Well, I've been working on Saguto Golf for approximately 2 weeks now. I've been hitting lot's of ball in the backyard and some wedges at the park across the street. I even created a new post in here saying how I had a breakthrough with balanced weight on my lead foot.
I played 9 holes yesterday for the first time in about a year. I SUCKED !! OMG. I felt like my practice swings were good but I just couldn't flush the ball like I was doing everyday in the backyard.I tried everything. I was telling myself, weight on left foot, arms straight, turn shoulders at ball, keep right arm connected........ It wasn't working ?????
It was the 8th hole that I felt it. I had a lie above my feet so I stood taller...... BINGO !! Once I stood taller and straighter, everything felt right and I was flushing everything. I will take that lesson with me to the next course.
1 thing I can say though, I was crushing my driver. I didn't hit any drivers with this new swing at home so I wasn't sure how it would go. It worked perfectly. I just need more time to put this all together.
I went to the course for a second time this season last weekend. There have been a few things I've been working on - mainly my arms as I know the left arm is breaking down. Videos and hitting into the net have been good. We got to the course and my GF and I were teamed up with another two-some. Not what I wanted and I got really uptight. First shot - into the trees. Ugh. What a mental battle. The other 2 golfers were very nice and just out having fun so it wasn't all bad. But once we separated I really tried to analyze the different mindset on the course as opposed to at the range or at home in the net. I couldn't get the feel. Just couldn't. All 18 holes something was off. Some shots were great and some were awful. And to add to it the good swings are going farther so I went long on some greens, too. My 8 iron is now doing almost what my 6 iron used to do which is good. We didn't keep score - it was pointless. I got home that night and first thing I did was get out my 8 iron to hit a practice ball. The new swing instantly came back and I knew exactly what I was missing from on the course. It was the newest thing I was working on and was completely gone for 18 holes. When I do it right - the swing is easy. I hate to say it because I'm sure I'll jinx myself but the swing is easy. I feel I'm on the edge of getting consistent. Or maybe in reality I'm miles away. Who knows. I hit my longest drive ever that day, too. I started Tom's courses last June. I've come a long way since then. Every new discovery leads to another new discovery. I fix one piece and I see how it relates to another piece. If I continue to suck forever and not break 100 I guess that's the way it is. It's not the system - it's me. Until I do it right my scores won't get any better. I have a golf outing next weekend for 3 days. I truly hope this all clicks a little better by then. :) But for now I'm focusing on what I was missing with my arms on the course and it's feeling better. We'll see what happens!! Can't say I'm not trying. For the first time now the right arm is driving the swing. I can feel so much power behind it. Took almost a year just to get to that. Oddly enough my chipping was pretty good and that was the only thing I haven't practiced recently. I revisit it from time to time and practice what Tom teaches regarding that but that was actually pretty good. I impressed myself that day. lol
Thank you for sharing!
Ronald, I was right there with you 2 weeks ago. I was all thinking, " weight forward, straight arms, follow through... blah blah blah..."
Then, on Tuesday, I decided, " just hit the stupid ball!" That worked to help me stop thinking. Set up, right? So, I now have a preshot routine. Stand behind the ball and pick my target, trail that back to the ball and find and alignment spot on the ground a foot or so in front of the ball, walk around and align to that spot, double check distance from the ball with the stand up straight and bend to the ball method, bend the knees and just before I fire, move hips a little forward. Thats the setup, now, the swing thought for me is, load up the front leg and keep my head in place. I'm trying to rely on all my practice to ingrain the swing and if I'm off a bit but, getting decent ball flight, I'm happier during the round.
I've pulled back my expectations from, breaking 80 to getting decent ball flight, even if its off target a bit. Its way more fun to watch a ball fly 20 yards off my intended target than to worm burn a crounder up the middle! I figure if I can get good, similar, ball flight, a majority of the time, I can start making small adjustment to try and reel that in. The reality is, consistent, double bogey golf would be an improvement for me. So, I'm trying to stop "getting there" and trying to allow an extra shot to get to the green and working on my chipping.
If I have a 300 yard par 4, why should I be driving that when 2 7 irons will get me there with much less stress. If I mishit a 7 iron the miss is smaller and I can probably still reach with a 4 or a 5 iron. The idea, for me, is removing stress. It's been working. As less stress results in better strikes, better strikes results in less stress, and so on. as apposed to, I'll step on this to "get there" and screwing up the swing, adding stress, resulting in worse strikes, resulting in more stress... This game sucks! LOL unless you leave the stress out.
Consistency starts with consistency. No matter how crappy you're playing, trust the system and trust the pre shot routine. Keep that consistent so, at least you know, that isn't the issue. At least that is my current mind set, that and, play as much as possible to be more comfortable on the course. I find the driving range discourages comfort on the course for me. Practicing chipping and putting before the round encourages comfort on the course, for me, and it improves my chipping and putting during the round and helps me get up and down better!
All this said, I'm still not breaking 100 consistently but, I am having a better time sucking at this stupid game!
Danny
I’m beginning to think there are way too many swing thoughts going on here. Tom keeps saying fewer swing thoughts, but I totally disagree with this! There are too many. I also agree with the video issue. We keep trying to develop a feel for this swing by practicing, to later find out you are doing something wrong. I am becoming extremely frustrated! Been doing this for 4-5 months and no results
Hi Desmond,
You are not alone in this experience. I learned, if you are not video recording your swing, you could be ingraining poor swing characteristics and forming compensations to overcome them. For, me there is no better practice range than on a course. So, I play as much as I can and things are slowly coming around. If your standing in one spot, hitting ball after ball (like I did) you can trick yourself into hitting decent strikes with compensations over a few swings. On the course, its one shot. That's a very very different experience. I spent my 1st couple, or three, rounds this year giving up the game (again). However, I kept playing and being able to string more decent shots together making my time more enjoyable. Tom has a saying about playing 'golf swing' and not 'golf'. This has been my biggest issue. I think I was able to play a little 'golf' on my last outing. That was after playing 4 days in a row... I'm hoping to pick up where I left off, when I play again this weekend, after a 4 or 5 days off.
As Tom says, this journey is a marathon not a sprint. Learning to swing consistently takes time. My transformation has been two or three steps forward, then one or 2 steps back. In fact, that's been the only thing consistent, in this, for me.
Oh I did go back and read some of the stack and tilt book. That is something I'm planning to do more. Things make more sense after working through the transformation for a while. You can read the advice with a more experience eye.
Danny