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Jedi Knight
Albatross 2024 Club
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Has this happened to you? what was yours?

I have been struggling with a swing that has gotten really steep over the winter. I have taken a few lessons and although the teacher was trying to help me, I wasn't really understanding what I needed to do till I watched a video and went AHA!!! Now I understand what he and everyone else means by shallowing the club.


 
I think we all have that glowing light bulb moment every once in a while when we finally figure out a solution to a problem we have been battling. It is a great moment and that feeling of overcoming an obstacle is what makes golf such an addiction to many.

My last one was relatively recently. For me, it all revolves around setup and ball position on the tee box. I was struggling with a 2 way miss badly and absolutely killing my scores, but, thanks to a buddy for noticing some inconsistencies, I've managed to find the sweet spot where my AOA is on the + side and the flight is a slight right-to left or straight. The next hurdle will be figuring out putting with a high MOI putter with amazing true roll.
 
sorry to be debbie downer, but for me the aha moments are very fleeting. something that works is almost always temporary, then the old bad habits creep back in.
 
Seems to happen at the beginning of the season for me, but there is always this moment where I realize that my alignment with the driver is way off. Really have to focus on it and then I get the nice baby face I am used to seeing.

Another aha moment for me occurred when I consciously didn't aim at many flags in a recent round. Good shots ended up middle green, some misses still had me putting, and a few of the misses left me with makeable birdie putts, where if I had been aiming at the flag, I'd be facing a penalty. Giving myself room to miss was a game changer.
 
When I first started playing I sliced every single shot. The Ah Ha! moment was finally getting a feel of rolling my wrist over through impact and pointing the toe of the club towards the target as I followed through. Had to tell myself to hit the most wicked hook I can and when I thought that way I would hit the ball straight as an arrow.
 
sorry to be debbie downer, but for me the aha moments are very fleeting. something that works is almost always temporary, then the old bad habits creep back in.

Not sure I agree completely. Most aha moments have been temporary for me but I’ve developed one that’s helped my game for the last couple of months
This winter at Golftec we were searching for swing thoughts to get me through this summer. I’ve been plagued with mechanical thoughts over the years and we wanted to get away from this.
Finally, my pro had me envision hitting the ball under a tree off to my right. Had good results on the sim so I took it to the course. I combined this with the thought of turning my butt to the target on my backswing and I’ve had amazing results for the last month. My ball striking is the best it’s ever been and I’ve freed myself from mechanical thoughts. It’s a breath of fresh air and brought much pleasure to my full swing.
 
Nice! I have one or two of these each season, and they're great. I agree that 'aha' moments can be fleeting, but even when they are you have a feel in your memory bank that you can go to later on. Personally, I can use a certain thought or feeling to play great golf for a round or two, and then when it goes sideways I can try a different feeling that worked for me in the past.
 
sorry to be debbie downer, but for me the aha moments are very fleeting. something that works is almost always temporary, then the old bad habits creep back in.

Same! ��

However, since I have started taking lessons fairly regularly, I have found the fleeting success to be less fleeting. My lessons remind me what I need to work on/do better so I’m not all over the place with my practice.

I would recommend everyone at least having a “maintenance” lesson once a month or so. It helps.
 
Yup, for every "a-ha moment" there is another ten "wtf moments" waiting to happen.

There certainly are great revelations in a players journey to a decent swing, and when you get a feel that works well it's a wonderful thing, but don't expect it to last, there is trouble right around the dogleg.
 
I love the two clubs idea to add that weight on your practice swing and let the weight pull the club down.

Get's me thinking about other practice/swing aids I should be trying/using!
 
Has this happened to you? what was yours?

I have been struggling with a swing that has gotten really steep over the winter. I have taken a few lessons and although the teacher was trying to help me, I wasn't really understanding what I needed to do till I watched a video and went AHA!!! Now I understand what he and everyone else means by shallowing the club.




video is amazing for that!!!! have had numerous of those over the years...keep it up!!
 
I had one yesterday. My grip has been a combination of what I remembered from 10 years ago before I took a break and whatever felt right at the moment. I have decided to use Ben Hogans grip but the right hand felt uncomfortable and out of place. I was swinging the club with my pincers off the grip a little annoyed that it felt all wrong then AHA! I started swinging it like a baseball bat but still down by my feet AHA! He wants my hands there because now I CAN swing it like a baseball bat and the club face will be in the right place. I noticed that I could just bring the club back without the one piece low and slow thought and just put the club where I wanted it at the top. When you swing like a baseball bat your lower body just kind of "does it" instead of thinking about firing the hip. I went to the range and saw a nice improvement, my good drives were looooong and my pattern was tighter but not perfect. I always hit 10-12 butt ugly shots at the range but yesterday only 4, 2 worm burners and 2 pull hooks.

Dan
 
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I have a decent natural shallow swing plane (according to the guy I've done lessons with) but this is a great drill not just for shallowing out your plane a bit, but just a good swing drill in general...good to kind of let that club pull itself down and then start picking up swing speed...that's the kind of thing I think I could take 50 swings with per day and it'd just help overall with the fluid swing motion you want to have - in fact, working from home today, and just took about 15 swings with two irons in hand, and another 15 with 5 iron. Thanks for sharing this.
 
My aha moment came in college on a rainy day. I was at the range with the team and got board of just hit balls. So I started trying to hit the large billboard that sat about 200 yards from the teeing ground at the spot I was setup.

I played a high fade at the time and nothing else. And this shot was not going to get it done. I needed a low/mid ball to get under the wind with a slight draw. It was on this day that I learned how to locate my club head in my swing. It was the moment that I figured out the relationship of the hands and Club face.

I spent hours trying to hit the sign and once I did I spent even more time perfecting the shots I learned that day. I went from number 5 man to number 2 after that day and never looked back. I also never went to the range again without a shot or shots in mind to work on
 
My aha moment came in college on a rainy day. I was at the range with the team and got board of just hit balls. So I started trying to hit the large billboard that sat about 200 yards from the teeing ground at the spot I was setup.

I played a high fade at the time and nothing else. And this shot was not going to get it done. I needed a low/mid ball to get under the wind with a slight draw. It was on this day that I learned how to locate my club head in my swing. It was the moment that I figured out the relationship of the hands and Club face.

I spent hours trying to hit the sign and once I did I spent even more time perfecting the shots I learned that day. I went from number 5 man to number 2 after that day and never looked back. I also never went to the range again without a shot or shots in mind to work on

That's better than my aha moment...which was a couple days ago when I realized "man I suck at golf." :bulgy-eyes:
 
That's better than my aha moment...which was a couple days ago when I realized "man I suck at golf." :bulgy-eyes:

Don’t we all at some point during a round :D
 
Just my opinion, but these "aha moments" can be profound or as some have said small things for a specific issue...

For me, when I find glitches or blocks...these are things that require big changes...Similar to Tadashi, I had a specific hole/Shot I was trying to do...had always been happy with cut shot, wanted to be able to hit a draw for this hole, so sat there and worked the ball for hours one day...the aha, was not on the range at first, it was that evening...

For me, and not to sound goofy, but going to sleep at night, seeing the swing/change I am trying to make is a MASSIVE value add to making "aha moments" permanent, then making sure I have the discipline to keep practicing that "thing" ...if I have the luxury of a couple days, and then nights to focus, very few of those "ahas" have not been worked into permanent space in the gray matter...

I know a ton of pro golfers that put as much effort into "seeing it" as they do doing it...(no need for puns or funnies here)...I try to balance my "seeing it" time with my executing the swings and changes, and really don't give up the process of "seeing it" till it is part of my new swing...

(I am talking big changes, not feel/touch things)
 
I've had at least a couple, LOL. Still going through a major overhaul, but the last couple of 9 hole rounds, I've had a pseudo-Aha moment. It really is driven by the tempo of my takeaway. When I'm very deliberate, I'm able to get into the position I want to be in, and the result is mostly pretty good. But, I sometimes am unable to convince myself to be deliberate, and the results are not as good. So, my current "Aha" is "deliberate takeaway = good position". Gotta keep it simple for my feeble golf mind.
 
I've had at least a couple, LOL. Still going through a major overhaul, but the last couple of 9 hole rounds, I've had a pseudo-Aha moment. It really is driven by the tempo of my takeaway. When I'm very deliberate, I'm able to get into the position I want to be in, and the result is mostly pretty good. But, I sometimes am unable to convince myself to be deliberate, and the results are not as good. So, my current "Aha" is "deliberate takeaway = good position". Gotta keep it simple for my feeble golf mind.

I have to remind myself to do similar with my irons. Pretty slowish deliberate takeaway and a slight pause at the top. This helps me keep a better tempo and stops me from being jerky in my swing and helps me from trying to kill the ball so I stay more smooth.

Also for me, I struggled greatly with my driver for ever since I started playing. I knew my grip should be pretty loose but I honestly didn’t realize how loose until one day at the range I was getting frustrated and just decided if it flew out my hands I didn’t even care. That was the moment that I started learning how much even a slight overgrip could effect the club face at impact. I am now getting more consistent with every time out and life off the tee is better.




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sorry to be debbie downer, but for me the aha moments are very fleeting. something that works is almost always temporary, then the old bad habits creep back in.

This is the same for me. Someday I'll have one that sticks but for now its temporary.
 
Just had one today with a presetting the wrist hinge drill at address then starting the backswing from there. Keeps the club in front of me and always the same position at the top. Tried it a few times into the net. Getting some perfect smash factors so going to run with it.
 
My latest aha moment was course management and managing expectations. I am capable of hitting some great shots. I’ve done it. I am also capable of hitting some bad shots. I’ve done that too. I just needed to remind myself of the same advice I give my son. “Golf is not a game of perfect. The pros keep track of scrambling stats because they don’t hit everything perfect. If they did, there would be no need for scrambling stats.”

Understanding that I can’t always, or even frequently, hit the exact shot I’m looking for let me understand how to play for my typical miss. I will either pull or over draw the ball as my miss. Trouble left or trouble right determines where I start the ball to avoid big numbers. It let me focus on one shot at a time and eased up some of the pressure I was adding by trying to shoot a score.
 
sorry to be debbie downer, but for me the aha moments are very fleeting. something that works is almost always temporary, then the old bad habits creep back in.

That is what I find as well. It may work for a hole or two, maybe even a full round, but that same swing thought or "aha moment" rarely seems to carry over to the next round.
 
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