Sharing my journey

Me 2013

[video=youtube;6ZCdZS-0ouk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZCdZS-0ouk[/video]


Me 2016

 
Welcome and good luck with your journey. I'm a little younger than you at 50 but I know how much harder I have to work at my fitness and flexibility compared to even 5 or 6 years ago. I have had some lower back issues since I was in my late teens and a couple years ago I decided to increase my hip turn to lower the stress on my my back knowing that I wanted to play golf as well as I can for another 2 or 3 decades. After swinging for 30 years trying to restrict my hip turn(that whole X factor thing) it took me a couple months to get everything synced up but it has paid dividends. I can now go out for a long practice session hitting 300+ balls and have little to no pain or stiffness the next day. The more I play the stronger my body seems to get. Now I just need to get rid of this thing called work and I'd be set!


You know what I mean. We can work smarter and get more if we try, right?
Good luck and keep fighting the good fight.
 
Welcome and good luck with your journey. I'm a little younger than you at 50 but I know how much harder I have to work at my fitness and flexibility compared to even 5 or 6 years ago. I have had some lower back issues since I was in my late teens and a couple years ago I decided to increase my hip turn to lower the stress on my my back knowing that I wanted to play golf as close to my current level as I can for another 2 or 3 decades. After swinging for 30 years trying to restrict my hip turn(that whole X factor thing) it took me a couple months to get everything synced up but it has paid dividends. I can now go out for a long practice session hitting 300+ balls and have little to no pain or stiffness the next day. The more I play the stronger my body seems to get. Now I just need to get rid of this thing called work and I'd be set!

Judging from your avatar you look really connected and strong. I'd love to see you work your way around a course some day.
 
One huge element of starting to get my head around what a golf swing actually is was to understand how I was under the influence of an illusion that my arms were swung around me to the right. I watched this video a couple of years ago and it changed my golf life forever for the good.

It was absolutely killing any chance I had to play consistently. The video made by Jim Waldron called the 'Arm Swing Illusion' broke me free from that flawed mental image I had in my head, and I consider that day to be the starting point of my actual improvement.

I spoke with Mr. Waldron on the phone recently (what a great guy!) and he asked me to tell people there is an updated version of this on his Youtube channel if they are interested. The big takeaway for me was how my right arm was getting locked up behind my body so I could never get back to the ball and I didn't ever know why.

 
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I guess that pretty much gets my story caught up to today.

I have a range pass at the Golf Dome in Chagrin Falls, and spend anywhere from an hour to a couple hours a day on my days off work hitting lots of 5 to 50 yd shots in the cold weather months. My drills are to try to hit consecutive shots to a short target over and over with the same trajectory and weight using different clubs, usually from a 6 iron to a 60 wedge. Doing that makes it a challenge and adds some mental engagement so I don't lose focus and just beat balls aimlessly.

I don't hit more than a handful of full swings into the dome wall since it is hard for me to gain much feedback without watching the complete ball flight. I believe if I work on perfecting my pattern in these small distances it will translate pretty quickly up the scale once I can get out and play again.
 
Good luck on your journey. We're all on one.
 
Have no idea what the guy in the video's is talking about.But as long as it's working keep on doing it.Welcome to Thp
 
Welcome to THP! Good look a bringing down your handicap and improving your game.
 
I guess that pretty much gets my story caught up to today.

I have a range pass at the Golf Dome in Chagrin Falls, and spend anywhere from an hour to a couple hours a day on my days off work hitting lots of 5 to 50 yd shots in the cold weather months. My drills are to try to hit consecutive shots to a short target over and over with the same trajectory and weight using different clubs, usually from a 6 iron to a 60 wedge. Doing that makes it a challenge and adds some mental engagement so I don't lose focus and just beat balls aimlessly.

I don't hit more than a handful of full swings into the dome wall since it is hard for me to gain much feedback without watching the complete ball flight. I believe if I work on perfecting my pattern in these small distances it will translate pretty quickly up the scale once I can get out and play again.

Better to hit same distance with different trajectories. You'll need some very high and very low ones to escape the trees.
 
Welcome, hopefully we will get a chance to golf the next time the Ohio guys golf together.
 
Hey Jim, Welcome to THP. Nice to have you locally - now I won't be the oldest guy in the group anymore!:alien:

I'll definitely be following along here. As someone closing in on 60 I'm facing the same issues, so I think it will help me too. Hopefully we can tee it up pretty soon.
 
Better to hit same distance with different trajectories. You'll need some very high and very low ones to escape the trees.

Yeah, that's good as well. I do trajectory practice with my sand wedges at the dome, but can't hit a hole in the sky with an iron or wood swing there. For me in the winter working on small shots almost exclusively has proven to work best with what I have as a facility.
 
Hey Jim, Welcome to THP. Nice to have you locally - now I won't be the oldest guy in the group anymore!:alien:

I'll definitely be following along here. As someone closing in on 60 I'm facing the same issues, so I think it will help me too. Hopefully we can tee it up pretty soon.


Great! I'd like that very much.
 
My coach has convinced me to give up golf forums and to just start my own blog. I love you all already, and that is one reason I am leaving. I don't want to bring any negativity into a nice social site, and unfortunately I fear that might happen if I stay. The last thing I want is to make work for moderators just by being here.

I have reached a point where I know what I need to do to improve and reach my goals in golf and need to focus on the things that will make me better in all areas.

I'm going to keep my account active and hope to still play with members here at any opportunity, I just won't be relating my little story here.

Cheers,
Jim
 
Great introduction Sir. Welcome and good luck. We look forward to following along with you and achieving success.
 
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