91 replies to this topic

[Eag1e]

Depending on whose standards you judge by my ballstriking could be considered a lot more than "very capable" but I have a habit of judging myself relative to people better than me. :P Ballstriking is getting very good, though, imo. A little while after my last thread I decided to make an actual commitment to Dan Carraher (iteachgolf) rather than only seeing him once a year and muddying myself up with ten instructors inbetween. Just over three months in, and it's the best decision of my golfing life, given what we've accomplished in three sessions in that time. You can see the highly unathletic version in the thread linked above, because I'm gonna keep this thread for the new stuff. First video is what I'm using for marketing myself to college coaches so excuse the gaudy video editing. :p

Full speeds just before last work change on Friday:


Slow motions taken the day after the above while we were working on the next piece of the swing:


Before was highly mechanized, tight, lagless, little rhythm, no power, consistent at hitting a decent miss but not capable of good ballstriking. With the changes we've made I'm now about 2 irons longer when I go at it, 1 iron longer when I make a swing that feels lazy and loose. Probably about a 40 yard difference with driver. Was stuck with a low cut before, now can work the ball with whatever flight I want (slow motion videos were high draws). After the first 2 1/2 weeks which encompassed the biggest change, the swing's been with me day in and day out, and hits the ball absolutely flush. It'll continue to get cleaner but the difference in looseness, rhythm, power, consistency, quality of striking, etc, is massive. I can't thank Dan enough for helping me reach this point already, and I'm tremendously excited to continue working my tail off under his guidance and hopefully lighting it up in the first half of 2013 as I go down the last stretch toward beginning college golf. My scoring has literally dropped like a rock just in the past month (about 7 strokes off my average), and I can't wait to start getting in tournaments again with my new game come January.

Edited by Eag1e, 24 December 2012 - 09:48 AM.

[Jetski]

Get a haircut.

Just kidding! Lovely swing, very compact and powerful looking.

[Cmartingolf]

Good looking action. You're in good hands with Dan. Work your arse off and keep after it.

[chiva]

You're going to tear those college boys up! Awesome swing. You look as good as ANY tour player out there.

[swanry30]

Nice action!

[JPeacockGolf]

Id say maybe shorten it  up a little bit. it would really tighten it up and make it look a lot better. It would be a lot easier to control if it was shorter.......... And I hate to say it, I really respect Dan, but he is not going to be able to help you here. You are going to need a true professional for this. Here's what I would suggest. Do a Google search for barbers in your area. Find a professional to trim that shag up. LOL. By the way the swing looks amazing.

[Eag1e]

chiva, on 24 December 2012 - 09:35 AM, said:

You're going to tear those college boys up! Awesome swing. You look as good as ANY tour player out there.

Hope so. :j Compliment means a lot. Thank you.

thesponge, on 24 December 2012 - 11:27 AM, said:

Id say maybe shorten it  up a little bit. it would really tighten it up and make it look a lot better. It would be a lot easier to control if it was shorter.......... And I hate to say it, I really respect Dan, but he is not going to be able to help you here. You are going to need a true professional for this. Here's what I would suggest. Do a Google search for barbers in your area. Find a professional to trim that shag up. LOL. By the way the swing looks amazing.

You had me laughing for about five minutes with this one.   I figure the hair's gonna be my trademark when I eventually make it on tour (think positively, right?). It's way straighter than Hoffman's so it's all me!

Edited by Eag1e, 24 December 2012 - 05:14 PM.

[pinhigh27]

What's your index now? Good looking action

[JRS]

thesponge, on 24 December 2012 - 11:27 AM, said:

Id say maybe shorten it  up a little bit. it would really tighten it up and make it look a lot better. It would be a lot easier to control if it was shorter.......... And I hate to say it, I really respect Dan, but he is not going to be able to help you here. You are going to need a true professional for this. Here's what I would suggest. Do a Google search for barbers in your area. Find a professional to trim that shag up. LOL. By the way the swing looks amazing.

haha well played!

[JPeacockGolf]

Eag1e, on 24 December 2012 - 05:14 PM, said:

chiva, on 24 December 2012 - 09:35 AM, said:

You're going to tear those college boys up! Awesome swing. You look as good as ANY tour player out there.

Hope so. :j Compliment means a lot. Thank you.

thesponge, on 24 December 2012 - 11:27 AM, said:

Id say maybe shorten it  up a little bit. it would really tighten it up and make it look a lot better. It would be a lot easier to control if it was shorter.......... And I hate to say it, I really respect Dan, but he is not going to be able to help you here. You are going to need a true professional for this. Here's what I would suggest. Do a Google search for barbers in your area. Find a professional to trim that shag up. LOL. By the way the swing looks amazing.

You had me laughing for about five minutes with this one.   I figure the hair's gonna be my trademark when I eventually make it on tour (think positively, right?). It's way straighter than Hoffman's so it's all me!

Yea, just havin a little fun. Rock the shag and make some birdies. I'll be pulling for you.

[chiva]

I thought you were Bill Glasson's son:)

[deck]

Younger more athletic charley Hoffman? Lol.

Nice swing man.

[JPeacockGolf]

deck, on 24 December 2012 - 11:42 PM, said:

Younger more athletic charley Hoffman? Lol.

Nice swing man.

If Charlie Hoffman and hunter mahan had a love child.........

[Jacob Mac]

Great looking swing.  One word of advice, stick with Dan.  Finding someone who is competent in anything is fairly rare.  Finding someone who is competent that works well with you is even more rare.

[JaxBeachNole]

Good luck with the work, are you in the Jax area?

[Eag1e]

[quote name='pinhigh27' timestamp='1356388211' post='6113241']
What's your index now? Good looking action
[/quote]

It's currently a 2.4 with all tournament scores and legitimately played casual rounds accounted for. I don't feel that's very reflective of my current play though. I've made a personal commitment to myself to post 100% of rounds I play with zero rule fudging - meaning, yes, I do count it if I'm playing a casual round with my dad's friends and one-hand a 1 footer and miss it. I've found that by giving myself the challenge of having to legitimately work my way in to eligibility for U.S. Open qualifying before I start college, I can put myself in to more of a tournament mindset in casual rounds (which is useful, because the more pressure I get on me the better I focus). I feel right now that getting myself below a legit 1 by the end of February is a fair goal since it'll include a lot of tournament rounds on courses I haven't played, based on my planned schedule. Bottom line is that my putting is really holding me back right now and if the stroke work I started on a couple of weeks ago starts really paying off it wouldn't be unfeasible that I could get in to the +'s within a couple of months. I think it'd be very doable if I start getting another round or two a week in and pick up the strokes I'm constantly dropping on the "should make" putts.

[quote name='thesponge' timestamp='1356439158' post='6114795']
[quote name='deck' timestamp='1356410520' post='6114253']
Younger more athletic charley Hoffman? Lol.

Nice swing man.
[/quote]
If Charlie Hoffman and hunter mahan had a love child.........
[/quote]

I have been thinking about starting to wear flat brim hats.... I just got red and blue (two pairs, not combined) slacks for Christmas, so I'm getting some colors in my wardrobe. Golfing is so much more fun in pants, especially when there are colors involved. Maybe I'm more like Charlie Hoffman x Rickie Fowler?

[quote name='Jacob Mac' timestamp='1356455948' post='6115391']
Great looking swing.  One word of advice, stick with Dan.  Finding someone who is competent in anything is fairly rare.  Finding someone who is competent that works well with you is even more rare.
[/quote]

Definitely. I think one of the best aspects of working with him is that he actually gives me a reality slap whenever I start getting hardheaded. I really need someone willing to tell me when I'm being an idiot. :p

[quote name='JaxBeachNole' timestamp='1356456706' post='6115425']
Good luck with the work, are you in the Jax area?
[/quote]

Unfortunately no, I live in Orlando.

Edited by Eag1e, 25 December 2012 - 01:16 PM.

[JPeacockGolf]

Work on that putting because you never see someone with a 7 iron to win the masters. It is always a putt to win the masters. Putting is actually a strong  part of my game and when I am putting really well I find that all I am doing is staying out of the way while my eyes and the feel of the putter tell me what to do. If I start to try to "visualize" the line or get too hung up on what the putt will do it is over. There is a 6th sense that will put the ball in the hole if you stay out of its way.  A lot of mechanical practice can snuff it out and make you want to think the ball into the hole.

I like to see it not as me sending the ball to the hole but as the hole pulling the ball into it. I can feel this as I look at the hole while holding the putter with the right hand and settling into my posture. Any conscious thought here derails the process. Any "lining the putter up" after I look back down will derail this. My right palm is the putter face, no need to line it up with my eyes.

[farmer]

Where to start?  You're young, flexible, strong and in a place where the grass is green.  Plus, you have hair, a great swing and teacher.  All things that irritate me to no end.  I think you posted this just to irritate me.  Seriously, looks like you're way down the right track.  Good luck and Merry Christmas.

[Eag1e]

thesponge, on 25 December 2012 - 01:37 PM, said:

Work on that putting because you never see someone with a 7 iron to win the masters. It is always a putt to win the masters. Putting is actually a strong  part of my game and when I am putting really well I find that all I am doing is staying out of the way while my eyes and the feel of the putter tell me what to do. If I start to try to "visualize" the line or get too hung up on what the putt will do it is over. There is a 6th sense that will put the ball in the hole if you stay out of its way.  A lot of mechanical practice can snuff it out and make you want to think the ball into the hole.

I like to see it not as me sending the ball to the hole but as the hole pulling the ball into it. I can feel this as I look at the hole while holding the putter with the right hand and settling into my posture. Any conscious thought here derails the process. Any "lining the putter up" after I look back down will derail this. My right palm is the putter face, no need to line it up with my eyes.

I dunno, I was figuring I'd just rely on holing out a 7 iron to win the Masters so I don't have to putt. Isn't that the best way to circumvent putting issues? :p

farmer, on 25 December 2012 - 01:43 PM, said:

Where to start?  You're young, flexible, strong and in a place where the grass is green.  Plus, you have hair, a great swing and teacher.  All things that irritate me to no end.  I think you posted this just to irritate me.  Seriously, looks like you're way down the right track.  Good luck and Merry Christmas.

Yep. The very top of my to-do list was, "Irritate farmer on Christmas." Once I had that checked off, I was free to go begin my cancer research and give coats to the homeless. All jokes aside, thank you.

[Eag1e]

Dropped from a 2.4 to 1.9 in the past two weeks even with what I felt was pretty poor play - here's to hoping I get under 1.4 even sooner than I thought. As long as it's in time to enter Open qualifiers I'll be happy. Feels very doable right now especially with a new putter I just found yesterday feeling far more deadly from 5-10 feet. Think I'll switch my goal over to making it to a 0 in the first half of the year.

Edited by Eag1e, 01 January 2013 - 02:23 PM.

[iteachgolf]

Happens when you go 73-71-76-70. No reason you can't be a 0.

[CSagan]

Good job. I was in texarkana when u did ur first three day school...looking a ton better. Gl on ur college career.

[chiva]

Just looked at your swing videos again and man do you swing the club well. Keep all of us informed about your results, as in open qualifying, college tourneys, etc. Again, good luck:)

[SunkTheBirdie]

What camera did you use for the slo mo. ?

 shaft.lean.at.impact.jpg   30.52K   6 downloads

Nice Shaft lean at impact.
(I had the enhance the club to see it better).

Edited by SunkTheBirdie, 01 January 2013 - 05:04 PM.

[SunkTheBirdie]

Nice Lags, Shame about the Hair.

[Eag1e]

CSagan, on 01 January 2013 - 04:23 PM, said:

Good job. I was in texarkana when u did ur first three day school...looking a ton better. Gl on ur college career.

Boy that feels like forever ago now... I can't even remember anyone's name off the top of my head from when I was there. Were you one of the two who had driven in together (iirc)? Tell me who you are and how your swing's coming along :p

chiva, on 01 January 2013 - 04:50 PM, said:

Just looked at your swing videos again and man do you swing the club well. Keep all of us informed about your results, as in open qualifying, college tourneys, etc. Again, good luck:)

Thanks.

SunkTheBirdie, on 01 January 2013 - 05:03 PM, said:

What camera did you use for the slo mo. ?

shaft.lean.at.impact.jpg

Nice Shaft lean at impact.
(I had the enhance the club to see it better).

Not my camera, you'd have to ask Dan.

SunkTheBirdie, on 01 January 2013 - 05:06 PM, said:

Nice Lags, Shame about the Hair.

It'll be a lovely marketing tool on the PGA, just like Rory's Irish fro. ;P

[CSagan]

Yep I was one of the two guys. Golf has gotten easier since then...still a long ways to go.

[2bGood]

Great swing, dreadful hair.


Honest question - do college coaches pay any attention to swing videos like these? A great swing on the range can be long way off from a guy shooting good scores.

I played college football and it was all about my numbers from the combine, but I figured golf would be a little different.

[chiva]

2bGood, on 02 January 2013 - 10:09 AM, said:

Great swing, dreadful hair.


Honest question - do college coaches pay any attention to swing videos like these? A great swing on the range can be long way off from a guy shooting good scores.

I played college football and it was all about my numbers from the combine, but I figured golf would be a little different.

Most guys with a swing as good as his can play. I've never seen a guy with a swing that good who couldn't at least play a little.

[Eag1e]

2bGood, on 02 January 2013 - 10:09 AM, said:

Great swing, dreadful hair.


Honest question - do college coaches pay any attention to swing videos like these? A great swing on the range can be long way off from a guy shooting good scores.

I played college football and it was all about my numbers from the combine, but I figured golf would be a little different.

Probably not as a deciding factor but maybe slightly relevant. Of the responses I've gotten, everyone's either been full, entirely walk-on, or there was one coach who simply said my score history isn't low enough. Wish I'd have gotten on top of everything like I am now a lot sooner so I could've had a more sellable resume.