I have just finished yet another session at the range where the majority of my shots are topped and rolls right. Feels like a hosel hits, absolutely terrible.
I signed up for the course after a repeating cycles of regression after consuming YT instructions, because I wanted to give it a fair and complete attempt. Up and downs over and over again. I cannot repeat the good shots.
Over the past week, the more content I review in the Swing Simplfied module, the worse I get. When I stand over the ball at address, I have 0 confidence. Compared to when I started golf a year ago where I could repeatedly hit them clean. I got worse over the year. The more lessons and instructions I get, the worse I become, and more importantly, the less confidence I have.
The lagshot 7i arrived today, and I can hit them. Although not straight, they were clean and went right a little. However, I cannot carry that over to my irons.
When I signed up a week ago, I thought I would all-in S&T and never look back. Now.. I am not hitting any crispy shots, tops them even when its tee'ed up, and definitely not playing the best golf of my life.
How much worse does it get before it gets better? I feel like I have hit rock bottom. Have no interest in swinging at a golf ball anymore.
Anybody experienced this?
Good day, all. Thank you for the words of encouragement and, more importantly, for sharing your experience of this journey. Much appreciated. It definitely reset my mindset in learning. I must first empty the cup before it can be filled. I am happy to say that as of the past 2 days, I've hit the crispiest KFC shots of my life. And to be frank, unlike other times, I feel that this crispiness will not be fleeting.
I will try to summarize the thoughts and experiences that I gained after reading each and every single one of your responses.
The first thing I did the day after my post was to re-watch 2.8, and of course the contact drills that follow in 2.9. Conceptually, all of it made sense. However, when I brought it to the range I was still hitting errand shots. Frustrated as I was, I then read @Tom Saguto and @frankpribus's comments: "...everything with a purpose, and a purpose for everything" and "Sometimes we need to take a small step backward, before taking big steps forward." I then rewatched Chapter 1, because I thought I must have missed something. Or perhaps I did not internalize what was shown in the video because I had already "learned" the proper way to setup.
The revelation did not come until yesterday at the range. I was addressing the ball, feeling uneasy and unconfident. I checked my ball positions, duck feet, glued arms(to chest), natural arm hang, and everything. Then, I did a rehearsal of a swing that was probably no more than 5 inches away from the ball. I then realized that if I stayed with the setup I used, the club(and its face) would be rerouted to the path my wrist would take when it's relaxed. So I worked backward, figuring out what position my wrist had to take at the address so that the club would fall in line during the backswing and thus impact. What is the purpose of my wrist, which has a crazy range of motion, at address, and why did I place it in the position I did?
Holy moly, the answer was simple: my wrist was hinged up(thumbs towards belly) at address. It was so artificial, and the fix was simple: feel the weight of the club head with wrists relaxed. Wherever it decides to rest is where my wrist should be angled at. I no longer need to check this angle, because gravity is doing the work for me. It's guaranteed to be in the best spot based on MY own wrist. I believe it worked fine(clearly not as I kept coming back to Tom's videos) for me before because I was timing my swing with the shift and lift, so whatever I was doing at address didn't really matter. But for this setup, it is critical.
Ghost of the swings past, be gone!
Worked at this doing quarter swing, then half, then 3/4. Oh my jesus, crispy KFCs! Sometimes I'd try to wind it up for a huge hit and, of course, those would be mishits.
The advice of shortening the backswing is absolutely golden.
Today, I stand over the ball with absolute confidence. Before I started my backswing, it felt like I already knew how good of a shot it would be based on how comfortable I was at address. During some of my streaks of KFCs, it also felt that when I setup correctly, and performed the (short) backswing correctly, then everything after the initial takeaway of my backswing was automatic. Like, I just had to decide how much to turn, and wait for the club to get there, then my job's done. Compared to before taking up S&T, this feels like I'm only doing 25% of the work. Like cheating 😎.
I am sure I will run into regression going forward as I consume more of the lessons, but I will never forget the buttery crispy KFC feeling I had today by going through the same checkpoints at address, then hitting balls flush that somehow, without flipping wrists or being cognizant of the club face's angle to produce a built-in draw that somehow ends up to my target.
I have yet to bring this to the course, but I am looking forward to it. Thank you, guys, for taking the time of your day to help. I sincerely hope you guys score the best round of your lives the next time you're out, and again and again.