PGA Tour Academy: Home Edition - THP Preview

[Bullitt5339]

Par on a par 5 is amazing. GREAT JOB!

I'm not surprised people are struggling with putting. As much as I like the DVDs I think the putting lesson is the worst. There's not much discussion of speed control - just the drill with the towel. But if I hit ti too hard the towel grabs it. How do I know how much past the hole it would've gone. Not a fan of that drill.

That said, changing my grip seems to have helped my putting significantly. If I could get my second shot together I could break 100.

Having gone through other putting lessons, I would disagree with you on that point. The putting lessons have just enough info to teach you without cluttering your thought process with too much crap. It's incredibly difficult to "teach" distance control with all the variables. The greens at my home course run about 10, the greens I played on Sunday were faster and the greens I play today are a lot slower. There's nothing they can teach besides equal back and forward stroke that will teach you how to control distances on every speed of greens. They give you a repeatable method to figure out on your own. Every putting drill has speed as a factor. If you're doing the around the world drill correctly, you should have one uphill station, one downhill, one right to left and one left to right putt. Each of these relies on varying your speed by determining how long of a stroke you need to use.

Putting is so much about feel that once you get a repeatable setup and method, distance control will come naturally based on time spent learning how far to bring the putter back.

If you want another speed drill, take 2 pieces of string and lay them 12" from each other and concentrate on keeping the ball in between the string from different distances. It's the same as the towel drill, but if you think the towel is skewing your results, give it a try.

 

[BuckeyeMark]

Having gone through other putting lessons, I would disagree with you on that point. The putting lessons have just enough info to teach you without cluttering your thought process with too much crap. It's incredibly difficult to "teach" distance control with all the variables. The greens at my home course run about 10, the greens I played on Sunday were faster and the greens I play today are a lot slower. There's nothing they can teach besides equal back and forward stroke that will teach you how to control distances on every speed of greens. They give you a repeatable method to figure out on your own. Every putting drill has speed as a factor. If you're doing the around the world drill correctly, you should have one uphill station, one downhill, one right to left and one left to right putt. Each of these relies on varying your speed by determining how long of a stroke you need to use.

Putting is so much about feel that once you get a repeatable setup and method, distance control will come naturally based on time spent learning how far to bring the putter back.

If you want another speed drill, take 2 pieces of string and lay them 12" from each other and concentrate on keeping the ball in between the string from different distances. It's the same as the towel drill, but if you think the towel is skewing your results, give it a try.

I'm just not a fan of that lesson. Think speed control is the number one issue in putting and there's just not much talk about it. They could do the "how much the stroke went past your foot" method to try and gauge how much swing you need/are taking. Or talk about hitting three balls when you get to the practice green with a basic stroke and then pacing off how far balls are going today with that "base line stroke." There are all kinds of ideas about controlling speed out there. And this DVD series is endlessly creative - they had me sharpie a glove so that my grip would be right (genius!) and the pivot lesson uses a chair (great idea!). These guys are on it! But putting... um, not very much. And how does the towel drill work anyway? The towel grabs the ball. You can't tell if you hit it 18" past or 6' past. How are you learning speed control with that drill? I actually do the two string drill all the time - it's very good - but I have to wonder why it isn't in the DVD instead of the towel. That's just not a very good drill, imo, and a little disappointing in a DVD that is just so stellar in every other area.

I was also a little weirded out that the lessons in the manual aren't in the same order as the DVD lessons. I think when they reprint the manual they need to fix that for sure. The manual should exactly correspond to the DVDs. It's strange doing DVD 3 on chipping and then digging in the back of the manual for the chipping stuff that isn't even it's own lesson - it's part of "Lesson 8 - Short Game."

So ... not a fan of the putting thing. But of all the lessons that they probably don't need to be great on that's it. You can get tons of putting help everywhere else and putting doesn't really depend on the learning the full swing etc. If they'll give me the basics of a good fundamental swing that I can use on the tee box, the fairway, the rough (always the rough ... sigh) and even the bunker then I'll be fine once the ball gets on the green. It's a great series and worth every penny, imo.

 

[Germerican]

The putting lesson for me was very easy. I do wish the driving lesson was a bit earlier since getting off the tee for your iron game is a pretty big deal. Even though the impact zone and set up did help with my driving, I still think they should have at least went over it briefly.

 

[eddie_yvp]

I figured since I've been changing elements of my swing pretty much every single time I hit the range (or my practice set-up at home) and have only made nominal improvements over the past several years (playing relatively infrequently), this program seems right up my alley. Have taken some lessons here and there and spent a bunch of cash on a Golftec package last year - but never really clicked with my instructor and came away very disappointed.

In any event, got through the first lesson yesterday. My grip was fairly close to what these guys teach. Biggest adjustment was posture (very different feel from what I had been doing). In my previous trials and tribulations, I think I had better success with my swing when my posture randomly started with what is taught here - but it was just a feel thing - never really knew how to consciously get there. The other interesting tidbit was keeping my right arm less rigid at address - this really does help promote a better (or easier) turn and I could also feel my right arm whip around on the downswing to the point where I was launching the ball much higher than I usually do.

So far, color me impressed. I don't have the time / discipline to do the program as it is intended (will likely do most of the range practice sessions hitting into a net in my backyard), but the instruction is very clear and it certainly takes the randomness out of how I usually "practice" - which prior to this was just hitting a bunch of balls and changing elements of my swing in search of a better feel.

 

[ironcondor]

While we're on the topic of things we wished were different, one thing I wish they would address more is how to handle different clubs - ie 9i vs. 4i, and the differences there. They have ball position covered, but that's it. To me they feel completely different and I'm not sure if my approach/setup etc should be the same for each.

 

[Ashnz]

The putting lesson for me was very easy. I do wish the driving lesson was a bit earlier since getting off the tee for your iron game is a pretty big deal. Even though the impact zone and set up did help with my driving, I still think they should have at least went over it briefly.

My thoughts exactly.. I've had the urge to rush through the program just because I struggle getting off the tee.

Impat zone was some help but felt isolated and didn't help much with the overall swing. But doing the Pivot DVD yesterday I feel much better. Shifting the weight is a big one for me I think. Just by shifting the weight I was able to take divots in front of the ball.

 

[BuckeyeMark]

My thoughts exactly.. I've had the urge to rush through the program just because I struggle getting off the tee.

Impat zone was some help but felt isolated and didn't help much with the overall swing. But doing the Pivot DVD yesterday I feel much better. Shifting the weight is a big one for me I think. Just by shifting the weight I was able to take divots in front of the ball.

I'm on this lesson now. Watched some of it and thought "wow, that's a great idea (the chair) but I'm gonna have to work on that."

 

[BuckeyeMark]

The putting lesson for me was very easy. I do wish the driving lesson was a bit earlier since getting off the tee for your iron game is a pretty big deal. Even though the impact zone and set up did help with my driving, I still think they should have at least went over it briefly.

I think they'd love to (and I'll bet a bunch of folks skip ahead) but I think they are building the swing in pieces, one little piece at a time. I think the grip and the impact zone stuff and then the pivot all work together to make your swing. I say "I think" because I'm not there yet. But I'll bet it's easier teaching the swing like that then it is teaching it in one "chunk."

It would be cool if they had a "MEANWHILE" DVD because realistically guys are going to play golf during the 8 week course. What should I do? A little help would be great.

 

[Ashnz]

I think they'd love to (and I'll bet a bunch of folks skip ahead) but I think they are building the swing in pieces, one little piece at a time. I think the grip and the impact zone stuff and then the pivot all work together to make your swing. I say "I think" because I'm not there yet. But I'll bet it's easier teaching the swing like that then it is teaching it in one "chunk."

It would be cool if they had a "MEANWHILE" DVD because realistically guys are going to play golf during the 8 week course. What should I do? A little help would be great.

Haha, love the idea of a "meanwhile" DVD. That would be so good. What I've been doing is that before every round I go to the range and hit a bucket of balls without thinking of the DVDs or any of the content in them. That helps me clear my head before the round and I try to carry that feeling to the course. Thinking of this stuff on course will probably not result in anything good.

 

[Ashnz]

I had the pivot lesson yesterday. I struggled a little bit with slowing my swing down to 1/3rd and then 2/3rd. When I forcefully try to hit slower I lose the rhythm in my swing and tend to struggle so I just ended up hitting balls at my usual speed.

I am struggling with my tempo at the moment and the instinct to hit the ball rather than just swing. Any future DVDs that may address this problem?

Also when I try to hit my "normal" tempo, it leaves me unbalanced as it is probably too fast for me. Any ideas or drills I can do to start swinging within myself?

 

[ironcondor]

I just ordered an orange whip swing trainer (see other thread on this product/topic) to help me with this. I hope that I will see improvement based on the fundamentals I've been taught with the dvds so far, combined with the physical tool to help my tempo and plane. I start the full swing lesson this week. I've been focusing on the hands and pivot so far and it feels better, but my plane is still way off. Still loving the series. I can't commit to the exact schedule, but I've been seeing very positive results so far.

 

[BuckeyeMark]

I just ordered an orange whip swing trainer (see other thread on this product/topic) to help me with this. I hope that I will see improvement based on the fundamentals I've been taught with the dvds so far, combined with the physical tool to help my tempo and plane. I start the full swing lesson this week. I've been focusing on the hands and pivot so far and it feels better, but my plane is still way off. Still loving the series. I can't commit to the exact schedule, but I've been seeing very positive results so far.

I'm a HUGE OrangeWhip guy and I'd be very interested in how you're using it in conjunction with the DVDs. Tell us more!

 

[BuckeyeMark]

Haha, love the idea of a "meanwhile" DVD. That would be so good. What I've been doing is that before every round I go to the range and hit a bucket of balls without thinking of the DVDs or any of the content in them. That helps me clear my head before the round and I try to carry that feeling to the course. Thinking of this stuff on course will probably not result in anything good.

that pretty much makes the case for a "MEANWHILE" dvd or at least a chapter in the book on it. I don't think they want you to blank out everything you've learned until you're done with the whole course! but I am with you - played last week and found myself trying to do hinge and hold stuff with a driver. yeah, that went well...

 

[Bullitt5339]

I have said that I've been having trouble lately with my irons after a lot of initial success....

Well, they came back today with a vengeance after watching the impact zone and pivot lessons again and doing the practices today. I also figured out that I had went back to standing too close to the ball and too upright and was using too much secondary spine tilt.

Went to the range after work and after running "the process" a few times, I was back to hitting my 7 iron pretty straight and 175 yards again. Love it. Time to do the driver lesson tomorrow, and since that's typically been the weakest part of my game, I can't wait.

 

[Bullitt5339]

played last week and found myself trying to do hinge and hold stuff with a driver. yeah, that went well...

How nice were the divots? I had a problem initially with wanting to hit down on the driver as well and ummmm........ yeah. That sucked.

 

[BuckeyeMark]

How nice were the divots? I had a problem initially with wanting to hit down on the driver as well and ummmm........ yeah. That sucked.

surprisingly, a driver is longer than an 8 iron ... who knew? but if you want a nice divot IN FRONT OF YOUR RIGHT FOOT as the driver bounces off the grass and clips the top of your golf ball give it a try!

 

[BuckeyeMark]

Whoa! Really hit the wall tonight in the first part of the Pivot Lesson. When I start the first turn (left shoulder down) my head goes all over everywhere. My wife was doing the observing for me and even though I felt very steady - rock steady - she made it clear that my head was going down and to the right. I really had a hard time stopping that and, in fact, didn't do so completely. It was very frustrating. Actually got my phone out and video'd the sequence and sure enough there is my head straying down and to the right. Unbelievable! I was SURE it was still ... but no it wasn't.

Ideas and help on this?

 

[Germerican]

I just ordered an orange whip swing trainer (see other thread on this product/topic) to help me with this. I hope that I will see improvement based on the fundamentals I've been taught with the dvds so far, combined with the physical tool to help my tempo and plane. I start the full swing lesson this week. I've been focusing on the hands and pivot so far and it feels better, but my plane is still way off. Still loving the series. I can't commit to the exact schedule, but I've been seeing very positive results so far.

Let me know how that works out for you. I have the SKLZ tempo trainer that I carry with my in my bag. Helps with getting loose before each hole and I can work on my swing tempo.

 

[Ashnz]

I just ordered an orange whip swing trainer (see other thread on this product/topic) to help me with this. I hope that I will see improvement based on the fundamentals I've been taught with the dvds so far, combined with the physical tool to help my tempo and plane. I start the full swing lesson this week. I've been focusing on the hands and pivot so far and it feels better, but my plane is still way off. Still loving the series. I can't commit to the exact schedule, but I've been seeing very positive results so far.

I'd love to get the orange whip but the cost is prohibitive for me at the moment. I'll stick to 1-2-3 and 4 tempo for now.

 

[Germerican]

Just as a heads up, if you opted for the three month plan, it will be billed as "Digital Shelf Space" on your credit report. I checked my statement today and got confused on what it was so I did some research.

 

[Germerican]

Yesterday was a very productive day for me. I finally met with a trainer and we really worked out some issues. The first thing we did was modify the grip that I was taught by this program. Now it's only my fingers that are holding the ball, nothing at all with the palm. This alone reduced my slice down by 95%, didn't even need to adjust for a strong grip. However, instead of my slice, I developed a left hook, in which my trainer said it was progress. As I was taking my swings, he noticed that I was having a lot of upper body movement and I looked like I was trying to lift the ball with the iron instead of hitting down on it. This was a small issue that was easily remedied. We went to work on my hook and and it was a simple fix, but I needed to force my body to work with me. Along with the right arm extension as taught in the impact lesson, he told me to swing outwards as if I want to poke the ball into right-center field (imagine a baseball field) and roll my wrists over. This took some time and I will work on it when I go to my par three course later on today.
In short, we worked on grip, push, and roll. Grip the club in the fingers, push the club in the downswing towards right-center field, and roll the wrists over. I have to say, hitting 150 yards with a 3/4 speed on an 8 iron does feel pretty sweet.

After work I went and had some beers with a friend of mine. I happened to have my clubs with me since I was at the range with my trainer prior to work and didn't have time to go home and drop the gear off. I never got around to practicing the chipping lesson and since I had some spare time and a small grassy area, why not? I don't know if it was the six pack of Blue Moon, or I just knew my stuff, but the chipping felt very natural and I was hitting straight and my hing and hold felt awesome. I know a couple of you were having difficulty with the hing and hold, but when I was doing it, I felt like I was hitting very fluidly and making solid contact. I eventually lost my practice ball and things tend to be hard to find at 3am behind a gas station and alcohol messing with your head. I am going to skip the next lesson which is set up and impact zone since I was working on that today with my trainer.

I am now one step closer to mastering my game.

 

[Bullitt5339]

After taking a couple weeks off because of some back pain, I picked up the clubs today and headed to the course.

Did some chipping practice, and then went down and did the pivot practice before I headed out to walk 18 holes.

On my 1st hole, I was a disaster...... I actually shanked 3 balls off the tee on a Par 3. Then my playing partner said "You just don't look like you're turning like you have been" and I realized that since I had shanked a couple on the practice range, I was really guarded with my swing and expecting bad things to happen. After that hole, I started not to care or think as much and just concentrated on turning my left shoulder down on my backswing and everything came together after that.

I ended up hitting 6 fairways, but had 3 that I actually hit my 5 Wood too far and ran through doglegs, so I can't be mad about that. I hit 6 GIRs as well, but was just off on a few others, probably my best GIR performance this year. I also got up and down 2 other times. That's the good.......

The bad is that I had my worst putting performance in quite a while, I had 39 putts, where my average has been 32 putts lately. Even after getting off to a rough start and putting poorly, I ended up carding a 92 only using my driver once. On our 18th hole, #9 on the course and a 540 yard Par 5, I hit the 5 Wood 250 yards off the tee (total yardage) and then caught a 5 iron simply perfect that rolled out 210 yards. I was 80 yards out on for my 3rd and hit a nice LW to about 3 ft. and sunk the putt for a birdie. Just a great way to end the round.

 

[ironcondor]

wow, great bird!!!

I also have been taking it a bit easy as i slightly pulled a back muscle playing beach volleyball in our weekly corporate league.

I hit the range today though, and am playing on sunday at eagle glen in corona.

before I describe what happened at the range, let me say the orange whip is awesome!! I can really feel when my tempo isn't right, but I have a harder time "feeling" the proper plane. I can see when its right or wrong, but when I go to my driver, the tempo is there but the plane still isn't. I suppose that will come with more practice with it though.

Now, to the range...mixed bag. I do the two tee drill and I just can't create good lag/contact at 1/3 speed. So, I start at 2/3 with much better results. That said, I am having a hard time taking my seemingly great practice swings to the ball. Half are going well, half are terrible...mostly hitting it fat and hitting a gas line when taking my divot!! lol

Where should I be looking on my backswing/downswing? I noticed my eyes are very shifty....sometimes i will subconsciously follow my left arm in my backswing, etc. On video, my head is very stable, but where do I look otherwise? Pretend there is a tee in front of the ball like a two tee drill?



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[Bullitt5339]

wow, great bird!!!

I also have been taking it a bit easy as i slightly pulled a back muscle playing beach volleyball in our weekly corporate league.

I hit the range today though, and am playing on sunday at eagle glen in corona.

before I describe what happened at the range, let me say the orange whip is awesome!! I can really feel when my tempo isn't right, but I have a harder time "feeling" the proper plane. I can see when its right or wrong, but when I go to my driver, the tempo is there but the plane still isn't. I suppose that will come with more practice with it though.

Now, to the range...mixed bag. I do the two tee drill and I just can't create good lag/contact at 1/3 speed. So, I start at 2/3 with much better results. That said, I am having a hard time taking my seemingly great practice swings to the ball. Half are going well, half are terrible...mostly hitting it fat and hitting a gas line when taking my divot!! lol

Where should I be looking on my backswing/downswing? I noticed my eyes are very shifty....sometimes i will subconsciously follow my left arm in my backswing, etc. On video, my head is very stable, but where do I look otherwise? Pretend there is a tee in front of the ball like a two tee drill?



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I tend to watch the front of the ball facing the target line, which seems to encourage me to hit down and through the ball, although I have to admit that these lessons seem to be geared towards getting the sweeper to hit down and doesn't address those of us who already hit down on the ball, maybe sometimes too much. But once you get to the pivot lesson and really start to understand that the low point of your swing is by your left shoulder, everything kind of comes together.

I think that most people who are having problems with these lessons expect them to be very technical and explain everything exactly, which they don't. For someone who came from Stack and Tilt (which absolutely wrecked my driver and fairway wood swing permanently), it was actually refreshing for me. I didn't question why this time, I just did the drills and concentrated on exactly what they said to not worrying that I may actually play worse on the course while I was changing things. For the most part, I had a few short regressions, but after taking the next lesson and doing the practice, everything fell into place. I cannot stress how important it is to just keep following the routine and even if you feel like you're screwing up, go to the next lesson. I've rewatched the Impact Zone lesson 4 times so far and the pivot lesson about 5 times and each time realized that I wasn't doing something correctly. Then applying that to what I've already learned, I've went out and made some great shots. You just have to trust the process and follow it through to the end.

So on that note: I finally made it to Lesson 8: Driving with Authority. Keeping with the theme, it was a very simple lesson but it actually seemed to help me a lot so far. (hitting birdie balls) and destroying a tube of chap stick and subsequently cleaning the carpet. You'll understand the chap stick reference when you get to lesson 8. I did it once and decided that I'd better wait to go outside to practice. I laughed at the beginning of the lesson because Ian Baker-Finch instantly scolded everyone for watching this disk first......... I said when I started that I was going to follow the program, even though driving was by far the worst part of my game after my Stack and Tilt experience.

What I found was that there were a few things that I had learned previously that were more than likely causing a lot of my problems off the tee. While most of you will probably curse at how simple the lesson was, I was super relieved that they didn't make major changes to the setup and swing to accommodate the driver. Just a few basic moves to get you used to feeling how to shallow your swing plane, which is what I struggle with the most. I can get steep with the best of them, which is why I can hit my 5 Wood nearly as far as my average drive right now. I also got into the bad habit of doing 3 of the things that they identify as killers of the driver swing. I was just amazed at how small the changes are to the swing they're teaching in order to hit the driver. With other swing theories, there's so many changes that it's pretty much a different swing altogether.

So tomorrow I will hit the range and see what happens, but the technique to getting the correct feeling is incredibly simple and feels so good compared to my current (crappy) driver swing. I just hope that I can execute as smoothly as I did tonight when there's a ball down there.

 

[ironcondor]

Thanks for the insight.

I actually really enjoy the simplicity of the lessons. I think this dvd series is fantastic.

My biggest issue is getting everything together with a ball in the way. Everything feels and looks good, on video, etc....then at the range, its sketchy. But, when it goes right....man does it feel good.

I need to start taking videos at the range.

And if I didn't make it clear earlier, the orange whip is absolutely fantastic. It feels good to swing even just to stretch out in the morning. I am going to be swinging that thing every day.


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