My Swing (Slowbo)

Afternoon All.... recently started posting in the forums and was looking for some feedback on my swing..

I am a keen golfer, playing 4-5 times per week.... More than willing to do my bit and will try to post in as many threads as I can.... thanks in advance for any comments.... all comments appreciated...

I've been Playing Golf for: 25 years.... took my first official lessons 2 years ago...

My current handicap index or average score is: 12.6

My typical ball flight is: fade

The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: "Over the top" move...

Videos:

PS... tried to embed videos but kept getting a blank box with "unknown object" stated in the box..... annoying!

Slowbo

Your swing looks awesome but, you're right - you do have a tiny over the top move in your transition.  My golf teacher gave me a drill to help me with this although my move was a lot worse than yours.  He stuck an alignment stick in the ground, about 1 club length behind me, at approx the same angle as my shaft at address.  He then placed a traffic cone off my right foot - probably just about on the target line.  I'm sure if you google around you can find pictures of this drill if my text is confusing.

What he had me do was take my backswing over the stick, pause and drop the club straight down to my hip, pause, and then swing from there without hitting the traffic cone.  It kind of put a loop in my swing but it cured me of my over the top move.  It was pretty simple from there to get rid of the loop by just doing a less exagerated over-under move.

Swing looks really good to me, though.

Slowbo, welcome to TST.  Here are a few comments on your videos...

1.) Your camera angle on the DTL video needs to be improved.  It looks like you have the camera placed where the ball is, along the target line.  Move the camera closer to your stance line - not the target line.  In order to do this, you have to move the camera about 16" to the left so that it is more in line with your feet.  This will enable us to get better angles and see what you are doing better.

The following link will help you understand the proper setup (read the Down The Line setup tips):

http://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/filming_your_swing

2.) Watching the caddy view (face on) video - I can see that you shift your weight right - which moves your head.  I'm guessing, but you hit a lot of thin shots (low ball flight).  As you have to flip the hands/wrist in order to even make contact given you have moved off the ball.  The green line is where your head is at address - and where it should be at the top of the swing and at impact.  My advice is to work on a centered pivot - and keeping your head still.

Here are a few threads that mvmac (Mike) did which are superb.  I'd recommend you watch the videos and instruction and work on a centered pivot as it will take your game to a new level - and greatly improve your ball striking/consistency.

http://thesandtrap.com/t/54540/a-centered-pivot

http://thesandtrap.com/t/54697/downswing-sequencing

Thanks for the comments sir.. much appreciated.

I've been contemplating putting a "loop" into to my swing for a while... but I worry that it will detract from the accuracy of my downswing and make me compensate more than I already do to get back to the ball. I've been concentrating on dropping my right elbow on to my right hip and squeezing the elbowes together in transition.... seems to be helping a little bit....

I know what I need to do to be honest.. I need to fire my hips a little earlier and hold the lag in the my wrists for longer.. this tends to pull the club down into the "slot" and on the correct in to out line...

Working at this down the range at the moment. wish me luck!

Slowbo

Hello Sir... and thanks for the comments.. very constructive.

I will redo my DTL video along the guildines you suggest..... I'll post as soon as I can get to the range again!

With regards to your other comments....

I must admit, I have been actively trying to get more "behind" the ball at impact.... I suppose this is where the shifting of weight comes from. One thing I have been trying to do is start with a good spine angle with my driver.... I was taught that you need an angle tilting away from the ball at address and to maintain this angle throught the swing.... something which I do not naturally do... so I move to the right in my driver swing to compensate for this.... I find it gets me in the right position at impact... am I wrong in this assumption? I don't tend to get many thin shots I must admit... I get a lot of shots where the ball comes off the top of the face and balloons up... making me think that I'm moving the low point of my swing forward....

To be honest, I'm a little bit lost with my driver at the moment... I've read/seen so many different conflicting opinions that I have so many swing thoughts it frustrates me!

Slowbo.

From what I understand, maintaining your spine angle throughout the swing is actually not correct. Here is a sandtrap thread about it with some videos:

http://thesandtrap.com/t/43582/martin-hall-on-the-spine-angle

Hope this helps!

I like your athletic posture at setup. Eliminating movement off the ball in the backswing is something that has personally helped my swing become a lot more consistent so I can vouch for its effectiveness. I'm a believer in minimal moving parts in grooving a golf swing.

On another note - Nothing wrong with a fade, much easier to control and prettier to look at. I think the ball flight patterns evolve when a player develops e.g. start with a slice desiring the draw, obtaining the draw to only fear hooking and the left side and finally coming back to love the gentle fade. Nicklaus knew it, Tiger is starting to realise it too.