I have been a frustrated golfer for over 30 years. At one point I literally gave up the game for 3 years. I had a breakthrough in the last few weeks that I wanted to share after working with Tom for the last 8 months. While I was making some progress I still struglled. My lead shoulder was turning down but I was still swaying and I was still not making consistent contact. I had been raised with the load to the right foot and explode through the ball which made me a major swayer and made consistency impossible. At a Callaway Fitting day (thinking a new driver would help my driver game) I used Trackman for the first time testing out a driver. It turns out my attack angle was -4.4% while tour averages were -1.3%. Turns out I had the ball in the middle of my stance and teed way too low. I then started leaning hard into my left side and magic happened. My first round I drove a short par 4 which ticked off the group on the green but made my day.
And when I say leaning hard I mean a feel of over 90%. I started this with my irons as well and it was night and day difference. The real magic for me happened after watching this video of Tom talking about the one tip that changed everything for him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXt9G0AHMo0&t=3s
This is the magic I was missing. Turning your hands in (way more than you realize) automatically turns your shoulder down, straightens your right-trail leg, keeps your head in place/stops swaying, creates consistent contact. I broke 80 for the first time yesterday and my handicap is now in single digits. This is from a guy who could barely break 100 but often broke golf clubs on the course (I was that d-bag I shake my head at now.) Here are my major takeaways:
-Whatever Tom is saying you need to exagerate it more than you realize (feel vs real.) Weight is forward more than you realize, arms are straighter, hands go way more back than you think make sense in the backswing, trail leg is straighter than seems logical, etc.
-Hit the ball with the wrath of God! I tried to emulate Fred Couple's with a nice smooth swing. You have to accelerate and who cares how you look.
-Get a GPS watch and/or rangefinder and know your distances.
-Spend more time in your short game. Tom's sand shot module has me getting up and down for the first time in my life. Adding weights to my putter and focusing more on touch is huge. This is where you lower your scores the most but it takes practice.
I'm not getting paid for this but wanted to share as this has made golf fun for me for the first time ever. It takes time but follow the process but it works.
Wow congrats man!! Literally 8 months ago I was in the 115s and last week shot an 85 these people who say it takes years to get there are crazy we’re proving them wrong right here hahah!