Awesome to have the doc back, this thread has helped my game almost as much as my private lessons have!

Thanks - funny you saw that! Was completely unexpected, but nice to be recognized on a National level. I was given an amazing trip as part of the award, so looking forward to that later in the year when I need some R&R!

For those of you interested, check my website www.robstocke.com there are links to FB ( Rob Stocke Pga) and Twitter ( @dagolfdoc).

Just got home from Orlando & got some rest - looking forward to catching up on the forum later today!

Thanks! Let me know if you have any questions or if I can be of assistance.

So I havent played a round of golf since october I think.

My course open for trolley and grass play in the beginning of april.

The range is open year round, the course is open year round with carry bag + a little mat you put under your ball to not kill the grass + winter greens.

I'll start to play some golf next week, but how is my time best spend.

Doing what I can from your programme?

Walking some rounds with the restriction?

A combination? And how should I combine?

Time is an issue atm, between powerlifting, buisness school, girlfriend etc I expect I can make it to the course 2xweek, when summer starts, ill up it a little, and doing summer vacation, which is close to 3 month for me, Ill do about 5xweek.

HCP 22.1.

Thanks for all the help you already have given me, but what can you recommend with the time I have?

Hi Doc-

Wonder if you'd take a quick sec to diagnose my swing issues?

My misses -- I usually push the ball right with a small slice (mostly it starts right and ends a bit further right). The longer the iron, the worse it is. I also have some trouble with my short irons -- I go back and forth between skulling them and creating massive divots.

I'm 6'5, the clubs I use are standard length. Shoot high 90s now, hoping to get to high 80s.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated

Thanks!
Grant

(might help a bit to make these 720p and full screen)

Down the Line
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1EKLgwqcJY

Side View
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUwKg-0iaEg

Awesome. Congrats doc!

dagolf doc, that is a legit BRAGGGGGGGG imo

and that DJ vid you have on your homepage is stupid (good)

Cookie - making the most productive use of your time is important, I understand your concern with having limited time and wanting to make the most of what time you have at the course/range. I would suggest doing anything you can AWAY from the course - you can work on your posture, pivot, grip, even motions in your swing at home in front of a mirror - that type of work will do wonders for you when you get to the course. Spending 10-15 minutes at home working on posture, takeaway, etc is like hitting a full bucket of balls - you can work effectively and by watching yourself in a mirror, you'll practice doing things properly.

Once you get to the course, I'd spend at least 1/2 your time on short game (100 yards and less), to get your feel back and improve your scoring. Spend the other 1/2 on full-shots with different clubs from various lies. I'd also recommend playing as much as possible, if you only have 1-hour, I'd spend that practicing, but if you have enough time to play 9 holes, I'd try to do that at least once per week.

Once you're back in a regular schedule, find the shot(s) that really hurt your game, and focus on understanding the causes of your misses, and spend time eliminating/correcting those shots.

Hopefully that provides some help - feel free to shoot me any other questions.

Love your threads doc. My question is in regard to iron play. I recently watched a video that basically had 3 impact positions that are commonly used when striking a golf ball with an iron. The correct one it seemed was when the shaft was pointed towards the target with hands in front of the ball upon impact. I have tried this, but whenever I do I either end up hitting it very thin, or I completely top it. I set up like I normally would, only now I am trying to start with my hands left of the ball when I start my swing. Any suggestion how to hit a correct iron shot?

Any tips on how to hit a higher pitch shot? I tend to skull the ball a little more often than I should. Thanks and great thread btw

Thanks - it sounds like you're getting the proper feel of "Lag" and keeping the hands in front of the clubface at impact. When most players are working on this and are hitting tops/thins, it's because their weight is not far enough forward at impact (given that you DO have the handle in front of the ball at impact). If your body/weight is too far back, the club will be moving up into the ball and you'll catch it slightly on the upswing. Try doing some drills where you play the ball in the middle to back of your stance and place your weight on entirely on the front foot (you can try to straighten & lock your back leg to help get the feeling) - hit some short punch shots this way with a lofted club to get the feeling of weight & hands forward, and getting compression with the irons. A feeling that works well with many of my students is trying to feel like they are getting their right hip (for a RH player) in front of the ball at impact - this helps forcing your weight to the front foot.

LMK if you have other questions or need more suggestions.

Hitting a higher pitch shot brings an element of higher risk, but it is a needed shot and is fun to learn and use in play. It's important to understand why you hit it thin - the clubhead is moving upward into the ball, which means the bottom of the swing was behind the ball. There's a couple reasons why that happens - either your weight was too far back or your hands tried to lift the ball. Here's a couple things to do to avoid the dreaded skill/chunk.

Make sure you have all your weight forward (try to put your front hip - left for a RH player, above your front ankle), you do not want to scoop the shot, but let the loft lift the ball. It should be forward in the stance, and you can open the face a little to add some loft. Start by keeping the face square and developing a feel for keeping some hinge in the right wrist (rh player), through impact, this won't make it go really high at first, but it will help eliminate the thin shot. Once you get solid contact, open the face a little and widen your stance - I like to feel like I am "wide, far, and low" - meaning, my feet are wide (wider than shoulder width), I am further from the ball than normal, and the handle is low to the ground (for a super high shot, they feel almost knee high) - this setup will help add loft and create a very shallow attack. Remember that your weight must start & stay forward!

Most people try to "help" the shot by lifting, but if you use the bounce correctly (see my early post in this thread, it's somewhere around #118), that will help you to launch the ball higher also.

Keep your weight on the front, start by learning to pinch the ball by keeping some bend in your wrist, and then start to gradually adjust your setup to help launch the ball higher. Also, learn all you can about how to use the bounce which is a must in producing great wedge shots.

Try it out and don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions!

Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I do try to lift the ball with my hands.

I'll try some of that out. It definitely makes sense.

You are the man btw.... Seriously.

Thanks bro! Hope it helps! Lmk if you need more info - also check my website for some videos - I'll have new ones posted in the coming weeks.

What is the correct swing path for flop shots? With an open stance i'm unsure whether to follow the line of my body or the line towards my target/where the face is aimed. It seems when i go with my body i'm cutting the ball and putting some sick left to right spin on it when i make good contact. When i go where the face is aimed the ball comes out better on the good hits but it's super uncomfortable..i'm taking the club up more near me in the backswing and away from me in the follow through..like alot when the face is wide open. (I use a 56 degree lw)

Thoughts?