hitting from the inside

[moreira85]

what does this really mean??? i have heard tons of different explanations. i used to try to swing out to the right so that i am hitting the inside part of the ball but that doesnt work. i would put the ball 10 inches in front of a tee and try to hit the ball without hitting the tee but the ball would just hook.

i have been trying to grasp this concept for years.
DOES IT MEAN THAT THE CLUB DOESNT GET SWUNG UP THE PLANE AND COME DOWN ON THAT SAME PLANE . SHOULD IT BE AS THOUGH ON THE DOWNSWING YOUR ARE BRINGING YOUR RIGHT ELBOW CLOSER TO YOUR BELT BUCKLE SO THAT YOUR RIGHT ELBOW IS BRUSHING YOUR HIP?
IF I STAND IN A DOOR JAM AND PLACE MY HANDS ON THE DOOR JAM AND GET TO THE TOP OF MY BACK SWING THEN AS I SWING DOWN REROUTE THEM ON THE WAY DOWN SO THAT MY HANDS MISS THE DOOR JAM ON THE WAY DOWN IS THAT THE FEELING OF SWINGING FROM THE INSIDE?

[kc8kir]

My advice is to seek lessons from a good pga pro. I really was in the same bind as you until I had a lesson and the pro showed me the difference between feel and real when it came to that "hitting from the inside" thing. It is much more subtle than I made it out to be. In trying to hit from the inside the wrong way, I was really messing up my total swing action and seriously hampering my shot making consistency.

Getting back on track now, but it's taking serious work...

[JYB]

want to hit from the inside?

get to the top of your backswing and when your wrists hinge, DO NOT pull your arms down to the ball. if you feel a PULLING down, then you're prob. too tight and you're going to come over the top.

Instead, when you hinge at the top, try to PUSH your thumbs down into the grip and DROP your arms and match the clubhead to the ball.

PUSH, don't PULL.

[tm22721]

At the top, shift your left hip to the target while keeping your head back and arms passive. That will drop your right shoulder, arm and the club onto a lower plane and inside path.

[alf174]

Is your downswing starting with you lower body (hips for instance) starting to turn toward the target? If executed in the right sequence, a inside-out swing path will almost naturally occur and you won't have to focus on it.

[moreira85]

Instead, when you hinge at the top, try to PUSH your thumbs down into the grip and DROP your arms and match the clubhead to the ball.

PUSH, don't PULL.[/QUOTE]

okay that makes no sense to me. but thanks anyway

[Mr.Wedge]

what does this really mean??? i have heard tons of different explanations. i used to try to swing out to the right so that i am hitting the inside part of the ball but that doesnt work. i would put the ball 10 inches in front of a tee and try to hit the ball without hitting the tee but the ball would just hook.

Consider the triangle formed by the arms and the shoulders at address. If the shoulders make a pure rotation around the axis of the spine with the triangle remaining intact and the angle of the spine not changing, the only path for the clubhead to take is inside the target line from a downrange view. If the radius of the swing (base of the neck to the hands) remains consistent, the triangle stays in position, and the spine angle doesn't change, the clubhead will release into the ball along the same inside path.

"Swinging from the inside" is a result of a well executed swing, not something to be manipulated IMO. It is stressed because having the clubhead approach the ball from any other direction will result in a mis hit of one sort or another, but the actual cause will be some other malfunction in the swing. If you focus your attention on maintaining a pure radius (controlled by the leading arm). making a pure shoulder rotation, and keeping your spine angle consistent, you will be swinging from the inside.

[whip_it_out]

Instead, when you hinge at the top, try to PUSH your thumbs down into the grip and DROP your arms and match the clubhead to the ball.

okay that makes no sense to me. but thanks anyway[/QUOTE]

It didn't make sense to me either. I use a move similar to Tigers, when i start the downswing, I "squat" on the ball a hair. It helps me to drop the club on to a lower plane for the downswing, and helps for a little extra pop in the impact. I also try and feel like my right elbow touches my ribs roughly halfway through the dwonswing. That way I know the club has dropped below the original plane. I don;t think I worded that right, but I can't think of the right way right now.

[JackLee]

Well, you have some conflicting answers. I don't think I could answer your question very well in my own words, and that's too much typing anyway.

My normal clubhead path and swing plane are slightly inside-out. In baseball terms, from home plate, I would be swinging just a bit right of second base, but my clubface would be square or slightly closed to my target line. One thing to realize about inside-out is that the clubhead must continue on that path until it is well past impact. I use a closed stance with my metalwoods. That makes it easier to swing these long clubs inside-out.

[Mr.Wedge]

Well, you have some conflicting answers. I don't think I could answer your question very well in my own words, and that's too much typing anyway.

I think it is important to make the distinction between "hitting from the inside" which is the thread topic, and an "inside out swing". A square hit will be a swing which I described in my previous post which approaches the ball from inside the target line. An inside out swing approaches the ball from further inside, crosses the target line at the ball, and continues briefly outside the target line producing a draw or hook depending upon the angle of the clubhead relative to it's path.