My Swing (Ajw426)

[ajw426]

I've been Playing Golf for: 30 years
My current handicap index or average score is: 9
My typical ball flight is: Draw
The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Thin hits where I have to hurt my lower back to barely reach the ball (contact near heel - occasionally bad enough to shank).  Secondary to that is a low hook.  Lower back pain is an issue when my swing is off as I have to use my (waning) flexibility to try to recover and make contact.  

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[iacas]

I'd engage the legs more at setup, bend over more at the waist and let your torso be a bit more relaxed (you can round your back slightly), and have your arms hang almost vertically.

Then you'll likely want to work on a shift right almost immediately.

[ajw426]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

I'd engage the legs more at setup, bend over more at the waist and let your torso be a bit more relaxed (you can round your back slightly), and have your arms hang almost vertically.

Then you'll likely want to work on a shift right almost immediately.

That's incredibly helpful, thank you!  I've been working on my posture quite a bit based upon your lengthy posture post from years back.  Here is a picture of my old posture - hopefully it's better now compared to then.  I've been trying not to stick my butt out and trying to get rid of the arch in my lower back.  It does feel a bit too upright at times, so the idea of engaging the legs more might do wonders.  

I used to have a terribly unbalanced sway to my right.  When I'm struggling and hitting the ball thin, it really feels like my low point is behind the ball at impact.  I end up flipping to reach the ball and still hit thin with lower back pain.  I was afraid of my old habit of swaying too far back and not being able to get fully recentered, so I'm focusing on maintaining a centered pivot.  That being said, I still feel like I'm hanging back too much on my right foot at impact, but when I try to get further left at impact, I just can't do it.  Is it correct to say that shifting right early in the backswing can actually make it easier to properly finish with my weight left?  I'll give it a try tonight on my simulator and see how it goes.

 

Thanks a million for the input, it's so greatly appreciated!

Edited September 18, 2024 by ajw426

[HitemHard]

I might describe "engaging the legs at setup" a little differently. I'd say to bend at the ankle a bit more to get the knees more towards the balls of the feet. It actually looks better in your old set-up and wouldn't be the cause of a sway. A sway is when...well it's when you do in the backswing what you are currently doing with your knees/legs in the downswing. When your knees move laterally away from the ball it will cause you to move your center of rotation...your spine... back behind the ball and make it almost impossible to get back to the ball in the downswing. As for your knee action in the downswing, that's causing you to get no benefit of the ground forces and wasting a lot of potential for speed through impact. How should the knees work?

Think about jumping straight up with your feet close together. Your ankles bend forward, your knees bend and you push straight up through your pelvis and body. Now stand with your legs apart like in the golf set-up and think about if you wanted to jump to the left. You would still bend both legs the same way but you would push up through your right leg harder than your left and again, you would push up the leg into the pelvis. Now do the same jump to the right. More push up the left leg into the pelvis than with the right. That's what your left leg needs to do through the downswing to use the ground forces. Your left leg will push your left pelvis back and behind you as you come into impact instead of straightening after impact.

I hope that makes sense.