Clicking?

Full Swing
The past couple of days I have been working on this new feeling that Dong wants me to do. A couple of days ago, I asked him to take a look at my swing and see what he thought of me shifting my hips & then dropping my arms. He said it looked good, but he wanted me to try something. First, on the backswing, I was to feel as though my left shoulder would dip towards the ball. Secondly, on my downswing, I was to mirror that feeling in my right shoulder. At first I hit a few shots, and it was kind of achieving what he wanted me to accomplish but I could tell that he knew I needed more understanding of what exactly I was to be doing. He put a club across my chest and dissecting my shoulders. I then took my backswing, the club represented where my left shoulder was pointing, and it was to be pointed at the ball. As I started my downswing and approached the ball he showed me that I need to have the other end of the club, which represented my right shoulder, pointed at the ball.

Immediately the next few balls after knowing this sensation were amazing. The swing looked amazing. Both Dong & the onlooking Grant & Martin were impressed. I was no longer laid off at the top because having that sensation in my left shoulder kept my shoulders from leveling out the little bit that they did to get my club laid off. Then, on my downswing, I no longer came out of the shot. I also was able to release the club properly rather than my old compensation of holding it off.

I worked on it today in the AZ rain, and it looks like it's achieving what I've been trying to get to all these years. So many things I was trying to fix (laid off, steep downswing, open shoulders at impact, coming out of the shot, holding off my release, etc.) seem to be corrected all in sensations that I grasped immediately. The keys I was trying to work on before (shifting hips & then dropping my arms) were the right things, but there was a disconnect & to get used to all those moves would have taken days, weeks, or who knows how long. On the other hand, understanding what my shoulders were doing and what I have to do now, seems to have just clicked, & I'm very excited!

Short Game
Interesting thing was that I incorporated all the same sensations in the full swing into my short game because I felt that I used to come over the top & would skull the shot from time to time. So far, it has the same amazing results! Can't wait to keep working on it and see how good I can get.

Getting flattened
Since my swing is now properly more shallow than before, I no longer need the 2* upright lie angle on my clubs. So Grant, Michael, and I went to Dong's place to have all our clubs' lofts & lies adjusted, clubs cut down, & other club repair work done. I changed all my clubs to Dong's specs (2* down) which essentially were 4* difference from what I had before.

So far, I'm loving how the sole goes through the turf now. Especially with my wedges on chips & pitches. This is all really, really exciting.

Ugh, ok . . .

Full Swing

So I was hitting balls on the range today and then I decided to take some shots at the ball picker. It was interesting because this is what started everything today. My friends Michael & Grant were watching me and as soon as I flighted my low, piercing stinger shots at the ball picker they both were like "whoa, your right arm position was awesome". Eventually, I tried to do it again, had them video tape it, and then they went on to talk about how with my real swing, my shoulders and my hips both rotate together rather than the hips leading first. This was something that I knew I did, but I thought I've improved on. I guess not.

So they showed me that I needed to create separation between my hips and my shoulders. I would have to clear my hips first, then drop my arms in the inside while staying covered over the ball. As soon as I had an understanding of what they wanted from me (and remembering what Mike Malaska showed me a long time ago) I was starting my shots right of my target and stopped coming over the top. I really had to feel as though my hips would shift laterally, fire, and at the same time, keep my shoulders closed as I dropped my arms down into the ball. A couple of weeks ago, Martin White & Jessi Gebhardt pointed out that I should try to keep my back to the target as long as possible. Well today, Michael wanted me to accomplish the same thing, but I believe I learn better when I understand the positions that I'm supposed to be in. Rather than being told certain sensations I should feel to achieve a position; to me, that's backwards to how I learn.

Short Game

I worked more on what I learned in the past few days with the tee drill, but I still felt the over the top skull shot from time to time and felt as though I was trying to pull my shots. Sure enough, I have been aiming right of my target and pulling my shots. I worked on my aim, and it seems to be working towards a better, more consistent impact.

Putting

I've been working on the same things for the past few weeks on alignment and producing a more consistent stroke with the putting plane, but I still feel as though my alignment with a different putter would make things easier. I feel as though I can putt well with the Scotty Cameron Newport 2 model that I have, but I feel like I would be even better with a putter that fit my eye better. I will need to take a lesson with Penny Pultz again soon to get fitted on the fit-to-aim putter system. At the time when she showed me a brief demo of the concept, I really didn't believe it too much. But now, I've been working hard, and I've looked at different putters with different necks and feel that there is some weight to the whole theory.

Progress

Full Swing

I've been working on the same things of keeping my arms in front of my body to help lay down the club on a flatter plane. My ball striking is slowly getting back to where it used to be, and I know that soon enough it will be even better with my misses being smaller.

I'm hitting more balls than I was before I started working on this in efforts to learn the moves more quickly. I also noticed and started working on shortening my backswing because I was overswinging before which I feel leads to some inconsistency. I've been working a little with the baseball drill to give me the feeling of hand rotation, freeing up my arms by keeping them in front of me, and a flatter plane. It's a good drill for the things that I need to work on because my club was slightly shut, I dipped a little on the downswing, and my plane was steep.

Short Game

I started doing this drill that I did a couple years ago where I would place three tees on the green and chip to the front one, middle, the back, and then in between the three tees. After accomplishing that, I would chip to the tees, but instead of rolling the ball to the tees, I work on carrying the ball to the tee.

It helped me notice for one, that I was not as sharp as I should be, and that a lot of my skulled shots was caused by me coming in with the leading edge causing me to come out of the shot for fear of digging into the ground. Also, I had trouble controlling the shots as they were rolling too far and appeared to have draw spin on them. A few days ago I was working on rotating the face open on my backswing and it seemed to work because it allowed for a little more bounce to come into play, but that was only half of the equation. What I realized yesterday was that my mechanics were slightly off: I wasn't using the bounce properly, and I was releasing the club too much. Therefore, I worked on keeping the bounce consistent through the shot and not releasing the club as much.

Putting

I noticed a slight trickle down from the lack of confidence in my ball-striking influencing what was my spectacular putting. I've been working on trying to not let that happen, but it's difficult. I've still been working on the same ruler drill, the putting plane, and making at least a third of my putts around a hole. I reminded myself to stay relaxed, exude a confident setup, and I believe those things help make putting easier.

Titleist Purchasing Program

I've been emailing Cindy Hogge of Titleist with my scheduling information and proof of membership on legitimate mini-tours. I recently had Will, from the All-American Tour, send me a letter that I forwarded to Cindy which showed that I will be a full-time member of the All-American Tour in 2010. I then revamped my schedule to reach the minimum requirement of 15 events of 36 holes or more. I'm hoping to hear back from her tomorrow and hopefully it satisfies all their requirements so I can start purchasing some clubs at PUD prices.

Nike Driver

I sent my old, cracked-faced Nike driver back to the factory and hopefully it's still under warranty & they'll replace it with the new Nike Victory Red Driver. I'll probably then talk to Richard Lee & see if I can swap that factory driver with a Tour version. Currently, my Nike Dymo driver is optimum with really low spin & a great launch. I get compliments about my driver's ball flight all the time.

Events

I wanted to play in the WM Phoenix Open, but I didn't end up signing up due to the fact that I need to purchase a brand new set of clubs. Once I decided I wouldn't play, I then started to work on shallowing out my downswing. Yesterday, though, I did sign up for the Scottsdale Healthcare Charity Pro-Am which is in April. It's a great event with the entry being $50 more this year at $350, but the winner takes $15,000. Amateurs pay around $900 I believe for an entry so it's great to be a pro

Taxes

I will need to file for my taxes soon and my friends Grant & Michael Schnegelberger told me that I need keep track of all my golf expenses (training aids I purchase, clubs, event entry fees, gas used for every event, etc.) because it is a job, and I can get money back from it. For this reason, I'm probably going to opt for the more traditional route of tax filing rather than online like last year.

Shallowing out the plane

Today Dong continued to help me out on my swing. I told him what I was trying now with trying to keep my butt out during my downswing to create some space for my arms to swing, not get steep, and to not come out of the shot. He said that I was doing what I wanted, but he felt that I wasn't exactly working on the root of the cause.

So what he wanted me to do was to feel as though on my downswing I was coming down with the club flat, my arms in front of me, and my right elbow towards the ball. All of these things were to keep my club from coming down steep, and that caused my body to come out of the shot to save it. What ended up happening was that this flat feeling downswing (which was actually on plane) fixed nearly everything. My lower body, including my right foot, worked towards the target and stayed out of the shot. The club came down on a shallower, more on plane arc, dissecting my right arm rather than my right shoulder. After impact, the grip of my club was lower and finishing more left instead of the steep angle created before.

Of course, I really didn't have any control of where the ball was going, but I finally had my swing shape right. It's only going to be a matter of time that I get used to this, start improving, and making my misses smaller.

Later, Dong and I ended up playing this game called "Rabbit" with another mini-tour player, Michael Schnegelberger (really long name). I was obviously not in great form to play in any sort of match, but it was only a $5 buy in, and I didn't embarrass myself too much finishing a couple under after nine holes.

So Now . . .

Full Swing

So now I'm working on trying to keep my butt out during my downswing. It seems like the things I've been working on with the left knee posting up or moving towards my right just before I start my downswing aren't really getting my hips out of the shot. Therefore, I'm still coming in steep & getting "stuck".

So I'm trying to really feel that I keep my position that my right butt cheek established at address for as long as possible. As of right now, it's causing me to fall backwards when I swing. Which is something my buddy Zuong was working on a couple years ago.

Short Game

I haven't been able to work on it as much as I would like due to me trying to change my full swing for the better. On the other hand, I have been continually working on my weight shift which has improved contact and consistency.

Putting

It's continuing to improve. I'm getting used to the alignment at address & stroking it more pure. Jenny Lee is back in town and noticed my stroke being a lot better and more confident. She's a good putter so she knows what she's talking about.

- - -

I did fax my schedule, playing resume, & screenshots of my finishes on the Dakotas & All-American Tours to Titleist's sponsorship department. The information was incomplete, and she wants actual proof of 2010 membership on the mini-tours. So I'll have to resubmit some info then, and she'll review it all again on Friday.

I've been contacting a bunch of the people I know for caddy information. So far it's not looking so good in terms of actually getting out and caddying a few days to make some connections. I'll have to keep searching & networking.

I need to know the right people

Today I worked on submitting a packet of information to Titleist in hopes that they could either sponsor me with equipment or provide a partial sponsorship to purchase 10 new clubs at a lower cost. Because of the new groove rule, I need a whole new set of irons and a couple of wedges. I typed out my schedule for the year, and it seems like a decent schedule but without sponsors, I honestly don't see it being feasible.

The estimates amounted to around $8-9 grand on the entry fees alone. I'm thinking that even if I do have the temporary liquidity to enter into the Waste Management Phoenix Open & purchase some conforming clubs, it's not the most financially sound idea.

Today I ended up writing myself a check from my bank account in Iowa to close that account and put all my money in my Bank of America and Chase accounts. My mom also contacted my insurance guy and took out a loan against my insurance policy so that I could play in the WM Phoenix Open. It's a really nice gesture on my mom's behalf, but again, I'm thousands of dollars in debt from the past two summers of paying my own way to play golf. I believe it should mainly go to pay off a majority of that debt. I will probably purchase a new set of clubs through Titleist's sponsorship program just so I don't have to worry about conforming anymore. By that time, I will probably sign up for the Scottsdale Healthcare Charity Pro-Am which is only $300 and the winner takes $15,000.

As for traveling back to the Midwest for the summer events that I planned out, I'm not so sure anymore. The serving job at a fine dining establishment that I worked at in the past is no longer there anymore due to some falling out between the owner and the manager.

I ended up playing in a skins game today at the Legacy that involved 10 players (Dong Yi, Grant, Skyler Hong, Jessi Gebhardt, her bf Martin White, Julianna Ulrik, her bf Reed, Kendra, and Vinny from the Big Break Disney). I had three birdies, but they were all covered. It took an eagle by Martin on hole eight and a birdie by Vinny on nine for the only two skins. We all went to Oreganos for some pizza, and I finished it off with a Pizzookie . . . it was delightful.

Tomorrow I will have to contact the people that I know at Estancia to see if they have a caddy program. Hopefully they do, and I could make a few contacts/potential sponsors that way.

Hmm . . .

So I decided to create a blog to delineate the everyday activities & thoughts of a golf touring professional: myself.

Another reason for starting this blog is to help organize my thoughts & monitor my progress with the new techniques that I may be working on.

Full Swing

What I have decided to work on recently is to swing a little flatter on my backswing & to improve my footwork to create more space for my arms to swing. With the former, I have been working on a drill my friend, Dong Yi, has showed me. He has me taking the club back half-way to where my arm is parallel to the ground & then just turning my shoulders to complete my backswing. What I appeared to be doing before is poor sequencing where my arms and shoulders were connected about halfway back, then my shoulders would stop turning & my arms would continue to finish the swing. What this caused was an over-the-top position at the apex of my backswing and for my club to be laid-off at the top. I'm also over-swinging so that's another key to fix.

With improving my footwork, I worked with Mike Malaska over a year ago & he wanted me to swing flat footed, then work on rolling my right foot, and then eventually finishing my swing after mastering each of those stages. What Dong showed me was that some people learn better footwork not with his/her right foot, but conversely with the left foot or left leg. So what Dong showed me was that Anthony Kim feels as though right before initiating the downswing, his hips fire in reverse. In other words, his left hip contorts to the right rather than towards the target. Whether it actually does that is a different story, but this is what he feels to create that "squat" during the downswing and to stay grounded better. So what Dong pointed out was that for him, he feels as if his left knee goes towards his right knee just before initiating the downswing which creates a "posted" feeling. Essentially, my weight should shift towards the balls of my left foot during the downswing & feel as if I'm stomping on the ground.

All of these keys helped my right heel from coming off of the ground, to begin to roll towards the target, & to create spacing for my arms to hit the shot. Therefore, my hips do not interfere, & I don't become "stuck" on my downswing. All of these changes were also to help myself from coming out of the shot where I would get steep right at impact. I've been working on these things for two days now so we shall see how it progresses.

Short Game

With my short game, I've been mainly working on rotating my chest towards the target & shifting my weight more effectively. In the past, I would chip or pitch with all arms and that would cause me to be out of sync and ground out before the ball or skull the shot. I believe the problem with my chest not rotating stemmed from me wanting to quiet my lower body in the full swing and incorporating that in my short game. Therefore, things haven't been working effectively or naturally as they should.

Today I practiced and found that I was lacking a lateral weight shift before my body pivot. In my brief experimentation, it seemed to be amazing. I can't wait to try it out more tomorrow.

Putting

My last lesson was with Penny Pulz, and it was on my putting. She helped out immensely & showed me to read greens like an "athlete" rather than a mechanical robot that I was becoming. Essentially it is to feel the read of the putt in my body or rather becoming aware of my body's senses as I read the putt. Then when I step up to execute the putt, I just continue to feel what I felt during the read of the putt. It has been absolutely amazing so far with my clutch putting with money on the line. I haven't been able to test it out in a tournament yet, but I have been taking a lot of my friends' money haha. I believe that it is a much better way of reading greens and feeling speed. I do believe that speed is the more important of the two variables when it comes to putting, and I used to concentrate on that aspect for the line I chose as I stood over a putt. I feel as though I have had great success doing so. But changing my mindset, and I suppose it is my "energy" when reading a putt & becoming aware of my senses during execution, I feel as though I have become even better.

From a stroke standpoint I have been working on improving the path & alignment. Penny had me on this device called Tomi which measured the swing path, tempo, face rotation, etc. In summary, my tempo was good, but my swing path was inside to out because I would open the face too much on the backswing and then close it on the thru-swing. For this reason, I would have to swing outside to keep my putts on my intended line.

To fix this, I got a putting plane which I have been using to learn the feeling of putting with a more consistent arc in my stroke. In addition, I bought a metal meter stick & have been putting with that to work on my alignment & to start my putts on my intended line. If the putter face is even just a touch closed or open, the ball will not stay on the meter stick, & I will receive instant feedback on my putts.

So far, all of these things have been leading me to make more putts on the golf course. I really want to play in a tournament soon! My scores have been really good since having the lesson with Penny back in December. I've only been playing 9 holes when I would go out, but they have been something like 2, 4, 3, even, 3, 2, 2 under par the last few times I have played. The worst was even par which was when I played with Ai Miyazato, and it was only six holes. I remember last year, my friends from the Cactus Tour would comment on how I shoot under par all the time, & I would reply that it's not really the case, and it wasn't. Last year, I was closer to even par most of the time I would tee it up, but after working on my putting, I'm seeing consistent rounds in substantial red figures. I'll keep working hard, & it'll get even better :D