Havin a bad time with my driver.

[atrapasuenos]

Hi mates... I'm really sad right now. Since I saw my video and that my swing was not in plane I'm trying to correct it. Now I'm more in plane. Before I was hitting long ans straight drives, now I can't hit them straight or long.

I hooking drives, but most of the time slicing it. When I try to accelerate through impact I slice it, and if I try to do a smooth swing I hook it.

So I was wondering that maybe this could be caused by the Draw Bias, that maybe a Neutral driver can fix this problem.

This problem is only with the driver, the rest of my clubs I'm hitting them solid and where I want. Today I have a real change to break 80's, I shoot 39 in the front nine of my home course, wich I never have done that, but in front nine, drives that don't catch the fairway, you don't suffer too much.

But the back nine a slice goes to water or OB. The back nine are the "easiest" holes of the whole course I mostly shoot 38 - 39 I thought I have a chance but 2 OB and 2 drives in the water screw my round with a 44 and final 83. I was playing really well but now I'm really frustated.

What can be causing this slice? Could it be the Draw Bias? Should I try a Neutral drive? I'm hittin the ball in the sweet spot. I really don't know what is happening I try to not move my head in the whole swing and try to stay behind the ball.

I'm frustated.

Thanks for your help, I'll appreciate.

Regards.

[Franco!]

If you're shooting under 80, you should know when you change swing, you'll more than likely play badly for a few days.
If you came from a flat plane, you used to flip your hands at the bottom to hit it straight.
Now, if you're coming into a more on plane swing, that flip will cause a hook.
Now, in your head you don't want to hit it left so you try to hit it right.
Trust your changes, it'll come along.

[atrapasuenos]

If you're shooting under 80, you should know when you change swing, you'll more than likely play badly for a few days.

Thanks for your advice, I'm not shooting under 80 but I want and today if I could put my driver, not in the center just where I can play it the history would be another.

Now, I haven't take lesson so I don't know too much about a flat plane. Do you have something to ilustrate that so I can understand better? I have three weeks with this problem... Regards!

[Avid Golfer]

Hi mates...

Do you have a copy of your video that you can upload? (You can upload to a file sharing site like drop.io or a golf video website like

www.swingacademy.com ). Its easier to help diagonse the possible problem when the swing can be seen instead of speculated on. Hooks and slices are normally opposing path and clubface angles, so its rare to see the faults both occuring around the same time unless you are doing things differently each swing. An inconsistent grip could be one cause. If your hands were rotated to the right on the club at setup (left hand on top, and right hand underneath) then the clubface could arrive closed at impact and hooks could result. If your hands were rotated to the left on the club at setup (left hand underneath, and right hand on top) then the clubface could arrive open at impact and slices could result. Is your grip consistently the same way when you get both hooks and slices, or is your grip changing from one swing to another? A second possibility is that your body could be be blocking your arms, and your arms could be doing different things as a result of being blocked. In one case they could flip shut, and you might hook. In another case they might not flip shut, and you might slice. A third possibility could be your posture might be varying. If you are standing too tall one time, and too bent over the next you will make a different swing that will result in a different ball flight. One could be a hook and the other a slice. A forth possibility is your alignment could be varying. If your body is aligned to the right that is the direction you are likely to swing (with a possible hook as a result). If your body is aligned to the left once again that is the direction you are likely to swing (with a slice as a possible result). Are your hooks starting to the right of your target and curving back left, and are your slices starting left of the target and curving back right, or are your shots starting straight in both cases and then curving away to the left or right from the straight path? If you can share your video it might help to elimate possible causes of your problem. Until then all anyone can do is guess.

[donkba]

isnt draw bias meant to eliminate slicing? if anything, switching to neutral may make it worse

[atrapasuenos]

Do you have a copy of your video that you can upload? (You can upload to a file sharing site like drop.io or a golf video website like

Thank you mate! I will upload the video. The video shows my older swing, I don't have a video of the "new" swing. I will try to record the new one so you can see the changes LOL.

Thank you very much. Regards.

[atrapasuenos]

Here is the video... my swing in that video looks awful... I will try to get one of the recent swing I'm doing. The first attempt slices the second went straight, I also try to slow a bit the speed of the video so you can help me hehehe.

Thanks!



Regards!

[Dent]

i am having the same problem, and my problem is when i slice, im throwing out my hip before the downswing, so that causes me to open the clubface, at the same time im twisting my wrists to open the club face even more, its not a problem of having a inside out swing, i draw back straight back perfectly, and follow through perfectly, its just my hips and my wrists that cause the problem.

as for the hook, when i tried to correct this slice, id over exagerate my wrists and close them too much to prevent them from opening, i was too stiff and the clubface would close.

im still trying to figure out how to fix it.

[atrapasuenos]

i am having the same problem, and my problem is when i slice, im throwing out my hip before the downswing, so that causes me to open the clubface, at the same time im twisting my wrists to open the club face even more, its not a problem of having a inside out swing, i draw back straight back perfectly, and follow through perfectly, its just my hips and my wrists that cause the problem.

Thanks mate. In the video the one that slices was the first try with the driver hehe all the course it went straight. After looking the video I changed the swing plane and that is causing me to slice

Regards!

[Dent]

Its funny how you mention your old swing is completely different from your new swing. I changed my swing also a ton and although its the most rediculous looking swing I've ever seen, it works.

btw: it says the video is no longer availible for me, so i cant watch it.

[atrapasuenos]

Its funny how you mention your old swing is completely different from your new swing. I changed my swing also a ton and although its the most rediculous looking swing I've ever seen, it works.

Well not completely different but the plane is different hehehe. I know it was an ugly swing, but it was working well for me. The change of the plane is only affecting my driver

Let me correct the link... If you can't see it directly here's the link: http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=M8YUyy8tFYs Regards.

[Dent]

It appears you have a really low profile swing, you club doesnt come really high off your body at paralell and your swing is really low to the ground. It seems also that you bring the club way inside. Do you mean to do this or is this what your trying to fix? also it maybe looks like you bend your wrists a little too early, I see you bending them right as soon as you start your backswing, that may alter your swing a little.

[atrapasuenos]

It appears you have a really low profile swing, you club doesnt come really high off your body at paralell and your swing is really low to the ground. It seems also that you bring the club way inside. Do you mean to do this or is this what your trying to fix? also it maybe looks like you bend your wrists a little too early, I see you bending them right as soon as you start your backswing, that may alter your swing a little.

Yes, yes! That's it! That's why I try now to be in plane and not bringing the club way inside. I will try to record the "new in plane swing" hehe so you can see what I'm doing.

Regards!

[x-forged]

i agree with Dent. If you notice on your second swing, the takeaway is parallel to your feet when you take the hands back. the first swing ended in a slice because the shaft, on the takeaway, was aiming significantly right of where your feet were aligned.

[Avid Golfer]

Well not completely different but the plane is different hehehe. I know it was an ugly swing, but it was working well for me. The change of the plane is only affecting my driver

In the image below I have taken your driver swing and compared it to Aaron Baddeley's driver swing.

http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/790...pasueosrs5.jpg The first thing to note is your differences in setup. You appear very bent over while Baddeley has a tall posture. In particular you are extremely bent over from the hips (or waist). Looking at Baddeley we see the balance line (red line) lines up with the edge of his shoulders while there is a little bit of a gap between your shoulders and the line. I'm not sure where you intended target is (you may want to lay down a club in future videos). It looks like you may aligned out to the left. Next we move to where the club reaches hip high on the backswing. In Baddeley's swing we see the clubhead and hands on the original shaft angle plane (blue line), while we see your hands above the line and the club head well behind your body and under the line. This position is caused by the seperation we see between your left arm and your upper left chest, and when you look at Baddeley at this same stage you will see that his upper arm is staying tight to the chest. As a result of that seperation and inside takeaway (and your large hip turn) we see your clubshaft pointed well outside the ball at the point when your left arm reaches parallel to the ground, and in comparison we see Baddeley's shaft pointing inside the ball to target line. Next we look at the top of the swing. Since your club was flat going back we see your left arm on a flatter plane then the original shaft angle plane, and in comparison we see Baddeley close to parallel (just slightly more upright). Also as a result of your inside takeway and your large hip rotation the club has swung deep behind you (your right arm has moved a long way away from your chest and is perpandicular to the ground as opposed to Baddeley's which is parallel to his spine and closer to his chest). From this deep behind you position your arms can eaisly get stuck behind you, and left behind by the body on the way down. As you swing down your club drops on to a shallow plane nicely. The probelms that appear on the downswing is that your back foot lifts off the ground too quickly and your shoulders start to pull back behind the balance line. (Very different from where they were at address). Your extremely bent over posture at address, and your body's effort to say in balance are the likely cause of this altered position. At impact we have your back heel extremely high (which often leads to swing out to the left) and your shoulders pulled back (which leads to a steep shaft angle and glancing blow at impact). In contrast the pros keep their back heels closer to the ground and their body divided like it was at setup (abs, back, legs and feet left of the line, and shoulders, head, and arms right of the line). Baddeley actually has moved toward the ball at impact, and isn't in a position you'd want to copy. Instead look at Ernie Els, Greg Norman, Steve Elkington, and Nick Price in the pciture below: http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/7...timpactzi7.jpg and Trevor Immelman in the following picture: http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/6...ownlinegp6.jpg With them you see the body in balance where what was behind (or in front of) the balance line at setup is still behind (or in front of) it at impact. If you'd like to learn more about the some of the different planes in the golf swing, and how the pros move relative to them you can find more information in the post I made at: http://www.swingacademy.com/forums/y...olf-Swing.aspx I've provided a lot of information, so to give you a summary work on a taller posture at address (with good balance). On the backswing move your upper arms and chest in sync (a good drill is to make half swings with a towel, head cover(s), or glove(s) under your armpits), and keep a stable lower body. On the downswing continue to keep a stable lower body (and your back foot on the ground). Hope that helps you improve.

[atrapasuenos]

In the image below I have taken your driver swing and compared it to Aaron Baddeley's driver swing.

Mate I just can say WOW!

That's impressive, thank you very much. As I say this I my "old" plane, because I heard about that tip to put a glove between your arm and you chest and make some swings. And I believe I'm now more in plane. I hope I could get a video of this "new" swing in plane. I will work on my foot, do you have some drills so I can practice that? Thanks a lot! Regards

[Avid Golfer]

I will work on my foot, do you have some drills so I can practice that?

Having your lower body (legs and hips) quieter in the back swing should help to a degree in them being quieter on the downswing. In addition to that you could feel like you have a little pressure pushing downward on your thighs. (To get that feeling setup and take a club and push it downward on the top of your thighs, like a weight lifter with a barbell, while feeling like your legs push back slightly). Another thing you could try to focus on is keeping the weight contained on the inside of your feet (if weight moves outside your front foot on the downswing your back foot is more likely to get pulled up). Finally you can try to feel like you keep the feet flat on the ground as you make your downswing. Try each of the above ideas and see which feels best to you and gives you the best results.