Jon's log

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zarro

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I'd like to start a log in order to keep track of things that went right and things I need to work on. Also I think it would provide an interesting and indepth look into my game and how I think. I hope everyone learns something.

April 23
Practiced today. I hit balls, working on the divot drill and left hand only swings. I was also working with the thought of feeling increased pressure on my chest/tricep in my downswing to make sure it was my pivot that was controlling/pulling my arms. I hit the ball pretty well today. 96% of my shots were straight or left, I only hit about 4 balls right today and only 1 was more than 5 yds. I still need more work on the divot drill. I know that if I didn't do the drill correctly my shoulder was not coming downplane correctly and I didn't feel that pressure. I also worked on my short game for about 2 hrs today. I hit a lot of chips and pitches with my lob,sand and pitching wedges. My distance control was ok, but direction was less than optimal. Most of the time I would pull it left. I will continue to work on it. Putting was pretty good today. I hit all the marks I wanted, so right now I'm happy with my putting. I'll probably swing the club inside tonight just to work on the fullswing and short game swings.

Till next time...
Jonathan
 
bts

bts

New
raise up.

zarro said:
I'd like to start a log in order to keep track of things that went right and things I need to work on. Also I think it would provide an interesting and indepth look into my game and how I think. I hope everyone learns something.

April 23
Practiced today. I hit balls, working on the divot drill and left hand only swings. I was also working with the thought of feeling increased pressure on my chest/tricep in my downswing to make sure it was my pivot that was controlling/pulling my arms. I hit the ball pretty well today. 96% of my shots were straight or left, I only hit about 4 balls right today and only 1 was more than 5 yds. I still need more work on the divot drill. I know that if I didn't do the drill correctly my shoulder was not coming downplane correctly and I didn't feel that pressure. I also worked on my short game for about 2 hrs today. I hit a lot of chips and pitches with my lob,sand and pitching wedges. My distance control was ok, but direction was less than optimal. Most of the time I would pull it left. I will continue to work on it. Putting was pretty good today. I hit all the marks I wanted, so right now I'm happy with my putting. I'll probably swing the club inside tonight just to work on the fullswing and short game swings.

Till next time...
Jonathan
Click to expand...
Did you raise up for those shots?
 
Z

zarro

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bts said:
Did you raise up for those shots?
Click to expand...

I attribute most of my pulls to not having a proper backswing pivot, which causes me to come to straight into the ball, coulple that with a closing clubface and a pull/hook is the result. I'm actually happy that most of my shots went left. It allows me to only play one side of the golf course, so I can easily avoid military golf.
 
Z

zarro

New
Update

4/24

Just did some indoor swinging today concentrating on staying on plane on the backswing and also making a good pivot going back. Also worked on my chipping/pitching swing using a variation of the divot drill I've coined "The Penny Drill" Basically u put 2 pennies on the ground. One to represent the ball and the other to represent low point. Then I make a chipping motion concentrating on hitting the low point penny without hitting the ball penny. My chipping motion has greatly improved by just making mini swings. The change I made from my previous motion basically is incorporating a small backswing pivot. Couple this with what I was previously doing and I'm much more consistent with my clubface control. I will see how this affects distance control when I get a chance to practice outside again. I'm hopefull this will also positively impact my fullswing as well. I've also scheduled a lesson with my instructor for when i return to chicagoland in a couple weeks. We are playing golf to asses the state of my game. I will continue to split my practice time up how I have previously until after the lesson. I will then reevaluate things and spilt it up appropriately.

Jonathan
 
Z

zarro

New
oh boy

Well, I played 18 this morning. It was hot. The score doesn't quite reflect the round that was played. I played even par. I hit the ball terrible and the short game was questionable at best. I pulled/pull hooked everything. Finally in some post round practice I figured it out. I made a much better backswing pivot than I have previously. What was happening is that I didn't achieve any more axis tilt on the downswing. So basically my whole body moved foward, causing the pull and my clubface either was square or closed. Thinking about redoing some of my golf equipment. Add in hybrids, new driver, fairway irons etc. I'll keep working on it and it'll come around soon enough. All and all I don't think things were to bad considering this is my 2nd round of the year. Practice, practice, practice.

Till next time,
Jonathan
 
J

Jim Kobylinski

Super Moderator
zarro said:
Well, I played 18 this morning. It was hot. The score doesn't quite reflect the round that was played. I played even par. I hit the ball terrible and the short game was questionable at best. I pulled/pull hooked everything. Finally in some post round practice I figured it out. I made a much better backswing pivot than I have previously. What was happening is that I didn't achieve any more axis tilt on the downswing. So basically my whole body moved foward, causing the pull and my clubface either was square or closed. Thinking about redoing some of my golf equipment. Add in hybrids, new driver, fairway irons etc. I'll keep working on it and it'll come around soon enough. All and all I don't think things were to bad considering this is my 2nd round of the year. Practice, practice, practice.

Till next time,
Jonathan
Click to expand...

Keep your tailbone ahead of your neck bone in the downswing, that's how to keep your axis tilt through the ball.

brian would tell you to go and hit 7 irons as high as you possibly can, even over a tree somewhere.
 
Z

zarro

New
Worked on my game today. Short gamed for about 2 hours. Was working on my left shoulder going up. Definately helped a lot. Putting continues to be my strong point. Worked on the long game for about an hour. Tried to incorporate the left shoulder on the long swings. I didn't pull the ball as much, which I loved, but I didn't compress the ball how I would like. Most shots were thin, but I did hit a couple fat. I assume I'm just not used to having and maintaining correct axis tilt. Will practice again tomorrow. I will focus on the divot drill while focusing on correct axis tilt.

Till next time,
Jonathan
 
Z

zarro

New
More practice. More short gaming. Everything is pretty good on that front. Today I focused on my distance control in my putting. I also practiced my full swing. I'm at a very good point right now. I didn't hit any pushes today, I only hit high draws or if I missed it I hit a bigger draw/hook. Compression was better today, but I'd still like it to get it better. I've figured out a key to making a good swing for me. Like many I've been the victum of pop golf instruction for many years. Most notably the straight back take away. In my bad swing when I begin my take away I'll push out with my right arm in order to maintain the straight back. If I don't push out with my right arm and let my pivot do it's work, bam, good shot. I'll be focusing on backswing drill from xplosive golf (the sand one) for a while inorder get the right arm push out of my backswing. I have my lesson tomorrow on the golf course to see where I go from here.

Till tomorrow,
Jonathan
 
Z

zarro

New
Had my lesson today. I can say that I am very much ahead of the game right now. He fixed my thin problem. There was to much axis tilt at address. So we got into a better position and better ball contact followed. We also worked on my short game a bit and he gave me some drills for more precision. I am at a very good point. Some more practice on Sat. and it's back to school for my last month. I'm confident in the future. We are slowly adjusting my equipment, looking for a newer set of irons and adjusting the shafts in my woods inorder to better facilitate the future.
 
Z

zarro

New
Practiced today. Short gamed for a while and hit some balls. I strained my left trap which is impacting how much I can turn my head, so punch shots were the longest type of shot I was able to hit today. Everything was good. Short game is coming along nicely. I got my 3 wood back and it's way better than it was. My teacher put in a much heavier shaft, lower torque and a tad bit stiffer. It's brought down my trajectory to where we wanted it, plus I love the way it feels.
 
Z

zarro

New
Clubhead lag?

Any good drills for feeling/increasing clubhead lag. I found Brian's article and have determined that I am a throwaway hooker. I don't believe I have ever felt lag pressure at the number 3 pressure point. The only pressure I consistently feel is #4, which I think is the left arm/chest one. I am not flipping, but I don't feel I have enough lag. Thanks
 
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Z

zarro

New
Practiced yesterday. Long game was good. I'm still fighting the habit of to much axis tilt at setup, but when I do it right, long and straight is the result. Chipping and pitching are getting better, but still need some work. I thought my putting was good before, but this new drill has made my putting even better. I'm excited to see the fruits of my labor when I go out and play next.
 
LANCEALOT

LANCEALOT

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hey johnathon

Where about in Berwyn are you practicing and playing. I live in the next town over, just curious.
 
Z

zarro

New
Well, right now I'm at school. But when I am home I practice/work at Fresh Meadows. Their previous reputation isn't quite as accurate as it used to be. Actually in the last few years the greens and fairways have been some of the best around. It's still not a great course and the driving range lacks some things, but it's good enough most of the time. We should get together and play somewhere sometime.
 
Z

zarro

New
Practiced and played today. Shot 2 under. Had a pretty good putting round, short gamed pretty well for the most part but only hit the ball marginally. In my practice session before the round I was working on the fiddle drill. Let's just say that instead of flying 8 irons 160, flying it 180 was easy, of course provided I did it right. On the course I hit at least 6 different drives over 300 carry and I hit 2 over 350. I was flying 3 irons 250 and was working the ball against the wind. I will continue to work on this to make it slightly more consistent, but I am very hopeful. I was spinning the ball around the greens like I never before and I wasn't playing on no tour course either. There were some good things but also many things I still must work on. Keep on truckin...

Till next time,
Jonathan
 
Z

zarro

New
Practiced a little bit today. Mainly concentrated on feeling and maintaining the #3 pressure point (the trigger finger). All I can say is that if I do maintain it, I hit the ball really well, don't flip in the slightest and I feel like I have total control of the club. I'm going for a clubfitting Thursday, so we'll see what this guy comes up with. More practice on Tues.

Till next time,
Jonathan
 
Z

zarro

New
Hit balls and worked on my pitching today. Everything went well, although I think I'm starting to get the hooks again, but I wasn't really feeling full pressure on the trigger finger, so I attribute most bad shots to a little flip. Full fitting tomorrow, I'll make an update tomorrow. Till tomorrow...

Jonathan
 
Z

zarro

New
Had my fitting today. My current clubs fit me pretty well for the most part, all we changed was the swingweights. We went from d6 on the 6 iron to e1 and increased all the other irons the same amount of weight. We took my driver to d6.5 and got my 3 wood really close to that. I immediately noticed that I didn't hook the ball as much and had a great feel of the club all the way through the swing. I found out that I wasn't launching my driver high enough, so we decided that the heavier weight plus teeing it up a little higher fixed the problem. I am very pleased with the changes. I went to Cedar Falls, IA to Heiser Golf. He does it out of his home, although we drove to the range for the fitting. He's very nice and very knowledgeable and provides a really good value.
 
Z

zarro

New
Practiced today. For the first time I felt the heavy/slow swing that you are supposed to feel. I am hitting the ball really good right now. The new weight of my clubs is really nice. If I let my right shoulder get high on the downswing, I hooked it, if it went downplane correctly, I hit it high and straight. I'm anxious to get some course time in soon.
 
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