What has this done to my swing ?

[ben]

After high praise this has all gone terribly wrong.

I’m up to day 26 and the last 2 rounds of golf have left me so angry and dejected. I practice regularly and this evening went to the range, it went from shank to slice to pull to top and worse!! I have more of a hit impulse than ever and even when it’s not awful the ball is going no where !! I’m really close now to quitting golf! I can’t even revert back to my old swing as my movements are so confused! I am however great at the drills so maybe that’s what I’ll have to do from now, stand in my lounge and pretend to play golf!!

Thanks

Ben (running away from the ice cream truck) ???

[Lee]

Hi Ben,

I feel for you. In a crisis my usual approach is to step back, grab some perspective compartmentalise, simplify and have some fun.

My game is very frustrating. I won a club event last summer and my handicap has dropped 0.1 every competition for the last 12 competitions. I’ve not once played to my handicap, which by the way is 7 shots higher than my goal of single figures this year

I’m about to video myself to send in to the Tathata Team (if I can’t see what’s causing my banana slice off the tea) The good news is I now only slice or hit straight, or short or long. The tops and fats have more or less gone and the hook too. But I know it’s the short game where I loose so many of my shots.

Tell us a bit more about a specific situation, a hole, a shot, the club that’s working the best. What your expectation is. What clubs you have, where you play? What’s a stock club, and stock distance for you.

I’ve set myself some new goals. One don’t enter any more comps until I am playing to or better than my handicap. 2. continue with Tathata and keep using the programme in practice and playing, set my expectations better about shots and distances and scoring. Some holes I only need to par, some holes I need to bogey. Do I always need to smash a driver or hit a huge Wedge. Will an easier swing/club/shot be better to get the score or help the next shot.

Find one club in your bag that is working well and continue with the tathata training with that club on the range or course. When it clicks it will click for all the clubs in the bag.

Keep the faith | Love the Game
Good Luck

[Philip]

I’m only on Day 13 but feel the same way – I’m very good at the drills in my basement but it doesn’t translate to the range when I practice and when I play I’m completely paralyzed when bought movement thoughts. Such happens any time one tries a new direction or rebuilds a swing but we’re not professional golfers who can spend hours a day on the range with an instructor trying to apply what we learned. I think the course needs to help players with the transition – specifically how to play while you are learning this stuff. Not sure there’s an answer but it is terrifying nonetheless.

[David]

Ben and Philip,

It wasn’t long ago that I was in your shoes searching the forums for answers because I, too, was lost, feeling overwhelmed, and experiencing frustration. As corny as it sounds, I smile each time I read one of these post because I know that you CAN break through if you are open to pushing through this rough spot and continue to seek out the answers once and for all. I’m no pro either nor do I have hours each day to spend on training. Consequently, It’s probably taken me a bit longer to make the progress I would like.

With that said, I have a some thoughts about progress and why some who come to Tathata experience immediate improvement (and sometimes it is even dramatic) while others, like me, struggle. A couple of possibilities are:

1) In certain instances the actual movements differ materially from what they think they are doing. A good starting point to resolve this is to video your swing down the line and face on so that you can examine your swing to see if it is precisely as described in the program. This process helps tremendously. I have included information below about how to film your swing properly, which is essential for accurate diagnosis.

2) Based on my observations at driving ranges and golf courses around the county, I suspect that a good number of folks who are playing fairly well but wish to take their game to the next level do not have an appreciation for the current state of affairs with respect to their swing. Through hard work, determination, grit, and years of adaptation, they have cobbled together a number of swing compensations that deliver a decent game of golf. However, mess with one of these compensations and the wall comes crumbling down. In these cases, understanding the starting point is helpful to developing the patience necessary to build a world-class golf swing. Filming the swing and viewing it is slow motion will be an essential component to identifying and correcting deficiencies. The advantage of Tathata is that golf becomes fun and effortless once the body and mind are trained.

In closing, feel free to post a video on the form if you want public feedback. Alternatively, you can submit a swing to Team Tathata for expert advice.

Good luck!! Keep us posted on your progress.

Camera Placement for Filming Online Golf Lessons

Camera placement should be on a tripod or some other stationary mount to avoid shaking. Accurate video analysis of golf swings really needs a steady camera especially for the graphics and line-drawing features of the video software. In addition, camera angles and distance from the subject are very important. The camera height ideally will be about waist-high. For a face view shot, the camera should be perpendicular to the player’s belt buckle – basically dead center of the golfer’s body. Down-the-line shots need a camera mount pointed on a line inline with the players hands at setup or roughly half way between the player and the golf ball. If the camera is mounted inline with the players feet, this is acceptable, but inline with the golf ball does not work well for accurate assessment of swing plane.

An additional detail to be aware of with camera placement is the distance from the subject. Most often we see video from clients that is shot from too great a distance or with a wide angle lens and the detail we would like is missing. This is especially true for video shot with mobile phones. Test your shot beforehand to make sure you have the tightest view possible which still gets the entire arc of the golf club in the shot. Mobile phones should be turned on their side in a horizontal landscape format. Historically for standard camcorders, we have found this distance to be about 21 feet. But wide angle lenses which are typical on smart phones and some of the newer pocket cameras require shooting the video at closer distances. Be sure to test your system before sending us video of a golfer who looks like an ant in the distance.

Source: http://www.hermanwilliamsgolf.com/how-to-film-golf-swing-video-online-golf-lessons/

[Les]

It seems that somewhere in Chapter 2 or Chapter 3 lots of players see a setback. I too felt a setback in Chapter 2/3 as the hand and arm movements are introduced. I saw immediate improvement in the body movement chapter 1 as my mid and long iron play dramatically improved. But once the hand and arm movements were introduced along with the pressure moves it took longer for me to adopt those movements in my swing. Even now after a couple of months of completion I am still struggling at times with the hand and arm movements.

My challenges are either 1) I rush the swing too much and over accelerate too early in the swing causing a dump or 2) my hand path reverts to older patterns and I get stuck and push things to the right or slice. Last week I had five 7’s in a row on the back 9. Then suddenly, I took my swing tempo down a notch and things fell into place finishing with 3 pars and a bogey.

My learning? Swing changes take time, sometimes lots of time. Patience, drills, and time are required for changes to work their way into the swing. I am frustrated at times because I will go out and shoot a 40 for 9, then the next day shoot a 50. I just have to persevere, practice, and keep my focus out in front.

[Greg]

Hi Ben
This is my first post to the forum.

I took the course starting in Jan 2017 and have enjoyed the results … but the last 10-15 days I have dropped back. I have been regularly going back ( my fav days are day 20 and day 41 ) and I keep seeing very small points that stick out that Have missed or forgotten.

Time will help … and repeating will help. I have a golf article posted on the wall for the early 90’s saying you can’t change a golf swing … you need something to challenge yourself.

Keep a positive attitude and watch out for great things.
Regards
Greg