The Struggle is Real

So for the past four or five months I've had this problem. A really dumb problem that won't go away.

Last time I blogged about my swing I was talking about a persistent pull, that was about a year ago. Happy to announce that the pull is pretty much gone. I'm actually playing some of the best golf of my life right now. Well, for the three years since we started playing. I fixed the pull by changing my setup and being more conscious about keeping the club face square to the target at impact, or even slightly open if I'm going for a draw.
See, thing is, this whole time I thought I was pulling the ball because I was swinging from the outside. I was kinda right, but not really. I was so focused on swinging from the inside for so long and perplexed that it wasn't fixing the pull. In fact, it kinda made it worse at times and caused a duck hook. I watched a video on YouTube that changed my life. It's kinda silly, but the information helped me so much with my swing.

The YouTuber's name is Gabriel Writer. He's young guy from California with a beautiful swing and a really good attitude. Here's the video:


So yeah, that video really helped me get a grip on my swing. I'm talkin' improved my accuracy exponentially. I've also been working on my short game so my chipping and putting has never been better, BUUUUUUT... My game has a crucial, CRUCIAL, new flaw in it now. I am absolute garbage off the tee. My first shot on any par four or five will almost always result in a penalty stroke. It's a wonder that I'm recovering as well as I am, but if I could only get a hold of my driver, I'm confident that I could break 80 again. Did I write about that? I shot a 78 at Old Brickyard in Ferris, TX last summer. Most amazing day ever. I've gotten close lots of times after. Shooting 81s and 80s, but penalty strokes after botched drives is really wrecking my game. The problems vary between slices and hooks, but for the most part I can't stop topping the ball off the tee. I pure my irons consistently, hit my hybrid like a champ, but driver? Fah'geddaboutit. Super frustrating. Trying to fix it still, but can't seem to get a handle on it quite yet.

I'm gonna write up a round analysis next time I find a minute to sit down and type. Hopefully seeing some patterns will help me with what I need to work on. I mean, I know the problem is the topped shot off the tee, but I think it'd be nice to have it written down for me to look at in the future.