2 seasons into a swing change, not making progress

[ZGriswold83]

On 4/24/2023 at 4:14 AM, tthomasgolfer605 said:

 

 

 

I finally got a chance to watch and really process this video. The point of pressure in the RIGHT heel was an eye opener. I have always been trying to shift pressure straight to my left side, bypass the right. I hope this is a breakthrough that gets me going in the right direction.

[moptop]

I feel like I’m living the almost the same exact golf life as the OP.  I’ve taken a bunch of lessons, mostly online and most recently from JChown.  Had some back injuries, can’t keep my right side from firing out towards the ball.  I can really shallow out my swing by using the “nail drill,” but the early extension is the bane of my existence 

[GungHoGolf]

On 4/25/2023 at 8:48 AM, ZGriswold83 said:

I finally got a chance to watch and really process this video. The point of pressure in the RIGHT heel was an eye opener. I have always been trying to shift pressure straight to my left side, bypass the right. I hope this is a breakthrough that gets me going in the right direction.

 

Just note that that video is 10 years old, and this image from that video is probably 25-30 years old and has been thoroughly debunked by modern/more accurate pressure measurements:

 

[tthomasgolfer605]

7 hours ago, GungHoGolf said:

 

Just note that that video is 10 years old, and this image from that video is probably 25-30 years old and has been thoroughly debunked by modern/more accurate pressure measurements:

 

What he's saying is the weight shift shouldn't be forced. The OP clearly stated he tries to get left immediately and the club goes out too much. It will still get left, but will feel much later than it actually is. 

[ZGriswold83]

1 hour ago, tthomasgolfer605 said:

What he's saying is the weight shift shouldn't be forced. The OP clearly stated he tries to get left immediately and the club goes out too much. It will still get left, but will feel much later than it actually is. 

Yes, I have been almost completely bypassing pressure shift into my right heel. I was dry swinging and once I actually got some pressure down into my right heel, it was like the club swung itself. Everything made sense. Now I can't get that feeling back again. It may have been a completely wrong motion, but it was different than what I have been doing, so I figured it was worth exploring. Not even sure how I was doing it, felt like I just sank my right heel into ground.

[slytown]

On 4/23/2023 at 2:47 PM, Pepperturbo said:

Surprising how often I see threads where someone is changing their swing or simply learning a swing, and impatience has them jumping from one teacher to the next, complaining about the fact nothing's happened. 

 

Not trying to be a hard-azz, but find ONE instructor, and stick with him/her, regardless of what YOU think.  You're in your own way of progress.  Without a commitment to one instructor, you and your swing are doomed to flounder. 

 

Golfers are stubborn. They either want immediate results or they want to automatically get good results with what feels comfortable already.

 

My advice: do something uncomfortable in order to fix the things you want to fix.

[tthomasgolfer605]

1 hour ago, ZGriswold83 said:

Yes, I have been almost completely bypassing pressure shift into my right heel. I was dry swinging and once I actually got some pressure down into my right heel, it was like the club swung itself. Everything made sense. Now I can't get that feeling back again. It may have been a completely wrong motion, but it was different than what I have been doing, so I figured it was worth exploring. Not even sure how I was doing it, felt like I just sank my right heel into ground.

Stick with it. It'll come. 

[Pepperturbo]

3 hours ago, slytown said:

 

Golfers are stubborn. They either want immediate results or they want to automatically get good results with what feels comfortable already.

 

My advice: do something uncomfortable in order to fix the things you want to fix.

IMO - If true, it's maturity and age based.  None of my friends feel that way, nor have I in any sport, activity or business.

 

People that are aware, mature and seriously want to better themselves, tend to have clear expectations, goals and are mindful, progress is NOT immediate nor an entitlement; they persevere. 

 

I like what a Harvard Bus. Review author says about being Stubborn: it's the ugly side of perseverance.  LOL They just want, assume, expect then flounder, and wonder why.

[Soloman1]

Well, except for YouTube videos and the ads on GolfWRX for things that fix your swing and add 40 yards instantly. Just buy this plastic thing.

[4thand11]

On 4/23/2023 at 4:25 PM, ZGriswold83 said:

The first pro I went to,  who I really liked stopped teaching to sell insurance. Second one is who wanted me to completely change my swing, I didn't get along with his teaching and also had an issue with the course he worked at. Third pro just watched me swing and told stories for my entire lesson.  I'm running out of local pros.

 

Illustrates the reason why I disagree with the knee jerk advice "go take lessons".   The problem with that advice is that some instructors are great, and others suck.

 

In my opinion, Youtube or video based lessons are highly underrated.  The free Youtube videos give you a feel for the instructor's style and a no-pressure chance to see if you think their method seems like a good fit for you.  Then, you can progress to purchasing an entire online course, individual online lessons via video where the pro will give you specific things to work on, etc.  All of which is probably much less expensive than the in-person lessons with the guy who just told you stories on the range while you hit balls.

 

You mentioned Monte and Malaska - both excellent teachers but not the same.  My advice would be to pick one and subscribe/purchase a full course and stick with it.  Trying to follow multiple instructors/programs at once can lead to problems.  But I suspect they are both better teachers than most people will find by chance at their local course.

 

Other piece of advice would be to be patient and not get hung up on the scores you used to shoot.  A change is always tough but often very rewarding in the end when you finally see results.  Also... given your back issues you should look at the swing change as a means to allow you to continue to play injury-free (hopefully) for longer, which is a tradeoff well worth making, even if the price is some higher scores to start off.

[ZGriswold83]

Here's my latest range session after trying to get my left hip moving. I don't think I'm physically capable of doing it. I tried and left with a sore back and no progress once again.

 

 

 

 

 

[ZGriswold83]

4 hours ago, 4thand11 said:

 

Illustrates the reason why I disagree with the knee jerk advice "go take lessons".   The problem with that advice is that some instructors are great, and others suck.

 

In my opinion, Youtube or video based lessons are highly underrated.  The free Youtube videos give you a feel for the instructor's style and a no-pressure chance to see if you think their method seems like a good fit for you.  Then, you can progress to purchasing an entire online course, individual online lessons via video where the pro will give you specific things to work on, etc.  All of which is probably much less expensive than the in-person lessons with the guy who just told you stories on the range while you hit balls.

 

You mentioned Monte and Malaska - both excellent teachers but not the same.  My advice would be to pick one and subscribe/purchase a full course and stick with it.  Trying to follow multiple instructors/programs at once can lead to problems.  But I suspect they are both better teachers than most people will find by chance at their local course.

 

Other piece of advice would be to be patient and not get hung up on the scores you used to shoot.  A change is always tough but often very rewarding in the end when you finally see results.  Also... given your back issues you should look at the swing change as a means to allow you to continue to play injury-free (hopefully) for longer, which is a tradeoff well worth making, even if the price is some higher scores to start off.

Thanks for the advice. My problem is nothing makes sense to me. I try one feel for awhile, no gains, look for something else, think I found something that clicks in my head, try it, worse than before. Golf isn't fun for me when I'm spraying the ball all over the course and I don't think that is going to change anytime soon.

[ferrispgm]

I'm sure others have noted (i don't have time to go through all comments), stop jumping around on tips.  Take whatever a pro tells you that you need to fix and addressing that issue is your sole goal for the next 8 months to a year.  Then start with the next one.  You can't address more than 1, maybe 2 faults at a time unless the 2nd is a setup issue.  Jumping around to different things every couple weeks or trying to do more than 1 is a recipe for disaster....I know, i've been there.  As soon as I started focusing on one at a time and not deviating, I started improving.  If you were trying to learn guitar, would you jump around trying to play 10 different songs at once or keep practicing until you get the first one right? Developing new neural/motor pathways takes time.

 

 

[sethdavidsdad]

making good progress. I would say the deeper hip turn in the backswing is helping more than anything. Camera angles aren't exactly the same but still much easier to golf from new positions

[ZGriswold83]

12 minutes ago, ferrispgm said:

I'm sure others have noted (i don't have time to go through all comments), stop jumping around on tips.  Take whatever a pro tells you that you need to fix and addressing that issue is your sole goal for the next 8 months to a year.  Then start with the next one.  You can't address more than 1, maybe 2 faults at a time unless the 2nd is a setup issue.  Jumping around to different things every couple weeks or trying to do more than 1 is a recipe for disaster....I know, i've been there.  As soon as I started focusing on one at a time and not deviating, I started improving.  If you were trying to learn guitar, would you jump around trying to play 10 different songs at once or keep practicing until you get the first one right? Developing new neural/motor pathways takes time.

 

 

I just deleted my Instagram, that's literally all my Instagram feed was. I think I just need to lay off golf altogether for a week or so instead of trying and failing over and over.

[ZGriswold83]

9 minutes ago, sethdavidsdad said:

making good progress. I would say the deeper hip turn in the backswing is helping more than anything. Camera angles aren't exactly the same but still much easier to golf from new positions

 

Thanks for taking time to compare my swing. I feel good about my backswing, although I'm still a big flatter than I would like. I just can't figure out transition, downswing and impact. Everything feels so forced and robotic. I hit a few good shots today but most were right going more right and low.

[wagolfer7]

25 minutes ago, ZGriswold83 said:

Thanks for the advice. My problem is nothing makes sense to me. I try one feel for awhile, no gains, look for something else, think I found something that clicks in my head, try it, worse than before. Golf isn't fun for me when I'm spraying the ball all over the course and I don't think that is going to change anytime soon.

 

This thread has is not going to help you.  Your chasing the wrong stuff right now.  

 

Even in the new videos - sure your getting a little deeper hip turn, but your not moving your hips the correct way - so your move from the top has to kick the trail hip out.  This is where golf is tough - what your trying to accomplish at the moment is not possible with how your trying to do it.  

 

You got a real nice looking golf swing man.  It's a few small tweaks.  A lot of good scratch golfers have a little EE, little right hip towards the ball, etc.  You need small adjustments.  

 

Chasing advice from advice from YT video to Instagram video to advice, etc. - is a good plan to go in circles.  

 

If you can't grasp the right stuff on your own.  Find a good online instructor to learn from.  

 

When half the advice is coming from golfers that aren't as good as you.....it's probably not the best advice.  

[ZGriswold83]

1 minute ago, wagolfer7 said:

 

This thread has is not going to help you.  Your chasing the wrong stuff right now.  

 

Even in the new videos - sure your getting a little deeper hip turn, but your not moving your hips the correct way - so your move from the top has to kick the trail hip out.  This is where golf is tough - what your trying to accomplish at the moment is not possible with how your trying to do it.  

 

You got a real nice looking golf swing man.  It's a few small tweaks.  A lot of good scratch golfers have a little EE, little right hip towards the ball, etc.  You need small adjustments.  

 

Chasing advice from advice from YT video to Instagram video to advice, etc. - is a good plan to go in circles.  

 

If you can't grasp the right stuff on your own.  Find a good online instructor to learn from.  

 

When half the advice is coming from golfers that aren't as good as you.....it's probably not the best advice.  

Thank you, I'm very, very hard on myself. Not only in golf but life in general. I'm not trying to be a whiny a**, I truly, really believe that I'm not very good at golf.

[wagolfer7]

6 minutes ago, ZGriswold83 said:

Thank you, I'm very, very hard on myself. Not only in golf but life in general. I'm not trying to be a whiny a**, I truly, really believe that I'm not very good at golf.

 

I'm the same.  I get it.  Plus I'm same age as you are.  

 

I'm not sure what your golf goal is here.  But you are literally 1 or 2 things away from scratch level swing.  And they are small things.  You don't need to use the ground like the pros, you don't need to look like a pro at every position, etc.   

 

Guys get lost when they pick one thing out of thin air, that pro's do and start working on it.  They ignore everything else prior to that move that those pro's do.  It makes it pretty irrelevant. 

 

Give online lessons a shot with a reputable teacher.  You don't need a full rebuild unless your trying to go beyond scratch golf in my opinion.  

[moptop]

Man, you have a nice looking swing.  I would checkout some of Adam Young’s stuff.  He differentiates between technique and skill.  Your technique is pretty good, start working on skill

[ZGriswold83]

12 minutes ago, moptop said:

Man, you have a nice looking swing.  I would checkout some of Adam Young’s stuff.  He differentiates between technique and skill.  Your technique is pretty good, start working on skill

I'll check him out and thanks, I'll actually believe it one day.

[Nels55]

1 hour ago, ZGriswold83 said:

Here's my latest range session after trying to get my left hip moving. I don't think I'm physically capable of doing it. I tried and left with a sore back and no progress once again.

 

 

 

 

Well, you could quit fighting your hips and just accept your swing.  Maybe?  Here is a guy who would probably tell you that:

 

Anyway, you have a really nice swing!  Don't do anything to it that makes you hurt especially lower back!  LOL my advice for what it is worth...

[DLiver]

When you make a change to your motion, it is going to feel weird. You won't hit it crisply for a while. Your swing looks really good. Just stick with the changes you've made until you get comfortable with them. You will start hitting it more solidly as you get used to the new motion.