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The Rebuild

JB said:
Ever wanted to rebuild the swing? I don’t necessarily mean start over from scratch, but basically doing so, without erasing any natural athleticism you might have?

Any reason you have or have not?
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I have been doing the rebuild all summer. Boy, it takes a lot of practice to get your body to swing differently without going back to your old ways. And tons of patience when you continuously hit bad shots as you are trying to make the change. Still don’t know if it will work, but the simulator game is looking better.
 
JB said:
what about winter time for you?
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It's crossed my mind. I had actually talked to our pro about it but it's tough to find practice time to head to the simulator.

One of these days when I get a net set up in the garage it could totally be worth it. I could hop out to the garage throughout the week.
 
Started doing this around September. Trying to get a little flatter as I’m getting a little fatter, and trying to swing more of a 75% swing with all the clubs gaining more consistency.
 
Have been for about 6 months. Started with changing grip and set up, then moved onto backswing. Results have been slight increases, with some hiccups on the way, but going every 2-3 weeks for lessons with 2-3 practice sessions in between has gotten results.

Feel close to a breakthrough, and will keep focus working on things during the slow season and the plan is by spring to feel comfortable with the full new swing.
 
I've strongly considered it, I know I have some bad habits, but I haven't found an instructor or way to accomplish in my area.
 
Sox_Fan said:
I really don't think I could, or honestly really have the desire to, after 40 years of playing. I try to tweak some things from time to time but don't have the patience to endure the growing pains and end up abandoning the tweaks. Now if someone told me they could make me a consistent putter, I would be all ears and would dedicate myself to improving that aspect of my game. I have tried everything else.
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The tiny undulated greens on your course are probably the worst to try and practice or figure things out on.
 
Greg Kulbick said:
The tiny undulated greens on your course are probably the worst to try and practice or figure things out on.
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That is a good point. I actually putted pretty well at Kinderlou. Smooth greens that provide a true roll and predictable speed is what I need more of in my putting game.
 
Rusty Dave said:
Started at 40. I’ve been rebuilding for the last 8 years. I’m 48. I can only hope one day it will be what I’d like.
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At some point, it will be. The question will be whether that point will be fleeting. :D

I have too much muscle memory and insufficient athleticism to rebuild my swing at this point in my life at the level of time and resources I am willing to commit. Instead, I have focused on a more repeatable swing - one that yields more consistent results. I could be longer. I could be straighter. But I think my scores are lower when I have a pretty good idea which way the ball is going to go and it actually goes in that general direction. Ten years ago, I would have called that 'giving in." Today, I'm accepting reality. And I'm happier for it.
 
Absolutely.. I've never had a formal lesson, just kind of implementation of tips and tricks
 
i'm still working on building my 1st swing! It's a never ending process!
 
I have actually been working on my swing since the season ended. When I was fit for my Titleist irons my fitter Derrick advised that I came over the top pretty bad. I did a lot of research and instead of trying to hit certain positions in my swing I wanted a simple routine. The best advice I found was from Mark Crossfield. He basically said the biggest problem most amateurs have is not giving themselves enough space on their backswing to come from the inside on the down swing. The only 2 keys I have been focusing on are taking the club back high and wide and then firing my hips to start the downswing. It's helping my consistancy a lot and I am starting to really dial in my aim. I am really looking forward to continuing my work into next year.
 
mancest said:
Have been for about 6 months. Started with changing grip and set up, then moved onto backswing. Results have been slight increases, with some hiccups on the way, but going every 2-3 weeks for lessons with 2-3 practice sessions in between has gotten results.

Feel close to a breakthrough, and will keep focus working on things during the slow season and the plan is by spring to feel comfortable with the full new swing.
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that is a similar schedule this teacher spoke about. He talked about every 14 days having a lesson and 2-4 practice sessions in between
 
I thought about it after my back surgery but always wavered on the time, willingness to stick to a plan and money commitments. With neck surgery coming up, I imagine I’ll give it more thought, but the same factors, plus whatever my physical limitations might be, will push me one way or the other.

If I was to do it, I’d probably have to drive a ways to get to a teaching pro worth his salt. Maybe Trolio at Old Waverly or Akins at Spring Creek outside Memphis. I’m not sure about the guy at the local country club.
 
i went for a tuneup this year that has turned into what feels like a rebuild. it’s fun when it works on the range. hitting shot after shot that are a ball flight and feeling that you’ve been searching for so long. but it’s not fun to lose it on the course and feel lost.
 
It’s tough for me to remain motivated through the entire process. I tried right around September, taking lessons, going often to the range, etc. It led to one of the best rounds of my life like a month after, but then hurt my back and had to put golf on the back burner for a month or so. All the effort I had put in was just as quickly undone.

Right now, seeing the time constraints, it’s a tough road to go down.
 
Would think that once a swing was ingrained into your muscles it would almost impossible to change and not fall into old habits. That being said I do think you can improve quite a bit with set up changes and with the adjustability of many of the modern clubs, and also the correct club for the ability level. I do think that starting out with a good teacher is the answer.
 
JB said:
No man, I get it. A few years ago (wow, it has been about 6 now), I started this and it was topped balls, thins, etc. Then you get one and it is pure and you realize what is in there somewhere. I got an injury and then backed off, but glad to see others are going through it.
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I am having those kinds of fun experiences now. Four recent lessons in on my swing change journey I topped 3 of my 4 first swings when playing with a pro and a low cap visiting from another course. I am not trying to impress anyone but that’s just plain frustrating after the local folks recommended they play with me to show them the course. :angry:

I am highly motivated to get get a more consistent and simple swing and resilient game that will allow me to play more courses and continue to embrace the game. But it is far more challenging than I expected. The translation from knowing what I want to do to getting the body to correctly do it is just plain wicked hard. But if there is one thing about me that will define how I approach golf it is that I will put in the work and won’t give up. My tombstone will say,“ Golf totally kicked his butt and he kept trying, why we’ll never know.”
 
I never really thought about rebuilding my swing when I was younger, mostly because I was improving little by little the first 10-12 years I played the game. After I peaked and regressed would've been the best time to try, but I probably wouldn't have stuck with it. I didn't have the time or the money back then.

Now that time and money aren't an issue, injuries and lack of flexibility make(help?) me realize that I'd probably just be better off managing what I have.

I'm also a firm believer that the more swings you've made, the longer it's going to take to unlearn them.

If I had it to do all over again, I'd find an instructor I like and work with him throughout the year on all aspects of my game. Except putting, That I've figured out on my own.
 
I have never rebuilt my swing, and I think that developing a good swing is a journey and not a destination. Even if one has a solid swing, there is always room for improvement...even if the changes are very subtle.
 
After 45 years, a rebuild is out of the question. Work with what I have and try to channel that swing I had when I was 25.

to paraphrase Yoda-

“There is no think, only do”

At least on course anyway. Range is for little fixes.


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I went through a rebuild particularly to deal with my long irons about five years ago. My instructor told me it was going to be ugly at first and he was right, I went right from my first lesson to my regular foursome on a Friday afternoon and gave them a heads up. I had three drives that round that barely made the ladies tees and it was not a pretty embarrassing but he wanted me to get the feeling that he was trying to build into my swing.

I went for my follow-up second lesson about three weeks later and we move onto the next step to straighten out the shots. I had a third lesson another three weeks later and that was my last at that time and it was very successful but sometimes you have to go backwards before you can move forward so you got to be optimistic.

I hope to get a package of three lessons for Christmas this year as I want to work on shortening my backswing, it’s just a bad habit that I’ve gone over the past few years and boy I am trying to get rid of it but I am so far been unsuccessful. Reason for wanting to shorten it a bit as I feel that it can cause me a little bit of off-balance issues and thus getting the club face squared at impact can be a challenge. So I’m hoping it will really tighten up my iron and wedge play. I played around last year with the X pro and he told me the same thing that I have too long to swing and I need to shorten it. Unfortunately I should’ve asked him for some advice on how to do it.
 
JB said:
that is a similar schedule this teacher spoke about. He talked about every 14 days having a lesson and 2-4 practice sessions in between
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Today I played, and as usual for me lately, something goes wrong with Arccos. But I saw lower ball flight, and more of a maybe 5 yard cut than what my usual ball flight has been. Once temps got above 50 F I saw some of the best drives I have ever hit on multiple holes, and outdrove the guy I play with most often more than I ever have. Not done by any stretch, but nice to see some validation with more consistent results than I had been seeing.

My coach told me the reason most people don't improve (and I know this was the case for me) is they fall back into what they were doing before, particularly in setup and grip. Those basic things have huge repercussions if done different from what you are trying to do.
 
I’m feeling enthused with other THPers going through this
 
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