I had my Hogan Medallions bent 6 degrees flat. Lag told me the flatter the straighter the ball flys. I have been working hard on Module 2 and took a break to hit a few balls in my backyard ( I have 2 acres). I took 5 balls and hit a 6 iron purposely swinging so flat it was almost freaky. I couldn’t believe the results. I put the balls no more than 15 yard apart…beautifully straight. I took my backswing around my body almost parallel to the ground and stopped it and fired from there. It felt effortless as I accelerated through ball (Module 1 & 2).
I have to qualify this by saying I had my irons flattened about a month ago and have been getting used to them. At first I wasn’t sure…and I can tell you that day is here that I am used to them and more!!! I wouldn’t go back for anything. Flattening the clubs has to be one of the best kept secrets in golf…WHAT A DIFFERENCE!
I can’t tell you how excited and encouraged I am with this ABS journey. I know many people want a quick fix and it becomes hard to drill but from my experience it is well worth it and the more I drill the more I enjoy it. It WORKS and I will keep on keeping on.
I’d like to share a few lightbulb moments I’ve had in the past two weeks.
About two weeks ago I had my Dynapowers flattened about 6 degrees. When I first took them to the course I needed a few swings to get decent contact but I managed to play happily and to hit some very straight shots and quite far with a modern driver, actually very far for me, 240mt).
Anyway, ever since I did that I felt that I needed to rotate almost parallel to the ground in the backswing but had to change plane in the downswing to get to the ball square. That’s when I understood and FELT that the swing has two different planes.
I also got confirmed that in order to change planes and use our pivot more we need to use some muscles quite strenuously. This simply is not possible unless we have trained those muscles beforehand. Hence Lag’s modules not only teach you how the swing is divided into but , from a physical standpoint, they train muscles. My forearms are getting huge and my legs very toned, also my thigh muscles are getting stronger, I know because they hurt like hell!
Lag pointed out to me that when drilling Mod3 I tend to uncock my wrists, he told me to avoid that or I’ll cut the ball. This morning for my lonely 5.45 am 9 hole round I concentrated on doing my backswing, get to fully cocked right wrist, sort of drop to the 4.30 line and pivot. I focussed on not uncocking the wrist at all. I think I just have understood today why Lag says hitting the ball like this gives you more consistency, you just drop your right arm to your side and rotate the body. It will always be the same motion, the arm will always be the same distance to the rest of the body because that’s the way your body is made! You cannot change the distance between bones! It takes away all the uncertainties of having the arms the same distance from your body and uncocking the wrist at the right time or else swing poorly. It also defies common sense it seems that by keeping your right wrist cocked and pivoting hard you get more power and distance than with a slapping of the wrist action but that’s the case. I can say that this morning I hit two consecutive 240mt drives with my persimmon driver and that had never happened before. Also I could hit twice 3wood off the fairway which I always struggled with.
Sorry for the rant but I am very happy of where I’m heading and above all of finally understanding how a repeatable swing works.
I recently was able to play for a few days in a row at a course in another town, one I have played over the years. Over the course of several days, I had about 10 drives that were equal to or better than previous 'best " on certain holes. These would be long for me, about 270 -315 yards, using a baby frying pan 12 year old driver( about the size of a modern 3 wood)…but longer than the younger stronger guys using new jumbo frying pans.
At one point, a playing partner joked “we need a specimen for drug testing”. …“Your count must be up”
Low scores are more intoxicating… I am seeing some glimmers of that. But this is good to see also.
Aiguille wrote the above several months ago and that image of the rollercoaster has stuck in my mind but haven’t felt it until yesterday.
This is difficult to describe but here goes…I was focusing on the transitional drop to 4:30 and I imagined that the club head and my hands were the “passengers” on this rollercoaster. These passengers were coming off the top of a rollercoaster and it’s up to me to set up the hairpin turn these passengers are coming into. The more laid off and open I make the “track”, the more tight/banked I can make them turn which will generate more force/speed. Also it’s up to me to make them go as fast as possible with a bigger rollercoaster instead of trying to make them go faster with the rollercoaster that I initially had. A bigger rollercoaster is accomplished with more “supporting force” which is generated from Mod 2 work. I say supporting because it feels like these passengers are even or slightly ahead of my pivot or slightly behind my falling force.
Maybe Aguille/others are feeling the same thing and like he says you need to wait or give yourself time to get on the rollercoaster and then drive the passengers from behind and not ahead of them. Hope it makes some sense
Third time out today…gotta thank Aiguille this time for the “C” image he posted about in September-09. What a great image to have for intent! - another ABS nugget.
Finding that in order to most efficiently apply pressure with the hands and pivot to bow that shaft into a “C”…one is obligated to the passsive drop into 4:30 so we can use the hands to rip them through and past P3, by way of connected pivot motion. I had the feeling and actual application of pushing and pulling the club at the same time around with the pivot in command. Way different than my normal TGM-CF wrist dump.
Even garnered a small audience watching the little rat rocking that frying pan But the process has a good and bad quality to it. The bad is that, for me, it is more physically tiring than a TGM dump or drive, but the good is that one won’t have to hit as many balls to be warmed up.
Had a funny thought when I ended my session…it’s easy to “C” if I show you where to look RR
Followed your posts over the last few months… starting with you telling Aguille he had it wrong about something… can’t recall what it was but I bet you’d pull that post if you could now.
You do a marvelous job of “sort of” deciphering Lag’s code. He’s probably too kind to give you his Paypal account id, so if you need it let me know. You don’t want to mess with karma you know!
Its good to know that some of these posts are useful for fellow students. It is possible to pick up a lot of the ABS stuff by reading the open forum and Lag’s thread. However, even though these concepts are great, I suspect that everyone would benefit from guidance. It is important to execute the subtleties of the modules with precision to really gain full benefit…as demonstrated by the fact that even Lag does the modules himself as a daily ritual.
Yeah…I do feel a guilty at times cuz’ there is some great stuff @ ABS if you know what’s important and what’s not when you are mining for gold. However, I have been planning extending gratitude in another way and it will certainly be my pleasure to do so. Stopped by our storage barn the other day and didn’t find any complete sets of classic irons but I did find a few classic woods. But most were damaged beyond repair…kinda like the “crashed persimmon” that was pristine before Two let his friend use it. Did find a McGregor 4wood- Tourney DX2W with an original Tourney Action 2 shaft. The serial number is 40991340.
It has a small circular lead port in the back- about the size of a pea. Don’t know how to post pictures…but it’s in real good shape. Has the original DX oversize grip. Anyone wanting it…it’s free! Let me know. Maybe I should send it to Lag first to see if his definition of real good shape is the same as mine? Don’t know how to go about this. Thoughts?
Also, throughout the summer, classic stuff does find it’s way to us at the range … I will flag them down and get them to you guys free. That should take care of the Paypal issue Really enjoy reading your comments. RR
A little about me which will answer some questions some may have about deciphering the code. and my motivations.
Everyone has to find what they want from the game…is it score? friendship with others? hitting it long? being the best ballstriker? communing with nature? winning trophies? secret affairs?..the list is endless.
Here’s me in a nutshell…some people like to walk a large field for 4 hours, get off 6 good shots and bag 2 pheasants. For me…give me those 4 hours @ a shooting range and I will use every shotgun available and rock those clay birds from every shooting position imaginable- whether it be skeet or trap. That, to me, is more rewarding for my time.
I smacked par over 30 years ago…not difficult to do at all. In fact, for me back then, good golf became boring at times…so I really gave up the “scoring” game and began searching for how many motions and derivatives are there. All my friends thought I was crazy…as I would smack par one week then go to the range and completely overhaul my motion for the next week…then the next week. I was kinda like Homer in that respect…cataloging in my own mind how many ways a cat can be skinned.
Along the way, my mind and body became used to not letting anything become so ingrained that it couldn’t be extinguished within a few days or so- constantly in a state of flux- that’s what it knows and is still like that today- I can trap and groove any method within a few days- then I’ll get bored with it. Heck, that Stack and Tilt stuff I nailed it one day. Great method for people with reverse pivots.
If I was concerned with score alone…sure, I would settle on a motion and do it better than anyone else and do it over the long haul.
I’m going to put my life’s work on video some day so my 6 year old grandson won’t ever have to takes lessons. He’ll have his own “yellow book” made by grandpa…his best buddy. BTW…he’s pretty good. Right know he’s just like me…no commitments only actions. He’s convinced that his cross handed grip is best RR
I used to hunt quite a bit…didn’t feel sporting until I used my bare hands to subdue and overcome my prey. That has helped my finger and forearm strength remarkably. Unfortunately, dropping from a tree an a full grown buck a few years ago resulted in an ankle injury that still slows me down today.
In all seriousnetss now…one of my little guys is going turn 4 in a month. Isn’t it amazing how children find their swings if left to their own devices and just a simple image? The one thought I imparted was “hit the inside of the ball”. That’s it. He also started with a cross-handed grip. I turned him into a left-hander to counter that and he’s been swinging that way since age 2.
CC,
I believe most young kids take the grip cross handed because they like to feel their dominant strongest hand on top… one of my boys started out that way and then as he got used to me sticking his hands on the club properly he just grips it normal way now.
Just thought that would add some thought to why kids tend to do that
Interesting…and I was going to use lit cigarette butts, but alas…I don’t smoke.
He’s ambidextrous. Throws with his left, writes and eats with his right. Hitting a heavy bag he can switch easily between righty and south-paw with very good balance and movement. Thanks for the comment though. I thought we hatched a mutant!
I’m interested to see which eye is dominant as that’ll be important for archery, riflery and perhaps putting. Though I shoot with both eyes open. In contrast, I close them both during sex. It’s easier to picture my college sweethearts that way.
They can also pick up the reverse image by observation from the wrong perspective.
Cross handed isn’t necessarily bad for kids up to a point. It can help with feeling an inside path with bent R wrist.
Funny little story…Couple years ago my grandson was stringing them out pretty good when a 8 year old next to him tried to out do him…they each caught five in a row pretty solid. My grandson gave me that look…he turned around and did it left handed and put the 8 year old in his place RR
RR,
I really love the way you approach golf. You never allow yourself to become locked into one method, motion, theory, etc. I think that not only keeps the game interesting for you, but is also good for swing maintenance. Lag thinks similar to this too, when he talks about not paying to much attention to alignment, ball position, etc. and sort of shaping his swing and shots on the fly according to need. All good for learning to play the game by feel.
And to me this is what Lag is trying to impart to us - to ingrain the feel of a proper motion - but not within a set of strict parameters as it relates to things like grip, posture, etc. - sort of allowing each of us to find his own individual way to the holy grail of “lag pressure” in our swings.
Therein RR lays the secret of your ability to constantly expierment with different ideas and motions in your swing and still always strike it well - that 30 some odd years ago you learned how to create pressure on shaft through and past impact. And you have never lost that ability - no matter what kind of swing you were trying to make! Kind of like learning to ride a bicycle - once you learn you never forget. And I can guarantee that no matter what kind of motion you have tried over the years there has been one thing always constant and unchanging in all of them - “lag pressure”!
I only hope all of the rest of us will find that or at least improve it in our own swings. I think that is what we are all working towards.
You don’t need me to tell you this but you are in very good “hands” with Lag and Two and all the others. Really top-notch stuff that I don’t think one can’t buy at a local bookstore. I wonder why that is?
You talked about “lagpressure”. That’s precisely how I found this site- I knew I was overlooking something with pressuring the ball. When I got my computer I started looking for more answers. I had no idea all this online stuff was out there. I was living in my own hole…but content. Looking back, I never did have the maximum pressure obtainable due to ignorance, oversight, or perhaps faulty insight from others. My acceleration tended to end to soon after impact- which means that it was dissapating prior to impact. Was it effective…sure it was, because I have great hands, and can get out of my own way to find proper impact alignments regardless of what I did. But why drink from a glass half full.
We can have a shaft that looks flexed…but it’s just that…it looks flexed but is really kinda just waving in the wind without strong roots. Still ticked that I didn’t see a Form 1 process before finding ABS…and that will hound me for the rest of my days for sure- but in a good way.
When I did play a lot I always felt that a motion found me…not the other way around. RR
I admire that as well, but not for the same reason. I would equate the above to golfing hell…unless you have the attitude that could keep your spirits up while experimenting. We are all chameleons to some extent…what with our searches for golf’s equivalent of the Holy Grail. However, I’ve gone down some ugly paths that were difficult to extricate myself from.
Well…as Ben said…“if the sun is up there are balls to be hit.” …maybe I followed his advice to literally and liberally. But I do enjoy it so. Kinda like drumming…can’t stay in the pocket forever, you have to let go and play over the bar sometimes so you can feel your way back while it plays you. RR
RR
You don’t want to mess with karma you know! 
Did find a 
RR