It's been a while since I've updated. My last 3 rounds have been 72, 79 (from the big boy tees) and 73. I'm happy with my progress and still have areas I know I can improve . (Putting.)

Will post some videos soon.

looking forward to the next installment. Hope that waggle is gone, lol. waggles annoy me for some reason.

I'm going to break down the video, but addressing a good post for the most part, your tilt sucks because you're using your shoulders to tilt and weight distro. We need to do this differently which I'll address later.

Tiger doesn't have enough spine tilt away from the target, but is setup among other things has been pretty poor lately. He can get away with this most of the time, 99% can't.

Ok, brief analysis:



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The red line on the right is your starting left hip position & the one on the left is it's farthest point to the left during the backswing. What happens is your left hip slides left a bit during the backswing.

This is likely because of the spine angle at setup. It's not drawn perfect(a lot easier to see from behind view) Your lower spine is a bit too vertical, and you get the tilt you do from dropping your right shoulder which can cause problems.

Video 1 is actually much better in this regard, as in your setup you actually do this. I don't know if it's purposeful or not. However, in V1, your weight distrubution is pretty bad. Your weight should be slightly to the left with a 5 iron and your hips can be closed to the target a bit.

Do this:
-without a club, set up to a ball(or air) with your feet close(3-4 inches apart) together & your spine completely vertical with no shoulder tilt, bend over like you would address a ball and let your arms drop and put your hands together. From here, kick your right hip to the inside. feel it push in and you should feel your entire spine angle to the right and your weight shift a bit left and your right hand should drop below your left without dropping your shoulder. Do this a few times until you are making sure you are not tilting by use of your shoulders.

This should allow you to wind & unwind on a better angle. This allows your right hip to open much easier(you should be able to tell) and not have to slide any.

Film your grip up close in addition to behind, DTL, face on if you can. Try to do a bunch of swings like V1 so we can catch impact, and other important frames.

Thanks for the feedback gators. This is actually a vid from a month and a half ago. I think my alignment is a bit whacked.. I'll take some vids tomorrow if the weather permits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPcYYyRPIn0

I'll get some more soon.

I think I'm hitting a 5 iron here.

I think this looks pretty bad.

Side hill lie, approximately 30 yard chip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJg-f5yQnGI

Entirely too much effort with the hands. It's fine to hinge them on the way back, but learn to pitch the ball using body rotation while maintaining some significant angle between the right wrist and the shaft in the downswing.

Tiger pitch shot

In this one the clubhead gets basically even with the hands through impact but never really passes them. For 95% of pitches you hit, that motion will definitely hit the ball high enough to survive.

MBP, TYVM. Any recommendations on drills or swing thoughts? I'm all effort/practice, no natural ability.

Well, when you setup for a pitch shot go narrow stance, weight 60/40 forward, and hands forward a bit (like mid left thigh), with ball position mid to mid back. Then just feel the left shoulder tilt downward in the backswing, arms staying straight and maintaining the angle between right wrist and shaft that was set at address. Then just let your forward pivot power the swing. I feel like my arms are just along for the ride. Just maintain the angle all the time and you will start to figure it out.

Bumpety bump bump cause I still luv the golfs.

Did you get to scratch?

No, but I'm real happy with how far I got, and I've enjoyed the process more than the destination for sure. For the most part, I developed a well rounded game. I can score well on my good days, and my bad days are only really bad if I could get off the tee... (Which is unfortunately a bit too often.. the driver's still my weakness.)

With regards to driving, and improving consistency:

Focus on the basics.

Aim and Alignment- be specific. Pick a specific target (for me it's always someting way off in the distance. Right greenside bunker, treetop in the horizon, etc.. beyond my distance capability)
Set up square and balanced. Always feel athletic and comfortable. With great posture.

Swing- consistent tempo and rhythm. Never trying to kill it. Never trying to baby it.

Finish- always, always, always, come to a balanced finish and hold it. Grade yourself on how often you finish in complete balance. The results will follow.

Technique certainly has its place in improving, but if you strive to improve the above things, your awful days should be fewer and less problematic.

Learn to have a short memory when it comes to your bad drives, and train your thoughts toward the positive.

With each new Drive, say to yourself, "What is it that I want to do?" and the answer should be related to something (or things) involving the points above.

Without any fundamental change, my driving improved tremendously when I learned to forget negative consequences, not focus on the trouble, and ask myself, "Where do I want to hit it?" Standing behind the ball, I find that line, and keep that as my focus.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Tx, Trout, as usual, you're awesome.

I dont mean to come off as a dick but what kind of courses are you playing that you are shooting 73s and 74s???