Desperate, lesson set up for Tuesday 6/9/09

[mddubya]

Arghhhhh, I am just about ready to Quit golf completely. Off the tee box I have no idea where the ball is going? It makes no matter what club I hit now, it sprays every which way. 2 hybrid and down I can keep in the proper zip code, but 4 wood and driver, look out world, this could get ugly.

So I have a private lesson set up this coming Tuesday, this lady teaches the basics, and apparently that is what I need to get back to off the tee box.
I just played 27 holes and averaged 50 per side, :faintthud

Total for 27 holes, 150, geez, I haven't played this bad in almost 2 years, not consistently at least. :unhappy:

 

[MustGoFast]

wow.. that sounds very very familiar.. Good luck w/ your swing.

 

[mont86]

Keep your head still as possible and slow down your back swing..Made a difference for me this year. Hope it helps.

 

[eclark53520]

Good luck out there Dub!

Hopefully she can bring you back to where you want to be.

 

[mddubya]

Thanks guys!

Strange thing is, my iron play is better than ever. Playing the blades has helped give me a more consistent swing. I think once I put the Srixon's back in the bag they will be the strongest part of my game now.

But my play off the tee box has me totally baffled. The only ray of sunshine off the box is that most of my distance has returned. Of course, 270 yrds in the wrong direction doesn't help your score very much,

 

[eclark53520]

Now, dont take this as gospel obviously, you know what my game looks like, but when i am hitting irons really well, and struggling off the tee, i make sure i am swinging around my body on tee.

I am naturally a steep swinger, which is alright for irons, but when i get steep on the tee it gets really ugly. I usually take some baseball swings to get the around the body feel and it helps me anyway.

 

[SiberianDVM]

mddubya, I highly recommend you start (if you aren't already) keeping some basic stats:
fw hit %
fw miss l/r
GIR
# putts
sand save %
penalties

There are some computer programs if you want to go that route. Probably even an ap for your BlackBerry.

My Sonocaddie allows me to keep stats as I input the score for each hole, and while my scores haven't improved, at least now I know why:
#1: putting
#2: GIR
#3: sand saves
#4: penalty
#5: fws hit

 

[mddubya]

mddubya, I highly recommend you start (if you aren't already) keeping some basic stats:
fw hit %
fw miss l/r
GIR
# putts
sand save %
penalties

There are some computer programs if you want to go that route. Probably even an ap for your BlackBerry.

My Sonocaddie allows me to keep stats as I input the score for each hole, and while my scores haven't improved, at least now I know why:
#1: putting
#2: GIR
#3: sand saves
#4: penalty
#5: fws hit

You're right Doc, I need to start keeping up with them. Teedroid on my Blackberry will do it, I just usually get aggravated and quit entering the info,

 

[ezra76]

Now, dont take this as gospel obviously, you know what my game looks like, but when i am hitting irons really well, and struggling off the tee, i make sure i am swinging around my body on tee.

I am naturally a steep swinger, which is alright for irons, but when i get steep on the tee it gets really ugly. I usually take some baseball swings to get the around the body feel and it helps me anyway.

Sounds similar to what I do. I like to stand staggered with my weight on the left foot and take some wide practice swings. Then when I adress the ball I make sure I'm not too on top of it. If I get too close and/or too far back in my stance it sets up to get stuck and either block or pull it.

If the issue in only with the 4W and driver then it should be a simple fix involving mostly ball postion and alignment.

 

[FATC1TY]

Keep your head still as possible and slow down your back swing..Made a difference for me this year. Hope it helps.

Completely the same approach I've done. I've focused on keeping my head as still as possible. To do that, I had to slow down the backswing, and my tempo a bit.

Once I did that, I was able to come back on plane, which completely straightened out my swing. I'm able to see the left side of the course a little, and a dog leg left, doesn't screw me up anymore.

 

[FATC1TY]

Now, dont take this as gospel obviously, you know what my game looks like, but when i am hitting irons really well, and struggling off the tee, i make sure i am swinging around my body on tee.

I am naturally a steep swinger, which is alright for irons, but when i get steep on the tee it gets really ugly. I usually take some baseball swings to get the around the body feel and it helps me anyway.

The baseball swings are a huge help on the tee. Ingrains that around and turn motion you need.

I do that 3 times on the box.. Then I grip the club really hard like someone mentioned here.. Let it go.. Lightly hold it, swing for the baseball.. Line up.. and RAIL one out there.. Has worked for the last 4 rounds.. and it's saving me close to 5 strokes on each side.

 

[mont86]

Completely the same approach I've done. I've focused on keeping my head as still as possible. To do that, I had to slow down the backswing, and my tempo a bit.

Once I did that, I was able to come back on plane, which completely straightened out my swing. I'm able to see the left side of the course a little, and a dog leg left, doesn't screw me up anymore.

I didn't realize how much I was moving my head until I made effort not to move it, I'm believe that was the cause of my fat shots.

 

[mddubya]

Sounds similar to what I do. I like to stand staggered with my weight on the left foot and take some wide practice swings. Then when I adress the ball I make sure I'm not too on top of it. If I get too close and/or too far back in my stance it sets up to get stuck and either block or pull it.

If the issue in only with the 4W and driver then it should be a simple fix involving mostly ball postion and alignment.

I've tried moving the ball around in my stance and changing my alignment. The strange thing is, on the 1st tee, I usually hit a beautiful draw with my 4 wood, then it goes MIA the rest of the round.

Completely the same approach I've done. I've focused on keeping my head as still as possible. To do that, I had to slow down the backswing, and my tempo a bit.

Once I did that, I was able to come back on plane, which completely straightened out my swing. I'm able to see the left side of the course a little, and a dog leg left, doesn't screw me up anymore.

I'll have to try this out next time out, worth a shot?

I didn't realize how much I was moving my head until I made effort not to move it, I'm believe that was the cause of my fat shots.

It will be sweet if this is all it is.

 

[mddubya]

Just got finished with my lesson. These are the things I have to work on

1) Right hand grip had gotten to handsy, place the club more in the fingers.

2) Grip was too tight, loosen up, quit trying to squeeze blood out of it.

3) Relax arms, I had to much tension in my arms trying to pull my elbows in, ala Hogan.

4) Turn the club head over more, thank you tendinitis in the elbow.

5) I was bringing the club too far in on my back swing, then over compensating on the down swing. By the time I had the club to waist high the club head was behind me, not parallel with my target line.

By the end of the lesson I wasn't exactly hitting towering draws. But I was hitting them either straight, or a nice little Nicklaus power fade, one I can work with. If I aim for the left/middle of the fairway, if it fades, I'd be on the right side, maybe in the 1st cut of the rough, if it goes straight, I'll be in the middle. I was also booming them out there, the range is a tad under 300 to the lake. I won't lie and say I flew any into the lake, but a few of them looked like they may have rolled in or came up just short. Even my instructor laughed and said distance obviously wasn't my problem, just accuracy.

I swear, I really think if I can just keep my drives in or near the fairway that I can break 80 soon. Maybe not consistently, but hell, I'd just like to shoot a score in the 70's for 18 holes once. But if I can make this lesson stick I really think its just around the corner. :thumbs up:

 

[three puttz]

Just got finishes with my lesson. These are the things I have to work on

1) Right hand grip had gotten to handsy, place the club more in the fingers.

2) Grip was too tight, loosen up, quit trying to squeeze blood out of it.

3) Relax arms, I had to much tension in my arms trying to pull my elbows in, ala Hogan.

4) Turn the club head over more, thank you tendinitis in the elbow.

By the end of the lesson I wasn't exactly hitting towering draws. But I was hitting them either straight, or a nice little Nicklaus power fade, one I can work with. If I aim for the left/middle of the fairway, if it fades, I'd be on the right side, maybe in the 1st cut of the rough, if it goes straight, I'll be in the middle. I was also booming them out there, the range is a tad under 300 to the lake. I won't lie and say I flew any into the lake, but a few of them looked like they may have rolled in or came up just short. Even my instructor laughed and said distance obviously wasn't my problem, just accuracy.

I swear, I really think if I can just keep my drives in or near the fairway that I can break 80 soon. Maybe not consistently, but hell, I'd just like to shoot a score in the 70's for 18 holes once. But if I can make this lesson stick I really think its just around the corner. :thumbs up:

Dub -

This is all fabulous, really... but the important thing...

Was she hot?????????