Poor take away with woods..causing tops/hooks/shanks

[King Cobra II]

Hey guys was looking for some suggestions on how to correctly take back my woods. I take my irons back with my shoulders and body, in one smooth motion. How ever I take the driver back with what seems to be only my wrists, and the club seems to rotate in my hands. I don't seem to hit the ball in the air consistently, and I hook alot. Any suggestions or video's? Thanks.

[Avid Golfer]

Hey guys was looking for some suggestions on how to correctly take back my woods. I take my irons back with my shoulders and body, in one smooth motion. How ever I take the driver back with what seems to be only my wrists, and the club seems to rotate in my hands. I don't seem to hit the ball in the air consistently, and I hook alot. Any suggestions or video's? Thanks.

Do you know for sure that your takeaway is different with your irons vs. your woods (have you seen them both on video), or do you

think or feel you are making a different takeaway with each? Most people's swings are extremely similar between the irons and woods (unless they are setting up drastically different, and/or purposely making extreme movements with deliberate intent).

[Stacey_E]

Ideally your takeaway should be about the same for all clubs in the bag. IMO a swing and grip should be about the same for each club. Reliabilty and repetition breeds accuracy. If your takeaway truely is different with different clubs, maybe it is just a lack of confidence in those clubs. Commit to your swing and let the club do the work without helping it. Also if your setup is funky for certain clubs, you can feel like you're compensating with that club.

[ks8829]

I recently started practicing with only my 56 wedge. What I work on is my take away from the address position.

1) I start by taking the club back one piece with my shoulder until the shaft is pointing down the line, with the toe of the wedge pointing up in the sky and the shaft is parallel with the ground. I also make sure that my right elbow is against my body.
2) Once it is in this position I start by breaking my wrist and taking the club right up into the back swing.
3) Now, I simple rotate my shoulder back and the club with make a solid contact with the ball.
4) I make sure that I am turning my shoulders and hips and my grip pressure is light.
5) I work on this shot just before I go play a round of golf and this give me the feel and tempo.
6) I have started this drill and have hit my irons and driver solid and with more confidence than ever.

[dave s]

Agree with others that your takeaway should be the same with a wedge or a 3-wood.

What causes bad shots for me on the longer clubs, (top, roll, fat, hook) is more related to balance and body movement during the swing. When I keep my head still and don't transfer a lot of my body weight back and then toward target during swing, the result is much more consistent (and solid) contact on the longer clubs.

Before I hit anything like a 3 hybrid or 5w off the fairway, I take 2-3 easy practice swings concentrating on good balance and keeping my head (and body) 'quiet,' i.e., not a lot of weight xfer or toe-to-heel balance issues.

If you think about it, the hooks might be caused weight moving onto heels and resulting in toe-shot hooks. The shanks are probably caused by leaning INTO the shot. The tops and rolls by standing up AFTER your takeaway. Again, for me, it's a case of balance and keeping most of my body quiet during the shots that results in getting the club back to where it started that provides a better oppty to hit a more solid shot.

dave