Hi guys, long-time lurker here. I've been struggling with hitting it left since 2007.
Rant on: I frequently heard from instructors and "qualified observers" that I was steep and coming over the top. "See, ya kinda take it back inside, cross the line at the top, then reroute it, and on the downswing you come across the target line with the face shut." Then they broke out the digital crap with red and blue lines or pulled out pros' swing sequences as example of how to do it... Here was the problem: While the wisemen were watching my hands and shoulders, I was looking at the clubhead. "It looks like I somehow manage to swing from the inside." "No it's the camera angle, believe me, you've got the classic hack move..." or "It's impossible to come from the inside with your move at the top." Another thing I clearly saw was that my divots were either at the target or right of it. "If the ball is starting left you HAVE to be coming over the top. You're not reading your divots right." The "fixes" were as counterproductive as the diagnoses. Aim at the inside rear quadrant of the ball (my personal favorite). Take the club to the outside more on the backswing, slide the hips right of the target to initiate the downswing, weaken the grip, use an "Inside Approach" type training aid. Decent fixes for a different problem, fellas. Good thing they're not surgeons..."I come in for a heart procedure and you cut off my WHAT?"
After a recent iron fitting on a launch monitor, I finally had enough and looked for a local instructor who uses Trackman (thanks to my lurking here) or something similar to assist the instruction. Luckily enough I came across Damon Lucas' name, and when I read his background and teaching philosophy on his course's website, I booked a lesson as fast as I could. Funny thing is that without Trackman, Damon diagnosed my problem (and confirmed exactly what I was seeing and feeling) with maybe 5 or 6 wedge swings and as many driver swings. Reader's Digest Condensed version: "You're coming from the inside and flipping. You need to swing left with the lower body leading the leading the hands, and the hands leading the club head through impact." Easy enough. OK, not quite...I'm still working on it and have a way to go, but I've played 3 full rounds since last Friday's lesson, lost 4 drives left (but still in play), and managed to avoid severely short-siding myself on approach shots for 54 holes. Translation: zero double bogeys. Yeah, certainly no big deal for some of you guys, I know, but I haven't gone three rounds without a double since I lost my golf mind in 2007.
What really pisses me off about the whole ordeal is that none of these other instructors saw what my amateur eyes, the ground, a launch monitor, and Damon saw while watching me hit a dozen balls. What is it exactly that these people are looking at? Is it really that freakin' hard to follow the clubhead or is everyone that fixated on what a dude's right shoulder or hands might be doing during one split second in the swing? No wonder why people quit taking lessons. No wonder why people quit golf. In comparison to other amateurs, I've always considered my swing as "effective garbage" but somehow adequate enough to play in the mid-single digits for the past 10 years. I don't expect miracles from instructors, but for God's sake can't they at least follow the clubhead during the swing? Arrgh!
Rant off.
Anyway, if the rest of the GTE instructors are at Damon's level, you guys are in very good shape around here. By the way, Brian, great site. I even visited this place when I took a year off from playing. It's as entertaining as it is educational.
Rant on: I frequently heard from instructors and "qualified observers" that I was steep and coming over the top. "See, ya kinda take it back inside, cross the line at the top, then reroute it, and on the downswing you come across the target line with the face shut." Then they broke out the digital crap with red and blue lines or pulled out pros' swing sequences as example of how to do it... Here was the problem: While the wisemen were watching my hands and shoulders, I was looking at the clubhead. "It looks like I somehow manage to swing from the inside." "No it's the camera angle, believe me, you've got the classic hack move..." or "It's impossible to come from the inside with your move at the top." Another thing I clearly saw was that my divots were either at the target or right of it. "If the ball is starting left you HAVE to be coming over the top. You're not reading your divots right." The "fixes" were as counterproductive as the diagnoses. Aim at the inside rear quadrant of the ball (my personal favorite). Take the club to the outside more on the backswing, slide the hips right of the target to initiate the downswing, weaken the grip, use an "Inside Approach" type training aid. Decent fixes for a different problem, fellas. Good thing they're not surgeons..."I come in for a heart procedure and you cut off my WHAT?"
After a recent iron fitting on a launch monitor, I finally had enough and looked for a local instructor who uses Trackman (thanks to my lurking here) or something similar to assist the instruction. Luckily enough I came across Damon Lucas' name, and when I read his background and teaching philosophy on his course's website, I booked a lesson as fast as I could. Funny thing is that without Trackman, Damon diagnosed my problem (and confirmed exactly what I was seeing and feeling) with maybe 5 or 6 wedge swings and as many driver swings. Reader's Digest Condensed version: "You're coming from the inside and flipping. You need to swing left with the lower body leading the leading the hands, and the hands leading the club head through impact." Easy enough. OK, not quite...I'm still working on it and have a way to go, but I've played 3 full rounds since last Friday's lesson, lost 4 drives left (but still in play), and managed to avoid severely short-siding myself on approach shots for 54 holes. Translation: zero double bogeys. Yeah, certainly no big deal for some of you guys, I know, but I haven't gone three rounds without a double since I lost my golf mind in 2007.
What really pisses me off about the whole ordeal is that none of these other instructors saw what my amateur eyes, the ground, a launch monitor, and Damon saw while watching me hit a dozen balls. What is it exactly that these people are looking at? Is it really that freakin' hard to follow the clubhead or is everyone that fixated on what a dude's right shoulder or hands might be doing during one split second in the swing? No wonder why people quit taking lessons. No wonder why people quit golf. In comparison to other amateurs, I've always considered my swing as "effective garbage" but somehow adequate enough to play in the mid-single digits for the past 10 years. I don't expect miracles from instructors, but for God's sake can't they at least follow the clubhead during the swing? Arrgh!
Rant off.
Anyway, if the rest of the GTE instructors are at Damon's level, you guys are in very good shape around here. By the way, Brian, great site. I even visited this place when I took a year off from playing. It's as entertaining as it is educational.
and it seems like every weeknight I can make it it rains lol! Maybe the golf gods are telling me something!
