For any golfer who wants to play great golf
Improve my golf swing or improve my game – lessons from the first 5 days of the 30 Day Challenge
Although I was hesitant at first to accept the challenge of going 30 days without video analysis, I soon realized it was because I had become completely dependent on video. I had become a technical golfer and even though I was slowly getting better, I relied too much on video, golf practice aids, and lot of technical information.
To improve my golf swing and to improve my game I needed to take a new approach because I had plateaued. But I hadn’t even realized I had plateaued. It’s strange when you look at the technological leaps the equipment has taken and the amount of knowledge available about the golf swing, to realize that scores for the average golfer have not improved.
Somehow things came together and this challenge was set for me. By taking a step away from the video, the detailed analysis, and the training aids, I think I have created some room to grow. It’s kind of like when you’re going to the gym. You can gain muscle pretty quickly, but if you don’t challenge your body by changing up the routines, you’ll plateau.
The biggest change I have seen so far is that even when I’m on the driving range, I’m not thinking about my swing. I’m thinking about the shot I want to create. I’m visualizing how it’s going to fly to the target. I’m visualizing the trajectory and the curve, and then feeling what my hands need to feel like to make that happen. And then I do what I felt in my hands.
It has blown me away, how effective this has been. I never would have thought that it could be like this. As I said, yesterday I alternated hitting high draws and high fades with the driver. This was an incredible step for me, because for the last year, the driver has been the club I trusted the least. I loved hitting a good drive, but it didn’t happen all that often. At one point last year I was teeing off with 4 iron because my driving had been so spotty.
So you can imagine that being able to alternate hitting high draws and fades must have been something special for me. The other part that was special, was that even the shots that didn’t go as planned would have been playable misses. Misses I would take any day. My focus has now gone from improving my golf swing, to feeling my shots and executing them. Is my swing perfect? I’m sure it’s not. But I’m not concerned because my shots are better.
I think the other part of the change has been to not care about what the swing looks like, but to care more about what the golf ball does. It’s in many ways liberating, and I think that’s made a big difference.
Review: Powerchute
December 28, 2011 - 12:21 pm
Posted in Practice, Review, Swing Theory, Training Aid | No comments
For the past month I’ve worked with a swing trainer called the Powerchute. I’ve given it an extensive test and the results are in.
What is the Powerchute?
It’s a swing training aid that aims to increase clubhead speed and lag, and improve timing and lag. In addition it strengthens the fast twitch muscles.
You attach the powerchute [...]
Tour Striker gets me back on track
September 13, 2011 - 5:47 pm
Posted in Practice, Training Aid, ball striking | No comments
If you’ve played golf with me in the past month you would have known that my ball striking has put me in a bit of a slump. My distance control was off, and my shots were coming up short.
In a few minutes the Tour Striker brought my ball striking back. An hour and half and [...]
My new favorite practice putting game – Split Nines
August 10, 2011 - 3:51 pm
Posted in Getting better, Practice, Putting | No comments
If you want to add some pressure to your putting practice to make it feel a bit more like what you’ll feel on the golf course then try this game.
The game is split into two halves, your front nine and your back nine. On your front 9, each putt is like you’ve hit the in [...]
PGA Tour: Tee-to-green key to Donald’s rise
June 1, 2011 - 10:24 am
Posted in PGA Tour, ball striking | No comments
Article
Interesting article with an in-depth look at Luke Donald’s stats. With Luke Donald ranking low on the driving distance category you would have expected him to rank higher in accuracy, given that his low ranking in distance would put him at a disadvantage on approaches from the rough.
I’ve always considered myself a decent iron player, [...]
Tour Striker – Day 12 – Confidence Building
May 7, 2011 - 3:26 am
Posted in Practice, Swing Theory, Training Aid, ball striking | 4 comments
Over the past 12 days working with the tour striker I’ve seen a significant improvement in my ball striking. For a while and before re-acquainting myself with the TS my distance control was inconsistent.
I’m now much more consistent with my distance control and my I’ve added about 15 yards with each iron.
I’ve found that not [...]
Tour Striker – Day 3 of 30 – a plan comes into focus
April 27, 2011 - 12:49 pm
Posted in Practice, Swing Theory, Training Aid, ball striking | No comments
This morning I headed to the driving range early. Got there around 6:50 am, got set up and hit balls into the foggy morning.
I was encouraged by my practice session on Monday evening. This morning it was a slightly different story. I hit a couple of toppers which right away told me that I had [...]
Stop quitting on your putts
April 14, 2011 - 7:43 am
Posted in Practice, Putting | No comments
One night while I was on a golf trip in Maryland a few weeks ago, I thought it would be fun to have some putting contests in the room. The carpet was probably rolling about a 10 so it wasn’t too quick. We played a version of leap frog and set the cup out about [...]
Feedback from the Technical Staff at Optishot
April 10, 2011 - 10:16 am
Posted in Equipment | No comments
Since I’ve seen that a number of people commenting in the Optishot review had some technical issues, I decided to ask the manufacturer for a response to their complaints. I have not had any significant issues with the optishot and in fact really like the product. Over the winter it provided me with [...]
Rickie Fowler – He gets it
February 25, 2011 - 11:44 am
Posted in Fundamentals, Mental Game, PGA Tour, Swing Theory | No comments
Watching Morning Drive this morning, I was in total agreement with the comments that Brandel Chamblee (@BrandelChamblee) made about Rickie Fowler.
“You understand the best way to play golf, this is my opinion, is to go out there and try to hit shots…You know,it’s the big lie to me, that you can go out there and swing [...]
How to make swing changes stick
January 12, 2011 - 1:06 pm
Posted in Fundamentals, Getting better, Lesson, Practice | 2 comments
Recent experience has taught me that you need two things to make swing changes stick. Practice and time. Now while these may seem self evident there is more going on behind the scenes in the subconscious mind than meets the eye.
We’ve all heard the phrases “Practice makes perfect” and “Perfect practice makes perfect”. We all [...]
February 17, 2010 - 10:35 am
I agree that we can get too caught up with the technology and sometimes you can also over analyze your swing mechanics. As you pointed out, visualizing and focus are the main ingredients that we need to be concentrating on. I suppose this area of golf can be classified as the mental game of golf. It is an area that most golfers don’t bother with or don’t know enough about.
February 17, 2010 - 11:28 am
Hi Seizo,
In the past year I have gone through a very similar process as you – I brought my handicap down dramatically in a very short period of time. The biggest contributor to my development was changing my focus from the swing itself, to the ultimate end result – ballflight.
I’m a big believer in using ballflight and the ‘geometry’ (swingpath/face angle/angle of approach) of impact as the ultimate guide for any changes in your swing. The instructor John Jacobs used to be able to help his students improve by only having them properly describe their flight characteristics. When I finally learned the right way to self-diagnose each shot, I found I could quickly rein in and correct swing mistakes on my own. Having that ability has been a very powerful way to continuously improve my game to say the least.
With your current video-free 30-day challenge taking away the potential for paralysis-by-analysis, I’m sure that you will see bigger gains than you would otherwise by focusing more on the end, rather than the means.
Best of luck!
Jackson
February 17, 2010 - 12:45 pm
@Jackson: Thanks for the comment. It sounds like you got some excellent instruction. The focus and ball flight and trajectory/shot shape is a big key. For me, focusing on that and what my hands need to feel to get that has been the key to very quick improvement. It seems like in only a few short days I have broken through to the next level in my game.
What do you specifically do to self-diagnose?
Seizo
February 17, 2010 - 2:28 pm
Hi Seizo,
I diagnose every shot by breaking it down into two components:
- the initial direction the ball starts out relative to your target line, and then
- which way it spins from that direction.
Most people hit a shot and describe it as simply a slice, hook, push or pull. Many get the terms confused as well – a push mixed up with a slice, for instance. But each shot has two components, not one. Shots are either a push or a pull, AND either a hook or a slice.
The self-diagnosis comes from the fact I now understand what ultimately causes both components of ballflight. What direction the ball starts initially is caused by your swingpath. For example, a pull-slice and a pull-hook will end up in opposite sides of the fairway, but BOTH shots have an out-to-in swingpath – the same underlying problem. The way the ball spins relative to its initial direction is cause by the clubface angle RELATIVE to your swingpath. So even if you have your clubface square to the target on impact, if you have a pull-type swing that clubface is open to your path, and will cause it to spin to the right.
The key is to square up both your path and face. Now if I see that I’m hitting a pull-slice for instance, I first work on the path of the club to make sure I get the ball to start to the right of my target instead of the left. At this point I don’t care if the ball starts right and then spins off even further right, I just need to get my path more in-to-out (the opposite of my bad ballflight). Once I’ve got the ball started in the proper direction, I then work on spinning the ball right-to-left. Again, when I’m working on spin I don’t care where the ball starts, only that it curves in the direction I want. Obviously, it helps to have a good understanding of the swing to work on adjusting both path and your clubface angle, but it’s important to note that the FOCUS remains on ballflight. Swing keys become a means toward ultimately squaring up path and face angle.
Finally I put both path and spin together in my swing. Essentially, to cure a pull-slice, I try to hit a push-hook. To cure a push-hook, I try to hit a pull-slice. If I hit a dead pull, I work only on path. If I hit a ball that just slices, I work only on face angle. It feels strange at first, but what you get is an improved ballflight that starts closer to target with only a fade or draw. Once you can do this you gain complete command of your golf ball, and even-better, when things eventually go off-course, you will understand why.
Apologies for the long post – hopefully you find my methodology interesting!
February 17, 2010 - 3:20 pm
@Jackson: Thanks Jackson, that’s great stuff. I think this information can help any golfer. It sounds like this is better suited to the range though because you need to take a number of shots to correct what’s happening but I can certainly see it be useful there.
What’s your experience like doing this on the course? How quickly can you get back on track?
I like that you went into detail about it and I do find your methodology interesting. There are many ways to play golf. I certainly don’t proclaim to have the cure for everybody. I also don’t think that playing the way I’m doing, in terms of feel is for everybody. But there are enough golfers for whom this is an excellent approach. Those golfers who feel overwhelmed by all the technical information, those who learned to play by feel then went to a technical teacher and saw their game slip, and those who try it and find that it simplifies the game for them.
February 17, 2010 - 4:25 pm
Hi Seizo,
I agree there are many ways to get around the course. No question people gravitate toward the method of learning and improving that works for them – we don’t have to look any further than how different tour players are. I don’t proclaim to have the cure either – only a way of approaching the game that pushed me to another level. Others might not quite agree, but I think a terrific part of the game is that there isn’t a straightforward cure. It requires dedication and hard work to improve.
I was getting much better at adjusting mid-round at the end of last year. Normally problems would first show up in my driving – I find irons much easier to square up and manipulate ballflight. Getting better at adjusting to bad swings on the course is going to be a focus for this coming year. You’re right that breaking the swing down into different elements is a method suited for the range, but by ingraining a good square feeling there before a round, it would really help improve my play.
Look forward to reading about the rest of your challenge!
Jackson