Where do I start??

[ezra76]

Ok, disregard any and all swingvideos you have seen, I am deleting them all forever. I have found a teacher!! Devine intervention you might call it. I went down to the course around 1:45 to get in some practice. As I tee off on the second hole an old guy comes over with a sandwedge in hand and starts talking to me. So, long story short, Joe "Rags" Reynolds is now my unofficial swing instructor.

Joe is 85 and looks a lot younger. He's been around Triggs since it was built in 1933. He seen Hogan, Snead, Bobby Jones, the best of them. I have a lot of work to do and won't be hitting anything but my old 50* wedge regripped for about a month or so. In just 2 hours we elimated my OTT, overswing, corrected my grip and had shots going dead straight.

"Back,pause, pull" this is what I must remember. It's simply amazing how I was just so effortlessly hitting 60-70 yd. half wedge shots. Joe left just before dark and I played 1 and 18. On one I hit a drive inside 150, slight draw down the left side. I took a easy "back, pause, pull" 7iron from 140 dead center on the green. Missed the uphill 15 footer to the back by a foot. Next I hit another draw to inside 170 on the long 18th. Not a crushed drive but well positioned. I took a easy 5iron but didn't get that one right. I had the ball around 60-70yds. away, the same shots we'd spent hours hitting. Pulled out the PW, "back, pause, pull".... 1 yard longer and I would've holed it. Tapped in the 2 footer for another easy par.

Loads of work to be done. This is practically going to be a total swing breakdown. I'll give Joe a call next week for another get together. He said he normally charges around $20 for a half hour. He seems to really enjoy it and he really knows his stuff.

[Johnny Par]

That's awesome. I have yet to find an instructor.

[ezra76]

Do it now. Before you start ingraining faults like have the past 3years. It's going to take months and thousands of half-swing wedge shots for me to change. It will be worth it though. After about an hour I felt like someone had taken the "motor function" portion of my brain, replaced it with that of David Toms, and told me to hit a 70yd. wedge shot. Best feeling shots I have ever hit. Took a few to get over "this guy is setting me up to hit it dead right", low and behold, dead straight.

[demon]

Geoff Ogilve was saying on lessons with a pro (or whatever its name is) that he never watches his swing on video.

[ezra76]

Well, with a swing as good as his and $10,000/hr. instructors to watch it for him, why would he.

IMO getting a video of your swing is one of the most productive things you can do. I would have kept on with this $hit swing for years, never actually fixing anything, just adding more band-aids. Shooting high 80's to low 90's and the once or twice a year 78 or 79.

Right now about the only thing I can hit 99% correctly is 1/2 swing PW. Maybe next week I'll move up to a 3/4 swing.

[Sandpiper3]

Yea, Geoff Ogilvy.

I must say ezra, we been following a similar timeline. I just started with some new guys two weeks ago and am hitting the easiest swing of my life. Today had 15 pars, a birdie, a bogey and a double (first hole, not talking about it..)

Luckily for me im a lot younger and the swing overhaul is still an easier thing for me, another part that makes it easier to shed my bad habits is that even though ive been without instructors up until this year, i change a lot of things myself, so never really had major faults ingrained because i got to finicky.

Gluck to ya Ez. Hopefully in a couple months we'll pull up some vids and compare to our old ott's and laugh

[ezra76]

So maybe we should share their secrets? My swing was ever-changing on my own. This bad OTT developed from my bright idea to start trying to draw every shot back around May or June. That and another move I did to keep my left arm straight, there is a video of that somewhere achived on here,lol. It actually improved my impact postion and ballstriking a ton, distance too, you can hit a shut faced, delofted, dead pull a mile.

Joe had me hitting 1/2 swings with my driver, ingraining the transition from left straight, right straight and turn it over. Amazing, 85yrs. old, he grabs my driver, hits a 1/2 swing 150yds. with a 3 yd. draw 3 times in row. Out, up, draw. Just awesome. I felt like Rocky with Mick, he's yelling at me every time I try to take the club back just a little further. I seriously believe this guy can mold a scratch swing out of me.

[ezra76]

Another thing he had me doing, hitting my PW with just my left hand. Using my body rotation the make the swing. I know my impact position is decent, I got that one right away. He says the right side is my biggest killer. Makes good sense when I think about it, probably all starting out with that strong grip. I love finally having something concrete to work on instead of just making videos and whacking some balls.

[mont86]

Ez keep us informed on the drills you are doing...back,pause and pull..hmmmm

[Sandpiper3]

Explain this "back, pause, pull" thing, seems interesting. I read back but didnt really see an explanation as to wat it meant.

[charnockpro]

Seems like the old guy and me had the same idea!!!, teaching your body where the club is and not taking it back as far as you can and laying into it, distance doesnt seem to be your problem, that is why i suggested the same thing!!

[ezra76]

Originally Posted by charnockpro

Seems like the old guy and me had the same idea!!!, teaching your body where the club is and not taking it back as far as you can and laying into it, distance doesnt seem to be your problem, that is why i suggested the same thing!!

Thanks. But as you probably know, most people need to see it and have hands-on instruction. We really exaggerated a lot of moves to get my swing short, good tempo, coming from the inside. I need to get some sort of mat so I can hit some whiffle balls in the backyard with wedge to keep ingraining the motion.


Sandpiper - He had me just taking less than half swings, feet close, with a PW. He kept saying to pause and pull down with the last 3 fingers of my left hand, put my right elbow in my pocket, so to speak. I just kept saying over and over in my head "back, pause, pull". "Shoulder to Shoulder" he said, with my chin. To get a good turn he told me to get my left shoulder behind the ball, then on the throughswing, keep my right eye on the ball as long as possible.Results were astounding. Ever notice how on TV the pro's look like they are hitting it off to the right but it's really dead straight? Well I now know why and I had the exact motion, on a 50yd. shot anyway.

I'm going to just keep going through that motion hundreds of times a day, practicing the grip and the swinging of the left arm only motion, right hand in my back pocet. That is the one that is going to cure my slide and get me turning.

[demon]

Originally Posted by ezra76

Thanks. But as you probably know, most people need to see it and have hands-on instruction. We really exaggerated a lot of moves to get my swing short, good tempo, coming from the inside. I need to get some sort of mat so I can hit some whiffle balls in the backyard with wedge to keep ingraining the motion.


Sandpiper - He had me just taking less than half swings, feet close, with a PW. He kept saying to pause and pull down with the last 3 fingers of my left hand, put my right elbow in my pocket, so to speak. I just kept saying over and over in my head "back, pause, pull". "Shoulder to Shoulder" he said, with my chin. To get a good turn he told me to get my left shoulder behind the ball, then on the throughswing, keep my right eye on the ball as long as possible.Results were astounding. Ever notice how on TV the pro's look like they are hitting it off to the right but it's really dead straight? Well I now know why and I had the exact motion, on a 50yd. shot anyway.

I'm going to just keep going through that motion hundreds of times a day, practicing the grip and the swinging of the left arm only motion, right hand in my back pocet. That is the one that is going to cure my slide and get me turning.

My right hand is useless untill after I pass through impact.

[ezra76]

Originally Posted by demon

My right hand is useless untill after I pass through impact.

This is what he kept preaching. He later had me hitting those 1/2 swings with the driver and turning my right backhand over. He told me that Hogan was actually a lefty and every golfer should turn around and play the other way, the dominate hand ruins the swing. I have been so bad with the right side I might as well have been playing with just my right arm. I plan to hit thousands of left hand only shots with my old 50* wedge, right hand in my back pocket, preventing any slide and pushing my right ass cheek towards the target. I know I've never really used the left side... the left side of my upper back was pretty sore this morning, (and still is) I've never felt that before from playing golf.

[ezra76]

Just got back from the range a little while ago. I brought only my old 50* wedge and headed out to the grass pasture. I hit the whole large bucket over to the left only using my left hand, right hand in back pocket. 40-50 yds. when I turn my body correctly. Then I went over and hit every ball with a 1/2 swing shot. I now hit a gap wedge 60-70yds.

This is tough to stick with, knowing I can still just switch right back and hit that club 120 no problem. Got to stay committed!! I'm just going to watch my old swing, then a clip of Ernie's, that should keep me on track.