GolfTEC Lessons

[MikeG]

So, as mentioned, and teased, lesson in the books yesterday. We started out by confirming my knee angle was improved from the last lesson, meaning my starting knee angle was somewhere between 12-15 degrees (more like 12, be nice lmao) from about 3 degrees last week.

View attachment 9391117

I told him that I applied it to irons on the course, and found it a bit harder to release enough to not turn the ball over left. A lot of in to out path moves with mostly face closing causing the hard rollover left. The apparent fix has a lot to do with how my hands address the ball. Where I was being encouraged previously to tuck my right elbow underneath a bit, causing my right arm to have a bit of a strong grip, letting my right elbow point more away from me allowed my hand to naturally neutralize a lot of that strong grip.

Now to the crux. We talked big time backswing. This included a visit from the noodle, required simply to create a barrier at the top of the swing to avoid hitting. It was about more than that, but in many ways, really forced me to get a fast understanding of where I couldn't go, and just how far I had to map in my mind to get there.

Before:
View attachment 9391120

During:
View attachment 9391121

One of the thoughts were using now is to get the club parallel to the ground in the takeaway and hinge from there, in an attempt to limit the amount of hinge at the top. As you can pretty clearly see, the left arm is going to naturally break down as I work to create that big dirty coil at the top.

From there it was just trying to reinforce. I've got a few mental hurdles to jump over before I can come in with some confidence, but I think the real crux of this conversation is finding a different part of my body to generate power from. In the swing currently, if I don't have that full coil feeling, I feel like my hands are way early and I have no power generation, which to me tells me that I am not using my lower half anywhere near as much as I could.

Lots to build on - lots to get into my big doofus brain while in the middle of my swing, but I really get a sense of what's not right.

Stuff like this is great to see visually and really re-enforces how much we over swing and they try to save it on the way down (at least for me it's that way. Something as simple as shortening your backswing seems to be working and like you said now it's time to get the hips involved.

I can't wait to get into my swing eval. Everyone in here is really making a great case for it without "rebuilding" the swing.

 

[Canadan]

Getting the hips to rotate especially when you have the upper body strength to power through is tough, at least for me.

I felt like I had the coiling down a few times during my lessong, then Cole is like, watch this in slow mo... not yet but getting better.

Lmao I know you know what I’m talking about.

 

[Canadan]

Stuff like this is great to see visually and really re-enforces how much we over swing and they try to save it on the way down (at least for me it's that way. Something as simple as shortening your backswing seems to be working and like you said now it's time to get the hips involved.

I can't wait to get into my swing eval. Everyone in here is really making a great case for it without "rebuilding" the swing.

Simple key tools to refine what I have is what I asked for. Also, I asked for actual things not just telling me to slot or drive or some nonsense like that. Give me a drill and let me feel the change.

And he’s doing that.

 

[Dan.The.King]

Getting the hips to rotate especially when you have the upper body strength to power through is tough, at least for me.

I felt like I had the coiling down a few times during my lessong, then Cole is like, watch this in slow mo... not yet but getting better.

I know I've got other things to work on first, but man do I struggle with that. I feel like my legs are along for the ride most of the time rather than producing power.

 

[E.Appleton]

Thinking about my journey so far:

GolfTec lessons have taken my game and understanding of my golf swing to the next level. The pairing of a talented human coach and bleeding edge technology makes for an experience that is both second-to-none and accessible to the masses. Optimotion technology tracks the users swing, delivering numerous data points and allows coaches to really show clients where they are, and where they want to go.

Coaching focuses on small changes that can have immediate positive effects and also are iterative from lesson to lesson. Each lesson focuses on one small tweak that builds on the previous lesson as to not overwhelm the client with information. GolfTec does an amazing job of delivering an easy to use app and website experience which includes before and after swings, coach analysis, drills, and homework. Access to your lesson distilled into a few minutes and recommended drills makes practice targeted leading to faster gains.

Through only a few months with GolfTec I have increased clubhead speed by more than 5mph and I have dropped my handicap from 21 to 15! Small changes leading to enormous gains on the course.

 

[Canadan]

There are a couple of ways I've looked at GolfTEC (and lessons) over the last decade or so. Most of the time, the word that I come away with is exploration. There is no doubt in my mind that what makes us unique is what makes us great, but golf is not particularly apologetic to golfers when unique lacks the right position at contact.

GolfTEC has been an adventure. I have experienced a numerous instructors over the years there, and I think the key takeaway for me right now, like with any potential lesson plan, is to make sure the person you connect with can present you a clear path of goals to improve your swing, and explains in a way that you can actually apply. We are not all on the same wavelength, and sometimes it just takes the right translator to land.

For those who don't like a singular commitment, you have the ability to schedule a lesson with any coach at any location as long as they are free. It's an incredibly useful tool if you're stuck or you need a fresh set of eyes, and it sounds like it's not all that uncommon. Not only that, it's incredibly valuable to have different coaches attempt to reinforce the same things.

My key takeaway right now from the GolfTEC lessons is how immensely valuable their Optimotion software is, tracking angles I did not know existed, and measuring them against the best of the best to see if I am within the right window. It is one thing to ask someone to bend a body part, and another entirely to have them see the difference between 3 and 15 degrees. It is also massively beneficial in practice to have your coach set angle goals that you can hammer home on your time, receiving instant feedback from video you can control.

My desire with GolfTEC is to improve what I consider to be a relatively solid move. Mitch at the Cincinnati location has given me a lot of optimism that we can find that path together over the course of the next year, and I plan to really commit to every piece of feedback I receive.

 

[Bernoulli]

There are a couple of ways I've looked at GolfTEC (and lessons) over the last decade or so. Most of the time, the word that I come away with is exploration. There is no doubt in my mind that what makes us unique is what makes us great, but golf is not particularly apologetic to golfers when unique lacks the right position at contact.

GolfTEC has been an adventure. I have experienced a numerous instructors over the years there, and I think the key takeaway for me right now, like with any potential lesson plan, is to make sure the person you connect with can present you a clear path of goals to improve your swing, and explains in a way that you can actually apply. We are not all on the same wavelength, and sometimes it just takes the right translator to land.

For those who don't like a singular commitment, you have the ability to schedule a lesson with any coach at any location as long as they are free. It's an incredibly useful tool if you're stuck or you need a fresh set of eyes, and it sounds like it's not all that uncommon. Not only that, it's incredibly valuable to have different coaches attempt to reinforce the same things.

My key takeaway right now from the GolfTEC lessons is how immensely valuable their Optimotion software is, tracking angles I did not know existed, and measuring them against the best of the best to see if I am within the right window. It is one thing to ask someone to bend a body part, and another entirely to have them see the difference between 3 and 15 degrees. It is also massively beneficial in practice to have your coach set angle goals that you can hammer home on your time, receiving instant feedback from video you can control.

My desire with GolfTEC is to improve what I consider to be a relatively solid move. Mitch at the Cincinnati location has given me a lot of optimism that we can find that path together over the course of the next year, and I plan to really commit to every piece of feedback I receive.

I like seeing that you are optimistic regarding your progress with these lessons. I remain so envious of those here who are doing GolfTec lessons as there isn’t a location anywhere near me. I am someone who would benefit from being able to see, feel and understand what changes are being recommended. I definitely would do better with something like that than having someone tell me what I should be doing.

 

[Nashtyone]

I like seeing that you are optimistic regarding your progress with these lessons. I remain so envious of those here who are doing GolfTec lessons as there isn’t a location anywhere near me. I am someone who would benefit from being able to see, feel and understand what changes are being recommended. I definitely would do better with something like that than having someone tell me what I should be doing.

The video aspect was a huge reason I started with GOLFTEC in the first place. I'm a much more visual learner than just being told what to do. Being able to go back and watch my swing and see what I did "wrong" and how to correct it has been invaluable.

 

[mantan]

Instagram snagged me with the GolfTec fitting offer. I'm thinking about taking the plunge as I've been considering and iron change again...

 

[Lord Tox]

It's weird there was only one practice spot open yesterday so I took it, yet when I went inside there was only 1 bay being used. Weird. Anyways the guys are starting to know me by name which is pretty cool. One thing I love is that my coach if he's there always comes and says hi, asks how everything is and says if I need any help just ask, otherwise leaves me be. From a customer service standpoint I love that.

Practice sessions are good to work on things or just to get some swings in and not forget everything you've worked on. For me I love seeing the changes on video, pausing, slo mo, etc. But my favorite part might be seeing it in real time on the screen before the video is captured. I can get to the position I want to be in and feel that before actually swinging.

30 mins goes fast though and I'm still struggling a bit with the follow through and keeping my arms extended vs collapsing. When I do I right it looks great but it's still a work in progress. This winter is going to be fun.

 

[FlipFlop]

It's weird there was only one practice spot open yesterday so I took it, yet when I went inside there was only 1 bay being used. Weird. Anyways the guys are starting to know me by name which is pretty cool. One thing I love is that my coach if he's there always comes and says hi, asks how everything is and says if I need any help just ask, otherwise leaves me be. From a customer service standpoint I love that.

Practice sessions are good to work on things or just to get some swings in and not forget everything you've worked on. For me I love seeing the changes on video, pausing, slo mo, etc. But my favorite part might be seeing it in real time on the screen before the video is captured. I can get to the position I want to be in and feel that before actually swinging.

30 mins goes fast though and I'm still struggling a bit with the follow through and keeping my arms extended vs collapsing. When I do I right it looks great but it's still a work in progress. This winter is going to be fun.

do you look back at any drills in the app before heading into practice? I’ve done that a couple times right before heading into practice and it feels like the 30 min is more focused. It doesn’t seem to rush by as fast.

 

[Lord Tox]

do you look back at any drills in the app before heading into practice? I’ve done that a couple times right before heading into practice and it feels like the 30 min is more focused. It doesn’t seem to rush by as fast.

I do have a look but our last session is usually pretty fresh in my mind. If you take your time, review the video and don't just bash balls like you are at the range it just seems to go by quick haha.

 

[E.Appleton]

I do have a look but our last session is usually pretty fresh in my mind. If you take your time, review the video and don't just bash balls like you are at the range it just seems to go by quick haha.

It absolutely flies by. That being said the time is so much better spent than hitting twice as many balls at the range

 

[blazinden]

Lesson 2 in the books tonight.
Previously Swing Eval 10.30.25, Practice 1 11.3.25, Lesson 1 11.10.25

Tonight's lesson was on Lead Arm Abduction.
Lesson 1 focused on hip sway and I was doing better tonight with the body not moving as much laterally so that seems to have stayed with me so far.
For tonight's lesson we were focusing on my lead arm and how tight it is to the body in the follow through. So for tonight's training aid; the impact bag. We stacked two impact bags in front of me and you try not to hit them on the follow through. This helps with getting your arms to extend out more during the follow through.
For practice, we did very short swings and focused on getting my path inside to pushing out and away. I also tilted my shoulders just a little bit more to help in the follow through.

You can see from the before and after pictures above that my lead arm stayed close to my body. I was able to get more separation from my body in the after but I need to find a happy medium between the before and after swings.

Another thing we looked at tonight was my wrist angle. It's not major but my left wrist (glove) is opening up a bit which will make the club face more open during contact.
*you can see more of the glove on the left vs right picture.

Coaching Tips:
1. Watch Lead Arm Abduction Drill video in drills tab
2. Practice slower swings for in-to-out path (don't worry about ball flight/location)
3. Try to keep back foot planted a little bit longer and wrist flatter during follow through

 

[E.Appleton]

Tonight's practice was so needed. This week is absolutely kicking my butt and getting a solid hour to work on things and have some fun was a relief.

All I worked on today was driving the downswing with the inside of my trail heel. I am trying to feel a load in the hip in the backswing and feeling that strong push in the downswing. Getting a decent feel for it and validating that feeling with the Optimotion cameras.

While training these I tried a few iron heads and shafts to compare because I'm absolutely part of the lunatic fringe lol. The hour flew by as it always does and it was a great, productive, targeted practice session.

 

[blazinden]

Practice No 2.
Previously: Swing Eval 10.30.25, Practice 1 11.3.25, Lesson 1 11.10.25, Lesson 2 11.20.25

I booked a 30 minute practice session after tonight's lesson to keep working on Cole's drills and notes.

On the first couple swings I went back to keeping my arms tucked close to my body.

I took a few slow swings to get my arms back to feeling of pushing away from my body.

It feels a little weird but this won't be an instant change. I will need to get used to this feeling and work it into muscle memory.

We're making progress though.

 

[MikeG]

There are a couple of ways I've looked at GolfTEC (and lessons) over the last decade or so. Most of the time, the word that I come away with is exploration. There is no doubt in my mind that what makes us unique is what makes us great, but golf is not particularly apologetic to golfers when unique lacks the right position at contact.

GolfTEC has been an adventure. I have experienced a numerous instructors over the years there, and I think the key takeaway for me right now, like with any potential lesson plan, is to make sure the person you connect with can present you a clear path of goals to improve your swing, and explains in a way that you can actually apply. We are not all on the same wavelength, and sometimes it just takes the right translator to land.

For those who don't like a singular commitment, you have the ability to schedule a lesson with any coach at any location as long as they are free. It's an incredibly useful tool if you're stuck or you need a fresh set of eyes, and it sounds like it's not all that uncommon. Not only that, it's incredibly valuable to have different coaches attempt to reinforce the same things.

My key takeaway right now from the GolfTEC lessons is how immensely valuable their Optimotion software is, tracking angles I did not know existed, and measuring them against the best of the best to see if I am within the right window. It is one thing to ask someone to bend a body part, and another entirely to have them see the difference between 3 and 15 degrees. It is also massively beneficial in practice to have your coach set angle goals that you can hammer home on your time, receiving instant feedback from video you can control.

My desire with GolfTEC is to improve what I consider to be a relatively solid move. Mitch at the Cincinnati location has given me a lot of optimism that we can find that path together over the course of the next year, and I plan to really commit to every piece of feedback I receive.

I love the idea that you can get another set of eyes if you need it or feel the lessons are not hitting home

 

[E.Appleton]

Woke up this morning with a little muscle soreness in some new places. That means the practice is working and new muscles are being engaged. And that's exciting AF. I ran into my old coach last week and we caught up about where my GolfTec lessons are taking me and he was super jazzed to hear that early extension dies this year. He tried to help me find the feel to really push off the back foot and it never clicked. It's starting to now and I'm pumped!

 

[Pharaoh]

So my Richmond golf casual league had a GOLFTEC night last night. It’s a cool free event they do for us. We tried out some new equipment, had some pizza, etc and one of the guys worked with me on my pitching in a certain range been a cold lately and I’ve just been thinking too much over those shots. So he worked with me on simplifying based on some other shots I’ve been hitting with success. He also gave me good insight on stance and as far as not getting so focus on where the ball is because often he feels people get themselves in trouble thinking they need to move the ball a certain way all the time to hit the right shot. He was talking to me more on focusing on where the low point is. He was like you seem like money with one club hitting pitches so look at what you are doing there and start there because whatever you are doing works and you shouldn’t have to change much for the other pitches then.

 

[FlipFlop]

Lesson 6: Return of the Noodle!

I had a practice session earlier this week and talked to my coach about the last couple rounds. The swing has been feeling really good, but I’ve noticed that I have a good front nine and then kind of fall off on the back nine. He said we would go through and do a simulated on course lesson and look at my strategy and see if there’s something there.

Well, that was a good plan but my swing had other ideas. While warming up, I was all over the place. Like bad! Jordan asked me if I knew what I was doing wrong and I had no idea. He asked me to put the 7i away and grab my wedge to hit some pitch shots that I’ve been working on. I did that and those were perfect.

He asked me again if I knew what I was doing wrong and I had no clue. This is one of the most frustrating times in a lesson for me. Jordan had me grab my seven iron again and hit “pitch shots” with it. Instantly better. We started talking about how it felt. He got me to realize that I felt taller in my back swing, and that was the key. When he showed me the video of some one of my better bad swings to start the session, I could see that I was really bending towards the ball too much with my left shoulder, which was causing me to correct it and come into the ball at a bad angle. My low point was bad, my face control was bad, everything was bad.

Here’s the start of my swing where I don’t quite have the shoulder tilt he would like to see. He wants me to work on a little more tilt at address to give myself room to get taller before getting down into the ball.

As you can see here at the top of the backswing, my tilt goes from 9 to 33° vs the 17 to 24° of Victor. My shoulder bend also goes to 13° back vs his 3° forward. This is my big problem causing the inconsistency.

Enter the pool noodle! The goal here is to take the club back and avoid the noodle. Do this by turning the left shoulder and feeling as if it’s going up (really more parallel) instead of down to the ball and pulling my right shoulder back causing the bend.

And right away it’s a big difference. I’m taller and now have the ability to get down into the ball at a better angle of attack. New position on the left vs original on the right.

I stayed and practiced for awhile on this feel and it’s a tough adjustment. The first one that really feels like I’m making a big change. I’m so focused on staying taller that I even had a swing and miss. This is one that I’m gonna have to go real slow on a lot of practice swings and build up to full speed.

 

[Canadan]

I don't have updates from GolfTEC to share, but I do have updates from my game post lesson this week.

Played 18 yesterday and had a bit of a tough time applying some of the knee bend and right arm positioning into my wedge and iron game. The benefit of the knee bend I think is keeping me from over extending back, and then helping me stay behind the ball a bit at contact with driver. Where that really supports the driver move, it's going to be a pretty decent learning curve with the other clubs in the bag, and I just need to find common ground as it blends together.

Either way, I learned a fair bit, and look forward to taking it into the weekend. More importantly, the driver looked functional! I hit one bad drive, and quite a few really solid ones! Later in the day, I went to the simulator with a buddy and really started grooving it. He said it's the best he's seen me swing it in ages.

I'm pumped. Effin GolfTEC, man.

 

[E.Appleton]

I don't have updates from GolfTEC to share, but I do have updates from my game post lesson this week.

Played 18 yesterday and had a bit of a tough time applying some of the knee bend and right arm positioning into my wedge and iron game. The benefit of the knee bend I think is keeping me from over extending back, and then helping me stay behind the ball a bit at contact with driver. Where that really supports the driver move, it's going to be a pretty decent learning curve with the other clubs in the bag, and I just need to find common ground as it blends together.

Either way, I learned a fair bit, and look forward to taking it into the weekend. More importantly, the driver looked functional! I hit one bad drive, and quite a few really solid ones! Later in the day, I went to the simulator with a buddy and really started grooving it. He said it's the best he's seen me swing it in ages.

I'm pumped. Effin GolfTEC, man.

Effin A that's fantastic to hear!

 

[FlipFlop]

I don't have updates from GolfTEC to share, but I do have updates from my game post lesson this week.

Played 18 yesterday and had a bit of a tough time applying some of the knee bend and right arm positioning into my wedge and iron game. The benefit of the knee bend I think is keeping me from over extending back, and then helping me stay behind the ball a bit at contact with driver. Where that really supports the driver move, it's going to be a pretty decent learning curve with the other clubs in the bag, and I just need to find common ground as it blends together.

Either way, I learned a fair bit, and look forward to taking it into the weekend. More importantly, the driver looked functional! I hit one bad drive, and quite a few really solid ones! Later in the day, I went to the simulator with a buddy and really started grooving it. He said it's the best he's seen me swing it in ages.

I'm pumped. Effin GolfTEC, man.

Love this update! When you started blending the new knee bend + right arm move into the rest of the bag, did you notice one club or distance range where it ‘clicked’ first? I’m curious because that transition period seems to be where a lot of us either make big breakthroughs or stall out.

 

[Nashtyone]

Have a putting lesson tonight that I'm really excited for. I putted much better at my last round than I have been lately, so hoping my coach can clean up any issues he sees and get me on the right track.

I also had a lesson on chipping last week, and my coach posted it to the clubhouse but it seems to have disappeared. I'll talk to him tonight about it and if I'm just an idiot and missing the update. Putting and chipping have been two of the weaker areas of my game lately so def helps to get lessons on both and work on them.

 

[E.Appleton]

Had another great lesson tonight as we continue to whittle away at issues causing inconsistent strikes. Something that came up really made me appreciate coaching and the complexities of golf: it's not always hitting the motion or position, it's hitting it the right way for you.

For example, when you hinge your wrist do you pull up with your trail hand, push out with your lead hand, both?

More to come when the update hits!