Everything feels bad right now.

http://youtu.be/fRnIYFPli3Y

Thats a 5-iron i am swinging. Ok i might have overswung a bit , but before that when i tried to swing normal, i was having issue with, i dare not say the word, better put, shots that did not hit the clubface. So by that point i was trying anything to get the club face from keeping open. That shot right there ended up next to that tree in the distance, about 10 yards left of were the club is aimed on the ground. So a slight pull.

My other fault, my right leg always flies up like that, its probably one key issue in my swing. When i can keep it down i can keep things in front of me. Actually probably a save so i don't fall over backwards from having a reverse weight shift right now.

Though i think i am way to close to the ball...

Short game: I have always been an ok chipper but pitching is another story. Erik taught me the shot I never had before - the soft high pitch. Also, my dislike for putting manifests in my three-putt frequency but courtesy of the SAM lab it turns out my stroke is not bad at all. That was a significant confidence boost. Also revisited Aim Point Express.

Winter and holidays with family have restricted my rounds to 1.5 rounds since. Well let's just say if I sustain the ball striking, I am dropping around 3 strokes by mid summer. I am hoping to go back for a maintenance trip in April. 600 miles each way is a long haul but that's no hill for a climber. For having spent almost 7 hours at GE the day went faasst. Also, got to meet Erik's daughter when she stopped by for some afternoon practice. Delightful!

Some experiences in life are just memorable. Both Erik and Dave are true gentlemen and class acts. I will document further swings in the next few weeks.

Cheers,

V

FO Swing doesn't show anything but changes in setup, so I took that off. Most of my work can be seen in the short swing above.

I should have a video to upload next week, weather permitting and for now I am just getting the page set up and ready.

I have so many problems picking a priority piece is tough  I am making better contact lately but off line is a problem.  More often than not I push right so as of now that is my focus, but I am open to change.  My instructor has given me a few things to work on which I will share.  These seem like a lot of things to work on but he knew I would not be seeing him for a while (next lesson this winter).  Some of these were things he had me "Fix" before but I fell back into some old bad habits.

1) At address I tend to "Squat" and have poor inclination.  He is having me push my hips back a little and work on maintaining inclination. (I hope I am using "Inclination" correctly.)

2) I tend to swing outward but then pull the club around to my left after impact, a little like a baseball bat swing.

3) At address I was lining up my ball in the center of my stance but then having significant shaft lean that was delofting the club. I used to think I was topping the ball but he said I was delofting the club to such an extent that it could not get up in the air. He had me move the ball forward, to @ my left ear, and working to minimize the shaft lean.  Note, this is primarily for the hybrids, the lower clubs are still more in the center of the stance.

4) I tend to bring the club back like getting ready to swing a baseball bat and he is having me do a drill where I put a board behind my club and he wants me to work on pushing it straight back for a short distance as I begin my backswing.

5) I was starting my downswing from A4 before beginning my hip rotation.  He is having me work to move my right knee towards my left before I begin the downswing.  

6) He has me doing a drill where I take a practice swing but stop the club at A8 with the goal of my belt buckle pointing to the target with the grip of the club aimed at the belt buckle, the club parallel to the ground with the head aimed towards the target.  I'll video this and post since I'm not sure I am describing it well.

Since I began the above I am hitting my hybrids better but consistency is an issue.  Distance is getting better with several 3-Hybrids going 200-230 yards recently, but GG says 193 is more typical.

I look forward to your input once I get the video up.

Videos: 

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Hi all,

Going to start this with my putting. First is a SAM puttlab report from about a year ago that I posted in one of the Swing Thoughts topics:

I was inspired by that thread to work on not accelerating into impact. It's a work in progress, but here is an updated SAM puttlab full report from yesterday:

As you can probably tell, my path is quite a bit left to right. When I'm playing a fair bit, I'm pretty good at getting the face about a degree open, which with the 4 degree left path results in a pretty consistent straight starting point (at least in practice). That said I would quite like to figure out how to straighten up my path a little bit. 

On my long game, my issue right now is trying to get my arms to move faster. They get stuck behind my pivot and I can get stuck and it causes a big block. I have had some pretty bad chipping woes at times, although right now I have a thought which is really helping. That thought is to get my left arm to move off my chest in the downswing and through impact. So basically the same thing as I want to do in my full swing. I suspect that there may be something similar going on in my putting as well, where my left arm gets a little bit across my chest and then doesn't come back off it, so as my body turns, it pulls the club to the left. 

I will post some videos when I have the chance to film them.

I've been Playing Golf for: 5 years

My current handicap index or average score is: 13.4 and rising from a low of 10.4 last year.

My typical ball flight is: Draw or pull draw with irons.  Driver is anyones guess when things are off.

The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Consistent one sided pattern with the driver, either draw of fade.  It is my weakest club by far.  When I get out of sorts, I am not sure where the ball will go.  I will expect a slight draw and a big fade will happen or a hook into trouble.  My irons are much more consistent.  My GIR with fairways hit is 38% vs

Below are two videos, one of my current driver swing and one of the drill I am working on.  My priority piece is too steep a shaft angle from A4 to A5 causing too steep an angle coming into impact and a bit of an over the top swing.  I have been working on this with my Evolvr instructor Stephan ( @sk golf ) since January.  My next add is some palmar flexion from A4 to A5 to help flatten the shaft and close the face a bit.

Videos:

The driver video includes the practice motion  of A4 - 6 emphasizing laying the shaft down.  But as you can see, when I do the actual swing, I steepen again.

Here is a A4 5 6 drill in real time.

Thanks for watching.

I've been Playing Golf for: 3 years seriously
My current handicap index or average score is: 37
My typical ball flight is: right to left or a heavy hook
The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Anything with a hybrid

I am trying to copy Moe Norman's swing within reason.  I have a lot of physical limitations in the area of coordination, balance and flexibility.  My hands shake in a fairly small way, but still 24-7.  The reason I have chosen the Moe swing is because based on everything I have read, watched and studied the swing appears to have less moving parts and is based around what would appear to be good biomechanics.  I have with an Instructor from the Graves Golf Academy who I have worked with and have several of their DVD's and training aids.  I now just need to put the pieces together.  

I also use a Biomech Acculock Putter  in order to control my hand shakes on the green.  I am hoping to use both these tools to make my game both more repeatable and more consistent.

My stats are available here: https://www.gamegolf.com/player/wpgstriker

I will try and post a video tomorrow and other videos as I go through the learning process for this swing.  I understand that many people don't care for Moe's swing and that's

fine, but that is the one I am going for. For at least the next 12 months I am committing to it.  If you want to join me on this journey please be welcome.  If you have questions about the swing or Moe please throw them at me.  I would love to discuss.

Videos: 

As you can tell from the name of the video, I was trying to achieve a little more of a "Jim Furyk Feeling" on this swing - dorsiflexion of the left wrist on the takeaway (still getting the hands deep), no #3, then lots of #3 from about P3.75 to P4.25... then the follow through is just holding the wedge into a follow through, but frankly, I wasn't that worried about anything after P7.

Full speed, just 300 FPS.

I'm happy with what I'm working on, but feel free to ask any questions you might have.

my New Year’s resolution was to start playing golf again. I’ve caught the bug and am really enjoying hitting balls at a couple of my local ranges.looking forward to getting back out on courses in the spring.

Based in the UK and 38 years old, I’ve been playing since I was a kid. Best handicap I’ve held is 2 in my mid 20s.

Over the past 10 years I’ve played once or twice a year, sometimes with friends or for work. Could shoot 4-5 over, but just as easily shoot 15-20 over.

I’ve moved to South Wales and am very lucky to be near some world class links courses, which gives me even more motivation to get playing again!

I will start looking for a local coach in my area when I have more time to invest, but I recalled scouring this forum a few years ago and finding some good tips and advice so wanted to give it a try to see if there were any glaring issues I could fix in the meantime! 

A few swings below… one from 1st week Jan and one from today. I have fixed my P1 takeaway to my liking and am now working on what I see as pretty severe early extension & hip thrust. Also terrible hip rotation. I’d like confirmation that this is indeed a problem and and suggestions on a few good drills.

Thanks for reading 🙂

I've been Playing Golf for: 30+ years
My current handicap index or average score is: 10ish over
My typical ball flight is: mid
The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: push right with irons, hooks and push with driver! 

Videos: 

I've been Playing Golf for: 40 yrs
My current handicap index or average score is: 4.0 factor
My typical ball flight is: Straight however sometimes slight draw. The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: squirt to the right due to to much arm not enough turn.

Videos: 

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Hopefully videos are of the quality/angle that is usable. Wasn't space in the bay to film driver properly, can update in time.

Have been a lurker here for a while, seems a good community. Would be very grateful for any thoughts. Thanks

My current handicap index or average score is: 27

My typical ball flight is: High Fade

The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Push Fade/Slice

Videos:

Hit a bunch of straight fades this morning on the driving range, so I made an adjustment by adding an active arm swing later at home:

Sorry, no FO at the range because I forgot to charge my camera battery.

My current handicap index or average score is: 17.5. I've been as low as 14.8. I haven't had a handicap north of the teens since Spring 2008, when I first broke 90. Best personal score yet is 83 (done four times). Now that I write it out, I realize I've been at a plateau (to put it politely) for the majority of the time I've been playing!

My typical ball flight is: high, with a little draw when I hit it well (relatively). I think I start it relatively straight, but I periodically hit a "straight, wrong direction" (not backwards, just left or right) shot that I'm not 100% convinced that I know how to align myself properly. I suppose it could be a pull or push. Maybe at one of the upcoming So Cal outings, someone will notice and will tell me after the round to update this thread.

The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: the aforementioned misalignment, and after that, the snap hook. That tends to come out more on a 3W or 5W than on a driver or iron.

Videos: I think I've got the first three pieces of S&T; (from the book, p.22) down. First videos, taken today (March 7, 2014). I first took the DTL videos in slow-motion, in the setting that I thought was 100+ fps. Turns out it is 100 frames per real second, but it slows it down. If I should take all my videos this way, please let me know. I then took DTL and caddie view videos in normal mode, which turned out to be 30 fps. My camera is a Canon PowerShot ELPH 110 HS. Videos are edited via Avidemux. Also, in loading the videos to my computer, I discovered that I didn't set up the tripod as square as I thought I had. I'm relatively new to the whole camera thing, and I'll pay more attention to this on my next video.

Current Plan : I have 2-3 times per week now set aside that I'll be able to hit the range and practice, and I'll take an updated video every other week or so. Starting in May, and lasting for the summer, I should be able to do this 3-4 times per week, and will almost certainly sign up for evolvr then (since I'll be able to take full advantage of the regular lessons there, and will be taking weekly video I hope). In the meantime, I'm also hoping to learn enough about taking proper video of a swing. Oh, and in reading some of the posts about how to practice, I've realized that I don't really know how to practice full swing other than hitting balls at the range. If someone could help me put together my first proper practice set - in particular, helping me identify what *specific* thing to work on, and how, I'd greatly appreciate it. My goal is to get something to work on, and then to do that this weekend and next, and then be able to post a follow-up video either next Sunday (3/16) or the following weekend.

Down the line, 6-iron:

Down the line, 6-iron, slower. Should this be the mode I capture future videos in?

Down the line, driver:

Caddie view, 6-iron:

Caddie view, driver:

Wow, I don't think I realized how long my backswing or finish were. I guess I'm not stopping at the "PGA Tour Logo" finish after all. Also, am I lunging? Well, have at it; tell me I'm delusional and my swing sucks.

This post will list a few quick things intended to help you make the most of the free advice you'll receive in your "My Swing" thread.

Details

First, if you haven't already, provide as much detail as possible. Share detail about your recent history, any past lessons you've had, any physical limitations you may have, the works. The more detailed information you can give us, the better.

Honesty is the Best Policy

Your handicap - and your skill level - are what they are. There's absolutely no need to fib to some strangers on the Internet about them. If you have trouble hitting the ball solidly, and you're a 19 handicapper, you won't be helping yourself to say that you're an 11 who just fades the ball a bit more than you'd like. Be honest with yourself, and be honest with others.

Multiple "Tips" and Prioritization

So you've posted, and gotten lots of tips from people. It's no secret that Mike ( @mvmac ) and myself (Erik, @iacas ) are instructors. I'm even the guy that trains instructors, including Mike, in a system we call "5 Simple Keys®." 5SK is not a "one-swing" method, but rather focuses on the five commonalities of the game's best players. You can read more about that here .

The point of that is that we don't teach "one swing" to anyone here, but feel fairly strongly that any swing advice you get should pretty much help with one of five keys. That doesn't mean the person has to say "this will help with Key #2" or even talk about 5SK at all.

What this really gets down to is prioritization. It's almost impossible to try to work on several things at once. Even working on two or three things at once is virtually impossible. So we recommend that you use 5SK as a sort of "template" for guiding you towards proper prioritization.

- If you struggle most hitting the ball solidly every time you swing: look at tips that speak to Keys #1-#3.

- If you struggle with controlling the flight of your golf ball, but strike it solidly all the time: look at tips that speak to Keys #4 and #5.

Your job? Once you've got some feedback, it's to assess the biggest problems in your game against the tips and advice you receive, then, choose only one priority item on which to work. Sometimes it's as easy as doing what the majority of people see. Sometimes you have to apply your history and understanding to choose your priority item. Sometimes your priority will be whatever the person you trust most says it is.

Whatever your reasoning, try to find a single priority item, post that you're going to work on that, and let others know. Then…

Work on It

The best advice in the world is wasted if you don't apply it.

So, once you've found your priority, work on it.

What do we mean by that? Well, we don't mean to just take the tip to the range or your next round of golf and "try it out" while making full swings or keeping score.

What does "work on it" really mean? Basically, it means that you should apply the 5 "S"s of Effective Practice: (this is unrelated to 5SK).

Follow Up!

A fellow member gives you advice. You use his advice, practice properly, and shave three strokes off your game or eliminate your slice.

Unless you update your thread, the other member might never know they helped you, so update your thread and thank the guy who helped you out! Heck, update the thread while you're working on it too. Use it as a journal for the feels and videos of your practice. Post regularly. You'll continue to get more and more feedback, and more and more tips. People will begin to "follow along" with your journey towards improvement.

All of these tips above are designed to help YOU get the most out of YOUR "My Swing" thread. Again, welcome to The Sand Trap .com (TST), and be sure to check out our blog , our equipment and courses sections, and of course the many other threads available for comment and chit-chat and so on in our forum .

I've been Playing Golf for: 25 years
My current handicap index or average score is: 20.5
My typical ball flight is: inconsistent!
The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: FAT

Videos: 

I've been Playing Golf for: 10 years, 1 year consistently 

My current handicap index or average score is: 100
My typical ball flight is: fade
The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: inconsistent ball strike
 

I caught the bug about a year ago and have been playing roughly once a week.

Have been getting better with my short game and putting but my ball striking from tee and fairway lets me down.

Had my first lesson last month which identified an over the top swing compensated by an open club face.

Have been trying everything to get on plane over the last month. Have found that using a bend and press into my left leg as the trigger for my downswing coupled with finding the turn and rotation in both my arms to release the club properly has helped my get nearer to the correct plane.

Video below is where I am with it currently. Haven’t taken this new swing to the course yet!

Any comments or suggestions are welcome 

Videos: 

I've been Playing Golf for: 1 year properly 
My current handicap index or average score is: 100 av score

Limitations: as some of you my know as posted in one of my other threads, I have an arthritic left shoulder which makes taking a full backswing both difficult & uncomfortable. HOWEVER, maybe it's simply bad technique and can possibly be improved upon. 

Videos: 

Not having really any free time in the course of my usual day to record this, I got up this morning early and recorded this at the gym. While I realize this isn't ideal hitting a whiffle ball off of a mat, hopefully, this will still give you guys a starting point so that my priority piece can be established.

Full Swing Videos: 

What I struggle with and am trying to address: Taking the club inside on the takeaway which results in a laid off position at P4. My hands don't have anywhere to go and stay passive which results in an OTT move. 

Putting Videos: 

What I struggle with and am trying to address: Long Putts: Poor distance control. Doesn't seem to be a consistent miss of long or short.; Short Putts: Putts seems to come off "dead" with no energy. Misses tend to be on the low side. 

Videos: 

Other info in first reply

Videos: 

Driver DTL

Driver Face on

7 iron DTL

7 iron Face on

This shot was from a par 4 where I decided to tee up with my 3w that I'm in love with (especially when compared to my decade+ old driver with almost no grip left which will soon be replaced).

So here's a video from earlier today with the 3 wood off of the tee. I've been hitting the range a lot and I think it is showing?

Here's what I'm noticing: firstly, my grip doesn't look great but I think a big part of it is how incredibly far in front of my stance the ball is and in response how I address the ball. To that effect I think my back angle at the start of the stroke isn't great since I'm leaning forward pretty heavily which I believe starts a lot of the weight on the front foot. This probably inhibits good weight transfer. I will probably start having the ball slightly farther back in my stance.

Thank you very much for any comments/critiques and happy golfing!

I've been Playing Golf for: a few months
My current handicap index or average score is: low 100's
My typical ball flight is: high / fade
The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: a weird one where with my driver I actually hit the ground like a full foot before the ball.

Videos: 

Excited to be part of this community. All feedback / thoughts on my swing are welcome.

Thanks!

I've been Playing Golf for: Over 20 years
My current handicap index or average score is: 7.5 index
My typical ball flight is: Push draw
The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Push slice, especially with my driver

Videos: 

This swing was from around a week ago, this backswing is what i have been told for years is to flat, as i have been trying to swing rotationally, weight on to right then back to left or "classic swing"

Im now trying the stack and tilt swing, which i appear to prefer, any advice? could the backswing from above be applicable to S&T;?

PS: really sorry for such shoddy video, its my phone,

Videos: 

Before I get to the videos. Here's some stuff I'm working on: 

And

and

Now some video:

I know this is shot in my basement. But I just can't get any time to get to the range. So, I figured I could at least use this to practice taking video. I attempted to shoot this straight down the toe line.

This is the caddie view. 

I realized I was a little close the camera. So, I tried to do the Caddie View again.

Of course I realize I still have a way to go. These swings are far from perfect. They are, however, perfect examples of where my swing is right now. 

I've been Playing Golf for: 2y 10m
My current handicap index is: 0.1
My typical ball flight is: Draw
The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: pull draw

Videos: