Two Weeks, Post-Monte

[games]

It seems to be popular to post reviews of instructors immediately after a lesson. But, I always felt the best way to review an instructor was to wait a couple of weeks to see if improvement continues (which we all know can either be a product of what the teacher taught OR a product of the student's effort to work on the changes)...

 

My Stats:

6'1" 290# (lost 80# in five months; likely to lose another 80# in the next year);

Left-handed playing golf right-handed

Learning Type: Analytical (Like to know "why" and not just "how");

Game: Five years ago, I was a bogey golfer. Lack of play (13 rounds in last five years) made me worse;

Carry Distance (pre-Monte): 7-iron: 135 yards; Driver: 195 yards;

 

I decided I wanted to start playing well again, so as a jump-start, I took part in Monte's weekend "golf school" in Chicago. After watching me and taking some video, Monte told me to only work on secondary axis tilt and use my right arm more as a power source. Specifically:

- Setup: Reverse K

- Backswing: Weight shift to right heel;

- Downswing: Retain secondary tilt, allow weight to shift while keep head from moving forward;

- Power: Utilize a right-hand "shoving" motion to increase power;

 

At the time, I was disappointed. I can't hit the ball out of my shadow, and my game stinks on ice. At the time, and for the money paid, all I felt I got for the weekend was "keep head back" and "shove with the right hand." Followed up with Monte via e-mail to see if there was ANYTHING else. He confirmed, saying "That is all you need, and that is plenty."

 

My first three Post-Monte range sessions, I strained to keep my head back. Key word: STRAINED. But, Monte taught me that a fade (or worse) is a direct result of head moving forward." The ball flight was telling me I was on the right track.

 

Yesterday was range session #4, Post-Monte. I was more relaxed, and out of nowhere, the ball starts to POP off the clubface. It felt so lazy and effortless, I felt like I was practically laying down at impact! Took out my Tour Striker Pro 7-iron and striped a few that landed at the 150 marker (laser-measured distances; limited flight range balls). Took three shots with the driver and flew all three well past 200 (bad marking past 200; looked to fly about 210-220 based on the 200 and 250 markers).

 

My plan is to continue to ingrain "head back" while starting to add more right hand. But, for now I'm really happy with the progress I made. Monte, thanks for all your help!

[Albatross85]

Good to hear that you followed his advice and got the results you were seeking. Keep it up

[wybrh]

Isn't it awesome when something finally clicks? Keep working and enjoy the results.

[kits013]

Can you please explain about the[color=#282828] "right-hand "shoving" motion" [/color]
[color=#282828]it seems to me that whenever i maintain the secondary [/color][color="#282828"]tilt with a POWERFUL right hand move, the ball HOOK (my whole upper body shift to the left side) [/color]

now i just bump, maintain head position and TURN shoulders toward the target, but i'm losing quite a bit of distance

[parmark]

Congrats Doug. Kudo's to you for staying with it and not giving up when it didn't happen as quickly as some might have expected.

We had a Mini-Monte Open Sunday, Greg, Will and myself from the Chicago event got together at Highland Woods, was fun comparing notes from the event.

Keep up the good work and keep us posted on results. He does know his stuff!

[Precis1on]

Glad to see you're finding your results Doug!

Monte said it well (and Greg, Mark, and I mentioned this over the weekend), he gives you the compass and 10% of the CORRECT information you need. From there, you need to figure it out on your own.

Let us know when you're in town! It was great getting out with Greg and Mark and watching each other's changes and talking about our "WOW" moments as well as our head-smacking frustrations and gotchas.

[games]

[quote name='kits013' timestamp='1399969723' post='9284861']
Can you please explain about the[color=#282828] "right-hand "shoving" motion" [/color]
[color=#282828]it seems to me that whenever i maintain the secondary [/color][color=#282828]tilt with a POWERFUL right hand move, the ball HOOK (my whole upper body shift to the left side). [/color]
[color=#282828]N[/color]ow i just bump, maintain head position and TURN shoulders toward the target, but i'm losing quite a bit of distance.
[/quote]

Again, I'm left-handed playing golf right-handed. My right hand isn't exactly strong, so Monte probably figured I couldn't overcook the right-hand shoving action.
A natural right hander would have a much different result with the same thought, and that sounds like what you are experiencing.

But, what I've learned from Monte is you can't achieve consistent shotmaking with the head moving forward on the downswing.

[ALIF]

Monte is the man. Congrats on you progress!

[games]

First, thanks Mark and Will! It was great meeting you guys in Chicago. Hope your games are improving too.

Saturday, I took to the course for the first time since Chicago and holy short game! Up and down seven times! SEVEN! Including a couple of sand saves. Monte's short game video has me back to my old self, trusting my hands and a simple swing to get the job done. Have been working on my putting myself; and I added a little forward press which seems to make me more aggressive.

Still working on distance and direction with driver. Striped it off the first two tees, then something crept back in, probably my forward "head lunge." Also had some issues with thin/topped irons, probably also due to the lunge.

But, overall I'm really happy. I've lost 90 pounds, and my mirror/shadow work show my swing "geometry" changing for the better. I just need to continue to work on distance and connection. Prior to seeing Monte, I was working with a local pro who was emphasizing body/arm/hand connection and I think I've found a drill that will help that and my distance at the same time. If I can maintain my axis tilts while working on this drill, I'm going to be in good shape by mid-summer!

[MonteScheinblum]

Nice work on all counts.

[avguy]

Games;
Others might have missed it, but as another lefty who plays righty, I could not. My right hand gets underpowered at times also, so I have graduated full time to a 10-finger grip and it really helps control the driver head.

We're more like a backhanded frisbee toss into the target direction.
Oh, I want to heap some praise on you for the pounds you heaped off. Way to go, man! I hope your health is improved all around. Just curious, do you walk or cart golf?

[games]

[quote name='avguy' timestamp='1401129015' post='9369263']
Games;
Others might have missed it, but as another lefty who plays righty, I could not. My right hand gets underpowered at times also, so I have graduated full time to a 10-finger grip and it really helps control the driver head.

We're more like a backhanded frisbee toss into the target direction.
Oh, I want to heap some praise on you for the pounds you heaped off. Way to go, man! I hope your health is improved all around. Just curious, do you walk or cart golf?
[/quote]

Thanks for the kind words, AVGuy. I prefer to walk, and always have, even when I was bigger. Saturday was an exception as the course i played was cart mandatory.

The 10 finger grip intrigues me and will test it out. What I learned from Monte is my dominant left hand turned into yanking the handle. When I added head lunge in the downswing, my game was lost.