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Journey to Break 85

Thank you KB. I can really identify with Gray because changing a habit is really, really hard. Definitely going to test my resolve. I practiced last night and had the absolute worst practice. I couldn't get the shoulder turn going and everything was off. I definitely walked away thinking to myself, "will this get better?" lol. But gotta just keep at it. Still pretty rough haha, I needed a cold one last night :)

That is waaaaaaaaay too hot! I don't know how you all deal with the humidity. Good to hear you're back on the lessons. I think you're going to crush your handicap goal.
 
Thanks Gray! Yeah sometimes I feel we're brothers too. Along with the golf game work, I've been getting some good Gray'isms in at work. This swing change is a pain in the @ss but I look at how it's going for you and realize there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I cannot wait to meet you two in Florida. Share a couple (maybe more lol) drinks with yall!

I bought one of those 3/4 gallon jugs for water haha. Works great for the dry heat. Not sure about that humidity you all keep talking about. Hopefully that tourney streams somewhere. I shoulda called in today!
 
I haven't posted in a while. Really trying to get my game together. I shot an 87 last time I was out. Started out double, double, double i think. WHo knows!!!!!!! All I know is the first hole I topped my first 3 shots. lol.

I started to get the hang of setting my wrists early which really seems to help set the tempo for my whole swing. I was at the range (actualy range) last week and I was hitting them straight. lol. Still hit some fat but overall a lot better. I'd say it was 30/70.

Im really trying to work on using the big muscles to hit. This is still killing me! I need to hit Andy up for sure haha.

I've been doing good losing weight and hitting the gym but I hit a snag this past weekend. We helped Jordan get off to college (UofA) and I just started to hurt in my stomach area. Went to urgent care when we got back in town and found I had a hole in me! lol. WTH pretty funny though. Now I don't think it serious and the doc had no idea. It wasn't huge pain but enough for us to go. Only reason I even bring this up is because it kinda freaked me out. She told me to go easy until I could see a doc but I did some good old research on my own and determined non issue. Im pretty sure if it was a new injury I woulda felt something sooner. So after almost a week off Im ready to go at it again.

Im really hoping to pick up where I left off last week.
 
geez dude, a hole in a fella is kinda scary. glad everything's ok with you! i hate hitting balls thin at the start of a round, it means i'm not staying down and through. keep it up yoccos!
 
It was brutal! I was able to laugh about the toppers but still bad! I sweep under the ball at my range sessions and thin it on the course.

The hole should be ok. Im gonna get it checked out. I have an idea of what it is though. We just keep making jokes so it's not been too bad.
 
I agree that a hole sounds pretty scary and nothing to take lightly! Without going into detail, I know a lot about this because I had emergency abdominal surgery 12 years ago. Please get it checked out even if you are feeling better. Trust me on that as my symptoms were very vague but I had a serious medical emergency going on.

I need to practice holding my wrist hinge too. My coach tried to get me to do that at my last lesson but it was tough. I was talking to a friend at work today who is a scratch golfer. He told me to just try to finish my swing all the way through and that will help me with better wrists action. I've always been bad about stopping after impact. Another illustration he used was using a hoola hoop and swinging around with it using the shoulders. He said you don't just go to impact and then use all arms...you swing with your shoulders all the way around. It helps to have a visual like he showed me.

Best wishes with both your health and your swing!
 
I'm definitely going to get checked out. I'm sure Andrea will have my head if I dont :)

I'm going to try that visualizing what you said. I'm able to get it going on my chips. Sucks having these last few days off!!!!
 
Wow its been awhile.

Ill make this as short as I can. I played terrible on the Champions course. Had a blast though! Really opened my eyes that trees suck.

Had a good round on the Palmer course. Sometimes a score isnt always a true measure of a round lol. The squire the next day really killed me haha. But another fantastic time.

I took a few weeks off for a couple reason. My blister from demo day was killer. Deep and painful. My wrists were also acting up. I just needed to let my body heal up.

Going abck to the outing, I demo'd a ton of clubs. I had no intention of switching irons. I loved the BP's. I usually had the 6 iron sleep on the foot of the bed at night. But I hit the Machspeeds and fell in love. They didn't feel as good but they were pretty darn close. The deal closer for me was balls were going straight. Easier to hit too.

Anyway, I knew I couldn't really afford to change irons and Andrea would probably drop kick me. Nah but I just didnt think it was something feasable. Well, luckily THP is full of great people and someone was able to get me hooked up with someone for a trade. A few days later Im swinging some Machspeeds!

I also want to mention how useful a GPS is. I had no idea I'd use it so much. Serious. Knowing the exact yardage takes so much stress out of the game. I can't believe I didn't do it sooner.

First range session was tough. Hadnt swung in a while (few weeks lol) and I was just sucking. Took them out the to the course and it was much better. I really like these clubs. Great to hit and they DO feel pretty damn good. The 2nd range session was like night and day. As I'm getting my tempo and swing path back in order these balls are taking off. Serious. It was a tad windy too but they just kept going. I was worried about the high ball flight but no issues with these and wind at all. Im really REALLY excited to keep practicing with them. Easy swings are key. I just can't let up on the downswing. And I have to remember to stay down, transfer my weight an dnot dip. One at a time though lol.

I also picked up a new driver. Well not new but it's a round head DYmo St8 with a 79 series shaft. Awesome decision. I think I lost some distance but Im not gonna complain about what I have. I also havent seen some of the old mishits creap in. Knock on wood. The heavier shaft has allowed me to swing like I know how. I don't swing really fast but I do have a harder swing. SO glad I went heavier on the shaft. I also tried an Adams 9064 in xflex and that seemed to also solve the issues. Lesson here is heavy or stiff(er).

Anyway, I hope to keep this up because I found the less I kept up the worse I did. This is a good tool for me to look back in and see wassup with the wassup. Ill be ready for the Champeens course round 2 and I hope to Roadhouse the mess out of it.
 
Keep it up, Yoc! Glad that you got those Machspeeds. You were lusting on them pretty hard in WPB lol.
 
Lol. I was. I tried to hide it. My BP's knew it was over. I told them it was me, not them. Still tough ya know? I gave them a good last cleaning though. It was memorable.
Hawk said:
Keep it up, Yoc! Glad that you got those Machspeeds. You were lusting on them pretty hard in WPB lol.
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That sounds fuuureaky, bro!
 
I've been gaming the Ci's lately. First time out, they were money. The last two times I've been letting them down big time. I tried to make up for it by scrubbing the white grips up, but I know they are disappointed in me.
 
They are such sweet clubs. Do you find yourself concentrating a little more when you swing? I really hope they work out for you!
Hawk said:
I've been gaming the Ci's lately. First time out, they were money. The last two times I've been letting them down big time. I tried to make up for it by scrubbing the white grips up, but I know they are disappointed in me.
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No, I once again lost my touch with my irons. It's so freaking frustrating, but I think I ONCE AGAIN realized that if I just do what my pro told me to I can hit the ball just fine. I think that my "bad" swing is very timing dependent, and if I lose that, I can't hit a thing. If I have the timing down, I can hit the hell out of the ball, so I convince myself I'm doing something right.

If I just turn my shoulders and swing the stupid club I hit the ball fine. I don't know why I can't just remember that. I spend a lot of time hitting practice balls in my yard and I've been working on a preshot routine that reminds me of a couple key things to get me started off correctly. If I can get some constistency with my irons I think my scores are going to drop quickly.
 
Thats a great point. Practice is everything! I can't wait to tee it up again at PGA dude.

You had some great shots man and I think JB had said it, you will be in the low scores in no time. Keep this thread updated with your progress (if you'd like). It helps when i see old stuff or tips from friends on the forum. Shoulder turn is a pain! I struggle with that too.
Hawk said:
No, I once again lost my touch with my irons. It's so freaking frustrating, but I think I ONCE AGAIN realized that if I just do what my pro told me to I can hit the ball just fine. I think that my "bad" swing is very timing dependent, and if I lose that, I can't hit a thing. If I have the timing down, I can hit the hell out of the ball, so I convince myself I'm doing something right.

If I just turn my shoulders and swing the stupid club I hit the ball fine. I don't know why I can't just remember that. I spend a lot of time hitting practice balls in my yard and I've been working on a preshot routine that reminds me of a couple key things to get me started off correctly. If I can get some constistency with my irons I think my scores are going to drop quickly.
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Good luck. You seem to be doing all the right things to improve. One of the best ways to drop some shots easily is play conservatively around the green. In other words - get the ball onto the green when pitching or chipping rather than trying to go after the pin. You will leave yourself a putt for par or walk away with bogey at the worst. This eliminates a lot of those frustrating doubles when you are near the green in two.
 
That's another great tip! I love having this out there because of tips like this. Ill definitely try that. I love using my Niblick and maybe just aiming for the middle would be the thing to do if the flag is in the vicinity.
Glftips said:
Good luck. You seem to be doing all the right things to improve. One of the best ways to drop some shots easily is play conservatively around the green. In other words - get the ball onto the green when pitching or chipping rather than trying to go after the pin. You will leave yourself a putt for par or walk away with bogey at the worst. This eliminates a lot of those frustrating doubles when you are near the green in two.
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Well, since you said I could post progress in here, I am going to. Nowhere else for it to go, so I might as well do it here. Nobody even needs to read this. I just need somewhere to talk to myself for a bit lol.

My last round was probably as bad as it gets. My score wasn't TOO bad (don't get me wrong, it still sucked), but I just felt rotten about my iron game. It's funny because I worked really hard at getting off the tee, chipping/pitching, and putting and that's paid off. I'm not awesome at any of them, but I'm good enough to get down the the 80's IF I could hit my irons at all. LOL, I had two good iron shots last round and one of them was a punch shot because I know I can get the ball forward with it. I actually considered just hitting punch shots all day, but was too stubborn. I am literally setting up to the ball with zero confidence at all.

Now that I've ranted, here is what I'm planning to do. I am going to bust my ass to get my iron swing in shape this winter and I am going break in to the 80's next year. To do it, I need to smooth my tempo, use my big muscles instead of my hands and arms, and hit the ball first (and then the ground).

I think smoothing my tempo should help with getting upper body working together. Many times I get to fast and hit at the ball with my arms. If I'm lucky enough to make contact I get pathetic distance. I think I have a plan for hitting the ball first, but I don't want to jinx myself, so I will not talk about it yet.

Hehe, I don't want miracles. I just want to hit a few greens and limit my duffs/tops/fats, etc to manageable numbers. If I can get near the green, I can get the ball in the hole. It's just getting there that has been the issue. I have an indoor range that will be my new golf course in about a month and I'm going to make it happen. I just have to remember to practice with a purpose.
 
Nice Hawk, you will do just fine. I like the attitude of, I WILL DO THIS. I think if you really put your mind and practicing to getting better you will succeed. You have the hardest part of the game down, the short game, so when the rest comes into play you will be very surprised how your scores lower so easily. Keep up the hard work and I look forward to hearing your break 80 story
 
I have faith in you Hawk!


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I love it man! I'm glad you posted here. I should have someone change the title to "Journey to Break 85".

Going through the same things you are my friend. Using the big muscles is easy for some but not all of us. I found when I tried to keep everything "connected" through the backswing and just thought, "all is one" it helped a little bit. Your point about smooth tempo is spot on too. That is key. That way, anything you do is in rythm and connected. I still don't know how to do this consistantly so please PLEASE keep posting tips and what you're doing.

Great stuff man. You are a monster around the green and I know that it will only be a matter of time before the irons fall into place. Glad you vented about the round because now it's something you can put behind you and move forward. I'm excited for you man and can't wait to be able to play another round with you.
 
Thanks, guys. I'm going to finish the season without putting any pressure on myself. I have decided to address my problems afterwards because my time is limited. I need to enjoy the few days that are left.

I think that a lot of my issues with tempo come from trying to hit the ball too hard. Because I'm making spotty contact and not using the big muscles, I don't get the distance that I should be on a regular basis. The brain says to the body, "SWING HARDER". It makes it hard to score because my distances can be 10-40 yard different depending on how well I swing. I hate to say it's an ego thing, but in ways it is. I'm probably never going to hit a 165 yard 7iron, but I'd like to hit it to my full potential. I've accepted that a bomb off the driver for me is 250, but I can't accept a 130 yard 7 iron (due to poor contact).
 
You never know my friend! When I get home I'm going to dust off the drills I got from my lessons. Really help engage the big muscles so you can feel what its like. Remind me to send them to you or post them here cause I am sometimes turrable at remembering.
Hawk said:
Thanks, guys. I'm going to finish the season without putting any pressure on myself. I have decided to address my problems afterwards because my time is limited. I need to enjoy the few days that are left.

I think that a lot of my issues with tempo come from trying to hit the ball too hard. Because I'm making spotty contact and not using the big muscles, I don't get the distance that I should be on a regular basis. The brain says to the body, "SWING HARDER". It makes it hard to score because my distances can be 10-40 yard different depending on how well I swing. I hate to say it's an ego thing, but in ways it is. I'm probably never going to hit a 165 yard 7iron, but I'd like to hit it to my full potential. I've accepted that a bomb off the driver for me is 250, but I can't accept a 130 yard 7 iron (due to poor contact).
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@ the request of rex grossman, i have changed the title of the thread. rex grossman likes to share.
 
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