I feel like an internet golfer...

RxGus

Argyle Warrior
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Location
Cleveland, Ohio
Handicap
Winter
There is a pervasive saying around here. "The numbers don't lie".
If that's the case, I am in a LOT of trouble.

This winter I decided (for lots of reasons) to buy a large pack of Golftec lessons and really hammer out my swing. I had gotten myself down to a 14 handicap by the end of the season, but I was very inconsistent and owed my low handicap to shooting lights out 1/4 rounds and then sucking 3/4 rounds. I want to be better. More consistently.

I started in December and have been working very hard on the drills and swing my coach and I are building. I am very happy and very impressed with the results. When I watch a video of my swing side by side with a pro I see more in common than I see different. It's a great feeling.

The problem with my time a golftec is that I am looking ONLY at my swing in terms of positions, angles, and swing plane... and not ball flight. This is an issue because come saturday morning I'll be swinging my clubs on a course. For a score. In front of other people. I will be standing on the tee on hole #1 and I will have not a single clue where the ball might be going.

Tonight I went to golftec and worked with my coach, made another big step in my swing... and then I asked if he had any clue what my ball flight would be like. He set up the vector for me so I could see a top down view of my ball flight and off I went. I hit 6i first (since all of my work has been with irons). I was swinging in the 82-84 mph range and getting carries of 165-180 depending on my contact. I had a lot of mishits in there, but we wont talk about those. I also saw a pretty consistent 15-30 yard fade. Uh Oh.

Then I switched to driver... first drive I didn't see my swing speed. 250 Carry (about what I normally play) and 30 yards slice. Playable. Then the machine started misbehaving and not registering my swings. I call the guy in to fix it and I never hit another ball over 210. My swing speed never broke 98. I never hit anything with less than 70 yards of slice.

At the outing my ss was in the 105-108 range (110 w/ the cleveland ultra lite). My bridgestone ball fitting my ss was 108. My ss at golftec was 92-94 and I was getting 180-200 yards of carry. I call the guy back in and say that I think it is registering wrong, since I KNOW my swingspeed/carry but even after a recalibration I get the same results.

I feel like an internet golfer- telling him my swingspeed is 105 when the vector clearly says 92. Telling him my carry is usually 240-250 when the vector clearly says 200-210. That doesnt include my 17-20* launch angle, 2000 side spin, and 130 mph ball speed.

Obviously I have some MAJOR problems even though my swing LOOKS good. This weekend has the potential to be ugly ugly golf for me. I guess my question is this: Could the vector be wrong, or am I an internet golfer?
 
Sounds like something was on the way out in the machine, I wouldn't worry about it man. You will do just fine!
 
I clearly know nothing about those type machines, but the one at our closest Golf USA won't give a correct swing speed according to the owner. He say's it show's most everything else correct, but the ss has to be calculated on this type machine. Not sure if it's a vector or not.
 
I've always found that I can hit the ball farther in real life than in the simulator. Just food for thought.
 
Don't the powers that be say when you go through a swing change, things get worse before they get better. It's a new swing so you just gotta trust it.
 
I've always found that I can hit the ball farther in real life than in the simulator. Just food for thought.

I know what you mean... but this isn't just a golf store simulator. This is a professional model vector (a higher tech version of what was at the outing).

When I first started hitting the guy moved the machine a bit telling me the sensors had a tendency to over read a "push"
When I was hitting irons it cut out on me and stopped registering. I had the guy fix it.
When I switched to driver it registered my first shot and then stopped. The guy fixed it.
When I noticed what I thought were weird numbers I had the guy recalibrate but it didn't do anything.

It seems possible the machine was misreading... but this is a top of the line, pro quality launch monitor. It really should be 100% reliable
My coach, who sorta knows my swing, wasn't available because he was in another lesson. I would have been interested to see what he said.
I guess I'll find out on the range saturday morning before my first round.
 
I voting that the vector is very, very wrong. If everything you have been working on in your swing is looking good, I cannot imagine your SS dropping down to that of an old man like me. I am looking forward to meeting you this w/e. Take care.
 
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If you get here early enough Friday, we'll head to the range and let you hit for a while. That will give you a better idea of where you are. If anyone understands what happens when you're taking lessons, it's Seth, Gray and me. We're going to have so much fun regardless! Can't wait!!

p.s. I'm sure the machine was just screwed up!!:D
 
Don't worry Gus everytime I play with Hawk I shoot terrible, he's a good sport and hasn't spilled the beans of how bad I really am to everyone here.
 
You're going to be just fine. Head to the course a little early and hit some range balls and then go and play some golf. Good or bad you'll be golfing you'll have fun and work on your swing a little.
 
yea my friend don't worry about that machine. Just come on down and we will hit the range whenever you get to our house. Maybe after a brief rest for ya and then let you hit some balls to see what the deal is. We are going to have fun. Everybody would prefer to play better when playing with their THP buddies, but sometimes it just is not in the cards. The harder we try the more we screw it up. Let's all relax, maybe enjoy a couple of beers along the trail, and strive for a fun round. Let's face it, you have not played on a golf course in several weeks, so your "A" game is still in the closet so we don't expect low numbers from ya :D
 
Seems to me that the machine can't be relied upon if the guy is "fixing it" every 10-15 minutes while you are on it...
 
Don't let it get to you, I'm sure once your outdoors things will come back to normal. It takes a while when you're rusty (winter) especially if you're implementing swing changes.
 
Best of luck, I am sure the machine is off, it just doesnt seem logical that it can be right ya know?
 
It's true - on the simulator I was using for lessons, my slice was only 10-15 yards off, but in real life you could double or triple that most times.
I know this is the opposite of what you want to hear, but it just goes to show that technology isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Use it as a starting point, but nothing else. When that fails, blame the wind, and blame the ball, and your handle for being warped [I'm thinking Blazing Saddles here :devil: ].
 
For what its worth, you will be playing with some OUTSTANDING THP'ers who enjoy the friendship and fellowship much more than whether you stripe a drive 260 yards down the middle. I am talking from experience...these guys are a lot of fun to tee it with.

Regrding the simulator, my guess is it was malfunctioning. I can go into a PGS SS and hit two totally different numbers on simulators that are right next to each other. I personally wouldnt worry too much because once you hit a few on range I thnk all will be well.

My two cents.
 
I'd side with the others and say that the simulator is off. Simulators are weird. We got an About Golf one in the store about 2 months ago (this is top of the line as well). Some of our reps (many are scratch golfers) tell us it's spot on, some tell us it's long, some tell us it's short. We don't specialize in custom fitting so we don't stress too much about the differences in the distances, but we have seen some wacky results. We usually have people hit similar clubs at once so they can compare distances/feel of the clubs as a comparison. We look at swing speeds, but not as a be all end all of what you should fit into. We are, however, on the verge of hiring a Class A PGA pro so if/when that goes through, he'll have to worry about the accuracy a little more to fit people.

I would say don't worry too much about simulator results... although it does give pause as to accuracy when you get a fitting. I also like the term "internet golfer." Made me LOL.
 
Eh, it seems like the machine is not working right. If you remember, I was the guy looking at the monitor for you when you were hitting drives at the THP outing. You didn't have hit a single driver below 105 mph that I remember, and were getting it out there good.

Even though you are making significant swing changes, I don't think it could affect your SS nearly that much. In fact, in the long run, it should make it faster.

So don't worry, and enjoy your weekend of golf.
 
I bet you weren't getting your afro into the last couple. Stop thinking and let your hair do the work.

Kevin
 
I bet you weren't getting your afro into the last couple. Stop thinking and let your hair do the work.

Kevin

LOL. Kind of like saying, "put a little butt into it".
 
I think you are an internet golfer! haha just messing around

I wouldn't worry too much about the numbers right now, see how you play down in GA.
 
yeah, something in there is fishy for sure. i've seen you hit balls on the range, albeit pre-golftec experience but i wouldn't imagine that you lost that much swing speed and distance. i think a lot of us put way too much stock into what sims/launch monitors spit out. i'll take an outdoor range and live balls with live results over that stuff any day. i like to use technology to assist me with simple #'s such as swing speed and spin but i much prefer to see what happens when i start swinging.

you'll be fine gus, and you need to get that stuff out of your brain if you want to enjoy the golf this weekend. focus on some simple mechanics that your insutructor and you have been working on. don't get too analytical on the course. just play golf and enjoy the company and be thankful you aren't snowed in bro.
 
yeah, something in there is fishy for sure. i've seen you hit balls on the range, albeit pre-golftec experience but i wouldn't imagine that you lost that much swing speed and distance. i think a lot of us put way too much stock into what sims/launch monitors spit out. i'll take an outdoor range and live balls with live results over that stuff any day. i like to use technology to assist me with simple #'s such as swing speed and spin but i much prefer to see what happens when i start swinging.

you'll be fine gus, and you need to get that stuff out of your brain if you want to enjoy the golf this weekend. focus on some simple mechanics that your insutructor and you have been working on. don't get too analytical on the course. just play golf and enjoy the company and be thankful you aren't snowed in bro.

You're a smart one, TC. Great advice.
 
Thanks everyone... pretty much what I needed to hear. Can't get discouraged before I even get to the course!

yeah, something in there is fishy for sure. i've seen you hit balls on the range, albeit pre-golftec experience but i wouldn't imagine that you lost that much swing speed and distance. i think a lot of us put way too much stock into what sims/launch monitors spit out. i'll take an outdoor range and live balls with live results over that stuff any day. i like to use technology to assist me with simple #'s such as swing speed and spin but i much prefer to see what happens when i start swinging.

you'll be fine gus, and you need to get that stuff out of your brain if you want to enjoy the golf this weekend. focus on some simple mechanics that your insutructor and you have been working on. don't get too analytical on the course. just play golf and enjoy the company and be thankful you aren't snowed in bro.
 
Thanks everyone... pretty much what I needed to hear. Can't get discouraged before I even get to the course!

precisely! all that will happen is that stuff compounds, and you'll find yourself out there in panic mode, lol. be confident in what you've been working on, stick to the preshot routines you've been working on or established, keep it simple and enjoy yourself. remember what THP pro andy said in your thread there, that you've got some good stuff going on and that you're probably making some phenomenal contact and ball striking. just believe in that and you'll play some good golf. oh, and lay up to a number, hahaha. i always have to plug it when i can.
 
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