Getting Back to Todd's Videos and Learning About How to Practice

Written on 10-17-2020.

        I am in the computer room, and it’s 9:30 at night on a Saturday.  Matt and Danielle came here yesterday for the wedding this Saturday in Pagosa Springs.  They left this morning for the bachelor and bachelorette parties.   In their absence, we took Kody for a walk in a different place tonight.  We drove towards Durango and pulled off near a place where we hiked to an arch once or twice before.  We didn’t find the arch, but we had a fabulous time and saw some beautiful views as it got closer to sunset.  Afterwards, we stopped and sat outside with the Edgertons near their red shed and had some great conversations about James’s new job prospects, the coronavirus, and their Big-O and mobile home park sales.

Now, I am watching a FB Live video of Todd Graves back at home.  I took a break, thinking I can do it on my own for a while, and I did learn some new things on my own (see my more recent writings about what I tried on my own), but I apparently can’t stay away.  In this video, he is talking about practice, so I am finding that topic very relevant.  I go to the range, and I wonder if I am improving each time.  I have continued my goal of using my driver or my 3-wood for a successful shot and then switching to my irons, but I added more pressure.  I started with my gap wedge, and I am now saying I must have 4 out of 5 flush shots vs. 3 out of 5.  That is much more difficult for me.  I managed to get through my gap wedge, but now I am attempting to get through my pitching wedge, and I have failed every time.  I am being picky, though.

Todd is saying that we should all video our swings and try to match the model.  I am glad I am doing that part correctly.  When I do that I consistently see my head not remaining still and my right foot coming off the ground slightly at impact.  It is SO hard to stop doing those things.  Even when I concentrate on those things, I can barely do it correctly.  I will continue to work on them, though.

He also emphasizes buying their Alignment and Ball Position Trainer or ABT.  I just don’t feel like I need to get that.  I just need to get the ball in the right position, and I can do that with a measuring tape.  I can measure the five inches from my lead heel position and put the ball in perfect position every time.  I haven’t done that yet.  

He is also saying that you “build” your swing on the range, but you “use” it out on the course.  I like that idea.  I am going to watch some more to see if I can learn anything else about how to practice.

He is saying to hit a shot and then walk back, maybe choose a different club, and then pick another target and hit shot again.  He doesn’t recommend hitting ball after ball after ball and never stepping away.  It sounds very much like practice like you play, and I know from high school basketball, that perfect practice makes perfect.  Do the same routine on the range and do it to the golf course, too.

Somebody asks a question about feeling like he is standing too far away from the ball when he uses the ABT tool.  Todd said to make sure you are not going back on your heels.  He says his ankle joint, his knee joint, and his butt are pretty much in line.  He leans over the ball, and he feels his hand are below his head, but they really aren’t.  They really are pointing at his ball.  

Now, he is telling someone named Clark to go back to the fundamentals when things go awry.  I keep hearing him say to match the model.  He is beating himself over the head to get people to use video analysis and match it to either his swing or Moe’s swing.  

He does a rep routine where he is using just one club over and over again, the same club.

He also does a routine where he works through all of his clubs.  He walks in and out when he does that.  He uses all kinds of clubs when he does this kind of practice.

He pounds his driver in another kind of practice.  He feels that is the most important club.  

He uses the one club only when he is working on one certain aspect of the single plane swing.  

If he is working on his driver, it is sometimes to increase his distance.  

Use the purpose of your practice to match the kind of practice you are doing.

Written on 10-27-2020.

It’s 3:58 on a Tuesday.  Ah, a Tuesday afternoon, just like the old Moody Blues song.  It snowed for the first time this season yesterday, and we got a couple of inches.  We’ve also had freezing temperatures, which were great when I walk the dogs, because the ground remained frozen well past 11:00 today.  I say “dogs,” because Misty is visiting while the Edgertons are in Dallas visiting Becca and Matt.

I’ll write more later.  It’s 9:21 now, and I am going to bed.  

Until tomorrow…

First Real Success With the Single Plane Swing

Written on 10-8-2020.

        For the first time, I had real success with the single plane swing yesterday.  Here’s what happened.  

When I arrived, I saw Mike working at the pro shop, and he checked me in.  He said to me, “You’re all taken care of, Mr. Swope.”

That was a wonderful surprise!  How nice.  I told him we should go get a meal after the round, and I would treat.  I asked for a small bucket, too, and he didn’t charge me for that either.  I bet he saved me around $40.00 or $50.00.  

I had plenty of time to do a full warm-up, so I went to the putting green first.  I checked the speed by putting across the green multiple times, and then I practiced several chips with different clubs.

Then I went to the range to warm up my full swing.  I am taking a break from “matching the model” in a few specific ways.  I am venturing out on my own.  I have always wanted to add my own personal flair to this swing to make it my own, and when I saw Bryson placing his clubs closer to the ball, I weirdly felt I got permission to do the same.  

Here is what I am doing now.  First, I am not...

Lots of Little Updates and a Poem About Golf

Written on 9-22-2020.

        It’s silent writing time at the Swope Academy again.  We only gave them ten minutes, so this will be quick.  I play golf tomorrow, and Shawn will be bringing his son.  I’ve never met his son, so it will nice to meet someone new.  C.J. can’t make it due to appointments.  I didn’t invite Eric this time, because I didn’t want to pester him; he’s got a lot going on, and I know he will play when he’s ready.  Mike Goen was invited, but he will be working at Hillcrest.  He works mornings on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, so now I know when I can invite him in the future.  I asked Don, but he is delivering food for the Aztec Schools from 9:00 to 2:00 every day.

I hope to play better after my “success” at the range, but I really never know how it will go with this new swing change.  Todd Graves starts many of his YouTube videos by saying something like this, “It’s great to know that when I go play, I will play great.”

Or, it’s something like that.  He is saying that he has the “feeling of greatness” that Moe Norman had.  I hope to have that feeling of greatness, too.  Now, if I can only keep my right foot down.

Written on 9-24-2020.

I feel encouraged even when I shouldn’t.  I ended up playing 27 holes yesterday.  Walking.  At Pinon Hills.  By the end, I was pretty tired.  After I played the first 18, I ended with a par and a bogey, though, and I felt I had something figured out.  A bogey on #18 is a good score, but it was especially good when a drive doesn’t reach the fairway.  It was gusty, and it was blowing right into our faces.  I thought I had reached the fairway, but alas, I had not.  From there, I used my utility club and hit a smooth shot a long way.  I pitched on, and I used up only two putts for by bogey.

Feeling encouraged by my final two holes, I decided to stay and play nine more.  The difference was that I was using the same swing thoughts that worked on the range, and they are keep my right foot down throughout impact.  It was working, and I wanted...

Bryson Wins The U.S. Open

Written on 9-20-2020.

        Bryson leads the U.S. Open by four strokes with only four holes left to play, and I continue to be impressed.  The commentator said earlier that he is the most talked about golfer in the world right now, and I believe it.  He has experimented with how to play golf better, and it has paid off for him.  I like how he thinks.  He wonders how he can do it better, and he is not afraid of out of the box kind of thinking.  He was the pro who recently considered simplifying his golf game by playing with irons all the same length.  He is the reason why I switched to single length, although I am considering switching back.

I had no idea he would also consider more of a single plane swing.  He starts his swing with his hands pointed directly at the ball now, and the Graves Academy has taken notice, of course, as have many other golfers.  Tim and Todd Graves talk about it in their YouTube videos lately, and I know that they appreciate the free advertising for how they teach the swing, the Moe Norman style that I am trying to master myself.

I haven’t written in a while, so here is an update.  I have started my new second membership at Pinon Hills.  Thank you, Belinda.  So far, I have played two rounds, and I didn’t get an official score either time.  Too many handicap seven holes, but I did get two pars that first round on the front, and then I got three more pars on the front during the second round.

I actually played five holes until dark on the evening I started my membership.  I thought, “Hey, I can go play.  Why don’t I?”

I started this membership with a bang, and I hope it is a sign of things to come...