Swing techniques

[schmiff]

Anyone else having trouble settling on a swing technique (using a controller)? Back in 2019 I managed to get as high as CC-A using the tried and tested finger and thumb technique (pushing the stick down with the finger, then back up with the thumb) but a few weeks after buying 2K21 I realised it wasn't working for me any more. So I fiddled about a bit and decided to switch to moving my entire hand, moving the stick along the length of the underside of my index finger. This seems to improve things until about a month ago where it all fell apart spectacularly, and lost all feel for my swing entirely, shooting 80+ on most courses. 

So I decided to go back to the drawing board and practice using a variety of swing methods to see what would work for me. Over the past few weeks I've hit thousands of shots using different swing methods, trying to hit a perfect tempo every time, to try and work out what's best for me, and my results are as follows:

(note: these are all tee or fairway 'normal' shots, using a DualShock4 on PC)

Speed	Thumb only	Finger + thumb	Thumb flick	Hand/index finger
Red Slow	24%	25%	22%	20%
Slow	12%	28%	10%	37%
Perfect	8%	19%	10%	20%
Fast	21%	12%	16%	15%
Red Fast	35%	16%	42%	8%

So it seems I should stick with my original method - however I'm still playing pretty badly with that, as you can see by the numbers (I missed the cut in CC-L this week). Sadly my swing plane is pretty unreliable with anything other than the 'finger and thumb' method. I'm interested to know what other players' 'Perfect' rates are - I'm assuming much higher than mine in most cases!

Has anyone else experimented with these methods, or any others I should try out? I've calibrated numerous times while using each technique but nothing seems to make a difference. I did read something about trying to avoid going to 101% power to make shots more forgiving, but no matter how I time it I can't seem to get anywhere near 100% without going over (except 1 in 20 times maybe...)

[twofor22]

I just use my thumb on the right stick. Swing plane more or less stays on the line most times. I haven't counted percentage of each tempo but given I've moved from CCE to Elite this season I must hit perfect or close to it fairly often. I know I don't hit a lot of red misses.

With calibration I did 5 and 5 very slows and very fasts, tested and my natural tempo kept missing red fast. Did it again with 6 very slows and 4 very fasts and that was the right calibration. I do lose my rhythm at times but it always comes back. Bit like real golf I suppose.

[Riotous]

My swing line improved a lot when I stopped watching the avatars swing and kept my eyes looking at what would be the tee peg position

[booze2407]

Why use just one thumb, when you can use both? 🙂

I use the “Golden Tee grip” I guess you could call it. I used to just use my left thumb, but earlier this year found my swing plane had suddenly become awful. So I made the switch on the fly. I’m much more accurate now, although I do still do suffer from shanked putt lines for some reason. Before the red fast nerf, when I was intentionally red fasting drives and woods, I actually played using both grips. I would shoot red shots with one thumb, as I found it easier to get consistent reds and swing plane really didn’t matter much anyway....then I’d switch to 2 thumbs for all other shots.

[karacakes]

^ love 2 thumbs. Right next to each other. Mine are positioned on the lower half of the thumbstick. I get good swing plane and excellent tempo compared to other methods.

[booze2407]

Aug 28, 2021 16:46:13 GMT -5 karacakes said:

^ love 2 thumbs. Right next to each other. Mine are positioned on the lower half of the thumbstick. I get good swing plane and excellent tempo compared to other methods.

Nice! Maybe this is a little more common than I thought. Mine are together towards the bottom of the stick also. Definitely feel like it works better for tempo as well. I position them more in the center of the stick on drives though. Probably in my head, but I feel like I need to swing slightly softer with the driver compared to irons. The higher thumb position naturally just takes a little off the speed for me. Might need to change the angle of the controller or something for putting, not sure why those lines can be so off compared to regular shots. 

[pollingpoints]

Still rocking the middle and index finger on the backswing and the thumb up on the follow through like I've always done.

[schmiff]

Interesting... I did try the double thumb technique briefly as well and while it improved my line I couldn't get any consistency with the tempo. Might be worth a revisit!

[skiingwombat]

Aug 26, 2021 19:01:40 GMT -5 twofor22 said:

I just use my thumb on the right stick. Swing plane more or less stays on the line most times. I haven't counted percentage of each tempo but given I've moved from CCE to Elite this season I must hit perfect or close to it fairly often. I know I don't hit a lot of red misses.

With calibration I did 5 and 5 very slows and very fasts, tested and my natural tempo kept missing red fast. Did it again with 6 very slows and 4 very fasts and that was the right calibration. I do lose my rhythm at times but it always comes back. Bit like real golf I suppose.

I also found that ample use of calibration seems to help in this process: i use the Right thumb, on top (XB controller) for regular swing and slightly over the trailing edge of the stick for putting, allowing my thumb to barely roll upwards to change put tempo as i put. i developed yips in putting which drove me bonkers for a long time until i sorted it out this way - now it seems more consistent.  For regular swings i leave it planted/centered on top which seems to work for me.

i experimented with the Calibration as twofor22 did: sometimes trying to place 10/10 perfects, sometimes in purpose over-/under-swinging between 1-3 times each, mating them with 4-6 "good" swings. purely empirical observation;  I find having 1-2 over swings and under swings seems to allow for a rhythm with some modest range and generally lets you settle into something fairly reproducible with most clubs. I alos found this seems to help with pitch shot rhythm also (30-80 yds ->  in, for example.)  I think i have seen others post on playing with the calibration similarly especially if one tends toward over- or under-swinging it may add some swing security.

[gord59]

Hi
I,m a newbie here when I use my swing plane thumb back then forward I find that my forward action is always going right I can't keep it straight any idea how too fix this..Cheers Gord

[MachOne117]

Sept 25, 2021 5:13:37 GMT -5 gord59 said:

Hi
I,m a newbie here when I use my swing plane thumb back then forward I find that my forward action is always going right I can't keep it straight any idea how too fix this..Cheers Gord

Best two pieces of advice I've seen for this:

1. Watch your thumb as you swing back and forward (during practice swings).  You'll be surprised how crooked your swing can get when it still feels okay.  Take practice swings looking at your controller, then take more looking at the screen. 

2. Find and keep a consistent hand position (both hands) that works for you while doing the first thing.  Also pay attention to the pressure of both hands and the pressure of the swing thumb.  Looking to keep those things consistent.  

You're trying to build the muscle memory so reps are an obvious must.  Skip the look-downs and even practice swings once it's going pretty good, but if you find yourself off-kilter you can do this a few times to get things straight again. 

[Art Vandelay]

[IGolfBad]

Sept 25, 2021 22:25:41 GMT -5 Art Vandelay said:

[Art Vandelay]

Sept 25, 2021 22:47:44 GMT -5 IGolfBad said:

Sept 25, 2021 22:25:41 GMT -5 Art Vandelay said:

Lurved tha game.

[nevadaballin]

I’m right handed but I’ve always used left thumb only with the left stick, even back in the EA Tiger Woods days.