Analyze my swing?

[JackieTreehorn]

Anyone have any comments on my swing? 6-iron from side, 8-iron down the line. I am looking to tame my hip action and have my right foot more grounded at impact. Also note my head position...seems to drop a bit on downswing.

[Avid Golfer]

Anyone have any comments on my swing? 6-iron from side, 8-iron down the line. I am looking to tame my hip action and have my right foot more grounded at impact. Also note my head position...seems to drop a bit on downswing.

Below are screen captures comparing you to 2008 Masters Champion Trevor Immelman.

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/3...mmelmanee0.jpg I don't know where some of the lines in your pictures came from, but they don't seem to illistrate positions properly. (For example the black line going from the back edge of the ball to your ear on a diagonal slant). In the face on view I have drawn a red line straight up from the ball, and it lines up with the center of your head at address. The green line shows where the ball would be positioned if it were in line with your front ear. (like the pros in the image below) http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/254...ballposdg0.jpg Your head tiliting back and dropping down could be a result of trying to stay behind the ball, and it is possible playing your ball position father forward might help to reduce that movement. The face on view of your swing also shows a lot of lateral movement toward the target on the downswing. If you look at the frame on where your hands are hip high on the downswing we see most of your body has moved in front of the ball, and in comparision we see that Immelman has much more of his body still behind the ball line at that stage. In summary of the face on view: playing the ball farther forward in addition to reducing lateral slide toward the target during the downswing should help improve your ballstriking. In the down the line view the thick orange line blocks our view of the club and your grip at setup and impact. The thick blue line blocks our view of your armpit area during the swing. At setup from down the line it looks like (based on your posture) your hips are set low, and your weight is favoring your heels. Immelman (as well as the pros in the picture below) have a look of the hips being held high and balance being closer to the center of the feet. http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/3...atsetuppi0.jpg In the second and third frames from the down the line view it is difficult to tell if the flat plane is a result of your left arm seperating from the chest (causing the weight of the club to rotate your arms), turning the shoulders on too flat a plane, or if you are over rotating the arms in and of themselves. Regardless the flating causes the club shaft to point outside the ball when the left arm gets parallel to the ground, and the left arm to get on a flatter angle at the top of the swing than the pros. (Most of whom tend to have the left arm on a plane parallel to the original shaft angle plane at the top). As you move to the downswing your lower body (most noticably the legs) pull closer towards the ball. (This could be one of the reasons, as could the lateral slide seen in the face on view, that your heel raises which you mentioned in another thread that you were seeking to reduce in your swing). In summary of the down the line view: working on soild posture and balance at setup and during the swing should result in improved ball contact.

[JackieTreehorn]

I don't know where some of the lines in your pictures came from, but they don't seem to illistrate positions properly. (For example the black line going from the back edge of the ball to your ear on a diagonal slant).

Just to 1) see how much my head moves and 2) see nose/sternum in line pointing in front/at of ball at address.

Thanks for your help...I agree the ball position is off and is likely the culprit in my need to drop my head to stay behind the ball. This was my main concern. I also think you are correct about my weight more towards my heels. When you say "low hips" you mean too much knee bend? Actually, I changed my stance (moved butt back) to get my weight more centered in my foot instead of all in my toes. I know this is unorthodox but it seems to help me a lot because it allows me to stand more upright (35 degree back angle vs 40 before) and feel more balanced. I have short arms for my height (69.5" reach, 71.5" height) and I think this gets me down to the ball easier. Note: a pro once dynamically fit me for a 4* upright lie angle but I haven't changed that yet ($$) but will look into soon. I will experiment with my setup though.

[Franco!]

Set those wrists earlier in the backswing.
It'll fix a lot of your problems.

[Avid Golfer]

I also think you are correct about my weight more towards my heels. When you say "low hips" you mean too much knee bend? Actually, I changed my stance (moved butt back) to get my weight more centered in my foot instead of all in my toes. I know this is unorthodox but it seems to help me a lot because it allows me to stand more upright (35 degree back angle vs 40 before) and feel more balanced. I have short arms for my height (69.5" reach, 71.5" height) and I think this gets me down to the ball easier. Note: a pro once dynamically fit me for a 4* upright lie angle but I haven't changed that yet ($$) but will look into soon. I will experiment with my setup though.

Pushing your butt back at address isn't an unorthodox move. It has been advocated by many pros including Nick Faldo, Steve Elkington, and Annika Sorenstam. When you push your hips and butt back there are two things that can happen. The first is your hips lower and your legs bend so that it might appear to an observer that you look like you are sitting on a stool or in a chair. The second is you keep your hips high which produce a taller looking posture where tilt is from the hips instead of the waist. Which posture you have effects how the body and club will move back. If your sitting down the club is more likely to swing around deep behind you, and the club is likely to point outside the ball (on a flat plane) like we see in your swing. While if the hips are held high the club is more likely to move back along the tilted plane that the club shaft at address reflects.

Upright clubs are designed to match up with a steep impact position (lie angles are designed to fit with a players impact position not setup position). If you're going to modify your swing to try and get closer to the impact position of the pros (with a shallow approach) then you shouldn't go with severly upright clubs (like the 4*'s you mentioned), because they would no longer match up with the approach (and shaft angle) near impact with the ball.

[JackieTreehorn]

Here is a series of images (6i, good shot) of my attempt to fix 1) ball position and 2) hip action. I moved the ball off my left ear and tried to keep more distance between my knees at address (Leadbetter ball drill). Thanks for suggestions.

I see there is still a lateral move on the downswing which I need to work on. My right foot is a bit more grounded than before but it is still not where I want it to be. Some habits are hard to break.