More... Turning...

I think when I first started playing golf I had a great turn – really killed it… but that’s the problem with bad golf lessons.  It was coached out of me so when I went to see my new pro she was like, uh, how do you hit golf balls?   So now I’m here practicing in my mirror to get that full turn back while keeping my weight on the inside of my right foot.  Seems easy but not as much as you would think… I think I naturally stand on the outside of my feet in everyday life so that doesn’t make it any better.  

Mirror work –

Loose grip loose arms – width of stance

60/40 feeling pressure on inside ball of right foot

Hinged take away

Full turn with weight transfer on right hip – not trying to keep my weight centered as I naturally tend to do.

Drill for this is to cross arms – right hand on left bicep and physically turn and pull upper body to the right.  Works quite well – can mimic that in the mirror so feeling better .

I will say however I’ve had some pretty horrible shots – some stuff like way the f right and some stuff way the f left – still also having issues blading chips and topping the ball.  I am however hitting my hybrids better than I was which is good news.   I think I just need more practice time.  I haven’t really played in a few days and the first thing I noticed right away was my putting.  Plus, with so many new things it’s difficult to remember everything when you go play and don’t have a chance to even hit ten balls before going out. 

On again off again

Bladed it, smashed it, rolled it past the hole 30 feet.... you know things like that.... add up quick to a bad round but what part really sucked?  Was it one bad shot that stuck in my head or was I actually really bad at getting down the fairway?  I like tracking my stats is what I've found.  Funny... I played like crap at Skylinks this week but looking at my score my putting kept me from blowing up and my driving tried really hard to sink me.  The opposite of last week.

Lesson today was good - focused on not rolling to the outside of that right foot.  Really trying hard to focus on that and it's making my back swing feel a lot more solid and less out of control.  Funny how that works.  I think I naturally stand on the outsides of my feet so this will be an interesting one to practice.  Played alright tonight though - some bad shots but got tired too.  Not a super relaxing weekend which was too bad.... on to Monday all to fast.

The Turn

Worst.  Round. Ever.
Sunday at Comedy was my worst showing.  We finished +2 which would be on the surface not such a bad go but I actually fell over.  On hole 8 I went to hit my drive and I missed the ball (for the most part) and did a 360 and fell over.  It was awful.  I was so embarrased I cried.  I brushed it off as laughter but I cried.  I was in a bad mood all day stemming from all kinds of things but that was sort of the nail in the coffin.

Lesson two was the day before and actually was good.  My pro was very excited about how much my turn had improved from the week before so I'm looking forward to continuing to work on that.  We were going to work more on the release but I struggled so am focusing on the turn mostly this week until I get more used to it. I played a lot last week and this week it's been a struggle to get out.  I went to Skylinks to hit balls today and the ball machine was broke.  I got a half bucket and was basically told to go away and be happy with it.  Fine.

Need to work on sweeping the ground and out - was given two drills to work on once my turn is feeling more natural and I'm doing it consistantly.
- Reverse split grip doing a full swing - focus on turning the wrists to the ground
- Baseball swing on a flat plane - really working the wrists.

Focused on the fact the release actually starts at the top of the swing.  My arms are extending out both at the takeaway, down swing and after impact to the the finish which is reducing my swing speed significantly.  Need to get that hinge in play...Time to probably say "bye" to my ladies hybrid cause I'm gonna be back to my old swing crushing it.  She was impressed by my distance and thinks it will easily increase once I get this all figured out - and stop topping the ball.  While Sunday was a shit show the couple balls I did get to hit today were alright.  A few spraying around but once I get that impact zone locked in again I'll be fine.

Few last notes - when the balls go left with my swing it means the rotation isn't happening.  Good way to hook the ball.  Loose and relaxed is the key to sweet shots with good hinge.
Will try to get back out tomorrow after work before I workout - I hope the dumb ball machine is working.  Will try to play Hartwell again Thrusday to beat my old score.  Fingers crossed it doesn't rain Friday and  that brings us back to Saturday again!

Years Later

New world like two years latter huh? 

There was John then someone else?   No, Mike.  Then back to Kev and back to Mike and hitting balls at Heartwell.  New job.  No time.  A whole summer wasted - 24 handicap slips back to 26.  Shit.

My lessons in golf started a long time ago and I don't really have much to show for it when you look on the surface.  A couple good rounds breaking 100, a few closest to the pins, I can make in down the fairway usually in three shots instead of seven... It's hard when you start at the max of 30 to even get to 25.  It doesn't even feel incremental.  I also don't have all my old score cards to show improvement - maybe if had kept them the story would look better but I live a life as free from clutter as possible.  I am hard on myself after all.

Dig a little bit deeper though and all these really beautiful stories emerge.  A wonderful loving boyfriend, smart and funny friends, a new job because I met someone even worse at golf than me out there swinging sticks and getting some sun.  Yes, we tend to look at the negative, why am I not a 20 handicap yet?  All this money on golf lessons... all this time just trying over and over and over to sink a putt from five feet.  All the frustration, lost balls, lost mind, lost heart.  We miss the point.  The game we play is the exact same game we watch on TV.... you can actually watch golf on TV 24 hours a day - a whole industry built around hitting a ball into a hole.  At the same time, it's not the same game at all.  We don't have sponsorships, and tour cards to keep, we putt from off the green, bump and run with a 7 iron, get really good at punch out shots to get back to the fairway and when we finally get the ball in the hole it's our friends that say, nice finish - and they mean it.  They want you to play well too.

I suppose though there is an easy road and a hard road.  The hard road is hacking away until you get better.  I'm choosing the easier road with all the practice and the lessons and the score tracking.  Trying to see if I can't get some statistics to emerge.  Actually kind of seems like the hard road huh?  I'm waiting to make goals until I have somthing measureable but I think beyond low scoring it will have a lot to do with figuring out hybrid clubs, hitting those greens in regulation, and after I stop swaying like a tree in the breeze every time I hit a golf shot adding those lost yards Mike took away from me.

New Pro: LPGA Class A - Note the L in LPGA. 

Lesson 1 - Ye 'ol Setup

This has been tweeked, modified, changed, scrapped, re-build, added on to, straighened out, added tilt, you name it by everyone who has seen me. Kris didn't have much to say - three things I'm working on.

Looser arms
Club butt pointing at left ear
60% of weight on inside of the right leg

I'm very bound up when I swing - Mike did this to me.  He too had a compact swing and he also had a fast swing without a lot of body rotation from what I remember.  I'm actually not turning at all.  I played this Sunday at comedy with a guy who has no body rotation at all.  Less than me!  I noticed some of the issues he was having were the same that I have been having - balls going every which way.  While the lesson did not focus so much on body rotation I did notice notice quite a change in my driving and overall distance when I played 9 at Skylinks this week...

Keeping the  weight in the right leg promotes "staying behind the ball" and not swaying forward twards the target.  A big turn "back facing the target" promotes good power.  I had 6/10 fairways at Skylinks yesterday (didn't play a whole round casue it got dark).  I noticed when I focused on that weight in the right leg I hit straight - and long.  My longest drive was 240 yesterday. 

My best round was this summer in MN and I was driving out of my mind - I've never played like that again.  Kevin asked me what my swing thought was I said staying behind the ball.  I think this is what I was doing - weight in the right leg but I didn't know I was doing it.  Excited to keep practicing this at setup - if I continue to hit balls like this I will hit 90 this summer. 

lord it's been some time

Alright so not the constant posting that I had been hoping for but isn't that how a blog works?  It's not like good golf isn't a goal but it also isn't easy.  The game is 95% mental and 5% non sucking swing and if you've got that you've got yourself a pretty good golf game.  This spring and summer were not easy or fun and it had a serious effect on my game.  Quick summary without too many unnecessary details:
- Started to see John and coaching was going just okay.  In the end I found out he wasn't the right fit for me as his style wasn't my thing and he didn't explain things in a way that clicked for me.  I think he is an excellent coach and I am a much better golfer when I use the set up that he taught me.  I will for sure have this set up into the absolute indefinite future.  While every coach  I have from now forward will have their own idea of the right setup I really like John's and I think that it's really sold and build for swinging from the lower body.
- Not that it matters.  John moved to China to teach golf there to Olympic hopefuls.
- Emotionally this summer hasn't been easy.  A rough life carries straight out onto the course and I actually left the course in one instance where I couldn't pull my shit together emotionally enough to even play.  No wonder Tiger fell off the scene when his wife chased after him with a golf club.

Last week though I decided I've had enough bad golf games and called my friend Jeff.  He isn't exactly a PGA swing coach but he is good at reminding me of the things I'm doing wrong.  He calls me out all the stuff that John called out and the most important thing?  He doesn't use gimmicks.  None of this oh well if you hold your club like this you will fix your swing cause it's so closed at impact that you can't possibly slice the ball.  No.  Jeff says something and it must be how he says it or how he explains things but they click with me right away and it's easy for me to fix things on the spot.  He also gets me motivated to play well and that's what it's all about... motivation to  play well and motivation to practice.  I'm telling you, practice is key.  You've got to practice... and not just like once a month, once a week, twice a week.... but like at least one round a week and practice a couple times a week.  Clubs in hand three times a week to maintain playing the same way you play every week.  Add a swing coach, time on the putting green with drills and sticks, working out, yoga, range time and chipping.  Hours of chipping... then... then watch your handicap drop.  Simple as that right?  Who has all this time???

Lunch Monday:  Putting... After work Monday:  Meet with Jeff and work on swing.
Tuesday:  Yoga at lunch, swim after work
Wednesday: Yoga at lunch, range after work with chipping
Thursday: Yoga at lunch, curling at night
Friday:  Swim at lunch if lucky or yoga, short game or practice after work.
Saturday:  Yoga or 18 holes.
Sunday:  Comedy Golf

So... the time exists.  But... it is really hard to get that practice in.  Kevin is gone all week working on the east coast and I have no kids and by looking at my calendar you probably think no social life either :)  I used to curl as much as I play golf and I got really pretty good at it.  Curling isn't accessible here so I've replaced the obsession with golf.  Love it.  Shot one of my best rounds this weekend and now I cannot wait to get back out and play again.  More goodies to come!  Thanks for sticking with me, it's onward and upward from here!

1+1+1+1+1+1+1 = a golf swing

I'm supposed to practice these little swings and every time I add something else I'm supposed to do I forget something else.  Good back swing, why have I lost my posture?  Good contact, why is your wrist opening the club face?  Time to practice... how?  I've just come up with a good way to do this.  Same as rowing!  Focus tens.

Ten 1.25 swings....

Ten for back swing position at the hinge. 

Ten for grounded feet. 

Ten for hips swinging the club. 

Ten for only a 1.25 finish club butt pointed at my hip. 

Ten for wrist position. 

Ten for feeling the club change direction.  

Ten for good posture. 

Gonna see how this works for me.  It worked with rowing after all.  Quick hands away, sitting up, slow up the side... with any highly technical sport with repetitive movement I think this might be key!  For sure without a doubt when I keep my good posture and swing with my hips the rest becomes much easier.  Duh Amanda.

In other news I realized golf is 95% mental, 3% style and 2% knowing what you're doing.  Also, no thanks to the PGA store my clubs are the right length and the grips are the jam.  Alright, off to practice.  Ten for grounded feet in two.  

practice makes perfect

Unsolicited advice.  I dish it out all the time... can't lie.  Random stuff, what roads to take after 5 PM, what curling shoes are best, how to pass the 8th grade, why you need Amazon prime.  When it comes to the golf course it's like men can't stop with the advice.  Choke down, choke up, feet wider, feet more narrow, stand closer, stand back a bit, arms loser, firmer grip, loosen the grip... rapid fire, unsolicited, I'm gonna punch you if you don't stop talking, advice.  So how's a girl to deal?  Here is some... uh, unsolicited advice on how to deal with it on the range and more importantly, in the middle of a round. :)

This week has been tough.  I'm trying to really working on making good contact, leading with the left wrist but not breaking the hinge, and finishing with weight transfer to make the ball go straight with good loft.  That's a lot of stuff to work on.  However, because I practice and practiced and practiced my set up I'm fining it easier to work on what I want.  That's been my deal all week - everything is off to the right though.  Shank freaking central.  Shaw Shank Redemption.  It's bad news.  Brad and I went to the driving range and he was determined to make this work for me.  So he starts talking, moving me around, do this, do that.  Bla bla bla.  This is why I have a pro.  The best thing to do is remember what your coach told you.  If the person you are with tells you something your pro told you take it as a good reminder.  If they say something that helps you understand something your pro already told you... great, it will only help to hear it in another way and maybe it will help make it stick.  If they start saying something that contradicts something your pro told you just gently tell the advice giving man, no.  Case in point.  I need to keep my feet shoulder distance - even a touch more.  My shoulders are really wide - wider than my hips for sure.  It looks funny to have my feet that far apart but I need to have them that way at this point because it helps with my hip rotation.  Brad didn't like it.  I just said, hey Brad, it's something I'm working on with John because bla bla bla.  He says okay and we move on.  In the end he helped remind me of some things I needed to be working on and I'm not hitting balls off to the right nearly as much.  It's good to get out and practice with different people.  It makes practice more fun and it helps me get used to golfing with more people so I'm less nervous in the tee box.  

Story two...  we had our tournament of champions yesterday at Bixby.  We still drew names and I got Brad's friend Brandon.  He and I have played together before and I could tell he was a bit disappointed that we drew the same number.  I knew he thought he had a good chance of winning with the right partner and that partner probably wasn't me.  We were one of the first groups to tee off.  I did my set up, took a deep breath, tried to calm my nerves and gave it a sold hit.  Right.  Right into the trees.  I pulled my tee, and walked back to my bag, tossed in the stupid six iron, threw my bag on my back and started down the fairway.  This was not how I wanted to start my round.  I could feel my body was tense, my heart was beating fast and I even felt a little numb and shaky.  CRAP.  I wanted a good first shot and I wanted to impress my partner.  I know Brandon is super competitive and I knew he wanted a chance to win.  Right away he started giving me advice, how to play, what the strategy was, not to let the other pair with us get in our heads.  Important to have fun... all this bull.  I walked up to my bad shot, picked my ball up and said, "Listen.  Take some of your own advice.  Just be cool and let's have a good game."  We did and he had nothing else to say to me about my swing  I shaped up after that and didn't have too many bad shots.  In fact, I golfed really well and we had a solid ham and egg game finishing -1.   Be firm about what you're working on and don't let anyone work you up or get in your business.