TheSandTrap.com › Golf Forum › The Practice Range › Member Swings › My Swing (Stretch)
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

My Swing (Stretch) - Page 3

post #37 of 252
5/11/10 at 12:53am
Thread Starter 

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

I think you are very much on the right track. Was looking at the model positions in the S&T book tonight and here's the top of the backswing. Note how closely the left arm line matches the shoulder line.*



And here's me. The hands have actually gone deeper back, but they haven't come up enough. I think that's because, as you point out, they need to do both together.



The other thing that jumps out to me is the ball is relatively far too close to the feet in shot # 2.

(* In real life Mike Bennett is apparently a bit flatter than that.)



Party on dudes!
Reply
Reply

TheSandTrap.com Top Picks

post #38 of 252
5/25/10 at 5:22pm
Thread Starter 

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

Well, I've been working at it pretty hard for three weeks now, and it is still frustratingly slow going. There are good days and bad days as far as ball striking goes, but the basic flaws are still stubbornly ingrained. A little bit of progress in keeping the clubhead outside the hands a bit longer on the backswing (at the expense, I think Iacas may say, of the hands staying out too much themselves), and on getting closer to the proper arm plane at the top. But the wrists are still rotating and letting everything lay off, which means the hands then have to come back inside really tightly to get the head to turn the corner onto the ball. Negative loft, loss of power and lots of straight pulls. On the plus side again, the right knee is working in more, which I hope means the hips are also pushing through more.

Hitting a short iron:

Reply
Reply
post #39 of 252
5/25/10 at 8:02pm
Thread Starter 

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

I'm just going to start watching this comparo 50 times a day and hope something sinks in by osmosis.



Reply
Reply
post #40 of 252
5/25/10 at 9:27pm
Thread Starter 

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

Crap, that didn't work and the edit window has closed. Here we go. Just tried to get start and impact at roughly the same time.





YouTubeDoubler is fun for playing around with this sort of thing, too.

www.youtubedoubler.com/Eq95
Reply
Reply
post #41 of 252
5/27/10 at 5:24pm
Thread Starter 

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

Think I found one big piece of the puzzle today. Been feeling for a while I'm generally much too close to the ball at address and experimenting with changing position. Just hadn't moved back enough.

Here's a week ago versus today. Same club.

--

And here's the result. The club comes back to the ball much closer to the proper plane, I think, properly lofted, and from the inside. Was hitting high draws and overdraws, swinging easier and hitting further.



Compare to earlier this month, where the club lays off more at the top, then the head loops over and comes down really steeply as the hands work back way too close to the body -- and I drill yet another huge pull.

Reply
Reply
post #42 of 252
5/27/10 at 7:13pm

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

Originally Posted by iacas View Post
Hmm?

Here's the crux of it:



Your hands don't go IN but your clubhead does. You need to feel like Rickie Fowler - hands go IN clubhead stays OUT. Look at how much on top of the club (grip) his right hand still is. Compare that to your right hand which has rolled underneath. Where the logo on Rickie's glove is pointing at the ball and he has no space in his left armpit, your logo is pointed at the sky and you have all kinds of space in the left armpit area.

The two purple lines trace the butt of the club and the clubhead. You need to FEEL like Rickie Fowler - hands IN with clubhead staying OUT. Ideally when you hit P2 the clubhead and hands will be parallel to the target line. Your shaft is pointing well to the right (and Rickie's well to the left).

Awesome - thanks iacas!!

This diagram was the magic bullet for me this week - my short irons were hit or miss last weekend - had a breakthrough at the range while working on this.
Reply
Reply
post #43 of 252
5/27/10 at 7:57pm
Thread Starter 
Check out the Fowler swing sequence photo spread in this month's Golf Digest, then. His hands get way, way, way inside and he stacks like anything!
Reply
Reply
post #44 of 252
5/27/10 at 8:22pm

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

What ever you do Stretch................ keep that sweet azz tempo. I only wish I were that smooth. I'm jealous.
Reply
Reply
post #45 of 252
5/28/10 at 7:36pm
Thread Starter 

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

Haven't had the nerve to work on the driver much since starting with S&T, but the swing is starting to feel solid enough to give it a go. Working on the "Ricky Hands" with only moderate success so far. Swinging slow, trying to find the middle of the face and just ease it out there with a soft draw.

Reply
Reply
post #46 of 252
5/29/10 at 3:33pm

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

Great thread for someone struggling with his irons of late. I think I'm turning the clubhead in too much and struggling to square it back up.
Reply
Reply
post #47 of 252
5/29/10 at 4:33pm
Thread Starter 

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

Glad to hear it's helpful to someone else, too! I keep it going mainly as a way to organize my own thoughts, and for handy reference. Maybe it should be a blog rather than a thread, but Erik doesn't seem to mind so far?

Today my elbow was too sore to hit balls. Did some chipping and then sat down to think about that driver swing, with a little help from Dean Wilson.

P4:



P5:



P6:



P7:



Almost no lower body rotation at all prior to impact! This would tend to explain why I can't drive my way out of a paper bag.



Got to say, a couple of hundred bucks for a Casio Exilim and a tripod was easily the best money I've ever spent on my golf game. Felt a bit of a tit setting up at the range the first time and getting the "who do you think you are" looks, but am over it now. I'm the guy who's going to actually get something useful out of this practice session, thank you very much!
Reply
Reply
post #48 of 252
5/29/10 at 10:36pm

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

Cool, now I know what stretch looks like when I meet him at class next week.
Reply
Reply
post #49 of 252
5/30/10 at 1:57am
Thread Starter 

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

I'm the one on the left.
Reply
Reply
post #50 of 252
6/1/10 at 6:36pm
Thread Starter 

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

James Hirschfield has been trying to get me much more upright at setup and hopefully the results are starting to show. Less hunched over in second picture, club shaft is more upright, arms are hanging more vertically, wrists arched down, butt of club points at belt buckle rather than mid thigh, angle between forearm and club shaft is less acute.

--

Also took a face on clip to confirm my feeling that I'm stalling out in the middle of the downswing. Seems pretty obvious looking at it. Hips move laterally just enough to get out of the way, then stop. Impact position is so-so and almost all the lower body rotation happens after the ball has already gone on its way. Weak sauce!

Reply
Reply
post #51 of 252
6/2/10 at 12:25am

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

I gotta ask man... what is with your posture at address? Have you been fit for clubs before? The right image is an improvement (for sure!) but you look cramped and bent over to say the least.
Reply
Reply
post #52 of 252
6/3/10 at 6:02pm
Thread Starter 

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

Still a work in progress, that. My clubs were fit and are lengthened by 1.5", but I'm over 6'7" so there's only so much accommodation you can make I think.

The other big thing David and James both picked up on immediately was my left knee action, with it breaking in way too much and then having to come all the way back before my hips could start to move and turn. Today I think I finally got it right. Which one of these looks like a better position to hit from?

--

As promised, this got the hips into the downswing much more, which felt like, uh, POWWWWWWWWW!

Reply
Reply
post #53 of 252
6/3/10 at 6:18pm

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

Stretch, I wish I swung half as good as that right now. Hopefully the "Erie Gang" will be able to help you polish it up a bit more on Sunday. They are going to have their hands full with me on the other hand.
Reply
Reply
post #54 of 252
6/3/10 at 7:42pm
Thread Starter 

Re: My Swing (Stretch)

Originally Posted by Shankapotomus View Post
Stretch, I wish I swung half as good as that right now. Hopefully the "Erie Gang" will be able to help you polish it up a bit more on Sunday. They are going to have their hands full with me on the other hand.
Look at it this way, if you get the basics right when you're starting out you won't have to be fixing stupid stuff like mine later on!

Delav, you got me thinking so I tried to find some footage of the tallest pros around. Here are Cink and Quiros setting up at 6'4" or so. Basically, above a certain height, it seems to me that you've got to bend your knees more than normal and/or bend forward more than normal to get to the ball.

--
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Member Swings

TheSandTrap.com Top Picks

TheSandTrap.com › Golf Forum › The Practice Range › Member Swings › My Swing (Stretch)