EXACTLY!! Thanks JTrout. Cookie - you definitely want that right thumb on top of the forearm.
You get the left arm in a good position in the drill - can you see how it runs across your chest - that would be the goal in your "actual" swing. Keep after it, and keep trying to "squeeze" your left arm against your chest on the backswing - you will feel like the handle of the golf club works more around your body as opposed to going up. When you get this, it will not only help improve your path/plane, but it will help your body rotation and pivot as well!

Keep us posted - improvement is coming!

Again thanks a lot.

Ive been reduced in HCP twice since starting this, 27,5 now. Also had an amazing 7 hole run one day:

par, par, par, par, GIR but 3 putt, par, bogie.

Im trying to swing more around the body on the course, it feels like some of my strokes becomes longer and flies higher. But when I try to get it on video I cant seem to do the right backswing... It'll get there soon I hope.

I did some filming yesterday, while gf play beginner golf (trying to get access to the course, she started like 1 month ago.)

3 foot putting (warning 2 minutes of putting):

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

35 yards pitching, side:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYwk9icjI_A

Will post the rest later. But when you talk about spin from 35 yards, do you want me to do actual backspin or just make the ball not roll too, too much?

Does the choice of ball matter here? I just use used lake balls, mixed staff.

Putting: Your elbows shouldn't be so bunched up at address. Your position forces you to throw the club at the ball instead of letting your shoulder turn back and through control the putter. Your arms should hang a little more naturally from your body.


Pitching: The motion looks really good until impact. Your left hand stopped at impact and the club flipped over, you can't consistently control your pitches with this motion.

DTL 35 yards pitch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abbckwRDu1U

Chip side view (seeing this on video it looks like I do it alot different from how you do it in the instructionel video...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qcRn8-GDNY

Chip DTL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xfh88QQi8E

Any comment appreciated, and sorry if Im starting to derail this thread.

Worked on some putting tonight. Not strictly the UPR because I'm still working on honing my stroke from various distances. But I did hit some 3 footers and made 17/20. Green is pretty ****ty so I think on a better surface I make 18-19 of these. But still need a lot of practice before I get to 25 straight.

I attempted some 20 foot lags and went 20/20 on my first try with getting them all within 3' radius so that is the first portion of the UPR that I've actually conquered (won't count it though, as I need to get the 3'ers first.) But still, progress.

Tried some 6 and 10 footers and I think I sunk 2 out of 10 from 10 feet but wasn't really paying close attention to the stats.

I did a fun drill from 45' where I took 10 balls and lagged them, then finished each ball up from wherever it settled, obviously trying to 2-putt each of the 10 balls.

First 10 from 45 feet I knocked them all in with 27 strokes so 2.7 putts per ball.
Then I got 2.3 putts per. Then 2.5 putts per. So I averaged 2.5 putts per ball from 45 feet after 30 trials. Not spectacular but it's a big improvement for me. I think I could have done better but the dude was watering the middle portion of the green so the ball would slow down a bit and pick up moisture half way to the hole. lol. Munis ftl.

My distance control is getting much better and more consistent though. It's nice to hit a long lag and immediately after you hit a "bad shot" you know you hit it too hard and it ends up rolling like 1 foot further than what you wanted. Crazy.

Started program B a couple days ago, and I was surprised at my results. I dropped 25 5' putts in a row much quicker than I expected (Probably 5 tries with a few misses before double digits), and dominated the 20' and 30' lags (Took a while though, as I was hitting 5 balls at a time to avoid collisions, and taking some time too) while doing decently from 45' (Probably took 3 tries). The chipping from 40' was tougher than expected, likely because I did the set before from a max of 25', but I still did it pretty quick.

I remembered buried lies being listed in the bunker section, so I decided to take it to the extreme, stamping a ball down with no more than one third of it above the sand. I learned of a truly shocking thing yesterday, that closing the face and abbreviating your through swing (as if you are just dragging the club through the sand) works well in buried lies, and trying it amazed me! It got unexpectedly high for my 54* wedge (Just a few feet) and went nice and short. What do you all do for buried lies?

Geez, I read this a couple times, and just realized I misread it. I thought you said with, not without a steel front bumper. I'm glad my jeep is a real jeep

Hood it and whoop it. You're doing it right. Just slam it into the sand, no need to worry about follow through.

Doc thanks a bunch for this drill you weren't kidding about the ball-striking improvement. I think I finally understand how to get my club on plane. Career round last Sunday, so it's time to practice the heck out of this move and groove it.

Good read, can't wait to try some of these drills.

Hey Cookie - sorry it took me so long to get to this - putting stroke is solid! Really good motion with the shoulders & arms. Two things I'd recommend though - try really hard to keep your head still when you putt - if you watch your head with the stroke, it follows the putter through impact. This can really hurt you when you get a breaking putt or a putt under pressure. A good way to practice is put a quarter or nickel under the ball and try to determine if it's heads or tails before you look up. The second thing, which is minor, is the index finger of your right hand - it looks from the video as though it's pointing down the shaft. I really try to get my students out of doing that, as that finger can "push" the head through impact when the pressure is on! It feels great, but it can only lead to bad things. If you can wrap it around the grip as opposed to pointing it down the shaft, it will pay off in the long run.

Pitching: I echo Spottswoode - keep that handle moving through impact - try & put the butt of the club in your back left pocket. From start to impact, your pitching motion is really solid! Just let your body pivot and the arms will follow.

I'll tell you, you're on the way to some really serious improvement! Your action is improving, and I can see you are working hard! Congrats! Keep it coming!!

Oh c'mon man - you're not derailing this thread, you're improving it! I love seeing guys who want to get better!!

Your chipping/pitching are so close to really being tight - they are just a little steep (out-to-in), and the body just stops rotating at impact. Let your knees & hips keep turning so that they can support the club - that will stop the little flip you have at impact. Use your belly-button to control the distance, the faster it rotates, the further the ball will fly.

You're close! Keep it up Cookie!!!

Love it!! Great drill!

You're getting better! I love hearing these stories! Keep working hard, you'll get those 3-footers soon!!

Sweet! I think you're the first one on here who's tried the second part of this! Great job with the 5' and lags! I'm impressed!

Great discovery! That is a very good way to get the ball out of a buried lie, and that's how I did it for years. However, a few years ago Daniel Chopra showed me a way to get out of buried lies and it's so easy, it's like cheating!! Instead of closing the face, open it way open and imagine there is an arrow pointing where the shaft/hosel and leading edge meet (I wish I had that drawing program some of you guys have - I'd draw a pic for you)- you are going to drive that arrow into the sand right before the ball. I swear you feel like you're going to shank it, but it comes out so high & soft - literally no spin. You can hit it pretty hard and the ball just floats out. Give it a try - if I can find a way to get a pic or draw it so you can see the "arrow" I'll do it. Hopefully the description makes sense!

Awesome!! I love hearing about career rounds! Keep it up, and if I can help, let me know!

Thanks - if I can be of help, please let me know!

That sounds awesome, will try it out tomorrow. tyty

Went back to the green again last night and again I was the only one there lol.

Lagged from 45' 3 sets of 10, and then holed-out each ball and added up all my strokes. Total strokes were 26, 24, 26. So added to what I did yesterday (27, 23, 25) I'm averaging barely over 2.5 putts/ball from 45'. Pretty cool but I think I can get this even lower. Have had a handful of them settle inches next to the cup.

Then lagged from 30' and did very well. 2 sets of 8, again holing out each ball. Almost every ball was within a 3' radius, which was good. Took 17 total strokes each trial for an average of 2.13 putts/ball from 30'. (This was a very flat surface with only slight uphill).

Then hit 10 footers 2 sets of 8 and scored 15 strokes each time (2 1-putts and 1 3-putt once and 0 3-putts and 1 1-putt the other time) for an average of 1.88 putts/ball from 10'

I think I can/should do better from this distance as I had been lagging so much that I wasn't giving my line proper credence from 10 feet. Was still going for speed but next time I will sink more I think. From that close, that should be the goal anyway. I hope to start the official UPR soon!

To be honest, I think you may be using too little club, at least from 50+ yards. In what way were you terrible? I can't imagine using my 58* except when playing a full swing from ~85y or playing to shortsided pins. If you're just playing for the green (generally the right choice for mid-high hdcp), I'd suggest using your shortest iron from your set (it may be a PW or GW) and making compact swings to get a good feel. There's still plenty of loft on those clubs, and they won't be as high risk to use out of rough as your 60* (I'm sure you've slid under a ball a few times with it).

Doc I have a question for you. How would you go about taking a formerly highly competitive player who has essentially taken 2 years off of golf but is attempting to transition back to competition? I have an instructor who is very good (Ted Sheftic). Getting with him to clean up basics and make sure I haven't gotten sloppy.

As background:

• Was as low as +4 but pretty consistently a +1 or 2
• Played several USGA events as well as regional and some national am events
• I was on the shorter side (270-280) but very good 100 yds and in

I guess it boils down to playing vs. practice. Would you have me play a lot to get back into the groove of playing or work on a lot of drills and practice really hard? And where would you have me focus my practice time?

How long would it take for you to get through Program B in the first post in this thread?

excellent read, took me awhile to get through..in the meantime, i've changed my putting routine from just trying to hit putts before rounds to knocking down a dozen or so three footers, and then going to 20-30 feet out trying to get within 3 feet. i will formally start the UPR today and cannot wait

Jesus if your greens aren't bigger than 20-30 feet those are some seriously small greens!

I play on a course with small greens (typically about 65' x 75') and maybe have 1-2 30-35 footer per round. Of course I'm not hitting many GIR but it's not like the flags are all tucked around the perimeter of the greens.

I heard the average PGA Tour greens are 6,500 sq. ft. and the ones at the RBC were 4,000 sq. ft. That's crazy small.