My quest for consistency ...

[Jono]

Just to give you a quick background ...

I used to play off single figure handicap (lowest ever was 6 when I was in uni) with a pretty consistent swing. Didn't hit it that far but far enough to reach most par 4's in two. My short game was never the best but was OK when I was playing on a regular basis.

Around 2005, I decided I wanted more distance. I started training specifically for speed and power. I worked with chains, lighter clubs, heavier clubs etc. I gradually started to lose accuracy. Duck hooks were slowly creeping into my game.

In 2006 I was diagnosed with a pituitary tumour and had surgery in 2007. My body blew up from a relatively slim 65kg to a chubby 95kg. My swing shape changed and the consistent swing that I had became nothing but a distant memory ... My swing no longer had any consistency about it. Left, right, low wormburners, high balloons ... I started to play less and less golf. When I hurt by back just under 2 years ago lifting weights, I decided to give up the game completely.

Anyway, back to the present. My back is better and I started to play again 2-3 months ago. Still scoring crap and with the new handicap system, my handicap blew up from 12 to 18. My big problem is keeping the ball in play. OB's, water hazards, lost balls in trees ... these are killing my scores.

In my quest for some consistency, I started looking at Lee Trevino's swing. Arguably the most consistent hitter of the golf ball, I thought if I can emulate the characteristics that made his swing consistent, surely I would be more consistent too. I'm built similarly now ... And I like the feel of getting my right shoulder under and through the ball ... which Lee probably did the best. Lee's head dropped at least 10 inches on his drives and his right shoulder really chased after the ball. I've been looking at his swing on youtube and I've borrowed Lee's book "Swing My Way" from Ferrins.

I've been getting encouraging results so far ... When I hit it well, I get about 10m of fade. My bad hooks are gone ... The worst shots to the left are straight or slight pulls as long as I drive the legs and get my right shoulder under. If I stay tall and rotate the body, it's big pull left.

The misses to the right are still pretty bad at the moment. If I don't release the clubhead, I can get some big push slices. I've been working on "release fades" which seems to minimise the push slices out to the right.

Anyway, it's a great feeling to stand on the tee knowing that my misses are more predictable and manageable now. Hopefully, if I continue to work on this, I can hit more fairways and greens thus giving myself more birdie and par putts instead of bogie or double bogie putts. Now putting is another story ...

[BrisVegas]

"release fades"

I reckon that's what works for me, if I understand you correctly. As much as I like to draw the ball, I can hit a 3/4 swing with a small fade that is pretty consistent. Works with driver and irons. I wish I hit it as far as I did 10 years ago, but I just accept the fact that I need an extra club most times and move on. As you get more confidence, you can accelerate harder through the ball.

[Jono]

Yeah, I've lost about 10-20m but I'm sure it will come back as I start swinging more freely.

The way I like to think of a "release fade" is that I still release the club through the ball but a touch late and the clubhead doesn't turn over as much as it used to. I like to feel a "toe of the clubhead up" position on the follow through.

[razaar]

Chubby 95 KGs... good one, Jono. Treveno's swing, eh. Do you do the one,two three move with the feet before the takeaway?

[Jono]

Chubby 95 KGs... good one, Jono. Treveno's swing, eh. Do you do the one,two three move with the feet before the takeaway?

LOL ... I haven't mastered that yet.

I don't swing quite like Lee. My swing is much more upright than his, for example. I've just been using some of his principles which seem to be compatible with my swing.

[Eag's]

Sounds good Jono, you will have to teach me how to hit a bloody fade

[markTHEblake]

And I like the feel of getting my right shoulder under and through the ball

This thought reminded me of something I have been concentrating a bit on lately, maybe not quite the same but keeping the right shoulder lower than the left through impact, so that I dont spin up and out of the follow through, as well as trying to start my downswing slower and was failing dismally at the latter.

Dougk taught me something long ago that I often fall back to, and that is the first movement in the downswing is pushing or dropping the right shoulder down. For me that just makes everything (shoulders, torso, hips, legs) seem to fall into place. For me it just generates so much more power and stability. Obviously like anything for us hackers eventually another problem/solution arises for us to work on- or I just forget to do it.

Note that I do not mean technically that has to be your first movement down, and it may not be even if you try, its just that is the conscious move to make and that might help you doing what you want there.

[Peppas]

Good luck Jono, if you ever want to see real inconsistency I'm happy to have a hit with you sometime

[IanO]

Good luck Jono, if you ever want to see real inconsistency I'm happy to have a hit with you sometime

or me