Does set up affect how you swing?

[craps]

There is a thread about a poster claiming a neutral setup would produce an automatic swing. My post here is slightly different. I would like to think of the swing and set up as one whole package. Compare to someone withdrawing a sword from its sleeve. If you pull the whole sword out, it will be though to reenter the sleeve unless you stop and put the sword tip slowly into the sleeve again. If I set up in a particular way where my swing always in connection, then the swing will be deemed automatic. Right now I am very particular how I set up. How open are the legs. How to grip. How much tilt. How much forward lean. If I do what I need to do then the swing is like the sword that never leaves its sleeve.  I have done countless golf drills and none of them worked. After I began to toy with setup tweaking here and there, finally I found success to a degree which is quite satisfactory. My long game is like good. I have yet to dig deep in the short game. Anyone out there found success through set up ?

[saevel25]

2 minutes ago, craps said:

. If I set up in a particular way where my swing always in connection, then the swing will be deemed automatic.

Given that there is no one set up that produces automatic results then there is no automatic swing created by a set up. Look at PGA Tour players and the variations in setup. 
 

2 minutes ago, craps said:

Anyone out there found success through set up ?

Can set up cause a player issues, sure. A lot of amateurs tend to get the ball back in their stance because they tend to flip. Some golfers aim 30 yards left and hit a big pull cut, some hit a push draw. I saw a guy aim 30 yards left and hit a duck hook. It depends on the player. That being said there is no automatic set up that produces an automatic swing. 

 

[craps]

45 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Given that there is no one set up that produces automatic results then there is no automatic swing created by a set up. Look at PGA Tour players and the variations in setup. 
 

Can set up cause a player issues, sure. A lot of amateurs tend to get the ball back in their stance because they tend to flip. Some golfers aim 30 yards left and hit a big pull cut, some hit a push draw. I saw a guy aim 30 yards left and hit a duck hook. It depends on the player. That being said there is no automatic set up that produces an automatic swing. 

 

The word automic is clearly been interpreted wrongly here. The word BEHAVE is more appopriate Example. If a golfer forward lean too much, the odds that he will ( automatically ) swing is  too steep. If a golfer stand upright too much, the swing will automatically be flat. That is how I define automatic. A gool example is a fully cocked wrist at set up. Many golfers do that to make their swing automatic. 

[collapse]

Ok the sword from the sleeve makes more sense than the flamenco guitarist ,but I still say set up is not the key.

[craps]

11 minutes ago, collapse said:

Ok the sword from the sleeve makes more sense than the flamenco guitarist ,but I still say set up is not the key.

I used to swing OTT which is natural for a beginner. After countless drills I still do it . I really do not need any more people telling me that my mother is a woman. Then I begin to position my right shoulder in such a way together with placing the back of my left thumb pointing to my neck  suddennly does the trick. No more OTT eureka!!! P/S this is not a band-aid move. It is here to stay. Works every time.

Edited December 10, 2015 by craps

[collapse]

4 minutes ago, craps said:

I used to swing OTT which is natural for a beginner. After countless drills I still do it . I really do not need any more people telling me that my mother is a woman. Then I begin to position my right shoulder in such a way together with placing the back of my left thumb pointing to my neck  suddennly does the trick. No more OTT eureka!!!

You are right handed.

[craps]

1 minute ago, collapse said:

You are right handed.

I am right handed and play golf right handed. The only thing not felt right in my swing is the right hip. Or maybe is the right waist. I can't really tell whether I am  swaying or not. I do turn in a barrel. Perhaps more set up tweaking. Any suggestion. Or play golf like Curtis Strange. He moved his head a full to the right together with a hip sway to the right and he is 2 X US open champion.

[collapse]

I think if you keep the right knee from moving to the right and hopefully feel your weight on the inside of your right foot when at the top ,you should be ok with the takeway.

Edited December 10, 2015 by collapse

[WUTiger]

I would say that getting a good pre-shot routine, leading to a consistent set-up, will help stabilize one's game.

I have tried different approaches to set-up: for years, I played all my full shots inside the left heel (Nicklaus style). This worked fine for many years. When I turned 50, I started moving the ball up and down the line (Hogan style) from left heel to center stance, depending on club length. (I started having contact problems with irons too far forward). Both set-ups worked reasonably well once I committed to them.

My brother has about four different pre-shots routines he shows, unconsciously morphing from one to the other as the round advances. If he would settle on one, I think his consistency would improve.

Also, there's physical characteristics. Everyone is built differently, and some people have physical limitations or old injuries which affect their golf swing.  You have to make adjustments and find a consistent set-up to build something close to a repeating swing.

[saevel25]

2 hours ago, craps said:

The word automic is clearly been interpreted wrongly here. The word BEHAVE is more appopriate Example. If a golfer forward lean too much, the odds that he will ( automatically ) swing is  too steep. If a golfer stand upright too much, the swing will automatically be flat. That is how I define automatic. A gool example is a fully cocked wrist at set up. Many golfers do that to make their swing automatic. 

Yet there are players who stand up right and have a vertical swing path. There are golfer who set up more bent over and swing the club flatter. The arms don't automatically move with the pitch of the shoulders. 

Is a more athletic neutral set up a good place to start, sure. There has been many very good golfers who have not set up that way. 

 

[mvmac]

6 hours ago, craps said:

I have done countless golf drills and none of them worked. After I began to toy with setup tweaking here and there, finally I found success to a degree which is quite satisfactory. 

Yes, set-up can affect the swing, how much depends on the player and what the issue is. The swing can't make the rest of the swing "automatic".

Some info on common set-up mistakes/misinformation. 

 

[craps]

Thanks for the numerous feedback and info. I can see instructors concentrate more on correcting a swing and not too much on set up. Maybe the aim is to develop the student to improve more hand eye coordination. Set up is definitely easier to master than a swing.

[boogielicious]

3 hours ago, craps said:

Thanks for the numerous feedback and info. I can see instructors concentrate more on correcting a swing and not too much on set up. Maybe the aim is to develop the student to improve more hand eye coordination. Set up is definitely easier to master than a swing.

Think of set up as more fine tuning. Focus on the proper swing technique when you practice and play. I can set up open or closed, but if I have a centered hip turn and proper transition, it will only affect ball flight a small amount.

For me, a good pre-shot set up also brings the good swing technique back into focus. It is like a reminder.

[ghalfaire]

Absolutely the set up affects your swing.  Arnold P. once said in an article that most casual golfers ruin their swing  before they ever move the club because they didn't set up correctly (or words to that effect).  I believe it and think that is why you see most Professionals taking time to ensure their set up is correct before they swing.  We all should do that.

[nevets88]

Not sure if the S-V mismatch is on purpose - thinking that it is. Not sure how high on the irony meter he meant to convey. Anyway, you get the gist.

Team G-P-A-T!

 

[collapse]

The trouble with depending on set up,is that for recreational golfers they develop their method on flat lies,when on uneven lies is when problems can set in.

[Patch]

How I swing on all my  shots is directly related to my set up, if I want the ball to go anywhere near where I want it to go.

 My set up is directly related to my preshot routine, which helps  to get me set up properly for the shot at hand. My preshot routine tells what kind of shot I have, and that shot tells me how to set up. 

I am pretty sure I dont use the same set up for every shot, because not all of my shots are the same.

 

[Mr. Desmond]

There is nothing magic in golf except the high it gives you when a "miracle" occurs, the shot is flushed, and the ball actually does what you envisioned - okay, it may not go in the hole from 170 yards, but on the green and close.

There is no one automatic move -- it is a series of patterns. For example, if one sets up well, but the arms keep moving behind you when the shoulders have stopped, you won't achieve a near miracle at impact with any consistency.

Golf is hard, and it's work.