Ya in ways im glad I scheduled it this week so its fresh for the experience. In other ways I wish I had gone through it already lol
GolfTEC Lessons
- Admin
- #2,952
I had a lesson yesterday, only 1 more with my coach before he moves. We did reschedule one and talk about who would be a good fit for me. The funny thing was he said, if you don't like him, switch to someone else haha. I kind of loved that.
We worked on short pitch shots yesterday, hitting over bunkers and being short sided. Kind of fun, but kind of weird doing that off mats. The good news is you can tell instantly if you hit it clean or you used the bounce to get there. Hoping it will translate to really good contact outside.
We worked on short pitch shots yesterday, hitting over bunkers and being short sided. Kind of fun, but kind of weird doing that off mats. The good news is you can tell instantly if you hit it clean or you used the bounce to get there. Hoping it will translate to really good contact outside.
Haha same here. I’m just hoping for more green than redWhat I expect to hear Friday..
Switched it up and went practice before lesson today. Last week’s homework is still showing up all green so I think we’ll move onto something new today.
Got some info from a coach at my local store on how the appointment booking works for practice. This will come in handy for anyone in high traffic areas:
If your store has 4 bays and 3 are booked, you will not see any open bays for practice, but you will for a lesson.
If your store has 4 bays and 2 are booked, you will see open bays for practice and lessons.
They want to prioritize space for lessons so they leave it open.
That being said, if you see no available times for practice, call in (ahem, @Lord Tox ) they will potentially be able to book you into a bay. I know, I know "ew calling" but if you want to practice at a certain time that isn't available, it's the only way.
Also, last night's lesson was great. Seeing the vision of where we are going with my swing and each lesson is another building block towards that. Will do a full write up when it uploads.
If your store has 4 bays and 3 are booked, you will not see any open bays for practice, but you will for a lesson.
If your store has 4 bays and 2 are booked, you will see open bays for practice and lessons.
They want to prioritize space for lessons so they leave it open.
That being said, if you see no available times for practice, call in (ahem, @Lord Tox ) they will potentially be able to book you into a bay. I know, I know "ew calling" but if you want to practice at a certain time that isn't available, it's the only way.
Also, last night's lesson was great. Seeing the vision of where we are going with my swing and each lesson is another building block towards that. Will do a full write up when it uploads.
This makes complete sense. But @Lord Tox will not be calling anyone
- Admin
- #2,958
I haven't had time to get to the range and practice, but I have been swing a lot indoors trying to work on the drills my instructor gave.
My biggest issue are my hips on the downswing. the lack of movement is causing my shoulders to take over and causing the inconsistent ball striking. I have a "Hip Sway" drill I have been working on that honestly feels really weird, but I can see where it's helping my shoulder tilt and swing path get a lot better.
The next drill is getting my lead knee flexing it out over my toe and then straighten it up as much as I can with my follow through.
These two combined have really helped me feel like I am clearing my hips better and getting a better path.
My biggest issue are my hips on the downswing. the lack of movement is causing my shoulders to take over and causing the inconsistent ball striking. I have a "Hip Sway" drill I have been working on that honestly feels really weird, but I can see where it's helping my shoulder tilt and swing path get a lot better.
The next drill is getting my lead knee flexing it out over my toe and then straighten it up as much as I can with my follow through.
These two combined have really helped me feel like I am clearing my hips better and getting a better path.
I was looking forward to last night’s lesson because my last two rounds have been pretty good. Things have felt like they’re starting to come together and stick from the last couple lessons so I was ready to take another step forward.
I started off with practice before the lesson, which was a change up for me just to get more warmed up and to ensure that my shoulder turn I was working on last week was still looking good. During this practice session and warm-up, the shoulder turn was good, but I noticed the same miss I’ve seen on course the last two rounds. A weak block or over draw.
My coach noticed pretty quickly as we started the lesson what the problem was. I still have a tendency to start my downswing by turning my shoulders rather than dropping the hands and getting the left to right tilt, then turning through the ball. This is leading to me getting handsy and trying to save the swing leading to the block or flipping and getting that pull hook.
Here in the pro comparison, you can see my hands getting in front of the plane and where we want to get me to.
Enter the pool noodles, yes multiple, and alignment stick. The goal of the drill was to drop the hands (right shoulder) before starting the turn so I can avoid the noodle behind. Shaft should line up with the alignment stick. Swing in to out and miss the noodle outside the ball.
Looking at this swing in the drill and comparing to the one vs the pro, it’s getting down on plane where I need to be.
Side by sides of the starting swing and the drill
And a face on view of the before and drill swing. Shoulder tilt is hugely noticeable here.
Once we did some slow swings with the noodle and no ball, we moved on to no noodle and hitting the ball. Not quite as big a difference as with the noodle but definitely more on plane.
And the shoulder tilt went from 7° right to left to slightly left to right. Exactly what we were wanting to see.
This definitely is an odd feeling for me. I had a few really good swings and a few pretty bad ones. The good news is that on the bad swings, the miss was only to the right, and it was closer to my expected distance rather than a weak short block.
I started off with practice before the lesson, which was a change up for me just to get more warmed up and to ensure that my shoulder turn I was working on last week was still looking good. During this practice session and warm-up, the shoulder turn was good, but I noticed the same miss I’ve seen on course the last two rounds. A weak block or over draw.
My coach noticed pretty quickly as we started the lesson what the problem was. I still have a tendency to start my downswing by turning my shoulders rather than dropping the hands and getting the left to right tilt, then turning through the ball. This is leading to me getting handsy and trying to save the swing leading to the block or flipping and getting that pull hook.
Here in the pro comparison, you can see my hands getting in front of the plane and where we want to get me to.
Enter the pool noodles, yes multiple, and alignment stick. The goal of the drill was to drop the hands (right shoulder) before starting the turn so I can avoid the noodle behind. Shaft should line up with the alignment stick. Swing in to out and miss the noodle outside the ball.
Looking at this swing in the drill and comparing to the one vs the pro, it’s getting down on plane where I need to be.
Side by sides of the starting swing and the drill
And a face on view of the before and drill swing. Shoulder tilt is hugely noticeable here.
Once we did some slow swings with the noodle and no ball, we moved on to no noodle and hitting the ball. Not quite as big a difference as with the noodle but definitely more on plane.
And the shoulder tilt went from 7° right to left to slightly left to right. Exactly what we were wanting to see.
This definitely is an odd feeling for me. I had a few really good swings and a few pretty bad ones. The good news is that on the bad swings, the miss was only to the right, and it was closer to my expected distance rather than a weak short block.
Can’t wait to hear how it goes for you
Initial thoughts of my swing analysis tonight:
1. Seeing myself on camera sucks and I’m not going to get used to it lol
2. Much more green than expected. No red, very little yellow
3. Swing thoughts are a new concept to me and will take some time
4. Really liked my coach and his approach to my swing
5. First adjustment added 12 yards lol
More to come as I put thoughts to paper and the videos and pictures get uploaded
1. Seeing myself on camera sucks and I’m not going to get used to it lol
2. Much more green than expected. No red, very little yellow
3. Swing thoughts are a new concept to me and will take some time
4. Really liked my coach and his approach to my swing
5. First adjustment added 12 yards lol
More to come as I put thoughts to paper and the videos and pictures get uploaded
Decided to pull the trigger and do the same thing. Will be be scheduling it in the next couple of weeks. Excited to tell me how many best practices I am violating in my swing.
This is awesome! And now you’ve got like 9-10 days to drill those new ideas in before we get to Briggs!
The good thing about it is it’s not really a swing thought or swing change. It’s setup and takeaway. From there the fixes happen naturally
The crazy thing is how much a difference these little tweaks can make. And the fact that OptiMotion can point it out to the coach so easily is what separates GOLFTEC. Can’t wait to see how the lessons help you in the long run.
I’m refreshing the app constantly for the videos to appear haha
You’ll get an email notification as soon as your coach uploads them for you lol
Ok, lets dive into this!
First off, this was my first ever lesson of any kind. I have been playing since I was 13 and I am self taught. I play to a 5.5 and thats pretty close to the lowest Ive ever been. I have never really invested in improving my game outside of equipment changes and quick youtube videos on swing tips so this is going to be the first time seeing my swing on video like this.
So, when I arrived to my lesson it was after a full day at work. No practice time and I was pretty stiff when I got there so I knew it was going to take a little bit to get my swing going. I met my coach and we did a quick review of my game, my bag, my goals, my playing styles and what I felt were my top priorities to address first. For me, it starts with iron play and I wanted that to be our focus. Hit more greens, make more birdies. He allowed me to warm up a bit while he got set up and just wanted to see what he was getting himself into. Now I know I have lost some distance over the last decade or so but it was really frustrating for me to see my yardages with a 7i. Normally that is my 170 club and I was seeing 155-160 carry. Good contact, just not seeing the distances I THOUGHT I was getting on the course. Any way, it was time to dive into my swing.
He pulled up the Pro to compare my swing to and I was really hoping for Tiger or Rory or Adam Scott but nope, we are rolling with Hunter Mahan haha but it is for good reasons. Basically, Hunter has a very simple swing with common lines and there is nothing in my swing that to him is "out of line" or anything I would need to over-adjust for. The first thing we discussed was my set up and alignment. While my feet were perfect to target, my hips and shoulders are set up open.
The open shoulders and open hips at address lead to under-turning on the takeaway and backswing. One of the contributors to loss of speed/distance for me.
So that was the first thing we changed and honestly it felt like I was aimed way right. But trust the process and see what happens right? First swing with proper alignment saw a 12 yard increase to 177 carry lol increased ball speed, club speed, good numbers across the board and now were in business!
The next area we focused on was my right leg. I have a typical baseball and hitting coach golf swing haha and keep a decent amount of flex in that right leg. We worked on keeping it straight and then using it to help power through the shot. This one was the hard one for me and will require a lot of work.
After about 3 or 4 really bad shots, it started to stick a bit where bad contact was still 162-165 but good contact had me in the 172-175 range again and I will call that a success.
I was expecting my swing to be way over the top as well but to my surprise I was actually really close to being where I need to be just from the alignment change at address too.
Downswing pre alignment change
Downswing post alignment change
So my takeaways from lesson 1 are alignment and that right leg move that will open up more speed, more distance and more consistent ball striking. Im excited to see where this goes over the next year or so.
First off, this was my first ever lesson of any kind. I have been playing since I was 13 and I am self taught. I play to a 5.5 and thats pretty close to the lowest Ive ever been. I have never really invested in improving my game outside of equipment changes and quick youtube videos on swing tips so this is going to be the first time seeing my swing on video like this.
So, when I arrived to my lesson it was after a full day at work. No practice time and I was pretty stiff when I got there so I knew it was going to take a little bit to get my swing going. I met my coach and we did a quick review of my game, my bag, my goals, my playing styles and what I felt were my top priorities to address first. For me, it starts with iron play and I wanted that to be our focus. Hit more greens, make more birdies. He allowed me to warm up a bit while he got set up and just wanted to see what he was getting himself into. Now I know I have lost some distance over the last decade or so but it was really frustrating for me to see my yardages with a 7i. Normally that is my 170 club and I was seeing 155-160 carry. Good contact, just not seeing the distances I THOUGHT I was getting on the course. Any way, it was time to dive into my swing.
He pulled up the Pro to compare my swing to and I was really hoping for Tiger or Rory or Adam Scott but nope, we are rolling with Hunter Mahan haha but it is for good reasons. Basically, Hunter has a very simple swing with common lines and there is nothing in my swing that to him is "out of line" or anything I would need to over-adjust for. The first thing we discussed was my set up and alignment. While my feet were perfect to target, my hips and shoulders are set up open.
The open shoulders and open hips at address lead to under-turning on the takeaway and backswing. One of the contributors to loss of speed/distance for me.
So that was the first thing we changed and honestly it felt like I was aimed way right. But trust the process and see what happens right? First swing with proper alignment saw a 12 yard increase to 177 carry lol increased ball speed, club speed, good numbers across the board and now were in business!
The next area we focused on was my right leg. I have a typical baseball and hitting coach golf swing haha and keep a decent amount of flex in that right leg. We worked on keeping it straight and then using it to help power through the shot. This one was the hard one for me and will require a lot of work.
After about 3 or 4 really bad shots, it started to stick a bit where bad contact was still 162-165 but good contact had me in the 172-175 range again and I will call that a success.
I was expecting my swing to be way over the top as well but to my surprise I was actually really close to being where I need to be just from the alignment change at address too.
Downswing pre alignment change
Downswing post alignment change
So my takeaways from lesson 1 are alignment and that right leg move that will open up more speed, more distance and more consistent ball striking. Im excited to see where this goes over the next year or so.
Heck of a change for the first lesson, and it wasn’t even a full lesson
Appreciate it! Curious to see how it translates to the courseHeck of a change for the first lesson, and it wasn’t even a full lesson
That’s the tricky part because the more we think, the more little mistakes come in focusing on the swing change. At least this has been my experience.
The thing that’s helped me has been to warm up thinking heavily about the change for 5-10 swings then just play golf. My coach and I talk a lot about what miss I’ll see if my old swing creeps in mid round. If I see that happen, I can think for one shot about the setup or change we worked on but that’s it.
Man, I am so freaking close. One more lesson next Friday and then I am taking a break due to work and travel. I have turned a lot of numbers green. I just need to practice more. I was hitting a lot of fat shots but I was trying to miss “stick in the range bucket.”
When looking at numbers on path, tilt, shoulder turn they were all green. Just tentative on a lot of shots coming down because of the stick. Loving GOLFTEC lessons.
When looking at numbers on path, tilt, shoulder turn they were all green. Just tentative on a lot of shots coming down because of the stick. Loving GOLFTEC lessons.