My dad's swing- Take a look...

My dad isn't very tech savvy but really wanted to get some opinions and help on his swing. He's about a 14 handicap but struggles with consistency. He can shoot 79 and 95 in the same day. He would appreciate any suggestions or analysis. Thanks!!

Down the line view:

http://www.swingacademy.com/swingana...l.aspx?id=1370

Front view:

http://www.swingacademy.com/swingana...l.aspx?id=1371

Ok, here is what I noticed. Hopefully some of the more reputable swing analyzers will back me up.

1) Posture: Needs more knee bend, butt out, and straighten that back, get the chin up. Lots of good resources online about setting up properly. Even Youtube has quality resources on this.

2) Setup to ball: Reaching for the ball causes all sorts of horrible inconsistencies. Unless you are going for a Moe Norman type swing, for most people, the shaft angle does not match both arm angles. Reaching also destroys your balance by shifting weight onto your toes (Moe didn't reach for the ball, in case you were wondering). A good check is to take the right hand off the club and let it hang naturally from the shoulder. If it ends up in the same position across from the club handle, you have the right body to grip distance. If your hand falls inside the handle, move closer.

3) Balance: Most of the balance issue has to do with setup, and the swaying motion that is resulting from a restricted spine position.

Remedies:

1) Practice setting up in front of a mirror. Get the feeling that you are stacked and balanced in an athletic position. Think "linebacker golf" if that helps you get the right feel.

2) Swing the club with feet together, or my favorite, with a blindfold. Where the club brushes the ground due to its own momentum, that's where the ball should be played. Anywhere else and you will be compensating. The blindfold drill is really amazing, and will hieghten your awareness of balance and feel in the swing. We can learn alot from the blind golfers who regularly break 80.

3) Hold your finish. If you can't do this, something is wrong in the swing form, or you are swinging too hard. Hitting the ball square has a greater impact on getting consistent distance for us amatuers than does hitting it hard (often just accentuates our faults).

Good luck!

A couple of things:

I agree with kc8kir...the address is much to far away from the ball. Way too much bend at the hips...get a little closer, stand up a bit more straight...google some pros swings a look where there hands are at address, much closer and generally looks more comfortable.

The grip looks way too strong...roll the left hand more to the left and the right hand needs the same...the back of the left hand should be at the target and the back of the right should be facing straight back.

the backswing: given the problems at address, not bad

the downswing: his downswing starts with his arms, it should start with the lower body and the arms should follow (it will also create a lot more power that way). and the biggest problem...instead of bringing the club back through the same plain, he is coming over the top. BIG TIME.

the best remedy, is to concentrate on getting the right elbow back into the right hip as you come through.


Get closer...get comfortable...nice easy back swing...turn the shoulders...Turn the hips, get the right elbow back into the hip on the down swing and follow through.

In general...relax and swing easy.

I agree with the others posts. One thing I don't necessarily agree with is the grip suggested above (<3 no offense meant). I am a big fan of a stronger grip, granted, your dad certainly doesn't want to be too strong where you are inhibiting a square club and rotation, but I have had much more success on my personal swing when I changed from a weak grip to a strong(er) grip.

I thought his tempo seemed a little fast, which may add to his lack of balance.

I'm not an expert. But those are my thoughts!

Best of luck!

One thing I see is that he needs to strighten his back. Hes to rounded in the back. The next is that he needs to work on balance. keeping it simple, Tell him to start practicing with his feet together ith 1/4 swings. When he starts to feel a balance he can bring his feet apart sill with 1/4 swings,then half,then full. If he needs too, set clubs on the ground to help alighn stance.

he has a loop ( i ahd the same problem to) to fix it all you need to do is to take the club insinde on your backswing and outside on your forward swing.

1) Address- Your dad is slouching at address. He should straighten out his back and slide his rear end back some. This should center his weight better so that his shoulders are not too close to the ball and his arms can hang closer to his body. His weight should be balanced over the balls of his feet with toes and heels slightly off the ground by about an 1/8".

2) Back swing - Not too bad. Your dad is a little out of sync in regards to keeping his hands in front of his chest. He should rotate back with only his shoulders, not arms. His right arm looks a little outside at the top. It should be more vertical as though he were a waiter holding up a tray of food. This will help him move his elbow down on an inside slot instead of cutting across in an outside-to-in path. Make sure he shifts more of his weight into his right heel as he rotates back to the top position.

3) From the top - He is starting down from the top by lunging his shoulders that end up in an over the top move. He is also guilty of shifting his upper torso forward as well. He should initiate a move from the top with his lower body. Some do it with hips, others do it with legs, etcetera. One easy lower body move would be to transfer weight from his right foot's heel & instep to the balls of both feet.

4) Downswing - As mentioned above, your dad moves his head and upper body forward. He should keep it back so that it doesn't move ahead of the position it was in at address. At this juncture in the swing, he can rotate the shoulders while keeping his spine angle and building shoulder tilt.

5) Impact - Your dad flips his wrists at impact. A sign that shows he swings with his arms, and not his body. He is also standing up a little by straightening his chest and pushing up with his right toe. He must try to remain more flat footed at this point in his swing. Have him push off with the instep of his right foot during the downswing and impact areas. This will also help rotate is upper torso around more. He should also shift his weight into his left heel, while posting his left leg.

6) Follow through - Your dad swings with too much arm tension and doesn't allow his arms to roll over after impact. You can see in the DL view that his left elbow is chicken winging out to the side.