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Need help with maintaining spine angle...

Trevor07Silvy
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Trevor07Silvy Well Established Member

Trevor07Silvy

I can't for the life of me maintain my spine angle through impact (when it really matters). My impact position is cramped, but I hit the ball nicely for the most part. Avid Golfer and Iacas have givin me tips/swing thoughts, but I still can't seem to keep my spine angle.

In any of these DTL videos, you can see impact position is cramped. http://www.swingacademy.com/searchresults.aspx (search for Trevor07Silvy under users if my videos don't pop up from this link)

Avid Golfer has told me to try and feel like you keep your head the same height through the swing, keep your rear end the same distance from the ball, etc. Iacas told me to feel like my chin is resting on a shelf. Yet I still can't seem to maintain my spine angle.

Any further input from Avid and Iacas would be nice, aswell as other folks.


Thanks in advance.

In my Stand Bag
Driver- 905T 9.5* w/ Aldila NV Stiff
3-Wood- 906F4 13.5* w/ Aldila VS Proto Stiff
Irons 3-PW- 704 CB w/ Dynamic Gold S300 Shafts
Wedges- CG10 52* Vokey 56* Oil Can Spin Milled Vokey 60* Oil Can Spin MilledPutter- Studio Select Newport 2 (35")Ball- Prov1 (Or any nice soft...

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LottaBalata Well Established Member

LottaBalata

In order to hold and maintain that angle, you need strong hips and knees and whatever is in between. Stability in the lower 1/2 will keep the upper 1/2 from moving. Strengthen your legs.

As for another practice tip. . .Similar to what the other guys said. . .have someone facing you while you swing. They need to hold a long club with the grip just above or touching the top of your head. Take your normal swing, if you press against the club, you're leaning back in your swing, and if you drop away from the club, you're dipping.
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glebert Dedicated Member

glebert

OK, I am not the guy to give swing advice, but here goes anyway!

It looks like at setup your head and shoulders are out beyond the tips of your toes. It seems like it would be very hard to maintain this sort of balance as you get to impact and beyond.

Also seems your weight would have to be totally on the balls of your feet. After reading Hogan's fundamentals I've worked on getting my weight back on my heels more and it is working for me.

I would try a a more upright address position, back on my heels a bit.

good luck,
greg

"You can foment revolution or you can cure your slice - life is too short for both" David Owen

WITB*: 2010 winter edition

Driver: AyrtimeFW/hybrid: Distance Master Pro Steel 5w, 7w, 27* hybridIrons: Powerplay 5000 hybrids (6i-SW)Wedge: SMT Durometer 55 degPutter: Z/I Omega mallet*as soon...

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JackieTreehorn Well Established Member

JackieTreehorn

Avid Golfer has told me to try and feel like you keep your head the same height through the swing, keep your rear end the same distance from the ball, etc. Iacas told me to feel like my chin is resting on a shelf. Yet I still can't seem to maintain my spine angle.

First of all, nice swing. I have a similar problem of my head dropping on the down swing, which leads to inconsistency, especially if I haven't played in awhile. Here is a thread of my problem if you want to see what I am talking about

: http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12972 Even though Lorena Ochoa does the same thing, I am looking to eliminate the head drop since it can only lead to inconsistency. I will try these drills if I can find someone to try them out with! But I heard Lorena does the head drop to "see the ball" on the downswing. Tomorrow at the range I may also try to hit some balls looking up (and not at the ball), or with my head swivelled like Jack Nicklaus at setup.

R7 TP 8.5* Fuji Speeder x-stiff (heavy,low,fade set)
975F 3W 13.5*
FX Tour Grind Nickel 3-PW +1/2", Rifle 6.5
Vokey SW 52*
CG10 LW 60* 3 dot (14* bounce) Tracy putter 35" (hit R but putt L)+ 1 club TBD...Past home courses: Unicorn GC (Stoneham, MA), Forest Creek GC (Round Rock, TX)Ball: Use...

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Trevor07Silvy Well Established Member

Trevor07Silvy

  • Author
Thanks for the help/tips guys.

Glebert- I have since tweaked my setup/posture, but I don't have any recent video to show it (which I need to do ASAP).

Any other advice is appreciated.

In my Stand Bag
Driver- 905T 9.5* w/ Aldila NV Stiff
3-Wood- 906F4 13.5* w/ Aldila VS Proto Stiff
Irons 3-PW- 704 CB w/ Dynamic Gold S300 Shafts
Wedges- CG10 52* Vokey 56* Oil Can Spin Milled Vokey 60* Oil Can Spin MilledPutter- Studio Select Newport 2 (35")Ball- Prov1 (Or any nice soft...

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JackieTreehorn Well Established Member

JackieTreehorn

By the way, continuing my theory that eye dominance plays a part in head dropping, I am left eye dominant and I thought this article below made sense...talks about how players try to get their dominant eye behind the ball at impact.

Maybe check your eye dominance, and if you are left eye dominant you might be more likely to drop your head toward impact. The guy in this link moved his ball forward in his stance and got better results.

http://ezinearticles.com/?I-Had-a-Go...ed!&id;=1168014

R7 TP 8.5* Fuji Speeder x-stiff (heavy,low,fade set)
975F 3W 13.5*
FX Tour Grind Nickel 3-PW +1/2", Rifle 6.5
Vokey SW 52*
CG10 LW 60* 3 dot (14* bounce) Tracy putter 35" (hit R but putt L)+ 1 club TBD...Past home courses: Unicorn GC (Stoneham, MA), Forest Creek GC (Round Rock, TX)Ball: Use...

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Trevor07Silvy Well Established Member

Trevor07Silvy

  • Author
Alright, I've tried the weight thing (but not towards my heels), majority still on the balls of my feet, but feel like the weight is distributed nicely throughout my feet(felt sturdy). I hit some nice draws with my driver the other day with this feeling. I still don't see my spine angle remaining the same, which is really annoying, because with an uncramped impact positon, I bet I could really attack the ball (even though I hit it a decent distance now).

Anyone?

In my Stand Bag
Driver- 905T 9.5* w/ Aldila NV Stiff
3-Wood- 906F4 13.5* w/ Aldila VS Proto Stiff
Irons 3-PW- 704 CB w/ Dynamic Gold S300 Shafts
Wedges- CG10 52* Vokey 56* Oil Can Spin Milled Vokey 60* Oil Can Spin MilledPutter- Studio Select Newport 2 (35")Ball- Prov1 (Or any nice soft...

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trageserk Established Member

trageserk

An interesting thing I saw in Golf Digest regarding posture involved putting a soft cover book in your shorts (in the back) so it was sticking a few inches into your lower back. The idea is to get the book to rest flat against your back throughout the duration of your swing-it should never jab you or fall out, at least according to Golf Digest. I can't really speak to how well it works (I haven't gotten around to trying it), but it might be worth a shot.

"What is best about a great victory is that it rids the victor of the fear of defeat. 'Why not also lose for once?' he says to himself; 'now I am rich enough for
that'" -Nietzsche

In My Stand Bag:
R7 Draw 9.0 Deg Stiff Flex Driver AMF Progression 3 Wood SUMO2 3/20 Deg Hybrid & CPR 4/24 Deg...

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jambalaya Dedicated Member

jambalaya

Looked at your first two videos. I just don't see a problem with your spine angle unless it is very subtle. Just what kind of ball striking problems are you dealing with? Hook, slice, fat, thin, distance?

My Clubs
Nicklaus Progressive XC Irons: 3H,4H, 5-GW
Ray Cook SW & Gyro 1 Putter
Taylor Made Burner Driver 10.5
Taylor Made V-Steel 3 & 5 MetalsMy Home Course: Indian RiverMy Blog: Rant-o-Rama-Ding-Dong

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$2 Nassau Great Member

$2 Nassau

For me, a big part of it was maintaining the flex in my right knee throughout the swing.

I used to really straighten it(right knee) during the back swing which caused me to raise up, then my head would bob down drastically at the beginning of the downswing, then of course I would have to lift up a impact to hit the ball.
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JackieTreehorn Well Established Member

JackieTreehorn

Drill: take your stance without a club, facing a wall. Move close to the wall so that your forehead just touches the wall. Take practice swings this way to engrain the feeling of not dropping your head/switching your spine angle.

R7 TP 8.5* Fuji Speeder x-stiff (heavy,low,fade set)
975F 3W 13.5*
FX Tour Grind Nickel 3-PW +1/2", Rifle 6.5
Vokey SW 52*
CG10 LW 60* 3 dot (14* bounce) Tracy putter 35" (hit R but putt L)+ 1 club TBD...Past home courses: Unicorn GC (Stoneham, MA), Forest Creek GC (Round Rock, TX)Ball: Use...

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Avid Golfer Dedicated Member

Avid Golfer

I can't for the life of me maintain my spine angle through impact (when it really matters). My impact position is cramped, but I hit the ball nicely for the most part. Avid Golfer and Iacas have givin me tips/swing thoughts, but I still can't seem to keep my spine angle.

As LottaBalata, glebert, and $2 Nassau have aluded to the better balance and posture are maintained the more likely you will be to maintain your spine angle, and provide room for the arms to swing through.

As your legs and hips pull under you (and toward the ball) the upper body is pushed upward (raising), and the two together block your arms from swinging past the body. If you haven't given $2 Nassau's maintain the back knee flex tip a try you may want to give it a try. The better you are able to maintain your balance (and general posture angles) the more likely you are to keep your spine angle and get into positions more like what we see with Ernie Els in the pictures below:

In my bag:

Driver: Burner TP 8.5*
Fairway metals/woods: Burner TP 13* Tour Spoon, and Burner TP 17.5*
Irons: RAC MB TP Wedges: RAC TPPutter: Spider Ball: (varies ) (Most of the time): TP Red or HX Tour/56---------------------------------------------------

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jambalaya Dedicated Member

jambalaya

Wow! That photo sequence shows a lot. Note how the shoulders and hips have not opened up much at all near impact.

My Clubs
Nicklaus Progressive XC Irons: 3H,4H, 5-GW
Ray Cook SW & Gyro 1 Putter
Taylor Made Burner Driver 10.5
Taylor Made V-Steel 3 & 5 MetalsMy Home Course: Indian RiverMy Blog: Rant-o-Rama-Ding-Dong

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  • 3 weeks later...
Trevor07Silvy Well Established Member

Trevor07Silvy

  • Author
I've been striking the ball better and my posture/setup has changed since these videos, but my spine angle is still changing I believe although I haven't taped my swing since.

In my Stand Bag
Driver- 905T 9.5* w/ Aldila NV Stiff
3-Wood- 906F4 13.5* w/ Aldila VS Proto Stiff
Irons 3-PW- 704 CB w/ Dynamic Gold S300 Shafts
Wedges- CG10 52* Vokey 56* Oil Can Spin Milled Vokey 60* Oil Can Spin MilledPutter- Studio Select Newport 2 (35")Ball- Prov1 (Or any nice soft...

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JackLee Well Established Member

JackLee

Wow! That photo sequence shows a lot. Note how the shoulders and hips have not opened up much at all near impact.

Yes, that's the problem. Needs to use a key that will make the body movements lead and pull the arms and club through impact. Left shoulder, left hip, whatever works. Also needs to tilt the spine and head away from the target some. JMO

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Trevor07Silvy Well Established Member

Trevor07Silvy

  • Author
Yes, that's the problem. Needs to use a key that will make the body movements lead and pull the arms and club through impact. Left shoulder, left hip, whatever works. Also needs to tilt the spine and head away from the target some. JMO

Spine tilt is one of the main things I've been focusing on as of late. Like I said, my swing has changed quite a bit since these videos, but my spine angle is still changing. I'm playing tomarrow, so I will try an have a swing thought of keeping my right knee flexed the same throughout the swing and see if that helps any.

In my Stand Bag
Driver- 905T 9.5* w/ Aldila NV Stiff
3-Wood- 906F4 13.5* w/ Aldila VS Proto Stiff
Irons 3-PW- 704 CB w/ Dynamic Gold S300 Shafts
Wedges- CG10 52* Vokey 56* Oil Can Spin Milled Vokey 60* Oil Can Spin MilledPutter- Studio Select Newport 2 (35")Ball- Prov1 (Or any nice soft...

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