Maverick's swing

[Soup Fan]

I am more interested in knowing how you got that good of a video quality on YouTube!

[Maverick]

I am more interested in knowing how you got that good of a video quality on YouTube!

Think the resolution on YouTube is iffy..my other video seems to have worse resolution. I use WMM (windows movie maker) to edit a little bit but still it gets a little muddy in the final product.

[bunkerputt]

Wow.. Great post Avid. I was going to add my two cents, but decided to review the posts so as not to duplicate anything. Avid covered just about everything I was going to say. Maverick, you've got pretty smooth tempo and I think your attitude is right on for improvement. I think something that you can definitely work on is hip and shoulder flexibility. Try straightening out your arms in front of you and touching your elbows together. You won't be able to do it, but see if there is a large gap or if you can touch your forearms. This kind of tightness tends to cause a flying right elbow on the backswing at the top, as it is difficult to get the elbow closer to the body. Also, in terms of your transition, it seems that you are initiating the swing with your shoulders and upper torso instead of lower down with your legs and lower abdominals. If you compare your impact position to Ernie's, you can see both of his butt-cheeks. I can only clearly see your right side, meaning you didn't maintain hip/shoulder separation on the downswing. Try to get into a tighter, more coiled position on the backswing with a more bent right leg. It should feel quite uncomfortable. Now, try to use your hips and lower abdominals to get your shoulders rotating, THEN rotate your shoulders actively. In other words, try to maintain the discomfort of the coil in the first half of the downswing. The natural response is to get as comfortable as possible, which is why so many people release their shoulders too soon. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[Maverick]

Try to get into a tighter, more coiled position on the backswing with a more bent right leg. It should feel quite uncomfortable. Now, try to use your hips and lower abdominals to get your shoulders rotating, THEN rotate your shoulders actively. In other words,

Bunkerputt, is there a device I can by to make me feel this..lol Thanks, those are great tips.

[bunkerputt]

I think your plan should be two-fold:

1. Get in front of a mirror and check your top-of-the-backswing position by comparing it to Ernie Els, if that is your preference. You will find that it's quite difficult to hold a proper backswing position because of the torque and tension that is generated. Remember, this is really a good thing, though. Check both down the line and face-on views. When looking at the face-on view, make sure you are getting your head to your right a little. This will keep you from curling your spine to the left to release the tension. For the down-the-line view, make sure you don't lose your spine angle (stand-up). This also relieves the tension prematurely. Check your left leg at this point, as well.

2. Once you are pretty sure that you have the correct backswing coil, follow this sequence, remembering to preserve the coil and keep your head back: press your left foot into the ground by shifting your weight more to the left (Your right knee will probably bend very slightly. This is the right thing to feel), then rotate your hips counter-clockwise (Your right knee will probably straighten slightly. Also the right thing to feel). Once you get this move down, you should notice few things:
-Your left hip is higher than your right hip. This is the result of the straightening action of the left knee
-Your head should be lower than it was pre-downswing. This is the result of keeping your head back with your hips moving forward. Think of a bow bending. The length is the same, but the ends come together when the handle moves away laterally when you stretch it to shoot an arrow.
-If you managed to keep the coil and keep your head back, you will probably have dropped the club to the inside. This is exactly where you want it.

A drill I like to do is to bring the club to the 9 O'Clock position, which for me creates a little bit of coil, then accelerate to a full finish by focusing on the proper downswing sequence. You'd be surprised how easily you can drill a ball by doing this. Once you get good at the 9 O'Clock position, move it a little farther back to 10:30 and work from there. That is pretty much a full iron swing position.

You have to do all of this very slowly at first because it is all quite unnatural, which is why it is so hard for everyone to do correctly. Best of luck, and remember to be patient because it will probably take months to get it down pat. After all, they don't call it "building" a golf swing for nothing.