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Edited: Jul 13, 2022

Navigating the School

Good morning all,

I'm absolutely loving @Tom Saguto's program, but I'm feeling a little lost on how best to work my way through it.

Little background on me: I started playing golf close to 20 years ago, but played VERY rarely(3-6 times a year) up until last year when I decided to dive in! I now play at least 4-5 times a month, but I'm still pretty bad.. currently sitting on a 24.0 handicap. I have improved "some"(was probably close to a 30 handicap when I got serious back in early 2021) but I still feel I have so far to go to be what I consider a decent player. My initial goal is to make it to a single digit handicap, with no real time frame, but I'd rather it not take the rest of my life, haha. I'm about to turn 40, married with kids.. busy, but I have some extra time to dedicate to my golf improvement.

I enrolled in Tom's program a couple months ago, and have "tinkered" with it since then, but now I'm ready to get serious. I'm curious how you guys work your way through it? For example, I've completely finished watching chapter's 1 and 2 of GSS, should I continue watching until I finish the entire program, or focus on a certain chapter for a while?? I feel like I could spend the rest of my life just trying to get my foundation "perfect" but then I'd never move on to actually moving the golf club, haha. In other words, what does a week in the life of a typical beginner, intermediate and expert Saguto Golfer look like? Are you always progressing through videos.. or do you go back over the same stuff over and over to ingrain the lessons better? TEACH ME YOUR WAYS

Also, Tom talks about about watching yourself on video.. so I'm curious what your software of choice is? I can video myself with my phone easily, but I'd like something that allows me to draw lines, measure angles, etc.. I've used the V1 software before, and it seems decent, maybe even better if I took the time to learn it better. I'd love to make the free version work... unless you think it's a real benefit to use the $$ version.. or is there another platform you prefer? Bonus points if you know of one that I can use on a PC..

Whew, that's a lot.. thanks in advance.

OH, one more thing. At the beginning of the video series, there is mentions of a "Tom's Golf Survival Guide." Where might I access this?

21 comments

21 Comments

ric26oishi

Jan 20, 2023

I just started the program. I have been following the videos and doing the drills for hours a day (for 5 days). I usually shoot between 88-94.

It’s only been 5 days but I can’t hit the ball. Not even the little chip drill with the stick. This swing is very frustrating for me because it’s completely different from what I am used to. Has anyone else had to go through these growing pains and how long did it take for things to click? Any advice would be appreciated.

burkholder.ronald

Jan 21, 2023

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Replying to

@ric26oishi without a video it’s hard to tell exactly what is causing your problems. What I always recommend, based on my experience with learning this swing, is to start at the beginning of the course and make sure your understanding of the principles is clear and that your setup to the ball is correct. Once you get to Lesson 2.8, don’t proceed until you can master that drill swing. By master, I mean get to where you hit ball first then turf 9 times out of 10. If you can’t do that, trying to incorporate the advanced swing techniques is futile.

That said, there are a few “swing thoughts” that I found helped me when trying to play with an S&T swing. “Hands in” helped me a lot. “Tailbone to the target” can help eliminate any tendency to sway behind the ball. “Hold the flying wedge through impact” ensures compressing the ball and eliminating flipping.

good luck

Tom Saguto

Jan 22, 2023

Replying to

Welcome to the school and to this great forum community, @ric26oishi!

Piggybacking on @burkholder.ronald's excellent advice in his reply to you, Please allow me to share some preliminary guidance to help you get off to a good start:

1) Regardless of a member's skill level, this swing necessitates a complete reboot for someone transitioning from a shift & lift swing (which is typically the case), and therefore it is imperative that one take sufficient time to ensure that the fundamental components are mastered. From the ground up there is nothing superfluous in the Stack & Tilt swing - in other words, everything with a purpose, and a purpose for everything. (For example, contrary to shift & lift where you may be taught to keep your trail foot perpendicular to the target line as a means of "creating resistance" in your trail side, in S&T we flare both feet out 10-20 degrees in order to facilitate a free flowing, inclined hip and shoulder turn.) I cannot emphasize this enough, as frustrations predominantly occur when students jump ahead in the curriculum without properly dedicating themselves to the foundational base upon which our consistently repeatable, powerful, low maintenance swing must be built. Chapter 1 of the Golf Swing Simplified program (GSS) and Part I of Get Out & Go Play (GOGP) both address this.

2a) GSS: One of the many great things about this swing is that you can achieve solid ball striking even at the most basic levels. This is why I oftentimes will suggest that students park themselves on Chapter 2 of the GSS course for an extended period of time after locking down Chapter 1's foundational elements. Chapter 2 reinforces the body motions and the weight-forward component, and it culminates with what I call "The Best Golf Swing Practice Drill of All Time". Work yourself sequentially and gradually through the chapter, and then commit yourself to that drill in Lesson 2.8. Learn it. Practice it. Master it. You can even use this partially abbreviated swing on the course and play quite well with it as it will provide plenty of distance. (It actually is the full swing minus just a couple of power accumulators.) Once you've got that down, you will be well prepared to move forward in the curriculum and well on your way towards taking ownership of YOUR swing!

2b) GOGP: This quick-start program is exactly as it sounds - it is designed to fast-track you out onto the course so you can have fun - and success - playing as you learn! Should you choose this path, everything in #1 above still applies, and as implied above in 2a you will still want to work through it sequentially and gradually, mastering each lesson before moving ahead to the next one. In this program, Drill #5 - The Flying Wedge is the one you'll want to park yourself on and nail down.

3) Also, as you progress always keep in mind the V1 Swing Video Analysis, an effective and inexpensive service that I highly recommend to everyone in the school. I liken it to bringing your swing into the shop for a tune-up or minor repair. Scheduling one on a quarterly basis for preventive maintenance will do wonders for keeping things humming along nicely, and it's also a great tool for pinpointing and resolving any issues that arise. The process involves downloading the free V1 app and then submitting two videos to me through the app - one down-the-line (captured from your stance line, not the target line) and the other face-on. You'll find more information about the V1 Analysis halfway down this page on the Saguto.Golf site.

I look forward to assisting you through the school’s structured lessons and drills towards building a consistent, low maintenance, powerful, body-friendly swing that will bring your enjoyment of this great game to a new level!

KyleW

Nov 09, 2022

I’m still new to the school but this post and the replies are probably the first things I should have read after joining, so I’m happy to have stumbled upon it. Yet another post telling me to park on 2.8, after the replies to my own posts say similar. I’m now convinced most of my issues since the initial boost I saw from 2.8 are a result of moving on from it too quickly.

My Golf Quest

Jul 30, 2022

This is my second year with S&T and Saguto golf though I am fairly new to the forum. I played most of my first season playing with a 1/2 to 3/4 shots and dropped the handicap, went from a 14 down to a 9 handicap. Moving more toward a full swing I am back up to an 11 but changes sometimes you take a step back.

Also a crazy side effect practicing these shorter swings my short game improved immensely. A big thing you will see you may swing slower at first but the crispness of oontact you will get similar distances.

For instance my relaxed driver swing gets me about 230 to 240 of carry. But if I go after one I would fly it the 250 to 260 range but it may get a little offline. So it becomes a risk reward right now but I am looking to get my baseline in that range. Though I found i can play courses in the 6500 to the 6700 range easily with less then full shots. I may take 5 and entire round.

Tom Saguto

Aug 01, 2022

Replying to

As I've said -and as has been proven time and again by many in the school - you can get around the course quite well using just the Drill 2.8 swing, which is essentially what you are doing. It's really the full swing minus a couple of power accumulators. Nicely done!!

Russell Hogue, PhD

Jul 14, 2022

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Julian well, well. Looks like someone got bit by the golf bug.

Working through the swing fundamentals, top priority is low point control. That is, you have to be able to hit the ground in the same place every time. When you use the SnT curriculum it’s the top priority and it translates nicely into the first focus to lower scores.

Gain low point control (every other part of game, face control, speed, touch, mental approach all require low point control)
Spend 85% of your time practicing short game. Inside 100 yards. Chip, pitch, putt. If you aren’t able to hit the ball crispy with those swings, there is nearly zero value in practicing other stuff.

As far as video, I have several tools. V1 is the easiest to just do things on the phone. I have high end cameras too and haven’t even set them up, opting for phone and v1 instead.

Word of warning, however, it’s critically important if you use video to make sure camera positions are precise. Otherwise you can spend a lot of time chasing ghosts (not real problems), caused by bad angles.

Tom Saguto

Jul 15, 2022

Replying to

What a great concept! Sure makes a lot of sense to me. Thanks for sharing!

Ryen

Jul 16, 2022

Replying to

Julian man if you really want to get better quickly... when you go to the range.. take the chapters and only do short swings.. like a long chip for a month.. teach yourself to always hit the same point of contact... No full swings, then go to half swings for a month... then 3 quarter swings at 50 percent speed, then 100 percent speed a month, then full swings at 50 percent speed and then 100 percent speed another month... and don't play any golf during that time... Seriously the best way... but you have to be disciplined, WHICH I AM NOT.. 😂.. but if you did it this way... it would be the fastest way to improve and also you would easily stop 10-15 strokes... over seen people completely redo there swing like this and it work wonders... it is just so boring... but anything worth value is difficult or boring... but that is why it has value

Russell Hogue, PhD

Jul 16, 2022

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Replying to

@golflivesmatter I am going to do that on my own for practice in a few weeks. I have no doubt I will average under par through 100 yards. I am not 100% sure I would do it from 150y.

Steven

Jul 13, 2022

Hi Julian,

Welcome, plenty of great nuggets and info here. I use the V! only to send lesson to Tom. Otherwise phone suits me fine. Knowing me if I started drawing lines, I wouldn't have enough time during the week to do anything else, I'd be in one rabbit hole after another, but that's me.

Julian

Jul 13, 2022

Thanks so much for the responses! I will camp out around drill 2.8 for a while and keep everyone posed on my progress.

burkholder.ronald

Jul 13, 2022

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Sorry, while I’m at the World Am.

Tom Saguto

Jul 13, 2022

Hi Julian,

Last things first, here's a link to the "Survival Guide". For future reference you will find it in the Appendix section of GSS.

I have pinned your post to draw some attention to it. From my perspective I'd prefer that you camp out in Chapter 2 - and particularly on Drill 2.8 - for the foreseeable future. You can play very good golf with the swing from that drill, since it's really only missing some power accumulators. @burkholder.ronald may be able to chime in on this. Between that and arranging for a V1 Analysis Lesson on at least a quarterly basis we can get (and keep) you on track towards your goal.

@Russell Hogue, PhD may be traveling and unavailable, but if he sees this he may be able to offer some suggestions on video options. Also, @GolfLivesMatter can speak well to the value of using a mirror.

There are many other regular contributors who will likely have something to offer as well, but I just thought I'd tag a few here for starters.

Time to get crispy!!

burkholder.ronald

Jul 13, 2022

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@Julian work your way through to lesson 2.8 drill. You have to understand the stacked posture, the grip, the S&T grid and various ball positions. Park yourself on the 2.8 drill and put in the range time to nail your control of ground contact to where you can hit ball then ground at least 8 out of 10 times.

Once you have that down solid you can keep going through the other lessons in the basic course where power and speed is discussed. But, remember that you can actually play a decent round of golf using the 2.8 Drill swing.

@Tom Sagutowill respond to your post and give you some ideas on how to use his school.

Tom Saguto

Jul 13, 2022

Replying to

If I am in town during the World Am then there's a pretty good chance that I'll show up at the 19th Hole (Convention Center) one of the evenings, and if so I'd certainly be glad to meet you there. We can discuss further when we get into mid-August as I should have a firmer hand on my schedule by then.

burkholder.ronald

Jul 13, 2022

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Replying to

Perfect! If you have business cards, I’d be glad to pass them out to anyone I get grouped with while playing.

Tom Saguto

Jul 13, 2022

Replying to

I appreciate that! Just yell "SagutoGolf!" each time you stripe one past them in the center cut of the fairway. I'm not doing any in-person instruction at this juncture, so the online school is where they'll need to be if they want to try to compete with you next year... 😎