Well, it's been just over a week since our Atlanta trip and here's the report so far. The minor change in my grip has been the easiest of all the corrections up to this point. In just a couple days, the new grip began to feel natural to me and is no longer a conscious thought. The second easiest transition so far has been the slight adjustment in my setup. Again, within a few days I was feeling comfortable with the changes. The two biggest changes (1) my takeaway and (2) the transition from the top of the backswing to impact have been the primary focus of every practice session since I've been home. Thanks in part to the drills I was given and the thousands of golf balls I've hit in the last week, I'm happy to report there's progress being made. I wouldn't say it's second nature just yet, but everyday seems to be better than one before.
I have managed to fit in a couple rounds in between the endless hours on the driving range. One being at the newly renovated University Club in Baton Rouge (a 7,700 yard par-72 course) and the other at Audubon Golf Course in New Orleans (a 4,200 yard par-62 course). The round I played at the UC was tough to say the least. It's easily the longest course I've ever played so even on my best day it would of been difficult. I think it was a little too early amidst the swing changes to expect any ground-breaking scores. Fortunately, the round at Audubon took place the very next day and yielded much better results. While Audubon is a full 3,500 yards shorter than the UC, it still felt good to make 6 birdies on the round and hit a lot of quality shots.
Tournament Update:
After multiple conservations with the family, I went ahead and registered for the 2010 PGA Tour Q-School. For a while there it seemed in question, but I think the swing advice I've received lately has been a big help and I'm confident that in a months time I'll be ready. I've elected to go back to Dallas for q-school, which is where I went last year, so hopefully I'll get my first choice. I should know within the next few days. If that site is already full, my next choice is Port St. Lucie, Florida so there's a chance I could end up there.
In the meantime, everyday will continue to be filled with more practice and playing trying to groove the swing changes. I'm getting together with Brian here at English Turn tomorrow to review everything I've been working on. He and Tom have been in contact lately so now everyone's on the same page with what I need to be working on in my swing. When we go to Atlanta Labor Day weekend for the LSU game, I plan on working with Tom that Friday afternoon to get another quick look. That's it for now. More to come next week.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Back from Atlanta
We're back home now from Atlanta so I wanted to post a recap on how the trip went. We got into Atlanta around 1:00 and by the time we got our bags, rented a car and drove nearly an hour north from the airport I arrived at Alpharetta Athletic Club at 3:00 in time to start my lesson. We began by going over a brief history of my golfing career and what ultimately lead me to being there in the first place. I explained the struggles I'd been having lately and he was quickly interested in seeing me hit some balls. For a good two and a half hours we worked together trying identify the main areas of my swing that needed work. It was nice having the ability to look at my swing from multiple angles in slow motion because it caused the flaws in my swing to really stand out. I'd say that there were 4 issues that we both felt needed improvement. For those that understand the golf swing here they are:
(1) Grip: My grip was too weak which was causing a lot of the shots I was missing to
to the right. Tom suggested that I turn my left hand over more to the right (stronger) just slightly which put my grip in a more neutral position.
(2) Setup: I need to center my weight more in my address position and put my head back a little and not cocked forward like it was.
(3) Backswing: For those that have played golf with me know that my backswing is short...no big secret there. Because its short, I tend to not make a big enough shoulder turn which affects my rhythm and tempo and can get really jerky under pressure. Tom gave me a good drill to work on that really helps with this problem.
(4) Impact: We noticed that when I would hit my driver, my left heel was jumping
about 2" inches off the ground right before impact. I didn't do this with any other club, but definitely another cause of hitting shots to the right...especially with my driver. Tom explained a better way to use my pivot on the downswing to help alleviate this problem and it seemed to work pretty well.
On Saturday, we got together again around 10:00 for a follow-up lesson. This time, we basically worked on the same things we had talked about the day before. We took some more video and introduced a couple new drills to work on going forward. We called it a day around lunch time, and from there I went next door to meet with the person in charge of club fitting. The facility we worked out of was a brand new building built just off to the side of the driving range. It had two hitting bays that could be opened up to the range; one for Tom to teach out of and the other to do club fittings. I was interested in demoing a few drivers and the guy there was more than willing to help. He did have a lot going on so what we did was pretty informal and more or less just me seeing what clubs felt the best. I tried one type of driver in about 10 different shafts and came up with a combination that might be a possibility in the future. It was a good experience and if I get back to Atlanta soon, I hope to set up an appointment with him again to do a more in depth fitting.
Once I was done with both the lesson and fitting, I drove about another 20 minutes north to a course called Hawk's Ridge. Tom had set me up out there and said that if I decided to go I wouldn't be let down. He was right. This place was one of the nicest golf courses I have ever played. It looked a lot like Augusta (even though nothing compares to Augusta) with all the tall pine trees lining the fairways, elevation changes on every hole, large bunkers and perfectly sculpted greens. It was an absolute treat to play and even Erika, who rode around in the cart with me, was impressed. I played 18 holes in just over 2 hours and only had to pass up one group for the entire round. It's like we had the place to ourselves.
Overall, it was a very informative trip and I'm glad I went. Any time you can get a second opinion from someone knowledgeable about the game it can't hurt. Everything we talked about I've seen, done or heard before so it wasn't like he was throwing a bunch of new ideas at me. But over time, you forget things and a trip like this becomes valuable to help put the pieces back together. When we left Atlanta, Tom said he would be more than willing to help again in the future and I hope the opportunity to go back comes sooner rather than later. Right now, my plans are to practice every day, all day and really try to groove these changes. I feel good about what's to come and I'm excited to get back to where I need to be. I'm gonna do everything I can to come out of this better than before. Hope everyone is doing well!
(1) Grip: My grip was too weak which was causing a lot of the shots I was missing to
to the right. Tom suggested that I turn my left hand over more to the right (stronger) just slightly which put my grip in a more neutral position.
(2) Setup: I need to center my weight more in my address position and put my head back a little and not cocked forward like it was.
(3) Backswing: For those that have played golf with me know that my backswing is short...no big secret there. Because its short, I tend to not make a big enough shoulder turn which affects my rhythm and tempo and can get really jerky under pressure. Tom gave me a good drill to work on that really helps with this problem.
(4) Impact: We noticed that when I would hit my driver, my left heel was jumping
about 2" inches off the ground right before impact. I didn't do this with any other club, but definitely another cause of hitting shots to the right...especially with my driver. Tom explained a better way to use my pivot on the downswing to help alleviate this problem and it seemed to work pretty well.
On Saturday, we got together again around 10:00 for a follow-up lesson. This time, we basically worked on the same things we had talked about the day before. We took some more video and introduced a couple new drills to work on going forward. We called it a day around lunch time, and from there I went next door to meet with the person in charge of club fitting. The facility we worked out of was a brand new building built just off to the side of the driving range. It had two hitting bays that could be opened up to the range; one for Tom to teach out of and the other to do club fittings. I was interested in demoing a few drivers and the guy there was more than willing to help. He did have a lot going on so what we did was pretty informal and more or less just me seeing what clubs felt the best. I tried one type of driver in about 10 different shafts and came up with a combination that might be a possibility in the future. It was a good experience and if I get back to Atlanta soon, I hope to set up an appointment with him again to do a more in depth fitting.
Once I was done with both the lesson and fitting, I drove about another 20 minutes north to a course called Hawk's Ridge. Tom had set me up out there and said that if I decided to go I wouldn't be let down. He was right. This place was one of the nicest golf courses I have ever played. It looked a lot like Augusta (even though nothing compares to Augusta) with all the tall pine trees lining the fairways, elevation changes on every hole, large bunkers and perfectly sculpted greens. It was an absolute treat to play and even Erika, who rode around in the cart with me, was impressed. I played 18 holes in just over 2 hours and only had to pass up one group for the entire round. It's like we had the place to ourselves.
Overall, it was a very informative trip and I'm glad I went. Any time you can get a second opinion from someone knowledgeable about the game it can't hurt. Everything we talked about I've seen, done or heard before so it wasn't like he was throwing a bunch of new ideas at me. But over time, you forget things and a trip like this becomes valuable to help put the pieces back together. When we left Atlanta, Tom said he would be more than willing to help again in the future and I hope the opportunity to go back comes sooner rather than later. Right now, my plans are to practice every day, all day and really try to groove these changes. I feel good about what's to come and I'm excited to get back to where I need to be. I'm gonna do everything I can to come out of this better than before. Hope everyone is doing well!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
What's New
There's been quite a lot going on since returning home from being on the road. When I wasn't practicing, I've been spending the majority of my time trying to figure out where to go for help with my game. I feel like I know every teacher within a 500 mile radius of New Orleans and what they're all about. Something that I never thought I'd need to know, but now I'm glad that I've added this information to the memory bank in case I'm ever in this situation again in the future. After 10 days of doing research, sending out emails and talking with family & friends I've decided to seek the help of Tom Ness. Here's a quick description of his background:
Tom Ness is ranked as one of the Top 50 Greatest Golf Teachers in the United States by Golf Digest, and One of the top 100 Golf Teachers by GOLFMagazine. He has authored numerous articles for Golf Digest including cover stories How to Upgrade Your Impact and Slam the Door on Your Slice. He is also featured in selected titles of the Golf Digest Learning Library video series, such as Putting for Profit, How to Hit It Longer, and Straighter and Getting Started Right. An exceptional golf teacher, Tom began his golf career under the tutelage of Davis Love, Jr., and Bob Toski. He has taught numerous players from each of golf’s major tours and has participated in golf schools all over the world.
One of the biggest factors in making this decision was the fact that he came highly recommended by Brian Manzella (my current teacher). When I approached Brian about this situation, he was very understanding and was all for the thought of seeking a second opinion about my swing. He was confident that Tom would be a good fit. The idea was trying to find someone different enough to hopefully be able to pick up on things in my swing that may have been overlooked in the past, but yet not someone who would potentially try and drastically change my swing. As we approach September, the beginning of PGA Tour Q-School, I think it's best to try and find a solution to my swinging woes by changing as little as possible. I'm hopeful that Tom will provide that solution.
The other deciding factors were proximity and availability. Atlanta is relatively easy to get to considering there are approximately 8-10 direct flights from N.O. to ATL everyday, and Tom was available right away. So, tomorrow Erika and I are flying to Atlanta in the morning because my first lesson is tentatively scheduled for 2:00 Friday afternoon. From there, we're going to discuss a time for a follow-up lesson on Saturday and then Erika and I will be flying back Sunday morning.
There is also a high-tech fitting center at the same location that Tom teaches at, so I'm going to try and fit that in as well. My driver has been absolutely killing me lately so it might be time to try something new. That's it for now. I'll have another update when I get back from Atlanta. Hopefully nothing but good news.
Tom Ness is ranked as one of the Top 50 Greatest Golf Teachers in the United States by Golf Digest, and One of the top 100 Golf Teachers by GOLFMagazine. He has authored numerous articles for Golf Digest including cover stories How to Upgrade Your Impact and Slam the Door on Your Slice. He is also featured in selected titles of the Golf Digest Learning Library video series, such as Putting for Profit, How to Hit It Longer, and Straighter and Getting Started Right. An exceptional golf teacher, Tom began his golf career under the tutelage of Davis Love, Jr., and Bob Toski. He has taught numerous players from each of golf’s major tours and has participated in golf schools all over the world.
One of the biggest factors in making this decision was the fact that he came highly recommended by Brian Manzella (my current teacher). When I approached Brian about this situation, he was very understanding and was all for the thought of seeking a second opinion about my swing. He was confident that Tom would be a good fit. The idea was trying to find someone different enough to hopefully be able to pick up on things in my swing that may have been overlooked in the past, but yet not someone who would potentially try and drastically change my swing. As we approach September, the beginning of PGA Tour Q-School, I think it's best to try and find a solution to my swinging woes by changing as little as possible. I'm hopeful that Tom will provide that solution.
The other deciding factors were proximity and availability. Atlanta is relatively easy to get to considering there are approximately 8-10 direct flights from N.O. to ATL everyday, and Tom was available right away. So, tomorrow Erika and I are flying to Atlanta in the morning because my first lesson is tentatively scheduled for 2:00 Friday afternoon. From there, we're going to discuss a time for a follow-up lesson on Saturday and then Erika and I will be flying back Sunday morning.
There is also a high-tech fitting center at the same location that Tom teaches at, so I'm going to try and fit that in as well. My driver has been absolutely killing me lately so it might be time to try something new. That's it for now. I'll have another update when I get back from Atlanta. Hopefully nothing but good news.
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