30 years old, 5'10", 165lb, returning to golf after taking a decade-plus hiatus since before the start of college in 2012. Couple rounds here and there with my buddies. No club fittings, no practice, nothing serious in the last 15 years, until now. Grew up swinging a golf club semi-frequently, and also played a lot of hockey..for what it's worth.
It's been exactly 60 days since I started practicing seriously. I've had three 1hr lessons with a PGA professional using Trackman tech, 18 driving range sessions (all on mats), and played 45 holes (averaging between 49.8 per 9 holes). I've hit upwards to 3,000 balls in the last 60 days. I think I've hit more golf balls since I returned than I have in the last 15 years.
WITB: I picked up some hardly used Titleist AP1s (2009) R-flex NS Pro 105T shafts, and re-gripped them with the white Golf Pride Tour Wraps (standard size I think). Still using my old driver (10.5 Sasquatch, R flex) and 3H (Ping Rapture), Warrior 60 degree, Odyssey 2-ball White Hot putter. The only new purchase I've made is a new Titleist sm9 56 (10 bounce).
Primary Problem: Striking Irons consistently
Before my first lesson, I couldn't get ball flight with my irons. My miss was low and right. Quickly figured out with my coach that I was using all arms and had very little body rotation. My coach's primary focus at first has been getting me to build muscle memory in my takeaway and follow through, while focusing on transfering my weight during my swing and not allowing my hands to get ahead of me. I struggled with getting weight off my back foot at first, but have made progress in that regard. My coach really emphasized that I need to get my weight into my front left heel when I follow through and swing. Coach had me doing lots of slow 9-3 drills with a 7i while trying to keep my arms straight the whole time. He also would put an alignment stick in the butt of the club and have me do the same 9-3 swing without having the alignment stick hit my body at the end of the swing. Now my coach transitioned into a 3-pump drill, where I take my swing back to around 9, then hinge, and pump the butt of the club into my hip 3 times before swinging through with my body. This would either result in an awful miss, or a very flush feeling shot. However, it's been hard to really hone that feeling/sensation when I'm on the range. I tend to want to swing flat, at least that's how I'd describe it, and use my shoulders more and keep my hands/wrists out of it. (see videos). I have a preference atm for choking up on the club, I tend to feel more control of the face that way. But at times when I've gotten dialed in, I will grip up normally and I can instantly notice the extra distance and apex I can achieve when I strike it well that way.
Also, I feel like it's worth noting my biggest struggle while practicing: addressing the ball & GRIP. I grew up playing with a 10 finger grip. I switched to interlocking upon my return, and have recently transitioned to an overlap grip this past week. Interlock hurt my pinky fingers after playing. I've had some very good range sessions in the past 2 weeks where I'm hitting roughly 90% of my shots well. But I can't stop overthinking how I grip the club before I swing. I have tried tweaking stuff such as my left hand position from neutral to weak to strong, adjusting the pressure of my right index and thumb, etc,. I've read Hogan's book and circled back to his chapter on grip. but idk. Unfortunately, I am getting blisters on my right hand (through medical tape) on my right index (inside bottom right), right middle (right side tip), and right thumb (right side tip). I picked up my friend's irons which had a medium-large grip on them and I really loved the feel, and now I want to test some irons out with a large-jumbo sized grip. I also am leaning towards trying out some graphite shafted irons to get a softer feel.
I'm going to work more with my coach for a while until I'm feeling good before I get fitted for clubs, but in the meantime, I'm going to test out some larger grips on my 7i.
Looking for any analysis on my swing, insight to gripping the club, and any other tips/advice. Feel free to ask questions.
Club I am swinging in the video is either a 7i or 6i. Also a video of me hitting my 3h and 4i at TG. Can repost them if there are any issues, lmk.
Thx in advance.
It's been exactly 60 days since I started practicing seriously. I've had three 1hr lessons with a PGA professional using Trackman tech, 18 driving range sessions (all on mats), and played 45 holes (averaging between 49.8 per 9 holes). I've hit upwards to 3,000 balls in the last 60 days. I think I've hit more golf balls since I returned than I have in the last 15 years.
WITB: I picked up some hardly used Titleist AP1s (2009) R-flex NS Pro 105T shafts, and re-gripped them with the white Golf Pride Tour Wraps (standard size I think). Still using my old driver (10.5 Sasquatch, R flex) and 3H (Ping Rapture), Warrior 60 degree, Odyssey 2-ball White Hot putter. The only new purchase I've made is a new Titleist sm9 56 (10 bounce).
Primary Problem: Striking Irons consistently
Before my first lesson, I couldn't get ball flight with my irons. My miss was low and right. Quickly figured out with my coach that I was using all arms and had very little body rotation. My coach's primary focus at first has been getting me to build muscle memory in my takeaway and follow through, while focusing on transfering my weight during my swing and not allowing my hands to get ahead of me. I struggled with getting weight off my back foot at first, but have made progress in that regard. My coach really emphasized that I need to get my weight into my front left heel when I follow through and swing. Coach had me doing lots of slow 9-3 drills with a 7i while trying to keep my arms straight the whole time. He also would put an alignment stick in the butt of the club and have me do the same 9-3 swing without having the alignment stick hit my body at the end of the swing. Now my coach transitioned into a 3-pump drill, where I take my swing back to around 9, then hinge, and pump the butt of the club into my hip 3 times before swinging through with my body. This would either result in an awful miss, or a very flush feeling shot. However, it's been hard to really hone that feeling/sensation when I'm on the range. I tend to want to swing flat, at least that's how I'd describe it, and use my shoulders more and keep my hands/wrists out of it. (see videos). I have a preference atm for choking up on the club, I tend to feel more control of the face that way. But at times when I've gotten dialed in, I will grip up normally and I can instantly notice the extra distance and apex I can achieve when I strike it well that way.
Also, I feel like it's worth noting my biggest struggle while practicing: addressing the ball & GRIP. I grew up playing with a 10 finger grip. I switched to interlocking upon my return, and have recently transitioned to an overlap grip this past week. Interlock hurt my pinky fingers after playing. I've had some very good range sessions in the past 2 weeks where I'm hitting roughly 90% of my shots well. But I can't stop overthinking how I grip the club before I swing. I have tried tweaking stuff such as my left hand position from neutral to weak to strong, adjusting the pressure of my right index and thumb, etc,. I've read Hogan's book and circled back to his chapter on grip. but idk. Unfortunately, I am getting blisters on my right hand (through medical tape) on my right index (inside bottom right), right middle (right side tip), and right thumb (right side tip). I picked up my friend's irons which had a medium-large grip on them and I really loved the feel, and now I want to test some irons out with a large-jumbo sized grip. I also am leaning towards trying out some graphite shafted irons to get a softer feel.
I'm going to work more with my coach for a while until I'm feeling good before I get fitted for clubs, but in the meantime, I'm going to test out some larger grips on my 7i.
Looking for any analysis on my swing, insight to gripping the club, and any other tips/advice. Feel free to ask questions.
Club I am swinging in the video is either a 7i or 6i. Also a video of me hitting my 3h and 4i at TG. Can repost them if there are any issues, lmk.
Thx in advance.
