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Short game lesson on a Monitor

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Popeye

Popeye

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First off I thought taking a short game lesson indoors wasn't the greatest of ideas. I decided to keep an open mind

My problems were weak chips around the greens and a SW that I was burying into the turf on full swings.

First off we worked on the chipping. He saw I was casting the club with my hands. Going back I was very neutral and then my hands were releasing early. Moved the ball back in my stance. Things came around very quickly but noticed that my spin was way down with my current SW. Though it looked fine it was maxing out at about 2400 rpm on a 50 yard chip. Swapped in a new wedge and it was magic, spin trippled. Something I never would have seen outdoors.

I had been playing the SW out to 90 yards, but a 3/4 swing was putting me at 75 yards and I was able to create a great amount of spin with that swing, almost 10,000rpm. A couple stronger swings added in some inconsistencies but it went 90 yards. I was asking too much from my SW. I inserted in the 50° GW with an aggressive 3/4 swing. Dead at that 90 yards and stopped like it was anchored. Again I really wouldn't have seen the numbers feedback in yardage or spin outdoors.

Taking the lesson to the course I dialed back on my distances taking just a bit more club, less aggressive swing. The results were a -2 for 18 yesterday an -1 for 9 today.

Moral of the story keep an open mind and get those wedge distances dialed in. One hop and stop is a sexy thing.

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I love hitting one hop and stop pitch shots. Your opponent thinks that the ball is about to skip and fly off of the green but it stops dead beside the hole and their jaw drops.
 
Popeye said:
First off I thought taking a short game lesson indoors wasn't the greatest of ideas. I decided to keep an open mind

My problems were weak chips around the greens and a SW that I was burying into the turf on full swings.

First off we worked on the chipping. He saw I was casting the club with my hands. Going back I was very neutral and then my hands were releasing early. Moved the ball back in my stance. Things came around very quickly but noticed that my spin was way down with my current SW. Though it looked fine it was maxing out at about 2400 rpm on a 50 yard chip. Swapped in a new wedge and it was magic, spin trippled. Something I never would have seen outdoors.

I had been playing the SW out to 90 yards, but a 3/4 swing was putting me at 75 yards and I was able to create a great amount of spin with that swing, almost 10,000rpm. A couple stronger swings added in some inconsistencies but it went 90 yards. I was asking too much from my SW. I inserted in the 50° GW with an aggressive 3/4 swing. Dead at that 90 yards and stopped like it was anchored. Again I really wouldn't have seen the numbers feedback in yardage or spin outdoors.

Taking the lesson to the course I dialed back on my distances taking just a bit more club, less aggressive swing. The results were a -2 for 18 yesterday an -1 for 9 today.

Moral of the story keep an open mind and get those wedge distances dialed in. One hop and stop is a sexy thing.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
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Where did you do your indoor lesson? At something like a GolfTec? Great stuff, and great scoring.
 
Scranton Golf. In Pa. Chris Miller is the pro there. His way of making the lesson easy to understand and the speed of which things came into play was great. The monitor
showed the rpms, that was key for me to see the instant gains and results. The transition to the course was seamless

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So after 5 rounds I wanted to reflect on what the short game lesson did for my all around game.
Playing the ball back in my stance and setting the club so that I am steep into the ball has given me back my old touch around the greens with new found spin and bite. No idea how I got so out of technic. Now I look forward to those tight little pitches. I was previously dreading those.

Full swing SW. Keeping this to the 75 yards with a 3/4 swing has proven key in scoring. It also sets up my other wedges to be swung under control. Setting the hands really imparts spin on the ball and it's simply throwing darts on the green.

Full iron swings which were not a problem have, become even better because I no longer fear missing a green. It's a free wheeling motion now.

Last minutes of the session were driver swings which kicked my Titleist out of my bag in favor of the Powerbilt. Again confidence off the tee, fairway, green side, and holding the flat stick, my scores have drastically improved.

Sure it's sunny out, but take that indoor lesson, so much data to be digested.

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Hey, I am wondering what it was about the wedge that was so improved? Was it just that your old wedge grooves were so worn?

Also I am interested to hear how your iron play was improved via the lesson, what improved and why?

Thanks, I am considering lessons this fall..

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Popeye said:
Full swing SW. Keeping this to the 75 yards with a 3/4 swing has proven key in scoring. It also sets up my other wedges to be swung under control. Setting the hands really imparts spin on the ball and it's simply throwing darts on the green.
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What does setting the hands mean?
 
As I start the back swing for a chip he had me set my wrists back so that my right wrist is cupped. Then as I start down the club comes down into the ball steeply. My major flaw was bringing my hands back in a very neutral position. Then as I started my downward motion I was releasing my hands and the club head was past my hands at contact point. Pretty much as worse a position as you can be in. So starting back, I cup my right wrist back and then through. Club stays behind my hands and it's a crisply struck ball.

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This is quite encouraging. I'm starting lessons at the PGA Superstore and was nervous about "all indoor" lessons.

What'd the teacher do for sand shots?
 
I watched my nephew get a short game lesson at PGA SS last week. It was pretty cool to watch but I still don't think it gives you enough feel primarily because your lie is good on every shot. It would certainly be good to work on mechanics but you can't emulate a real situation from the mat. The ability to change holes with hazards and water on the sim is pretty cool though really does make you think and is a lot of fun to play around with.
 
Bstubbs42 said:
I watched my nephew get a short game lesson at PGA SS last week. It was pretty cool to watch but I still don't think it gives you enough feel primarily because your lie is good on every shot. It would certainly be good to work on mechanics but you can't emulate a real situation from the mat. The ability to change holes with hazards and water on the sim is pretty cool though really does make you think and is a lot of fun to play around with.
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Well you could certainly agree that the grass will not give you two of the same lies. On astro turf, it's a constant, where you can really concentrate on technique. Then what is learned is then taken to the range or grass. During a lesson, repetition is key,along with repeatable results. Grass leads to a lot of variables.
 
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