Some can’t get over that hump

[Blaster793]

I’ve dedicated this season to riding in a cart watching my long time golf buddy play this season. He , like the vast majority of amateurs has a swing issue that makes it very difficult to time day to day.Infact, would even venture saying any amateur above a 5 handicap has at least one major swing fault that hinders them for their entire golfing career.He’s attended clinics, one on one lessons and still it always to seem to drag him down. It’s almost like he now has band aid moves he has to do to alleviate it.But when the band aids don’t work it gets him everytime.Anyone else running into this? Annoying swing faults that no matter the effort you put in to correct.. they never leave.And it makes it like a waiting game when the swing fault strikes once or numerous times during a round of golf

And by the way.. his fault is major casting.Which can cause a whole slew of mishits

 

[SVonhof]

My swing fault is just inconsistent swings. I can get it on plane and get the ball out there but the next swing might be a very offline swing plane where I use my arms or wrists to try to fix it.
It happens and until I can play/practice a few times a week, it is going to happen.

I totally understand what you are seeing though. A buddy of mine has a very loopy swing like Jim Furyk but not the consistency that Furyk has. He has had it forever and has had some lessons which has had temporary help, but he goes right back to it.

 

[blugold]

The best golfers in the world are such because they are the most consistent in applying their swing compensations.

 

[drb1956]

I’ve dedicated this season to riding in a cart watching my long time golf buddy play this season. He , like the vast majority of amateurs has a swing issue that makes it very difficult to time day to day.Infact, would even venture saying any amateur above a 5 handicap has at least one major swing fault that hinders them for their entire golfing career.He’s attended clinics, one on one lessons and still it always to seem to drag him down. It’s almost like he now has band aid moves he has to do to alleviate it.But when the band aids don’t work it gets him everytime.Anyone else running into this? Annoying swing faults that no matter the effort you put in to correct.. they never leave.And it makes it like a waiting game when the swing fault strikes once or numerous times during a round of golf

And by the way.. his fault is major casting.Which can cause a whole slew of mishits

Yup! And unless he really gets it in his head that that move hurts his swing, and that he plays more than twice a month, to try to stay on point! And, he has to quit trying to kill thd ball! Ok, so he wants distance. We all do. But if his swing is suffering because he is swinging faster than he can really control, what is it worth? Slow it down where he can control it, and then work to speed it up gradually, with control.. I'm sure by now, with all the instruction he has had, he does know what to do. Leave the ego at home, and play his game, and not try to keep up with others in his group. Slow it down, get the swing on plane, practice it, play it! Then speed it up...

 

[pattyboy21]

So many faults like casting, OTT, early extension, etc., have their genesis in too much lateral sway in the backswing. It took me years to learn this, and I still haven't overcome it entirely. I played ~6-handicap golf for 40+ years, battling these issues. Since (almost) eliminating the lateral excess in my backswing and making a concerted effort to recenter before reaching the top of my swing, my consistency and ball-striking have improved tremendously.

The light bulb moment for me was realizing just how much time I created to start my downswing and get into a good impact position. Before, I felt so rushed from the top, precisely because there was no way for me to post on my left side effectively once I had shifted too far in my backswing. The faults I mentioned above were necessary for me to play well at all, but they robbed me of consistency and caused the type of Jekyll and Hyde golf I had played for decades.

 

[Jman]

We say it all the time, but I don’t think we really fully grasp the understanding that golf is just HARD.

 

[AuzzieMatt]

We say it all the time, but I don’t think we really fully grasp the understanding that golf is just HARD.

Except on the internet.

 

[Jman]

Except on the internet.

Oh, I’ve seen enough internet golfers play at experiences that I know better hahaha

 

[TWright]

Yep totally have a few bad habits that I can fight for a while and over the course of a season I can minimize them especially if I am playing and practicing regularly, but given any longer breaks, or lack of focus on maintaining gains I've made away from those and they creep right back in.

 

[JonMA1]

I know this is not typical, but it’s the cause of not getting over the hump. Whether it’s from lack of brains or focus, ingraining bad habits too deeply, or whatever, the reality is I have an indoor swing that is closer to a functional swing than what I can take out on the course. The indoor swing is different from an outdoor range swing, which in turn is different than the on-course swing. (Verified with video.) It doesn’t mean I don’t at times get it right in the course, or that my indoor swing is without faults, only that a good swing is less likely to occur while playing a round of real golf. The frustrating thing is that the weight shift indoors feels so natural.

I’ve spent over a decade trying to develop some sort of weight shift and an inline or forward shaft lean during contact. And very few amateurs work at it any harder. As soon as I turn off the thinking part of the brain, there’s a high probability I’ll return to hitting off my trail foot.

If I could get over this hump, I’m playing a level of golf I’d be ok with.

 

[Sean]

As amateurs it's difficult to develop a consistent golf swing because we are always changing/tinkering our golf swings; looking for a swing that will offer that consistency.

 

[drb1956]

So many faults like casting, OTT, early extension, etc., have their genesis in too much lateral sway in the backswing. It took me years to learn this, and I still haven't overcome it entirely. I played ~6-handicap golf for 40+ years, battling these issues. Since (almost) eliminating the lateral excess in my backswing and making a concerted effort to recenter before reaching the top of my swing, my consistency and ball-striking have improved tremendously.

The light bulb moment for me was realizing just how much time I created to start my downswing and get into a good impact position. Before, I felt so rushed from the top, precisely because there was no way for me to post on my left side effectively once I had shifted too far in my backswing. The faults I mentioned above were necessary for me to play well at all, but they robbed me of consistency and caused the type of Jekyll and Hyde golf I had played for decades.

Lateral sway in the backswing is very common, but it does cause you to move away from the ball, or at least your head moves away. I know, because I did this, and it was remedied by Golftec once, no, actually twice, and I played better golf immediately! Ok, so my swing is still inconsistent, but it is more of a timing thing with my hip turn and arm position. I try to keep the legs quiet, as it is termed "the modern swing", and when my timing is right, good things happen.. I tend to kind of stall at the top of my backswing, so I don't get too fast with my arms and hands! After a few rounds when I get the rust off, that stall at the top will look seamless in my swing! Can't wait to get started this season...

 

[Blaster793]

I’ve been so occupied with my health I didn’t get to respond. But thanks for all of them

As a side note..the golfer in question took a lesson last week.The teacher had him feel like he was hitting shots where he tried to stop the club right at impact. And low and behold this helped.Rode with him for 9 holes and he hit zero shots fat or thin.As counter intuitive as that lesson seems it appears to have worked for now.Guess when he swung freely he could never find the bottom of his swing and would cast it at the ball.Fingers crossed this works for him

Golf is just hard

 

[Hitsnmisses]

Golf is hard

Even the very best , have issues , otherwise they wouldn’t have swing coaches and adjustments

How many times do you here a player , “ pull apart their swing because of such and such “ and it’s different …


The difference is they have the ability to identify what’s happening on any given day and make corrections / adjustments

There is no perfect swing , the game is that hard

 

[leftshot]

Let me say up front, there are exceptions to what I am about to say. But most of the time persistent swing faults fall into one of these two categories.

Swing Fault mis-diagnosed or Unknown
Hard to fix a swing fault that is mis-diagnosed or not understood. Lots of mis-diagnosis and for most people it’s hard for them to come off that position.

Insufficient Corrective Instruction & Practice
There can be a lot of reasons for this. Can’t find an instructor to work with, don’t have the time to practice, don’t like to practice, think they can shortcut the process or practice required are some common themes.

Either is common.

 

[drb1956]

So many faults like casting, OTT, early extension, etc., have their genesis in too much lateral sway in the backswing. It took me years to learn this, and I still haven't overcome it entirely. I played ~6-handicap golf for 40+ years, battling these issues. Since (almost) eliminating the lateral excess in my backswing and making a concerted effort to recenter before reaching the top of my swing, my consistency and ball-striking have improved tremendously.

The light bulb moment for me was realizing just how much time I created to start my downswing and get into a good impact position. Before, I felt so rushed from the top, precisely because there was no way for me to post on my left side effectively once I had shifted too far in my backswing. The faults I mentioned above were necessary for me to play well at all, but they robbed me of consistency and caused the type of Jekyll and Hyde golf I had played for decades.

I had the same issue, until I slowed my backswing, and actually pause at the top when I get there! This has helped my timing immensely! But, I still have those days where I just can't seem to get it right, so, I just play the best I can...

 

[Tywithay]

I think a lot of people's issues come down to not practicing enough. I have a friend that has taken lessons multiple times, but never once went to the range to try to engrain anything he learned. I think he believed that he would get better instantly just because a coach told him what he should be doing. The reason pros are good isn't just because they're great athletes or have world class coordination. They work HARD. When we were at the WWGC last year, Teegan said he spent 60 hours a week working on his game in some aspect. I remember reading about Jason Day working on putting for at least 2 hours PER DAY. These guys aren't good by accident.

 

[leftshot]

I had a coach tell me, you’ll never be better than you are in practice. Now he was my cross country coach. But it applies to sports in general and many other things in life.

 

[darthweasel]

mine is primarily physical. The right knee simply will not rotate and to alleviate pressure I have to make a highly ill-advised sway forward to start the swing. I am fully aware it puts a limit on how much I can improve and adds layers of inconsistency to the swing. But it is just the reality for me.

When I was getting fit for the driver the fitter, who knows the coach I used, asked if Matt had ever tried to get me to stop and I explained, we had a good laugh, agreed there was an upper limit on how good I could possibly get because of it and moved on.

 

[Par5n2]

Anyone else running into this? Annoying swing faults that no matter the effort you put in to correct.. they never leave.

The biggest problem most ams have is that they don't understand how much time it takes to make a change.

Effort isn't the problem.

How to make a change (slowing down a specific movement) and how long a movement change takes to become a free flowing move are the problems.

Most any change will take several months to complete. And inside those several months you go from

Hitting it the same to Hitting it worse to Hitting it better to Hitting it good.

Most folks can't reconcile that they'll hit it worse in order to hit it better.

 

[mav52]

The best golfers in the world are such because they are the most consistent in applying their swing compensations.

not to mention they hit thousands of balls in practice, have dedicated trainers, coaches and have pure talent

 

[drb1956]

mine is primarily physical. The right knee simply will not rotate and to alleviate pressure I have to make a highly ill-advised sway forward to start the swing. I am fully aware it puts a limit on how much I can improve and adds layers of inconsistency to the swing. But it is just the reality for me.

When I was getting fit for the driver the fitter, who knows the coach I used, asked if Matt had ever tried to get me to stop and I explained, we had a good laugh, agreed there was an upper limit on how good I could possibly get because of it and moved on.

Have you embraced the "modern swing" where you keep the legs quiet during the swing? I know there is still the weight shift, but it could help take some stress off of your right knee? Could be worth a try? And it can't hurt with accuracy...

 

[Desmond]

Annoying swing faults? lol. Of course.

I had a weird Furyk-like backswing - asked instructors to help me get rid of it for over two decades. Oh, I had other faults but this one was a demon.

I took time off from lessons - the last 3 yrs - and used training aids and different feels to get rid of it.

The other was taking it back to inside - again, one it was pointed out, (and it wasn't), and training aids and different feel and motion eliminated it slowly.

And then shanking wedges ... lol .. straight arms, relaxed arms and turning with no arms helped.

Golf is hard - and take consistent video and practice - good thing is that you can resolve issues in your backyard. and not as much on the range.

 

[leftybob]

The biggest problem most ams have is that they don't understand how much time it takes to make a change.

Effort isn't the problem.

How to make a change (slowing down a specific movement) and how long a movement change takes to become a free flowing move are the problems.

Most any change will take several months to complete. And inside those several months you go from

Hitting it the same to Hitting it worse to Hitting it better to Hitting it good.

Most folks can't reconcile that they'll hit it worse in order to hit it better.

This is a big thing. Changes take a lot more time and reps to break the old habits and build the new ones.

After the 1st Golftec experience with my instructor we did a major swing rebuild. 3 months in I was hitting literal hosel rockets on some swings. I hadn’t hit a hosel rocket in 30 years. There was a period where my bad swings were absolutely terrible and my good swings were great. I’m a little past the year mark on the rebuild hosel rockets and I’m still working on things in this swing change to keep the old habits at bay.

 

[darthweasel]

Have you embraced the "modern swing" where you keep the legs quiet during the swing? I know there is still the weight shift, but it could help take some stress off of your right knee? Could be worth a try? And it can't hurt with accuracy...

I took lessons for years back before a handful of things happened that fundamentally changed what I am capable of.

These days I swing my own which does have that bad fundamental sway but it gets me around okay. Last year I lived in the mid to high 80s with occasional forays into the low 80s and even more occasional rounds in the mid to high 70s. This year so far looks like I will be living in mid 80s with more frequent low 80s and high 70s rounds...and an occasional low 90s but that is fine.

I have reached the point where the thought of dozens of lessons to undo what "works" and redo it has no appeal to me. It is a personal choice. For others, that would be the wrong choice but for me it makes sense.

You will never hear me argue I am a good golfer...modestly competent, yes, good no...but I can at least make my way around a course and at my age and fitness level, that is good enough for me these days.

Doesn't mean I will not stop trying to improve...I have spent many hours at the range, the chipping green, the putting green, using impact tape, video, etc...but the modern swing is probably a bridge too far for this old dog.

I am pretty realistic about things and barring some major lifestyle changes...less soda consumption, actually developing a repeatable gym program, less sugar, more fruits...my golf days are numbered anyway. But I do enjoy it so as long as I can will stick with it.

But as a mid-50s guy I can see the day coming when my body breaks down. I will move up tee box or three but once I reach a certain point I have already mentally prepped to just shut it down.