My Saguto golfing Journey

Hi all!

Golf season has been a very busy one, and a hot one here in the UK.

Over the last couple of months, frustration had popped its nasty little head into my game once more. I just couldn't string a round together and although I wasn't playing badly, I wasn't really playing that well.

That being said, I have made it to a doubles semi final with my brother and finished in 5th position in our 36 hole strokeplay championship but my game was just mediocre at best with a lot of inconsistencies in every part of my locker.

I spent this last week really training hard with the lagshot 7 iron. I had bought it off ebay so it didn't include the instructional dvd so I found some instructions on youtube with the G-Force creator. A lot more info and I felt a click!

Decided to banish my Hybrid irons as I felt the big heads and firm ground were part of my issues so got out my old irons.

Played our monthly medal on Saturday and I only went and shot a 5 over par 75 gross (nett 65) for my best ever round and the win! I've now taken the lead in our golfer of the year competition to boot!

Bar my driver which was not fully accurate, a healthier course management plan and solid irons really gave me the foundation to go low. I have to say that the lagshot (and when you understand it fully) really has raised my game to my expectation levels. I probably hit around 200 shots last week with it, focusing on the feel so when I was hitting my normal irons, I could feel exactly where the clubhead was at all times.

Handicap had crept up but back down to 8.1 and feel I've got my game really trending in the right direction for the last few months of our club competitions. Fingers crossed I can keep the momentum for the Golfer of the Year and bring home a trophy in the doubles with my bro!

Hi all!

An update from Mays progression.

Handicap has come down but is fluctuating between 7.8 and 8.2. This is mainly due to getting my 20 cards in for the WHS. Currently have 17 cards so my average number of cards to count keeps changing depending on my number of cards submitted.

I've had two 6th position finishes and one 3rd. I currently sit in 4th place in the Clubs "Golfer of the Year" order of merit and qualified as the 4th seed in our club championship knockout. Steady scoring all throughout May which is pleasing.

I've stopped the progression of the Superspeed training for now but still carrying out the exercises from stage one. This is due to being happy with my distance gains at the moment and knowing my yardages. I can't see the point in pushing for more distance during the busy golfing months but will be something I pick-up again in the off season.

Driving distance and consistency has skyrocketed! I'm averaging around 250 yards and when I want to really send one, I'm hitting the 270's (have had a 294 yard drive)

Weak point has become my irons. I'm just not hitting them as crisp as I was last year. This is where my focus is at the moment as I know if I can get back to where I was at, I could easily save 2-3 shots per round.

All in all, really pleased with the game and having lots of fun out on the fairways!

Delighted with the start of my season. Had a 2nd place finish, only losing the top spot on a card countback. Irons are solid but a bit hit and miss at the moment. Driver is better and certainly longer but again, could be better. Saw a massive improvement in my short game switching to playing bump and runs with a PW as opposed to my LW.

Handicap as gone from 9.3 to 9.0 and now 7.6. Game is certainly trending in the right direction with what I feel is a lot more in the tank!

Managed 36 holes this weekend!

Shot a 9 over par 79 on Friday and a 13 over par 83. Played pretty solid, short game was rusty and tough around the greens with mainly mud lies, but the new driver was certainly further and more consistent. The speed training has definitely added some yardage!

Off to play Royal St Davids GC in Harlech on Friday (top 100 golf course in the UK). Forecast is looking superb for a traditional links championship course.

Golf season has finally arrived!

Hi all!

Been a while since my last post so a bit of an update.

Weather here in the UK has been awful for the last 2 months. Course has been underwater and closed more than it's been open. However, I did purchase the SLX Micro Sim and have been working on the Superspeed training programme for 3 weeks.

I have seen a clubhead speed improvement of 7mph in the 3 weeks (92mph to 99mph)! Not only that, but my driver (Ping G10) has a total weight of 320g which is the same as the heavy weight. Have purchased a second hand Ping G400 driver with a stiff shaft which weighs the same as the medium weight (275g) which I'm swinging at 105mph so I'm hoping I can swing it about the same speed. If that's the case, it will be an increase from 92mph to 105mph which is around 30-40 yards more carry on centred hits.

If anyone wants to work on swing speed, club face control and tempo, I highly recommend the SLX Micro Sim. It fits onto the shaft of your club and uses E6 software. Fantastic for indoor practice without using a golf ball or net.

It does calculate distance, carry and ball spin using algorithms and every strike is out of the centre but is a great piece of kit for just $130 from Swinglogic

Managed to get out and play 11 holes only on Friday due to frost and daylight hours. Form was poor but no really bad shots. Just inconsistent striking, no divots, no power but there where a few good shots in there. Hard to play good golf on a partially frozen course.

I know what's happening and I can't quite escape from doing it which is frustrating. Seems like my "old downswing" has come out of hibernation and I'm too armsy which is affecting my sequencing, loss of power, impact position and my tucked elbow giving me no separation window at impact between my two forearms.

I saw a video of Eric Cogorno where a friend of his gave him this "crazy golf drill" where you hold the club about halfway down the shaft in your trail arm and go up, out and under. I gave it a go and it immediately brought back a swing thought I had from the feeling of this motion where I feel like I drop my trail should down to the back of my trail heel.

I'm very much a trail side feel golfer. By that I mean I find it hard to move my lead shoulder to the ground consciously as I would rather feel moving my trail shoulder up towards my ear. It's just how my brain works best so accidently finding that drill triggered my old swing thought!

Will be working on just those swing thoughts for this week and hoping to get a game in Friday again before my first competition of the year (weather permitting).

I also bought Ben Hogan's "Five Lessons" as I do like to read and @Tom Saguto references him quite often and it's known as "The Golf Coaching Bible" so thought it would tie in nicely with what we're learning here.

Bit of a long post this one sorry, but this coming week I'm getting back into exercising for golf. Looking to do some golf specific stretches, 10km indoor bike 3 days a week and also starting superspeed golf training to add a few mph to the swing. I've not got the weighted clubs or a speedometer at present (January is a long, expensive, paying the Christmas bills month) so I'm just using an upturned driver, 5 iron and 9 iron for now just to give the core a workout and to loosen up my muscles after months of no golf.

I got out to play my first round in about 4 months on 12/30/21. I did not do so well but, I hit 55 on the front and 48 on the back and that was taking penalties and all. I had lots of fun, very little frustration and some really great shots. My short game was suffering. I felt a little out of place at first. In the end though, after considering the round, my improvement is still pretty solid in that, I can't remember slamming the club into the ground behind the ball, there were no 20 yard mishits, not ridiculous "volley-golf" over the green and I never felt frustrated once, throughout the round. All after not practicing or playing or even swinging the club in 4 months! I think the time off did my knee some real good! Now I can't wait to play again but, we've got about 8" of snow outside...

Happy New Year all!

Managed to play 16 holes in December (2 holes closed due to being waterlogged). Played ok considering it was my birthday the day before and a whole bottle of spiced rum was consumed between myself and my bro-in-law! I surprisingly hit my first tee-shot fairly well considering I was seeing 3 balls!

For Christmas my partner bought me 3 months membership back at my old course which I'm buzzing about! Hoping, weather and covid restrictions permitting, I get to have a round on Saturday.

Since having covid, I'm pretty fatigued quite easily at present so have started to do some cardio on the exercise bike to try and boost my fitness.

Swing wise, I feel ok. Lots to try and remember what was working for me at the backend of summer but concentrating on initiating the downswing by bring the lead arm to my knees and trying to work on the power source of retracting the trail shoulder on the backswing. I want to feel less robotic this year so "giving-up control to gain control" is another focus point.

Wishing all Saguto golfers the best for 2022 and hopefully I'll be a bit more active on the forum over the coming months

Hi all!

Been a while since I posted mainly because October wasn't a good month!

We had a massive rise in local covid cases and being a small rural town, unfortunately myself, my partner and her two daughters all caught the virus. Wasn't very pleasant with a lot of fatigue, severe chest pains and a very cloudy memory!

Fortunate to say we're all ok now though and on the mend!

Because of that, I've not swung a club for the entirety of October but hoping to get out and about again for a knock to see if everything still clicks!

Keep safe everyone

Absolutely AWESOME, @Ian "Twiggy" Jones!! Congratulations on obliterating your goal for the year! I know how much dedication and hard work went into it, and I'm so glad to see you now reaping the rewards!!

Spent Saturday morning in the garden practicing playing the chip and run (chipping into a frisbee) and really taking notice of how far to swing for different yardages.

Settled in to watch the Ryder Cup but couldn't watch anymore of us Europeans taking a battering! It was a beautiful, calm, warm and sunny late September late afternoon/evening so I headed off to the course to play 9 holes.

Played solid, chipped better but just felt there was more out there. Decided to play another 9 as I has the course to myself.

My new hybrid irons are going a lot higher than I'm used to, so I decided to pre-set my wrists like I do with my short game with Phil's "hinge and hold".

I also had a think about my putting. I'm a good, steady putter but as of late, I've not been holing much. I like to stroke the ball and in recent weeks, I've felt like I've been trying to force it too much so I used the thought of feeling the weight of the putter on the stroke.

Glad I decided to play the second 9.........

That was my best 9 hole score at my new club.

My irons were crisp and on target, my driving was good and my misses were small, my chip and run practice really paid dividends and my putting was on fire.......even with a 3 putt!

The birdie birdie finish was a wedge to 6 foot and a putt on 17 and 6 iron to 25 foot and drained the putt dead weight.

My goal for the end of the year was to shoot a 36, maybe a 35 but I never saw a 34 out there.

Absolutely buzzing with this round and really feel my game is moving forward. 5 consecutive rounds in the 30's, GIR on the increase, more confidence in the swing, in my clubs, in my short game and remembering what I do when I putt my best!

Bit of an update. Played my last 3 rounds with the hybrid irons shooting 39, 38 and 39. Seen my GIR rise to an average of 30%, driving is consistent and my miss is always left.

Played with a mate from my old course today at my new course. Beat him by 8 stableford points and he said I was striking the ball so pure from tee to green. He noted how much harder my new course is in comparison to my old course which boosted my confidence tenfold.

I'm finally "finding" a way to play the course through lots of trial and error and now have a strategy I feel I can take into competitions. My short game is solid but not where I would like it to be, but if I can get that to click, I'm pretty sure a 35 or 36 is within sight.

Didn't get to play in the monthly medal as I was drafted in to play in a doubles comp on the Saturday. Played solid golf but scoring wasn't great. Plenty of positives to take from it and the hybrid irons are working really well for me. My GIR are seeing a small improvement and I'm hitting more greens after a recovery shot from trouble.

My focus over the next few weeks is to eliminate the occasional push drive, dial in my yardages with a more controlled swing, to work on pushing off the ground on the downswing and my course management.

Hitting my 4 iron 190 yards with a slight draw which has become my new "fairway finder".

Fantastic progress this year, @Ian "Twiggy" Jones!! I'm very glad to know you are enjoying the fruits of all that dedication, time, and hard work. Have fun out there on Sunday!!

Hi all!

Quick update on my progress.

Really feel like my swing is there! I've still got plenty to work on but right now I'm pretty happy with the state of my game.

Bought some hybrid irons 3 months ago and took them out for the first time today. Link to my review on them is here https://sagutogolf.wixsite.com/sagutogolf/forum/equipment-training-aids/hybrid-irons-any-good-1?appSectionParams=%7B%22origin%22%3A%22member_posts_page%22%7D

Shot a 6 over par 39 which I'm really pleased with as no double bogeys, didn't sink one putt, got behind 2 trees off the tee so I was unable to go for the green in reg, hit 33% GIR and 50% of all approach shots finished on the green! Really happy with that as I got my driver going straighter eventually.

Looking to play in my monthly medal this Sunday morning and for the first time since starting this programme, I'm heading into it with an air of optimism!

Not putting any pressure on myself but I'm targeting to shoot 76 (10 over par) gross. Hoping the putter has a hot day!

Finished my vacation today with 18 holes with my bro in law. Played a nice course which I’ve never played before, just under 6000 yards, par 72 in glorious evening sunshine.

I wasn’t too fussed about what my score was going to be as I just wanted to focus on my driver after my track man session.

Pleased to say I shot 37 gross going out and came back in 44 for a 9 over par 81. 3 birdies, then on the back 9 I had 2 doubles and 3 3 putts but my driver was brilliant as were all my longer clubs!

Average drive was 232 yards and that was swinging nice and easy but the launch and shape was great and it felt so easy!

Really pleased with how it all came together and looking forward to taking this back to my home course once I’ve caught-up with work!

Ian, someone stole your middle name? Look at that smash ratio!!!

I’m currently on vacation and went to a course but couldn’t get out to play. They had a track man studio which I spent a few hours in. Have been working on my swing since December and have made real progress but I have lost the zip in my swing. On track man with my driver my club head speed was 78mph. I tinkered with moving my ball position outside my lead foot with the swing thought of wide backswing and wide follow through but still swinging with stack and tilt. The result was an increase of 10mph clubhead speed which was about 30 yards extra carry. I was still hitting it with a lovely push draw and getting around the 240-250 yard total distance. I have really been struggling with the longer clubs for good contact and distance but moving the ball forward has kind of fixed that issue looking at the results. The above was my last of the day and not the best I hit but probably my average. @Tom Saguto just wondering what are your thoughts regarding the ball being so far forward?

Aaahhh... So @Ian "Twiggy" Jones dared to go in there with the "Now I've got this" mindset, eh?????? You know that's the mating call for the old swing demons, and they come flooding in like a poltergeist at the mere unuttered notion of it.....🤣

Anyway, let that be a warning to you. And those are some nice silver linings, by the way!

Well I had an absolute mare of a round yesterday. Carded a 10 over par 43. All my progress seemed to vanish rapidly and I could barely hit the ball.

I found some flaws though which may help others:

Hovering the club above the ground: If you do this, please take note! If you ground the club and line-up the ball in the middle of your club and then hover, you WILL hit it off the heel. Discovered this when using the foot spray on the face of the driver. If you hover, set the club behind the ball from inline with the toe and then hover. This will put the ball in the middle of the clubface.

Tempo: There is no point in trying to really lash at the golf ball if your tempo is causing your swing to be all out of sync. I've been making great progress and got over confident. The resulting lashes had been shifting my head forward and causing my shoulders to flatten. If your downswing sequence is all out of sync, bit like a rocket, expect inadequate contact and failure to take-off!

Back to the drawing board this week but happy with the self diagnosis and the realisation of how beneficial the foot spray on the clubface can be for instant and accurate feedback.

It's been a while since I posted an update so here we go!

After my 76 gross I shot about a month ago, I had a V1 with @Tom Saguto and had a few things to work on, mainly cupping of my wrist at the top of the backswing.

Have spent the last few weeks working on drills and had 9 holes last week. Didn't keep a score as I was just working on form and technique. Not a great round!

Had a discovery about ball position and zero point which I posted here https://sagutogolf.wixsite.com/sagutogolf/forum/address-setup/zero-point

Decided a shorter backswing was required for the time being and had fallen down the rabbit hole of wrist position which I posted here

Anyway, I went for 9 holes last night. My focus was on shortened backswing and follow through and to try and "break" the swing to create the cracking of the whip (doing this by feeling my lead leg stamping into the ground when the club is approaching the hitting zone). I also started to focus on a point in front of the ball for my irons as per Tom's video.

I have to say, it was the purest ball striking round of my life. The yardages I was seeing previously had gone and I was hitting 2 to 3 clubs less with the extra length I had gained.

I was still struggling with the driver so changed the ball position maybe a ball further forward for the last 2 holes. I crushed those drives 241 and 256 yards straight down the middle with a great trajectory and a lovely push draw.

These changes, the V1 with Tom and constant practice have added 20-40 yards and given me the best ball striking I have ever had!

For the record, I shot 41 but that was mainly due to not knowing what iron to hit into greens with the extra snap! It's a wonderful problem to have!

A few more snaps from the other week from my mate.

The last picture was his favourite photo of the day because of the full extension!

Unfortunately I had to miss my home clubs Captains day last weekend but did manage to go back to my old club for theirs yesterday. I knew this would be a great place to really evaluate my progress on a course I grew-up on.

I‘m pleased to say I shot a 6 over par 76 for a net 65 and took the best visitors prize and only lost on a card playoff for best past captain.

Although I was inconsistent again with the longer clubs, my misses were all straight. From 120 yards in I have supreme confidence with the swing. I had 4 birdies, 29 putts and hit 8 greens in reg.

My handicap went from 6.4 to 10.8 but is now back down to 7.1

Really pleased with my progress. I’m only really doing half to three quarter swings and my longest drive yesterday was 220 yards.

Still plenty of work to keep going forward but this is a real confidence booster!

Laser Range finder is also on my list of wants. I'm nickel and diming my stuff right now. I just got my home practice area set with the new Real Feel Country Club Elite golf mat so I'm trying to decide what is most important for the next purchase. It's hard to get feedback hitting into the net. On the other hand it takes time to drive to the club, run the gambit of chit chat in the club house getting range balls. Chit chat on the practice range with everybody. Plus the ridicule of trying to video myself on the practice range. It's much easier to go to the carport and just practice 2.8. It feels so good but I don't know what is happening with my distance, club head speed, etc. I will try your golf app suggestion. I'm excited. Thanks.

twiggy, how good is that launch monitor. I found the one that Tom did on YT. Now I feel like I need to invest in one. I'm on a budget. Anybody else have success with less expensive launch monitors?

I can't emphasise enough how important filming your swing can be. Not been hitting longer clubs at all well so I filmed myself yesterday and could see that my downswing was not entering through the lower half of my back. I though and felt it was........feel vs real!

I just have a quick question regarding the "elbows out" to help keep the arms straight @Tom Saguto I noticed I do build up a lot of tension which isn't good for the clubhead speed when I do this. This seems to be marrying up with a loss of a little distance even though I'm trying to give it the wrath of god! Video feedback also showed the "wedge" breaks down after impact. I'm trying to be a bit more relaxed but my trail arm tends to break down a little on the follow through. Any suggestions/drills/thoughts?

258 days since I last broke 40 for 9 holes and today was the day I broke through that barrier!

I cannot tell you the absolute joy and much needed confidence boost this has given me.

Short game was on fire, short irons very good, long game still needs work but is getting better

Hi all!

Well May wasn't the month I was expecting. A cumulation of unseasonably bad weather and my partner ending-up in intensive care for a tooth abscess meant golf took a few back steps.

I have been out in the garden when I can, working on straight arms and extension on the follow through, keeping my elbows facing away and trail arm tucked in. I feel my game from my 8 iron down is the best its has been but my long game is suffering.

@Tom Saguto I've been working on the feel on the back swing of pushing my lead arm away (at the top of the backswing) to help keep my lead arm straight. Is that ok to do? I think I saw it on one of Eric's videos. On the follow through, I'm working on the watermelon motion. What I'm finding is my long irons, hybrids and woods seems to have a low topspin like flight, slight higher than a worm burner and more of a gopher decapitating shin smasher. I can't get any height on them at all. Any thoughts @Tom Saguto of a probable cause/fix?

I will be booking another V1 session in the next few weeks once I can get out to the course/range for a sustainable period. I think I've made progress, wedge game confirms this. I'm just at a loss with my long game!

One positive, along with my partner surviving a near life threatening operation of course, was I traded in my driver, 3 wood and an old putter and bought myself (and making a profit at the same time) a Ping G10 driver and Ping 3 wood!

Hi all, quick update on my progress.

Last few weeks I've just been working on the body movements without a club. Trying to get the feels and make things automatic.

Weather hasn't been great here and I've been struggling to make it to the range and course due to various things.

Anyway, spent an hour this morning in the garden swinging a club for the first time in a week. Have also really enjoyed the videos you've been doing with Eric @Tom Saguto I found them really informative. So back to the garden today, got the driver out and just working on keeping the club waist high (from the how low can you go), getting my lead shoulder down on the backswing and then the lead shoulder down on the downswing.........real great gains and contact! Everything is feeling ingrained and I have so few swing thoughts!

Hoping to get out and on the course to give it a go!

Had a good practice week this week. A lot of things starting to feel and become "normal". Feeling a lot more confident with the swing. One thing I noticed that I was doing wrong was when taking my posture......I wasn't bending down from the waist but more dropping my arms! Problem rectified and crispier shots followed!

Longer clubs I'm still not confident with yet so I'm playing them as 90% weight forward. Hitting the ball well with that set-up. I'm also pre-setting the hip turn. Finding that helps engrain the swing with the hands coming in. I am 42 so not as mobile as I used to be!

Biggest thing I can say to anyone struggling to find their feels, keep going! You will find a swing thought that works better for you than it does with others.

All in all, a good weeks progress!

All in due time, @Ian "Twiggy" Jones. No rush - just stick with the lessons exactly as they are sequenced so you don't get ahead of yourself! You've already got a playable swing. Just keep reinforcing it with the drills we've spoken of while taking incremental "baby steps" through the curriculum.