My swing

[muskegman]

Thought I'd post some of my problems for you folks to comment on. I usually score somewhere in the neighborhood of 48-58 (for nine holes) presently. I have seen improvement in my very poor golf game. The last six months have been the first time I've ever played regularly.

My primary problem has been sending the ball right. I have started to see this change through proper alignment (just left of target), making sure my wrist is in proper position in my backswing, and keeping my left arm closer to my body through my backswing. By over-adjusting the ball will sometimes start left and hook now.

I am very inconsistent with my swing as a rule. I played nine holes today and really saw some improvement by following what I noted above. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[muskegman]

1. Pre-shot routine and proper set-up
2. Turn left shoulder back to start backswing (prevents picking club up and using only arms).
3. Proper wrist position at top
4. Right arm close to body (avoid chicken-wing).
5. Steady spine angle
6. Smooth down and through
7. Left arm close to body on follow through

I try to keep the swing fairly compact.

It is easy for me to become distracted by fellow golfers or ticked off because of my poor performance and that takes my mind off of the task at hand. Lack of focus and positive attitude really kills me sometimes.

[iacas]

I could give you a few hundred things to try, but instead I'll give you just one because I think it may be the best. Well, the best advice is actually "go see a pro, get a lesson" but I'm a do-it-yerselfer too... :-D So here goes:

Slow down. Take 1/4 swings. When you can hit the ball solidly there, take 1/2 swings. Then build up to taking 3/4 swings. Eventually, you'll work yourself into a 90% swing that feels good, increases your changes of great contact, and sends the ball online.

If you can do these swings in a mirror, go for it. Make small, small, small adjustments after each swing until you groove something that works, then slowly speed it up a notch. Then groove it, and speed it up a notch. Keep working up slowly.

The golf swing happens very, very quickly. Slow things down and really get to know what feels right.

[gas_can]

Are you fading/slicing from left to right or is it a push on a line straight left?

If you are fading it more than you want it could be that your swing plane is too far from the outside rather than the inside. I had a big problem with this when I first started. Along with the tips Erik has, I would try two things.

First be patient with your takeaway and make sure the club is coming straight back and not too far to the inside. A take away too far to the inside can cause you to come over the top and on an outside to in plane on the downswing leading to the fade. Try a slow deliberate take away slightly further outside, a fast backswing does not equate to a fast downswing.

Secondly at the driving range once you set up to the ball move your right leg a half step behind your left. Raise your heel slightly to prevent your right shoulder from dropping down and hit some full shots to determine the feeling of bringing the club through the inside. After a few shots, you should be able to replicate the feeling with a normal stance and swing.

Also pay close attention to your divots, you can learn a lot from them. A shot aimed dead straight should have a divot pointing straight at the target. An ideal draw type swing should point to the right of the target, while a fade points slightly to the left.

If you're hitting the ball with a slight fade and it's controllable, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Everyone's golf swing is different, as long as you can control and predict the outcome of every swing you're golden. Trouble starts when a seven iron fades three yards and a five iron fades fifty.

Hope that helps.

[muskegman]

My biggest problem is leaving the clubface open. The ball heads strait right of the target and sometimes with a slice. I think one of the problems I had was not visualizing the clubhead properly at set up. What I thought was square was actually an open clubface. Plus I'm not bringing the clubhead back to square during the swing.