Going to begin some lessons and structured practice

[davepuppies]

With all the rain here in Sydney my course has been unplayable for a couple of months. Not sure the situation is going to change anytime soon, so I thought it might be a good time to get into a structured lesson and practice plan that I can do at the range and home

I am currently playing off 7, but haven’t had lessons in many many years and have a swing that relies on hand timing. A typical round will be 2-4 birdies, but also 3-4 doubles when I miss big with driver.

Driver swing speed is 122-125 mph, but my misses go both ways.

Had a initial session with my new chosen coach, using outdoor range, track man and video.

Very quickly realized why my misses were so.

Built a new one piece takeaway, allowing for a better body turn, and now turning my body back into impact, not hanging back and flipping.

Swing speed actually increased on irons even though it felt easier / slower

Going to build a net and get a decent mat at home to work / ingrain my takeaway and build repetitions.

I played off 2 10 years ago when I was playing weekly, hoping I might be able surpass that mark with some continued instruction and purposeful practice. The holy grail goal is to hit scratch.

Wish me luck fellas!

[AndyP]

Good luck!

I wanted to do something like this, this year, but its hard to find the time for things to come together. I did have my first lesson though.

[dee cee]

Just remember it’s that cliche comment of, ‘It’s a journey’. Stay the course, ride the highs and lows and post how you’re travelling. Luck.

[Kelsey86]

Good luck! I did the same in the second half of last year, and although my practice hasn't been as regular as I'd like it to be I have still improved a fair bit, and seeing the results is keeping me determined to keep going, keep improving. My handicap initially went out a couple of shots while I got used to the changes but has come down 6.6 strokes since the start of the year 👍

[Halfer5]

I’m 6 months into something similar, my biggest piece of advice is to trust the process. You will get worse, you will spend hours practicing small moves that will disappear as soon as you get onto the course, you will get frustrated at only being able to swing at 70% while keeping your new swing working but you will get better in the end - good luck

[markTHEblake]

You will get worsetake care, this should not happen. A good coach will teach you changes that should be immediate improvements, but yes when under scorecard pressure, old habits do return.

If a coach ever has to say "keep working on that, you will eventually get it" ask for your money back. This is the guy thats teaching everyone the same, yet everyone is different.

(Hope i didnt misunderstand you)

[davepuppies]

I haven’t taken it out to the golf course yet, but I have essentially removed two of my horrible misses being a big push with cut spin, and a snap hook.

I still have moderate misses with a small push or over draw but far more manageable on the range than my old swing was.

Yes I understand about how it may fall apart on course. I am spending a lot of time ingraining the takeaway position at home to help build muscle memory.

The concept has helped my short game too, which was totally hands dependent.

[markTHEblake]

I am spending a lot of time ingraining the takeaway position at home to help build muscle memory.
Thats a great point - i seem to get better results on friday nights swinging clubs in the loungeroom in front of the glass doors that are mirrors at night, rather than going to the driving range.


A very good coach that I know (he is the national elite coach of somewhere else) posts a lot of his thoughts on Facebook, and he recently made these very significant points on how to "train" for a new movement or whatever we might call it, and that kinda confirms what you and i have just said.
- do not have a target, thus removing all target pressure and disappointment from the activity.
- make 100 'short arm' swings, concentrating solely on the new movement. short arm ie, your arms finish at no more than horizontal, might call it a bunt or a jab
- its also effective to do the 100 swings without hitting a ball

[Kelsey86]

I’m 6 months into something similar, my biggest piece of advice is to trust the process. You will get worse, you will spend hours practicing small moves that will disappear as soon as you get onto the course, you will get frustrated at only being able to swing at 70% while keeping your new swing working but you will get better in the end - good luckThat happened with me as well, initially after the first lesson I got worse, even though by the end of that lesson I was hitting it great on the range. To be honest it made total sense, trying to do something that at the time didn't feel natural of course it'll be inconsistent. But with practice it gradually became natural and the consistency improved.

[Halfer5]

take care, this should not happen. A good coach will teach you changes that should be immediate improvements, but yes when under scorecard pressure, old habits do return. If a coach ever has to say "keep working on that, you will eventually get it" ask for your money back. This is the guy thats teaching everyone the same, yet everyone is different. (Hope i didnt misunderstand you) I talked my coach through what I wanted to do and what I wanted out of it and we decided I needed a bit of a reset - my swing was flat and all arms & a horizontal lunge which resulted in big hooks every time I tried to hit the ball hard. Small changes to start with were playable and I saw some improvement in cutting out the big hooks but for me there came a time where my backswing was new but the rest of my swing was not & they didn’t match which meant I got very bad.I too also found that I needed to take the outcome away to improve, this meant avoiding the course & range for a while when I was really embedding things relying on mirror work & I got a net out the back.Back to your point though- does my coach teach 1 type of swing, kind of and I picked him because of that, has that swing been tailored for me, yes. I guess it’s horses for courses, I like following a process, I like the way my coach explains things & I feel I have a much more repeatable swing that has removed my heavy reliance on timing. My very limited trips to the course suggests an improvement but I still have things to work on before I’m a world beater :D

[davepuppies]

Thats a great point - i seem to get better results on friday nights swinging clubs in the loungeroom in front of the glass doors that are mirrors at night, rather than going to the driving range.A very good coach that I know (he is the national elite coach of somewhere else) posts a lot of his thoughts on Facebook, and he recently made these very significant points on how to "train" for a new movement or whatever we might call it, and that kinda confirms what you and i have just said.- do not have a target, thus removing all target pressure and disappointment from the activity. - make 100 'short arm' swings, concentrating solely on the new movement. short arm ie, your arms finish at no more than horizontal, might call it a bunt or a jab- its also effective to do the 100 swings without hitting a ball Agreed. My coach had a thing called a tour striker ball, that is essentially a small inflatable ball on a lanyard that hangs around your neck. You keep it between your arms during swing to keep you connected / one piece. I have bought one and will keep practicing the movement at home with it, and also on pitches / chipping

[davepuppies]

The other thing I have done is subscribe to a app called “Mobility Pro” that uses the iPhone to test your range of motion across 8-10 keys areas (like hips, shoulders, thoracic etc) and then gives you daily stretches and exercises to improve the areas lacking.

It restarts you monthly and then changes the program based on the recent results

It has a mobility section, a exercise section and a recovery section

As I am now in my 40s I figured flexibility and mobility will serve me better than slabs of bodybuilder muscle

[Toolish]

The other thing I have done is subscribe to a app called “Mobility Pro” that uses the iPhone to test your range of motion across 8-10 keys areas (like hips, shoulders, thoracic etc) and then gives you daily stretches and exercises to improve the areas lacking.

It restarts you monthly and then changes the program based on the recent results

It has a mobility section, a exercise section and a recovery section

As I am now in my 40s I figured flexibility and mobility will serve me better than slabs of bodybuilder muscle

I have been thinking about subscribing to this app. Have you used it much yet?

[davepuppies]

I have been thinking about subscribing to this app. Have you used it much yet? Only 2 days in….. I like it so far

[davepuppies]

Round 1 in the bag.

Battled the new Movement a little, for some reason my right hip and glute were locked stiff and I struggled to get into the right position to turn my body effectively into impact.

31 points on a very wet soggy course, lost a couple of balls in rough as they can’t mow it…..

Any score in the 30s will do me in this time of change!

[Halfer5]

Round 1 in the bag.Battled the new Movement a little, for some reason my right hip and glute were locked stiff and I struggled to get into the right position to turn my body effectively into impact.31 points on a very wet soggy course, lost a couple of balls in rough as they can’t mow it….. Any score in the 30s will do me in this time of change!Great start to the new golfing you

[damoocow]

Been struggling for months with my irons open at impact at random times during my round. Almost alternating between great shots and hard right...Was frustrating as I had just managed to get down to my lowest handicap ever...Been a few years since I had a lesson so booked one in last week with a new teaching pro [Virginia Irwin]at my club. She was really good and found the fault early [basically starting to turn/slide way before I had started my downswing...She simplified it all for me and gave me some drills etc to get me back on track...Can highly recommend her.