GAME IMPROVEMENT: My 5i NYC Lesson Series // Episode 1

Now that NYC has gotten the COVID situation under control, things are finally starting to reopen, including Golficity’s favorite social spot: Five Iron Golf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For those unfamiliar with Five Iron, it is the urban golfer’s dream hangout. With locations in NYC, Chicago, Baltimore and Philadelphia, and the new midtown Manhattan HQ opening soon, Five Iron features premium simulators, competitive golfing leagues, quality food and drinks and golf lessons.

As a golfer looking to increase my skill level and decrease my handicap, I linked up with Five Iron to check out their FiDi location in downtown NYC to work with Director of Instructor Dan McCracken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fortunately, getting to Five Iron only requires a brief drive and a short walk from one of the many nearby parking lots. Upon arrival, I was greeted by Dan and invited over to the teaching simulator, which is equipped with a Trackman launch monitor, Full Swing simulator and several high-speed cameras to capture caddie view and down the line swing views.

Being that this was the first time I met Dan, we discussed the current status of my game and what I was hoping to accomplish (i.e., a career on the PGA Tour). Fortunately I’ve been regularly using the new Shot Scope v3, so it was easy to identify my strengths and misses and show Dan the data from prior rounds.

Of course, while I was warming up, Dan was already taking some mental notes on what we should focus on to make the biggest beneficial impact on my game.

It didn’t take long for Dan to identify that I struggle with face control. Indeed, the Trackman data revealed that I was ranging from 8.7 closed to 3 open with my driver, which explained why I suffer from a two way miss (e.g., big, high slices and low, pull hooks). Naturally, this kind of swing flaw is most noticeable with a driver because a 250 yard drive with a 4° open face means the ball can curve 40 yards right.

While years of baseball provided me with ample driver club head speed, it didn’t require me to worry about wrist angles, playing golf has made it abundantly clear that certain wrist positions can be the difference between the face being wide open or completely shut. Fortunately, this is a common swing flaw amateurs struggle from, which means there’s plenty of techniques and theories on how to address it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dan quickly introduced me to a variety of drills, like the classic glove under the lead arm and partial slower speed swings, that enhance with face control by focusing on increased rotation to allow for more passive club face control and increased stability. After doing a few reps, Dan was able to show me on both Trackman and the high speed cameras that the drill was making a beneficial impact on my face control.

That said, it’s all well and good to hit the ball pressure-free on a driving range where there’s no penalties. So to help make sure that these newly introduced changes actually stuck, Dan quickly switched from the Trackman to the golf simulator software and fired up a few different wedge and driver shots, including a short game simulation and then some tight fairways.

This added element really helped address something we all face–taking a lesson, seeing a measurable improvement, and then being unable to take that new technique to the course a day or so later. This was really helpful as it revealed, once under pressure, what start slipping and, thus, Dan was able to give me 1-2 swing thoughts that I should focus on while on the course, as opposed to the 5-6 swing thoughts I can emphasize during practice.

Although I’ve only done 1 session with Dan, the Umbrella finish swing thought has really helped improve dispersion and control with all of my clubs. I largely attribute this because of the variety of technology (e.g., Trackman, E6 Connect, high speed teaching face-on and down-the-line view cameras, etc.) that Five Iron instructors have at their disposal to breakdown their students’ swings and identify the technique changes that need to be made.