My Swing (mvmac) - Page 5

Been a while since I've posted a swing.  Here's a couple from the last few days.  Hit these shots good.  Slight push draws.  Misses tend to be on the thin side or straight pulls. 

Similar feels to my last post, upper right arm squeezes into my rib cage from A1-2 and then it just stays in front of the shirt seam.  My bad tendency is to get the club head too low and inside the hands at A2 and then my arms just lift from there.  So for me A2 is important.  Other than just doing a bunch of practice to hit this position, I'm feeling "slower" with the motion of A1-2.  Helps with the loading of the club head.  I eventually want to see the shaft load up the right forearm, mine kind of loads behind it and I think that's where you'll see a "lift" towards the end of my back swing.

Really happy with the progression with my Key #1 Steady Head.  Few years ago, from dtl, my head would move forward, towards the ball.  Now it doesn't move forward at all, until the downswing :-(

On the downswing, working on regaining flexion, upper center feels like it points down at A6 as I try to get the handle down.  This piece is definitely getting better, might be the toughest piece to improve.

I work on all these pieces separately 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deryck Griffith 

 

I am very interested in what your thought process is with your right wrist on your take away and at the top of the swing.

 

In order to get the club in a proper position at the top of the swing with your right arm squeezed into your rib cage, do you find that your right wrist has to bend to the right more than usual?  I love your take away and noticed that you right wrist starts to bend aggressively to the right to allow for the right elbow to bend into your ribs and your left arm to push away and straight from you?

Hi Deryck,  for me I find that the upper right arm squeezing into my body at A2, club shaft parallel to the ground on the downswing, helps lessen the right wrist bend.  I have a tendency to bend it too much too early, it bends at a faster rate than everything else.  So my hands go straight back and club head goes low and in.  And just to be clear, I allow my right elbow to release from my side, about 4-5 inches of space between the right elbow, with the elbow in front of the shirt seam.  I go into more detail on that move here http://thesandtrap.com/t/54404/my-swing-beachcomber/252#post_782934

Couple functional swings.  Meaning good shots where the picture wasn't perfect.  The caddy view is from from the other day, didn't get a chance to shoot one yesterday.  I like how the back swing is progressing but not happy with the little lift at A3.8.  Contact has been good, pretty straight shots, left arm could be more in at A5.  Obviously would like to see the leg work on the downswing be cleanier but it's better.  Here's what I'm checking or feeling in practice swings:

- Right hand grip is in the finger, have a weird tendency to get it too much in the hand

- A1-2- Combo of wrist bend and hinging, really feeling it with the two middle fingers of the right hand.  Trying to keep the butt of the club at the same level from A1-2. This helps my right arm flex and the elbow press just in front of my lat.

- From there add some PP#1 to pull me to the top.  

- Pressure in my right foot doesn't transfer to my right heel too fast.  

When I'm actually swinging I'm basically just "seeing" myself do it all from DTL

Some more swing, experimenting with different right elbows on the back swing.  But still feeling most of the same stuff from the previous post.  With the pitch elbow pattern, adding more external rotation of the right elbow.  So pointing it more vertical, more down.  With the first swing, just keeping the elbow more "up" than under like with the second swing.  Tough to describe, it's more something I see when I'm swinging lol  Both were decent shots.  First swing was more straight/slight push and the second swing was a push draw.  Def less lift with the second swing at 4.  

I searching for some family stuff yesterday and came across some swing from the past few years.  Swings are in chronological order, '09, two from '10, '11 and last one from yesterday.  

Recent swing.  Working on pinching the elbows closer together from A4-6.  To get the elbows better I'm trying to feel it at A3.5.  And making sure I open up as I do it.  Also notice how the backswing is slow and then speeding up on the downswing.  Lot's more work to do but seeing some nice improvements with the consistency of the strike.

Went for a fitting at Callaway, here are some numbers with the '13 X Forged 6 iron.  Path is resultant path, not swing direction (hsp).

Even though I took this pic outside, the fittings are inside.  They use high speed cameras to capture ten thousand images a second of the clubhead, pre and post impact, and the resulting ball flight. So the dots on this iron help the camera see the angle of the club head.  Highly recommend it to anyone interested in Callaway equipment, they have many of these performance centers around the world http://www.callawaygolf.com/global/en-us/custom-fitting/performance-centers.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beachcomber 

About the 2-16-13 DTL swing posted...  I like the right elbow - looks awesome.  Hopefully I can get there with my continued work at this pattern.

 

One question I have though is about tracing the arc on Key #4....  From A3 to A4... Really about A3.7ish to A4... It looks like you redirect the shaft - as though you have too much PP4 loading (Hands In).  And then you move the hands back - like clockwise to get the club on plane, and slotted for the downswing.  Is that intentional?  Or is this something that you will try and clean up eventually?  I only ask as I haven't seen this with a lot of professionals.  

 

Typically you will see where they trace the arc on a more vertical hand path - then the club drops slightly at A4 - and then the hands descend back down the sweet spot plane from A5 to A7.

Yeah there's a reason you don't see it with professionals, cause it's not a good move lol  That move you see is not intentional.  I tend to have a little lift from A3.8, something I'm trying to lessen.  You know that move that a lot of good players do with their right elbows from 3.8 to 4.5?  Almost like the elbow initiates the downswing?  I do the opposite lol  That's where feeling the elbows squeeze or pinch towards the end of the backswing is important for me.  Part of it is a flexibility thing, need to get more range of motion with my thorax, got some great stretches, just have to do them.  If anything the stretches will help my downswing because of my sequencing, too upper body driven on the downswing.

Watch Wooland's right elbow at about the same position, much more dynamic flow.

Even if it's not perfect I can still play good golf.  Even experimenting with hitting some online-outward fades.  Why fight that little  move at A4 and just become a really good push fader of the ball.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beachcomber 

 

Nice numbers Mike!  Are you going to game the Cally X's over the i20's?

Def going to review them.  Can't say for sure yet whether they'll become "gamers" but there's a good chance, really looking forward to getting them. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by cipher 

Mike, your address position is just awesome!  I wish I could just get close to that when I stand up to the ball.

You can and will be able to.  Believe me, if I can do it anyone can 

Played a few times last week in Scottsdale and hit it pretty well.  Less rigid with some of the alignments, like A2 and the right elbow at A4, just trying to keep it simple, working on steeper hips on the backswing and downswing.  So working on Key #4.  This is a 6 iron.  From 1-4 get the hip slants better helps the shaft load better, notice A4, shaft isn't laid off, less lifting and shifting out the left arm than previous swings.  Then from 4-6 the steeper hips helps me reduce the right knee from over flexing.  That allows me to get the arms down, hit it more solid and higher.  The swing below doesn't even look close to what the hip slants FEEL like