Did My Stroke Affect My Golf Stroke?

Written on 6-6-2020.

Well, I played one final time yesterday using the two plane swing.  I definitely plan on switching now.  I am not considering doing this anymore; I am doing it.

Shawn and I took on C.J. and Tim in best ball match play, and we ended up even after nine holes.  I never contributed.  I got a par on hole #4 with a smooth 9-iron that hit the green, and I got a bogey on #6 with a long drive up to the 100 yard marker, but everyone else got pars and bogeys on those holes, too.  

After we finished nine holes, C.J. left, because the weather was picking up considerably, and lightning was lurking.  Tim and his wife Julie left after he played hole #10 and part of #11, because it got really gusty and big raindrops were pelting us for a short time.  It stopped when Shawn and I got to #12, though, which I figured it would, so the two of us continued on for the remainder of the round.  It did get really bad once more on #17, but we managed and we finished up on #18, and he and I both finished with a bogey, which I feel is a good score for that hole.  I am glad I got a bogey with my old swing.  I didn’t want to end with a handicap seven on my last hole with the two plane swing and the membership.  I wanted to finish the entire round to get my money’s worth.  I ended up playing 38 times this past year.

I forgot I had a stroke (silly me), and that is a possible reason for the higher scores.  I checked my scores and since I’ve had the stroke, I have been unable to break 90.  That could be part of the reason, but I have made up my mind still.

Shawn invited me over for a beer after the round, and C.J. came over, too.  When we had a lull in the conversation, I told them my new plan.  I didn’t want to tell them before or during the round, because that would have been a major distraction, and I secretly really wanted to break 90 and play better with my two plane swing one last time.  However, that wasn’t meant to be.  

I don’t think it would have changed my mind, though.  C.J. listened carefully, understood, and decided not to renew his membership after that.  I called Eric later that evening as we drove back to Hobby Lobby to get some fabric for a movie screen to use with our new projector.  I gave him the news, and he said he would wait on buying a membership, too.  He wanted to take some refresher lessons with Luke anyway.  My deciding not to get the membership ended up causing a Domino effect.  It changed both C.J.’s and Eric’s plans.  Shawn will continue getting a full membership no matter what I do.  Oh, and Bruce has said he isn’t coming out until there’s a vaccine.

Now, I just need a plan for improvement.  How am I going to do this?  Record the change?  What is the first step?  I am going to take a little break and develop a plan.  Shawn recommended I talk to Luke, too, and let him know what I am thinking.  That’s a good idea.  Like I said above, Eric is planning on taking lessons with Luke to refresh his game, too.  He might be able to help accelerate my learning.  Right now, I am simply reading the book, The Single Plane Golf Swing: Play Better Golf the Moe Norman Way.

Until next time…

Obsessing Over Single Plane a Bit?

The learning continues…

Feet say on the ground at and through impact.  Lead leg remains flexed through impact.  

The impact positions of every player have the club, if extended, going through the middle of the back or spine.

Why is the club at address set so far behind the ball with the single plane swing?  Or, at least a few inches back?  Because that point moves forward at impact.  It is priming the club for impact is the way I would describe it.  I think Moe said something about this when he said, “You can’t take the club back any slower than that.”  

It’s the simplest anatomical way to go from address to impact.  In a conventional swing, the arms are hanging down, we are standing too close to the ball.  That is what Todd Graves says is the single mistake most golfers are making.  This will free my arms.         Hitting the ball on the sweet spot solidly will make it go farther.  It will increase the distance.

Consistency of ball speed is what makes better players better.  It’s not about swinging it faster; it’s about swinging it consistently.

Who uses this on the PGA Tour?  Steve Stricker is pretty close to using a single plane swing on the tour.  Bryson is using it.  

Ball position stays in the same place with irons, but the stance narrows and widens.  Narrower for the shorter irons.  

Your hands are the connection to the golf club.  That’s why the grip is so important.  I know I’ve heard that before the traditional golf swing, but it means even more with the single plane swing.  That trail hand is like hammering a nail.  The grip of the club needs to be thick enough to hold onto the club, but thin enough to have a release.  I wonder if my grips are the correct size for the single plane swing.

I also have always wanted to hit it straight.  I know I swing it right to left mostly (hooking, pulling, and hopefully drawing), but I would be so happy if I could just hit it straight every time.  This swing, with its consistency, widens the fairway.  I won’t have to aim right and hopes it ends up on the left or vice-versa.  

Side note: Todd Graves recommends the Pro-V1, because he says you have more control with it.

Wow!  I have spent the better part of today looking at his book and another YouTube video.  I need to take a break.  I will play one last time tomorrow, and then I will report back here after that.

Until next time…

Why Switch to a Single Plane Swing?

Written on 6-4-2020.

I want to review the scores from this past season to see how I did during my first year with a membership at Pinon Hills.  It doesn’t look great, but there are some bright moments.  I always look for the positive.  Here are the dates and the scores from the rounds I played:

Full Golf Rounds at Pinon Hills

1. 4-5-19: 92
2. 4-12-19: 88 (41 on the front nine)
3. 4-15-19: 91 (41 on the back nine)
4. 4-26-19: 104 (windy!)
5. 5-3-19: 96 (2 birdies!)
6. 5-24-19: 104 (first round back after being sick)
7. 5-28-19: 86 (43, 43, and one birdie on #9!)
8. 5-31-19: 94
9. 6-5-19: 97
10. 7-19-19: 98 (new swing, met Davis who shot a 78 from the farthest tees)
11. 7-24-19: 91 (43 on front nine, better round with new swing)
12. 8-1-19: 85 (3 birdies and a 40 on the back)
13. 8-13-19: 94
14. 8-20-19: 96 
15. 10-2-19: 99 (first time back after stroke)
16. 10-4-19: 102
17. 10-15-19: 90 (43 on the front, a couple of handicap 7’s on the back)
18. 10-16-19: 108 Ugh!
19. 10-18-19: 98 (Handicap 93)
20. 10-23-10: 104
21. 11-15-19: 97
22. 11-22-19: an adjusted 94
23. 12-3-19: 93
24. 12-13-19: 102
25. 1-13-20: 100 (new S7K putter)
26. 1-31-20: 9 bogeys, no official score kept (more like a practice round due to horrible weather)
27. 2-7-20: 104 trying new things, practice round
28. 3-5-20: no official score but I beat my goal of 14 bogeys
29. 3-9-20: 91, 5 pars and 10 bogeys and 3 “other” scores
30. 3-16-20: 105, back nine played twice
31. 3-17-20: 100, front nine played twice
32. 5-25-20: lost the scorecard, Eric won the game
33. 5-29-20: 95, won the game vs. Shawn and C.J. after checking the score again
34. 6-1-20: 97, lost to C.J. and Shawn
35. 6-3-2020: 98

Nine Holes Only

1. 4-19-19: 47 (front nine)
2. 6-25-19: High score, not official
3. 7-8-19: 49ish (trying new swing)
4. 3-18-20: 52  

Not bad, right?  Pretty average, though.  Actually, it looks terrible to me, even with my bright outlook on things.  I see some decent scores in there, at least a few, and some birdies and some wins, too.  However, I consistently see scores that are in the nineties.  I’m better than that.  I know Hidden Valley was easier, but not by that much.  I remember hitting that new Wishon driver so well at the end of last season, and I remember scoring a 75 at Hidden Valley, so what happened?

Yesterday, I lost the game we played on the back, and I shot a 98.  My last three scores have been 95, 97, and 98.  They are going up, up, up.  I want them to go down, down, down,...

Looking for Anything to Get Better? Maybe

Written on 6-2-2020.

Okay, I played yesterday, and it was more of the same.  Not consistent, or consistently bad.  I shot a 97.  A 97!  I have been playing golf now for over twenty years.  I started getting serious about having more fun back in September of 1999.  I have had some great rounds.  I have had some real successes.  I have recently said I feel like I am a 3 handicap when really, but I am closer to a 23.  Why have I not improved more?   

I am writing this, because I have recently come across the Moe Norman single plane swing.  It started with an advertisement on FB, since I have bought golf stuff from there before, like the tees and the recent swing aide.  

This looks like it has the potential to give me more consistency.  Good consistency.  Now, am I just another golfer who is looking to find anything to get better?  Maybe.  This really intrigues me, though, so here are my interpretations of the Moe Norman fundamentals.  These come from a YouTube video with Todd Graves, who befriended Moe and learned his swing inside and out so he could improve his own game and then teach it to others.  He just mentioned how to get to impact more simply, with the least amount of motion possible, and that is what...