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Have you ever 'found it,' that move (or thing) that makes all the difference?

Thought of another thing I routinely lose and then find again.

Ball position. When I'm hitting it my best my ball position starts in the middle of my stance with PW and slowly progresses forward 1 ball through the top of the bag. I find that when I'm playing poorly my ball position has crept up and it much more in the front half of my stance.

So with that and tempo, it's really just fundamental stuff that gets out of whack for me. Then like dominos when those fundamentals get out of whack the whole swing comes off the rails. That gets me down the path of looking for 'quick fixes' that sometimes work for a few holes, maybe the rest of the round and then don't next time.
 
I've found 'it' hundreds of times. Problem is that when the swing inevitably starts going off the rails again I tend to over exaggerate whatever the last 'it' was to the point it becomes a huge flaw.
 
JW Smoove said:
I think I have (or may have), at least for this month.

For me, I used to spend soooo much time trying to hit the back of the ball, last year I started looking at the front of it and that helped -- a lot. on my drives I line up the driver head with the ball out on the toe - say 1/2 way between edge and center of the club. And still look at front of the ball.

I started doing this similar thing with my irons - heck all the clubs other than putter (and chips) - and for me over the last 3-5 rounds ball striking has been very consistent - a miss here and there, but not many and much improved confidence in the shot/planned shot. Finding a bit more distance - maybe from better struck balls.

So, that's what seems to be working for me - and now in order for me to completely f**k up my swing, what have you found as a move (or something) that's working for you?
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Years ago I was hitting a driver in a bay at the Golfsmith HQ in Austin. The guy gave me the tip of setting up with the ball a little towards the toe. He explained that since I place the driver on the ground behind the ball that when you lift the club a little to wear you would hit it the ball moves toward the heel. If you set it toward the toe it moves it to the center. It made a pretty big difference.

I also will find something in the swing a few times a year that really works. Then I slowly forget it or something else changes and I'm back to searching.:ROFLMAO:
 
Yes, I went with a slow takeaway pretty similar to Morikowa and it improved my ball striking tremendously
 
about 10'ish years ago i started losing distance, injuries and getting older sucks, but i seem to find some swing where i was hitting down harder on he ball but swinging easier. i wasn't hitting it as far but i was almost always straight and my scores improved a bunch. but time, kids, work and not playing enough and that has gone away. i hope i can find it again or something like it.
 
What the annoying thing about finding "it" is you hit shots like you've never hit before, you try to engrain that swing, and it's a very difficult thing to do. So, you know you can do it...you just end up doing it very inconsistently.
 
Yep found it several years ago when trying to come up with a single swing thought and feeling that incorporated all the micro movements of a rotational pivot. Some things golfers don't share.
 
Just found it on that last drive. 💪

Odds of having lost it again immediately, 75%. Going for it. 😁
 
Watching Bruce Lietzke in Memphis once many moons ago I started laying the driver off a little at the top of the swing a little and absolutely started murdering it, straight too. After a month the straight part went bye bye. Came back every summer for years until a disk in my neck reminded me I'd just turned 60. That was 8 years ago and I remember the move but can't work it out anymore.😕
 
sheepdawg said:
That was 8 years ago and I remember the move but can't work it out anymore.😕
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From your description I kind of suspect it was a shallowing move. In retrospect I suspect that was what my magically appearing and disappearing driver move was a couple years ago. I distinctly recall my thought about the feel, at the time, was I was coming more around to the ball than down at it.
 
That post said:
Ball position. When I'm hitting it my best my ball position starts in the middle of my stance with PW and slowly progresses forward 1 ball through the top of the bag. I find that when I'm playing poorly my ball position has crept up and it much more in the front half of my stance.
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For me, ball position is everything. Where do "I" bottom out with different clubs?

I was reading post after post, and trying to hit driver anywhere from off my front heel to in front of my big toe.

Finally started to clean club faces to see where I was actually hitting the ball. I learned I was standing to close to the ball.

We are all different shapes with different levels of flexibility and strength. I'm thinking one size doesn't fit all.
 
uitar99 said:
We are all different shapes with different levels of flexibility and strength. I'm thinking one size doesn't fit all.
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This is EXACTLY it. There isn’t any ‘one size fits all’ approach to golf. It’s all about finding what works for you. No matter how unconventional or totally standard it is. There are definitely concepts that apply universally but there are always 100 different ways to accomplish them.
 
Yes. Every time I hit balls. The thing never works the next time though.
 
I will say, I don't have swing thoughts - I sort of clear my mind/head of all things other than where I hope/expect the ball to go (and how I want it to get there). I know there are things I must be thinking/doing - but I try (I guess) to minimize all that stuff. Just look at the shot, smooth practice swing, address (with ball towards toe (like toe side of middle) all shots, look at front edge of ball swing. Maybe sounds like a lot, it's not and so far (repeating it on most shots over 2+ rounds and hitting into the net - results are promisiing. I do try to get (when I think about it) into a bit of draw stance. Beyond that - nothing. (easy with my empty noggin)
 
Ball position!
 
David7 said:
Ball position!
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I failed physics at uni...and golf is all about physics...it did teach me tho, ball position and what the face is doing when it hits the ball.

The ball doesn't care how it gets there.
 
All of this chatter of lost and found.....well founded btw reminds me of an old song.....with a little paraphrasing

You might wake up some session
To a move or something missing from your golf in the swing
And if you're quick enough to see
You'll catch a fleeting glimpse of something really working
Out on the new horizon
You may see the floating motion of a floating ball on wings
And if the sleep has left your ears
You might hear heartbeats drumming through an open fellow

Don't be concerned, it will not harm you
It's only me pursuing somethin' I'm not sure of
Across my dreams with nets of wonder
I chase the bright elusive butterfly of golf

Elusive butterfly
if you want the context.
 
uitar99 said:
I failed physics at uni...and golf is all about physics...it did teach me tho, ball position and what the face is doing when it hits the ball.

The ball doesn't care how it gets there.
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For me, I was topping it frequently. No matter what I do, my low point wants to be behind the ball. So I finally moved the ball to right before where the low point of my swing is.
 
Way back when I started (early1980s) my golf journey in earnest, my instructor, after seeing my swing told me I needed to swing the club head to right field.

What he meant, was to align myself from home plate, through 2nd base, and into center field. Then swing the club head to right field. I've heard newer, same instruction described as swing the club head to 1st base.

I spent 8 very productive years with that instructor. (RIP)

Since I was an accomplished baseball player, this instruction made sense, and pretty much cured my slice which is what went to see him for in the first place.

Oh, I can still slice the ball, but those shots, luckily, are few, and far between since that instruction.
 
I find it and lose it about every 3 weeks.
 
I have an “it” thing until i hit a couple fats irons in a row, then “it” doesn’t help. 😂
 
WLG1952 said:
Since I was an accomplished baseball player, this instruction made sense
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Dcharo said:
The golf swing is not really a “swing” it’s a throwing motion with the golf club
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This is another one of my "it's". I learned that golf instruction is not standardized. Every coach/instructor, in person/online, teaches in a different manner. Some even have no teaching experience nor credentials and just hang out a shingle.

I'd heard from sources that "feel isn't real". But here are two folks that seem to buy into " feel is real". For them,

We are all physically different. Size shape age. How we learn.

I stopped playing golf swing and started playing golf. I only change something to fix a ball flight problem. I've got my own method to deal with that.

At my age I'll never go on tour or shoot par rounds. That's another "it" for me. Trying to eliminate expectations. If I break 85, thats a bonus. If I shoot 100, there's always another day.
 
uitar99 said:
I'd heard from sources that "feel isn't real". But here are two folks that seem to buy into " feel is real". For them,
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"Feels ain't reals" refers to the fact that what you feel like you're doing may not mirror reality. I experienced that a lot when I was first learning.
 
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