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Playing over 2 years, still unable to connect with ball

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caliheights

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Hi there! My first post on this community. Looking for some direction. Anything!

I started playing golf when I was around 16 years old, took a lesson, and then quit after maybe a year. I was in highschool and playing basketball, and was actually pretty darn good at that sport so golf didn't interest me and was too frustrating. FAST FORWARD! I am now 39 years old and picking up the sport of golf again. I love everything about it now! I love the tech, the courses, getting up early and being out on the course, playing with friends and family, etc etc...

I have been "playing" for about 2 years now, and have taken 2 lessons from pga pros. I am a lefty (if it matters) and just purchased some new clubs and have all the new gear. My problems is... i'm terrible. I go to the driving range about twice per week and play around 2x per month. The best I ever shot was 105. I usually shoot 120+.

My main problem is making contact with the ball. I absolutely cannot hit anything lower than an 8 iron. I hit my driver "ok" but it goes way right to far left each time. I cannot hit a 3 wood, ever. What's so frustrating is that I'm a pretty athletic. I'm 6'2" and have a slim/muscular build, and actually "look" like a golfer! It's too funny.

I guess, I just never developed the "feel" of my swing, and the how to judge where the ground is, or the "bottom" of my swing. It's literally a crap shoot each time! After 2 years! I've gone from baseball grip/10 finger to overlapping grip etc. The one thing the last pro I worked with said is - My grip looks great and my backswing is great, its my setup and downswing where everything falls apart. That I'm "throwing" my arms/hands at the ball.

I'm kind of at my wits end, as I played my worst round EVER last Thursday. Golf is beginning to stress me out, and as much as I love it, I am beginning to not really like it. I really want to like golf! I don't really know how much more I can practice and play to get better - because it's not really going anywhere. HELP! Thank you all :).
 
welcome to thp!

freddie is a genius with the golf swing and will have some great thoughts for you. if you can take a down-the-line and face-on video of you hitting an iron (maybe 8-iron) and driver, that would help him give more directed feedback.

always remember: golf is hard. even the guys at the highest level struggle mightily at times. have fun!
 
Welcome to THP. Get ready to receive a tremendous amount of great advice.

Two small tips that I received from other forum members here that helped me a lot with making clean contact with the ball: first, focus on the back part of the ball as opposed to the center when striking the ball, and keep your head down throughout the swing. Second, try to keep the takeaway simple, as in one movement, at least until you get more comfortable. That will help keep your arms, hands, body and club head in proper alignment to make clean contact.

Most of all, just enjoy it. Play a round or two without keeping score and just feel it out. Don't worry about chasing the number, just kit the ball and have a great time doing it. Loose golf is good golf.
 
The one bit of advice I can give is in understanding since we haven't seen your swing. I see so many people try to kill the ball that they move their body all over the place before they connect. Think of your swing as a rotation around your body/spine and don't break from that. I sometimes go to the range and spend some time swinging at low speed off a tee just to feel that rotation. Don't sway back and forth or up and down. Just keep a nice short swing and don't try to kill it for starters. Swing plane and hand path are your friend.

The last bit of advice is pick a point on the ball and don't take your eyes off of it through the swing. I always try to see the grass under the ball after I hit it. Just my 2 cents.
 
Coyote Creek GC has a nice grass range , short game practice area, and 3 or 4 PGA instructors. One of them can help you.
 
Welcome to THP.
 
Thank you all for the feedback and support! This place is great! I just recorded my swing and will upload here shortly. @DG_1234 I have played Coyote before and actually took a lesson there! It's a great place!
 
If you can swing it---I would strongly recommend a package of 5 or more lessons with a reputable pro no more than two weeks apart.

Put in the range and playing time and it should really help.

I started at age 40 and am now about 19 months or so into it.

Once I started regular lessons I shed over 11 strokes on my handicap.

And I'm not exactly a star athlete to begin with.



Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
I have a few thoughts, I'll share a bit later.
 
This is an 8i which i am more comfortable with. But as you can see, the 8i went about 100 yards.
 
My question is what is stopping you from getting lessons?
 
I am totally willing to take lessons. I've taken 2 lessons and want to continue, but I feel that I am not improving enough between lessons to even make sense of the next set of instructions. It's almost like I am missing something crucial in order to make sense of the next lesson. Or maybe just diving in and signing up for 5 lessons the way to go?
 
Thanks @Antihero! Maybe I need to just bite the bullet and take a series of lessons more consistently.
 
Been playing 12 years... still unable to connect with ball.

Take the lessons my friend, as many as you can for as long as you can.
 
caliheights said:
I am totally willing to take lessons. I've taken 2 lessons and want to continue, but I feel that I am not improving enough between lessons to even make sense of the next set of instructions. It's almost like I am missing something crucial in order to make sense of the next lesson. Or maybe just diving in and signing up for 5 lessons the way to go?
Click to expand...
The lesson thing can be a marathon not a sprint. We don't always see improvement immediately or in a regular straight line progression. It can be hard.

Does your instructor use technology like Trackman to give you numbers? What is your instructor asking you to work on? What are you doing between lessons to work on that?
 
IMHO looking at your video you are moving around too much. My instructor says that if you can control your center (slightly below the base of your neck) you will control the club face. You seem to be shifting forward and back with your center and this is tough to do consistantly. Your hips need to clear and rotate around but your sturnum stays still until the club hits 9oclock, then you rotate.

Two lessons is not enough to flush out engrained bad habits. My range has a program where I get weekly group practice sessions with my instructor and monthly private lessons for less than many people pay for one lesson a month. Maybe try and find something like that? This is a tough sport but the lessons really helped me. I've been playing about a year and a half and I just broke 90.

HTH,
Whiskey
 
Wiskey said:
IMHO looking at your video you are moving around too much. My instructor says that if you can control your center (slightly below the base of your neck) you will control the club face. You seem to be shifting forward and back with your center and this is tough to do consistantly. Your hips need to clear and rotate around but your sturnum stays still until the club hits 9oclock, then you rotate.
Click to expand...

He looks like he does a decent job of staying centered.

In my very amateur analysis, I'd say some of his problems are:

- Grip
- Distance to ball (reaching)
- Fanning the club open on an inside takeaway

But I'll let Freddie verify if any of those are correct and/or suggest solutions.
 
Freddie is the man, listen to him. I see flaws but I'm no instructor so I'll absolutely defer here.

But what I do see is the degree of athleticism that you mentioned. The only thing holding you back is ingraining the fundamentals which will allow that athleticism to shine through. Freddie, another certified pro, I'd committ to following through with a plan if you truly want to realize your potential with this game.

You're not as far off as you may think.
 
The key to any golf swing is the set up. There are fundamentals that you need to incorporate.

Knee flex
Weight on balls of your feet
Hip flex

If someone were to try to push you over, it should not be easy. In your current setup if I wanted to push you back, you’d topple over. So get into an athletic position at address.

The motion you have now is a sway/lift. Your center (sternum) moves off the ball and your arms lift the club to the top. This means when you return the club to ball your address or center is now a few inches behind the ball. With your grip and lack of knee flex, you’re flipping the hands and catching the ball of the lower part of the club.

The shoulders turn 90* and the arms follow. The shoulders turn back and the arms swing. If your have kept your center and maintained knee flex, you’ll hit it flush.
 
caliheights said:
I am totally willing to take lessons. I've taken 2 lessons and want to continue, but I feel that I am not improving enough between lessons to even make sense of the next set of instructions. It's almost like I am missing something crucial in order to make sense of the next lesson. Or maybe just diving in and signing up for 5 lessons the way to go?
Click to expand...
I should add that finding a good instructor for you is key.

There are many instructors who may essentially teach the same general concepts.

But finding one that helps it make sense for you is key.

I personally spent several months with one PGA pro and never really improved. In fact, I actually got significantly worse. This same pro was effective for others I have met.

I switched to a different pro and the strokes started melting off.

Also, it may take a few lessons to really start seeing a benefit. It's actually quite common to play worse after a swing change as you are attempting to groove the new changes.

Stick with it.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
Tadashi70 said:
The key to any golf swing is the set up. There are fundamentals that you need to incorporate.

Knee flex
Weight on balls of your feet
Hip flex

If someone were to try to push you over, it should not be easy. In your current setup if I wanted to push you back, you’d topple over. So get into an athletic position at address.

The motion you have now is a sway/lift. Your center (sternum) moves off the ball and your arms lift the club to the top. This means when you return the club to ball your address or center is now a few inches behind the ball. With your grip and lack of knee flex, you’re flipping the hands and catching the ball of the lower part of the club.

The shoulders turn 90* and the arms follow. The shoulders turn back and the arms swing. If your have kept your center and maintained knee flex, you’ll hit it flush.
Click to expand...
This is fabulous advice.

@Tadashi70 - would the drill where you put a pole or stick over your shoulders behind your head, setup with your butt touching a stationary object and you rotate your shoulders back and through be a decent drill for the OP to do?
 
caliheights said:
Here's the swing. Thanks again for any feedback/help you can provide. :)

https://streamable.com/ttpe8
https://streamable.com/ablfg
Click to expand...

This is what I was saying in my post on the first page. Think of your swing as a rotation around your spine. Rotation gives you the power, not swaying or moving up and down. You are moving your upper body up and back in your backswing imo. Try not to focus on hitting it a mile, but rather a nice smooth 3/4 swing keeping your head mostly still through the swing until just after contact. Keep loose, tension is bad. My 2 cents.
 
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