Why You Should See A Pro For Swing Advice Instead Of Asking Around On A Forum.

Honestly, I shouldn't be playing too much golf in windy conditions. It gets your tempo outta wack, screws up your address position as you are always trying to hit it under the wind and makes you try and manipulate your ball flight artificially.

It doesn't help that Florida has been windier and windier this week due to an oncoming hurricane Ida. Downwind, u can be hitting 160yd 9 irons easily but into the wind, it can be a 140yd 6 iron. It really wrecks the game.

I have been suffering because of that, from pretty ordinary scores of ard 80-82 of late. However, the scores don't really reflect how bad my ball striking has really become. Alot of swaying, timing issues and really wayward shots have become the usual story of my game.

Before the lesson today, I have had 2 bad weeks of an OTT move on the downswing, fat shots and pulls. I had almost wanted to stop playing for 1mth just to try and forget my bad habits but my neighbour, who has become my golf kaki here, encouraged me to go see Matt Denzer of the David Leadbetter Golf Academy.

Some fotos of the driving range here at the Leadbetter Academy:

Matt's bag of tricks:



My bay:



NXT Tours for range balls. Nice.


Here is what a qualified and certified pro can do in 1 hr:



I was given a DVD of the whole lesson today complete with the dialogue so that I wun forget what I had learnt. I have only posted part 2 of the lesson to summarise what the whole hr was about.

And after about another bucket of balls at the other range (there are 2 here):



Seriously, before this lesson, I had lost quite abit of Swingspeed especially on my irons. The reason I suspect is that I am trying to get my timing rite and subconsciously trying to have better contact with the ball.

With this lesson, after I got my set-up corrected and re-aquainted myself with a proper coil again, I can fire away with more Swing speed. The results are quite remarkable. My divots have immediately become shallower.My ball flight has become more penetrating. I now have a nice draw which just half an hr before the lesson was a dreaded pull all the time.

It is still a WIP though. I now need to work on shortening my upswing and preventing my arms from lifting after the turn has been completed. It is all wasted energy which is robbing me of potential higher SS. I also need to work on my takeaway too due to the rework of the setup, I need to get it more down the line instead of too inside.

This game is difficult enough already. You wun learn alot asking people online and in a forum how to correct this or that. To really learn and work on a swing, you need 1-on-1 interaction with a good coach who will be able to spot ur mistake AND explain it to you for ur understanding.

The next step for me now is to ingrain what I have learnt so that I wun fall back into my bad habits.

Nice post bro, & good videos as well.

Agreed, nothing beats seeing a good pro that you can trust, 1 on 1 to sort out the prob. I find most of the problems start at the set up position, so I reckon it is good to get back to basics once in a while when bad habits start creeping into the swing.

hi rex

may i know how much did you pay for the 1 hr 1 to 1 coaching ?

snowman

Snowman,

I got a very decent rate from him because my neighbour and him are buddies.

The listed prices are here:

http://www.davidleadbetter.com/index_academies_pganational.html

I got it at $125USD for the full hour. No obligation to continue as a package and also free to email him questions anytime. He has a very keen eye as he coaches Tour Pros who come by here during the off-season for tune-ups.

wow..that is a good deal !!

these are the stuff that i can only dream on...no chance to go thru that at all...

glad that you had and share all these with us..

thank you

snowman

Good for you S70B

S70B wrote:

Honestly, I shouldn't be playing too much golf in windy conditions. It gets your tempo outta wack, screws up your address position as you are always trying to hit it under the wind and makes you try and manipulate your ball flight artificially.

It doesn't help that Florida has been windier and windier this week due to an oncoming hurricane Ida. Downwind, u can be hitting 160yd 9 irons easily but into the wind, it can be a 140yd 6 iron. It really wrecks the game.

I have been suffering because of that, from pretty ordinary scores of ard 80-82 of late. However, the scores don't really reflect how bad my ball striking has really become. Alot of swaying, timing issues and really wayward shots have become the usual story of my game.

Before the lesson today, I have had 2 bad weeks of an OTT move on the downswing, fat shots and pulls. I had almost wanted to stop playing for 1mth just to try and forget my bad habits but my neighbour, who has become my golf kaki here, encouraged me to go see Matt Denzer of the David Leadbetter Golf Academy.

Some fotos of the driving range here at the Leadbetter Academy:

Matt's bag of tricks:



My bay:



NXT Tours for range balls. Nice.


Here is what a qualified and certified pro can do in 1 hr:



I was given a DVD of the whole lesson today complete with the dialogue so that I wun forget what I had learnt. I have only posted part 2 of the lesson to summarise what the whole hr was about.

And after about another bucket of balls at the other range (there are 2 here):



Seriously, before this lesson, I had lost quite abit of Swingspeed especially on my irons. The reason I suspect is that I am trying to get my timing rite and subconsciously trying to have better contact with the ball.

With this lesson, after I got my set-up corrected and re-aquainted myself with a proper coil again, I can fire away with more Swing speed. The results are quite remarkable. My divots have immediately become shallower.My ball flight has become more penetrating. I now have a nice draw which just half an hr before the lesson was a dreaded pull all the time.

It is still a WIP though. I now need to work on shortening my upswing and preventing my arms from lifting after the turn has been completed. It is all wasted energy which is robbing me of potential higher SS. I also need to work on my takeaway too due to the rework of the setup, I need to get it more down the line instead of too inside.

This game is difficult enough already. You wun learn alot asking people online and in a forum how to correct this or that. To really learn and work on a swing, you need 1-on-1 interaction with a good coach who will be able to spot ur mistake AND explain it to you for ur understanding.

The next step for me now is to ingrain what I have learnt so that I wun fall back into my bad habits.

ditto to that, i might as well add, i know the intentions are good, but giving advise to others when u barely can break 80 or 90 may not help him/her in their game, its best to leave it to the professionals to do that..... jmho

i dun offer advise cos i dun break 80..... ie, i wont teach my kids chinese when i barely pass?? (got C6, i was over the moon)

slinger wrote:

ditto to that, i might as well add, i know the intentions are good, but giving advise to others when u barely can break 80 or 90 may not help him/her in their game, its best to leave it to the professionals to do that..... jmho

i dun offer advise cos i dun break 80..... ie, i wont teach my kids chinese when i barely pass?? (got C6, i was over the moon)

Dont be so humble leh, I heard u broke 80 quite easily last Fri... or did you broke wind 77 times during that round, that u had to rush home after the last hole??!!

wow.. another solid post S70B.
no more asking around for tips anymore! haha

Its been awhile since i have seen a solid and informative posting on GR.... Kudos to S70B.

very inspired n good clips... it shows something small that we are not aware of can cause so much prob....
normally when we r on a roll (timing good) we dun feel so much...
but when timing off, windy, etc we suffer and cant do a thing during the game...

well, i know coz i exeprienced it.... not once, not twice but 3 TIMES!!!!

nice post Rex

if you have read Rex post about his game, he never ever say that he is at the top of his game. he is always trying to become a better golfer all the time. that is his impetus of his constant search for excellence.

if you play golf with him or read his post, you will never hear him blame his golf clubs because he had a bad game.

everyday i meet golfers at all level, the weekend warriors, the pros and the likes of Rex who understand that they still need to improve their game by having professional advice. however it seems that the higher the handicap, the more the equipment is to be blamed for a bad round. Instead of going in search of the perfect driver, i think the search for a swing that fits one's physical abilities will be more rewarding in the mid and long term.

DGman

btw Rex, you are setup for more lag at impact (hands forward), the swing at the top produce better body torque (just look at the left pocket), at release you have gotten rid of that 2 degree reversed pivot and achieve a better top rotation. just keep working at the swing and you have to give me 1-2-3 soon.

and i am beginning to sound like a broken recorder.

DGman wrote:

btw Rex, you are setup for more lag at impact (hands forward), the swing at the top produce better body torque (just look at the left pocket), at release you have gotten rid of that 2 degree reversed pivot and achieve a better top rotation. just keep working at the swing and you have to give me 1-2-3 soon.

and i am beginning to sound like a broken recorder.

Thanks boss.

I think many of us should understand that most good positions during the swing comes from a good set-up position. The body will find a way to make it happen when hitting the ball.

I don't think about lag or even realise it happens during the swing. If I get myself setup for it, it will come.

Of course, it woudn't happen naturally if you dun practice the correct stuff.

As for the 1-2-3...... you can forget it! You have help of your own too.

Nice video S70B!
Qn: What iron are you using in the first video? why did the coach ask you to stop and start unwinding at 3/4 swing position?

I would like to offer a different view if i may.

provided you have a sound fundamental understanding of the concept and the mechanics behind. Certainly need a pair of very sharp eyes and a camcorder to tape your own swing.

Too many times, what you think is not what it seems in reality. No matter how well you describe it, without showing your actual swing, it's futile to search for a drill in an open forum to correct your fault.

Just my humble opinion.

archie wrote:

Nice video S70B!
Qn: What iron are you using in the first video? why did the coach ask you to stop and start unwinding at 3/4 swing position?

Sorry I missed your post mate.

All the swings were done with a 6 iron.

If I wasn't clear, apologies. let me explain myself again.

The coiling of my shoulders against my lower body stops when the club is about 3/4 back. When I continued to bring the club further back, its wasted energy and that continual motion becomes a lifting action, which is not productive to my max achieved coil.

What u see on video and what u feel will be very different. Although it looks like 3/4 back oni, I felt like I was oni taking the club 1/2 way back. Its a very awkward sensation that you need to overcome for it to work.

I read from somewhere that the golf swing never feels natural. If it does, you are probably doing something wrong.

Also, the most impt basic is the grip. That is the 1st thing I always check before every range session.

u are very right abt feel its only half swing yet its already 3/4 swing....

I always overswing and it feels full to me, when i try to stop when club is parallel, it feels like a half swing...

S70B wrote:

The coiling of my shoulders against my lower body stops when the club is about 3/4 back. When I continued to bring the club further back, its wasted energy and that continual motion becomes a lifting action, which is not productive to my max achieved coil.

What u see on video and what u feel will be very different. Although it looks like 3/4 back oni, I felt like I was oni taking the club 1/2 way back. Its a very awkward sensation that you need to overcome for it to work.

I read from somewhere that the golf swing never feels natural. If it does, you are probably doing something wrong.

Also, the most impt basic is the grip. That is the 1st thing I always check before every range session.

I couldn't agree more. Definitely why a video camera and analyis software is needed. The swing never feels like what it looks like. Your set up and swing is much improved S70B.

Thanks Paul, still a work in progress though.

I have taken the effort to video every range session and analyse it nightly. Its sometimes frustrating cos there will be days where everything clicks and I will see improvements but other days where the old habits creep in.

What this setup has done actually helps simplify the swing itself. Thats how impt sound fundamentals in the address are before the actual proper swing. Many amateurs are too focused on the positions during the swing but fail to understand why the grip, stance, ball position etc are more impt.

Very informative post Rex, thanks.

I'm still trying to overcome the lifting of the hands which is so darn hard, I make John Daly's swing look compact.

OT abit Birdman:

What camera model were u using at the Barclays?

The one where it can go from normal speed to slow mo and back within the same video.

Might wanna get a xmas present for myself. hehe.

Well explained, S70B! Keep the videos coming, I am sure everyone benefited from it. I did for sure

S70B wrote:

OT abit Birdman:

What camera model were u using at the Barclays?

The one where it can go from normal speed to slow mo and back within the same video.

Might wanna get a xmas present for myself. hehe.

It's the prosumer Casio FH20 (20x).

if you want the card sized ones, look to the FC100 (5x) or FS10 (3x).

Merry Christmas to you and Lynn!

Very simple to use the 30fps to 210fps function.

Set mode with dial nest to shutter. Hit the shutter button for 30fps (normal) recording, then about to backswing, press the set button on back of camera to switch to 210fps (slo mo), on followthrough, press set button again to stop 210fps and return to 30fps recording. Press shutter again to stop recording altogether.

maybe you can recomend a pro for me ... a short game pro to be specific.... ....will be in town around march....i hope...