Swing Transisition.

This is an offshoot of my Pain in Thumb thread http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14980

I swung the club a few times yesterday(didn't hit any balls because it still hurts). I think I may have figured out what caused my thumb to start hurting. I'll try to explain and see if you guys can make sense of it and tell me how to fix it.

First of all I use a locking grip if that matters. I lock my pinky and pointer finger together. The problem comes when transitioning from the backswing to the downswing(I think that's what you call it). After I bring the club all the to start bringing the club forward I push the club down with my left thumb and then my arms follow afterward.

I'm not sure, but I probably continue to push the club on the downswing with my thumb until I hit the ball.

So if anyone can make sense of that, I would love to hear a remedy.

Start the downswing by unwinding your hips, not with your thumb. Your entire left hand, not just your thumb, should moreso be pulling the club downward rather than pushing it, but the transition really begins with a simple uncoiling of the lower body, the club will follow, I promise.

I second this.

and just an addition... be sure to bring your club in from the inside when you start your downswing...and when you swing into impact, imagine you are swinging the butt of the club to one oclock. Thats essentially how the club was designed to be hit, and this also allows you to more easily release to a full finish.

Can you explain that again

. It sounds like good advice, but I'm not really understanding it. When you say butt of the club, do you mean the end of the grip?

Correct, the end of the grip.

Another good way of thinking is to let gravity start the downward motion of your swing. This is actually called 'gravity golf,' as named by some of the best teachers. It sounds like you may be taking the club back too fast if it is required that you put pressure on the grip in order to stop your backswing. Tempo is key! If you watch some professionals, you can clearly see the transition between their backswing and forward swing. It almost looks like a pause at the top of the backswing -- this is called 'setting' the club. If you can set the club, then the transition isn't so much as a force stopping the backswing, but a natural force (gravity) pulling the club down to start your forward swing.

I hope that helps.

Yes, mdrengl, is correct on both counts. Butt of the club is the end of the grip.

And just to add to his post, the end of your backswing should be when your body tells you to stop turning. I know it sounds like a vague idea, but dont keep turning with your arms once your shoulders and hips stop moving. Not everyone is trained to have optimum flexibility. If your shoulders stop turning, then thats where the buck stops. Dont think you are getting more coil by turning more with your arms. Stand shoulder width apart with your hands to your side. Now turn your shoulders like you would in a golf swing. When your shoulders stop moving, thats the end of your backswing. Now do the same thing with your arms holding the club. The amount of turn should be the same. Your hands are basically just along for the ride. You do derive power from your arms...but the majority of it comes from your body. I'd like to think of it as the difference between a 240 yard drive and a 290 yard drive is solid body turn...whereas the difference between a 290 and a 310 is learning to use your arms. Remember the key to coil is minimizing hip turn while maximizing shoulder turn. What that means is that you want your shoulders to turn, while having your belt buckle still facing forward. Of course, this is basically impossible, but keep that concept in mind. Your hips naturally have to turn, but keep in mind that you want to restrict it. Its kind of a lot to take in...but understand that you are better off with a shorter backswing than a longer one. Short backswings make solid contact with mayyybe a little loss in yardage. Long backswings might give you some increase in yardage sometimes, but you are much much more likely to make poor contact.

I'm still having problems with this. It seems like if I don't put pressure on the club with my thumb, it's wobble and get "out of whack".

I don't know maybe I'm over thinking it. I don't want to squeeze too hard with my right hand. And for some reason it seems when I try to control with my left hand it comes from my thumb. I don't know

simply, your grip is incorrect. The pressure from your left hand should be coming from your middle, ring, and pinkie finger.

If you don't mind, let me ask a few more questions about this initial start down from the top. Because I thought it was hip rotation that pulls down the upper torso, but my Golftec instructor told me differently. He thinks it's a subtle lateral hip bump towards 1:00 o'clock, followed by shoulder rotation/pivot all the way through. He continues by claiming that the hips do turn, but only react to the pivoting shoulders, and that's why the shoulders eventually catch up to, and then surpass the hips.

So my first question is this. Why do you want to coil the upper body against the lower body during the back swing if you allow gravity to unfold this built up power when letting the upper torso drop down during the first portion of the down swing? My second question is this? If you allow the upper body to drop down from the top by letting it fall by way of gravity, the torsion between the upper and lower body will diminish. Why then would you rotate your hips, as there wouldn't be much, if any, tension left? Maybe I'm not envisioning the start of the downswing correctly, so can you explain how you do so, and bring down your upper body into a position where your hands are over your ball with the wrists still cocked back? Also, what do you think of my instructors opinion that I mentioned above? Thanks in advance, Mark :)

Ok so I tried your advise. I was gripping pretty hard with those 3 fingers, and there was almost none on my thumb. With the club behind the ball(preparing to swing), I could move my thumb and the club would stay stationary.

Still though from backswing to downswing the club still push against my thumb. Not nearly as much as before but it still does. Is this a normal part of a swing, or am I still doing it wrong, and the club should never really push against my thumb at all?

I was wondering if I could get a quick answer to my last post. I'm going to hit the course in a few hours, and would really like to know that answer to that question :)

certainly not something you would be able to fix on your own.

Best advice for getting free advice on a simple subject? Go to your local golf store...something like golfsmith or edwin watts...not so much like sports authority..you want a place were the salesman know what they are talking about. Look around and fiddle with the clubs...when he asks you if you need help...mention that you are interested in the game improvement clubs...and casually mention that you are having grip issues. It takes about 2 minutes for them to show you how to grip the club properly...and generally if the sales people are decent golf enthusiasts...they'd love to show a beginner how to hold the club. It takes some time to understand how to properly grip the club in your fingers. The naturally tendency is to hold the club like a baseball bat...and although you may say you have an 'interlocking' or 'overlap' grip...there is more to a grip than how you place your pinky and index finger. You need to learn from another person how to properly grip it in your fingers...its just something that is too tough to explain without physically putting your hands on the club.