My Swing (Inthecup)

Here is my swing.  I have been working with video for a couple weeks.  I am looking for consistency.

My current goal is to be on plane, not over swing and not flip the club.

Any help is appreciated.

video is set up as private...

Sorry it should be fixed.

A few things: your left knee is caving in on the backswing, that can throw off your balance. Club is laid off at the top. You know you're flipping, so try some punch shots where the hands stay ahead of the club the entire time, making sure to not roll the wrists over.

Thanks for the reply.  I think the knee is due to over swinging or over rotating.  I searched it and I am not sure I understand what you mean by flipping.  Part of my tendency to over swing is to go past parallel.  Is it that?  I think I would like to not get near parallel and dial the swing back a bit.

I plan on hitting some more tonight.

Two things that are most important....

First- your plane is definitely too flat. You should read Hank Haney's book on swing plane. It will really show you the correct path that the club should be on. To start the backswing you should hinge the club in front of you while blending in a turn at the same time. This will keep you on a better plane.

Second- The best way to correct your flipping motion at impact is to bow your left wrist at impact. Have your left wrist bowed and pointed at the target then push it through impact instead of flipping it. This is something that has really helped improve my ballstriking. However, when you do this do not forget about controlling your clubface with your right hand.

Your swing definitely has potential...

Thanks for the input and positive words.  I know my plane is a little flat but I did not think it was way off.  So hinging early is a way to get it more vertical?  I'll try that.

I was swinging a club without a ball a few minutes ago and keeping the club from coming through confuses me.  I have been working on getting the tension out of my arms.  I feel lots of tension if I try and hold the club from coming through.  Am I missing something.

By flipping I mean at impact you're scooping, trying to help the ball in the air. The hands need to stay ahead of the clubhead at impact.

I tried a few things and was not able to feel comfortable or correct.

I am working on a few things.

1.) Don't let my front knee colapse and or over swing.

2.) Get to the proper swing plane.

3.) Don't fllip the club.

1.) I believe I have toned my swing down a bit from when I started.  Today's video has a couple full swings and a punch type swing where I am trying to learn to hit down on it.  I was hitting fat for the majority of the swings.  Very fat.

2.) I did not have time to edit my swing from a rear view but I want to confirm that I am looking for the right thing.  If I draw a line up the club shaft at address the club head should follow that line on the back swing and front swing correct?  If so I had the club above the line, which is still not correct.

3.) In the first video I do not feel I was radically flipping the club.  The club head did not get in front of my hands.  But my hands were not really ahead of the ball when it was struck.

When I try to keep my hands in front of the ball I feel like  I am creating a lot of tension in my hands and forearms holding the club back.  It feels like a stiff slap shot.  This concerns me.  I froze the shot to show where my hands are at close to impact.  It is the best I could do with the camera.  Is that enough?

Any input is appreciated.

As far as the left knee bowing, that's something I've fought against, though mine never bowed quite as much as yours.  The thought I use to fight that is not just to think, "Don't let me left knee go back", but rather, since it has to move anyway to get any body rotation, to think of it moving forward towards my left toes instead of back towards my right foot.  Obviously you can't overdo it, as then you'll dip down on the back swing.

Oh, and one key thing, not bowing is going to feel VERY constricting on your back swing at first.  You're going to feel like you're going back maybe 1/2 as much as you feel you should.  It still feels to me like my back swing is very very short, even though I get close to parallel.  But this is a good thing!  It really increases the coil you get, and as I've slowly started to combine that with firing from the ground up, instead of the hands down, I've VASTLY increased my power and distance.

I agree with what you are saying thanks for responding.

I think you have a whole lot of good stuff going on in your swing, to the extent that I'm quite surprised by your listed handicap. If you can take your hands in a little more on the backswing and then let your upper center (your shirt buttons) stay back a little more as your hips push forward on the downswing, you are going to be in good shape!

Some reading here:

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/thread/30325/deep-hands-explained

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/thread/29616/the-biggest-secret-slide-your-hips

Thanks Stretch.  I read your thread and I can see what you are describing.  I am going to work on that among other things tonight.

I was hitting it fat and after some reading and experimenting I found a thread that had a Hank Haney video.  It gave the reasons for fat shots as too steep a down swing or not swinging through.

I tried swinging through more and it really helped.  It is interesting because I think that is what he had Rush Linbaugh do to correct his fat shots.

I am placing a 1/8" thick piece of wood behind the ball to determine if I am fat.  It is hard to tell on a mat sometimes.

I also went to a local golf dome (still in the 30's in Michigan) to see the ball flight it was very helpful.

Fats (and often thins too) are caused by the low point of your swing being behind the ball instead of out in front of it. The major reasons for this are:

-- Weight not forward enough at impact. Preset a little more weight on your left foot at address and really concentrate on pushing those hips toward the target in the downswing.

-- Wrists unhinging too soon. Can be a result of the elbows pulling apart on the downswing or the right arm straightening too early.

OK I honestly hate giving advice like this over a video, but I think your going to screw yourself up if you continue to try to fix all of those things....most of which are a result from something your not doing.

You have a reverse pivot, which is not allowing you to transfer your weight properly. Look at your feet at impact. your completely flat footed. (look at a pic of a pro to see their right foot at impact).  You know what a golf swing looks like, so you trick yourself by ending with a balanced motion, however your never really transferring your weight. (transferring your weigh will give your power, control...its a huge fundamental) Don't concentrate on fixing all of your "results". What you honestly should do is go have someone who can look at your swing, and look at your equipment to make sure that your equipment is not making you do this in your swing. Equipment effects motion.

Problems with having a lot of stuff in your head: if you shank it which one did you do wrong? If you hit it great, which one was right? I highly recommend spending the $100 to go get a dynamic lesson/fitting...its well worth it in the end! You do have a lot of potential

You are trying to correct pretty big fundamentals, this is where if you I'm telling you go see a certified teacher to make sure your starting out right. Then you can practice by yourself all you want. But if you try to do this on your own you can really screw yourself up. Also have you ever had your lies and lofts dynamically checked? Ever been fit?

Thanks for taking the time to respond.  I set myself up with a lesson for this week.  I also signed up for a PGA golf school in Vegas in April.

After looking closely at the video I see your point on the lack of rotation.  It is not easy to change deep seated habits.  I have video of my 13 year old son what he can do with his body is amazing.  His belt is almost facing the target at impact.

Hopefully I can post some video down the road with improvement helped by the pro.

I took one lesson so far.  I have been working on weight transfer and hip rotation.  I think Golfernc was right on with those observations.

Before someone asks the thing in my mouth is a remote for the video camera.

Although the video is very fast and I don't have the software here to do a slow motion on my PC I can see for the first time my hands in front of the ball when striking it.

Weight is transfer ed as I see my back foot lifting before impact.  I am attempting to rotate my hip with my elbow tucked into my side.

Is it perfect, no far from it but in my mind it is a big step forward.  In addition to the things I mentioned I am working on keeping my head still and from moving forward.

I have a lesson tonight, we will see what the pro thinks.

Is there a good way to do a frame by frame review over Youtube?

Here is a screen grab of the impact position.

I have been working hard on my swing.  I have had local lessons and done a 3 day PGA golf school.  I am happy with how I have progressed But I know I need more work.

I am seeing great improvements in consistency and ball striking.

Comments are welcome.