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The THP Range/Practice Thread

Went out to the practice field with a much better attitude yesterday. Didn't over do anything and spent about 45 minutes on the full swing, constantly changing clubs with no more than a couple swings at a time.

Initially, there was a consistent tendency to push to ball right of target with each club, but at least it was consistent. While continuing to preset with my weight forward, I ended up eliminating the closed stance that I'd used all year and that helped to hit the target line. There was some poor contact and a tendency for left to right ball flight, but keeping my trail arm tighter to my body on the downswing seemed to reduce that.

Before leaving, I made a point of spending some time working on chips and pitches with the sand and gap wedges. The field is somewhat hard pan right now which is a lie I need practice with. Overall, the hour or practice felt productive.
 
JonMA1 said:
Went out to the practice field with a much better attitude yesterday. Didn't over do anything and spent about 45 minutes on the full swing, constantly changing clubs with no more than a couple swings at a time.

Initially, there was a consistent tendency to push to ball right of target with each club, but at least it was consistent. While continuing to preset with my weight forward, I ended up eliminating the closed stance that I'd used all year and that helped to hit the target line. There was some poor contact and a tendency for left to right ball flight, but keeping my trail arm tighter to my body on the downswing seemed to reduce that.

Before leaving, I made a point of spending some time working on chips and pitches with the sand and gap wedges. The field is somewhat hard pan right now which is a lie I need practice with. Overall, the hour or practice felt productive.
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Outside practice in N Michigan in December - “most impressive”!
 
Nice day today so I hit the range over lunch. Working on what feels like a major swing change to me, but in reality it isn't huge. Been struggling with pushing the ball right (not a slice). Working on better wrist positioning through out the swing to consistently close the club face slightly to my path to create nice consistent baby draws along with eliminating the right side with my misses.
 
Alright so lately just working on my balance. I had a consultation with a Pro a few weeks back and on video we noticed some things that stood out. First thing is when I start my backswing I lift my left foot up, for no reason, never noticed, and I'm still having a problem with flipping/casting the club. The biggest problem for me this year has been distance. I'm scoring but I know I'm not playing well deep down.

On video we noticed how I finish on my toes/lean forward as I come to impact. I bought a balance rod and also made it a point to keep my feet planted, using my legs more on the swing. I finally went out to a normal course last Sunday after 3 weeks off to focus on Balance and I was very happy with the results. MAKING DIVOTS. Hitting down/compressing the Golf ball as opposed to picking it clean and having my 7iron look like a PW at impact causing me to lose so much distance and hope I time it right.

Playing a lot of Golf this weekend and heading to Pinehurst next week. I have so much less of a swing thought with my feet staying down, it sounds very simple, but I was happy to see the flaws I needed to work on.
 
Took advantage of what will probably be the last day without snow on the ground for a while. Tried a drill where I put a marker on the target line with the idea to start the ball on either side of the line and have it either draw or fade back to the target. In this case the target was between two trees (marked at the beginning of the video). I was using a 6i.

I've played a draw for most of 2020 and had a lot of trouble keeping the ball in play - much less hitting greens. During this drill, I alternated every other shot between a draw swing and a fade. While I did hit a couple crappy fades, that swing was consistently more reliable both in contact and starting line. I also prefer the higher flight of the fade. I'm still failing miserably at finishing my swings in balance. I have to get better at that if I'm ever going to play decent golf.

The first two swings were pushes, but after those I was able to hit closer to the target on most of the fades. The sound is messed up and there were a couple of swings that Shot Tracer didn't capture very well. Overall, it was a good practice. I worked briefly on some 50-60 yard approaches as well as some punch shots.



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Took some full swings with the 6i into the net this afternoon. Used my cheap flight simulator and was getting a lot consistent results. I then recorded some video while working on keeping my head a bit steadier. Transition and downswing felt more controlled. Also worked on some chipping.

Overall, the mechanics felt consistent as did contact. Of course, hitting into the net doesn't tell me much.
 
Minor work in the garage and it feels good when the timing is there but at times it's just off. I think I'm overdue for a meeting with my swing coach
 
Did some eyeline putting practice along with chipping practice. A little bit everyday to stay fresh and improve the fundamentals.
 
Did a little work on my swing mechanics in the garage range.
 
I’m putting a practice regimen together for 2021 & I like what I’m seeing on paper.
 
Still trying to establish a balance between practice, feels, taking video, and worrying too much about positions - especially since I don't know exactly what to look for.

Worked on a drill to get hands forward at impact and it just wasn't feeling very successful. I'm trying to really exaggerate the hands forward but when I get at or slightly beyond the ball, my hands slow down and I flip/release. Video showed the hand position wasn't terrible at impact, but the intent was to go well past.

Recorded a few full swings on video. Everything felt off and contact didn't feel solid. Nothing really showed up on video as being different. Probably need to not overthink the process and accept there are going to be nights when I'm just off.
 
First time picking up a club in about a week and a half, felt great.

Really happy with my contact throughout the bag. Started to push some hybrids when I got to the hybrids, and with driver still rolling my wrists on the takeway causing a flat backswing, but what can I do? Results is all the matters.

Long weekend of Golf upcoming, lots of putting and chipping before tomorrows round, and work on some feet drills!
 
Haven't taken any video so far this weekend, but have been hitting both into the net and hitting a few outside. Pretty happy with what feels to be weight forward and a decent hands-past-the-ball position at impact. Contact feels so much better when that occurs - like I'm pulling the club through impact instead of pushing it. More power with controlled effort and that feeling of compressing the ball.

When hitting outside this morning (with a club I have a great deal of difficulty hitting well), I hit a quite a few nice shots with divots on the target side of the ball and many shots online. Perhaps a result of repeating alignment, takeaway, backswing, downswing and follow-through????

I know my swing is not technically sound - even I can identify some of the flaws on video. But to make even a little progress towards the two areas mentioned above would be a welcome change.

I just have to learn and accept there will be many steps backwards.
 
Wasn’t able to play this morning so I am going to the practice green and chipping and putting for an hour or two. I need to dedicate myself to this type of practice. It’s the only way I am going to score better and get into the 80s.
 
Was able to hit the range today over lunch to continue to work on wrist set and getting my upper body through the swing. I feel like I had a small break through on the getting the body through. I started with a drill my instructor gave me to help reset me and my body sequencing. Also worked on knock down shots due to a 10-15mph headwind. Now that is an area I need a lot of work still as I tend to hit the ball a bit high at times.
 
hit the range today to work on what i learned during yesterday's lesson...the best feeling swings i've had. results were good as well...more than a few craptacular shots but i was able to dial it back with what i learned and get back on track. that 17* super hybrid is a beast...thought i was absolutely all in on the modus 105s but i hit my 19 apex pro 8i with the PX LZ 5.5 shaft and it felt great.
 
Worked a lot on chipping practice in the basement again today. I finally decided today was the day to drop the chipping experiment I took on about a month ago to improve chipping. However, the method had very active hands and I couldn't create consistency around ball flights and distances. Decided to move on to another method where my hands move like they would in a normal swing or what I call neutral. Where I struggled previously was just using my upper body while chipping. I am actively working on using my whole body in the rotation.

First thoughts are that I noticed I was much more accurate and more predictable ball flights. Looking forward to getting it on the sim or out in the chipping area at the course. It certainly feels like the right direction for me.
 
Had a trackman sim round yesterday testing the new Titleist ProV1. I worked on hand position at the top of my swing, and some different posture angles.

Semi-productive haha.
 
Hit the range yesterday to work on keeping the club in front of me. Try and prevent rolling the wrists and having a flat backswing...

The answer, for last night at least? Setting my wrists early during my takeaway. I finished the last 20 golf balls so good, from wedges to driver. Felt the best with 8iron.

It isn't anything drastic, the only "bad" thing was on the finish I would be off balance but I can correct that. Ready to bring this swing into the fitting tomorrow!
 
After a pretty drastic swing change on my first lesson in awhile last Wednesday I hit some balls on my SkyTrak. And even though I’m still hitting terrible shots there are some amazing shots mixed in. I was recording a down the line video to check my positions and absolutely nuked several 7 irons of 180 carry. Before the swing change I could get it out to 165ish but the new swing when spot on is amazing. The biggest thing is my average height on my 7 iron went down from 110-120 feet high to 85-95. And this is across all of my irons. They are all this height now. It has been a struggle so far but will take time and as long as I see these kind of shots it gives me hope.


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It's funny how a minor adjustment of the grip can lead to such a different result
 
Had my second lesson today working with my new guy on long irons/woods. I was hooking these and it turns out 90% of it was setup. Over time I have turned my normal grip into a pretty strong on but just on these clubs for some reason. Also ball position was an issue. Liking my new instructor and looking forward to continuing lessons for awhile.


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I got in my 2nd session of the winter on the simulator at my home club and hit it a lot more solid than I did two days ago. I'm getting my golf muscles ready for a boys golf trip to AZ next Wednesday so I hit about 150 full shots with mid to short irons, 15 shots with my 3 wood, and 5 shots with the driver. My carry distance was normal which I was happy about after only playing a handful of rounds since early November. Disperson was very tight today even with the driver.


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Nothing much to do when you have new clubs and they shut the courses down for weather than to beat them up at the range and work on things. Hate trying to feel things in freezing weather and rock hard range balls, but making progress in working the new sticks.

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And always need to work some reminders into that fubar'd front knee.
 
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