Day 4 Range Session

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In session 4, Craig is beginning to refine the movements and focus on the critical details that are required to master before adding speed and the release.


Welcome everybody to a session that I'm going to call the last 10.

I've been following the comments board.

I appreciate all the kind words and I'm trying to get down what people really want to see.

And the deeper I get into my phases, I'm probably going to kind of shorten the videos because the more and more I start to do it consistently, I know you just don't want to sit there and watch me just do the same thing over and over again.

You want to learn something.

So the deeper I get into the phases and when I really start to kind of get something, you know, kind of motoring, so to speak, I'm going to kind of shorten the session, but I'm going to usually do the last 10, but really talk about the things that I focused on.

And there's three main things that I want to mention today that has really made today's session productive.

The first thing is, and I know that not everybody will have this kind of time.

You can see my golf balls right here and I don't know if the camera is going to pick it up, but my other stack of golf balls or my nine left are about three, four yards away from me.

Now, why do you say, or why do I have that stack so far away from me?

It's because I noticed when I started getting through some of my reps and things were going good, I had a tendency to do a quick rake.

I'd grab the ball, hit.

All right.

Grab the ball, hit.

And the last thing that I want to do during this is rep string.

I need to give my brain time to kind of catch up to what I'm doing, but I need to remind myself to slow down one shot at a time.

You know, that old adage, which is the truth, by the way, but I needed to give myself time.

And this allowed me to hit, kind of reset, go get a ball, come back over here and work through my process again without just rep stringing.

Rep stringing is one of the worst things that you can do when you're trying to get down these new movement patterns.

So the first thing is I move my stack of balls away from me.

Nobody out here today, so I can kind of get away with it.

The second thing is I noticed that my leg is still, my lead leg, still being pretty lazy.

Now, I know I know all the ifs, ands, and buts that I need to know about the swing, but sometimes some of this own stuff doesn't pop into my own head for what I'm working on.

And what I tended to notice as I was working on this pressure shift, I really focused on my lead oblique to help clear my hip because it's going to be the lead oblique that pulls this lead hip back.

As I started to do that, I noticed that my hip was opening, but it still wasn't giving me the desired impact position.

And then it started to dawn on me a little bit.

My lead oblique's opening up my hip, but what I'm starting to notice a little bit more is that my lead knee is staying bent.

So I'm getting into this position down here where my hips kind of open like this, but my lead knee's really bent.

And I started to think to myself, I'm not using the leverage properly.

As I start to shift into my lead side, moving a little bit towards the ball of my foot so that I can move back towards my heel.

Remember the weight in the golf swing moves like a figure eight.

As I started to move into this position, I remembered push against the ground.

If I push against the ground, it's going to push back.

So when I started focusing on really using the leverage from the ground, pushing my lead foot into it, I noticed that my legs started to straighten and my hips started to clear much, much better.

So if you're having the same tendency that I am with the slide and you're focusing on these muscle groups, sometimes it can just be something simple or a simple quick key that if you get here, push against the ground, push against the ground.

If I battle the ground with my lead foot, my leg is going to react in a way which is going to help me clear my hip.

The third thing is I want to kind of clean up a little bit of my lead wrist.

Now my lead wrist has been pretty much good on all my videos, but I have noticed a tendency of not having that kind of softness to it.

And every single strike that I have, that's good, I noticed that my lead wrist is really soft, having that kind of paintbrush effect into it.

So I've been making a lot of dry swings, and I'm going to show you what I'm doing here.

I've just held my club in my right hand, and I've sat here, and I've just gone slowly, push into the ground, flatten to bow my lead wrist, just kind of dry swings like this.

And I can really feel that glute firing.

Just dry swings like this.

And I would do two or three, maybe four, before I'd even get the club back in my hand, just to really rehearse.

Push and ground, flat lead wrist.

Maybe feel a little bit more bowing to it.

And those three keys have really made this session productive.

So I'm going to do these last 10, and we're going to see if this looks a little bit better than yesterday's.

Get one rehearsal in here, a little takeaway.

Really push into that ground.

Get the fire a little bit.

It'll be easier when I start swinging harder and making bigger swings.

But I really need to start getting that glute working.

Right on the money right there.

This should be, and this should look a little bit cleaner than it has in the past.

And you'll see how I'm walking over here now.

And just doing that has kind of forced me.

Take my time.

Keep going through your process, Craig.

And remember, it's not a race.

Here.

Get that.

I really like that one.

Nice center face.

I can feel that straight lead leg right there.

As I talked about in the last sessions of feeling new muscles starting to fire.

There.

Today, I can really feel that glute.

Really feel it back there.

And it's because my body's reacting.

I'm pushing into the ground, getting that leverage pull.

See, that's one thing I noticed when I really started to clear this hip.

It just felt like I had all the room and space in the world to get down in there.

Some of the tendencies that people have, and I do it too, is that they'll push into the ground and race their hips and they'll feel like they have to speed up their arms.

But when I get my legs working, I feel like things can kind of move slower in time.

It's like, all right, the legs have kind of done all the heavy lifting for me.

It's kind of just, let her get home.

Let her get home.

Yeah.

See, it's really clean today.

Working on that lead wrist, working on this hip.

Ball's really low flighted.

It's getting that compression, that right sound.

I've got that little bag out there as my marker.

And I've hit that thing a few times today, just right on the button.

Oh, a little thin.

Boy, that was decent though.

Just a little bit off the bottom of the club.

Felt I did good with my leg there.

Probably had a little bit of pickup in it.

Just a little bit of guiding up with my shoulders instead of just staying down.

I'm really pleased with that leg.

I'm going to have to keep hitting that leg home.

And I figure we got Mr.

Cloud again today.

So this five I'll do from down the line.

Really focusing on pushing that lead foot into the ground to get my leg to straighten.

Really get that glute to contract.

Feeling this flat lead wrist.

Almost a little, just kind of bowing feeling.

Really feeling like I'm turning it down.

Almost getting to this position.

I'm almost taking my knuckles and just kind of scraping them against the ground right there.

Which I know I'll have to work on really hard when my swing starts getting longer.

As much as my right hand is trying to play kind of devil's advocate in my phase one.

All right there.

That was good.

Foot's behaving.

Legs straight.

Even when I drop the club down right now.

It's just the littlest bit cleaner.

Just the littlest bit.

And hopefully the camera angle is pretty good.

And no cheating.

I went straight from there to there.

So it might be pointing to space right now for all I know.

Really getting that leg.

I got my trusty range bag out there as my marker.

I can see my yardage.

Check my dispersion.

I'm just going to get a nice rotation back.

We're not worried about perfect takeaway right now.

Just getting a good setup.

That was a malfunction.

It was a system meltdown.

Just pulled a three mile island.

Soften up.

There we go.

That was good.

See?

I had a complete system failure on the one before.

Don't beat yourself up.

Right back on that horse.

Oh, that was good.

That was good right there.

Foot's behaving.

Heads down.

Chest.

Nice and straight.

Trail.

Lead leg.

Playing from the wrong side of the golf ball now.

Let's end with a winner.

Get some good rehearsal zone.

A little bit here.

Push into that ground.

Get that leg straight.

Don't have to rely so much on your arms.

Let's really finish on a good one.

Here.

There.

Oh, it's just a touch skinny.

Just a touch skinny.

Boy, that wasn't bad though.

That wasn't bad.

My apologies for interrupting your regularly scheduled program.

But I wanted to interject my thoughts on this because I told you I was filming my videos and I'm leaving them raw.

So you're seeing exactly what's going on in my world.

And I'm sure a lot of you out there have felt exactly the same way that I'm about to feel.

Sometimes you got to know when to hold them.

Sometimes you got to know when to fold them.

I'm sure everybody's had that feeling at home.

You're about to see what I'm talking about.

You just need that one.

Or you almost just had it.

You just need that one to finish off on.

All right.

So I'm going to sneak over here for a second.

I won't count this towards my wraps.

I'm going to have to count that skinny one.

This is more for me.

I know you all have had that feeling at home.

I'm just going to sneak out there and get just that one more.

Got to end on something just a little bit more solid.

There we go.

Much better.

Don't worry about the takeaway so much.

Just kind of get it going a little bit.

Get that lead leg.

Flat lead wrist.

A little bit heavy.

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Joey
I’ve struggled with firing the arms to quickly since I started playing golf.These C4 videos are awesome and helped immensely but my question is should I actually stop my arms at the top of the backswing and start lower body first?What should fire first the left oblique?The left hip?If actually stop at the top it just feels awkward.
July 30, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Joey. Stopping can be tough. Taking small steps like in the Weight Shift Sweep Drills can help make it more flowing and natural with the lower half leading the way. In the smaller Phase 1 shots though you don't need too dynamic of a shift. The first movement is lead knee external rotation followed by inner thigh adduction to start pulling the weight. Glad you like the videos. Keep at C4! It will get better
July 30, 2022
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Luc
Hi Craig! In your statement "The first movement is lead knee external rotation followed by inner thigh adduction to start pulling the weight." while I visualize easily the "lead knee external rotation" I struggle to visualize the "inner thigh adduction" and what you mean by that? Love your videos (like most of us here I can see...)
September 15, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Much thanks for your posts Luc and very happy the videos are helping. Take a look at Preventing Hip Pain. Good drill to help feel the inner thigh adduction movement. It will feel like dragging your trail side over with your lead.
September 15, 2022
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Arthur
Hi Craig, I recall many times I had that 'finish on a good one' then just one more, then another - I ran out of daylight! Really enjoying the sessions. Regards, Arthur..
July 28, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Arthur. Exactly. Been there and done that one. Just one more, but it's pitch black
July 28, 2022
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Matt
Hi Craig- These are excellent sessions to show how patient and honest you need to be with yourself. Quick question. If you still want to go out and play and not just do each phase until completion what is your suggestion? I'm going through phase 1 and being honest about scores but then if I end up playing a few holes I'm just trying to think of those keys from phase 1 and whatever happens after that happens. At the rate I'm going getting to phase 2 and beyond will take quite some time! Matt
July 27, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Matt. Take your time working through the Phases. I just graduated to Phase 2. It took me longer than expected as well. I don't like to tell people don't play golf. That's why we do all the work. To play and have fun. However, if you play a lot of rounds it will slow down your process. It usually takes about 2 days of practice to get back to status quo after 1 round of golf. Chuck did a great video on this topic. Take a look at Should You Play Golf While Learning Your New Swing? Video. Thanks for the feedback and happy you are enjoying the series.
July 27, 2022
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M. (Certified RST Instructor)
Hi Craig, with your last video 2 video's in mind I wonder if the way I count my scores is as critical as you score yourself. My feeling is I have to be more critical about my shots. So far my reference was how my ball striking was before I started C4 and my other criteria are does the ball land in the dispersion zone that belongs to the phase I work on and did I match the checkpoints. But you are much more critical f.i. if a ball is just a fraction low on the face you don't count it. Do you think I need to be more critical for myself? Second thing is my focus for each new training session. I set a focus related to the previous training and try to keep that focus, but after every shot my body or brain tells me something that was not correct and that has always influence on the next shot and drives me away fron the initial focus I set for myself. How do you handle this? Thanks for helping! Marcel
July 27, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello M. Bal. I am going to be hyper critical of my shots. Most players don't need to be as punishing on themselves. But, the goal is still a pured shot with the correct dispersion. My "miss" may be okay in the real world. However, when training the miss isn't acceptable to me. You have to set the goal for the day. If you watch my progression I couldn't fix everything in one session. I noticed the hip. Focused on that until better and I didn't have to think as much. From there tackled other aspects. It is easy to fall into the habit of finding every little thing wrong and trying to fix all at once. But, that makes the journey much harder. You isolate and then stack components just like the work from the DEAD Drill, 5 Min Series, Axiom, etc..
July 27, 2022
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Rick
Hi Craig. I love this series, though I feel a bit like Peyton Manning pouring over game film to find the special secrets. Great nuggets on lead leg postup sequencing and lead wrist feels- getting clearer. But, last couple of vids, you mentioned controlling right foot push. What’s the feel or move that gets that under control? I’ve spent 50+ years beginning my downswing with right leg drive, and I’ve spent 50+ years fighting a lead side slide. I’m beginning to think these may be related. Thanks. -Rick
July 26, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Rick. If I start yelling Omaha you'll know why now . Excessive trail leg/push is the cause for lead hip/leg slide. The trail foot movement is very important and the advice can be different depending on what the player is doing and at what point in the swing. The Sam Snead Squat Video is good for players that start driving to hard in transition. For myself, I actually had to feel like I kept the foot almost flat into impact (which is definitely not what you want), but feel and real are two different things. Still came up every time, but to a lesser degree. Smaller shots like in the How to Fix the Two Way Miss Video can really help with this problem.
July 27, 2022
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Michael
Craig, is this swing technique used for fairway woods and drivers too?
July 24, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Michael. You want the same fundamentals as weight shift, posting, flat lead wrist, etc. However, with a driver being a specialty club and striving for a different launch characteristics. Some of the positions (perfectly stacked/secondary tilt/AOA) will be different than above.
July 24, 2022
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Ross
Was that an 8?
July 23, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ross. I believe so.
July 24, 2022
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M. (Certified RST Instructor)
Lots to learn again Craig. THX! You mention the softness of the lead wrist. Is this from transition to impact or longer until follow true? I often have feeling that when I hit breaks on lead wrist at impact ( the moment I feel it is flat) that impact on ball is better then with soft lead wrist. Thanks for helping! Marcel
July 23, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello M. Bal. The transition into follow through. The wrists will naturally tense up/increase in pressure as you work towards impact. I have to really concentrate not to squeeze the life blood out of the grip. It will need to be firm at impact, but not as firm as I make it sometimes.
July 23, 2022
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Joost
Hi Craig, I was wondering about grip pressure as well. You say 'soft wrist', and there indeed is even a bit of lag in the shot (more than in session 1 I believe). But could you number the pressure at impact from 1 to 10? You swing at 3 and hit at 6 or so? (or am I getting too technical again) Thx
July 24, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Joost. Most players start around a 2 at address and end up an 8 at impact. Your pressure will naturally increase so I try to shy away from getting to a 10.
July 25, 2022
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Michael
Hi Craig Simply great, so nice to be in my garden working along side you. I am waring the carpet out running in and out of the house looking at your swing and then back to mine. This definitely helps a lot and I’m sure progress is being made. Many thanks Mike
July 23, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Great Mike. Now you know I'm not responsible for replacing that carpet . Nice working together with you as a team to improve the swing!
July 23, 2022
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Cullen
Would it be helpful to try this with the lead arm only or having the trail hand just barely touching the club ?
July 23, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Cullen. Yes. That could certainly be helpful. In Phase 2 I will probably be doing a lot of trail hand let go's, or light trail hand work.
July 23, 2022
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Richard
What camera are you using for these sessions?
July 23, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Richard. I am using an older 2019 Samsung S10+ camera phone.
July 23, 2022
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jack
Super session. Super inputs. Shirt perfect for the videos-keep wearing it. Suggest shorts so we can see you knee work.
July 23, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jack. Thanks for the suggestion. May have to buy a few more bright colored shirts. I particularly like the highlighter look as well .
July 23, 2022
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Michael
What is being pushed into the ground? The heel or the foot? Are you pushing straight down or forward?
July 23, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Michael. I am pushing my lead foot into the ground from the ball of my foot towards the heel.
July 23, 2022

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