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Swing Thoughts for Swaying


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I've been told that I'm a swayer and a slider, and when I recently asked my wife to videotape my swing, the film confirmed the awful truth. I can't really afford lessons, but I am aware of the potential pitfalls of relying on self diagnosis or taking advice from non-professionals (Zeph, Hidalgo, we've already had that discussion elsewhere ). I was wondering if anyone has any swing thoughts or drills that would help create a better hip turn and help eliminate the swaying and sliding. I welcome any and all advice, but naturally I will have to give more weight to that coming from professionals and lower handicaps. Thanks guys.

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I have been a swayer my entire life. I have worked hard to have little sway now but i naturally have a tendicy to do so, which is fine. many pros have a little sway. Here are a few tips that have really helped me. First and formost keep your head as still as possible and in the same position. You may even think your head is still but actualy moving quiet a bit. this is crucial. Also at address (for a righty, and for longer clubs) still being balanced, set your 60% or your weight on your big toe of your right foot with your knee engaged. If you keep your weight there throughout your turn and into your release you should be good. You right knee cap should barley drift with your turn and back swing. these are the two things i try to focus on. hope they help.

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I agree with the above post except for the weight distribution statement.

Can you get anyone (this is where even a 12 year old kid will work) to stand in front of you and hold the butt-end of a club against your forehead as you swing? (easy swings with a wedge, please) This will give you some idea WHEN and WHERE you are sliding around. Obviously, you are going backwards on the backswing and forward on the downswing, but what you need to look for is when the motion is initiated and whether there is a weight shift involved. What the club against your head will do is give you a reference point to concentrate on and try to remain in contact with. Like I said...easy swings with a wedge. We don't want anyone getting hit by a shanked ball. Once you get the feel of holding your head still, then have the person go behind you and take a knee. They can then hold the club against your hip about where your back pocket is located. This will give you even more of a reference point (after you learned to hold your head still). Try to pusk BACK against the club sticking in your hip...not allowing your hip to slide away from it.

OK...back to the weight distribution part that I disagreed with...If you plant your right foot and brace against your right knee, you will be OK with your shorter irons. But this won't work with the long irons and the woods. (at least not with the proper swing) Footwork is paramount and stationing a large portion of your weight on one foot is a bad habit to begin with, and not the proper fix for your problem. Your weight should be free to SHIFT, but not SLIDE.

And to make this a little easier.......concentrate on TURNING your hips...not sliding them. As a drill, you can simply stand erect and twist your hips back and forth, then gradually bend forward into your stance and continue to get a feel for the turn instead of the slide.

Did any of that make sense?

I can take you to the range and show you very easily....but putting it in writing is HARD. Obviously...I could never write a book of any sort.

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No, that makes pretty good sense, but I'm sure the challenge will be in implementing it as opposed to understanding it. Lucidity aside (which you don't give yourself enough credit for) I appreciate your honest effort to help.

I do tend to hit my shorter clubs better, which I am sure is not uncommon. It feels easier to make a nice turn with a shorter club and a steeper angle at the ball, but I'll have to look at the video evidence to see if there is indeed less swaying with the shorter clubs. i definitely think of turning down and into the ball with my shorter clubs.


Also, I tend to be very upright with my takeaway and to come down outside of the ball. Is there something in my takeaway and where the clubhead is pointing that could help promote a better turn?

Launcher 2009 10.5º, S
Rescue Dual 16º
Rescue Dual 19º
Maltby MTF 4-pw, Rifle 5.5
Maltby M-Series 52.6, 58.8 2008 AnserOut of the bag: Big Bertha Fusion 15º, YS6+ R (for sale or trade)

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A good drill if you have access to a grass range...find a club with the head broken off. Address the ball as normal, and stick the club in the groundjust outside your right foot. There will be some room for your hips to move, you may touch the club with your hips a bit, but this will force you not to sway at takeaway.

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Try to imagine a rod sticking through the top of your head, out your rear end, and into the ground when you are in your setup position. Now the only way to swing the club would be to spin your hips and shoulders, and not sway. To start the swing use the thought of pulling your right hip straight back (as in straight behind you) while pushing your left knee forward and pointing it at the ball. This thought process has helped me out, and I very rarely sway when it used to be one of my problems.
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1) Try swing with your feet together if you sway you will lose your balance. Once you get good at this you can even hit ball with your feet together.

2) Swaying could be caused because of your backswing so taking the club back in a way that it does not cause you to sway.

3) Remember the backswing is a rotation of your hips in a circle and if you have a strong base with your feet you almost can not sway.

4) Feet should be slightly bent and the weight should be on the inside of your back foot.

5) Remember to rotate your hips parallal with the ground, good luck and happy rotating.

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These are all pretty good tips here. I guess i will add my 2 cents...

when I was a jr golfer, my coach, Doug Weaver (was on PGA TOUR in 80's) use to put one of those big old driving range buckets between my legs (on the ground). If and when i swayed, my legs would rub it. This worked pretty well.

the tip about a friend holding the butt end of the club agains your right temple, is a great drill, but be careful. I have found that some people can keep their head still and sway their hips (causing a reverse pivot).

The best tip I can give you and to work on your lower body flexability and hip rotation. just google golf stretches or get on TPI's website and look for some tips. the more flexable you are, the easier it will be for you to keep that bent flex in the right knee, while rotating your hips and not swaying.
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Keeping the head still is probably bad advice at best as it inhibits the turn back. The head needs to move back from the ball as the body turns with the correct weight transfer to the rear foot. The problem is with your rear leg bracing if you sway. Set up so your rear knee is inside your rear foot; you should be able to place a shaft on the inside of that foot and it touch the outside of the knee. Now swing back and make a full backswing without the knee crossing the shaft which is hard if you sway. Swaying is a lower body issue not a head issue. Free up the head so the body can turn freely. Practice
keeping that rear knee flexed and braced and the sway should become a turn back.
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Here's a drill my teacher gave me (I also struggle with the sway). Get a ball (playground ball, soccer ball, basketball) and get in the address position with the ball between your knees. Now take a few easy swings. You can even practice this without a club. Just try to get a feel for turning your shoulders and hips away from the golf ball with the big ball between your knees. It really helps you to get a feel for keeping your knees flexed and your legs stable during your backswing. What happens with a lot of swayers (me, for example) is that the back leg gets all wobbly at the top of the back swing, which causes me to come off plane and results in an over the top motion in the downswing. The ball drill has helped me pretty much eliminate that problem and I'm hitting the ball a whole lot better (farther, too).

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Another trick I've learned using a ball helps promote the hip turn you're talking about. Using the heaviest ball you have (my golf pro used a medicine ball), just take a wide stance and toss the ball forward along your taget line using your arms as little as possible - keeping them "locked" so to speak. The only was to toss the ball without using your hands and arms much is to rotate your hips - sliding them forward does not help.

Obviously very rudimentary, but I was surprised how much the simple exercise helped me "feel" the hip turn vs thrusting forward.
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I am pretty new to the game, so learning not to sway is fresh in my memory. The responses have been outstanding. All the keys that my pro gave me have been listed.

I agree that head does not remain entirely stationary. As the shoulders turn in the backswing, the head moves away from the target a bit. Doesn't mean that the lower body needs to go along, though.

It really helped me to do what someone else said, feel the right cheek move straight behind me in the backswing, while the left knee moves out in front of me.

Another thing that helped me is to feel that, at the top, my hips are not directly over my rear foot, or even directly over the inside of my rear foot. It feels there is a line of force running at an angle from the inside rear foot to the center of my groin. This is counterbalanced by a line of force from my left forefoot.
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Focus on your right knee (for right handers).

Set up to the ball and feel the bend in that knee, and maintain it throughout your back swing and into your downswing (then let it go as you drive through the ball) If you keep a firm right leg with a consistent knee bend you will have a harder time swaying, and you will see better contact.
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Wow, definitely a lot of information here. I may have to bookmark the thread and refer to it in the coming months until it sinks in. Thanks everyone for the input.

I think flexibility is somewhat of an issue for me and I can see the logic in the drills. Whether with club shafts, balls or range buckets, they all would seem to promote an balanced, stable and more stationary base. In fact I know that I can make swings that have less swaying and sliding, but I am anxious to build some muscle memory to make them the rule rather than the exception.

Launcher 2009 10.5º, S
Rescue Dual 16º
Rescue Dual 19º
Maltby MTF 4-pw, Rifle 5.5
Maltby M-Series 52.6, 58.8 2008 AnserOut of the bag: Big Bertha Fusion 15º, YS6+ R (for sale or trade)

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i had a bad, Bad habit of swaying, and it still shows up occasionally. usually if i'm playing decent golf and suddenly shots start becoming errant, i've developed a sway. whenever this happens, i try to keep the back of my neck in line with the ball through the entire swing. it's a very natural tendency for the head to want to move with the hands in the backswing, and then the rest of your body moves along with your head, and next thing you know, your whole body has slid off to the right side. so i just try to lock my neck/spine in a line with the ball and that usually cures it.
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I had a bad sway for about two years until I played with a buddy who told me to take a golf ball and place it under my right heel on the outside. (He also suggested cutting a 2x4 at a 45* angle) Then he said just take your regular swing. It thought he was nuts then I realized that for two years I had been playing with a horrendous hip turn compared to what it should be. If you feel the muscles on the inside of your right leg tighten up you know you're doing it right.

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Note: This thread is 5494 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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