44 replies to this topic

[henn3ssey]

So now that the golf season is starting to wind down for us that live in colder weather, I thought it would be neat to see what everyone learned about their swing and / or game this year.  

Starting the season I was fighting a bad flipping problem I thought I would never fix which left me hitting my driver about 200 yards on a good hit.  I finally stopped doing that, although i'm not really sure how I did it.  About half way through the season I started studying sean foleys approach and tried to model my swing after that and it seems to fit me really well.  I had always been a very bad driver of the ball but I had a eureka moment while at a mini golf course that has saved my driving.  I was mini golfing with a friend and they had a dumpy driving range there but I saw it and thought I could hit a few balls.   So i went over there pulled out the driver and realized the (rubber)tees they had were about 3 inches too tall so the only way to hit the ball  was to stay way back on my right foot and hit way up on the ball.  Well long story short I have adopted this to my real game and i'm hitting probably 70 percent of my fairways and when I miss its now by 10 yards at most and not 40.

I started the season shooting low 80's on a very tough course and my last two rounds I've shot 72 and 73 so I feel like I've made drastic improvement over this summer.  

The main things I learned though
-  The flatter my swing the straighter I hit the ball but the shorter I hit it also.
-  The steeper my swing the farther I hit it but I can't hit a fairway to save my life.  
-  Stay back on my right side longer and I hit my driver dead straight.  
-  And I learned if I commit myself to practicing my putting more than I want to I'm actually a pretty good putter.  
-  I also have a lot better understanding of lag now and I'm working that into my game.  

I would love to hear anyone else's eureka moments.

[SunkTheBirdie]

I learned my swing plane was still flat.  
The video proves it.
Going to take some lessons over the winter.

[mcharlton]

I learned that after a wrist injury early in the year to my lead wrist, that I slowly crept into weakling my grip, and it became VERY weak over time without me really noticing it (weaker grip took the pressure off of my lead wrist and ment no pain) ... I slowly was loosing distance until it became unreal how short I was hitting my irons .... Slowly worked on getting my grip back to the correct position without hurting my wrist and "BAM" much improved contact and 145 yard PW is back!!

I have also worked hard on setting my right hip (I'm a righty) so that its inside my right foot at address and keeping it there through the back swing. This has helped me from letting my weight shift, sway, and even helped my early release.

I also have learned that my green reading skills need attention. I have worked a lot of my stroke, and many times I roll the ball exactly how I want to, but it was a mis-read

[stikman33]

I went from hitting over 100 regularly with lessons and practice to hitting in the high 80's on a regular basis.  The things I learned could fill books!

And for everything I read/watch/practice at home good lessons have been worth their weight in gold.

[Desert Golf]

I've learned that help from a good pro and consistent practice produce results.  My handicap dropped 4 strokes since June after a single lesson and lots of time at the range/chipping area.

My goal is to lower my handicap from 9 to 7 next year.

Edited by Desert Golf, 21 October 2012 - 11:33 PM.

[TheCityGame]

My putting really responded to practice this year.

Working on  my swing, I've had a lot of mini "breakthroughs". With putting, I don't think I've ever had a breakthrough, I've just gotten better. It kind of snuck up on me when I was looking at my stats and realized I was getting a lot more birdies, and a lot more scrambles and a lot fewer 3-putts.

[Tylanthus]

Two breakthroughs:
- I putt very consistently when I keep my right elbow connected to my body
- My natural alignment puts the ball on the toe of all my clubs (putter through driver), I need to pay close attention to this.

And a realization:
- Horrible starts and finishes to my rounds have nothing to do with my swing, putting, short game, or game management.  I am simply fat and out of shape... it takes too long to warm up and I get tired too quickly.  This will be fixed starting this winter two weeks ago.

Edited by Tylanthus, 22 October 2012 - 12:41 PM.

[Hstead]

I have learned that the main problem with my swing is my alignment.  When I think my plane is off etc it is 99 times out of 100 because of my setup, alignment, and where I am looking.  I have to practice with alignment aids every time I get to practice, which happens to be RARELY anymore.

The other thing I learned on this site is that it is impossible for an amateur golfer to beat any tour pro on any given day no matter what the circumstances.

[Cicero]

What I learned:

1) For me, hitting a little fade is closer to a straight ball than a draw.  Bubba golf is dangerous in the hands of a rank amateur like me, plus if the ball goes straight when you're playing big curves, you've got problems.  One shot shape, with as little curve as possible, ended up working better for me in the end (regrettably, because it is really fun and confidence inspiring when you're able to move the ball around, but not good for my score)

2) Course management is huge.  Knowing the yardage you need to hit is big; a quality rangefinder, gps, or yardage book (in the absence of 'local knowledge') can be a stroke saver.

3) I need a reliable dial-it-back club.  I hated when driver was too much club; it was easily my best club off the tee.  Didn't trust anything else.

4) Short game and putting are as important as they say.  

5) Being long is a big advantage, both in the lines you're able to take off the tee, and with the clubs you have into the greens.

Edited by Cicero, 22 October 2012 - 01:25 PM.

[rubch]

For me...

1) How to swing from inside-out... finally!

2) How to not flip

3) That good ball striking <> good scores... and consequently...

4) That I need to practice putting

[juststeve]

Getting old sucks!

Steve

[MDP1555]

I learned that course management as I approach 60 has much more to do with the good miss than it did when I was 30. It now seems an extra club to reach is much esaer to find than a spectacular recovery.

[Cicero]

juststeve, on 22 October 2012 - 01:44 PM, said:

Getting old sucks!

Steve

Yeah, that too!

[Thrillhouse]

That my back hurts.

[Gbyeball]

Golf is a game of recovery. I am still trying to recover from yesterday..........man did I stink it up

[caller]

Long game: my shot shape has been high draw but I learned to hit fade off the tee more consistently. This help me to hit more fairways on fast running golf courses

Short game: up and down has been better and have more confidence on my wedges and putters.

[knockdstiff]

I learned getting it's really, really hard to get better if you've already gotten down to a 0 index.

[mattuop]

Always trust my instructor. Everything he suggests works. It may take a while for it to truly resonate, but eventually it'll stick and you'll remember just how good he is as a player and instructor.

[nitram]

The inability to hit balls every day and play 3-4 times per week has cost me 5 strokes this year.

[Petter Player]

I learned, that too much is too much, but enough too little.

My spring camp was too hard on myself. Got overtrained and was not able to play to my abilities during the whole summer, only three exceptions on that. Just couldn't live up to my expectations and got angry on the course.

Next spring I'll go more easy and try to keep away from the course as well as go out and play.

Edited by Petter Player, 23 October 2012 - 06:18 AM.

[Kadin 25]

Damage control! When I'm having an off day try and keep the score down to 85 rather than getting aggravated and lose concentration and shoot a 90.

This problem has kept me from becoming low single digit cap. I've been stuck at an 8 all summer.

So my goal for next year is to stop the bleeding and get my cap down to a 5 or better.

[Dazzler808]

I probably won't get paid to play golf.

Ever.

[Dazzler808]

I must stick to one method through the good times and bad.

I've fell well and truly in to the newbie trap of mixing different methods this year and my scores are no better as a result.

[cwglum]

I learned that just because I pull my golf clubs out of my trunk, I don't automatically have to give someone $15-$20.  Going to get out of our regular money game, and won't miss it to be honest.

[todd.ashford]

I learned to take a divot AFTER the ball and that it should be about the size of a dollar!  Getting consistent ball striking really helped me in my club selection as well.

[pappaf2]

I learned that the hips should bump towards the target to start the downswing. It certainly makes my swing a heck of a lot better than my old upper body / arms motivated swing.

Edited by pappaf2, 23 October 2012 - 05:11 PM.

[xabia]

1) my back is messed up and I need a push cart
2) I will always be prone to the occasional shank and need to be ok with it
3) If I can stay focused and not pay attention to my score I can play really well
4) I need to hit the gym to get some damn flexibility back
5) No matter how hard I try I simply can't play good golf on courses that have houses on both sides of holes

Sigh

[iteachgolf]

Learned I can't have the same expectations when playing that I used to now that I rarely get to play and practice

[wmblake2000]

This was the year I improved more than any other in my long career as a mediocre golfer.  From 13 to 9 and more to come.  Very exciting at 60 and after years of wandering in the woods to see real improvement.  A LOT of credit goes to the teaching pro who has guided me through this.

Two main things: Ok, three.

Patience: It takes a while to get improvements you see on the practice tee to the golf course.  i have known this for a while, and said here here several times, but I really want to make the point again. Impatience (and random self-directed myths based on misunderstandings by most of us ams) thwarts real improvement.  

The scoring game is much more about just hitting ok shot than it is about trying to max out everything.  Shot a 76 - career low - and didn't do anything great other than I didn't do anything stupid.

A LOT of what all of us talk about here is worse than irrelevant.  In the process of real improvement, I have broken almost every sacred tenet that has been posted here. I think it's that words and language don't work to describe what are ultimately feels in the body and are described based on what your frame of reference.  Plus, at least I know I am totally an ignoramus at self-diagnosing.  Someone posts something that catches a little momentum, I start thinking, "hey, that's a good idea" but it's just more wandering in the dark, mainly.

What other sport can you be the best at in your whole life at 60?!

[tommykrebs]

After many years going OTT I figured out (yesterday) why. At the end of my backswing I have always the habit to glue my left arm to my chest. In a 2-plane swing there is no chance not to be OTT. Especially when you fire the hips. Why have I done this so many years (10!)??? And more important: Why did never told me a teaching pro that I have to drop my arms in the downswing????

Edited by tommykrebs, 24 October 2012 - 03:52 AM.