It’s funny how simply adding a ball in the way causes us to break down what we’re working on and revert back to our old swings.
I think that is the most frustrating part of doing these early modules. We are changing our swing DNA and these early modules are such drastic changes that, for me at least, it really screws up the motion. But my patience is beginning to pay off as now things are starting to come around. Only a few thousand more reps and I will get to see how Mod 3 affects my swing.
We have had a very cold winter here in Dallas. I know I won’t get any sympathy from those of you up north, but it has kept me from getting out to the course or range. Instead I have had to settle for module work. One supplement I have done to the program is to add jump squats with a barbell. I think this is a great training add for transition. True you can’t explode horizontally as in the golf swing, but you can train the explosive power out of the squat. I don’t use heavy weight-just 45 lb bars and the barbell, and I don’t go into a full or even half squat. Rather I just a little deeper than I would go in a golf swing, and then explode out into a jump. I do 5 sets of twenty, and do mod 1,2 and 3 work between squat sets. I can really sense it has helped me adjust to the ABS hitter rhythm I have discussed, which is different than the swinger rhythm that I was used to.
I had really good day at the range this past weekend. I implemented a thought that came to mind while I was hitting and I want to say it was you Grady that said this some time ago on here or SITD… Basically when I get in the 4:30 line I have the feeling of slamming my right elbow into my right rib cage/midsection (for you righties it would be your left elbow). This really helps me quicken the club and get it back in front of me and keeps my arms packed in through the strike. It also has helped me not worry about firing my hand and forearms cause it basically does it for me .
Been trying to feel the squeeze of Mod 2 while practicing lately… Having trouble fighting the shaft from standing up when I squeeze in my knees and thighs. Anyone else experienced this? More drills and time will cure this I’m sure, but it’s a fight keeping that shaft from wanting to stand up on me.
NFB said:
I kinda got a good picture what you are saying, and sounds like a great idea. Any way you might post a short video clip?
I really started exaggerating ground pressures after seeing a swing grady posted up recently. I really wanted to practice driving into the golf shot with a visual of nelson’s leg drive. In order to compensate, I moved up my ball position predicting that my low point would be much farther down the line. Now those pictures of hogan’s ball position make more sense.
I made the change the yesterday, the night before my tournament today. It was a big change to make but it actually worked out well and was very intuitive, not a strange feeling. I was able to aggressively move into the ball and my resultant ball flight became much lower, i was hitting line drives with all my clubs yet my shots still carried quite far (for instance, hitting a 2 hybrid I was able to make a 220 yard carry over water). I’m ready to make this a part of my swing DNA, I feel the leg drive combined with the forward ball position (off of my left heel for all clubs) also really forces you to release low and left with arms close to the body to prevent a block or shank.
To anyone struggling with the timing of driving through the ball hard with your legs I would recommend moving your ball position forward in practice and getting a feel for it. It makes the timing change easier, I think.
NFB,
Here is an example of what I am doing. I only use two 45 weights and the barbell. I go a bit deeper and jump a bit higher…but I don’t have that much weight to deal with. I do them after my mod 2 in my sequence of mod 1, 2 and 3.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyRJyDJWqR4[/youtube]
Thanks!
I’ll probably need to start with a broomstick…
For me I was thinking more in line with a toothpick.
Hey NfB…what about back on the wall squats. Wouldn’t that quad burn accomplish the same thing in building up the thighs without having to use weight other than our own? 
Sure it would build leg strength. Likewise squats without weights and lunges would do the same. I like the barbell or dumbbell jump squat better, however, because (i) the weight engages the core and (ii) the jump off the bottom builds explosive strength. I really want to explode out of the squat through impact. The explosion is more horizontal than vertical, of course, so it is different but still I find this exercise helpful. I really want to feel weightless in transition and then lots of pressure when I grab the ground and make the horizontal push through the ball.
Now that the snow has cleared and the weather is above zero I have been able to hit the range a couple of times. I’ve been drilling mod 1,2 with a bit of 3 to help me get better at mod 2 since Feb1. My ballstriking at the range today was really satisfying. For the first 30 balls I could pick a target and hit to it quite accurately and it felt really flush. Obviously some were better than others but overall the misses were slightly right and nothing that I’d be worried to take to the course. BUT after about 30 balls I things started to get a bit loose. This happened last weekend as well.
So I’d like to know for those who have gone through the experience of drilling to actually hitting the range if they think this is fatigue of the new muscles, forearms and legs, that I’m using? Or is the body slipping back in to old habits and geting confused between the old and new motions? It seemed like if I slowed down between shots and took a break, I could make a decent swing again.
I’m really happy with the progress so far and it has cranked up the motivation to keeping drilling as much as possible. It is kind of mind blowing that John and Brad came up with drills that actually translate to hitting the ball better without even hitting a ball to get there. Wax on. Wax off.
It’s probably a bit of both. Try waiting more in between shots, and doing drill-like practice swings before every shot, don’t just go up and hit ball after ball. It has taken me a little over a year to get to the point where I don’t have to concentrate so much on my technique, even then I still take purposeful practice swings between shots to cement the transition.
Does anyone have any tips on how to hold back from firing all their guns right from the top. I’m on mod 4. In video it seems like I’m really pulling at transition and by the time I make contact I’ve spent everything. Is it possible my mod 1 is just a lot stronger than my mod 3? Did/does anyone else struggle with firing too soon? What have you done to improve? Thanks guys.
Big issue for me, too. In my mod 3 drills, I try to feel the arms are just along for the ride. It is the shoulders and hips doing all the moving. I have also found that using Lag’s idea of addressing the ball on the 4:30 line a la Moe Norman helps some as well. But that hitting from the top is such an ingrained move for me that I really have to focus on the hips and shoulders at transition.
So this is where I get confused. From transition are you trying to fire with the hips first? Since working mod 1 I don’t know the order of movement anymore. We took the hips out of the strike and focused on the forearm rotation. Then in mod 3 we brought the hips back but from impact on. Right now I feel like my shoulders will have no chance of staying in front of the club with the speed I can generate coming in to impact. I could just be lacking the post-impact strength necessary to stay ahead. In 5L BH says to start the downswing with the hips so I assume that is the way to go but looking for confirmation.
In the link below it looks like I’m flipping and not keeping pressure on the shaft post impact:
http://imgur.com/YFyiCMT
Module 5 will start you off on initiating with your lower body. Mod 6 is all about transition.
Yes.
Mod 3 has me very conscious of this for the first time in my life.
Lag gave me this tip when he recently commented on one of my Mod 3 drills…
Instead of beginning at P4, start the drill at P3. From there, let the shaft just slowly drop into the area just before impact point. THEN, fire with Mod 3.
Mod 3 is about a lot of things. But the fundamental point of Mod 3 is to keep shaft flex through and beyond impact, and to do this, we have to get our body to move faster after impact so that we can attempt to keep the stress on the shaft for as long as possible. And this stress — this pressure — is to be felt for as long as possible through and beyond impact. Impossible if we accelerate too soon.
Lag’s tip was to get me to stop accelerating too soon by focusing more on the body pivot and delaying the fire as much as possible.
I spoke to nicelikejohnny about this during our recent round… we both had a good laugh about it because it is such an unnatural thing — after all, you are trying to hit a ball! But we laughed in amazement about what a powerful thing this delay is to proper ball striking.
So here is what I have recently done…
On the range, I hit balls with the Mod 2 drill and continue through and to finish with Mod 3; so Mod 2 + Mod 3, but starting at P3 (at 4:30, sunnyside up) with just a fraction of a move back before the downswing.
Now when hitting balls like this, you want to fire immediately. So my drill is to consciously do what Lag told me: From there, let the shaft just slowly drop into the area just before impact point. THEN, fire with Mod 3.
All I can tell you is that by doing this, you really can hit a ball squarely and with power like this.
When I experienced this first hand by hitting balls in this way, then I carried that intent to the full swing, and it produced positive results.
And it was the pivot, not the arms/hands, that made it possible to hit the ball with power, as long as the armpits were packed hard and the hands really close to the body.
I think I had to experience this for it to be something to take to the full swing and the course.
To take it to the course, I have begun to do a quasi Mod 2 + Mod 3 drill as a pre-shot routine. Among other things, it reminds me to consciously delay the firing for as long as possible.
So at this point, I’m just consciously delaying (“Be Patient!!!”) while building the pivot turn. But I believe that as we progress through the modules toward slotting, it will be the act of slotting the club that will replace my conscious will to delay firing.
Having said that, think about what we learned to do in Mod 2: loading into our right foot. If you properly load into your right foot at transition, you CAN’T fire too soon. Seems impossible to me to do so…
thanks Norcal! I really appreciate the thorough response. I will give the ball hitting drill a go tonight and report back.
I have gone back and read through a lot of the light bulb moments and Bradley’s thread on SITD. There are some good insights but the more I read the more I question if I’m getting the feelings I should be. Most of you guys are/were already great players so I imagine you’re more in tune with your swings and everything you’ve experienced since starting the mods has been improvement. I’m not going to quit but I do feel more lost after 4 months than I did before I started. I seem to be fine at the mods but can’t bridge the gap to my swing and definitely not the course. I feel like I’m letting Bradley down too because he is such a genuine guy and really cares to help. [/moaning]
The sun will rise tomorrow.