that step drill is hard but it helps so much
Dhartmann34's Swing Battle and Journey....
dhartmann34
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- #152
Best part of that drill is that it makes me slow down.... Which is a key ingredient for my swing.
I just had my second lesson Thursday and I'll have to update that tomorrow... But when I was doing what I'm supposed to, I was consistently hitting high, a smooth 6 iron with 195+ carry.... And slower swing speed... Which blew my mind until he talked through it with me. It was fun...
dhartmann34
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- #153
Lesson #2 Update
I had my second lesson with the new instructor ( Garrett) on Thursday. The positive in my warmup swings (about 30 of them) is that by practicing the step drill, I moved my low point of my swing from .5 inches before contacting the ball to an average of just over 1" after the ball. That's a HUGE step and victory in one lesson. The goal is 3-4 inches after the ball though, so still some work to do obviously.
So in the actual lesson Garrett decided that we'd work on the actual beginning of the down swing. He wants me to start the downswing and start shifting left before my actual back swing is finished. There are two reasons for this.... 1. Moving left early is key to getting to the right position and a low point of 3-4 inches after the ball. 2. Focusing on moving left sooner gets rid of all the extra movement and nonsense that tends to happen when I get to the top of the swing (stand up, club is extremely laid off, club over swings, etc...).
So working on getting left actually went well. It was hard and felt like my swing was really short, but I'm reality it was a full swing with a great transition and good contact. This improved my 6 iron carry distance up to around 195+ (sole were 202+ carry), although decreasing my actual swing speed 3-4 mph. Garrett explained that better contact and compression led to the distance and ball speed gain, even though swing speed was a bit slower.
The last part we worked on was where the club should be at the top of the swing in the back swing. I'll do a video at a later time, but it should be between my elbows pointing out towards the target instead of being very laid off and pointing almost perpendicular to my back. It's wild to see. Which is why I need a video.
BUt Garrett showed me taking the club away a little closer to my right thigh and then getting it vertical (he said to feel it being really light moving up) which is is when I do it correctly and it isn't when it's laid off behind me. It's a simple concept but kinda mind blowing to see in action. I need to get a mirror to help work on the move.
Overall lesson two was incredible. I've never gotten this much simplicity and success from lessons. Simple simple simple. And I really am excited to see where it goes once I keep practicing.
The lesson summary and drills are in the picture.
I had my second lesson with the new instructor ( Garrett) on Thursday. The positive in my warmup swings (about 30 of them) is that by practicing the step drill, I moved my low point of my swing from .5 inches before contacting the ball to an average of just over 1" after the ball. That's a HUGE step and victory in one lesson. The goal is 3-4 inches after the ball though, so still some work to do obviously.
So in the actual lesson Garrett decided that we'd work on the actual beginning of the down swing. He wants me to start the downswing and start shifting left before my actual back swing is finished. There are two reasons for this.... 1. Moving left early is key to getting to the right position and a low point of 3-4 inches after the ball. 2. Focusing on moving left sooner gets rid of all the extra movement and nonsense that tends to happen when I get to the top of the swing (stand up, club is extremely laid off, club over swings, etc...).
So working on getting left actually went well. It was hard and felt like my swing was really short, but I'm reality it was a full swing with a great transition and good contact. This improved my 6 iron carry distance up to around 195+ (sole were 202+ carry), although decreasing my actual swing speed 3-4 mph. Garrett explained that better contact and compression led to the distance and ball speed gain, even though swing speed was a bit slower.
The last part we worked on was where the club should be at the top of the swing in the back swing. I'll do a video at a later time, but it should be between my elbows pointing out towards the target instead of being very laid off and pointing almost perpendicular to my back. It's wild to see. Which is why I need a video.
BUt Garrett showed me taking the club away a little closer to my right thigh and then getting it vertical (he said to feel it being really light moving up) which is is when I do it correctly and it isn't when it's laid off behind me. It's a simple concept but kinda mind blowing to see in action. I need to get a mirror to help work on the move.
Overall lesson two was incredible. I've never gotten this much simplicity and success from lessons. Simple simple simple. And I really am excited to see where it goes once I keep practicing.
The lesson summary and drills are in the picture.
Attachments
dhartmann34
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- #155
Thanks! Interesting to see how the game is taught differently as well. But simplicity is nice. Excited to start practicing these things and gomfrom there.
dhartmann34
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- #156
Sometimes something clicks.....
I had my 3rd lesson with Garrett yesterday. I had improvement from my 1st and second lessons, but still nagging issues... which i suppose are to be expected. Can't fix someone with as many things going on as I have, in a couple of lesson. But in the lesson yesterday, something clicked....
Being laid off has been an issue for me for a long time. Which is actually funny because I was super vertical in my younger years and through high school. But near the end of college a myriad of things got into my swing, including the full swing yips...so I have been dealing with those issues and craziness since then.
So yesterday, something as simple as putting a tee in the butt end of my club and trying to point it behind me (overexaggerating to the max) at the top of the golf swing.... completely changed how the top of my golf swing looks. And get this..... IT WAS EASY for me! "Just try to point the tee behind you at the wall" he said. BINGO!
I wish I would have taken a picture of the two swings at the top of the swing. I think I'll do that myself today. It's quite the difference and neat to see..... At least for me. It's always been hard to watch previously.
Then we had to work on getting to my left side (This is what the previous step drill works on, but obviously can't be done with the full swing) and then the club coming through with speed....Although the speed doesn't come in until very late in the swing..... or at least that's the feel.
Warm weather is coming.... So I should be getting some reps in with real balls. But thankfully I can work on these items at home fairly easily as well....Probably more to my benefit than hitting an actual ball. The outcome doesn't matter.... as I get the timing and moves honed in.
Drills/Steps/Thoughts
I had my 3rd lesson with Garrett yesterday. I had improvement from my 1st and second lessons, but still nagging issues... which i suppose are to be expected. Can't fix someone with as many things going on as I have, in a couple of lesson. But in the lesson yesterday, something clicked....
Being laid off has been an issue for me for a long time. Which is actually funny because I was super vertical in my younger years and through high school. But near the end of college a myriad of things got into my swing, including the full swing yips...so I have been dealing with those issues and craziness since then.
So yesterday, something as simple as putting a tee in the butt end of my club and trying to point it behind me (overexaggerating to the max) at the top of the golf swing.... completely changed how the top of my golf swing looks. And get this..... IT WAS EASY for me! "Just try to point the tee behind you at the wall" he said. BINGO!
I wish I would have taken a picture of the two swings at the top of the swing. I think I'll do that myself today. It's quite the difference and neat to see..... At least for me. It's always been hard to watch previously.
Then we had to work on getting to my left side (This is what the previous step drill works on, but obviously can't be done with the full swing) and then the club coming through with speed....Although the speed doesn't come in until very late in the swing..... or at least that's the feel.
Warm weather is coming.... So I should be getting some reps in with real balls. But thankfully I can work on these items at home fairly easily as well....Probably more to my benefit than hitting an actual ball. The outcome doesn't matter.... as I get the timing and moves honed in.
Drills/Steps/Thoughts
dhartmann34
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- #157
Here are the two comparison pictures of at the top of my swing. I just took the videos and screenshotted them.
You can see the first one (normal swing), how laid off the club is.... Which creates all sorts of havoc on the downswing. The second one, thinking about pointing the butt of the grip away from me, is in a far better spot, creating an easier downswing.... And less stress on my body.
You can see the first one (normal swing), how laid off the club is.... Which creates all sorts of havoc on the downswing. The second one, thinking about pointing the butt of the grip away from me, is in a far better spot, creating an easier downswing.... And less stress on my body.
dhartmann34
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- #158
Haven't done much but work on the feeling of pointing the butt of the club behind me at the top of the swing.
But Monday I got to play on a simulator with some friends. While I know simulator distances are hit and miss, my shining moment is that my drives were equal to or further than a guy that is usually 15+ yards ahead of me on drives.
I might be able to hit some range balls Sunday of the weather clears up, but I'll continue the drills and hopefully things continue to engrain themselves.
But Monday I got to play on a simulator with some friends. While I know simulator distances are hit and miss, my shining moment is that my drives were equal to or further than a guy that is usually 15+ yards ahead of me on drives.
I might be able to hit some range balls Sunday of the weather clears up, but I'll continue the drills and hopefully things continue to engrain themselves.
dhartmann34
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- #159
Ordered the WhyGolf pressure plate so I can work on getting pressure to my left side.
but the swing is looking better as I practice getting the club in a better position up at the top by trying to get the butt end of the club feeling like it's pointing behind me. A far better position at the top than I've ever been, and it shortens my swing as well. Obviously not perfect yet, but it's coming along nicely! Here's a slow no video.
but the swing is looking better as I practice getting the club in a better position up at the top by trying to get the butt end of the club feeling like it's pointing behind me. A far better position at the top than I've ever been, and it shortens my swing as well. Obviously not perfect yet, but it's coming along nicely! Here's a slow no video.
dhartmann34
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- #161
So far I've taken 3 lessons from Garrett Chaussard. He's out of Skokie Country Club. Really great to work with. But unfortunately unavailable during the season as he's kept busy by Skokie members.
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2023
- Messages
- 572
- Reaction score
- 311
The name sounds familiar.I was lucky to hook up with Daniel Carahhar.He comes up to the Aurora area each winter for 3 months.Does many indoor clinics before he heads back down to Jacksonville.
dhartmann34
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- #163
Sweet!
Garrett was the Illinois PGA teacher of the Year a few years back. Really enjoyed the lessons. Looking forward to more after August. Until then, I'll work on the things we talked about and see what happens!