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Common Golf Myths That May Be Hurting Your Game


mvmac
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This thread will serve to separate fact from fiction and examine some very common myths about the golf swing/technique. If you're a regular on the site, some of this may be old but some content will be new. Erik and I will also add to the thread. If you're new to the site, welcome and take a minute to review this information and I hope it ends up being helpful to your game.

If you have any myth suggestions or questions, please feel free to post it in this thread. Ok in no particular order....

1 - Myth: The club head and hands go straight back and straight through during the golf swing

Fact: Since we're playing golf from a bent over position, the hands and club travel inward, upward and back.

"Deep" Hands Explained

2 - Myth: The golf ball starts in the direction of the path and curves there where the face is pointed

Fact: The golf ball starts generally where the face is pointed and curves away from the path. So for a draw, the face will be right of your intended target and the path will be further right of the face. Opposite for a fade.

Correct Ball Flight Laws

3 - Myth: The angle of the rear knee must stay the same throughout the back swing. It's important to "resist" with the lower body, to turn against a flexed right knee and thigh and create a coiling effect.

Fact: In order for the hips and shoulders to turn on a slant (again we have to bend over somewhat to play golf), the rear knee will decrease in flex as the lead knee gains flex. This "knee linkage" frees up the hips to not only rotate but "bend" and "stretch" as well. The correct amount of bending and stretching allows the golfer to make a 90 degree or more torso turn while keeping their head steady.

Myth of Maintaining Address Flexion in the Rear Knee

4 - Myth: Poor contact and slicing is caused by the hips sliding towards the target on the downswing.

Fact: The best players in the world have between 80-95% of their pressure on his front foot at impact. The average amateur has 55%.

The Biggest Secret? SLIDE Your Hips

5 - Myth: When I make a centered pivot, my rear leg decreases in flex and my lead gains in flex. This can feel like my weight is forward on my backswing. This means I'm "loading left" on my backswing.

Fact: When the left knee gains flex and the right decreases in flex, pressure actually increases on the right side as the right hip "stretches" up and the left hip lowers. Decreasing flex applies pressure, increasing flex relieves pressure.

Weight Forward - Using SwingCatalyst and SAM Balance Lab to Explain Pressure Throughout the Swing

6 - Myth: On the backswing the clubhead goes back "low and slow" to setup a nice wide arch, feel as you drag the club for the first couple feet.

Or get the left shoulder over the right foot.

Fact: As was stated previous, the club travels gradually upward, inward and back. The "up" is due to the rear elbow bending, wrists hinging and the bending and stretching of the hips.

We can see from the left pic below that as I try to take the club back as low as I can (still ascends somewhat) that my left shoulder hasn't work down at all, causing my head to translate to the right. On the right my head hasn't moved right due to the left knee/left hip/left shoulder going down somewhat and the bending of my right arm. The club is ascending at a good rate.

We know the average PGA Tour player moves his head one inch during his backswing. If the head remains relatively steady, contact with the golf ball becomes easier and more consistent.

As we get to the top of the backswing, my head has continued to move right, left shoulder is over my right foot in the left pic.

But because I tried to make the club "drag" back for the first couple feet and/or get the left shoulder over my right foot, the hips didn't bend and stretch enough causing the shoulders to turn too level. My head has moved too far to the right and I've only turned my torso about 75 degrees. On the right, with the proper amount of bending and stretching , my head has remained steady. You can see I've turned my torso about 100 degrees with a 7 iron.

Quick note: I'm not saying that "low and slow" can't be a feel that works. If you have the club ascend at too fast a rate or have the head go down and forward on the backswing, this might be a great feel for you. Just be aware of what is actually happening and don't take common advice too literally.

7 - Myth: Roll the toe, close the face or release it to hit a draw.

Fact: As we know from the Ball Flight Laws article, impact only last 400 microseconds, so even if we could impart some curvature while the ball was on the face, there just isn't enough time to do so. We also know when hitting a draw, we want the face pointed right of the intended target and the path further OUTward of that because t he ball starts generally where the face is pointing, and curves away from the path. So if we end up achieving a face left of the target, it's going to start left of the target.

We know good or great golfers don't "flip" at the ball a significant amount, achieving an inline impact helps golfers hit it solid on a consistent basis. Inline impact means that the player delivers the shaft in such a way that it does not pass the line of the lead forearm prior to impact.

In the left pic I am trying to release the toe and you can see that the shaft is inline well before impact. You can also tell that the face is pretty square at this point. On the right, by the time I reach impact, my left wrist is cupped, face is left, your standard "flip" or casting move.

So consciously trying to roll the toe closed can cause the handle to back up, rotate the face too far left. It can also cause the club head to be swing more across the ball.

Adam Scott on the right demonstrating a great inline impact. Note the face is more rightward pointing.

So if you want to stop flipping, hit it solid, be able to draw the ball, I would suggest improving Keys #1 and 2 .

Edited by mvmac
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Mike McLoughlin

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Great stuff as always Mike!

Nate

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Excellent stuff, can i assume that you will add to this thread as you see fit? Some people would definitely benefit from the myths within marketing that a new driver with this or that will cure a slice when golfer are still swinging OTT-  10 o left with the face open to the path 5 o .... :doh:

Henry

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Excellent stuff, can i assume that you will add to this thread as you see fit?

Yep absolutely. Will be adding some short game stuff soon.

Mike McLoughlin

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Keeping weight "forward" on the left leg is difficult for me sometimes during my takeaway if I haven't found my rhythm for the day (seems like every day it's different)...  The way I get into my rhythm is making very short backswings while keeping weight forward, and progressively let me backswing and follow through get longer until I reach a full swing.  This way the weight stays forward rather than shifting back and forth, which creates inconsistent ball contact and hooks for me personally.

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Very nice.  The main myth that I was studying and trying to understand is the ball flight laws.  Up until I saw a youtube video with highspeed camera results and explanation.. it all made sense after that.. In fact it should have since I play soccer and naturally if I want the ball to draw I have to kick outwards and if I want to have it cut I have to kick just like I would be doing an over the top swing..

:adams: / :tmade: / :edel: / :aimpoint: / :ecco: / :bushnell: / :gamegolf: / 

Eyad

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Very nice.  The main myth that I was studying and trying to understand is the ball flight laws.  Up until I saw a youtube video with highspeed camera results and explanation.. it all made sense after that.. In fact it should have since I play soccer and naturally if I want the ball to draw I have to kick outwards and if I want to have it cut I have to kick just like I would be doing an over the top swing..

i played soccer as a boy and when my mind was initially blown by the true ball flight laws, i was like "DUH!!!" - it all made sense because of knowing that to hook a ball you kick outward with the foot open to the target.

Colin P.

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I just show this photo when introducing someone to the true ball flight laws. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/NlGOEPN.jpg[/IMG] Plus this [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/lWGYHQA.jpg[/IMG]

Steve

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Yours in earnest, Jason.
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  • 1 year later...

Tons of advice and drills couple with golf methods were misconceived or interpreted wrongly. Lets talk about what we feel is largely misconceived. I will start the ball roiling by saying that THE BACKSWING PART OF A GOLF SWING, IS NOT A SWING. I see countless people really swing the club backwards to get to a certain position. Even if he/she were able to hit a good shot, I'll bet the level of control they have on their swing is greatly reduced thus breeding inconsistency. Getting the golf swing is only 25% done.The other 75% is consistency and I think this perception of a "swing" going back and up is not good. The backswing should be like someone drawing a straight line without the assist of a ruler. It should not be rushed. It should be done with conviction.

Can fellow golf enthusiast provide more misconceptions? 

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Tons of advice and drills couple with golf methods were misconceived or interpreted wrongly. Lets talk about what we feel is largely misconceived. 

Moved your post to this thread. 

 I see countless people really swing the club backwards to get to a certain position. Even if he/she were able to hit a good shot, I'll bet the level of control they have on their swing is greatly reduced thus breeding inconsistency. Getting the golf swing is only 25% done.The other 75% is consistency and I think this perception of a "swing" going back and up is not good. The backswing should be like someone drawing a straight line without the assist of a ruler. It should not be rushed. It should be done with conviction.

I agree you shouldn't try to copy or hit some arbitrary position but the backswing can be a very important piece of the swing. If a golfer turns level to the ground, sways their hips back, loads the club too far inside their hands, gets the shaft shallow, it's typically going to create issues or make the downswing pieces much harder to accomplish.

Mike McLoughlin

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Tons of advice and drills couple with golf methods were misconceived or interpreted wrongly. Lets talk about what we feel is largely misconceived. I will start the ball roiling by saying that THE BACKSWING PART OF A GOLF SWING, IS NOT A SWING. I see countless people really swing the club backwards to get to a certain position. Even if he/she were able to hit a good shot, I'll bet the level of control they have on their swing is greatly reduced thus breeding inconsistency. Getting the golf swing is only 25% done.The other 75% is consistency and I think this perception of a "swing" going back and up is not good. The backswing should be like someone drawing a straight line without the assist of a ruler. It should not be rushed. It should be done with conviction.

Can fellow golf enthusiast provide more misconceptions? 

Craps, when you say the back swing should be unaided by a 'ruler",  it is very true, in my humble opinion. what a lot of us seem to focus on these days is to use our conscious minds to fabricate an 'artificial' swing.

when you look at players from many years gone by-they could shape a shot to land on a dime.

i  am a bit like yourself, a high handicapper with reservations about the way this whole industry is going and i question the way instruction is actually beneficial as it is all the same re cycled mumbo jumbo.

that said, i must admit,  i have had a break through in my own swing problems, attributed indirectly to my short involvement with this forum.

it probably does not relate to most player"s problems, but it has basically turned my whole golfing persona into positive mode.

this is so simple i am embarrassed to admit to it. 

i have a solid build with wide shoulders. what i discovered was, at address, that i was bending to the ball and only the left shoulder joint/scapula was freely disengaging, not my right .this i presume was because i am "very" right handed and right "strong"

anyway, i now make a conscious effort to free up both shoulder blades as i bend in to the ball at address.

this discovery sounds so simple to others i know, but it has finally opened the door for me to actually improve exponentially, as i can swing my shoulders freely to my heart"s content.

anyway, i hope you find and solve your "elusive" swing problem as i did, as in the long run it is worth the effort .

I routinely troll and make things up. Please use my posts for your own amusement, and little else.

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Getting the golf swing is only 25% done.The other 75% is consistency and I think this perception of a "swing" going back and up is not good. The backswing should be like someone drawing a straight line without the assist of a ruler. It should not be rushed. It should be done with conviction.

In addition to what @mvmac said, I disagree with a few things there…

  • Golfers are already very consistent.
  • There are a lot of golfers whose backswings actively hurt their chances of recovering in time to make a good downswing.

when you look at players from many years gone by-they could shape a shot to land on a dime.

I think shaping shots is over-rated. The vast majority of golfers would be better off (or already are) playing their stock shape on 95% of their shots. When do you hear about Nicklaus or Trevino playing anything but their cuts?

i  am a bit like yourself, a high handicapper with reservations about the way this whole industry is going and i question the way instruction is actually beneficial as it is all the same re cycled mumbo jumbo.

While I share your opinion for most of the industry, the positives are that the trend is not in that direction. There are a number (and it is growing) of good instructors out there who know what they're talking about. I'm one of them, and I know of a growing number of others.

that said, i must admit,  i have had a break through in my own swing problems, attributed indirectly to my short involvement with this forum.

Good to hear. Stick around as there is a lot more to learn, if you wish!

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
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thanks iacas- whether or not i agree to disagree on the comments you made is not that relevant.

the real breakthrough is that you are prepared to actually take a different  view  as an instructor, which is very encouraging to all of us in "struggle street".

thanking you.

 

 

I routinely troll and make things up. Please use my posts for your own amusement, and little else.

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thanks iacas- whether or not i agree to disagree on the comments you made is not that relevant.

the real breakthrough is that you are prepared to actually take a different  view  as an instructor, which is very encouraging to all of us in "struggle street".

thanking you.

 

those who have been around for a long time on this site can personally attest to the fact that @iacas is more than willing to change his perspective on things when new and better info comes out.  rest assured that anything he says regarding the swing has been analyzed and broken down and is based on the most current science.

 

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Colin P.

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Note: This thread is 2261 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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