A Centered Pivot - Page 3

This thread helped me a lot. I see an improvement already. I play on Monday (MLK day). Let's see how it really works.

Question - You say the shoulder should always be going down and never back up. I really have a hard time making it go down when I get toward the end of the backswing. Is it fair to say that, based on my flexibility, when I get to a point where I can no longer comfortably move my shoulder down without really working hard at it, this is probably where my backswing should end? For me that would be well before what I'm used to, but I also feel like I have an "overswinging" problem.

Thanks,

Thanks for the quick response. I don;t think it's so much that my arms keep going, it's that I have trouble making a full 90 degree turn without doing some funky stuff - collapsing my left knee to free up tension, dropping my lead shoulder forward (I saw you post some picture of Steve Elkington "exaggerating" that motion and I was thinking 'Man, that looks like me sometimes and I'm not trying to exaggerate anything!'). I see a big guy like Craig Stadler (I'm about 6'2, 280 right now) and wonder if I just don't have the ability to make a 90 degree turn right now. I'm sure it's in me because it once was, but not until I drop 70 pounds and work on my flexibility. My point was, I guess, when do you know your backswing should be finished? It can't just be a 90 degree shoulder turn for everyone (not that you implied that).

Another thing - I've seen you mention several times, as have many other on this forum, about how you should flare the RIGHT foot out much more than I'm used to. I read in the book "Swing Like a Pro" back when I first started this charade, and also heard from a pro I took lessons from, that turning the right foot out more than 5 or 10 degrees promotes too much hip rotation going back, which decreases torque as the torso coils around the hips going back and therefore sacrifices power. This makes sense to me, as I saw some golf special with Jamie Sadlowski and it showed how, whereas with a "normal" scratch golfer, the hip/shoulder turn ratio is around 2-1 (90-45 deg), Sadlowski was more like a 3-1 (135-45). I've also seen lots of face-on pictures of pros and many have little right foot flare. Less hip turn, more shoulder turn = more power. Any credence to this?

I've always heard that the LEFT foot is supposed to be 25 or so degrees open to promote clearing of the hips toward and after impact. Also, sometimes I feel that I want to restrict my right hip rotation because if I try to turn them too much, I get out of control coming back through on the downswing.

Soon I'll post a decent swing vid in the member swings section for some help. Thanks again, MJM

Thanks for the quick response. I don;t think it's so much that my arms keep going, it's that I have trouble making a full 90 degree turn without doing some funky stuff - collapsing my left knee to free up tension, dropping my lead shoulder forward (I saw you post some picture of Steve Elkington "exaggerating" that motion and I was thinking 'Man, that looks like me sometimes and I'm not trying to exaggerate anything!'). I see a big guy like Craig Stadler (I'm about 6'2, 280 right now) and wonder if I just don't have the ability to make a 90 degree turn right now. I'm sure it's in me because it once was, but not until I drop 70 pounds and work on my flexibility. My point was, I guess, when do you know your backswing should be finished? It can't just be a 90 degree shoulder turn for everyone (not that you implied that).

Another thing - I've seen you mention several times, as have many other on this forum, about how you should flare the RIGHT foot out much more than I'm used to. I read in the book "Swing Like a Pro" back when I first started this charade, and also heard from a pro I took lessons from, that turning the right foot out more than 5 or 10 degrees promotes too much hip rotation going back, which decreases torque as the torso coils around the hips going back and therefore sacrifices power. This makes sense to me, as I saw some golf special with Jamie Sadlowski and it showed how, whereas with a "normal" scratch golfer, the hip/shoulder turn ratio is around 2-1 (90-45 deg), Sadlowski was more like a 3-1 (135-45). I've also seen lots of face-on pictures of pros and many have little right foot flare. Less hip turn, more shoulder turn = more power. Any credence to this?

I've always heard that the LEFT foot is supposed to be 25 or so degrees open to promote clearing of the hips toward and after impact. Also, sometimes I feel that I want to restrict my right hip rotation because if I try to turn them too much, I get out of control coming back through on the downswing.

Soon I'll post a decent swing vid in the member swings section for some help. Thanks again, MJM

Originally Posted by mmoan2 

Another thing - I've seen you mention several times, as have many other on this forum, about how you should flare the RIGHT foot out much more than I'm used to. I read in the book "Swing Like a Pro" back when I first started this charade, and also heard from a pro I took lessons from, that turning the right foot out more than 5 or 10 degrees promotes too much hip rotation going back, which decreases torque as the torso coils around the hips going back and therefore sacrifices power. This makes sense to me, as I saw some golf special with Jamie Sadlowski and it showed how, whereas with a "normal" scratch golfer, the hip/shoulder turn ratio is around 2-1 (90-45 deg), Sadlowski was more like a 3-1 (135-45). I've also seen lots of face-on pictures of pros and many have little right foot flare. Less hip turn, more shoulder turn = more power. Any credence to this?

I like to think that my L.O.F.T. partly inspired the above new videos 

So you're saying my L.O.F.T. inspired nothing? That figures 

I was just curious guys - if when you are making a more centered pivot when you have reached your backswing does the club have to be parallel to the ground --- depending on the club (shorter irons shorter, longer irons, woods, driver parallel) 

Let me know - I have noticed that I have been doing a reverse pivot but have always stayed centered until my lower left side of my back started to hurt from playing at a friends simulator   -- im finding out that I move just a bit to the right (right hander) but not enough like Mike's video of the head moving that far back! I also find that when I move my weight 55/45 my hands follow and they are parallel to my left leg compared being centered is that okay? I usually will do this manually 50/50 weight and push my hands forward closing the face (this type of action has decreased me hitting it fat, leaning 55/45 I've noticed that I have had some "fat mat shots")

I'll start my backswing and shift just a bit, enough to feel like I'm 50/50 in the backswing - does that sound right to you guys? And when I do the shaft drill along my shoulder line when I bend down do I want the club end to be pointing at the ball or closer to my feet (inbetween the ball and feet)?

Thanks