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Lessoons prove I stink

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millsan1

millsan1

I've figured this game out! Oh wait, no I haven't
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I am a big believer in lessons for any skill based activity, golf obviously being one.

I have a pro I work with, and he is a great teacher and coach.

For the past month, I have been spending a lot of time on my sim and practicing a bunch. I have picked up clubhead speed, smoothness in my swing, distance and consistency. Still not good, by a long shot, but improved a bunch.

One of my challenges is, my wedges do not go very far. My 60 is 60, 56 is 70, 52 is 85, PW is 105.

So last night was my first lesson of the year, and I asked that we concentrate on wedges, and explained my dilemma re: distance.


Warmed up, and then got into the lesson.

Pro put the pin at 75, and I took out my 56, knowing I probably wouldn't reach it, but lets try for some distance. He offered to move it back to 70, but we stuck with 75.

Hit a few shots, all right around the 70 mark.

Then we looked at the video. Yeesh. No rotation, chicken wing, just blech.


We then worked on hip rotation, shallowing, etc. Very uncomfortable, but uncomfortable = different = eventual improvement.


Distance went waaaayyyyy down. But that is OK, I would rather take some backwards steps, because the end result will be better. He and I had a closest to the pin, with my 56 and I told him he had to put it out to 95 for him. Rat bastard was dropping it on the pin at 95, and I was putting it on the green at 75.


It was a good lesson, but showed me how much I have to work on, especially with my lower body rotation. I knew it, but I didn't think I was as far off as I am.


On a positive note, since i now have a sim, after I got home from the lesson, I was able to get right to practicing while the lesson was fresh. Hit about 100 shots on the sim. None of them world beaters, but I was really concentrating on the hip rotation and hand position, more than anything else.


After punishing myself, I wanted to feel good, so I hit 50 more with Hybrid and driver, which had good results.

Back to the drawing board.
 
That is the beauty and awfulness of the game, every step forward is met with bigger steps. Somedays will be steps backwards, but there will be breakthrough days too. I have had the same experiences and yesterday was one of those crappy days, but when I got home I did some things in the mirror and I was swaying off the ball with my hips instead of coiling... suffice it to say, I want to get back after it today (luckily I have a lesson) and see if that is the fix.

good luck on the journey, we all wish success was a straight line but especially in golf it has more curve than my tee shots.
 
I don't think your lob wedge is that bad. My stock LW is about that. Sometimes people get freaked out with wedges and panic, so their swing is not confident and it hurts their contact (de-acceleration is the kiss of death with wedges). I was taught that the wedge swing is a tad different than the swing with other clubs. It is smoother. And it is more of a body swing (If that makes sense). Also, the setup is a little different. Then there are the issues of grinds and swing type (sweeper or digger), and setup preferences (square face or open face). Hang in there.
 
You need to realize you are a beginner golfer, do you need to hit a PW 130 yards to feel accomplished? I'm not trying to put you down, but don't think you have to have a certain distance because you don't!!!!! You learn to play within the skills that you have and not what you think it should be. Consistency and accuracy is better than distance in the short game IMO.
 
My first ever lesson was a year ago, and it too was recorded: I had some of the same reactions you did. I had no idea some of the things I was doing in my swing (swaying to the right, bending my left elbow because I couldn't complete a shoulder turn, etc.). It was ugly. BUT it was so incredibly helpful. Now I can sync my brain and body up.

Just keep up the grind. You will get better. I dropped from a 23ish hdcp to an 18.3 with only 4 lessons. And then I started to trend the other way. We are all a work in progress, especially us who started later in life.
 
Let's look at it another way. It's the "I'm Gonna' be Great Club!"

Brain works a lot more efficiently with a positive attitude.

I just started a program called "Golf Fit" for getting in golf shape - just follow the vids.

I told my instructor to start from scratch and rebuild - at times, I've regressed, but after 2 years, speed and technique have picked up.
 
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Be positive, first step was getting lessons and following up after to reinforce lessons learned. Try not to be discouraged.

I'll give you an example of my first lesson I had about 4-5 years ago. I signed up for 3 lessons to improve my long iron game (4-7 iron). I was not getting clean contact and poor dispersion. My instructor went over many things but the takeaway was "you're going to be duck hooking" everything for awhile so don't be discouraged, we'll get it back in-line at the next lesion i.e. be patient.

About half an hour later, I joined my usual foresome on the 1st tee for our weekly Friday afternoon round. Boy was my instructor was right, Before the lesson, I was a pretty straight driver, typically 230-250 yards. For tis round, I must have duck hooked 4 tee shots that barely made the forward tee box. My score was 20 strokes at least more than my typical. I was totally embarrassed but I had given my buddies the heads up before the round that I was doing something completely different (actually over-emphasized) in order to achieve the long term goal.

Long story, my teacher's approach was to over-correct at first then through the next 2 lessons, slowly bring back in line but the short term pain was difficult and humbling. I sucked it up, practised a lot and eventually what he wanted me to feel became engrained in my swing. Today, my long iron game is pretty strong and now not a weakness of mine. If I could only putt.

Good luck, if your teacher is good, you will get results.
 
Snickerdog said:
You need to realize you are a beginner golfer, do you need to hit a PW 130 yards to feel accomplished? I'm not trying to put you down, but don't think you have to have a certain distance because you don't!!!!! You learn to play within the skills that you have and not what you think it should be. Consistency and accuracy is better than distance in the short game IMO.
Click to expand...

Oh I know for sure I am a beginner. I am just working towards getting better. When I say I hit my 56 70 yards, that is full swing, in the sim or on the range. If I had a 70 yard shot on the course, I am more likely to go with my 52 and a 9 o'clock swing to get there.

My efforts around improvement are centered around me trying to get good, from a technical point of view, so I can get good from a practice point of view, and bring that to the game.

I know if I sat in my sim and just kept swinging, I would get to the distances, etc, I am looking for, but if, once I reach some goals, my basics are messed up, any improvements would come with a teardown. I am just trying to get those teardowns done when I am still really learning how to do it, rather than after a year or two of work, then have to take it down.

The only thing that makes me feel accomplished in this game is score. I am doing my best to get my shots where I want them to go and how I want them to get there, not married to which club does the job. But reality is, if I want to improve my scores, one of the key factors will be improving accurate distance with all clubs.

At the end of the year, I was hitting my driver poorly to 200 yards, lots of slicing or pushing, at a minimum. With a reshaft, regrip and swing work, I am now hitting my driver to 225 and much much straighter and in the fairway (on the sim of course). That puts me 25 yards (or better) closer to the pin, so my next shot isn't a 200, but maybe a 175. 200 off the turf is not a shot I posses. 175 is.

So basically I am trying to improve early in my golf life, from a technical poitn of view, so as I build up my skills, distance, etc, I don't have to take as many backwards steps later on.

If that makes sense.

Which it doesn't to some.

I am a nut job.
 
JMB3 said:
My first ever lesson was a year ago, and it too was recorded: I had some of the same reactions you did. I had no idea some of the things I was doing in my swing (swaying to the right, bending my left elbow because I couldn't complete a shoulder turn, etc.). It was ugly. BUT it was so incredibly helpful. Now I can sync my brain and body up.

Just keep up the grind. You will get better. I dropped from a 23ish hdcp to an 18.3 with only 4 lessons. And then I started to trend the other way. We are all a work in progress, especially us who started later in life.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I too started later in life, like started at 47 LOL.

I do produce decent results, for my skill level on the course. I try to not "play swing" but rather "play golf" when I am on course. But practice time is when I do my best to "do it right", rather than get a result, which is what matters on the course.

This thread was not meant to be a "woe is me" thing. More of an observation about learning and progressing.
 
Desmond said:
Let's look at it another way. It's the "I'm Gonna' be Great Club!"

Brain works a lot more efficiently with a positive attitude.
Click to expand...

That is exactly why I am putting myself through this. I want to become good at this game. I think the only way I can reach the best of whatever ability I have is to get the skills technically right, so that's what I work on in practice.

I liken it to skiing. If you have ever been, there are two types of top level skiers. Both can ski anythign on the mountain. Both can handle any conditions. But one got there through sheer will, and banging their head off of the slopes for years. Their technique is terrible. They look ugly and like they are fighting the mountain. The other looks smooth, flows effortlessly, just glides through. That skier took the time to learn how to do it right, and the end result is better, and probably took a lot less time to reach.

That is my goal in almost any skill based activity I partake in (and there are a lot). Get technically sound, practice with that technical soundness, and reach the best I can be.
 
Golf is a neverending cycle of small triumphs followed by huge letdowns. Fix something and something else rears its ugly head.

I still think the guy that invented golf is looking down on all of us and laughing his butt off. "I meant it as a joke!"

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
millsan1 said:
Oh I know for sure I am a beginner. I am just working towards getting better. When I say I hit my 56 70 yards, that is full swing, in the sim or on the range. If I had a 70 yard shot on the course, I am more likely to go with my 52 and a 9 o'clock swing to get there.

My efforts around improvement are centered around me trying to get good, from a technical point of view, so I can get good from a practice point of view, and bring that to the game.

I know if I sat in my sim and just kept swinging, I would get to the distances, etc, I am looking for, but if, once I reach some goals, my basics are messed up, any improvements would come with a teardown. I am just trying to get those teardowns done when I am still really learning how to do it, rather than after a year or two of work, then have to take it down.

The only thing that makes me feel accomplished in this game is score. I am doing my best to get my shots where I want them to go and how I want them to get there, not married to which club does the job. But reality is, if I want to improve my scores, one of the key factors will be improving accurate distance with all clubs.

At the end of the year, I was hitting my driver poorly to 200 yards, lots of slicing or pushing, at a minimum. With a reshaft, regrip and swing work, I am now hitting my driver to 225 and much much straighter and in the fairway (on the sim of course). That puts me 25 yards (or better) closer to the pin, so my next shot isn't a 200, but maybe a 175. 200 off the turf is not a shot I posses. 175 is.

So basically I am trying to improve early in my golf life, from a technical poitn of view, so as I build up my skills, distance, etc, I don't have to take as many backwards steps later on.

If that makes sense.

Which it doesn't to some.

I am a nut job.
Click to expand...

We all have to start and we all have to learn. Keep at it and you will be great.
 
You got your own simulator at your pad? Damn you're ballin' son. :D
 
No matter how you slice it (pun intended), this is a hard game. Good luck to you. :)
 
millsan1 said:
I am a big believer in lessons for any skill based activity, golf obviously being one.

I have a pro I work with, and he is a great teacher and coach.

For the past month, I have been spending a lot of time on my sim and practicing a bunch. I have picked up clubhead speed, smoothness in my swing, distance and consistency. Still not good, by a long shot, but improved a bunch.

One of my challenges is, my wedges do not go very far. My 60 is 60, 56 is 70, 52 is 85, PW is 105.

So last night was my first lesson of the year, and I asked that we concentrate on wedges, and explained my dilemma re: distance.


Warmed up, and then got into the lesson.

Pro put the pin at 75, and I took out my 56, knowing I probably wouldn't reach it, but lets try for some distance. He offered to move it back to 70, but we stuck with 75.

Hit a few shots, all right around the 70 mark.

Then we looked at the video. Yeesh. No rotation, chicken wing, just blech.


We then worked on hip rotation, shallowing, etc. Very uncomfortable, but uncomfortable = different = eventual improvement.


Distance went waaaayyyyy down. But that is OK, I would rather take some backwards steps, because the end result will be better. He and I had a closest to the pin, with my 56 and I told him he had to put it out to 95 for him. Rat bastard was dropping it on the pin at 95, and I was putting it on the green at 75.


It was a good lesson, but showed me how much I have to work on, especially with my lower body rotation. I knew it, but I didn't think I was as far off as I am.


On a positive note, since i now have a sim, after I got home from the lesson, I was able to get right to practicing while the lesson was fresh. Hit about 100 shots on the sim. None of them world beaters, but I was really concentrating on the hip rotation and hand position, more than anything else.


After punishing myself, I wanted to feel good, so I hit 50 more with Hybrid and driver, which had good results.

Back to the drawing board.
Click to expand...

Here’s the funny thing - lessons jacked my game up for several months until I finally learned what I needed to. I’m delighted to hit the fairway, and don’t really care about distance.

Hang in there, fellow biker! If it was easy, it wouldn’t be a fun challenge!
 
millsan1 said:
I am a big believer in lessons for any skill based activity, golf obviously being one.

I have a pro I work with, and he is a great teacher and coach.

For the past month, I have been spending a lot of time on my sim and practicing a bunch. I have picked up clubhead speed, smoothness in my swing, distance and consistency. Still not good, by a long shot, but improved a bunch.

One of my challenges is, my wedges do not go very far. My 60 is 60, 56 is 70, 52 is 85, PW is 105.

So last night was my first lesson of the year, and I asked that we concentrate on wedges, and explained my dilemma re: distance.


Warmed up, and then got into the lesson.

Pro put the pin at 75, and I took out my 56, knowing I probably wouldn't reach it, but lets try for some distance. He offered to move it back to 70, but we stuck with 75.

Hit a few shots, all right around the 70 mark.

Then we looked at the video. Yeesh. No rotation, chicken wing, just blech.


We then worked on hip rotation, shallowing, etc. Very uncomfortable, but uncomfortable = different = eventual improvement.


Distance went waaaayyyyy down. But that is OK, I would rather take some backwards steps, because the end result will be better. He and I had a closest to the pin, with my 56 and I told him he had to put it out to 95 for him. Rat bastard was dropping it on the pin at 95, and I was putting it on the green at 75.


It was a good lesson, but showed me how much I have to work on, especially with my lower body rotation. I knew it, but I didn't think I was as far off as I am.


On a positive note, since i now have a sim, after I got home from the lesson, I was able to get right to practicing while the lesson was fresh. Hit about 100 shots on the sim. None of them world beaters, but I was really concentrating on the hip rotation and hand position, more than anything else.


After punishing myself, I wanted to feel good, so I hit 50 more with Hybrid and driver, which had good results.

Back to the drawing board.
Click to expand...

Admittedly i did not read all the responses, but I have a buddy who was in the same boat. After working with him for about 3 minutes the issue was not wedges, or any club per se. The issue was pre-releasing the right hand and adding loft. And like you, his PW barely went farther than his shorter wedges. The reason for that was his brain was telling him to hit the PW "farther", so in reality he released his right hand even earlier as a mental reflex.
 
Pros get lessons all the time. For that matter, they talk to their coach between rounds, and some bring their caddie when they see their coach so the caddie can say all the same things the coach says.

Lessons don't prove you stink. They just prove you want to get better and are taking the process of getting better seriously.
 
Lessoons prove I stink

I’ve taken multiple lessons including 2 winters at Golftec
Lessons and swing changes take A LONG TIME to master.
I’m constantly working on the same things. It’s ok. Don’t expect to have a move down after a month.
My initial mistake was expecting too much and too soon.
Stick with it.
 
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So in this same vein, I went back for a lesson Friday. By the end of it I was striping it. Just crushing the ball and it was easy... I played with some fellow THPers Saturday and told them that either it was going to be really bad, or really really bad. I proceeded to pound a driver 243 yards (per arccos) right down the middle of the fairway on the first tee box. Felt fantastic, that is quite a bit more than I have been hitting it and there were a couple nice compliments from my playing partners. I think I hit maybe 3 more SOLID full swing shots the rest of the day. I hit some really nice partial wedge shots that kept the round from being an abject disaster but overall swing was piss poor.

Anyway, along the path to improvement overriding the things you are doing with the new way takes a lot of repetition. It is why most golfers handicaps never really go down. I was back at the range yesterday and worked through about 130 balls, some good, some bad, some ugly. I will go back today, probably tomorrow and at least another couple days this week and then do the same next week and probably cap it with another lesson the following week. Think that is what draws me to the game, I will never master it, but improvement can be had if you go get it.
 
mancest said:
So in this same vein, I went back for a lesson Friday. By the end of it I was striping it. Just crushing the ball and it was easy... I played with some fellow THPers Saturday and told them that either it was going to be really bad, or really really bad. I proceeded to pound a driver 243 yards (per arccos) right down the middle of the fairway on the first tee box. Felt fantastic, that is quite a bit more than I have been hitting it and there were a couple nice compliments from my playing partners. I think I hit maybe 3 more SOLID full swing shots the rest of the day. I hit some really nice partial wedge shots that kept the round from being an abject disaster but overall swing was piss poor.

Anyway, along the path to improvement overriding the things you are doing with the new way takes a lot of repetition. It is why most golfers handicaps never really go down. I was back at the range yesterday and worked through about 130 balls, some good, some bad, some ugly. I will go back today, probably tomorrow and at least another couple days this week and then do the same next week and probably cap it with another lesson the following week. Think that is what draws me to the game, I will never master it, but improvement can be had if you go get it.
Click to expand...

This says it all from your post...."Anyway, along the path to improvement overriding the things you are doing with the new way takes a lot of repetition". I play piano and I still play scales 30x per week to stay lucid. Anyone who thinks they can hit balls 2x per week and groove a swing will be perpetually chasing their swing.
 
GolfLivesMatter said:
This says it all from your post...."Anyway, along the path to improvement overriding the things you are doing with the new way takes a lot of repetition". I play piano and I still play scales 30x per week to stay lucid. Anyone who thinks they can hit balls 2x per week and groove a swing will be perpetually chasing their swing.
Click to expand...

Yep, and that is why I have committed to hitting 100+ balls, per day, with a purpose until the beginnign of the golf season.

Last night was too cold to fire up the sim, but I still went out and struck my 100.
 
millsan1 said:
Yep, and that is why I have committed to hitting 100+ balls, per day, with a purpose until the beginnign of the golf season.

Last night was too cold to fire up the sim, but I still went out and struck my 100.
Click to expand...

Good for you man. It is funny what makes things click too. I turned on the TV and the skill code was on golf channel. I watched it for about 5 minutes and it was talking about "power moves" or something like that. He gave a drill to help get the swing started with the legs instead of the shoulders... I have been doing it at home and hit balls last night... huge difference.

I like my instructor, but he hasn't been great at giving me drills to work on to help correct the issues I have with my swing (didn't realize that until finding this drill) so that is something for me to discuss with him at our next lesson, probably next week. We all learn differently and for me positions don't really help as much as having some drills to ingrain movement/sequences and I need to make sure I ask him for something as he is more position focused.
 
Had another 130 shots on sim tonight. About 10 degrees in the garage, but manned up and did it.

I had a really good session. Driver, then wedges. Did some practice where I hit to a yardage with all 4 wedges to get different feels for each at given yardages. Went well.

Finished off with the 6i and the final shot was my best shot, 170 right down the pipe, with just a tiny draw.
 
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