.

The playing part is supposed to be fun at our level, hit a few nice shots, admire your playing partners shots, have a friendly chat and take in the scenery.

Even if you got to CAT1 you would still work on your swing, you'd want to play off 4 or 3 and you'd still feel like there were shots you 'left out there' but getting lower than 5 h/cap is HARD if you don't have a stable swing, in fact it's hard just to keep a 5 h/cap without one. Believe me being a 5 h/cap isn't all that fulfilling because most of your rounds are 6, 7, 8 over and they really don't feel that good, it's just the occasional flirt with level par that gets your juices flowing.

I think your swing is going in the right direction but something hasn't 'clicked' with you, you don't really know what you're doing or why, I see a lot of extremes in your swing that simply don't need to be there... in a 'proper golf swing' the club goes STRAIGHT BACK (to P2) then hinges up... when that happens you have to get your right hip out of the way so your elbow can swing down into the space vacated by it, when your elbow finds that space then your hands have to pass your chin, in order for that to happen your left hip has to get out of the way and your right shoulder has to turn down... then you're at impact with a slight forward shaft lean and 3 degrees from the inside... voila! It's a sequence. Everyone's sequence has slightly different positions because their address positions vary slightly (someone who stands a bit taller needs more hip rotation to get the right hip out of the way than someone who is more bent over and who's hip is already out of the way), the rest just goes wrong because people just make stuff up, or listen to some advice that they don't understand but incorporate it into their swing anyway... or totally exaggerate what they read.

You've come down a few shots, I expect you to come down a few more. I'm doing my best to guide you online but it's not easy because everything takes so long to type/make pics etc. If you want to phone me you can, just PM me first, I'm happy to help you online or even face to face................ actually I've just had this epiphany moment.... maybe we can sort out your swing on Skype so you can see me and hear me

 

[lyden]

I suppose it depends where you want to go with the game. I've enjoyed my golf more and came down 2 shots since I stopped having lessons but I'm a perfectionist and as soon as my last qualifiers done I'll be off to an instructor to remodel my swing. I find it unacceptable to still be hitting wild slices 20 lessons on and I feel like its what highlights me as a bad player.

 

[kid2]

Apart from fly me out to Ireland for a 2 night stay in early November?

I can't say what you should or should do on your behalf (apart from see me) but I do know that Tiger Woods works on his swing, so does Mickelson, Rose, Poulter, McIlroy etc etc, so for you NOT TO work on your swing would be ridiculous.

Mentally you have to split the game into two halves and try to enjoy both,.. 1) Working on your swing 2) Playing and seeing where it gets you.

The playing part is supposed to be fun at our level, hit a few nice shots, admire your playing partners shots, have a friendly chat and take in the scenery.

Even if you got to CAT1 you would still work on your swing, you'd want to play off 4 or 3 and you'd still feel like there were shots you 'left out there' but getting lower than 5 h/cap is HARD if you don't have a stable swing, in fact it's hard just to keep a 5 h/cap without one. Believe me being a 5 h/cap isn't all that fulfilling because most of your rounds are 6, 7, 8 over and they really don't feel that good, it's just the occasional flirt with level par that gets your juices flowing.

I think your swing is going in the right direction but something hasn't 'clicked' with you, you don't really know what you're doing or why, I see a lot of extremes in your swing that simply don't need to be there... in a 'proper golf swing' the club goes STRAIGHT BACK (to P2) then hinges up... when that happens you have to get your right hip out of the way so your elbow can swing down into the space vacated by it, when your elbow finds that space then your hands have to pass your chin, in order for that to happen your left hip has to get out of the way and your right shoulder has to turn down... then you're at impact with a slight forward shaft lean and 3 degrees from the inside... voila! It's a sequence. Everyone's sequence has slightly different positions because their address positions vary slightly (someone who stands a bit taller needs more hip rotation to get the right hip out of the way than someone who is more bent over and who's hip is already out of the way), the rest just goes wrong because people just make stuff up, or listen to some advice that they don't understand but incorporate it into their swing anyway... or totally exaggerate what they read.

You've come down a few shots, I expect you to come down a few more. I'm doing my best to guide you online but it's not easy because everything takes so long to type/make pics etc. If you want to phone me you can, just PM me first, I'm happy to help you online or even face to face................ actually I've just had this epiphany moment.... maybe we can sort out your swing on Skype so you can see me and hear me

Your fairly adamant on this trip to Ireland arent you?...... :lol:
I think its just an excuse for a P+%& up......


Anyway.... The weird thing is i actually have a fair idea of what your talking about...I love working on my swing... Recent posts will probably back that up....... Its trying to get them all working in the proper way is the problem as you said.....I always have a habit of going from one extreme to the other before finding a middle ground...

The highlighted text above is probably my holy grail..... Thats what ideally i want to achieve.... Stability..... I think that a player that has that has an edge over someone that as you say above can have a god awful swing but still play to a 5 on a good day but play 6-9 shots worse on a bad day....

 

[JustOne]

Your fairly adamant on this trip to Ireland arent you?...... :lol:
I think its just an excuse for a P+%& up......

I don't drink.... but I'll have TEA

 

[kid2]

I don't drink.... but I'll have TEA

Makes 2 of us then.....:rofl:
I must be the only Non drinkin' Irishman......:whoo:

 

[JustOne]

Makes 2 of us then.....:rofl:

Even better then, I won't feel so awkward,...... so when are the flights?

 

[kid2]

Even better then, I won't feel so awkward,...... so when are the flights?

Gas Man...... I might do one better and try and get over for a weekend in the new year..... Id love to meet ye all in person for a meet somewhere and a bit of banther.... Ye seem like a really down to earth bunch that you could happily have a bit of craic with while playing 18 holes....

 

[Foxholer]

I must be the only Non drinkin' Irishman......:whoo:

I think ALL the ones that do make up for you!