I started with this forum early last fall and spent a couple hundred hours, at least, reading here. I was a 5-6 handicap golfer who was so frustrated I was very close to quitting golf.
I fought the pull-hook for years and thought I couldn't take anymore of it. My game improved some immediately watching Brian and Ben Doyle's videos, and then I went for two lessons with Brian last fall. After a brief "honeymoon period" after the lessons, my old swing fell apart after Brian blew up my junk, and by mid-December I was standing on a driving range wondering if I could even break 100. I resisted going back to my old swing only because I knew that was a dead-end.
I started over with Building Blocks first. My old grip sucked.
I also still had some serious leakage - that took some time to figure out. My pivot sucked - I had lost all leverage with the ground. My plane line was too far to leftfield (this was the first thing along with takeaway that Brian worked with me on). I was not rotating my hips and was not finishing my backswing. My swing was so fast I made Nick Price look like Ernie Els. I could not get rid of my tripod pivot to save my life. Intellectually I knew some of these problems but not all but even then fixing them was not easy. I spent hours looking at my swing in a mirror.
I watched NHA, NSA, Confessions and Brian's Youtube videos multiple times (the video, 8 I think, on hitting into a firm left side may be the single most critical piece of advice I was missing in my golf education), and I would periodically cycle back to trying to emulate Ben Doyle's video. I kept looking in the mirror while swinging.
Until I got rid of my underlying leakage and clubface issues I really struggled with implementing what Brian had recommended. Figuring out I was still leakage hooking was hard, Brian said something in the second lesson that made me think that was a possibility. I finally figured out that issue six weeks or so ago and then realized that I was keeping the clubface really open at address because I was still flipping some and was still fearing the pull hook. Squaring and even slightly closing the clubface and not leaking helped tremendously in then moving on to adjusting my plane line and takeaway. Having a much less open clubface helped me draw the plane line further right. That was a big key.
Over the past month, my game has improved signficantly. I had four nine-hole rounds in very trying weather conditions and was net even par, and was hitting the ball much better, longer, and generally starting it right and drawing the ball back to center using the Soft Draw pattern from Brian.
In the past week, I circled back to Ben Doyle's video and really struggled to figure out why I have never been able to hit the ball with pitch elbow (vs. punch elbow). I finally figured it out over a couple days (I was closing the face too early in the downswing and just lacked nerve to keep the clubface open so close to impact). I finally started hitting the ball with a good strong pitch elbow for the first time in my life (not before shanking about two dozen balls and learning the importance of sweetspot monitoring). It's weird, I feel like that delayed hitting position just takes a lot of nerve (and keeping the sweetspot in mind) and I don't really know how I even hit the ball doing that, but I feel like I am hitting the ball with my right palm up at impact then corkscrew a punch aimed several yards in front of the ball.
Now, over the last four days I have been hitting the ball with a good, strong pitch elbow and corkscrewing the ball into the ground with my right shoulder from a position I've never experienced before. The sound off the clubface, distance, and control are something I've never experienced before, ever. "Fore left" is gone. The past week has been a huge improvement over this past month, and the past month included the best four rounds of the last year for me.
My left wrist is much flatter than before.
My plane line now aims much more right than before, maybe a few degrees right of do-it-right.
I have a much better tempo.
My pivot is far better. I feel stuck in the ground and like I am using leverage to hit the ball. I am snapping my kinetic chain far better than before.
I can now start the ball right of target and draw it back to center. Until the past two months, I could only do this by accident despite having played golf for 30 years.
I think that instead of quitting that I am actually going to break 70 this year.
If i had had Brian's or Ben Doyle's phone number, I would have called them from the range today to thank them.
I fought the pull-hook for years and thought I couldn't take anymore of it. My game improved some immediately watching Brian and Ben Doyle's videos, and then I went for two lessons with Brian last fall. After a brief "honeymoon period" after the lessons, my old swing fell apart after Brian blew up my junk, and by mid-December I was standing on a driving range wondering if I could even break 100. I resisted going back to my old swing only because I knew that was a dead-end.
I started over with Building Blocks first. My old grip sucked.
I also still had some serious leakage - that took some time to figure out. My pivot sucked - I had lost all leverage with the ground. My plane line was too far to leftfield (this was the first thing along with takeaway that Brian worked with me on). I was not rotating my hips and was not finishing my backswing. My swing was so fast I made Nick Price look like Ernie Els. I could not get rid of my tripod pivot to save my life. Intellectually I knew some of these problems but not all but even then fixing them was not easy. I spent hours looking at my swing in a mirror.
I watched NHA, NSA, Confessions and Brian's Youtube videos multiple times (the video, 8 I think, on hitting into a firm left side may be the single most critical piece of advice I was missing in my golf education), and I would periodically cycle back to trying to emulate Ben Doyle's video. I kept looking in the mirror while swinging.
Until I got rid of my underlying leakage and clubface issues I really struggled with implementing what Brian had recommended. Figuring out I was still leakage hooking was hard, Brian said something in the second lesson that made me think that was a possibility. I finally figured out that issue six weeks or so ago and then realized that I was keeping the clubface really open at address because I was still flipping some and was still fearing the pull hook. Squaring and even slightly closing the clubface and not leaking helped tremendously in then moving on to adjusting my plane line and takeaway. Having a much less open clubface helped me draw the plane line further right. That was a big key.
Over the past month, my game has improved signficantly. I had four nine-hole rounds in very trying weather conditions and was net even par, and was hitting the ball much better, longer, and generally starting it right and drawing the ball back to center using the Soft Draw pattern from Brian.
In the past week, I circled back to Ben Doyle's video and really struggled to figure out why I have never been able to hit the ball with pitch elbow (vs. punch elbow). I finally figured it out over a couple days (I was closing the face too early in the downswing and just lacked nerve to keep the clubface open so close to impact). I finally started hitting the ball with a good strong pitch elbow for the first time in my life (not before shanking about two dozen balls and learning the importance of sweetspot monitoring). It's weird, I feel like that delayed hitting position just takes a lot of nerve (and keeping the sweetspot in mind) and I don't really know how I even hit the ball doing that, but I feel like I am hitting the ball with my right palm up at impact then corkscrew a punch aimed several yards in front of the ball.
Now, over the last four days I have been hitting the ball with a good, strong pitch elbow and corkscrewing the ball into the ground with my right shoulder from a position I've never experienced before. The sound off the clubface, distance, and control are something I've never experienced before, ever. "Fore left" is gone. The past week has been a huge improvement over this past month, and the past month included the best four rounds of the last year for me.
My left wrist is much flatter than before.
My plane line now aims much more right than before, maybe a few degrees right of do-it-right.
I have a much better tempo.
My pivot is far better. I feel stuck in the ground and like I am using leverage to hit the ball. I am snapping my kinetic chain far better than before.
I can now start the ball right of target and draw it back to center. Until the past two months, I could only do this by accident despite having played golf for 30 years.
I think that instead of quitting that I am actually going to break 70 this year.
If i had had Brian's or Ben Doyle's phone number, I would have called them from the range today to thank them.
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A well struck iron shot is heaven. I live for that sound;I lust for that sound