Radiman's Ramblings. My Life, My Game, and My Grandaddy Prep

Take this advice for what it's worth, but, as a guy who broke his back out climbing Devil's Tower a long time ago, I learned machines are your friend.

I don't do free weights anymore. I have a Bowflex and a spin bike at home, and will still run a little (no more marathons).

Swimming is also good if you have a pool you can swim laps in.

Also, I'm up in Perham right now. Yesterday and today were perfect golfing weather!!!
 
Having no golf until December, it's time to rack up some brownie points and spend some quality time with the kiddos. Brought my daughter and a couple of her friends to a haunted corn maze this weekend. Was a beautiful night.

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Big Monday night plans.

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Grinding away at the gum tonight. Tonight's playlist is helping.

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5 days in a row at the gym. I am thinking I am in need of a day off. Just exhausted here at work. Been going to PT for my back the last two weeks and things seem to be going pretty well.

I think I made a "discovery" in my swing while using the Orange Whip last week. I have been swinging that each night as planned and I think my tempo is starting to improve.
 
5 days in a row at the gym. I am thinking I am in need of a day off. Just exhausted here at work. Been going to PT for my back the last two weeks and things seem to be going pretty well.

I think I made a "discovery" in my swing while using the Orange Whip last week. I have been swinging that each night as planned and I think my tempo is starting to improve.
The orange whip is for real. I warm up with it at my lessons and I seem to hit the ball good at first. When I get armsy I should swing it some more to get the lag feeling again.
 
The orange whip is for real. I warm up with it at my lessons and I seem to hit the ball good at first. When I get armsy I should swing it some more to get the lag feeling again.
My swing was garbage for most of the season. I tried to use it to keep me loose. I could feel something was off. I decided to commit more time to it and just work through feels until my tempo and balance was on point with the orange whip. I can already tell that the swing is now a lot smoother with my regular clubs. A lot faster too. But, I haven't hit a ball for a while now, so it's hard to say if it's the real deal or not.
 
My first "real" lesson is booked! So excited to get on some of this tech and get some real data on my swing. What works well, what doesn't, what is my club data, etc. GC Quad and KVest. I'll post a review on it and my thoughts along with some of my numbers next week!

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Good luck. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
 
Alright. I actually played a round on Saturday. It was 36 degrees out with no wind. I wanted to do some live round updating, but wearing mittens made it impossible. It had been over 3 weeks since I last played. It's amazing how a little cold weather will expose some issues. My turn felt really restricted and my ball flight showed that. Was pushing a lot of shots right away. I managed to straighten in out for a few holes before it basically turned into what my Grandaddy teammates call a "Queefy Fade" My back isn't quite 100%. There was some acute pain and a mini flair up of my issue I had a few weeks ago.

Shook my confidence. But, the silver lining is that I have a list of things I know needs to be addressed in my first lesson tonight. So pumped. Going to be an hour and a half of swing analysis.
 
Had my swing analysis last night. Was an eye opening experience. I am an analytical guy. So, getting the additional information that GC Quad and the KVest gave me was amazing. The only club I hit last night was a 6 iron. Started by capturing some swings on the GC Quad and on video. No surprise, I was seeing my miss was in effect. GC Quad was telling us that most of my numbers looked alright. Delivering the club in to out by 2 degrees, angle of attack was -4, speed was good. But, the glaring issue was club face control. I would come in with a face to path from neutral to over 2 degrees open. Could have been the fact that I didn't have a good visual hitting into a blank screen off a mat.

We went over the video sequence. The instructor had a lot of good things to say about my swing which was nice to hear. Posture and rotation look good. I bring the club up high but am able to use what he calls a dynamic move to shallow the club and get the club head behind me in transition. I think he was struggling to find a reason why my club face was varying so much.

So, now he hooked me up to the KVest. If you haven't seen it before, it is a series of sensors that attach to specific points of your body. One is strapped behind your shoulders, one is around your waist, one is on the back of the golf glove, and the other is around your left forearm. He had me hit 15 more shots with my 6 iron. I think I was a lot more comfortable as my ball flight was a lot more ideal. I stopped hitting the weak pushes I initially had been. Was seeing a generally straight flight with some slight draws mixed in. Speed picked up and I was getting some really good numbers on the GC Quad. But, that was not the intent. We were trying to see how my body moved. It was strange. My ball flight was a lot more consistent. But, when we looked at the data the KVest provided, we saw that each swing was different from one another. I was saving the swings with timing my body differently each time to deliver the club square. The biggest constant was that my sequence was off. What he wanted to see was hips, shoulders, arms, then wrists in regards to downswing timing. What we saw each time was arms, shoulders, hips, then wrists. The speed of each part was different each time as I attempted to right the ship.

This confirmed a few things. First, my swing feels different all the time. Each round presents its own interesting variables in the swing. It explains why my club face was varying so much. Just leading to general inconsistency. It's why as a 2 handicap (as low as a 1 this year) can shoot even par one round and then barely break 80 the next.

I made him aware of my upcoming trip and stressed the fact that I don't want wholesale changes of any sort at this point. I want my fitting to be as meaningful as possible and I want to do my part to bring the belt home. He said we are not far off and that he doesn't want to see me change anything other than my sequence in the down swing. And, with that being said, he said it's actually a very minor thing. It will just require some drills to try and ingrain the feels. So, I have a couple things to do as homework at home that don't require me hitting a ball. Focusing on slow methodical movements gradually stepping up the speed. I will try and grab some videos of me doing the drills he recommends.

I have two follow up lessons scheduled through the month of November to see how I am progressing. Assuming we will continue to use KVest to capture that finite data that you cannot see with the naked eye.

He will be emailing me the data captured as well as his notes on our time together. Will provide as much as I can here.
 
Nice write up. Good luck on your path to improvement.
 
The video of you playing was awesome. Cool to see your game in real time.

On another note, I’m sure you deleted all the videos of the bogey holes :p
 
The video of you playing was awesome. Cool to see your game in real time.

On another note, I’m sure you deleted all the videos of the bogey holes :p
Can't let the ZooCrew be seeing my weaknesses.
 
Great write-up, Radi! I'm glad the lesson was helpful. I do get a kick out of the relative "inconsistency" between a 1 and a 21 handicapper. If you think 2 degrees is bad... haha. Glad we are all working on cleanup, but don't forget at the end of the day, your current swing, even if inconsistent, got you to a 1 handicap--you're an AWESOME golfer, my friend.
 
Great write-up, Radi! I'm glad the lesson was helpful. I do get a kick out of the relative "inconsistency" between a 1 and a 21 handicapper. If you think 2 degrees is bad... haha. Glad we are all working on cleanup, but don't forget at the end of the day, your current swing, even if inconsistent, got you to a 1 handicap--you're an AWESOME golfer, my friend.
Thanks Brother!
 
Wow, I just read the entire thread while waiting for a vendor to show up. No they are still not here. Good stuff, almost feel like I know you now. Keep it up and have fun.

On a side note from a guy that has had years of back issues long before golf. I have found that doing traction on a regular basis works wonders. I’ve had zero issues for years. I do this on a cable lat pull down machine. I’ll start out at 160 lbs, get my legs locked under the pads and relax and feel the stretch. Hold as long as comfortable. Release, rest, increase weight 20 lbs at a time until I’ve maxed out. That max is usually about 40 lbs more then my body weight. No moving required, just allow it to stretch your spine. After 5-7 stretch’s move into your regular work out. I avoid bar work for legs or back and rely on dumb bells and cables. Keep weight moderate and do more focused lifting by squeezing the muscle and more reps if needed. I’ve also become very fond of resistance bands and supersets as I’ve aged.
 
Cool to hear about the swing analysis and KVest.. what are your first simple things you'll be working on?
 
Cool to hear about the swing analysis and KVest.. what are your first simple things you'll be working on?
Right now, my only focus is to get my sequencing right. Hips, shoulders, arms, then wrists. Have two drills. First, is basically, turn a club upside down, and take it back to the shaft being parallel to the ground, pause, then sequence in methodical moves hitting the butt of the club into a pillow (don't have an impact bag). Gradually stepping up the speed while ensuring that I am still sequencing correctly. The second is a simple drill with the orange whip. Nice easy swings. Feet together and as I reach the transition, step my left foot forward to get the feel of my lower half making that first move.

I will have a follow up in two weeks. Re-measure the swing and see where I am at in regards to the sequence.
 
You are doing some smart things here in regard to getting the feel of the downswing sequence right. Bravo! Looking forward to the results! I was shown this in the 80's, the old school way. ;)

It's really cool to see someone figure it out. You'll be amazed once you get it ingrained.
 
Good little Saturday of prep work. Some chipping in the basement.

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A couple miles on the treadmill followed by 20 minutes on the bike.

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Now it's time for stone liver prep

 
Well, I had my second lesson yesterday. It was not quite what I was expecting. At first I was a little disappointed. But, I quickly realized that I really don't have any reason to expect anything specific as I haven't really gone through the process before.

Essentially, we just started in with more drills. Built off what we were doing the previous time. Strapped on the K Vest again and worked on developing a feel. I am going to do a poor job describing this. But, the feel was essentially getting the hips to start the transition (which we went over last time). But, getting the feeling of my hips decelerating and allowing my arms and hands to release through impact. I kind of had a light bulb moment. It's not anything to do with how much my hips open up at impact. It is the act of creating a whip like motion into the ball with the hips starting the transition. Their peak speed should be just before impact and they should slow down as everything releases using my abs as a means of creating the whip like movement. It's something I have known for a long time. But, it takes a second set of eyes and, apparently, some fancy technology to remind me.

Had a discussion regarding checking on my progress. He basically advised against it. Said to just keep working on these drills to get the feel down and let it naturally work it's way into my swing. Essentially, don't force it as it won't last that way. He said once I get to my fitting, clear my mind of anything I am "working on" and just swing my swing. Some of this may be there already, or maybe it won't. But, key is to not force things. Kind of a moment of relief. No pressure so to say.

Discussed the fitting with him. Using some of the numbers I got last week, I kind of have a starting point in some regard should the fitter have any questions for me. My current irons are 2 up and I still deliver the club with the toe down a bit. So, could probably go a little more upright yet. Since I don't know what kind of irons I will have access to and I am used to one piece forged irons, or most recently the 2016 Apex Pro. I was a little concerned what the potential for adding distance would do to my bag. I already hit my irons far enough in my eyes. He made a good point in the sense that I need to be looking at dispersion. Not just left and right. But, long and short too. If I have a pick, choose the iron that is straightest, but at the same time, more consistent distance wise for me. If I gain a club, I can essentially just shift the set. Drop my 4 iron and add an AW. After all, it doesn't really matter what the bottom of the club says. I just need to make sure I have my distances covered.

All in all, it was a good lesson and I walked away feeling smarter than I did going into it, lol.
 
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