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Trying To Hit The Ball Club-Chronicals Of A Beginner

Paulskihacks

Paulskihacks

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Apr 27, 2015
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Location
Topanga, California
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200
Well, this is my first thread on THP, where I will ramble on about my quest to hit that little white ball... Hopefully, I'm not the only beginner here!

Anyways, I have discovered the addiction to golf at age 50, and have been attempting to hit that little white ball for about 3 months... I took my pro lesson, where I was shown how to throw out my back via the popular method of swinging... So, after healing up from my first ever round of golf, I started to ponder the "rules" of a golf swing... As it turns out, I have a new friend, also 50, who has played for 38 years, including competitively, so I showed him my attempt at the "proper" swing, and he laughed... Then he grabbed my club, and effortlessly sent the ball exactly where he said it would go, not keeping his left arm straight, not leaving his left heel on the ground, and not thrusting the hip... Great... Now I have a living example of the "wrong" way to swing a golf club, so now what?!

As it turns out, the "wrong" way is the only way I've been able to consistently hit that little white ball, so at that realization, I have completely given up trying to do it the "right" way... So, after lots of obsession on the internet, I ended up with the book, Positive Impact Golf, by Brian Sparks, and I'm glad I did... It appears I'm not the only one out there who finds the typical swing completely unnatural... His La Danse Du Golf comes naturally to me, makes sense to me, and is nice and easy on my back...

On another note, I just received my Fairway Pro Divot Simulator hitting pad, and I'm very stoked with it... Good quality, and it feels a lot more like hitting turf than any regular mat I've tried... I also just received my Haack Net by Rukket... I haven't set it up, yet, but it looks to be really high quality... So, I'll be able to hit that little white ball whenever I want...

OK, enough rambling for now, but more is sure to come...
 
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Looking forward to following along.
 
Welcome!

Definitely not a standard for the "right" way to hit the ball. So....just do what works - more fun that way! :)
 
welcome and will be following along on your journey
 
Cool... I just watched this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8FjY_yTBgo where there are a series of videos by Jay Golden on the "hammer swing", which really hit home... I've been in construction my entire life, mostly as an electrician, but a lot of home building as well, and I've banged countless nails, staples, and j-nails... What a difference for me if I hold the club like it's a hammer... It's feels second nature, and I promptly hit a bunch of shots as though I knew what I was doing...
 
There is imo (and also in the opinions of many) nothing truly natural about a golf swing. We were not born with the natural intent of hitting golf balls with a golf club. There is just nothing imo natural about it except to swing the club in such a manor best suited for each individual to strike the ball correctly through impact. Imo no text book swing because whatever text book thing that works for one to achieve that doesn't always work for another. The only thing text book is the physics concerning how the ball will react/travel via how it is struck with the club. Good luck to you in finding "your swing" and advancing it.
 
I'm a firm believer that impact is all that matters, how you get there doesn't.
 
Paulskihacks said:
Cool... I just watched this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8FjY_yTBgo where there are a series of videos by Jay Golden on the "hammer swing", which really hit home... I've been in construction my entire life, mostly as an electrician, but a lot of home building as well, and I've banged countless nails, staples, and j-nails... What a difference for me if I hold the club like it's a hammer... It's feels second nature, and I promptly hit a bunch of shots as though I knew what I was doing...
Click to expand...

That's very similar to what got me started down the golf path that I am still on, gripping in the palm of my right hand, never held a hammer way down in my fingers.
 
Well, cool... Yesterday was the first time I could consistently hit the ball, and I was able to go through all my clubs, even the driver... Granted, it was into a net, but before I started thinking of the club as a hammer, I could barely keep it in the net, and sometimes I would even miss the ball... The way I was originally shown just doesn't seem to consistently work for me, and I might hook or slice more than hit straight... It was a pleasure to actually have a swing, and the first time I've figured out how to hit with some power... Looking forward to the next trip to the driving range...
 
OK, more to bore everyone... My latest realization is if I do what it takes to keep the club face square to the ball, I am much more consistent than if I open up the face in my back swing... So, if I were to hold a hammer like a golf club, with the face of the hammer pointing to the ball, then although this is not how I would normally hold a hammer, I could still drive a nail, as long as I don't rotate the face of the hammer... If I open up the face of the hammer, I almost always will mis-hit the nail, and bend it... Of course, I have scoured the internet, and found all kinds of stuff on the square face...

My other realization came last Friday afternoon after work... I got home, and immediately hit some balls... I was pleased... Then I drank a beer and hit some more balls... Still pleased... Repeat process... Still pleased with my results after two beers... After the third, I'm starting to get sloppy... By a full six pack, and this is just Coors Light, it became a comedy of errors... Still, I enjoyed conducting this highly scientific experiment, and no doubt, I'll experiment again... :banana:
 
1st off, Welcome to THP!, second, I caught the bug at age 51 too. I think you might need to switch to bud light, effects hold off until 8 beers.
 
Welcome.

I'll be 54 in a few weeks. Three years ago my brother and cousin introduced me to golf. We went out, had a great time and heck, I even though I was winning..... I did have the most points, like 130 of them...lol.

Down to a 13 handicap now... :)

It is a great game, lots of fun and VERY frustrating. The most important thing is to have fun and figure out what works for you.

Don't give up on lessons. Find a pro that is willing to take a good look at your body habitus and your flexibility and doesn't try to drive a square peg into a round hole. He should help you find a swing that works for you, not try to mold you into the next Tiger Woods.

Tommy
 
IMO, The best marketing in golf right now is the SWING YOUR SWING campaign Dicks has been using in commercials. Starting out at your age, you aren't working toward the goal of making it onto a major pro tour or winning your states amateur championship. You are looking for a good time, and seeing improvement in your results will allow you to enjoy it more and more. If you find a method of getting the face square at impact and hitting consistently use it and fine tune it. My youngest brother is a great example. He only plays 8-10 times a year. His swing looks like somebody sweeping off their front porch. He got so tired of constantly spraying, topping and whiffing that he now only takes the backswing back to about 4 oclock, doesn't rotate the club at all, then accelerates quickly to a 3/4 - full finish. We all know that at some point he is going to reach the limit of what he can do, but he hits the ball straigh-tish, driver gets out to 200ish, 7 iron goes 125ish, his only frustration is with putting/chipping now, and yesterday he broke 100 for the first time even after missing 10 putts inside 3 feet.

So Paulski.. welcome to THP... and don't worry about boring us... most of us want to follow your journey and help any way we can. You go ahead and post as much as often as you possibly can. Most of us want to read it all...those of us that don't will just skim or skip..

And remember... swing your swing.
 
Today's fun has been indoor golf, aiming wiffle balls at the wife... I'm getting pretty accurate...:devil:
 
When I got back into golf this year after a long layoff I had forgotten everything about my golf game, ball placement, swing plane, why I'm slicing, why I'm topping the ball etc... So I started watching a lot of YouTube golf lesson videos and tried what I learned on the course only to get more frustrated and clueless. I finally came across a video that told me to just relax and don't try to hit it hard (simple huh). Well just the way the video explained it somehow hit home on what I was doing wrong and I took that advice to the course and it changed my experience. I started making solid contact, hitting straight, and enjoyed a round of golf. It could of been the lesson or maybe playing more I'm not sure but just the fact that if we want to get better at golf we're going to have a lot of trial and error. I'm still a high handicapper, still top and chunk the ball but it won't stop me from trying to get better and beat my buddies next round, lol. Good Luck Paulskihacks not everyone's advice is gonna help us, we just need to keep loving the game.
 
Thanks for the ongoing comments from you guys... I'm about five months into this crazy sport, and I'm certainly perplexed, but it seems that the only way I can hit the ball is to not think, just do, exactly like I would do if hitting a nail... Line it up and hit, or in this case, swing through... I notice my swing and everything about it is very unorthodox, but it allows me to keep the club face square... Also, with a little hernia that I have, it's actually a blessing in disguise, as it forces me to have an easy swing for my beat up body... A lifetime of working construction, dirt biking, surfing, skate boarding, martial arts, team sports when I was young, etc., has definitely taken its toll on me, but I see that I can actually swing a golf club in a way that doesn't tweak me...

Meanwhile, my buddy who dragged me into this madness has tendonitis in his left elbow, hasn't golfed in five weeks, and wants to get me out on the tennis court... No problem, it's only been 30 years since I've even seen a tennis racket!
 
OK, I just had another mini breakthrough that's been helping me to not top the ball... I was attempting to aim for the center of the ball with the sweet spot of the face, and I realize that my brain sees the bottom of the face, rather than the middle, and automatically wants to hit the bottom of the face to the middle of the ball... I'm now focusing on the bottom of the face to strike where I want a divot to start, and not actually staring at the ball... Seems to be working much better for me...
 
Try this with whatever swing is working for you when you go to the range. Make you first 10-15 shots half swings moving the club from 9-3 oclock. Focus on that good contact, then you can start stretching the swing out hopefully maintaining that good contact you developed with those half swings.
 
Still hitting into the net every day with a batch of old balls has been helping my swing, but I need to get to a range to see flight and distance... Well, since I'm on 9 acres of woods, with a top open pad, I have the perfect launch pad to hit... Of course, I'll lose the balls, because the far side of our property is very steep and heavily wooded...

So, I ordered 288 mixed shag balls for 54 bucks and free shipping from Walmart... I've seen them, and they are no worse than the batch I currently am burning through, and not much worse than some range balls I've had... Anyways, from the Topanga property, it takes me 10 dollars in gas to drive my truck to the range and back... In my Frazier Park house, it's about 30 bucks in gas... Then, there is the wear and tear on my truck... This is the reason I only get to the range occasionally when I'm commuting home for the weekend, and am passing by a range... Most of the time, I'm tired, and just want to get home...

That's a lot of words to say that I'm looking forward going to the top of the property and smacking some shots without concern for losing them, realizing it's cheaper than the range for me... At least I can lose them on our property... I would hit them in Frazier Park, since my house is next to the forest, but I don't think the Los Padres Forest Service would appreciate that...

Hmmm... Might be time for a range finder...
 
Paulskihacks said:
Thanks for the ongoing comments from you guys... I'm about five months into this crazy sport, and I'm certainly perplexed, but it seems that the only way I can hit the ball is to not think, just do, exactly like I would do if hitting a nail... Line it up and hit, or in this case, swing through...
Click to expand...

Congratulations. You've discovered one of the big secrets to golf. Give your brain a task and let your body perform it while you and your conscious "corrections" stay out of the way. Easier said than done, but that doesn't change the importance.
 
There are lots of different ways to swing a club effectively. They key is finding one that is easy to repeat and works for your body. Once you've figured a golf swing that works you'll discover that 35-40% of this game is putting which is really like a whole game to itself. Enjoy the journey!!
 
Apparently, I'm still obsessed with golf... :) Anyways, the more I discuss golf with people, the more I find out that lots of people are obsessed with golf, and a client of ours turned me on to the Momentus weighted swing trainer club... I liked it, so I got one for myself, thinking it might actually help me to find a swing... I watched the DVD on how to train, realized that the guy was still showing me the technique of opening the club face on the back swing, like I've been shown before and didn't groove with it, and decided once again that this swing just doesn't seem right for me... So, I've still been using my swing trainer every day, the way that I think I can hit a club, keeping the club face square, and I'm really happy... I think this thing really does work, because I'm able to go out and hit the ball just about every time I try, and the ball even goes where I want... Something about the weighted trainer really seems to train my muscles, even if I'm doing it my own way... I swing the trainer a few times, go out and hit one ball, and the hit is what I want... This is not how it was a few weeks ago, when I would have to take a lot of swings to figure out how to hit the ball...

Blah blah blah... I'm swinging easier and more accurately.... This pleases Paulskihacks... :clapp:
 
I'm not new to the game, I learned when I was 8. I took a lot of time off from the game and wasn't playing much when I stopped. Bought some clubs and started hitting. Finally got an instructor who showed me I was doing some things wrong and corrected them which made my back feel better. That was my first lesson in something like 44 years (long overdue) I think there is a "proper" swing but it has to be tailored to you. If you can do what you do every time and hit the ball well then to me that is your "proper swing." For me, I needed someone to correct some really bad habits I developed over the years and reinforced when I started hitting again. I am now starting to "get it."

I do think that learning a classic, proper golf swing does lead to more consistency because the swing is designed to move only those body parts that allow you to complete the swing and make good, solid contact consistently. The more erroneous stuff you have going during your swing means more moving parts that can start moving differently as you play more which can (and generally will) lead to always trying to chase a new problem later on. I think it is easier to learn first the right way than it is to unlearn something later on. Just my opinion.

My instructor told me that he never has his students try to copy someone else's swing. He first looked at my grip, changed it to a proper one, and then showed me how I wasn't using my lower body correctly and twisting my back to try to generate power which was causing me a lot of pain in the upper back. A few days later I played a round of golf and told him my back felt fine but the next day my upper legs were a bit achy. He told me that was a sign I was doing it right.
 
Keep your posts coming...interesting read. I will say a couple of things...first, your swing is your swing, no one else's. If it works for you, a good instructor will teach you how to incorporate those things that work for you. Having said that, the second thing is not to trust too much to hitting in a net. If you cannot see the flight path, you cannot see if you are slicing or hooking. Trust me, a bad slice is a tough on your game as a duff or even a miss (at least with the latter you can tell people it was just a practice swing!).

Finally, be careful about thinking you figured something out. End of last season, I had a wicked slice. I eventually diagnosed that I was not rolling my wrists and was leaving the face open (something you apparently don't have to worry about since you are going straight back). To fix this, I started artificially rolling early. Shortly thereafter, no slices at all. I was really bombing my driver straight.

Unfortunately, I was bottoming out all of my irons because I started "casting." Turns out you only use your driver around 12 to 14 times a round but you use your irons a lot more. I fixed my slice but screwed up everything else. Long story short (too late), I had to re-do my driver swing in order to save my game.

Now, I am the master of the range. Unfortunately, I stills screw up most shots when they count, but that's why Bob Hope called golf a "good walk spoiled."
 
OK... Things have been progressing nicely for me... I have an open area on my property about 100 yards long, so I've been practicing my pitching wedge many times a week... I hit about 50 balls to one end, and the next time, I collect the balls and hit to the other end... I'm pleased to say that I am hitting straight, and most of my shots land in the same area, and I seem to be at the 100 yard range with the PW... As well, my body is happy... I probably hit 250 shots last weekend with no issues... I have a 200 yard area to drive over a creek, but those balls are deep in the trees... Still, I am able to see how my shots on the longer clubs are going... I seem to have a consistent slight fade with the driver, and everything else is pretty straight... I still am struggling with the fairway woods, but my 4 and 5 hybrids are my favorite, and I hit these easier than the irons... I just wish I had a putting area, but that's far out of reach for me right now...

Anyways, I'm having a lot of fun with my progression, and looking forward to getting to the range, obviously to check my distances, but also to spend more time chipping and putting...

So, I'll be backpacking for a bunch of nights in Yosemite, and my pitching wedge is going to be my walking stick this year... Armed with 10 AlmostGolf balls, I look forward to some practice in the high country...

Not much else to report, other than next month, I plan on picking up some single length irons from Pinhawk to try out, all the length of a 5 iron, which is my favorite length, and easy on my body because I can stand upright... The shorter irons and wedges make me have to bend over more, and although it doesn't affect my shot, my back doesn't like it... I'll report on the Pinhawks when I get them...
 
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