My Swing (shamus)

I'm posting my swing video, because it was suggested that I do so in the "instruction/playing tips" forum.

My major issue is distance, which is why I asked for help in the other forum. Here is a link to that thread: http://thesandtrap.com/t/56161/why-is-my-clubhead-speed-so-low

Basically, I'm trying to understand why my clubhead speed is so low and trying to increase it without sacrificing accuracy.

This is the only video I have. It was sent to me by a pro that recorded my swing during a lesson. One obvious thing that sticks out too me when watching myself is I may have a bit of an overswing and my tempo seems really fast.

In the other thread your swing speed with the driver is 85mph? I think you should double check that. I would go to another location and see what it says. Based on your video your swing speed should be higher than 85.

Also if you want truly serious help with your swing you should really get a camera and video tape your swing on the range. Both a down the line and face on. I would even suggest getting a high speed camera so that you can see even more, it is not necessary in the beginning but as you get better you will find it more helpful.

I also suggest getting hooked up with evolvr to help with your swing. They will likely start with your backswing, your shoulders are very flat in the backswing and need to be steepened.

Depends, it might look fast, but i think he's using alot of his hands more than his body to swing the club. It looks like he's hinging early, then unhinging early in the downswing, trying to slap at the ball. No matter what turn you got, if your unloading all that power before the ball its a serious leak in power.

It's not that big of a power leak.  He has to have more than 85mph with his driver.  I have to agree with Mchepp.  Sounds like the launch monitor he hit on was off to me some because with that iron swing he should have more ballspeed than 120 with driver. 120 is around a 8-7 iron ballspeed seems a little low to me from watching his swing that he can only do that with driver.

Like I said, this video was taken by a golf pro during a lesson. The fact that my shoulders were flat on the backswing was the major issue she identified in my swing, and I've been working on it. The more I think about it, the more I think my swing was just off yesterday when I was on the monitor. I think I was swaying a bit instead of getting a full turn. This might account for the fact that I was getting launch angles between 13-16 even with a driver loft of 8.5.

Hopefully I'll be able to get a decent camera in the future, because it's nice to get the feedback from you guys. Thanks for the evolvr suggestion, I didn't know about that service.

I'm no expert, but your backswing looks almost - if not faster - than your actual swing.  The transition looks very quick, and I wonder if it's not a case of you simply releasing the club too early.

Looks like you generate decent clubhead speed during your swing, but are trying to help the ball into the air with the iron. Post a hybrid swing (something where you don't have to worry about dislocating anything if you try and drive the clubhead down through the ball).

PS. RE: evolvr - it ain't exactly free, but it'll at least be more focussed than random poster comments.

If I keep my shoulders steeper that would help me hit more down and through the ball, correct?

Yeah, I see that regarding evolvr. There's a highly regarded pro here in my town that provides one on one service for a bit more than the cost of evolvr. His service gives 1 45min lesson and 2 15min supervised practice sessions per month from May-September, plus I would pay on a per/month basis. Pretty sure I'll be signing up for that this spring.

I prefer a local guy for a few reasons. Building up a rapport with someone I may actually play golf with is one reason, but I don't otherwise have access to an indoor practice facility in my town. To go to Calgary or Edmonton and visit a golf dome would cost more than taking lessons and hitting balls at Golf Town. Plus I could rent time to play a round on their simulator at ~$40 per hour. evolvr certainly gets rave reviews from students, but for me, lessons at Golf Town during the winter makes more sense.

Certainly a smaller lesson package is the way to go with a new instructor (like even just 1) just in case he's a loon. If we had a dome, or if my garage didn't look like an episode of hoarders, I might have gone the evolvr route.

In an effort to make a big turn, your left arm is breaking (bending) at the top of your swing. That arm bend is causing more wrist cock throwing the club way past level ala John Daly. Trying to get everything back in sync on the down swing can be costing you some speed. Just my 2 cents

The pro I worked with during that session talked about that issue as well (video is about 2 months old). It's something I've gotten better at not doing since this lesson, but every now and then that old habit comes back. I went back to the dome today and was hitting the ball really well, obviously it's impossible to tell my distances in there, but my trajectories were a lot better than what I was hitting on that monitor yesterday. Again, I think my swing was just off yesterday, balloning a lot of shots, swaying instead of getting a full turn. Sounds like some courses will be opening up in about week here in MN, pretty pumped to get out there.

Thanks again, for the help!

As I said in the thread, I'd been working on getting my shoulders steeper, but it didn't really click until today. I believe I've had on of those "a ha, that's what it's supposed to feel like" moments. Next time I practice I'm going to take some video, I think the difference will be pretty striking. No wonder my left shoulder has been sore after golf for 4 years. Will post video when I can.

You're also swinging over the top. Your backswing is flatter than your downswing. Try fixing that and you will have a much better club speed.

Also, yes, change your tempo. Your backswing should be slower than your downswing.

Getting my shoulders steeper seems to have helped me make a much better, on plane backswing. I was hitting the ball with more consistency and distance today.

Yes, your shoulder was also flat. I would like to see your updated swing and then I see if it is still OTT or not.