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The Final Countdown - JMB3's Grandaddy Prep

So you know how when you find something that works, you worry about losing it? So you quickly try to ingrain that feel, etc., partially out of fear you'll lose it forever?

Good news! I have NOT lost the ball-striking I experienced at my last lesson. I've been grinding away on the feel drills, but until you actually hit balls and see flight, it's always hard to know. Yesterday I got on the TrackMan at GG and left quite pleased. On average, I'm still seeing too many times where the face is a bit open to the path (which itself is may be a little too in-to-out), but I think I can correct that pretty quickly. In fact, when I tried to add some speed back into my swing, I did start to see some balls where the face was slightly closed to path, giving me the draws I'm used to.
 
JMB3 said:
So you know how when you find something that works, you worry about losing it? So you quickly try to ingrain that feel, etc., partially out of fear you'll lose it forever?

Good news! I have NOT lost the ball-striking I experienced at my last lesson. I've been grinding away on the feel drills, but until you actually hit balls and see flight, it's always hard to know. Yesterday I got on the TrackMan at GG and left quite pleased. On average, I'm still seeing too many times where the face is a bit open to the path (which itself is may be a little too in-to-out), but I think I can correct that pretty quickly. In fact, when I tried to add some speed back into my swing, I did start to see some balls where the face was slightly closed to path, giving me the draws I'm used to.
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Been enjoying following! Keep it up and best of luck continuing to hone in on your ideal swing!
 
That's great, very rewarding to see the work you have put in is paying off. Nicely done!!!
 
Lesson 3 of 5 with new instructor, and I am VERY happy. Building on last week, I started drawing those pushes, producing some high straight shots. My ball striking was exceptional. Lots of smash factors between 1.47 and 1.50 with my 7i. Of course, I hit some stinkers off the toe, for example, but even those carried in the 120s and rolled into the 140s, while staying in front of me, which is important for my scoring. Smooth swings well below my normal SS produced fantastic results: total yardages around 165, which was about where I topped out last year. When I started swinging a little harder, I had a few 7i shots up to 177, which is BIG for me. I still have room to improve there too if I can just maintain that wrist angle a little longer. I know I can add speed this offseason, but right now, I'm continuing to focus on ball striking heading into The Grandaddy.

My biggest struggle this year has been getting steep at the transition, but I've shallowed that out quite a bit in a just the past couple of weeks. It's really easy to do when he has a swing plane noodle in place, but it is a little harder when he pulls it away. My last swing, though, was quite good, resulting in a 1.50 smash and 170 total (158 carry?) yardage without the noodle.
 
JMB3 said:
Lesson 3 of 5 with new instructor, and I am VERY happy. Building on last week, I started drawing those pushes, producing some high straight shots. My ball striking was exceptional. Lots of smash factors between 1.47 and 1.50 with my 7i. Of course, I hit some stinkers off the toe, for example, but even those carried in the 120s and rolled into the 140s, while staying in front of me, which is important for my scoring. Smooth swings well below my normal SS produced fantastic results: total yardages around 165, which was about where I topped out last year. When I started swinging a little harder, I had a few 7i shots up to 177, which is BIG for me. I still have room to improve there too if I can just maintain that wrist angle a little longer. I know I can add speed this offseason, but right now, I'm continuing to focus on ball striking heading into The Grandaddy.

My biggest struggle this year has been getting steep at the transition, but I've shallowed that out quite a bit in a just the past couple of weeks. It's really easy to do when he has a swing plane noodle in place, but it is a little harder when he pulls it away. My last swing, though, was quite good, resulting in a 1.50 smash and 170 total (158 carry?) yardage without the noodle.
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It is great to see the improvements you are making!!! Keep up the work and you will be a force in Cali!!!!
Can't wait to tee it up with you.
 
Lesson 4 of 5 today with the new instructor, and as I told my guys, I could freakin' kiss him! I am truly amazed at how quickly I have progressed under his guidance. We have gelled from the get-go, and I have learned a ton too. I can't wait to spend more $ on lessons with him, and now that my bag will be set for 2020 and likely beyond, I can put that cash towards continuing to improve my swing.

My Apex 5i was delivered yesterday, so I took it to my lesson today. I was a little nervous going in because I stayed up way too late last night--got caught in a YouTube rabbit hole--and was feeling the cocktails this morning. But after I got loose, I struck the ball really well. In my first lesson, I took things really slow to get the feel down: 7i/Dr ss of 70/85. And I've slowly been adding speed, with room still left. What has been really cool about this process, is that when I "swing slow," I hit 240+ fairway-finding drives. I developed some confidence that if I NEED to hit a fairway, I can slow it down to about 88 and still get a great result. And with better ball striking, my "total" yardages are spot on with my past numbers despite less ss.

My launch has improved mightily. I still need to work on AoA: with a 5i, I was between 2 and -1.8 all day. I am a true sweeper, but I'm not generating enough spin to max out my carry numbers. I know some additional speed will help too, but I think AoA is my biggest issue.

I really took @JB's advice to heart, when he recommended us higher caps prepare through swing lessons. I feel like I am grooving a highly playable, repeatable swing, which will make my fitting with the greatest fitters in the world even better. So pumped!

Here are some stills from today's lesson:

CCFE8DBF-6F94-4D97-92B2-99F04308E7EA.pngE93E62DA-55C7-4065-B322-D1DA52C694FD.png0C4A6980-801B-4F00-8532-82A1883B33D9.pngD73678FD-7E91-4AF1-929A-F872BBAF09CD.png
 
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Hit up the range for an hour tonight. Though "heated," it was still chilly. But it was GREAT to see actual ball flight from my improved swing. My first three swings were brilliant: high baby draws right down the pipe. With the carry yardage, I thought I had brought my 7i with me, but it was actually only the 8i. I was quite happy with the carry yardage considering the crappy range balls and cold temps.

I then started pounding my heavenwood. I've struggled so much this year with hybrids and fairway woods. Today was the best I've hit it all year, and it felt great. Look out par 5s!

Driver was shaky at first, but I think it was the tee. I was popping up everything. When I found a shorter tee, my ball striking improved mightily. I still had a couple wild ones in there, but I ended with three straight draws right down the middle. After the third, and best, one, I put my head cover back on--no reason to keep swinging.

It's been awhile since I hit 100+ balls as quickly as I did. Not surprisingly, my swing did get a bit sloppy at the end when I got tired. As a result, I got lazy with my lower body and starting leading the downswing with my hands, which causes me to tense up a bit and get too steep on the downswing. I just need to keep it loose and everything seems to work in the right sequence.
 
Way to get out there JMB3. Love the makeshift pin. :p
 
Good stuff. Keep at it.
 
James you are in a good place right now and will kill it in Cali!!!!
 
Got in some swings at GG after my short game prep. Swing didn't feel the best because my body was tight from all the travel this week, but the results were still really solid. I had a streak there where I was calling out where I was missing on the face: "that was thin," "towards the toe," " a little off the heel," etc. And my coach just laughed and said: "Those last six shots all carried within 2 yards of each other (distance wise)..." I laughed too. I guess when you see improvement you start to up your own standards. I feel very confident with my irons.

Driver felt solid too. I didn't hit top speeds, but kept most in front of me. My miss continues to be a block right, which is the opposite of what I fought all year. I definitely prefer the high, long block to the low, short duck hook. Towards the end of my session, he had me try some chokedown, bunt drives. I hit 3 in a row with 185ish carry that stopped in the 215-220 range. All dead straight. Interesting shot to add to the repertoire.

I have my final round tomorrow morning. And then Monday after work I have my final lesson with my new instructor. I'm one of the high caps on the team, but I'm really rounding into form, and I'm confident where I am at.
 
JMB3 said:
Got in some swings at GG after my short game prep. Swing didn't feel the best because my body was tight from all the travel this week, but the results were still really solid. I had a streak there where I was calling out where I was missing on the face: "that was thin," "towards the toe," " a little off the heel," etc. And my coach just laughed and said: "Those last six shots all carried within 2 yards of each other (distance wise)..." I laughed too. I guess when you see improvement you start to up your own standards. I feel very confident with my irons.

Driver felt solid too. I didn't hit top speeds, but kept most in front of me. My miss continues to be a block right, which is the opposite of what I fought all year. I definitely prefer the high, long block to the low, short duck hook. Towards the end of my session, he had me try some chokedown, bunt drives. I hit 3 in a row with 185ish carry that stopped in the 215-220 range. All dead straight. Interesting shot to add to the repertoire.

I have my final round tomorrow morning. And then Monday after work I have my final lesson with my new instructor. I'm one of the high caps on the team, but I'm really rounding into form, and I'm confident where I am at.
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No better time or place to get a new low score. Get after it.
 
For those following my contest thread, you probably already saw that today was not a great round. I'm not terribly frustrated by the score, because the conditions were tough. I had several pitches, for example, that would have been perfect on a normal day, but due to frozen greens, they bounced off the back. But I did get frustrated that I didn't bring my swing with me. I've been working hard on ingraining my new swing, but I repeatedly fell back to old habits. Good news is, I still have a week to work on the feel drills, and I have my last lesson with my new instructor tomorrow night. I'm sure after an hour with him, I'll have my confidence back up.
 
JMB3 said:
For those following my contest thread, you probably already saw that today was not a great round. I'm not terribly frustrated by the score, because the conditions were tough. I had several pitches, for example, that would have been perfect on a normal day, but due to frozen greens, they bounced off the back. But I did get frustrated that I didn't bring my swing with me. I've been working hard on ingraining my new swing, but I repeatedly fell back to old habits. Good news is, I still have a week to work on the feel drills, and I have my last lesson with my new instructor tomorrow night. I'm sure after an hour with him, I'll have my confidence back up.
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Nerves. That, combined with the cold temps. Things will be better at the Hideaway.
 
campilobaxter said:
Nerves. That, combined with the cold temps. Things will be better at the Hideaway.
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I think nerves is right.

My 5th out of 5 lessons went quite well Monday. It did start slow, due in part to showing up late (thanks traffic) and rushing my downswing. But by the end I was consistently finding the center of the face, hitting a few big 7 irons.

I have a few things I want to work on next year. I do shallow the club on the downswing but I do so late, and I'm casting, which gives me too positive of an AoA. But for now, it's all about a fluid swing and good contact. It sounds like the turf at the Hideaway is particularly well suited for sweepers, so that makes me happy. I just need to mentally get out of my own way, because when the nerves kick in, I tense up. When that happens I get so steep on the downswing and basically bail out of the swing to make room as opposed to creating space by clearing my hips.

I'm back in my hometown which has limited indoor options, but I did book the simulator at Golf Headquarters on Friday. That two hours will be my final swings before heading to CA. It's getting so close!!!
 
Great writeup and lead in to the Grandaddy! Look forward to following along, can't wait for THP to win the belt!
 
You’re going to do great. Just go out there and have fun. Don’t rush it and don’t over think it. Man I’m jelly of what you all are about to experience. Enjoy and have a great Thanksgiving.
 
I got in my last Grandaddy prep with the GF yesterday: Played Pebble Beach on a simulator. It was a blast, hit a few bomb 7i and 5i shots, driver was fairly straight, and even had a couple birds. Probably my last swings before the Grandaddy. Now just need to focus on staying healthy and trying to keep my body loose.
 
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