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McLovin's Journey to Improve

not that this will come as a surprise for anyone who has invested (wasted) time following this thread, but i had a pretty big low a couple weeks ago.

my oldest son has been talking about getting back on the course with me, so we played 9 holes at the local muni by house. it’s a short, very tight track that requires precision in almost every part of your game.

the round started great with the best tee shot i’ve ever hit on the opening hole. not the best approach, but a nifty short sided chip gave me a kick-in par. next hole requires driver but is tight off the tee. ok drive, nice 8i that went pretty far, 2p par. then the wheels CAME OFF. i put on a happy face for my kid, but i was so frustrated.

what really got to me was that i was playing golf with my son. this is what life is all about for a golfer. sharing precious, rare, almost impossible to find time on the course with a son who still wants to be around his uncool dad. and yet i couldn’t get out of my own way to get my perception right. i was mad at the golf i played, but even more disappointed in myself for wasting that time with my son.

so i decided to quit for the month of september. i didn’t deserve golf. i basically grounded myself.

but then ty fortuitously posted the video below. it was from a lesson i mention a handful of posts ago. seeing myself grind out there, and hearing his encouraging words, reenergized me. i got back out for some practice with both my sons and enjoyed every minute of it. then scheduled the most recent lesson above and may have made a breakthrough. the breakthrough remains to be seen, but i appreciate the golf gods smiling on me and kicking me in the ass to bring back the fun and the perspective.

here’s the video ty posted to youtube
 
Always good to hear that there is a lot of good going on in your swing when it seems so bad. Keep up the good work and enjoy the golf with your son!
 
my breakthrough devolved into a breakdown. i think i need a long break. maybe, like, forever



this thread is a catch all for my progress as well as musings along the way. i’m not phishing for well wishes. just speaking my mind that the last two times i have played golf, i’ve seriously considered quitting. last year i had many of the same thoughts. it sucks, but it’s just the truth.
 
I just went thru this same thing. Hung them up for almost a month as well.

Glad the spark returned for you, I can't wait till my daughter is old enough to come out with me.
 
When I'm taking a lot of lessons or changing things, what helps my mental well-being is not keeping score. If no one is behind, play two balls. Have fun. Treat the course like a range with real golf balls and no score.
 
I know that feel.
 
i told ty my range sessions have been excellent, and my warmups are excellent, but the guy on the course is not the same as the guy on the range. so i think it’s pointless to do more range work, when the range isn’t the problem. let’s get on the course. and not just the par 3 course. a big boy course, where i’m playing real golf. he needs to see what’s going on so maybe he can right the ship.

he was open to that. he said he could set it up, he would caddie for me, take videos, and use trackman. the only day he could do it is a deadline for me at work, then i have another deadline a couple weeks after that and will be slammed.

so i’m tabling golf for now. i’ll probably get bit by the bug and go hit some balls. but playing golf is not something i have any desire to do right now.
 
McLovin said:
i told ty my range sessions have been excellent, and my warmups are excellent, but the guy on the course is not the same as the guy on the range. so i think it’s pointless to do more range work, when the range isn’t the problem. let’s get on the course. and not just the par 3 course. a big boy course, where i’m playing real golf. he needs to see what’s going on so maybe he can right the ship.

he was open to that. he said he could set it up, he would caddie for me, take videos, and use trackman. the only day he could do it is a deadline for me at work, then i have another deadline a couple weeks after that and will be slammed.

so i’m tabling golf for now. i’ll probably get bit by the bug and go hit some balls. but playing golf is not something i have any desire to do right now.
Click to expand...
Sucks the schedules don't work out right now, and of course the struggles translating the range work over, but I love what reads like an aggressive attitude towards getting into it out on course in more applicable situations and getting that solved. It's got heat. I like that. (y)
 
ty and i were finally able to coordinate and we are getting on the course tomorrow. my last two rounds have been rather unspecial. all i want to do tomorrow is play and have him watch. i don’t want to tee up a few balls. or having a chipping lesson on the course. i want to show him what happens i’m trying to play real golf.
 
as luck would have it, yesterday afternoon had a steady drizzle. enough that i needed to wear all the rain gear. not ideal, but the golf itself was pretty representative. some very bad shots, some very good shots, some very bad short game, and some very good putting.

i have been positing that my on course struggles were alignment. there was only one shot where he said i was aiming left but saying i wanted to hit a draw. all other shots my alignment was good. so much for a quick fix.

he said i was rushing a bit. he wanted me to just take an extra breath before each shot. he also identified that most of short game shots i picked were not the ideal play. like picking the wrong club for a long bunker shot. or trying a high soft pitch out of thick wet rough to a tucked pin when there was a ton of room behind the hole.

for swing, he said my course swing was definitely different than my range swing. he said on the course my swing basically looked it did the first day we got together 18 months ago, even though the range swing is a little more what we've been working on.

he was gracious enough to go to the range with me after the 9 holes even though it was still raining. he gave me 3 swing thoughts:
* thumbs up. right now my right thumb is pointing behind me at the top of the backswing. so i need it to point up at the sky early in the backswing.

* imagine there is a wall behind your backside. as you get to the top of the backswing, your club can’t tough or scrape against that wall.

* at about left arm parallel in the backswing, the butt of the club should point at the ground between the ball and my feet. again an attempt to get the club more vertical, and more radial deviation in my wrists.
 
McLovin said:
as luck would have it, yesterday afternoon had a steady drizzle. enough that i needed to wear all the rain gear. not ideal, but the golf itself was pretty representative. some very bad shots, some very good shots, some very bad short game, and some very good putting.

i have been positing that my on course struggles were alignment. there was only one shot where he said i was aiming left but saying i wanted to hit a draw. all other shots my alignment was good. so much for a quick fix.

he said i was rushing a bit. he wanted me to just take an extra breath before each shot. he also identified that most of short game shots i picked were not the ideal play. like picking the wrong club for a long bunker shot. or trying a high soft pitch out of thick wet rough to a tucked pin when there was a ton of room behind the hole.

for swing, he said my course swing was definitely different than my range swing. he said on the course my swing basically looked it did the first day we got together 18 months ago, even though the range swing is a little more what we've been working on.

he was gracious enough to go to the range with me after the 9 holes even though it was still raining. he gave me 3 swing thoughts:
* thumbs up. right now my right thumb is pointing behind me at the top of the backswing. so i need it to point up at the sky early in the backswing.

* imagine there is a wall behind your backside. as you get to the top of the backswing, your club can’t tough or scrape against that wall.

* at about left arm parallel in the backswing, the butt of the club should point at the ground between the ball and my feet. again an attempt to get the club more vertical, and more radial deviation in my wrists.
Click to expand...
Range swing vs Course swing. This is so true wonder why that happens even after all the range time.
 
jdtox said:
Range swing vs Course swing. This is so true wonder why that happens even after all the range time.
Click to expand...

don't know. maybe something about trust? or maybe it's that there are no consequences on the range? let me know if you figure it out lol
 
McLovin said:
as luck would have it, yesterday afternoon had a steady drizzle. enough that i needed to wear all the rain gear. not ideal, but the golf itself was pretty representative. some very bad shots, some very good shots, some very bad short game, and some very good putting.

i have been positing that my on course struggles were alignment. there was only one shot where he said i was aiming left but saying i wanted to hit a draw. all other shots my alignment was good. so much for a quick fix.

he said i was rushing a bit. he wanted me to just take an extra breath before each shot. he also identified that most of short game shots i picked were not the ideal play. like picking the wrong club for a long bunker shot. or trying a high soft pitch out of thick wet rough to a tucked pin when there was a ton of room behind the hole.

for swing, he said my course swing was definitely different than my range swing. he said on the course my swing basically looked it did the first day we got together 18 months ago, even though the range swing is a little more what we've been working on.

he was gracious enough to go to the range with me after the 9 holes even though it was still raining. he gave me 3 swing thoughts:
* thumbs up. right now my right thumb is pointing behind me at the top of the backswing. so i need it to point up at the sky early in the backswing.

* imagine there is a wall behind your backside. as you get to the top of the backswing, your club can’t tough or scrape against that wall.

* at about left arm parallel in the backswing, the butt of the club should point at the ground between the ball and my feet. again an attempt to get the club more vertical, and more radial deviation in my wrists.
Click to expand...

Those pointers at the bottom are identical to what my pro told me a few years ago and I have been working on ever since.
 
For me..... I def move too fast on course. My backswing will have a tendency to move faster on course at times. I need to consciously tell myself to slow my backswing. Perhaps its just me, but I def play my best golf when I feel there is time in my backswing into transition. I think it allows me a bit more time to recover if I've made a $hite move going back.
 
DNice26 said:
For me..... I def move too fast on course. My backswing will have a tendency to move faster on course at times. I need to consciously tell myself to slow my backswing. Perhaps its just me, but I def play my best golf when I feel there is time in my backswing into transition. I think it allows me a bit more time to recover if I've made a $hite move going back.
Click to expand...

ty describes it as smoothness. when i have a smoother backswing and transition, i usually see very nice results and am able to implement the changes we've been trying to make.

in a somewhat discouraging analysis, i took a snapshot of a video he took in our first lesson in feb 2020, and the backswing pic he took on the course yesterday. 18 months later, hundreds of hours, thousands of balls, more money than i care to admit, and they look identical. bummer
 
McLovin said:
ty describes it as smoothness. when i have a smoother backswing and transition, i usually see very nice results and am able to implement the changes we've been trying to make.

in a somewhat discouraging analysis, i took a snapshot of a video he took in our first lesson in feb 2020, and the backswing pic he took on the course yesterday. 18 months later, hundreds of hours, thousands of balls, more money than i care to admit, and they look identical. bummer
Click to expand...

May I ask....as it relates to your game.....what are your goals? Would you say you are focused on your swing, how it looks etc. or would scoring be more of a focus?

PS: I think you have a great swing! Really like your posture with the driver.

Perhaps your most recent post, focusing more on your on course game, thinking, strategy etc. will give your brain a bit of a rest from all the swing mechanics/thoughts?
 
McLovin said:
ty describes it as smoothness. when i have a smoother backswing and transition, i usually see very nice results and am able to implement the changes we've been trying to make.

in a somewhat discouraging analysis, i took a snapshot of a video he took in our first lesson in feb 2020, and the backswing pic he took on the course yesterday. 18 months later, hundreds of hours, thousands of balls, more money than i care to admit, and they look identical. bummer
Click to expand...

The flat backswing is really hard to get rid of for some reason. I completely feel your pain here. The "thumbs up" helps me. JT is a good person to watch as he does what we strive for really well.
 
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FWIW, the Hitchhiker Drill (from Toski/Love book "How to Feel a Real Golf Swing") helped me more than anything with "thumbs up." In fact, I renamed it for myself as "thumbs up to thumbs up." Really helps with getting the club more vertical.

1636643863998.png
 
DNice26 said:
May I ask....as it relates to your game.....what are your goals? Would you say you are focused on your swing, how it looks etc. or would scoring be more of a focus?

PS: I think you have a great swing! Really like your posture with the driver.

Perhaps your most recent post, focusing more on your on course game, thinking, strategy etc. will give your brain a bit of a rest from all the swing mechanics/thoughts?
Click to expand...

my original goal in engaging someone as expensive and in-demand as ty was to get my handicap down to a 3-4. he said i had so much good in my swing we should think about going lower, like closer to scratch. 18 months later and, well...

it seems the disconnect is in my brain box right now. maybe i'm putting too much pressure on the result, more pressure than i realize. instead of just making a swing and accepting whatever happens. i'll read a couple of rotella books and see if that helps.

my best swings still need work, but they're a ton better than when we started. so i guess the current goal is taking those best swings off the range and to the course. and maybe accepting the process instead of focusing so much on the result (score, handicap, etc).
 
Lions81 said:
The flat backswing is really hard to get rid of for some reason. I completely feel your pain here. The "thumbs up" helps me. JT is a good person to watch as he does what we strive for really well.
Click to expand...

i may need to go more extreme than jt. yesterday ty said i needed more matt wolff in my swing. um, thanks but no thanks lol
 
My suggestion is to look into this:

liveviewsports.com

Golf Studio - LiveViewSports

Golf Studio Digital Mirror Instant Replay Smart Guides Digital Swing Mirror “It’s like having eyes in the back of your head” Martin Hall,PGA – Golf Channel, School of Golf Mirror Yourself for Faster Learning Our Digital Swing Mirror (DSM) technology provides instant visual feedback just like a...
liveviewsports.com liveviewsports.com
 
McLovin said:
i may need to go more extreme than jt. yesterday ty said i needed more matt wolff in my swing. um, thanks but no thanks lol
Click to expand...

Ya the Matt Wolff and Ryan Moore swings are the definition of vertical



He has way too big of a loop on the downswing imo, but a good backswing over-exaggeration to copy to work on the backswing.
 
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Desmond said:
My suggestion is to look into this:

liveviewsports.com

Golf Studio - LiveViewSports

Golf Studio Digital Mirror Instant Replay Smart Guides Digital Swing Mirror “It’s like having eyes in the back of your head” Martin Hall,PGA – Golf Channel, School of Golf Mirror Yourself for Faster Learning Our Digital Swing Mirror (DSM) technology provides instant visual feedback just like a...
liveviewsports.com liveviewsports.com
Click to expand...

i think ty just bought one of those
 
McLovin said:
i think ty just bought one of those
Click to expand...

When you are on the range, you will be able to use it and implement the changes ty wants you to make.
 
i asked ty if we could check in since our playing lesson since i haven’t really felt great over the ball, and i have a fitting next week to try to figure out the top end of my bag.

i left my selfie golf clip in another bag, so had to improvise on the ground. ty said he’s not able to work with that angle. but i got a few decent swings on camera. still struggling with the wrists at the top. these were a few decent ones i got on camera. the dtl iron swing is an 8i. dtl and fo swings are with driver.
View attachment trim.04CC60FF-2605-443F-805C-89DFAD9E4BA4.MOV
View attachment trim.870C79ED-F728-4352-B94C-021ABFEBDCD4.MOV
View attachment trim.323B2B55-0C8F-42BF-9718-8E221FB3C383.MOV
 
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